Chapter 3: Nocturnal Violence

11:20 PM (Japan Time), Sunday December the 2nd…

"… Alright. It's almost the time. Let's go over the strategy once again, my disciple! Assassin Shinobi!"

"Roger, my Lord!"

"You'll spawn the copy and rush in. Cause as much noise as possible and lure the Battle Wizards away."

"Count on me."

"Then I barge in, get the schematics, and rush out. Let's meet in the Bermuda Triangle. If I don't come in 10 minutes' time… Return to Taiwan and await further instructions."

"Well. So you're finally being careful, eh, Hyde?"

"You shut up, half-bribed military envoy!"

"Military envoy? That a first. Bravo."

"Save your pointless sarcasm for your Venetian hide!"

"Hey there… I'm from the Mu Continent, ya know…"

"Kuu, kuu, kuu…"

"Don't laugh, ya."

"Assassin! Stay quiet. You'll soon have some drink."

Phantom Black and Shinobi's "Denpa – Henkan" form, Assassin Shinobi, didn't have much of a difference from regular Shinobi: he'd gained a purple cape hanging from behind his shoulders and two metallic shuriken on his shoulders and knees.

His katana sheath was painted purple and black while being decorated with four black dots around it.

The katana itself had a red hilt with no decoration whatsoever: it was very plain.

"The schematics are inside of a vault but it is second-grade material and it won't stand up to my strength. Or I can simply warp inside, too… Heh, heh, heh…" Phantom Black chuckled as he looked at a "Real Wave" screen.

"Hum. So it'd seem." Phantom muttered.

"11:23… Wait another 5 minutes and then get in."

"Roger."

"Kehaii… Chikaii…" Assassin suddenly exclaimed.

"What was that?" Phantom Black asked.

"… "Presence"… "Close by"…"

"Presence? Ah! So they did send some backup Denpa – Henkan user: but it gotta be the meek guys." Shinobi muttered aloud.

"Hmpf! Lure them out as well."

"Leave it to me."

"Hmmm?"

Both looked downwards and saw 2 or 3 silhouettes rush across the outer yard and into the building (cubical, with a few windows, and surrounded by a fence): they seemingly got in because some light from the entrance illuminated the front porch.

"They've just come in. Guess they've thought of that right now. Akatsuki isn't taking any chances!" Phantom Black sneered.

"Guess that."

"Au~h! I'm telling ya guys I'll be fine! Full moon is still a long way ahead of us! And I've had time to recover from the morning brawl! With the claw thief rascal!" Wolf Forest began to yell: his voice could be heard through an opened window.

A couple of hushed voices could be barely picked and Wolf Forest grumbled as he fell silent: Phantom Black looked cocky while Assassin Shinobi rolled his eyes in defeat.

"11:28 PM… Go!"

"Roger!"

Assassin Shinobi jumped from the Wave Road to the roof and landed in a silent manner: he drew his blade and began to mutter something under his breath that sounded like a spell: the blade glowed with a crimson blood-like glow before he drew a circle in the concrete rooftop and cut a way inside: sounds of a scuffle ensued.

"Whoa! Grah! My back! Ugroh! Gra~h!"

"Heh, heh, heh. The sudden attack with 3 bunshin is deadly for those who see it the first time… It could even bring THE Acid Ace down when I got into WAXA's Main Computer four months ago!"

"Yeah. But it was mere luck." Phantom drily muttered.

The sounds of scuffle continued: Wolf Forest was thrown across a closed window and he fell into the yard face-up: his Denpa – Henkan released and both Wolf and Ogami Juurou fainted.

"Heh, heh, heh… One down!"

"Lucky you."

"Shut up!"

"Yes, yes. But don't say I didn't warn ya."

"S-someone save us! It's the apocalypse!" Cygnus Wing yelped.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah. Time to pray~…!" Assassin Shinobi laughed.

"KYA~H!"

"Fly, you bird! Before I roast you up!"

"BURUO~! Bring it on, punk! I won't lose!"

"Fatman's debut, eh? Hoshikawa didn't come steal ya screen-time?" He taunted with a sneer.

"Wha~t? T-this PUNK!"

There were further sounds of a scuffle before Assassin Shinobi leapt out into a Wave Road opposite that where Phantom Black was at: both Cygnus Wing and Ox Fire ensued and chased him until he was out of sight: things got quiet.

"Chance!" Phantom Black sneered.

He jumped inside and found remains of a fight as evidenced by peeled off paint, cracks, mini-craters and such: the Battle Wizards were all beaten down and filled with cuts, some having lost the arms or others having been beheaded.

"Heh, heh, heh. As expected of my disciple…"

He rushed up the stairs and reached the topmost floor: the corridor had signs of a fight that had seemingly progressed to the lower floor: the hole Assassin Shinobi had made was there and close by was the entrance of the main lab.

"Here! Phantom Claw!"

He gripped the armored door and easily crushed into a heap of steel, circuitry and metal: he tossed it out through a window and rushed into the main lab: he spotted the vault door deeper in.

"Heh, heh, heh."

He quickly jumped over the work-desks and reached the vault's door: he did check around before warping inside: the insides contained several data storage devices arranged in rows and columns and having a "Real Wave" screen indicating their contents, the authority level needed to access them and their total size.

"Here it is! "Noise Counter Weapon: Mobile"… "Authorization: Dr. Yoiri, WAXA Japan Branch"… "1.55 GB"… Heh, heh, heh. I'm sure Mr. Baron has already secured the means to access it nevertheless. Let's pick this and be on our way."

He picked the data storage unit and alarms rang out: he shrugged and stored it on a case attached to his waist: the case automatically locked.

"Sorry to cut short your climax… Hyde!"

"What!"

"That's as far as you come!"

"You fell for the plan!"

"Shit! Acid Ace, Harp Note and Rock Man!"

In effect: the 3 of them had suddenly come out of nowhere and were covering his flanks and his back: he turned around and growled.

"We got a tip that you'd be coming here and that there'd be a distraction in the main lab." Acid Ace sneered.

"What? But then…! By all the…!" He suddenly gasped.

"Huh?" The 3 of them wondered.

"Baron…! You lowlife…! You double-crossed me! You told me you'd lured them to the main lab but no…! You wanted them to catch me…! Then this data…!"

"A fake. The research is conducted on the main lab."

"So there was never an insider!"

"Insider? And who's that "Baron"?"

"Night Baron! My employer!"

"So you got hired by that Taiwan millionaire, huh?"

"What! How did you found that out?"

"Your Voltic Eyes…"

"What Voltic Eyes! I don't need use such crude tools!"

"Huh? What does this mean, then? That that "Baron" guy was the one monitoring us?" Harp Note wondered.

"Wait… Could that mean that Hyde is bait for us?" Rock Man gasped as he came up with an idea.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah!" Night Baron's laughter echoed inside of the vault room.

"Night Baron! You triple-crossing archduke wannabe~!"

"Speak for your lowlife, Hyde! You've gotten your head filled with that "Hyde Manor" idiocy by Omega for a year and 3 months!" Night Baron countered with a sneer.

"So you never wanted this stuff!"

"I already got it from the main lab! I've got invisible pets." Night Baron laughed next.

"Invisible pets?"

"Akatsuki! The main lab got raided by invisible opponents! They broke through us and there was no end to them! A baron wannabe showed up too and stole the data on the weapons!" Ryuusuke reported.

"By all the…"

"I'm a genius!"

"I AM a genius!" Phantom Black growled back.

"You? Don't make me laugh, Birkin!"

"I'm not named Birkin!"

"I'm Wesker! And I'm above your pitiful self! I shall become the Demon Tribe Chief that shall rule over the Land! Under the command of the Grand Master!" Night Baron proclaimed.

"Grand Master?" They all wondered.

"Go! My pets!"

Some almost-invisible figures suddenly showed up of nowhere and leapt forward: they used invisible claws to slash through the air and they did get to inflict some wounds to the 4 of them because there was little space to maneuver: they all cursed and warped out into the rooftop but they were met with an ambush of them.

"It'd seem they're wall-climbing and coming from the ground too! Watch out!" Harp Note called out.

"By all the… What are these?"

"Hunters! The hunters become the hunted!"

"Sheesh!"

"Show your hide, you lowlife!" Phantom Black challenged.

"No need to! I'm everywhere! And nowhere! I'm the Nightus Baronus!"

"Sheesh. It doesn't feel so fun when they steal the motto off ya and they use it against ya." War Rock grumbled.

"We'll settle that later! We're trying to survive here, you know! Dynamic Wave! Atomic Blazer!"

"Elemental Cyclone!"

"Meteor Light Barrage!"

"Phantom Slash!"

"Struggle in vain! Soon enough… The Surface shall become the Grand Master's "makai"! It shall grow from beneath the ground and engulf the Surface!" Night Baron exclaimed next.

"I don't like the sound of that. At all." Rock Man grumbled.

"Some shall be granted a place on it! Others will die! And the worthy ones shall become our nutrients!"

"Become nutrients? What are you, cannibals?" Acid Ace growled.

"Hah! I'm too subtle for you lowlifes to catch on."

"Bad news, Akatsuki… The Taiwan thing was a fake: it's true that Hyde and this guy were there but the real owner had been lured out into a hi-class world tour ever since a couple months ago…" Ryuusuke reported.

"What! Then this guy had planned for all of this! Speak clearly: what's your damned goal?" Acid Ace demanded.

"Who knows? Soon, soon enough… The hordes of oni shall rise and raze this pitiful world! To pave the way for the makai to rise!"

"Something tells me this guy MEANS it!" Harp Note fumed.

"So! Hibiki Misora! What will you do?"

"Whaddya mean?"

"Will you use this chance to become nutrient for elite or do you prefer to be nutrient of the common herd?"

"What the hell are you…? Oh crap." She began to demand only to realize mid-sentence across.

"Oh shit." Acid Ace gasped.

"You can't be serious!" Rock Man growled.

"What, what?" Phantom Black frowned.

"You plan on resurrecting the "Secret Empire"!" Rock Man deduced.

"Correct!"

"And the "Grand Master" is "IQ", the former ruler of it! That is, the "Ice Queen"!" Harp Note added.

"Mwah, hah, hah. Detective Akatsuki taught you well!"

"Sheesh." Acid Ace fumed.

"THE "Secret Empire"? Even Dr. Orihime seemed to fear its very name and the power it represented! She was planning on wiping it off using Mu's power!" Phantom Black exclaimed.

"Would've actually done us a favor!" Acid Ace fumed.

"Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh…" Night Baron chuckled.

"What now."

"Have you decided?"

"Neither of those! I'll smash cha and cha ambitions now and here!"

"Ah! I like that reply. IQ – sama would approve of it. The revenge of the sacred female, as Their Grace always said!"

"What the… That's so idiotic." She fumed.

"And now… The climax is close by!"

"Shit. What next?"

"Watch out!"

Some meteors suddenly crashed upon the rooftop, opening holes on it and blowing up on the process: a huge shape floated down and it turned out to be Andromeda's 2nd form: it clasped both hands together and hit the rooftop with them: it collapsed and they fell down inside of the vault room: Night Baron was actually there and had picked all data storage units which he'd loaded inside of a "Stongo" Virus that was hollow: the cover closed and the Virus warped away before he chuckled and turned around to face the 4 of them.

"Catch me… if you can!"

He laughed and multiple "bunshins" of his form showed up: they began to jump, spin, roll, somersault and run in circles to the point that it was impossible to keep track of the original: the meteors Andromeda dropped down didn't contribute to it either.

"… Shit! We're sitting ducks here… Let's get outside of the compound already! There's a soccer field!" Acid Ace growled.

They warped to the soccer field and Night Baron followed them while making hollow echo-like laughter: they all attacked several of the bunshins but more of them popped out instead.

"I'm too subtle for you lowlifes!"

He suddenly shot forward while covering his body with the cloak for a second: the next second only his hands, cloak, necktie, neck, head, mask and top hat remained as they eerily floated mid-air.

"W-what in the…" They all cursed.

"Can you see through this magic?" He taunted.

"By all the…"

"I'm invincible~! I've got the Triforce of Power!"

"Dunno what that is." Rock Man dully muttered.

"Heh, heh, heh. What if I tell you that I was the one who set up that trap to catch preys into which Futaba Tsukasa fell? I drove the van, the plane and was the owner of the auction hall!"

"YOU BASTARD!" Rock Man exploded into pure anger.

"Yeah! Anger! It makes me stronger! You lot's anger feeds me! The Dark Side of the Force is inviting you, Hoshikawa! Embrace it! And become Darth Rock Man!" He laughed.

"If you mean "Dark" Rock Man, there's already Kurayami." Rock Man quickly calmed down and fumed.

"Watch out!"

They jumped away just as Andromeda shot both green lasers from both hands and opened craters in the soccer field: Ox Fire and Cygnus Wing jumped down from above and tried to attack the armor but got nowhere: Andromeda quickly spun clockwise and shook them off.

"It's useless! You can only harm that when the core turns green! I had to learn it the hard way almost 3 years ago!" Rock Man told them.

"Devil. I knew we had a devilish weapon but…!" Cygnus grumbled.

"Buruo~! What a freak!" Ox grumbled next.

"I know!" War Rock added.

"Pororon! Who the heck build that?"

"Cepheus' ancestors, from what he told me!"

"The curse of the ancestor!"

"You shut up!"

"I see. He's wearing a mirror around his body to assimilate with the surroundings and thus gives off the impression that he's vanished. But that's all." Acid calmly analyzed.

"Sheesh. The speaker of political intentions had to bust it." Night Baron complained next.

"Sarcasm does not work on me."

"Queen Tia says otherwise."

"Huff."

"Hit a vibe? Claw Man?"

"Oi! Don't steal my titles!"

"Too bad, Warus Rockus – samus! You and Moon Ace should've patented them at the patent office!"

"Sheesh. This guy is getting me annoyed for REAL."

"REAL! Rocking Electrifying Advancing Licker!"

"Licker? Beej." Harp Note found it repulsing.

"Quit it with the sex jokes!" Acid Ace fumed.

"Six jokes? I lost count of 'em." Ox Fire muttered.

"They must be omens!" Cygnus Wing gasped.

"Oh. You be quiet." Cygnus complained.

"Buro~! Check out ya ears when we get back! Gonta!"

"Companion dispute, eh?" Night Baron taunted.

"The real body's riding atop Andromeda using steal camouflage but my IR vision mode detected him." Acid reported.

"Grah! Sheesh! Thought as much! Watching it all from you lowlife's VIP seat, huh?" Phantom Black hissed.

"Indeed, Hideous Hyde of Hides!"

"You commoner! You smallpox sequel! Wait 'till I catch you and make mincemeat of you!"

"Dream on, Hyde Manor's shameful descendant!"

"GRA~H!"

"No good." Phantom sighed.

"This guy is too random for my taste." Rock Man sarcastically muttered as if being exasperated.

"Heh, heh, heh… RANDOM! Rocking Allocating Notifying Demolishing Owning Madness!"

"TOO LONG!" Everyone complained.

"Too original for you lowlifes!"

"Grah! I'm fed up!"

"Fed up with your lifestyle?"

"You shut up!"

"Guess that." Phantom drily muttered.

"… Now! Attack! Mad Vulcan X!"

"Giza Wheel X!"

"Impact Cannon!"

"Air Spread X!"

"Phantom Claw!"

"Big Grenade!"

The whole group attacked the green core and Andromeda got momentarily paralyzed: Night Baron gasped and didn't seemingly expect that: Phantom Black jumped atop the head and shot his Phantom Claw to grip the guy: he growled and tried to break free.

"I'll crush each and every one of your bones! Hum, heh, heh, heh, heh!"

"Think again…! Masamuned!"

The Virus that yielded the Battle Card "Edogiri Blade 3" showed up and attacked Phantom Black from behind: he let go of Night Baron and turned to fight the Virus by using his Phantom Slash: Night Baron lost his balance and dropped into the ground (but since Andromeda was at ground level then it was short) and groaned as he somehow got back to his feet only to be caught by Ox Fire.

"Let go of me, Fatman!"

"Buruo~! Like I will!"

"Good job, Gonta! Now! Let's see your ugly hide." Acid Ace grinned.

"Aren't you forgetting SOMETHIN'?"

The invisible attackers suddenly came into the scene and attacked them again: Ox Fire had to let go to counter-fight while a squad of 13 "Masamuned" protected Night Baron as he stepped back while coughing and seemingly trying to bear with the pain of Phantom Black's attempt at crushing him.

"Fucking decaying nobleman…! I prefer Jill to this guy…!" He muttered with some annoyance.

"Not so fast!"

Phantom Black jumped down from atop Andromeda and gripped one of the "Masamuned" to throw it against another: he rushed towards the gap in the circle but the other 11 Viruses protected Night Baron from the incoming attack: Phantom Black snickered and formed his "Phantom Slash" to suck the Viruses in and then beat them with his Stick Sword: Night Baron rushed towards the compound as if trying to escape Phantom Black but got his path cut by Assassin Shinobi.

"Not so fast, you lowlife… My blade's eager to cut through you~… I'm the Alphabet Murderer!"

"I knew that already, by damnation! The Miloch wannabe and his neo-Soviet gang hired you last winter!" He growled back.

"So the glassy guy was a wannabe? Heh! And neo-Soviet gang? Sure they were: that General rascal…!"

"Not so fast! Wing Blade!"

"Uack!"

"Buruo~! Eat this!"

"Grah!"

"You're not running away anymore, Night Baron!"

"I've got no need to run away! Not without fulfilling my goal! "M. A." is about to be implemented!"

"What's that?"

Acid Ace tackled Assassin Shinobi from the left and dragged him away while Ox Fire rammed in a straight line, bringing Phantom Black forward with him: Rock Man and Harp Note aimed their weapons at Night Baron while Cygnus Wing was trying to distract Andromeda.

"Hmpf… I don't like spoilers! Take that, you runts! Yoiri gotta be the descendant of Wily!"

"I dunno who Wily was but it's surely unrelated." Rock Man skeptically muttered.

"Sheesh! Grah! It's gotta be the plot's fault!"

"What plot? Stop saying nonsense."

"Nonsense? Hah! I'm too grand for you lowlifes to grasp! Yo and behold: Avada Kedavra!" He tried to sound scary.

"What's that? A Greek joke?" Rock Man sighed.

"No! The sure-kill spell! Sigma should've told ya 'bout it!" Night Baron fumed and brandished the right fist.

"And what if he didn't? Huh?" Harp Note challenged.

"Sheesh. Anyway… Finally! It's midnight!"

"What! You were stalling time for midnight to come?"

"Yeah! Now I can get serious! "M. A." begins here and now! Andromeda: activate your newest weapon! Mwah, hah, hah, hah! Hyah, hah, hah, hah, hah! Nuhah, hah, hah, hah, hah, ha~!"

Laughing like a madman, he jumped atop Andromeda as it climbed until it was 5 meters over the ground: its core turned red and so did its eyes before it suddenly made its lower end spin and turn into a drill: it plunged into the ground and when it'd dug until the waist was at the ground level, then released a reddish energy ring which spread in a radius of 1 kilometer: it forcibly cancelled all "Denpa – Henkan" status on all the users there and they and their Wizards collapsed on the ground, KO.

"Heh, heh, heh. You underestimated me! And now you'll regret it dearly, I swear… Heh, heh, heh… Climb up, Andromeda! Get me my trophy! Heh, heh, heh… Let "M. A." begin…!"

Andromeda quickly climbed up and its right hand detached to float to the ground and use some system to make Subaru's inert body hover: the hand slowly closed around him while leaving some slight room so as to not to crush him: Night Baron inwardly chuckled as a purplish "portal" formed in the sky and both disappeared inside of it.

"… By all the…"

Assassin Shinobi, standing on the lab's rooftop, had seen what had happened: he looked down at the ground and saw how Gonta had recovered and was using his weight to keep Hyde glued to the ground and impede him from getting up.

"Shit. Master! I'll come to rescue you! Sooner or later…!" He cursed before calling out.

"Just go!" Hyde ordered.

He ran away while Gonta looked around and gasped.

"Subaru…? Subaru! He's gone…! Damn you, you punk!"

GIVE SUBARU BACK! YOU MORON! I'LL BEAT YA TO A PULP! DAMN IT ALL!