Chapter 5: Past
16:21 PM (Japan Time), Sunday June the 12th…
"… If that guy is punctual, then… He'll be there in 15 minutes."
"Wro~h… I'm looking forward to a burning battle."
Past, wearing a brown motorbike helmet with his Kanji set on it, was standing next to his brown Toyota bike: a Duel Stage had been set on the ground of the basement room and he was holding the Link PET on his right hand while distractedly playing with his left hand's fingers.
"Huh? Aibou! There's a call from someone in Mexico…" The Navi reported.
"Mexico…? Patch it through just in case." Past commanded.
"Bienvenidos al universo maligno del pato villano y maligno!"
"What the…?" Past cursed.
"Well… "Welcome to the evil universe of the evil and malevolent duck!"…"
"What the… Is this guy crazy or totally drunk?" Past was dumbfounded.
"Dunno…" The Navi trailed off.
"Y sepan algo: YO voy a echar al Calderón ese al Infierno y pondré una maldición en su cena: morirán envenados dentro de cinco días a medianoche! Entonces habrá una revolución a sangre e hígado que hará de Méjico el país rojo más poderoso del mundo! Liderado por Vicente el "Rojo"! Hasta la vista, gringos!"
"Well…" The Navi trailed off again.
"Translate!" Past commanded.
"Eh… "Know something: I will toss that Calderón guy into Hell and I'll place a curse on his supper: they'll die of poison after five days at midnight! Then there'll be a blood n' guts revolution which will turn Mexico into the world's most powerful red country! Leaded by Vincent "Red"! See ya around, gringos!" … "Gringo" is Mexican slang for the Ameroupe guys: and I really think the guy is crazy." The Navi translated.
"Vincent "Red"…? Ah. The former CIA agent… An expert in disguise… It'd seem he's sinking into being a drunkard. Whatever." Past shrugged.
"Oi! Someone triggered the perimeter sensors: the guy came!"
"Good! Let's get ready for the showdown." Past sounded satisfied.
Footsteps came closer and Nelaus calmly walked down the stairs into the basement while having his Link PET ready.
"You came." Past told him.
"Obviously. Showdown!"
"Plug In! Isaac, Transmission!"
"Plug In! Balrog, Transmission!"
Isaac appeared on the Duel Stage's Net Battle arena and Past's Net Navi entered the system: he looked around two meters tall.
His head was shaped like a demon's with two blackish horns and reddish eye irises as well as sharp teeth: it was protected by a mail around the whole of its volume.
His body was colored red and had black metallic armor with purple diagonal patterns over the surface.
Two small wings with armor over it came out from behind him as well as a tail with a purple flame on it; his hands and feet ended in sharp claws.
Purple flames surrounded his body, and he was wielding a wrecking ball as well as a large spread filled with red thorns all over its surface.
His mere presence radiated an intense heat wave.
"Wroh, hoh, hoh, hoh! My name is Balrog. I'm going to make you plunge into the depths of Khazad-dûm! Then you will climb up the endless stair into the tower atop Zirakzigil! We will battle to death there like my past life did with the envoy of the Gods: the Wizard Gandalf the Grey was able to slain it but my soul has crossed over the Time-Space: and thus I have been reborn in an immortal body! Wroh, hoh, hoh!" He exclaimed.
"This guy is themed after "Durin's Bane": the Balrog living in Moria which the dwarves awakened…"
"And he knows the dwarves' names for those places, too." Nelaus calmly lifted his eyebrows.
"You better don't look down on Balrog. And the trick Morgangantz used on Prophetess won't work this time around: I set an encrypted password to access the Wi-Fi settings!" Past warned.
"Even if you double that guy's power we've got some aces up our sleeves which you may know about if you did your research."
"The "Bestialize" Special Ability which Vadous developed using a strange Net Navi codenamed the "Synchronizer"… I know what that means."
"Heh. I can see you're boiling for a hot battle! My claws will cut through any armor even if it's made of mithril! Blood n' guts!"
"Balrog! Go all out on the guy. Then we'll consider if we need the Annihilator Chip or not." Past commanded.
"Roger, aibou! Death Wrecking Ball!"
"Battle Chip, Iron Body! Slot In!"
The wrecking ball bounced off the golden glow surrounding Isaac and Balrog calmly reeled it back in before stepping back and taking out his lance: he ran forward and plunged his lance into Isaac's body: its end suddenly transformed into the Drill Arm Battle Chip and began to drill through the Iron Body.
"What!" Isaac gasped.
"I've got several tricks up my sleeves, too! Drill Lance!" Balrog laughed.
The Drill Lance shattered the Iron Body and inflicted a wound on Isaac's lower torso: Balrog then hit him with his tail: Isaac was sent flying and he crashed against the ground in a hard manner.
"Crap. He's Breaker and Flame combined… Swords won't do any good in here and nor will barriers…" Isaac muttered.
"Eh… Then… Battle Chip, Bubble Side! Slot In!" Nelaus commanded.
"Bubble Side!"
The attack hit Balrog but the water evaporated on contact and his flames lost nothing of their power.
"Balrog Breath!"
Balrog exhaled a torrent of flames which inflicted some wounds on Isaac and he made a grimace.
"Nelaus! Give me something more powerful!" He called out.
"Here! Battle Chip, Geyser! Slot In!"
"Geyser!"
The Geyser hit Balrog from beneath and caused for some vapor to build up around the area: he suddenly dashed forward and plunged his claws into Isaac's upper body before kicking him away: his flames had lost some power but were still active.
"Shit. We'll need a firefighters' truck at this rate." Isaac cursed.
"I'd rather say three firefighters' trucks." Past sarcastically replied.
"So you're a pyromaniac?" Nelaus tried to guess.
"Wrong. I'm a bounty hunter."
"You look after Boba Feet, maybe?"
"No. I deal with anything related to the so-called "Secret Empire" stuff or individuals who have committed sins." Past calmly replied.
"The "Secret Empire"… I see. So you beat them down and claim the bounty set by their rivals?" Nelaus guessed.
"Not exactly. That "bounty hunter" title is a false lead. I chase after them out of my own motivations and I then steal some money from them to keep the police on thinking I really am a "bounty hunter"." Past shrugged and didn't seem to care.
"Hum. And wouldn't you be in a conflict with Prophetess, then?"
"No. Prophetess only boasts that to intimidate: she's just a mercenary who's hired for several jobs but she herself isn't a sadist, so… I've got nothing to be angered by. She actually helps figure out where these bastards operate from." Past calmly admitted.
"Well then… Let's continue. Battle Chip, Ice Cannon Ball! Slot In!"
"Balrog! Go!" Past commanded.
"Ice Cannon Ball!" Isaac exclaimed.
The blue spheroid hit Balrog and the consequent melting and evaporation extinguished his flames: he calmly stepped forward and began to swing the Death Wrecking Ball above his head.
"Death Wrecking Ball!"
He shot it forward at a mad speed: Isaac ducked and skidded across the ground thus making it hit the ground instead: he ran towards Balrog as he was still reeling it inside.
"Battle Chip, Gold Fist, Drill Arm! Double Slot It!"
"Take this!" Isaac exclaimed.
He jumped on top of him and hit the face with the Golden Fist while plunging the Drill Arm into his upper body.
"Guo~h!" Balrog roared and his eyes emitted a red flash.
He suddenly flew skywards and spun around his axis thus shaking Isaac off him and then he plunged towards him while aiming his lance towards Isaac: he rolled across the ground while Balrog plunged the lance into the ground: a heat shockwave ensued and Balrog laughed.
"Wroh, hoh, hoh…! How's that, Net Savior? You haven't even taken out 200 HP of my 1400 HP!" He laughed.
"One seventh!They're dangerous enough at 50%...! They must be deadly at a 100%...!" Nelaus muttered.
"Feeling the despair, Rainon?" Past taunted.
"No. I can feel a Yuuzhan Vong spying on us."
"Very funny. Jedi can't feel Yuuzhan Vong through the Force."
"So you've read about the Yuuzan Vong War… But don't spoil the ending for me: I want to try to read the novels and find out myself."
"Hmpf. Whatever!"
"Guro~h! Balrog Storm!"
Balrog beat his wings and some wind began to build up around the arena making it difficult for Isaac to move.
"Isaac! Program Advance! Hi Cannon, Triple Slot In!"
"Giga Cannon!"
Isaac shot the blast and hit Balrog fully: he laughed at and shot the Death Wrecking Ball as a counter: it hit Isaac as he was recovering and left a deep mark on his upper torso.
"At least we've taken out around 700 HP by now…" He muttered.
"Not bad! Balrog Dive!"
Balrog flew skywards and then dived towards Isaac: Isaac jumped towards him and tried to land on his back but Balrog suddenly headed skywards and grabbed Isaac by the shoulders.
"Let go of me!" Isaac growled.
"As you wish, Captain!" He sarcastically replied.
He dropped Isaac into the ground and then dived towards him from above: Isaac managed to jump out of the way but couldn't avoid being hit by the guy's tail: he was sent flying and landing hard against the ground.
"I've accumulated close to 300 HP of damage by now… My max HP is 2700, so… One ninth of the total has been drained." He muttered.
"Hmmm… Let's level this up. Annihilator Chip, Slot In!"
Balrog's flames regenerated and became incandescent red: his eyes turned purple and his claws shone with a purple sparkle as well. The echoing voice of "Puppeteer" rang out.
"So! You lowlife are THE Isaac EXE! Former member of Deadly Pandora and now a Net Savior… Original from Chicago…" "Puppeteer" laughed and sounded amused.
"Correct, Danna." Isaac told him.
"Can you stand up to this body's max potential?"
"Yeah! I can! And I'll show it to you! S – Program: Start! Bestialize Style: Greiga!" Isaac exclaimed.
Isaac had gained "beast" armor over his main body.
His helmet had the shape of a beast's mouth plus six triangles spreading in a formation colored golden: a symbol which looked like some kind of orange star was set on the segment of it corresponding to the helmet's forehead.
A black mouth-guard covered the nose and mouth.
The chest armor was colored in a greenish color with thin goldenrod borders and three white shapes in the form of claws placed over the shoulders: a hole in the middle of the armor allowed for the chest emblem to be displayed: there were two pieces of reddish armor built directly underneath the main one.
The forearm armor started slightly below the elbows and contained a red segment before the main piece which had two claws protruding from it and over the hands.
The feet armor started below the knee and included two goldenrod diamond-like shapes over the knees: the feet had red armor just before the fingers started, which had been turned into a set of three claws which looked sharp.
Lastly, he also had a green tail with two golden shapes built near the end of it protruding from his back.
"The S – Program… Interesting! Come!"
"You're named Puppet Man, right?" Isaac guessed.
"If you wish to…"
"Guess so. Greiga Claws!"
Isaac ran forward while dodging the incredibly fast Death Wrecking Ball shots and jumped into Balrog's body: he managed to cut through the flames and leave some slice marks on the armor before he jumped into the air and delivered a kick with his right foot to the enemy's face: he was stunned for some seconds and Isaac took the chance to seize his tail and whip him around before shooting him forward only to crash with the wall.
"What! 300 HP lost in this combo…!" "Puppeteer" gasped.
"So he's lost 1000 HP! This is better. Here I go~!" Isaac exclaimed.
He quickly picked the Death Wrecking Ball and pulled it towards him: he suddenly let go of it and it hit Balrog's face: the armor was cracked and it revealed his reddish skin beneath it: that crest with the Kanji hametsu (annihilation) was glowing on his exposed forehead.
"Bothersome meddling guy!"
"Take this!"
Isaac plunged both claws into the crest and "Puppeteer" howled something as Balrog moved around in a confused manner: Isaac quickly jumped out and picked the lance to plunge it into the crest: it shattered and Balrog collapsed to his knees while his flames died down and his eye color returned to normal.
"What? The crest was destroyed, you say?" He gasped.
"So, that crest is the control program… And attacking it physically harms "Puppeteer", too. I inflicted around 180 HP of damage, so… He should've lost close to 1200 HP: I can finish it with one more attack." Isaac calmly muttered.
"Battle Chip, Aqua Sword! Slot In!"
Isaac jumped and plunged the Aqua Sword into the exposed upper body flesh: Balrog howled and suddenly logged out to reappear inside of his Link PET.
"Crap." Past muttered.
"So?" Nelaus taunted.
"Hell. I'll remember this!"
He tossed a flash-bang grenade into the ground and quickly climbed into the bike to exit by climbing up the stairs and then breaking through a first floor window to hit the street: he was soon out of sight while Nelaus calmly crouched and picked up the Duel Stage.
"And this makes four of these. I guess we'll have a stock of them by the time this affair ends. I'll report what happened: but the others might not be so lucky breaking that crest." Nelaus muttered.
"We're making slight progress… That Ancient guy is probably a monk who believes in the Apocalypse, Prophetess is a mercenary and this guy acts the bounty hunter."
"In essence."
"We've yet to find out what "hobbies" Present and Future hold and whom they'll challenge. I believe it won't be long before we hear from the again." Isaac cancelled his Greiga form and returned to normal.
"O. K. Let's go back home. I want to keep reading the book. Oh! Now that I think about it…" Nelaus called out.
"Yeah? Oh. The book reservation, you mean? Don't worry: they just confirmed they received it from the bookstore. You can go pick it up anytime now." Isaac reported.
"Good! I guess I'll spend the summer reading about this period of the Star Wars history: it looks like it'll be an action-packed adventure!"
"Book Man strikes back."
"So! Swordsman. Did you defeat the Hellish Demon?"
"Yamato Man next. Guess that. Maybe you'd fared better?"
"Hmpf. Guess that."
Yamato Man's 3D image appeared there but Nelaus merely directed a dull look at him.
"Hear me out, Nelaus Rainon. The Court of Owls has sentenced you to… struggle!" Bapgei's voice rang out.
"Darth Bapgei. Are you really a foreigner or do you pretend to?" He tried asking.
"Who knows the answer, my rival?" He sneered.
"Dunno. Tell Golden Man to dig for it in California."
"What! Degrading me, Cosmo…!" Cosmo Man began to growl from the other end of the line.
"Shut up. I didn't give you permission to speak." Freeze Man ordered.
"R-roger, sir. B-but it's an affront to…!"
"Do I need to repeat myself? Are you trying to ANGER me?"
"N-no, sir. I am not, sir! I am above those…!"
"Don't think you're above anything or anyone. End of the tale. Go cleanse the cache data before it accumulates." Freeze Man grumbled.
"R-roger, sir…! Sheesh! I'll remember this one, you mice!"
"I see you're eager for punishment, then."
There was a sound and Freeze Man grumbled while Yamato Man looked elsewhere as if he wasn't in a position to argue back.
"That's enough! Yamato Man! Come back before my mood worsens!"
"Y-yes, sir! Consider yourselves fortunate!"
"Sure. Wanna blame someone, blame Anaya and her random moods."
"More random than random encounters in videogames, too."
16:51 PM (Japan Time)…
"… I shall not offer any excuses."
"It doesn't matter: you performed well enough."
Past was using the Link PET to talk with "Priest" while standing in the midst of a forest somewhere with the bike's engine shut off.
"What are my orders, My Master?" He asked.
"I'll contact you later on: work on improving the armor."
"Roger."
Past sighed and placed the Link PET on its arm strap before taking off the helmet: he had brown messy hair and blue eyes.
He didn't look older than sixteen years old.
"Sorry, Rainon – kun. Even if we just know each other from sight by crossing paths at the school… I've already been told to pick you as my rival by my Master. It'll be interesting. I, Arushi Masuko, 3-B student, will fight you again with all I have and without hard feelings." He grinned.
"Well said, aibou!" Balrog congratulated.
"Is the recovery proceeding?" Arushi asked.
"Yeah! 30% per complete… That guy was fun to fight: and if he comes with a new strategy next time around then I'll gladly take 'im on twice!"
"Don't mess with that Fire Man guy: he's outside our off-duty sphere of influence and we can't take him on sans permission from Priest – sama: but you can send proxies to stir the guy up." Arushi warned.
"Wroh, hoh, hoh, hoh! It'd seem a hot week is ahead of us two, aibou!"
"I'll be counting on you. Let's go back." Arushi made an evil grin.
He put the helmet on and ignited the bike to then head towards the city as he chuckled under his breath.
The real battle is yet to begin! Until that day… Play with your Wii consoles!
17:21 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Really… I'd never guessed you like this, Netto."
"I already told you I wanted some spicing up, so…"
Netto was laying face-up on a bed and had some gear on his naked body: there was a thin black leather band set around his neck with a small metallic ring.
There were another two interconnected bands of adjustable bands which passed over his shoulders, ran down his sides and circled around his hips, almost scratching his member.
A small circle had been set on the base of his cock with three bands circling around the whole of his sack.
He also had some metallic pieces set on his forearms which were currently locked together and held by a chain above his head: the chain was connected to the iron railings of the bed.
The ankles also had two small collar-like pieces on them interlinked by a chain thus keeping Netto's legs fully open.
Enzan was thrusting his cock inside of Netto's insides while grabbing both sides of his body: he looked like he was enjoying this while Netto was calm.
"This is just a game, after all. If I think of it like that then it ain't difficult for me to cope with."
"Sorry if I have these weird manias, but… That thing makes your look hornier to me." Enzan apologized.
"I don't mind if you and Laika think this makes me hornier. It's a game between friends. You gave me the choice to refuse it but I went along anyway, so…"
"And the way you can keep a straight face while I'm playing with you: that's what makes me like you further."
"Heh! Four years into this stuff have taught me well. After the whole "24 hour marathon" deal 4 years ago… The seeds were planted on me."
"Sure."
He made his hands slide down the sides of Netto's body and he then used his thumb fingers to rub Netto's nipples: Netto grinned at Enzan and looked amused.
"Go ahead. Try to make me moan."
"I never back from any challenges." Enzan grinned.
"What did you think of Nelaus' battle?"
"Cool. Now we know another way to turn the tide around."
He used the index finger next along with the thumb to tease Netto's nipples to then close the index and middle finger around each nipple's side and gently pull it up; Enzan began to sweat as he tried using the ring finger and the pinky next: Netto hummed the Star Wars tune as if challenging Enzan to try harder: Enzan began to use his wrists next but had no visible effect either.
"By all the… What does it take to excite you?" Enzan cursed.
"Dunno. Ask a seer!"
He closed his right hand's fingers around Netto's cock head and slowly turned it around while he used the left one to grip Netto's balls: he did gasp and looked excited at this new form of teasing: Enzan grinned and picked up an ice cube from a metal container which was filled with water to cool Coca-Cola cans: he rubbed it against Netto's nipples and they turned hard: Netto began to moan and Enzan increased his pace of thrusting in and out of the brunette's boy's insides as he rubbed his cock at a quick speed: Netto cried as he released and Enzan overfilled his insides as well.
"Whoa!"
He then collapsed on Netto's torso and panted from the effort as he felt the liquid sliding down his cock and Netto's cock staining his lower body: Netto was panting and seemingly recovering from the sudden effort while Enzan chuckled.
"I win."
"Yeah… I owe you a Coca – Cola." Netto admitted.
He moved forward and rubbed his cock to get it hard: Netto calmly opened closed his eyes and opened his mouth: Enzan stuffed his cock inside of it: he then gripped Netto's head from behind with both hands and began to set a pace: he started at a low speed but eventually increased it.
"I'm going off." He whispered.
He grinned as he released and overfilled Netto's mouth with his white liquid: he looked on how it slid down his chin and dropped into his upper chest area: Enzan took it out and positioned himself to be able to kiss Netto while rubbing his cock against his: Enzan put some more effort into it and both of them released at the same time: they broke the kiss apart and looked at the white string of saliva connecting them.
"So. The white string of fate, eh? Guess we're destined to have some fate together, Mr. Fantasy Cliché would say." Netto joked.
"Yeah. Let's clean up."
They licked each other's stains off before going in for a new kiss and soon breaking apart: Enzan unlocked the forearms and removed the chain on the ankles so Netto calmly sat up, removed the pieces on the forearms, and rubbed them while humming a tune: Enzan picked some tissues and cleansed his stains while Netto also did the same as he removed the rest of the gear and stored it on a small suitcase.
"So?"
"Well… I'll admit that I wasn't ready for that teasing you came up with, Enzan. But you know Dragon – san's proverb: "fool me once, you're to shame. Fool me twice, I'm to shame": no-one gets fooled twice. Same trick won't work forever!"
"Sure thing. Let's dress back." Enzan blinked him an eye.
"Roger, Vice President – sama!"
"Jeez. Stop calling me like that, Netto!"
"Too bad. I feel like it." He grinned.
"Lovely."
"So? Did Dr. Lartes complain about your newest diet?" Netto tried guessing.
"Sure did. Too many grease and fats…" Enzan admitted.
"By the way: do you know what UHF means, VP – sama~?" He suddenly asked.
"UHF? Rings a bell somewhere… Eh… Isn't that a musical group?" He frowned and tried to recall.
"Nope. That's U2."
"I give up."
"Ultra High Frequency! A segment of the EM spectrum in which most TV channels are emitted, see… It ranges from 470 to about 870 MHz, you see~! Surprised?"
"Jeez. I knew I was forgetting that but then again I don't need to know that to do my work, Netto."
"My bad. I just wanted to test ya."
They began to dress up and finished: Enzan stored the suitcase in the closet and locked it up with a key while humming a tune.
"OK. Let's go."
"OK, VP – sama~!"
"And then you said you hated trolls…"
"Hey. Once is once. It's not like I do it every day, do I?"
"Huff. You're right. It's just that Shadow Man drives me up the walls."
"Oh, that I'll admit as well."
18:02 PM (Japan Time)…
"… How was it like, Netto - kun?"
"Oh. You know Enzan, niisan. He had new tricks to actually break my poker face when he pulled out two Jokers outta his sleeves."
"I get it: Ijuuin had a Walter PPK7 under the table!"
"Come on!"
Netto and Saito were chatting as they made their way back home: Netto was blinking Saito the right eye thus making him look amused: Sigma came up with a joke and, as usual, Blood Shadow found it to be out of context as evidenced by his dry reply.
"Blood! You're drier than the Sahara."
"And you could make the guys running Unbelievable Truth run for their pounds since you have more skill when it comes to "smuggling" truths past a sea of lies and exaggerations." Blood Shadow calmly replied.
"Good idea!"
"Knowing Sigma, he'll have scared half of them out just by showing up there. They'll think a demon's come from the Vortex World!"
"Hey, niisan… Hope you're planning on doing that!"
"Saito – kun! Please don't give the guy ideas."
"Sure. I'll give him a billion blistering barnacles instead." Saito giggled.
"No good, no good…!"
"Niisan can get weird from time to time." Netto muttered.
"Nope! I get innovative." Saito replied.
"The Eternal Frustration strikes back!" Sigma laughed.
"Sure, sure. Now go patrol and leave us alone." Blood Shadow grumbled.
Oh well. He'll eventually go back to normal. We should train, too!