Chapter 14: Defeat and victory

06:15 AM (Japan Time), Tuesday December the 18th…

"… So this is the place?"

"According to the email we received…"

"So our culprit got tired of cat – and – mouse? It's obviously a trap but I don't care. I'm fed up."

"Me too."

"And me too!"

"… Alright. The 3 of us should suffice: we've got the Musketeers on standby so… Goal: the lighthouse atop the hill… Let's go! Raid Troop: on the move!"

"OK!"

Acid Ace, Burai and Harp Note had been chatting as they climbed up a hill growing in the southern end of an island somewhere: a worn down lighthouse building could be spotted atop the hill along with a worn down road winding up until there: they rushed it up and reached the lighthouse's base entrance: a simple metallic door with a sign reading "DANGER! ENTRANCE FORBIDDEN!" yet the door had traces of having been opened more than once.

"This is Kuroshima, a solitary island in Kagoshima Prefecture. We were right in believing the location was in the west."

"Yeah. But we only found it because the culprit bothered to send us a mail with the exact coordinates: it reached us about 15 minutes ago. Luckily you two are early risers." Acid Ace told the other two.

"I couldn't sleep. I'm having trouble sleeping as of late: the pressure of sensei and Subaru – kun's condition…"

"Hmpf… A warrior must rise early and be ready for an attack at anytime: the enemy won't wait for you to be ready. I'll take care of any proxies that come out." Burai grumbled.

"Let's go! Hrah!"

Acid Ace rammed into the door with his left shoulder and it jolted: he then pulled it away and they entered the small ground floor room: they formed flashlights to scan the walls: the far wall had an opening that led to a room yet it was sealed up: the west wall had the doors leading to the control center Ganondorf had been at last night.

"The west! Go!"

They rammed the doors to the ground and stepped into the control center only to find the whole of it burnt, destroyed, smashed and totally impossible to use: a flamethrower had been left on the ground along with empty gasoline cans, an axe, a large-sized hammer, a chainsaw, a shotgun and a machinegun plus a rocket launcher.

"By all the… What destruction! The guy was hell-bent on not leaving any data behind. The data salvage team will have to work extra hours this time around." Acid Ace cursed.

"Elevator!" Harp Note signaled.

"Alright! Let's go!"

"Yeah!"

They rode into the elevator and it descended into the underground room: they quickly drew their weapons but nothing came for them: a faint humming sound could be caught coming from further in.

"Satellite Search. There's a living signature further in. No data signatures detected in any spectrums. No explosives, no data links, no IR sensors, no trip-wires, no trap-bears… It would seem that the room is clean and devoid of any traps." Acid listed.

"Fine. I'll be point. You guys cover the flanks."

"Alright."

"No problem."

"Let's go!"

They rushed down the main wing and gasped when they stumbled upon Subaru tied to a wooden horse that could swing: it was continuously swinging front and back thus making Subaru's body rise and slide back along the two anal vibrators: he was hanging his head down and seemed to be unconscious.

"Quick!"

Acid Ace released his "Denpa – Henkan": Akatsuki rushed over to Subaru and undid the collar around his cock's base to then pull out the urethra vibrator: his cock bulged and let out several vigorous sprouts of semen that stained his body: Burai and Harp Note broke the ankle restrains and cut his ropes: Akatsuki lifted him and placed him face-up on the floor as they took out the rest of the stuff: removing the blindfold proved that Subaru was indeed unconscious and he seemed to have been in pain given how contracted his facial features were.

"Shit. Let's hope he's still in one piece." Akatsuki cursed.

"Hmmm? Hoshikawa's right forearm… There's something written in there using fluorescent pain…" Burai spotted.

"Let's see… It's all Alphabet letters… "AUTUMN"… Aki? "GUILD"… Dougyou kumiai… "12"… "TEN S."… Ten? The number 10? Or is it someone's surname? Dunno. "TWO LIGHT"… Futatsu no hikari? "LOCK – C"… Some codename?" Harp Note began to read while wondering aloud at some spots.

"Maybe it's a message intended for Vadous: a manifesto of a forthcoming crime." Acid suggested.

"Devil. Then we'll have to contact Vadous ASAP. Let's get him to the surface… Something to cover him…"

"There's a bed. Let's use these blankets." Harp Note spotted as she tugged them off.

"Good idea. Else he'll get the flu out there. Let's keep him inside of the command center because I saw a heating system there. You keep watch and I'll contact HQ."

"Fine."

"Let's go."

Akatsuki wrapped Subaru in the blankets and piggy-backed him towards the elevator: they returned to the surface and Acid interacted with a heating system to turn it on: Akatsuki came out of the room while the other released their transformations to sit next to Subaru: Misora took a photo of the writings and began to erase them.

"Alright. I sent the message to HQ: Vadous will provide portals for instant deployment. Let's bring Subaru to the hospital. Lartes has already headed there as well."

"Good."

"I took a photo of the writing."

"Good thinking. We'll be able to calmly analyze it later on to see what it means although Vadous sounded pretty nervous. Maybe it involves something in the Subspace dimension itself. Tabuu did activity there before and Mors was there too."

"It is reasonable."

"Huff, huff… Akatsuki: we've arrived! We'll bring Hoshikawa to the hospital." Ryuusuke ran in.

"Counting on you. Solo and Hibiki: please take care of the escorting. I've got something to wrap up."

"Ah. Sensei. Alright, good luck."

"Thanks. Later."

Akatsuki came out while Ryuusuke carried Subaru: Solo and Misora followed outside where a portal was opened right in front of the lighthouse entrance: Ryuusuke came in firstly.

"You go first." Misora invited.

"Fine."

"Da…"

"No. This is not a game."

Solo stepped in and Misora followed suit: the world became a white tunnel of energy extending towards the infinite across pitch-black space: a force gripped her body and she shot forward: the next second she'd come out of it in the WAXA Japan Branch yard: a helicopter was stationed there so they rode on it to head for the hospital.

"Hello there~? Do you want to have some fun? Come to this address, my gal!" A girl's voice rang out of her Hunter – VG.

"Haven't you noticed the police inspector following you for the last 45 minutes?" Misora shot back.

"UA~H!"

"Pororon. Number sent to the Satella Police."

"Well done."

"Hmpf… Mere rubbish…" Solo fumed.

"Mu…"

"What? Serrano ham now? Sheesh."

"But Denpa Bodies don't eat, right, Harp?"

"Porororon. Of course not. We're made of energy, ya know? We're walking energy, see."

"… Da…"

"See? An alien Denpa Body needs to remind you that. You've got no memory or you've got fish memory?" Solo sighed.

"Whoa! Look! Subaru – kun actually smiled!" Misora gasped.

"Maybe he unconsciously heard the joke and found it funny?" Solo wondered.

"Subaru – kun… Relax… The danger is over… Thank goodness…"

11:31 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Alright. No more games!"

"Akatsuki! So you came. Hmpf!"

"Indeed. Let's put an end to… this farce!"

"W-what are ya talking about?"

"Oh? What's with that dialect?"

"Oh heck!"

"It's useless to keep the play up, you fake. You've fooled us for two and a half years but this is as far as it comes… Anaya… Sofia!"

"Sheesh!"

Akatsuki burst into the office of "Queen Tia" only to signal her with the right index finger: she gasped and her composure got lost while she began to talk using another dialect: the woman fumed and her face suddenly became a black plastic-like mask covering all the way to the neck and having almost no features whatsoever.

"I see. An advanced skin recreation system… Even if one were to touch their face they'd believe that it's real skin." Acid guessed.

"Che!"

The imposter pulled the mask out to reveal her true face: she had brownish short hair and green eye irises: she could be on her mid-20s or beyond as well.

"How did you figure it out, huh?"

"Mere intuition. I was so taken aback that Queen Tia had turned so cold and hostile after she helped me recover after I emerged from hiding following Joker's self-destruct. At first I thought it was her tsundere face, that is, that she wanted to pretend she didn't need anyone's help and she didn't want to acknowledge that. And it made sense so I didn't think much of it this whole time… Until recently. When things began to escalate."

"You mean that the culprit was running out of patience? Or did they think that if they kept at it too long near you, Shidou, you'd see through their disguise?" Acid guessed.

"Surely. What confirmed things, though, was the other day… When I said that you made Ice go berserk… You said you had."

"Queen Tia did it! Like she did it with Magnets and Strong!"

"Wrong! Jack did it. Queen Tia came later to pick up the "Crimson" resulting from Rock Man and Dia Iceburn's battle." Akatsuki corrected with a grin.

"I see." Acid muttered.

"W-what? Oh damn it! I skipped over that memory and thought that she always used the same pattern…"

"And you surely implanted a chip on Queen Tia, like the ones Subaru and Futaba have… So that you could see her memories and use them to easily impersonate her…"

There were some sounds on the outside so Sofia rushed out to the window to see female Satella Police Commandos rushing into the building while the Battle Wizards formed a perimeter around it as if to prevent anyone from escaping.

"Your business goes down now and here."

"Not so fast! Denpa – Henkan!"

Sofia drew her Hunter – VG and tried to use "Denpa – Henkan" but it didn't work: she looked at it, incredulous.

"I switched the programs. Your cousin Maria must be eager to tell you some things while you share the prison cell."

"Ah no! I'm not going to share a cell with that bitch!"

"Cousin dispute, huh?"

"Of course! I was going to do it but she jumped ahead of me!"

"Where is the REAL Queen Tia, Sofia?"

"Hmpf! Down there! My personal female pig. I used the implant to brainwash her into being a pig." She sneered.

"You're mad. Just like Maria."

"DO NOT PLACE ME IN THE SAME SHIP AS THAT BITCH!"

"No use denying it. You wanted to recreate what she did. But what she did was just using murder, blackmail, extortion and violence to force the clubs to work for her. When we removed her control they started to kill each other again, like always. So she didn't "build" anything: she just forced them to do as she wanted."

"Grrr! I'll make mincemeat of ya! Hiya~h!"

She tried to perform a karate swing but Akatsuki dodged and she lost her balance because she tried to stretch the right arm and leg too forward: she met the floor just as two Commandos came in: they immobilized her as they handcuffed her.

"Anaya Sofia! You're under arrest for kidnappings, torturing, impersonation, confidential data theft, confidential data sales, illegal program usage, illegal device usage, brainwashing, laundering, extortion, blackmail and violence!" One of them listed.

"E~H? That large~?" She gasped.

"I'm sure the prosecutor can come up with another dozen as well: don't you agree, Akatsuki – kun?" The Commando added.

"Sure, miss."

"DAMN YOU ALL!"

"Yelling won't help you. Let's go to the police station. A court will soon be eager to trial you. And to send you to meet your precious cousin. Let's see you trying to prove who was better." The Commando announced next with a grin.

"I'LL HAVE CHA NECKS IN A SILVER PLATTER! BY MY MIGHT!"

"Shoo, shoo." Akatsuki wasn't impressed at all.

The 2 Commandos led her away while he sighed: another Commando came in next.

"We found Queen Tia. And the missing 12 girls. They'll all be sent to the hospital. Queen Tia will surely need some therapy to get rid of that idiotic brainwashing. Believe me: it's disgusting enough." She fumed as she explained the situation.

"I'll contact Lartes. He's the expert on those devices." Akatsuki calmly told her.

"Roger. Ah. HQ wants to know what's going on. You better report to them before they get annoyed."

"Don't worry. I'll handle that."

"OK! Later."

"Acid. Open a line with HQ."

"Roger."

"Not so fast, Akatsuki! The Night Baron was here, right! Tell me where they are~!"

"By all the… Hyde!"

Phantom Black suddenly showed up there, getting in through the window and looking around with expectation.

"The one who was here was a woman. Not a man. That Night Baron gotta be in Vienna, opening a club." He improvised.

"Ah! The bastard! Defiling my ancestors' home!"

"Hey… Hyde… But don't ya always say ya are a descendant of London's Hyde Mansion?" Phantom argued.

"Hyde Mansion stopped existing physically in the 16th century! Some of my ancestors then travelled to the continent and settled in Vienna, being the high-class city it's always been! You ignorant tabloid proxy!"

"Will ya quit it with the tabloids?"

"No, I shall not! By my hat!"

"Man."

"Tremble, Night Baron! My ancestors' spirits are with me~! This time I'll bury you lowlife in eternal "Dark"!"

Phantom Black flew out, laughing in his queer manner, while Akatsuki sighed in relief.

"Let's leave the guy to chase the rascal across the world in vain: I'm sure the guy's changed looks and name: and he has gone into the underground by now… Or else he can pretend to be a normal citizen in some far away city… Sheesh. 16 days of struggling and it ends like this. It feels so defeating, really… I know we saved Queen Tia but I'm to blame for not realizing it earlier." Akatsuki sighed.

"Indeed."

"Akatsuki – kun? What's going on?" The Chief asked.

"I'll explain in detail once I get there. But I had to carry out an operation to tie up the loose end."

"Ah! At last. Well done."

"Not so well done. Like I said, I'll explain the details in person."

"Alright."

"YIKES! A mouse-trap in my drawer!" Someone yelped.

"Not again…" The Chief sighed.

"War Rock…!" Acid grumbled, for once.

"I know, man. Hope the guy gets a lesson this time around."

"Such illogical happenings, they drive my mental processes mad!" Acid complained next.

"You're not the only one, believe me. Welcome to the club. Sheesh."

23:48 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Ungh… Grah…! Fuck…! I'll kill you yet…! With the strength of my anger and hatred…! You deserve it…! Demon…!"

"Subaru! Calm down! That's an order!"

"Huh! Ah! Huff, huff… M-Master?"

"Yes. That's me. Now calm down. That's an order."

"Y-yes, sir… Roger, sir…"

"Good. Breathe deeply."

Subaru finally woke up on his hospital room's bed: he had an IV on his right arm to supply him with nutrients given the label on the bag: he also had an oxygen mask on.

"Yes, sir…"

He breathed in and exhaled several times in a row: Lartes, sitting on a chair to his right, stood up and checked the readings of a Real Wave screen close by.

"Let's see… Heartbeats are normal. Blood pressure too… Breathing too. EEG is stable and normal… Good. Take it easy. By the way: did you know that Miss Shirogane got promoted to Student Council President Class President?"

"That again…! It's too long…! No wonder iinchou still says "just call me iinchou!" despite that…!" He laughed.

"And her parents want to rename her Athena. Because the name "Luna" only makes her live in the Moon. The whole time. Moon Disaster will have a copyright trial with her."

"Copyright trial…! Athena…!" He laughed again.

"And Ushijima believes "ego" is a breed of mango."

"Ego is a breed of… mango! Gonta! Only you could come up with such a weird association!"

"Saishouin says his 16th law of common sense impedes Miss Shirogane from descending back to Earth."

"16th law of common sense! Why not 1st or 2nd? Man. Kizamaro and his "laws"… He never changes!"

"It'd seem he wants to join the cast of a fantasy film and be a dwarf on it: Maro-Kiza, the Last Brave Wise Dwarf."

"Maro-Kiza…! Last Brave… Wise… Dwarf? Too long!"

"I know. Nangoku says he'll marry a girl named Kitagoku."

"Nangoku – san…!"

"Oh yes. And the Big Wave's newest motto is: "a billion blistering Battle Cards!"…"

"Blistering Battle Cards? Oh come on!"

"… Well? Do you feel more relaxed?"

"Y-yes, sir… Well… Guess the morale hasn't changed much… What day is it today?"

"It's almost Wednesday."

"So in the end it's been… 17 days…" He sighed.

"I know. But. Subaru. Don't blame yourself for this. Things were of a scale never seen before. None of us could've been ready for this. Promise me one thing: you won't fight out of hatred or revenge. Can you promise that, Subaru?"

"Yes, sir… I never break promises, sir…"

"That's my disciple. Oh well."

"How did you find me, anyway?"

"The culprit gave out the location and fled. Can you tell us any names the guy used?"

"Ganondorf. But I'm sure it was a fake name to begin with."

"Undoubtedly… How smug… To use the name of the Demon King…"

"So Ganondorf is supposed to be a Demon King, huh? The guy had enough with being the Demon Tribe Chief."

"No wonder. A mad leftover like that can't ever dare to come up with a title that sounds like they're above Maria. That Sofia woman's title was lame too… Empress is the same as Queen…" He trailed off and fumed while he wiped his glasses.

"Who?"

"Ah! True. Well. It's a bit of a complicated tale. Akatsuki will tell you once you're discarded. By the way… Did you notice that the culprit left a message in your right arm?"

"I felt like something rubbed against it but then again I couldn't see anything to begin with." He recalled.

"Did they mention any specific places or persons or…?" Lartes asked of him next.

"Now that you mention it, sir… The guy once said that I was but an aperitif before the main dish…"

"Like we thought…"

"What was the message about?"

"Well… That was something like a manifesto of a yet-to-be-committed-crime… Yet it's something outside of you guys' capabilities…" He trailed off and sighed.

"Why's that?"

"… Do you remember the incident with Clock Genius?"

"… Ah! Does that mean that…?" He whispered back.

"Indeed. Sorry for the vague talk but you never know. I made sure no – one's around and no – one's hearing yet…"

"So it was no commoner, after all. No mere leftover."

"No. Maybe it was an agent Maria hired and who got fascinated by her intelligence so he didn't mind bowing to her and doing her biding: did he sound fanatical?"

"Totally, sir. Totally fanatic, sir."

"Hum. I see. Well. We've told the Satella Police that we believe it means the Subspace domain itself. It's a pity we can't tell them the truth but it's too dangerous."

"Well, yes… I know, sir. One cannot be carefree when it comes to those topics, sir…"

"Well. Boss and the 3 Musketeers already headed there. Let's hope we can make it on time… Alerts have been sent and security has been mobilized… The local investigation agency has begun to run searches as well as it to send a warning…"

"I see, sir…"

"Well. Let's quit the gloomy talk here. We'll discuss it further in the days to come, anyway."

"Roger, sir."

"Oh yeah. Boss decided to momentarily switch Omega's modes because he was too tense and barked at anyone and anything. He recorded a message and left it to me..."

"… Yo~! B-B-B-B-Bertie~! Been a while! Uncle Mars Warrior says that Shangai ducks cannot possibly overcome Hong Kong ducks yet Dragonus Hellus says that Beijing ducks shall be supreme!" Omega's voice rang out yet his tune sounded more relaxed, carefree, teen-like and extremely amused.

"A war of Choina ducks? Wouldn't surprise me… They're always brawling to claim the title of "best city restaurant"…"

"So I went to see Warus Rockus – samus but it turns out he got punished 'cause he skipped homework and Ikuta – sensei said: "A: I get annoyed. B: I get pissed off for REAL!" and choose "B", you see!"

"Ikuta – sensei? Oh come on. Where'd he get idea that sensei chooses between two choices?"

"Dunno. I asked Harp and it'd seem Libra was always acting like that from time to time: given how he's shaped like scales and got two scales then he must choose which one is more important."

"That Libra guy… Really."

"And the Wolverine descendant went mad with the full moon thus bringing shame to his ancestors!"

"Oh come on. Oguro – san did it again? Sheesh."

"And lil buku – sama stole some Cards!"

"Cancer Bubble? The guy… He never learns."

"Oho! Whom do we have here? It's the cadet!"

"What now, sir." Blood Shadow sighed.

"Did you find the crab tins Kir Osh scattered inside of your cupboard?"

"There were none, sir. Stop making up stuff, sir!"

"Oho. I can see someone coming. It's Dragonus Hellus!"

"Dragon Hell, sir, Dragon Hell." He calmly replied.

"And his Hellishus Breathus!"

"… I see."

He seemingly went back the way he'd come and was mumbling: Blood Shadow sighed and Omega giggled.

"See ya in a while, B-B-B-B-Bertie~! Let's go, Brad Shad! Time to chase elusive writers who talk about phantom thieves and nocturnal barons!"

"Oh well. Better have some rest, then… The days ahead of us will become activity – filled… Good night, Master… Ah… Zzzz…"

Subaru fell asleep, grinning, while Lartes sighed in relief and smiled…