Chapter 5: Rampaging bulls
19:40 PM (Japan Time), Wednesday December the 5th…
"… So, Lartes…?"
"He's still sleeping. Let's hope we've got something solid by the time he wakes up… But what despair…! It's been almost 72 hours since Subaru got abducted and we found nothing… Nothing happened yesterday save that we found more freaks in another location…"
"I know! Shit. It's not private islands. So I guess it could be some refuge or base or some house's basement…"
"How are investigations over there like?"
"The Satella Police is looking up all suspicious house registers: we're seeing if any were bought, sold or rented in the last 4 months and the money was transferred in an odd manner."
A man came out of a room in a house somewhere and softly closed the door behind him before speaking with Omega, standing on what seemed to be a 1st floor's hall given how some stairs could be seen leading to the ground floor.
"I see."
Lartes, the man, had black slightly messy hair plus brownish irises' eyes.
He wore a medic's coat with the ID "Dr. Kazimura Lartes" written on it and sported brown pants plus shoes.
He had a pair of reading glasses on, too.
"Anything new on the Hyde front?"
"Shinobi tried to assault the transport van but got repelled. He'll surely attempt to strike at the very prison. Akatsuki said he'd placed one defender there to stall for time until he or we get there once the alert rings out…" Omega replied.
"Good. And Queen Tia…?"
"Huff. The gal seems to love to hijack Akatsuki's Hunter – VG every twice or thrice just to taunt and mock him. Insofar no abductions or reports of missing women have been filed so it'd seem she doesn't want to make a move yet to expand her "business", that is, the yuri dominatrix club she's taken over." Omega growled.
"We'll have to find a way to put an end to that. We'll need to, firstly, remove the Hunter – VG from her reach. That way she'll be unable to perform "Denpa – Henkan" into Queen Virgo…"
"I know. It'd seem Akatsuki is planning something but won't share details: you never know when the gal might be eavesdropping."
"This is Blood Shadow. The location I had to investigate was a dead end as well and had nothing at all. Over."
"Here's Sigma… Che. My place turned out to be inhabited, yeah, but by a bunch of occupies… I chased them out… And notified the local police as well…" Sigma grumbled.
"Good work. Move to the next location."
"Roger!"
"YO! YO! YO! Found ya, Sigma…"
"Moon Disaster? Sheesh. Got no time for ya."
"Why? Is the meat gonna turn cold? The one in ya altar?" Moon Disaster laughed.
"What altar and what crap? We're struggling here to find Rock Man and the best you can do is say nonsense? OUTTA THE WAY!"
"YIKES!"
There was a sound and Sigma grumbled under his breath.
"This guy doesn't know anything or what?"
"I'm not sure." Omega admitted.
"Wouldn't surprise me…" Blood Shadow dully muttered.
"And what's the troublemaker up to?"
"Dropping at places at random and razing it all trying to find basements or secret rooms or whatever… Guess we'll have to lock the guy in the HQ's server for a while…" Lartes sighed.
He headed down the stairs and Omega followed him into a living room in the ground floor: the view from the windows showed a vast beach surrounding the small island plus an artificial track for a plane to land and to take off and that ended in a small hanger building: the skies were rather clouded as if to reflect their mood.
"I need some breakfast… Else I can't concentrate…"
"Fine. I'll call Akatsuki."
Omega headed out into the main foyer and opened one of the two doors to step outside: he sighed and sat next to a palm tree to lean his back against it: he crossed his arms and folded his legs too.
"So, Akatsuki?"
"No dice… The bunker was razed by the explosions: but I'm convinced that there was nothing there to begin with."
"Akatsuki? A new report on Queen Tia… She expelled 4 members of the club and they all looked pale and frightened… Guess no – one dares to oppose her…" A Commando told him close by.
"Thanks, Ninoude Chikara. Continue the surveillance. Else we'll get a second tragedy at the same time…!"
"I know. Later."
"What would Queen Tia gain from such illogical movements?" Acid asked Akatsuki.
"Ego!" He fumed.
"Yet, "ego" is not material." Acid noted.
"You don't know how much people can cling to non-material things too!"
"So it would seem."
"Don't you get annoyed from time to time? And don't you get amused from time to time?" Akatsuki pointed out.
"That is true."
"Well, here you have more non-material stuff."
"If you say so…"
"So. Did you see it coming, Holmes and Watson?" Queen Tia butted into the exchange.
"Not you again! Queen Tia!"
"Icy Empress." She dully countered.
"Anaya Maria is gonna sue you for copyright infringement!" He came up with that to seemingly provoke her.
"I don't see how she'll be able to. Being locked in the jail and all." She didn't fall for the attempt.
"And you seem eager to end up there too!" Omega added.
"You should stay out of this. Red Destruction God."
"Save me the deprecated titles!" He grumbled.
"Hmpf… Foolish feral…"
"Sheesh!"
"Does it feel good to drink up human blood?"
"Who the hell says that? I've never ever attacked a human! I only fight Wizards and Viruses! End of the tale!"
"Is that so? So the ancient chronicles were not right."
"What ancient chronicles? Don't come up with bullshit. Boss built me 5 years ago!"
"Ah yes? I was convinced you had been summoned from 6666 BCE."
"6666 BCE? Save me the doomsday bullshit, Queen Tia! You don't want to annoy me for real!"
"Ah? And what would you do then? Come act like a feral man and rob me of my pride?"
"Of course not! I'll come and blow up your Hunter – VG! And then Akatsuki there will bring you to a court!"
"Yeah. That's what I'm gonna do!" Akatsuki added.
"Fair enough. I would like to see you trying. Men. Always stirring up war and misery…" She icily muttered with a hint of anger.
She suddenly stopped jacking the line and both guys grumbled while Acid apparently remained silent.
"Akatsuki, a report from the prison… One of the anti-Denpa field generators has suddenly lowered its power by 20%... And that segment happens to be right in front of Hyde's cell…"
"Thanks, Seiken Ichizou. So Shinobi is about to strike. Luckily I placed someone there already." Akatsuki calmly muttered.
"I'll dispatch Blood as backup."
"Good idea. I'm going to get there right away too. Later."
"KYA~H! It's the Nameless Emperor's curse~! Akatsuki – kun!"
"By all the… Utagai – san! What now, Cygnus?" He fumed.
"War Rock left that recording of some weird name floating around."
"Sheesh. Someone keep an eye on the guy! I'm off to reinforcing prison security! Later!"
"War Rock…! Try to be productive instead of destructive, you lil lion rascal…! Anyway! Blood: do you copy?"
"I copy, sir!"
"Converge with Akatsuki on the prison! NOW!"
21:24 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Go, my bunshin!"
"Kuu, kuu, kuu…"
ZAPPP! BO~UM!
"Alert! Alert! Overload of Grid 7-E! Intruder detected! Lock all doors and corridors! Deploy Battle Wizards!"
"Useless! Hrah! Hah! Hryah!"
"Ugrah!"
"Ugoh!"
"Guwah!"
"Nobody stops the Alphabet Murderer!"
"YO! YO! YO! I'd say otherwise, amigo!"
"Not you again!"
Assassin Shinobi had crept near the inner wall of a prison compound (jumping over the outer wall) and formed a bunshin that he launched against an orange energy field divided in square grids: the square exploded and he rushed inside of the inner compound and towards the building in front of him: some Battle Wizards got deployed but he quickly sliced them up with his katana: Moon Disaster popped out next and Assassin Shinobi growled.
"YO! YO! YO! Moon Bazooka!"
Moon Disaster formed a ball-shaped mass of fire and threw it towards Assassin Shinobi while leaping into the air: he deflected it with the katana but then Moon Disaster used his "Moon Spin" move: he spun upon his axis while moving left and shooting moon-shaped golden objects: one of them hit Assassin Shinobi and caused temporal "Confused" status on him: Moon Disaster grinned.
"Loco de mi vida, la vida del loco, mi vida es loca, la loca anda suelta~!"
"What the FUCK?" He growled.
"Kuka-wakah?" Assassin asked something.
"What? "Is this guy eatable?"… NO! DEFINETELY NOT!" He growled back out of annoyance.
"Crazy my life, the crazy guy's life, my life's crazy, the crazy gal's loose~!"
"That a SONG? It's PATHETIC." He got annoyed again.
"YO! YO! YO! It's my newest 3 hour-long live!"
"3 hour-long? I'll slice you up in 3 seconds!" He growled back.
"Moon Disaster! What's the status? I'll be there in 80 seconds!"
"YO! YO! YO! Compadre~! Don't worry! This guy's easy!"
"Easy? No way. Your songs are driving him crazy: else he'd already beaten you 10 times! And quit it with the "comrade" nickname, will ya!" Acid Ace fumed.
"Moon Bazooka!"
"Hah!"
Assassin Shinobi deflected it again and Moon Disaster frowned.
"Odd, fella… My attack has a "Break" function to it… This guy's Sword so it should be double damage…"
"Maybe he's got some barrier like Burai…" Acid Ace ventured.
"Maybe so, Detective Raiser!" He snickered.
"Oh come on."
"YO! YO! YO! El pueblo del pueblo del pueblo del pueblo!"
"What the hell is that?" Acid Ace grumbled.
"… "The village of the village of the village of the village."…" Acid replied.
"That a tongue-twister? Sheesh."
"Hrah! Feel the fear… En… A… Un… Sa… Do… Na… Ra…"
He crossed his arms in an "X" pattern while chanting some kind of spell: his body glowed and 3 copies of his form formed, surrounding Moon Disaster.
"YO! YO! YO! Moonsault Kick!"
Moon Disaster jumped high in the air and suddenly began to spin and attack while moving from left to right in front of Assassin Shinobi, who was unable to block the attack: he jumped again and dropped in the column Assassin Shinobi was at, kicking him and sending him flying 3 meters south: he growled and formed the copies again.
"You're asking for it!"
"For my autograph? YO! YO! YO!"
"What in the fucking…!"
"… You lowlifes can't see it…? How the whole of the Universe blesses the resurrection of the Queen!" Ganondorf's voice echoed.
"You lowlife!" Assassin Shinobi cursed.
"Copycat."
BLAM!
"Ugrah!"
"What?"
A sound rang out and both combatants stopped to see Blood Shadow standing atop a watch-tower and having shot at Night Baron: he growled and clutched his chest.
"I shot. But since you're but a Denpa Body proxy then I can do that. And you copied that from Apollon Flame when Rock Man met him again in the Noise Wave linking the "Outer Space Cosmo Wave" and the "FM Planet Cosmo Wave"… You just swapped "King" for "Queen"!"
"Shit… Walking encyclopedia~! I'll bury you in endless "Dark"!"
"Try it, ugly."
"… How all of nature's laws are pulsating towards your death!"
"Another thing you ripped off the guy."
"… Like I thought… Populace cannot properly witness the right to rule… Is it?"
"Will you stop being a copycat and face me?"
"Well then! Let us prove it here! Prove an unwavering and transcendental "victory"!"
Night Baron flew up into the sky and began to toss meteorites: Andromeda showed up and rushed for Blood Shadow but he leapt towards it and shoot a hook-shot built above his left hand: it stuck into the waist area and Blood Shadow reeled it to end inches away from the core, that had just turned vulnerable: he placed the shotgun's barrels on it and shot: both twin shots pierced through it and the recoil pushed Blood Shadow away yet he managed to swing around and shoot another attack from behind: Night Baron gasped as Andromeda hummed and collapsed into the ground along with him.
"Ugrah!"
"Mine!" Assassin Shinobi roared.
"Not so fast!"
CLANG!
"Shit! Akatsuki!"
"The same one. No – one is gonna be slaughtered as long as I'm around: and your copy trick won't work on me, ugly."
Acid Ace had managed to get there and drew his Long Sword to block Assassin Shinobi: they began to struggle in a deadlock while Night Baron tried to get away (he'd been trapped by the head of Andromeda collapsing atop him): Blood Shadow tossed away the top hat and gripped his head: his left hand began to glow with a greenish glow.
"Ugruwa~h!"
"I knew it. It's a Denpa Body, alright. But it doesn't own any coordinates and all of his words seem to be pre-programmed. There's no control signal either. Or maybe there was and it's been cut off remotely. The culprit doesn't need to be close by." He analyzed.
"I thought as much. Ignore that and try to seize Shinobi." Omega ordered with a shrug.
"Roger."
"Che! Things have gotten awry. I'll be back!"
He flipped two or three times backwards as a "portal" opened and he jumped inside of it to disappear.
"I guess he's going back to the behemoth. Let's ignore the guy: it's the lesser of two evils, anyway." Acid Ace sighed.
"MUGRO~H!"
"Shit! Take cover!"
Andromeda suddenly glowed with a reddish glow and blew up along with the Denpa Body in the shape of Night Baron: only a crater was left behind after the explosion.
"Buro~! Akatsuki – san, the bandit showed up in my home and stole my meat cake! I'm chasing the rascal!" Ox Fire reported.
"Shit. It's a trap! COME BACK, GONTA!"
KZZZZ!
"Fuck. Noise in the channel! The culprit! Acid, get me Ox Fire's latest know coordinates! Blood, come with me! On the double!"
"Roger! Damn it all!"
"Shit." Moon Disaster cursed, for once.
"You stay here and make sure the guy doesn't come again! Later!"
21:58 PM (Japan Time)…
"B-B-B-BURO~! Outta the way, Viruses! Ox Tackle! Make way for the Raid Troop!"
"Buro~! Cool it, Gonta! Akatsuki said it's a trap!"
"And whatever! I'll catch the guy AND get my meat cake back!"
"Is that cake more important than your LIFE?"
"Huh? Now that you mention it…"
"Too late, Fatman!"
"Say again!"
Ox Fire had been rushing along a Wave Road somewhere and tackling Viruses out of his way while Ox tried to cool him down: he made a point that made him stop and wonder but then the culprit's voice rang out: the Wave Road on his feet got deleted and he fell inside of a forest clearing about 8 meters wide: some silhouettes began to creep in from inside of the forest.
"W-what? What are those?"
"More freaks? Buro~! Watch out with ya attacks! Ya don't wanna start a forest fire!"
"Shit. This is why the guy dropped me here! To seal my attacks! I'll have to lower their spread!" Ox Fire gasped as he realized the trap the culprit had set up.
"Too late, Fatman! Die!"
The silhouettes came into light: they looked similar to the freaks of the other day but the main difference was in the arms: they were long, claw-like arms.
Those were folded like razor blades.
The head had some circling bands of flesh around them but the mouth remained the same.
"Ox Tackle!"
He rushed forward and tackled 3 of them towards a tree, deleting them in the process: one of those got close enough to attack by extending the arms and hitting Ox Fire with force yet his Super Armor ability impeded him from being stunned after an attack.
"Anger Rush!"
His body glowed for some seconds and he began to quickly move around the clearing while punching the ground: wherever he punched a column or two of spiraling flames ensued: they sucked some of the freaks in and contributed to deleting them.
"By all the…" The culprit cursed.
"Hah! Don't look down on a Raid Troop member!"
"Gonta! You alright?" Acid Ace landed next to him.
"Akatsuki – san! I…!"
"Later! Let's bust these!"
"Roger!"
"So! About to be promoted, Akatsuki~?"
"Who knows? About to be demoted, leftover?"
"LEFTOVER! ME! DIE!"
"Hit a vibe, eh? Reality distortion field, I guess."
"SHAGRAHA~H!" He growled something undecipherable.
"What's that, Colorado dialect?" He taunted next.
"You're the Colorado!"
"Charmed."
"Sheesh."
"Found you."
BLAM!
"Ugrah! Not again! These aren't use-n-throw pawns!"
"Like I'd know."
Blood Shadow found the Denpa Body imitating the culprit close by and shot at him so he growled.
"Where's Subaru – kun?"
"In your imagination, Brad Shad! De buku!"
"Don't imitate Cancer Bubble. Answer me."
"Go ahead, blow me up…"
"Like I'm gonna fall for that. Here: eat this!"
"Ugro~h!"
"Hmmm… There's a live signal… Heavy encoding… Can't you lend me a hand, Akatsuki – san?"
"Hmmm… Guess so."
"Go. I'll handle the rubbish."
"Ah! Burai. Good timing."
"The rascal burst into my refuge and sprayed the walls."
Burai showed up and began to slice and cut the freaks while explaining why he'd come: Acid Ace rushed to where Blood Shadow was trying to restrain the Denpa Body: he also used his left hand to grip the head and began analyzing.
"Heavy encoding… Acid! Take a sample! We obviously won't have time to fully analyze it but it could be a powerful clue."
"Dream on! My business partners will show Hell to you!"
"So you've got some accomplices, huh? We'll smash them all!"
"Don't get cocky, Gonta! Buro~!"
"I go off with a bang! BANG!"
"Watch out!"
They all jumped away as this Denpa Body got blown up as well: the freaks got deleted as well and the place became quiet again: the invisible enemies suddenly jumped into the fray and things got chaotic again.
"Grah! Charged shotgun… shot!"
"Omega Laser!"
"Buro~! Anger Punch!"
"Sheesh! Laplace Blade!"
"The total amount we extracted of code was… 15.7%."
"Later, Acid!"
"Acknowledged."
They resumed the fighting: they began to battle their way out of the forest and into a paved small road crossing through some fields: they panted, being out of breath and looked around: the enemies were being relentless and coming out from everywhere in the forest.
"Copy Canceller: on!"
Burai used his "Copy Canceller" and wiped them off: the forest stirred and War Rock copies flew out from its insides next: they all resumed fighting this new wave.
"Shit. Is there no end?"
"The culprit must be trying to erase some evidence or another and needs time for that." Acid suggested.
"Say that earlier, man! Wing Blade!"
"Ground Break Sword!"
Burai jumped into the air and hit the floor with the blade, producing a one-directional shockwave that tore across a row of copies, splitting them.
"Here we are… Ah! There!"
"Fuck."
It turned out that Ganondorf in person (wearing the Night Baron's dress but without the cape, the top hat or the mask) had come out and was using a mysterious cube to absorb what seemed to be remaining program bits of the Denpa Body.
"Photo!"
FLASH!
"Uack!"
"Gotcha, ugly! Gimme that!"
"Like Hell! Go, Jack Corvus! Make mincemeat of this guy!"
"Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh! Acid – chan's WEAK! SLASH!"
"Ugrah!"
Acid Ace used a built-in flash to momentarily blind Ganondorf and took a photo of him: he tackled him and tried to yank the cube out of his hands: Ganondorf cursed and Jack Corvus suddenly appeared there, using his wings' sharp edge to slash Acid Ace's back: he groaned but managed to yank off the cube: he tossed it to Ox Fire, who'd rushed in: Jack Corvus rushed towards him but Burai dropped from atop a tree and split it in half: Jack Corvus blew up and Ganondorf ran for it, dropping down into a well: there was a sound and all became quiet.
"Hum… There's nothing inside… Guess he had some device to recall the portal inside of the well and he jumped straight in… Let's place a jammer on the cube so that it can't receive any signals and calmly analyze it within the HQ." Acid Ace deduced as he looked into the well.
"Something tells me that wasn't the bastard's real face." Burai muttered.
"Wouldn't surprise me… But we've gained an important clue… so I hope."
Hang on, Subaru! We may be close to solving this… Please! Hang on!