Chapter 16: Prototype
08:18 AM (Spain Time), Sunday December the 18th…
"… Status: online."
"Bravo!"
"Good, good!"
"Splendid."
Death Shadow, Sidier, Hunter Man and Obihiro gathered around something inside of the factory room of their base.
"It will have some flaws! We speeded it up a lot, after all. But we shall learn from them and improve them."
"Obviously! Such is how humanity's history has worked like ever since the ancient ages." Obihiro grinned.
"Net Saviors… Crave your own graves…" Hunter Man muttered.
"The Naraku is awaiting you guys." Sidier added.
"… So?"
"Kagehi – sama! STS – Zero is complete!"
Kagehi's hologram projected again, writing something on the notebook.
"Go ahead and open the gates of Hell. Sakurai will soon be cursing that I made her sweat and I ruined her make-up." She giggled.
"I fail to see the correlation." Death Shadow muttered.
"Don't mind it, Death – dono. Just getting in the mood."
"Fine. As long as it does not interfere with the building process…"
"It won't. Go ahead, Oni-chan. Teach Sid over there some tricks!"
"Sheesh! Obihiro, ma'am! Please allow us to finish tuning the device!"
"Sheesh… Why is it always me?"
16:33 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Battle Chip, Shotgun! Slot In!"
"Shotgun!"
"Battle Chip, Spread Gun! Slot In!"
"Spread Gun!"
Rock Man was fighting a normal Navi in the Game Center "Game Soul".
He aimed the shotgun's three cursors and shot thrice.
The shots hit the Navi before he could shoot his spread gun.
"Battle Chip, Triple Bomb! Slot In!"
"Triple Bomb!"
Rock Man threw it at the Navi and the resulting explosion forced him to exit the system due to the attained damage.
"My 3rd serial victory…!"
"That guy is cool!" One Net Battler told his partner.
"I get the feeling like I've seen 'im somewhere else…" The other replied.
"Guess I'm not too good yet… Bye." The defeated Battle sighed.
Netto grinned and looked rather boastful.
Rock Man glanced at him with a recriminating look and Netto changed behavior.
"Who wants more?" He challenged.
"I'll go." A guy announced.
"Fine."
"Go! Plug In! Clayton, Transmission!"
A standard Navi with a mean look to him entered the system and Rock Man assumed combat pose.
"Go! Clayton! Beat that punk!" The Operator commanded.
"No – one can defeat the great me!" Clayton boasted.
"That remains to be seen." Rock Man calmly replied.
"A huge mole, so… Battle Chip, Ice Cannon Ball! Slot In!"
"What the…!" The Operator cursed.
Rock Man threw the Ice Cannon Ball at the ground and it became frozen although Clayton jumped into the air to dodge that.
"Battle Chip, Elec Sword! Slot In!" Netto announced next.
"No way!" The Operator yelled.
Rock Man plunged the Elec Sword on the ground before using it as a base to jump into the air while detaching it.
The frozen ground frizzled with electricity and Clayton, distracted with trying to shoot Rock Man, became electrocuted.
He collapsed on his knees while smoking but Rock Man gave him no pause since he'd already charged up the Rock Buster.
"Charge Shot!"
The blast hit him fully and he had to flee.
"No way!" The Operator cursed again.
"You're the show-off type who bullies weak people by claiming to be strong. They get nervous and you use some cheap moves to win! That's not a true Net Battle! That's cheating. Hmpf!" Netto deduced.
"Bothersome meddling guy!" He growled.
"That's my motto: or so I have been told." An amused voice rang out.
"Damn." Rock Man hissed.
"I know who's there." Netto grumbled.
"Sidier." Both announced.
Sidier had showed up inside of the battling machine and Rock Man was aiming his Rock Buster at him.
"Rock Man! Hikari Netto! You two shall be our unwilling guinea pigs for our experiment."
"What?"
"But there's no need to move from that spot, either."
"Spit it out." Rock Man demanded.
"Why don't I let it show up in a dramatic manner?"
"STS, you mean?" Netto gasped.
"Bravo, Hikari. Ijuuin has been teaching you how to play detective."
"Sheesh. Lovely!"
"And where is that robot at?" Rock Man demanded.
"It's on its way here. I'm afraid Death will have it make a dramatic entrance! He's fond of dramas which end in a grim manner."
"Wasn't it obvious?" Netto shot back.
"Ask Grim Reaper – sama." Sidier challenged.
"We're not in the mood to." Rock Man replied.
"Cool, composed, guts… I guess Search Man has been teaching you some lessons to stay cool. Guts Man allowed you to take off his "Guts" so he became "Gorilla" Man, or so Kagehi – sama told me last time around. Her Grace knows it all, it'd seem…"
Sidier brought a hand to his chin and chuckled.
"Very funny." Netto drily told him.
"Whatever. You're uglier than a Dream Virus."
"… I feel bad. I'm off."
He snapped his right hand's fingers and vanished.
"What now?"
Something hit the ceiling with violence and the building shook.
The fluorescent lights flickered and everyone began to mutter.
"Shit." Netto growled.
"Coming…!" Rock Man cursed.
There was another hit and some dust began to fall off the ceiling while most of the visitors began to run off.
The fluorescent lights went off and only the emergency lights illuminated the area.
"What the hell is that thing?" Netto cursed.
"Dunno. But it's trying to break through the ceiling."
The ceiling shattered, causing a pile of concrete pieces to fall inside of the room, crushing the Net Battle Machine and forcing Netto to jump away.
A heavy object landed atop the pile of debris and dust swept the area.
"Targets located: currently engaging." A robotic voice announced.
Netto stood up and stared at a humanoid robot.
Its face was a purple spheroid with black rectangular shades.
Red dots or eyes glowed from behind that.
It had a round speaker set where the mouth would be.
The enemy had gray body and armor.
It carried two built – in guns on both arms.
It had a jet pack was attached to its back.
The legs were white and thick.
It seemed to be close to a meter and ninety tall.
"That's STS, then…!" Netto muttered.
"It looks like a Boba Feet wannabe." Saito sarcastically muttered.
"Unit STS – Zero. Targets ID: Hikari Netto and Rock Man EXE. Orders: Annihilate."
"Wha!" Netto and Saito gasped.
He dodged volleys of machine gun fire, which left holes across the walls.
"Meijin – san! Please deploy a "Dimensional Area"!
"San wa iranai! Dimensional Area, Activate!"
The "Dimensional Area" covered the building.
"Synchro Chip, Slot In! CROSS FUSION!"
Netto and Saito performed "Cross Fusion" before facing the robot and drew the Rock Buster.
"Battle Chip, Barrier."
"Rock Buster!"
The shots bounced off the Barrier and "CF" Netto cursed something.
"Battle Chip, Flame Sword!"
"CF" Netto rushed towards the robot, which didn't bother to move.
"Battle Chip, Aqua Sword."
"CF" Netto clashed against the Aqua Sword, but both evaporated and caused steam to fill the area.
"Battle Chip, Tank Cannon!"
"Battle Chip, Curse Shield."
The Tank Cannon blast bounced off and hit "CF" Netto given the close proximity and the lack of time to react.
The blast propelled him towards a wall, and he ended up stuck there.
"D-damn!" He cursed.
"Netto – kun! Cool it off!"
"I'm trying to!" He growled.
"You aren't. Breathe deeply." Rock Man replied.
"STS Machinegun: Double Mode. Fire." The robot announced.
"Battle Chip, Area Steal!"
"CF" Netto warped out just as the robot bombarded the spot where he'd been at with machinegun fire.
"Battle Chip, Dream Aura."
"Battle Chip, Hell's Burner!"
The Hell's Burner bounced off the Dream Aura and hit "CF" Netto instead, causing some burnt marks to show up on his bodysuit.
"See! You're nervous, Netto – kun! Calm down!" Rock Man insisted.
"Sheesh! This thing…!" He cursed.
They didn't spot the two Net Battlers from before hiding behind a drinks vending machine.
"I told you I'd seen the guy somewhere else… He's Hikari Netto, the N1 Gran Prix's Sub Champion over two years ago!" One told the other.
"What's that strange "fusion" thing? How does it work like?"
"I've heard rumors… They say "Net Saviors" have a unique Chip that allows them to fuse with their Navi inside of this weird space… So the guy is a "Net Savior", too…" The first guy told his partner.
"What's that robot doing? It's bringing out Chips that counter the one that he uses! And something tells me it's serious and not some joke."
"I've read that you can design a counter-strategy by looking up footage and choosing the used Battle Chips! You look up their counters and make a list of them. I guess that robot has been programmed to act like that. Who'd said someone already made something like that?"
"Gotcha! Let's keep on! This is a once in a lifetime chance!"
"… Battle Chip, Golden Fist!"
"Battle Chip, Area Steal, Fire Blade."
"CF" Neto tried to hit the robot, but it warped and reappeared behind "CF" Netto while aiming to plunge the Fire Blade into him from behind.
"Heck!"
"CF" Netto dived into the ground towards the right and rolled to get a safe distance before standing up.
"Battle Chip, Shotgun!"
"Battle Chip, Stone Cube."
"CF" Netto tried to shoot at it, but the Stone Cubes formed around the robot and shielded him.
"Shit. Is there no end to this?" He cursed.
"Try changing the stage." Rock Man suggested.
"It's worth a try… Battle Chip, Magma Seed!"
"Battle Chip, Aqua Tower."
The Aqua Tower hit the Magma Seed and caused the boiling of both of them, filling the area with steam.
"Scan Mode: Activate!" "CF" Netto commanded.
He looked around and saw that the robot was trying to creep from behind while still having the Fire Blade.
"Gotcha." "CF" Netto muttered.
"Target: eliminated."
The robot hit "CF" Netto but a cloud of smoke ensued and a chibi doll showed up there instead.
"Beep?"
Three shuriken rained down and hit the jetpack, embedding there and causing for that part of the robot's body to frizzle and spark.
"Take that!"
"CF" Netto landed some meters away from the robot.
"Damage report: start. Status: rear jetpack attacked. Consequences: usage of jetpack may worsen rear condition. Recommendation: switch off jetpack systems." It announced.
"Now or never… Program Advance! Hi Cannon, Triple Slot In! Giga Cannon! Shoot!" "CF" Netto muttered.
"Battle Chip, Curse Shield."
However, the Giga Cannon's blast shattered the Curse Shield and the robot tried to ignite the jetpack.
"Beep! Tactical mistake!"
The jetpack s frizzled and detonated at the same time the Giga Cannon's blast hit the chest armor.
"… Did that do it?" "CF" Netto wondered.
The robot was still standing but its whole body was frizzling.
A hole had opened on the back and another gaping hole was located on the chest, which had a super energy core inside of it.
"Kzzz… Damage report: start… Kzzzz… Status: rear jetpack missing… Armor breach… Kzzz… Front armor breach… Kzzz… Core exposed… Kzzz…"
"Shut up and die."
"Sheesh! How annoying!"
"Danger level: 3. Course of action: tactical withdrawal is preferable to destruction in battle… Kzzz…" The robot muttered.
A purple swirling rift formed and the robot ran inside of it before it closed.
"… STS…!"
09:04 AM (Spain Time)…
"… How does it look like, Death?"
"The degree of damage is something. We can repair it, nevertheless. We will use this one as test drive before producing some more units."
Sidier was speaking with Death Shadow as he examined the damaged robot as it was placed face-up on an examination table.
"I'm sure they must be hoping we take some days to deploy it back."
"Obviously."
"Time to begin repairs! Bring the equipment." Death commanded.
Hunter Man brought a heavy box with several components inside of there.
"This babe's heavy."
"I've brought the rest."
"… Ta – dan!"
"Harp Note DS – sama!"
Harp Note DS showed up as a hologram next to them.
"I saw the robot's performance and I sent footage to both Saruba and Solo. That thing was worth it! It'll be better by just working on it a few days."
She toyed with her guitar's strings.
"Guess we need a song to commemorate this moment!" She giggled.
"Death… Shut down the audio input…" Hunter Man whispered.
Death Shadow seemed to frown under the helmet but he shrugged and crossed his arms.
"… There was a baka guy named Pharaoh Man who was totally crazy~! He blew his own hide up and then regenerated 'cause he wanted to into a 150cm tall Net Navi who an old geezer named Wily gave the name Forte~! Dunno why he thought Forte was a good name~!"
Obihiro discreetly put on earplugs while Hunter Man sighed.
"Forte from strong and from miniature walking fortress, who cares? 'Cause the guy was amnesiac and he had to play mind reader to figure who the hell he was! And he then tried to play the royal by using "ware" but quickly switched to "ore" 'cause he wanted to play the cool guy~!"
Sidier closed his eyes and tried to endure it because Harp Note DS was purposely not tuning well the guitar to make loud piercing noises.
"Tried eating an oversized dog's data but it was bad for his stomach 'cause he broke down into bits and bytes which were then eaten by the dog!"
It's a torture! This is what it is!
"But the guy was able to resurrect again 'cause he had a "Raise Dead" ready on his right sleeve and he picked an ugly robot's body to then tell "screw ya, geezer, I'm off" to the old geezer named Wily~! Now he believes he can beat Hollywood actors to acting! Mr. Freeze will one day tell 'im he's fed with working with such low salary and tell 'im he's gonna go work for Blofeld instead, ya see~!"
She stopped and laughed aloud at her own song while Sidier sighed.
"And that's all."
"M-magnificent, ma'am."
"I'm gonna win the Operación Triumfo contest, 2007 Edition!" She giggled.
"Operation Triumph?"
"A music contest held in Spain but I think it's on decadence! I'll go take part in the Euro-Vision Edition 2007!""
"I s-see. Good luck, ma'am."
"Good luck with Bright Man."
"I thought he was dead."
"His ghost haunts the corridor 'cause I set it to sing "check it out" in your dreams, ya see~!"
"I'm skeptical, ma'am. I would've stumbled upon it by now."
"Anyway… Let's guitar a marshal!"
"Guitar a marshal? And how do we do that, ma'am?"
"Dunno! Try it out yourself, fella."
She laughed and vanished while everyone (save for Death Shadow) sighed in relief.
"What was that about?"
"Kagehi – sama has some odd… habits. It's… complicated." Sidier sighed.
"You looked like you were in pain. Was that some kind of sonic weapon?"
"That's it! That's a weapon! A sonic weapon, indeed!" He groaned.
"Reminds me of my former "business partners…" Death Shadow muttered.
"Was there a woman who liked to toy with others?" Obihiro tried to guess.
"Indeed. Ironies of fate, I guess." He grumbled.
"Let's focus on the task at hand." Hunter Man suggested.
"Indeed."
"I've got the checklist here." Obihiro announced.
"Excellent. Has the production line begun to produce the new jet-pack and armor parts?"
"Of course. They're 38% complete."
"Excellent. That is what I want to see. Efficient work. Of course, I am also working myself."
"Nobody questioned that."
"Indeed. Let us replace the core as well to be on the safe side."
"Good idea. Maybe it's damaged internally!"
"Feel the fear, mortals… The war has but begun!"
