Chapter 8: Puppeteer's Debut
08:26 AM (Japan Time), Friday June the 17th…
"I know I've heard about this somewhere before… If only I could remember where and when…"
"What are you doing, Regal?"
Dr. Regal turned his revolving chair around to see Dr. Wily walking into the room; it looked like a small office inside of the Science Labs.
"Ah. Father. Well… I'm convinced that the "Annihilator Chip" isn't named like that out of coincidence. And I'm sure someone mentioned something similar to me time ago… I know perfectly that "Annihilation" is also the process in which matter and antimatter destroy each other upon contact generating an energy release equivalent to their mass… Yet… It's bugging me for some reason or another." He admitted.
"This could be a lead to their leadership, you mean to say?" He rubbed his moustache.
"I'm highly convinced of it. How is it, Laser Man? Have you found any references by looking up any travels or meetings I did before starting Nebula up?" Dr Regal asked his black Link PET.
Laser Man projected with the hologram and bowed before resuming his earlier standing pose.
"I have just checked the year 2003, Dr. Regal – sama. There was nothing which had to do with physics, energy or related concepts. Should I try 2004 next?" Laser Man asked.
"Try it. I'm sure we're getting closer." Dr. Regal ordered.
Laser Man returned to work while Dr. Regal brought the right hand to his forehead to swipe off sweat;: he was nervous and impatient, for once.
"When was it…? Where…?" He muttered.
Alarms suddenly rang out across the complex and a graphic showed up on Dr. Regal's PC screen.
"A Level 1 breach…? Laser Man! Report!" He gasped.
"Dr. Regal – sama. A large number of Viruses have made it inside of the Science Labs by overwhelming the firewall: they sent so many packages at it that it was unable to process all of them and some slipped by the open ports… They came from multiple channels: TCP/IP, SSH, POP3, STMP, DNS, UDP… There must be closed to a hundred of them: a distinctive signature has also been picked up and it's quickly moving towards Level 2." Laser Man calmly reported.
"Curses! And most of the Net Saviors aren't her today, for once, since they're busy elsewhere… Who could help us fight back?" Dr. Wily cursed.
"I'll do." Detective Misaki rushed in.
"Oh. Detective Misaki…" Dr. Regal recognized him.
"Plug In! Prism Man, Transmission!"
"Laser Man. Can you pick up the spot with the higher Virus concentration rate?" Prism Man asked.
"Analyzing… It'd seem the new "maze" is keeping most of them trapped between Level 1 and Level 2. We should head there: I know my way through it." Laser Man reported.
"Let's go!"
Both Navis ran forward and soon found a horde of Viruses blocking their way just short of a large maze-like formation.
"Cross Laser!"
"Hrah!"
Laser Man shot a cross-shaped laser blast which bounced off a Mettool and deleted several Viruses: Prism Man jumped around easily and hit the Viruses with his attached lances.
"It'd seem most of the Viruses have stopped coming and are turning back: they must have enough with these to distract us while they head further inside the system." Laser Man reported.
"Z – Saber!"
A figure cut through the air in a blur and sliced several Viruses on its wake: Zero landed on the ground and began to attack some more of the Viruses at a mad speed.
"I come to have my monthly check-up and a ruckus shows up… What promising summer campaign!"
"Star Breaker Laser!"
"Prism Cannon!"
"Z – Saber!"
The combined firepower overwhelmed the Viruses but the three of them wasted no time running into the maze: a red light scanned them and then turned green as if to confirm they weren't intruders.
"Where is the boss?" Zero asked.
"… Current location: 50 meters NNW of the exit. We can make shortcuts to get to him." Laser Man replied.
"I guess it must be that "Puppeteer" guy who claimed he was going to make his debut." Prism Man deduced.
"Go!" Misaki commanded.
The three of them moved while the walls lowered and they deleted all Viruses roaming around the maze's countless corridors: they soon heard an explosion sound followed by another and someone walking at a quick pace towards another section.
"What?"
"Damn! The distinctive signature has broken into Level 2: he carries some sort of scrambler which stops sensors from working. I can't get imagery on the intruder!" Meijin cursed over the radio.
"We'll go on ahead! Laser Man! Cover us."
"Hmpf. Let's make it show its Halloween hide."
"Heh. That's not a bad joke." Dr. Wily grinned.
"Maybe." Dr. Regal drily replied.
"Come…" A hollow chuckle rang out from the destroyed gateway.
"I knew it: "Puppeteer" is there." Zero muttered.
"Let's fight it!" Prism Man rallied.
They ran into the Level 2 vertical shaft and looked up and down: there were no Viruses yet the air was eerily silent.
"How does it feel? This is nothingness: there's not even sound. Like in outer space, too, but… This is the result of annihilation: there's no even light or sound. Is that ominous sensation crawling into your bodies, Net Navis?" "Puppeteer" announced from somewhere: his voice echoed and seemed to come out of everywhere.
"…"Puppeteer"..." Both muttered.
"That nickname is going to become outdated today… You shall realize the mightiness of Rama!" He challenged.
"Show your hide." Zero challenged next.
A figure jumped down from the topmost platform and landed in another across the shaft: it was surrounded by a strange distortion which only allowed one to see the outer shape and the body was invisible.
"Behold!"
The Navi's face was colored in a teal brown color and his eyes' irises were a mix of purple and black: he had a smug smile on his face.
His helmet's forehead had an eight-pointed black and white jewel set on it: three purple stripes travelled from behind to the front.
The Navi was colored white with some black spiral patterns travelling up the arms and legs.
He had two gun-like objects colored black and white respectively and connected to something on his back by thick tubes.
His hands had purple octahedron-shaped patterns on top of them.
His feet's fingers ended in claw-like extensions.
His emblem was the already seen "annihilation" logo.
He seemed to be close to two meters tall.
"My name is Annihilator Man! I obey the will of Priest – sama: the Lord who leads us!" He announced.
"Annihilator Man…!" Both gasped.
"As you can see… I'm designed to handle both matter and antimatter! And you know the result of both of them colliding… Annihilation! Thus I can draw energy from that process and easily delete any object in the proportion equivalent to the mass and power of my attacks! One of these hits could easily take out any Navi…" He explained.
"What!" Everyone gasped.
"You shall regret standing in the way of Rama: Net Saviors! The Godly Punishment is descending upon this Land: annihilation! Then all weak ones shall be ruled by we and the Cyber World will be ours to fully control…!"
"What in the…" Misaki cursed.
"You lowlifes can't do anything about it: our predecessors bless us! We are continuing what they started: and with their backing, nothing can stop us!" Annihilator Man proclaimed.
"Predecessors… You mean Nebula?"
Laser Man walked into the area and Annihilator Man frowned: he suddenly gasped and stepped back, apparently taken aback.
"La – Laser Man? Impossible! You were deleted over four years ago by Darkloid Shirakami!" He gasped.
"I was undercover on my own until October: I was found out and I was given the chance to atone for our committed sins."
"Correct. You're somewhat outdated. I came out of prison about 2 years ago but until a year ago I've been somewhat bothersome because I was being smug and all. Father helped me see things otherwise. After all, what I did with Nebula was a result of his brainwashing experiments to fuel ambition into me." Dr. Regal admitted.
"D-Dr. Regal – dono…!" Annihilator Man gasped.
"I knew it: I've met your master somewhere before. I'll soon have it narrowed down." Dr. Regal muttered.
"T-this can't be…! Then…! What we're doing… Is meaningless? No! There's no such thing…!" He gasped.
"I see: you guys go by the name of "Rama" but that's because you didn't want to make it obvious by naming yourselves "Neo Nebula": you wanted to really continue what they started." Zero deduced.
"Nevertheless! I'll prove my power to you! See! Annihilator Beam!"
Both shoulder-mounted cannons hummed and began to produce white-colored and black-colored energy for a few seconds.
Annihilator Man then brought his hands up and focused the particles there: they began to destroy each other and give way to an irregular sphere of white/grayish coloring: a small set of concentric rings formed around it as if to enclose it and left only one opening.
"It can't be…!" Laser Man gasped.
A focused beam which robbed the sphere of some of its mass hit a wall and there was a white flash which blinded the whole area for a few seconds followed by a shockwave of heat and energy.
The chunk of the wall had been neatly deleted and the borders around it became raw data blocks: the edges were sharply ended and there was no blunt mark or hit like in normal attacks.
"See?" He taunted.
"I-it really acts like antimatter…!"
"Impossible!"
"That sphere is annihilation energy kept under control by magnetic fields…!" Laser Man gasped.
"Such mastery of it…! I can't be mistaken: this is derived from my own super energy research…!" Dr. Regal gasped in horror.
"But of course, Dr. Regal – dono. However… When battling Navis, I am only allowed to use either "Light" or "Dark"… They imitate matter and anti matter, but they can be shot like normal weapons, too. It would be unfair to delete a worthy opponent in one shot: "Light" brings upon heat and blinding yet "Dark" brinks coldness and blackness. Is that fair enough?"
"Phew." Everyone sighed in relief.
"It'd seem you'd preferred a Star Destroyer instead of me. Be careful of what you wish for, least it become a reality!"
"How should we proceed?" Prism Man asked Zero in a whisper.
"I'll be bait: it'd seem he draws the energy from some kind of tanks on his back… Sever the wires: aim for them." Zero whispered back.
"Roger." Laser Man acknowledged.
"Whatever you plot is futile! Energy Bombs!"
Annihilator Man charged up pale green-colored energy on his hands' palms and shot it towards the Net Navis: they caused normal explosions and acted just like ballistic bombs upon hitting the ground: Zero quickly jumped ahead while backed by Laser Man.
"Go. Prism Man." Misaki whispered.
Prism Man made it look like another bomb's explosion pushed him off the platform while Laser Man shot thin lasers from his hands' palms and Zero battled at close-quarters with Annihilator Man: he brought up two white-colored Long Swords and blocked Zero while he easily displaced his mass to dodge Laser Man's attacks.
"Is that all?" He taunted.
"Put up a good show, fellow. Zoan Gate Man says so."
"This one…! And Zoan Gate Man came to see too." Laser Man acted along.
"I can handle you guys easily without resorting to either "Light" or "Dark" attacks. And let them watch!"
Prism Man silently showed up behind him and spotted two small oxygen tank-like objects attached to Annihilator Man's back and connected to the cannons by thick plastic tubes: he drew his lances and quickly cut them before dropping a Count Bomb behind Annihilator Man's feet: the guy didn't seem to notice anything given how his attention was in keeping the other Navis at bay.
"Crap." Zero grumbled.
He jumped away as if he was trying to go for another strategy: the Count Bomb exploded the platform lost structural integrity so Annihilator Man quickly fell into another and hit his face with the ground: he groaned and carefully stood up as the other three landed in front of him.
"Damn. You tricked me!" He cursed.
"Yeah. We're fond of cheat codes."
"I'd rather say we like using glitches to our benefit." Misaki added.
"Give it up." Laser Man challenged.
"Sheesh."
Annihilator Man seemingly tried to turn the cannons on but did nothing: he gasped and realized about the cut wires.
"Damn. I forgot to shield by back. Energy Rounds!" He grumbled.
He held his palms up and shot some small rounds of energy towards the trio: Zero used his sword to bounce them off as if he was playing ping-pong or tennis while the other two stood there without doing anything.
"Impossible…! The most powerful Navi in Rama and… I'm being made a fool of by three guys…!"
"I guess you don't know what "experience" means. You remind me of that Plasma Man moron and his useless pals. Who never bothered to really learn the lesson…"
"Damn it. I got over-confident!" He grumbled.
Some metallic sounds began to ring out at intermittent or continuous intervals: Annihilator Man gasped and stopped while seemingly paying attention to the sounds.
"Morse code! "E – N – O – U – G – H – C – O – M – E – B – A – C – K"… "Juubun da. Modore."… It'd seem your boss thinks you haven't done a neat enough job." Zero taunted.
"Hell. I'll remember this!"
Annihilator Man snapped his right hand's fingers and a VPN tunnel opened behind him: he jumped inside and it closed
"Annihilator Man…! His true power is terrific." Yuuichirou grimly muttered.
"Just where did I meet his master…?" Dr. Regal muttered.
"In the Imperial Palace of Coruscant, where all ambitions and greed and lust gather at…!" Twilight's voice sneered.
"How original." Yuuichirou was far from impressed.
"How the mighty have fallen! Wily! Regal!" He taunted.
"Speak for yourself. Always playing cat and mice as if you were a child who only thinks of running around." Wily dully shot back.
"GRRRRR! These are the orders given to me by the mighty IQ – sama! Orders are orders! If Their Graces wishes for it, so be it!" He grumbled.
"Beware. Cloud Man is about to short-circuit the fridge." Zero taunted.
"WHAT? CLOUD MAN! MORON! MUTANT! IMBECILE! BRAINLESS!"
"The speakers have been deleted. About time." Prism Man fumed.
"Hmpf. Is that the best he can do? Pathetic." Yuuichirou fumed.
09:01 AM (Japan Time)…
"… My Master: I shall not present any excuses. I failed my mission and I made a fool of myself. I deserve punishment."
"… Cool it down, Annihilator Man… You're starting to sound like you were imitating Present…"
Annihilator Man was crouching inside of one hologram-projecting capsule similar to those that Nebula had used; it was placed inside of a largely unlit room and facing a black armchair shrouded in blackness: a figure could be barely made out sitting on it.
"But… My Master. We Rama are serious: failure should be punished to make agents afraid of it and more committed to comply with their missions, sir!" He argued.
"It's not like you're mere grunts who do it out of money… So quit that attitude: we were too over-confident. We'll calmly look back and check what went wrong so that we improve. I said it before: we learn from our mistakes. And we're pals: you're not my servant. We've argued this for a long time already." Priest calmy told him.
"Ah! Priest – sama… That's…"
"I know: I wasn't aware of what happened to Dr. Regal – sama. And he'll most likely narrow down on my ID, but… He won't be able to find me just like that. Let's finish working on Strategy Dummy."
Annihilator Man bowed and warped out of the capsule: it shut down and descended while Priest sighed and muttered something.
"Dr. Regal – sama… You had your motives, sir, for doing such actions in the present, but… I've come too far. I can't stop this. Only you might be able to, but… I won't give it up so easily… Father…" He muttered.
"I checked security but insofar Twilight's spies haven't found us yet."
"Good. I did come up with scrambling signals to confuse them, after all."
"Yes, sir. I will review the data, and next time… We shall prevail!"