Chapter 29: Pathways
12:38 AM (Japan Time), Thursday July the 6th…
"… You came. Good. I will begin my explanations."
"Understood, sir."
Past, Present and Future were kneeling in front of the LCD screen and seemingly awaiting orders.
"It's a hard thing to do, but… Our "campaign" has ended. It was never intended to last for long, either. But our organization won't go away: we will simply stay low."
"Pressure, sir?" Past asked.
"… More or less. But I knew from the start that I wouldn't be able to keep Rama around forever. It was intended to be a cover, a hideout, so that I could try to complete some research of my own. All will be over by tomorrow."
"… It must be a hard decision to make, but… Circumstances must've forced it." Present muttered.
"Yeah. However, I'll leave you guys some resources which, if used wisely, can help you. One piece of advice, Present: try to cut it out with those mass beheadings." Priest warned.
"As you command, sir."
"Future: you did a good job repairing those second-hand bikes. I'm sure you'll do fine." Priest told him.
"Thank you, Danna – sama."
"Past: stay here for some minutes. I need to talk directly with you because your circumstances are different from the others'." Priest commanded.
"Yes, sir. By your orders, sir."
"You can also meet up whenever you want: you don't need to break apart or anything like that."
"We understand, sir."
"Good, good. Present. Future. You two can go: Past will stay to talk with me." Priest told them.
"Good luck, sir!" Both saluted.
"Thank you."
"Later." Past told the other.
"We will meet again."
"Come enjoy some takoyaki one day, Danna."
"Make sure to burn a lot of cheap guys!" Destruction Man laughed.
"Heh. Gladly…" Balrog replied.
"Hmpf. I will do what I am told to do." Axe Man shrugged.
Both Present and Future headed out of the room while Past turned to face the screen again.
"Past. I know I recruited you before Rama came to begin and trained you to be a field agent who could go and deliver fatal blows to creeps, so you must be finding it hard to cope with the idea that you won't be backed up by me anymore." Priest sighed.
"Yes, sir… It was thanks to you, sir. I was able to repress my cruel memories and move on forward as a shadow which was always roaming around. And I've been in contact with you often too, sir." Past confirmed.
"I've arranged for something: you will be able to keep on being a "bounty hunter" with support from the "Committee": they will let you be an independent collaborator. They won't ask questions or inquire your identity either." Priest announced.
"I see. Thank you very much, sir."
"Now go. And always look forward." Priest commanded.
"Roger, sir!"
Anderson looked on through another LCD screen how Past walked out of the room and sighed.
"They will do fine." He muttered.
"Anderson – sama? What is the next step, sir?" Annihilator Man asked.
"Wait for tomorrow: Rock Man will come."
"As you command, sir."
"By the way… Did you manage to find good quality videos of Halo 3 on YouTube?" Anderson asked.
"Yes, sir! There's a HD-quality playlist, sir, which I already stored in the "Favorites" section for reference and quick access."
"Good. I'll have a look at them later. Check the physical and Cyber World security: I wouldn't be surprised if Dark Land was about to attempt something desperate." Anderson ordered.
Anderson stepped down from the chair and picked a field detector: he began to swipe it around the room and no signal was emitted: he checked every nook and cranny but there was no response, either.
"Good. I'm not bugged anymore and there aren't any hidden cameras. I should try to check every a few hours just in case. Those idiots most likely don't know when to quit pestering people." He muttered.
He deposited the detector in top of a desk and quickly picked IR goggles: he switched off the lights and checked the room with them.
"Nothing, either. Good. Let's have fun!"
He took them off and turned the lights again as he headed for the throne, climbed on it, and used the holographic screen to access YouTube.
"I am back, sir. I found nothing outstanding. Given how Twilight's men are fighting each other, they're not coordinates to spy on anyone."
"Hah! Serves the vermin well, by Jove! Let them kill each other!"
"Truly, sir. But I'm afraid it won't go so easily, sir…"
19:08 PM (Japan Time)…
"… That's gotta be the place, then!"
Zero was lurking close to a Cyber World Store's entrance: it was a round building without windows and painted purple: the banner above its entrance read "LONG TAILS"; the building seemed to give out a creepy feeling.
"Hmmm… Who cares? I'll just butt in." Zero muttered.
He headed towards the doors and kicked them to force them open: he ran inside of a round hall which was transited by many Navis: there were sofas and cushions for them to seat and most were looking at small holographic screens: the atmosphere was illuminated with gas lamps hanging from the ceiling and gave it a weird atmosphere.
"Nobody move. Net Police." Zero announced.
The Navis quickly switched off their screens and scrambled in all directions: one of two doors at the end of the round room opened and Witch came out while looking annoyed.
"What's this scandal…? Zero!" She gasped.
"You know about me, then. It'll save me the P.A."
"H-how did you know I was working here?" She demanded.
"Easy. Types like you always seek a hideout in an already established club: I only had to check some lists to see the profiles and the date of hiring: thus I narrowed it down knowing you and your Operator's height. I'm somewhat of a detective, too. And those "customers" will find a welcome reception on the outside, too." Zero explained.
"Why, you…! Prophethess – sama! Please unlock my battle capabilities!"
"Yeah. I'm on it… Done." Kazuhira replied.
"Come!" Zero challenged.
"Poison Spell!"
"Z – Saber!"
Witch's staff spheroid glowed with purple light and a purple circle was drawn into the ground as she jumped out of it: Poison Panels filled the circle but Zero was simply hovering over them and rushing towards her: she scoffed and drew a scimitar to block him.
"I can hover." Zero announced.
"Jeez. Witch's Barrier!"
"What?"
The purple barrier formed around her and attacked Zero with electricity: he lowered his guard and Witch delivered an attack using the scimitar before pushing him back by kicking his chest.
"Huff, huff… 220 HP of damage to start with… 10% of my total HP… I don't care: I've got more tricks up my sleeves." Zero muttered.
"Ice Spear Spell!"
Several Ice Spears formed around the room and Zero quickly hovered around them to dodge: he then swung his Z – Saber up, down, left and right to shoot out four energy slices which circled and headed for Witch.
"Battle Chip, Ojiouzan! Slot In!" Kazuhira announced.
Witch jumped out of the way and the four attacks hit the statue: four thunderbolts fell down and hit Zero, who growled something.
"Damn. Another 220 HP lost… 440 HP lost and I haven't gotten any closer to harming any of her 3200 HP…! I gotta get serious. Hra~h!"
Zero built up energy on his left hand and shot a stream of energy towards the ceiling: some of it broke and the fragments rained down on Witch: she lowered her guard and Zero quickly delivered a quick attack to her stomach area.
"Shit. 240 HP combined with the debris… Bothersome meddling guy!"
"Bite me." Zero taunted.
"Damn it! Crow Spell!"
Crow-shaped Viruses formed and began to dive towards Zero: he cut through the horde but some of them did get to peck him: he rolled across the ground and shot more energy slices to deal with them: he suddenly felt a cut on his back made by Witch's scimitar.
"280 HP, you lose this time. 720 HP lost. How's this?" She taunted.
"Hmpf. I don't care."
"Hah! Then die." She shot back.
"Battle Chip, Bug Bomb! Slot In!"
Zero quickly sliced the Bug Bomb in four using his energy slices and then tried to tie an attack only: he met up with the Witch's Barrier and he was repelled.
"260 HP! 980 lost and I'm this fresh. Tee, heh, heh."
"Earth Change!"
Zero pressed his left hand into the ground and circuitry-like energy patterns spread from there: they blocked off the hole in the ceiling and all doors thus trapping them inside of the building: Zero also dashed forward and left a trail of "afterimages" on his wake: Witch gasped and tried to spot which on was the real one but Zero managed to attack her from behind and she growled.
"Hum. 250, 490 HP lost for me… Bah. You have two times that amount, anyway. I'm in advantage."
"I wonder about that." Zero calmly replied.
"What?"
Zero built up energy on his Z – Saber and stabbed the ground with it: the area shook and Witch tried to keep her balance: Zero used the chance to come closer but she drew the scimitar and attacked his upper torso: Zero backed up and then warped to reappear hovering next to the sealed ceiling hole.
"Thunder Spell!" Witch exclaimed.
A thunder fell down from above and hit Zero: a cloud of smoke ensued and four shuriken rained down from behind Witch: she got hit and growled something as Zero reappeared opposite of where he'd been standing at.
"Heck. 200 HP… 690… But I keep on being above ya."
"Witch. Cool it or we're gonna step into a trap." Kazuhira warned.
"Roger. Defense Spell!"
Her bodysuit color switched to navy blue together with a faint navy blue glow around her body: she then made her spheroid change to white and built up energy.
"Beam Spell!"
She shot a white-colored beam at Zero and suddenly dropped into the ground: the beam bounced off the sealing in the ceiling and hit Witch: she cursed and Zero added a kick to her lower jaw only to get a deep cut on his left wrist: he growled and backed up.
"Hmpf. My Defense Spell cuts the damage by 50%, so… I only received 180 HP of damage. 870 for me… And I did inflict 90 to ya, so… 1070 HP lost for ya, then." She shrugged.
"Bring it on." Zero challenged.
"Gladly! Rotator Attack!"
"Straw Doll."
Witch shot a circle of energy with a hollow center section (like a donut) towards Zero, but he brought out the Straw Doll and the attack hit it instead: Witch was delivered counter damage but she didn't seem to care.
"250 HP for me… 1020 HP… I'm losing advantage. But this can still take quite a while" She shrugged.
"Battle Chip, Super Vulcan! Slot In!"
"Super Vulcan!"
The rounds began to head for Zero but he merely bounced each of them with his sword to head for the ceiling and bounce them back at Witch who didn't care.
"100 HP… 1120 HP… This is starting to get tedious, even. Prophetess – sama: did you manage to escape?" Witch whispered over the radio.
"Yeah. I'm at a safe distance from there and no-one is following me: and since I'm about to merge with a large avenue's traffic... Then they'll have it hard to track me amongst so many bikers."
"Good. Attack Spell!"
Her colors switched to blood red and she formed a smug smile as her scimitar changed into a katana: she then aimed it at the ceiling and energy began to travel up its blade from the hilt: the katana had a faint black glow to it now.
"Hades' Strike!"
She swung her sword towards the ground in a 160º angle: a large black-colored slice of energy headed towards Zero while tearing across the ground: Zero tried to warp but the slice warped in tow and hit him from behind causing an explosion.
"That's 750 for ya! 1840 HP of total damage!" She called out.
"Is that so?" He calmly replied.
Witch gasped as the smoke cleared: the whole of the energy was trapped inside of a sphere and looking about to break out at any moment.
"I got inspired by Annihilator Man: magnetic fields to contain energy. Have it back." He announced.
"T-then…! You didn't get damaged?" She gasped.
"No. I'm still at 1090 HP lost. Catch."
"No way~!"
He released the energy and it hit Witch thus causing an explosion: she hissed and cursed as she tried to cleanse some burns on her body.
"1870 of total damage for you, Witch." Zero listed.
"Damn it. I shouldn't have changed styles. Heal Spell!"
Red sparkles of light rained down around her and she sighed in relief while Zero grumbled.
"Heh. I cut down 25% the damage, so… I reduced my damage to 1402 HP total out of 3200… And I'm not going to switch out of Defense Spell anymore! Defense Spell!"
"This is turning eternal." Zero grumbled.
"Yeah. As eternal as the Naraku…" She made a scary grin.
"Hmpf. I'm going all out. Program Advance! Sword, Wide Sword, Long Sword! Dream Sword!"
"Futile! Hades' Strike: it will imitate the total damage of the incoming attack and grant it to the opponent! I copied that from Destruction Man's sensors!" She announced.
Her attack and Zero's Dream Sword collided mid-way: but Zero suddenly swung his sword arm backwards to "reel" both attack and have them spiral around his sword: he shot them forward as a mix of both and tore through the Witch's Barrie thus hitting her fully.
"Gotcha." Zero chuckled.
"Grah… Huff… 500… 1902… But this is far from over! I will make this last forever at this rate! And learn something! Even if you stop us… Others will take our places. It's the way of the world! Twilight – sama will see to it: that I promise you!" Witch laughed in a hysterical manner.
"That laughter makes my audio input systems protest." Zero muttered.
"Hades' Strike!"
"Hi Cannon, Triple Slot In! Giga Cannon!"
Zero used his own Giga Cannon to 'reel' the unstable mix in and shot it at Witch who didn't seem to care about it.
"Another 500… 2402… I can do it!" Zero muttered.
"Muramasa's Double Mode!" Witch announced.
"What?" Zero gasped.
She suddenly summoned two Muramasa swords and they headed towards Zero complemented with a new Hades' strike and blue bolts of electricity: Zero suddenly pressed his hand against the ground and blew it thus making him fall into the room below: the four attacks hit the east wall and blew it out to reveal several SWAT Navis waiting outside of the place: Zero's earlier technique sealed this opening, too.
"Damned rascal. He dropped into the basement! Wait!"
Witch dropped down as well and spotted Zero nervously looking around at the vague shapes illuminated by candles.
"What the hell is this? A torture chamber…? This must be the stuff Omega and Vadous are so keen on shutting down!" Zero cursed.
"Yeah… The Naraku! Useless men are reeducated here." Witch proclaimed with an eager smile.
"…"Reeducated"… You sound like a tyrant!" Zero hissed.
"Whatever. A former Virus can't hope to understand the meaning of many things in the human world: die! Hades' Strike!"
"Huh! Program Advance! Battle Chip, Yoyo! Triple Slot In! Yoyo Blade!"
The Yoyo Blade and the Hades' Strike collided and Zero then shot them towards Witch: she, however, tossed what looked like a voodoo doll of Zero in the way: it glowed and the energy hit Zero, inflicting damag.
"Bravo! You just helped me test this thing: it grants 1000 HP of damage to anyone who hits him!" Witch laughed.
"Damn. And why did you have that thing?" Zero demanded.
"I wanted to make voodoo into a real thing! Hades' Strike: V2!"
Witch shot both the vertical strike and a new horizontal one: Zero suddenly brought out two High Guard Battle Chips and made the attacks bounce off to hit Witch: an explosion ensued, followed by a cry of agony and the sound of a logout.
"That did 1000 HP of damage, and she was at 2400 HP: 3400, so I clearly exceeded her max HP. Phew. I managed to end it. All which is left is tracking Kazuhira. But if Twilight's helping them…" Zero muttered.
He cancelled the sealing and the SWAT Navis rushed in: Zero signaled the room.
"The server should be close by: I'm sure there'll be enough stuff for a headlines scandal involving one or two Diet members. And Twilight must be involved too." Zero announced with a shrug.
"Huh… This place gives me the creeps." One SWAT Navi muttered.
"No wonder…" Another muttered.
"I hope they burn this stuff down after the data gathering is over… I don't wanna imagine what went on here." A third muttered.
"Men! Behave. Thanks for the helping hand, Mr. Zero."
"Don't mind it, Captain. I'm off. Good luck."
"Finally found you! Damn you! Now even I got blamed by Twilight – sama of not keeping the fools in check! Were it so easy!" Freeze Man 3D image snarled.
"Hmpf. As expected of a defective second-hand Wily-made product. Bring out your newest toy, and I'll cut it up." He challenged back.
"Hmpf! You might spend a century at it, but businesses like these will never disappear! It's human nature! To rule over others!" He sneered.
"Hmpf. As if that cheap "guilty by association" works on me. Scram."
"Hmpf! Laugh while you can! Once this show is over, we'll be back!"
19:55 PM (Japan Time)…
"… I am sorry, Ilia – chan! I failed!"
"Don't worry: we made sure to cover our trails."
Kazuhira was driving her bike across a traffic-filled avenue while listening to Witch's apologies.
"We're going to keep a low profile. And someone might end up hiring our services again. Like Mr. Twilight." Kazuhira told her.
"Roger. He'll probably contact us with a new destination."
"If they thought this is over then they are very mistaken: as long as there is a demand for this service, someone will end up granting it: such is the 21st century's society! Anything can be turned into a service. They can call it whatever they feel like! I couldn't care less."
"Truly! That feeling of taming foolish pigs… Can't have enough!"
"Maybe we could go to Izu: I heard talks about it being a place with high demand and we could be on-site spotters. My skills are too good to let them rust." Kazuhira suggested.
"Yeah. The great and mighty IQ – sama is surely smiling on us given how we elude everyone and end up taking profits. And one day we will get a very juicy catch, too…!"
"Well. If the rumors are true then she built everything from scratch and took just under five years… Not like I intend to make a recreation of the whole business, anyway. I was just thinking of changing my alias to Flame Princess instead. That would throw off searches!" She laughed.
"Flame Princess? Sounds excellent. Maybe I can use Dark Priestess. That could also help confuse search algorithms." Witch laughed next.
"For now… Let's go to Izu and lay low for some days. Maybe leave some red herrings there and there to divert their attention, too."
"That could work. Leave it up to me. Those idiots will be searching in Jawaii in vain! Or Okinawa, too! Have at you! We're geniuses!"
21:20 PM (Melbourne Time)…
"Miss Flame Princess and Miss Dark Priestess? Why not. IQ – sama said she saw potential on them."
"Excellent, master."
"I'll speak it with Lady HQ and Legion 64 will surely locate them anyway… I leeched their PET too…"
"Like how Dark Bakura snuck a spy into the Millennium Puzzle?"
"Correct, Philip! Good analogy."
Philip and Twilight were talking inside of the living room; Twilight was amused while Philip was unimpressed.
"By the way, Master. Lemme guess… This whole stuff about threatening to cut the others to pieces… That was a farce, right?"
"Hmpf. In part. It's true at first I did really believe Cloud Man was speaking ill of me behind me… But then Lady IQ called me and told me she'd been the one who'd posed as Cloud Man and "leaked" that message… She knew the others would use it to taunt us…"
"Wow. As expected of Lady IQ. Her Grace is 100 steps ahead!"
"Indeed! So Her Grace ordered to pretend that I was blaming all of them for some mistake or another, and they should act like they couldn't stand each other anymore… Since they were eager to find a way to get us to kill each other, they must be feeling like they won!"
"While in truth, it's but a farce to make them feel confident…"
"Exactly! A subtle plan! As expected of Lady IQ! Glory to Lady IQ!"
"OH YEAH! LET ZA BAKURA HIT ZA MARIK!"
"Not bad! I'll approve this one for a change, Cloud Man!"
"Don't praise him, Master!"
"Oh yeah! Chapeau the "Esmirriau" sends his greetings!"
"Who the heck is that?" Philip grumbled.
"Ah! A genius villain: he's short in height but his hat conceals a lot of gadgets for self-defense inside… Makes James Bond be pale in comparison, truly! Chapeau is French for hat and "Esmirriau" is a rhyme on "Escarransido" which means "Shabby". Shabby "Hat"!" Cloud Man explained in a rush.
"Someone help me escape this madness…"
"OH YEAH! LET ZA MADNESS HIT ZA MAD HOUSE!"
"Huff!" The other Darkloids protested.
"That's enough! And watch your tongue. Before I cut it off. And this is no acting!" Twilight turned serious and threatening.
Cloud Man gulped and quickly fled the area while the others sighed in relief; Philip rolled his eyes and stretched.
"Good acting, men! They totally fell for it!" He told them.
"Thank you, Lord Twilight!" They all bowed.
"How does Lady IQ manage to transmit from the prison, though?"
"Easy. Nanomachines and internal transmissions. It's not spoken aloud so even if the wardens keep an eye constantly, it only looks like Her Grace is reading a book and behaving. Same for Mr. Secretary. This way both can coordinate despite being in different buildings." Twilight chuckled.
"Fascinating."
"As for Mr. Jade Panther, I do visit him personally. But his experience allows him to see weaknesses on the wardens and use them to keep their tongues tied up. Since some are accomplices of the gangs who smuggle stuff into the prison, so… He uses that to get goods, too."
"I didn't get to know him, but if you speak so high of him he must be a man with a high intellect as well." Philip grinned.
"Truly! Her Grace's trustee, you see! Wait for me, kyoudai… I'm coming!"