Chapter 8: A riddle
16:39 PM (Japan Time), Wednesday December the 14th…
"… Netto – kun!"
"What's up, niisan?"
Saito materialized inside of the bedroom and took out his helmet to let his hair loose.
"You were right in making me inspect Silver Arrow's HQ mainframe again. I found a hidden file disguised as part of a torrent file."
"I have a knack for this!"
"It's a riddle like the one Golden Star used! "The place is at the coast of the country where the ancient Greeks founded their Market. Go down until you find the place named after the discoverer of the New World. Then, go north to the Three Hills. There it is." … What do you think of it, otouto?" Saito quoted and then asked for Netto's opinion.
"Why would they write "Market" in English with a capital M?"
"Guess there must be some connection of that word with the ancient Greeks! I know they founded lots of colonies all around the Mediterranean Sea, but without more specifics…" Saito trailed off.
"Maybe "Market" means a city name! Could you look up how is "Market" spelled in ancient Greek?"
"O.K.! Hold on a min… "Emporion"..."
"Thank you! Is there any city outside Greece with that name?"
"No. But…" Saito trailed off.
"But…?"
"I found a city whose name is derived from the Greek "Emporion"! It's a former Greek colony." Saito explained.
"What's the name this city uses nowadays and where is it located?"
"It's called Empúries and it's on the north-east coast of Catalonia."
"That means that he must be somewhere in the coast of Catalonia. The rest of the riddle says that "go down until you find the place named after the discoverer of the New World. Then, go north to the Three Hills. There it is." By "discoverer of the New World", he must mean Columbus."
Netto brought a hand to his chin.
"I'm looking around! I don't think it's on Barcelona, there's no place there around there which matches with "Three Hills". I found another match in a coastal city, Arenys de Mar. There's a hotel named "Hotel Colón". And "Colón" is how they name Columbus in Spanish."
"Can you find if there is a place's name which could be translated as "Three Hills", by any chance?"
"There's a residential district about some kilometers north of the town, named the "Tres Turons"… The literal translation is: "Three Hills"!"
"We did it! We found them!"
"Otouto can have good instincts from time to time, I'd rather say. Don't you think the same, Netto – kun?" Saito teased.
"What? "From time to time"… I always have good instincts, Saito – niisan! You should know it by now!" Netto protested.
"I like teasing you, Netto – kun."
Saito pressed his index finger against Netto's nose.
"Jeez. I know!"
"How do you think the guy goes around? We can track any "Dimensional Converters"!"
"The portal machine…! That's gotta be the answer!"
"Maybe there's one hidden near the spot where he vanished?"
"I have the feeling that this file was placed there very recently ago or else there's no way Laika would've skipped it on his detailed search."
"In short: it's a trap. They want us to get there! However, we know that Hunter Man's materialization program isn't designed to handle too much damage. I could quickly disable him."
Saito brought a hand to his chin.
"I'm concerned if he has an accomplice! They were able to retrieve the text message from the phone yet the phone number didn't exist anymore by then! Obihiro signed "Boss", so he's supposed to be the Boss of the organization…" Netto worriedly exposed.
"No grunt would dream of facing a Net Navi like me. We can leave behind a document with the answer to the riddle. Blues could find it and Enzan would come with reinforcements." Saito suggested.
"We'd need something to use as a weapon… Maybe my old baseball bat will do fine?" Netto suggested.
"I'll work on the document."
He sat down on the chair to begin typing into it while Netto rummaged inside of the closet and brought out the baseball bat.
He used a handkerchief to cleanse it and then tested hitting his bed's cushion with it several times from different angles, speed and strength.
"It'll do fine. Let's finish the backup and get on the move! It's almost 5PM already!" Netto told Saito.
"Roger. They won't run away this time."
Saito's eyes narrowed and his voice had a hint of anger to it, even.
"I know. We managed to vent off to Meiru – chan and Enzan, but I hate having to stay behind. This is a personal score to settle."
"I know. But let's be realistic and assume we'll need help."
"Sure. Else, Enzan will feel betrayed. I wouldn't want that."
"Of course not. Let's get ready."
"Sure… This ends today!"
17:01 PM (Japan Time)…
"Hmmm… What was the unusual signature that I detected here?"
Freeze Man entered a system somewhere and looked around.
"This server has been accessed!"
He accessed a server and looked up some data.
"Research on energy weapons? Hmpf. It must be Hunter Man. They must want to come up with something to compensate for their blunder of the other day…"
A phone call ringtone rang out, so Freeze Man frowned and opened a communications window, filled with static.
"Shuryou?"
Prefix +34? Spain? Wrong number, maybe?
"I'm afraid you've dialed the wrong number..." He began to say.
"No. I know whom I am talking with. Freeze Man EXE of Gospel…"
"Hmpf. Hunter Man?" He questioned, unimpressed.
"Wrong. My name is Death Shadow: the Reborn Grim Reaper. STS has started."
"What!? STS? The NASA's Space Shuttle!?"
"No. That is a codename."
The caller made a hollow-echo-like chuckle.
"A codename…?"
"STS shall be a unique weapon." The caller kept on saying.
"A weapon…?"
"Correct. Once it is complete, and we demonstrate its power, the whole world will want that. You are about to witness a new age… The age of electronic weapons!"
"Don't you mean Viruses?"
"Too childish. Forget Viruses, forget "Darkloids" and forget "Cybeasts"… This weapon will not fail. It will spread across the world and make nuclear arms race obsolete…"
"What!?"
"Enjoy yourselves… The triumvirate has begun its motion… And no – one shall stop it…"
"What the…"
"The other clown has arrived!"
Forte warped into the system and narrowed his eyes upon seeing Freeze Man, who turned around to face him.
"It's been a while… Forte."
"Hmpf. What do you want?"
"I am not the one who summoned you."
"Another weakling?"
"I am Death Shadow! Remember my name, Forte! I shall be the new foe you lowlife have been earning for… Once a being is marked with my mark… They meet a quick and sudden annihilation… You lowlife better hope you are not marked by me."
Both gasped as they felt something, a loud THUMP sound echoed.
"What a presence…! This is no weakling!" Forte gasped.
"Damn. So their talk about a weapon named STS is probably no bluff…"
"Hmpf. The owner of that presence is more important."
"Obviously enough. My orders are to ignore you, anyway."
"Hmpf. Whatever. If you hinder me, I'll delete you!"
"Same over here…"
09:11 AM (Spain Time)…
"… So? What do you guys think of it?"
"Lovely…"
"Terrific…"
"Excellent…"
Sidier, Hunter Man and Obihiro were talking with the mysterious "guest".
The only thing visible about them was that pale, blue light.
"They now know… That they are facing the Grim Reaper itself…"
"Forte must be letting out a string of curses by now directed at you, Death."
"Let it curse on vain. I shall soon silence that venomous tongue and slowly slice it up before tossing the remains of that so-called "powerful one" into the Naraku…" Death Shadow icily announced.
"Yikes! I can't help it! He gives me the creeps." Obihiro muttered.
"I get that same vibe, too…" Hunter Man muttered.
"I am not surprise you do not, Sidier! You come from the Death World itself, after all…"
"You're invited anytime." Sidier told him.
"I gladly shall visit it. Firstly, though! We shall wait for the young flesh to arrive and grandly expose our purpose and intention! I shall mark one with my mark! Their days can be counted with just one hand!"
"Yikes!" Both Obihiro and Hunter Man gasped.
"Fear and terror shall crawl into the soul of that one and it shall slowly become hysterical before sleeping for all eternity… If even you two are afraid of my presence, then there is no doubt that those useless mortals will tremble before my presence."
"O-of course!"
"Excellent, Death – dono… We are glad to have you onboard this little association."
"What I want to see first is the Death Temple and the Death Tribe! I find it fitting that a desert region filled with such winds and desolation is home to such a Tribe…" Death told them.
"Every square inch of our world can be deadly for outsiders. The bog's treacherous pathways can bring death, as well as falling into their deep waters…" Kagehi giggled.
"And if they're not careful, the winds of the Fortress can blow them away into the depths of that abyss…" Kuroumi added.
"Everything in our world is intended to be lethal for any outsiders who dare to snoop in… But they shall favor Death – dono because His Grace is the reincarnated Grim Reaper." Yamikawa summarized.
"That is true. Let those mortals chase that "truth" and stake their lives in the process… The rush of adrenaline and the loss of rational thought… They are the precursors to the eternal mourning roaming around the bloodstained "Dark Sea"…" Death Shadow sounded amused.
"Cemeteries say it all! Fools who died chasing "freedom" or "glory"! Those are pointless! There's only life and death."
"That's the only rule in this world: life and death. The weak ones die and fade away. The strong ones evolve and carry into the future. The weak ruled by the strong… That's what defines a tyranny. But we'll never cause or support one. No… Fate will decide!" Yamikawa continued.
"By the way… We've managed to compile a chronology spanning February – May 2005… Have a look, Death."
"Excellent. I was waiting for it. Let us witness. "Nebula"? "Twilight"? What became of this one?" Death Shadow asked.
"He died back in May! He tried to go all out against Hikari and the clash of his ultimate attack with Hikari's Charge Shot and the resulting explosion collapsed the whole cave and took him out." Obihiro explained.
"Yet! I did find some information of him on my own data! Did he not have a "Darkloid" named Umbra?" Death Shadow asked.
"… That can't be a mere parallelism." Sidier guessed.
"Maybe the explosion was done in purpose to open a hole in Time Space and flee to a parallel Universe?" Yamikawa suggested.
"By all the…!" Hunter Man gasped.
"Hmpf. So that is how it was. I believe I know what happened afterwards… Twilight used his "Double" tactic again to flee but he remained somewhere else! Kuroshiro Oriol then found his way back here. That is when he started plotting indeed…"
"Obviously enough! Excuse me for a moment; I must answer a call…"
Yamikawa's transmission ceased so Sidier shrugged and glanced at Death Shadow's silhouette.
Hunter Man was going over some data in the meanwile.
"Alright, preparations on my side are done…" Obihiro reported.
"Excellent."
"Here's the plan."
Hunter Man walked over to the silhouette and handed over a data cube with data on it.
"We're back. Let's get ready for the show!"
"Let the young flesh come. We shall greet them and cast our mark!"
"Yikes."
"… I don't feel like kidding anymore." Kagehi grimly muttered.
"I don't either." Kuroumi muttered with obvious angst next.
"Who'd want!?" Yamikawa argued.
"No – one!"
17:17 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Maha~! Please~!"
"No! That's an ultimatum."
"Pretty please~!"
"No!"
"My life depends on that!"
"It doesn't. Someone might lose their life even!"
"Yeah. Like when you hit a Net Police's car door when the passenger was coming down…"
"Don't be Devil's Advocate, Tomahawk Man!"
Dingo was pleading to Maha but Maha didn't fall for it.
Dingo began to play the victim but Tomahawk Man had a skeptical look.
"The Wilderness God punishes you for treating them as a mere tool…"
"Shaddup, Shadow Man! This doesn't involve ya!"
"Shadow Man… Stop butting in other's affairs." Miyabi sighed.
"Then I'll go fetch Osiris."
"Who? An Egyptian?"
"The Sky-Dragon Osiris, yeah…"
"Wasn't that thing part of some monsters' card game?" Hinoken asked.
"Yu – Gi – Oh, yeah… One of the 3 "God Cards"…"
"I beg of you~!"
"Enough! Go home, Dingo!"
"No way~!"
"Way."
"Listen… It's my way, my way or the high-way… Limp Bizkit, My Way…"
"Why does Dekao's bad luck chase me?"
"Oh come on! Dekao doesn't have bad luck! He doesn't use the head properly enough! GO – HOME! Dingo!"
"I'll be back! And next time you'll give it back!"
"Unless your parents tell me to…"
"Sheesh!"
Dingo came out and Maha sighed in defeat.
"Dekao who was punished for saying the school and the hospital were bribed… And Dingo! He won't learn to use a compass or GPS software when delivering… What a duo!" He grumbled.
"They drive you mad!" Count Elec protested.
"Sure they do." Madoi was unimpressed.
"Madness!" Colored Man giggled.
"That ain't funny, Colored Man." Elec Man sighed.
"At all." Fire Man grumbled.
"What madness." Magic Man groaned.
"Let's compete to see who can create more "Doubles"…"
Shadow Man challenged Magic Man.
"Not again… I'm fed up with that competition." He complained.
"Stray souls are stirring up conflict… Let them wander across the world!"
"Shadow Man…! Shut up already and do us a favor…!"
"Too bad, Admiral! I'm inspired!"
"Sheesh! You need some tweaking! Else you run amok!"
"I'd like to see you trying, my partner…"
