Chapter 18: Mass production
07:14 AM (Spain Time), Tuesday December the 20th…
"… So? How is everything going like, guys?"
"The repairs are complete."
"Good!"
Sidier had come to visit Death Shadow and the other.
The machines around them were working.
"We have managed to assemble a second one as well. It would be wise to try to test how they work against two opponents in case one of them switched targets or both tried to focus on just one of them. This could be crucial for the near future." Death explained.
"Those guys are gonna let out all the curses they know directed at us."
"Sure thing. They want to heat up the weather."
"Emperor S – sama told me that he was planning a break between Saturday and Sunday! We resume on Monday." Sidier told Obihiro.
"I saw it coming."
"The point is that they'll lower the guard and the next attack will hit them harder." Hunter Man told Death Shadow.
"If that is the case, I shall not object to it. I rather prefer to attack them when they are not ready and have them experience the adrenaline rush which comes before the eternal sleep…" He dramatically announced.
"S-sure." Sidier gulped.
"Let us strike today! The "Net Saviors" will be wishing they had written their wills before the eternal sleep!"
"Let them feel terror and fear! Let terror and fear rule their weak bodies! Hunter Man tells you that!"
"No need to match his mood!"
15:33 PM (Japan Time)….
"… Jeez. I'm cursed. And Dekao's to blame."
"Dingo… Blaming others doesn't help!"
"Runts too stubborn for their good!"
"Your humor seems odd."
Dingo was protesting inside of Maha Ichiban's.
Maha was tired of his complaints. Dr. Wily joke and Miyabi was unimpressed.
CRASH!
They heard something crashing against the roof, so Miyabi quickly stood up and made a grimace.
"They came!" He muttered.
There was a second tremor, so Miyabi wasted no time and dragged Dingo along by pulling his hood.
"Come!"
"What! Miyabi!"
They ran out into the street and climbed the fire stairs into the roof, where two of those robots were waiting there.
"Fight the right one! I'll have the left one." Miyabi told him.
"Gotcha!"
"Science Labs! Deploy a "Dimensional Area"!" Miyabi requested.
"O. K.! Dimensional Area: Activate!" Meijin announced.
"Synchro Chip, Slot In! CROSS FUSION!" Both exclaimed.
"CF" Miyabi took out his two swords while "CF" Dingo drew the tomahawk.
"Targets ID: Dark Miyabi and Shadow Man EXE."
"Targets ID: Dingo and Tomahawk Man EXE."
"Orders: annihilate."
"I won't let ya! Tomahawk Swing!"
"Shadow Blade!"
"Battle Chip, Curse Shield."
"Battle Chip, Dream Aura."
Both attacks were repelled and the fighters stepped back.
"Battle Chip, Fire Blade."
"Battle Chip, Cannon Ball."
"Battle Chip, Long Sword!"
"Sheesh! Battle Chip, Tornado!"
"CF" Dingo locked blades with one of the robots while "CF" Miyabi turned into a tornado to dodge the Cannon Ball.
The robot ignited its jetpacks and aimed the machineguns at the tornado.
"Shadow Clone!"
Two copies of "CF" Miyabi showed up behind the robot but it merely spun around while shooting both machinegun.
The blasts hit the three of them as they tried to attack it and the real one had to land into the ground.
"Damn." He muttered.
"Tomahawk Rolling!"
"Battle Chip, Aqua Tower."
"CF" Dingo collided against the Aqua Tower and caused for a cloud of steam to fill the area.
He tried to swing his tomahawk towards the spot the robot had been.
But it had already ignited the jetpack and shot skywards.
"Shit!" He cursed.
"We're in trouble." Tomahawk Man muttered.
"Paralysis Spell!"
"That doesn't work on anything else but Navis!"
"Damn. Is there no end to it?" "CF" Miyabi cursed.
"I've got an idea! Maybe we can try switching opponents! They might take some seconds to recalculate the battle strategy and we could catch them off-guard." Tomahawk Man suggested.
"It's worth a try." "CF" Miyabi agreed on it.
"Gotcha." "CF" Dingo confirmed.
They switched places and the robots didn't notice.
"Shadow Blade!"
"Battle Chip, Fire Blade."
"Tomahawk Rolling!"
"Battle Chip, Bamboo Sword."
One of "CF" Miyabi's swords broke the Fire Blade while the other plunged some centimeters into the thick chest armor.
"Eat these!"
"CF" Dingo's attack burnt the Bamboo Sword and collided with force upon the robot's body, leaving a deep dent on it and making it recoil until it almost tumbled over the edge of the roof.
"Beep-beep-beep! Battle pattern error. Pattern does not match current target. Recalculate pattern." Both robots announced.
"Keep at it! Battle Chip, Triple Bomb!"
"Gotcha! Battle Chip, Triple Bomb!"
"CF" Miyabi handed "CF" Dingo his Triple Bomb while he stuck both of them in the chest armor dent.
"Battle Chip, White Web!"
"CF" Dingo formed a web around it and jumped into the air while aiming the tomahawk towards its head.
"Warning. Critical attack detected. Cancel recalculation and resume battle protocol." The robot announced.
It aimed its machineguns at "CF" Dingo and shot him while he tried to dodge using the jets on his boots.
"Slow! Gramps!"
The Triple Bombs went off and provoked a massive explosion, which opened a gaping hole on the robot's body to expose the super energy core.
"Warning. Warning. Main armor breached. Tactical withdrawal."
"CF" Dingo headed towards the surviving robot, which was using two Long Swords to hold "CF" Miyabi at bay.
"CF" Dingo's tomahawk hit the head and opened a large wound into it.
"Warning. Processor core armor breached. Tactical withdrawal."
Both robots ignited their jetpacks and flew skywards as they entered the purple portal before they vanished.
"My, my, my… It'd seem you're rather diehard guys!" A voice rang out.
They turned around and spotted Dark Ryuusei's hologram standing there.
"I know it! He's Vader's grandson: Ben Skywalker!"
"No~…" Dark Ryuusei slapped his face in defeat.
"You're Jacen Solo, then!" "CF" Dingo told him.
"Wrong…!" He was exasperated.
"No, no! I was wrong. You're Anakin Solo!" "CF" Dingo tried next.
"NO!" Dark Ryuusei yelled.
"Then you've gotta be Anakin Skywalker's Force ghost!"
"I don't have anything to do with Star Wars!"
"Then you're from the "Free Crazy Guys", the show which Count Elec likes seeing the whole time…" "CF" Dingo decided.
"It's called "Unbelievable Truth"…" Tomahawk Man grumbled.
"Crap. I always mix them up!"
"You really can't remember who am I?" Dark Ryuusei growled.
"Of course I do. You're Yamikawa." "CF" Miyabi fumed.
"Yamikawa from Star Potter Reloaded! That's the guy's true identity!"
"Go to Ottawa and get lost there! You'll make all of us a favor!"
"Ottawa? Is that eatable?" "CF" Dingo asked.
"It's a city's name! Aren't you from Ameroupe to begin with?"
"No. He's from Crazy Land." A voice announced.
"Somari – chan! Don't take over the line!"
"I'm the line-jacker!"
"Come on!" He pleaded.
"Okay. But you'll later have to sing "a – le – le" a hundred times."
"That's unfair! I've let you play the empress for almost a whole week and now that I wanna come out for some minutes, you have to boycott me? What a crazy week!" Dark Ryuusei complained.
"Crazy 'cause Dingo is crazy! The origin of the so-called "curse"…"
"I didn't like that, you!" "CF" Dingo complained.
"Hmpf. A man with no manners… I can't stand them. Deal with them Saruba, but make sure that unmannered one is punished."
"Please leave it to me." Dark Ryuusei gulped.
There was a sound like a microphone switched off.
Dark Ryuusei sighed in relief and then looked up.
"I've lost my mood. I'll be going back. And expect us to make you guys sweat more 'till all of the sweat forms the Net Saviors' Pond!"
"Tomahawk Swing!"
"CF" Dingo's attack shot past Dark Ryuusei and he fell down from the roof into the street.
"You can't tell the difference between a hologram and a real person!? You tried to same thing on Beyondard's Wily hologram when he showed up on the truck going to the Wily Laboratory!" Dark Ryuusei called out.
"Dingo… You baka." Tomahawk Man told him.
"I'm seeing the stars and it's the morning…"
"Hmpf. You never learn!" "CF" Miyabi was unimpressed.
"Our beloved monsters… Enjoy…" Dark Ryuusei teased.
"Tomahaw Man's idea was a good one! But I'm sure we won't be so fortunate next time around."
"I get that same vibe, too. Maybe Dr. Wily could give us some insight."
Miyabi jumped back on the ground to see Dingo rubbing the back of his head and grumbling.
"Man. The guy tripped me!" He cursed.
"No… You were the one who couldn't tell he was a hologram!"
"I thought they were as small as the ones you guys use when wanting to project out of the PET!" Dingo grumbled.
"Didn't you see Star Wars?" Tomahawk Man grumbled.
"They were colored pale blue and looked more like it!" Dingo argued.
"Hope you've learned it! Holograms can come in all sizes and fashions so move your butt and do something useful." Tomahawk Man shot back.
"Heck."
"Jeez. This guy…!"
"The mood keeps on being the usual one! If they were aiming to lower it, they're failing."
"And that's because I placed my curse on their fleshes."
"Not again with the "curse stuff"…" Miyabi growled.
"Who's the one who kept on saying that Hikari Netto was a "Lord's container"?"
"I know: I'm too superstitious." Miyabi admitted.
"I'm gonna make up an anti-jerk tomahawk!" Dingo yelled.
"Sure, sure. Dream on, Dingo." Tomahawk Man grumbled.
"You need to learn reality, boy!"
"Sheesh! Count Elec's come to lecture me!"
Count Elec stepped out of the restaurant to scold Dingo, who grumbled and looked away, annoyed.
"Yes! You need to stop complaining! Work! Else, go back home!"
"Sheesh! Gotcha, gotcha!"
"About time!" Tomahawk Man grumbled.
"Love and hatred like that of Mr. Fireworks and His Highness Nenjirou!"
"Sheesh. Don't poke on Napalm Man, it gets worse!"
"It gets burning and passionate!"
"Sheesh! Do something serious, too!"
"Man! Trolls surround us! By George!"
07:56 AM (Spain Time)…
"I suspected that this could happen… The processors are not good enough to realize the switch and change…"
"However… This is the fastest current processors work like, Death!"
"Then we are in trouble."
Death Shadow mumbled and Obihiro exposed other issues.
"Maybe they can just be programmed to distinguish by height, weight or other features to then exchange places with their partner?"
"You know… That wouldn't be very hard to implement."
Obihiro brought a hand to his chin.
"That is better. Let us work on it."
"Sure. I'll go fetch some of the program codes and have another look at them to see if we can optimize them."
Obihiro walked into his bedroom and grabbed some sheets with instructions written down into it before returning to the main room and sitting near the examination table.
"It reminds me of an operating room table! Anyway! Let's get working on it! We could have them ready by tomorrow."
"I thought of something else that we can do instead! We could send one and see how it can handle multiple enemies at the same time. It would not rely on individual battle patterns! It could use a general database."
"Terrific. Even 4 VS 1 would end up destroying themselves."
"Then let us arrange for a "deadly" battle!"
"You know, that reminds me of how four of them fought Slur and failed to harm her! We could aim for similar levels of desperation!"
"Excellent. Make them remember their powerlessness!"
"And they will feel the despair!"
15:58 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Rock Man."
"Shadow Man!"
Rock Man was sitting behind his classroom's desk when he looked up to see Shadow Man there.
"We had two today. Tomahawk Man helped us fight them. We could switch places and confuse them to then inflict enough damage so as to force them to leave." Shadow Man summarized.
"That was a good trick."
"Yamikawa showed his battle form around. Tomahawk Man's Operator kept on mistaking him for a Star Wars character and the guy's still unable to tell it was a hologram! He thinks they must be tinted just like Star Wars' holograms." Shadow Man added with a hint of amusement.
"Dingo… He's so square-headed…" Rock Man sighed.
"Anyway… It'd seem that Yamikawa's woman companion wants to play "Empress" and the guy is letting her! He must be the type to spoil people like Gauss Magnets."
"Empress! And she came up with that silly song, too… It must be a pain to have to hear to them when sung in live." Rock Man grimly muttered.
"I get that same feeling." Netto commented.
"Speaking of the devil!"
Rock Man looked at the desk behind him to see Dark Ryuusei's hologram sitting on the chair and stretching.
"Hiya." He announced.
"Guess you got to like middle school a lot."
"That was the last "normal" stage of my life before that happened."
"And you come up with the hologram to protect your hide."
"Wasn't it obvious?"
"You're not welcome." Rock Man told him.
"I knew that. I like teasing people. The entire STS thing is just a test drive."
"Test drive…? You're aiming to tune them?" Rock Man questioned.
"A product needs to be tuned before making its way to the market to be sold… Gotcha?" He amusedly told them.
"So! You people plan on selling them to unreliable parties."
"Maybe Death – dono will change his plans with time. I'll be going and beware of the elephant statue that Ooyama drew in the blackboard!"
His hologram faded and Netto looked up from his holographic screen at the blackboard.
An elephant's statue had been drawn there and the name "Ooyama Dekao" was written beneath it as a signature.
"Dekao… You're not gonna tell me he aims to be a sculptor." He muttered.
"Dunno."
"Gorillas are hot-tempered, after all." Shadow Man joked.
"Listen! I'll become a famous sculptor!"
"Jeez. Stop daydreaming, Dekao – kun."
"Man. No – one realizes my true potential!" Dekao grumbled.
"You don't have any." Meiru sighed.
"Dekao… Ya have too much of a big mouth. Oh man."
"Ooyama – kun! Stop bothering people! Study!"
"Yikes! Y-yes, sir! Right away!"
"Put some effort into things, Dekao!" Netto sighed.
"Sheesh. If only he were more serious...!"
