Chapter 19: Deadly battle
16:46 PM (Japan Time), Wednesday December the 21st…
"… You really did get some good grades, otouto!"
"I told ya!"
Netto and Saito were talking inside of their house's bedroom.
Netto was sitting on the bed while Saito used a chair.
"What's more! You worked alone on those. You've really improved a lot!"
"Please… Don't compliment me so much!"
Netto blushed and scratched the back of his head.
"True. If not, you'll get another of those "invincible" moods like when you were given the Advanced PET II… That show Raoul and Enzan set up for us still makes me laugh, really."
"It was proven that Dekao wasn't the only flashy guy! Maybe Laika was right and we should've tried to be more cool-headed." Netto chuckled.
"By the way… It'd seem Blues also disguised once with Thunder Man and went by the alias of "Masked Net"… And who'd said he could yell better than Thunder Man? He beat him by 10 points!" Saito looked amused.
"And they then were invited to represent Ameroupe in the Worldwide Championship, too!"
"I guess Enzan was in the "what the hell did ya say" mood when he got that email! Buruusu admitted that both he and Thunder Man were taken aback by it." Saito grinned.
"Enzan must be cursing his "bright idea" of back then which has turned Raoul into a comical guy from the serious guy he used to be back then!"
"That's…! Netto – kun! Look outside and towards the south east!"
They looked outside and saw a "Dimensional Area" forming around a section of city towards the southeast.
"A Science Labs "Dimensional Area"…! Another of those things must've showed up over there!" Netto gasped.
The Link PET beeped and Meijin appeared onscreen.
"Netto – kun, Saito – kun! The triumvirate is back at it. Yuriko is trying to handle that thing." Meijin reported.
"Yuriko is! Is there anyone going there?" Netto asked.
"Enzan – kun is going there! I'll try to get in contact with Laika – kun. You two should hurry over there, too."
"Roger, Meijin – san!" Saito acknowledged.
"One last thing: san wa iranai!" Meijin added.
Saito entered the Link PET as Netto placed it on its holsters
"It's time to go!"
He put on his sneakers, added the rollerblades, and began to skate over there while checking his surroundings.
"We should be there in ten minutes' time, more or less. I hope Enzan makes it there before us, and he'd be able to help Yuriko! We dunno what they have added to that stupid piece of scrap." Saito told Netto.
"Bloody 'em! Death actually plans to sell these things to terrorists! The jerk may be an extraterrestrial "Darkloid" but he sure got a feeling of "greed" to him!" Netto cursed.
"That's funny taking into account that Original Slur seemed to find Deep Kabase's obsession with money amusing. Guess she added that to the endless list of "reasons why humanity deserves to be annihilated"… Sheesh."
"Sheesh! Greed! I can picture it!"
"Let's hope Yaito – chan doesn't get corrupted by it, either… We don't want a Tesla V 2.0!"
"Sheesh! I know, I know! Lovely panorama!"
16:58 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Needle Buster!"
"Blues Sword!"
"Battle Chip, Curse Shield, Long Sword. Slot In."
The Curse Shield brought upon by the robot blocked off the projectiles "CF" Yuriko shot at it while it used the right arm's Long Sword to block "CF" Blues' attempt to attack.
"Shit. Even if it's 2 VS 1 it can still deal with us." "CF" Blues cursed.
"And we're dead if we lower our guards." "CF" Yuriko grimly muttered.
"Shah, shah, shah! This pile of scrap is pissing me off!" Needle Man cursed.
"Let's hope we can get reinforcements soon enough." Blues admitted.
"Program Advance! Fire, Elec, Aqua, Bamboo Sword! Elemental Sword!"
"Program Advance! Cannon, Hi Cannon, Mega Cannon! Zeta Cannon!"
"TAKE THIS!"
Both shot their Program Advances from behind and from the front but the robot stood still.
"Battle Chip, Tank Cannon."
It took out the Tank Cannon and placed the muzzle on the ground before shooting.
The recoil pushed the robot skywards and both Program Advances destroyed each other on collision.
"Enemies are powerless. Powerless." The robot announced.
"That sounds like a rip-off from "Darkloid" Gravity Man." "CF" Yuriko sarcastically commented.
"You were there, then?" "CF" Blues asked.
"I hadn't told you? That of the elevator was my work."
"Then I should finally tell Netto I'm sorry for doubting him."
"Battle Chip, Meteor. Slot In."
The meteors began to rain down as both jumped out of their trajectory.
They hit the ground and caused craters to open up.
"Battle Chip, Magma Seed. Triple Slot In."
The robot tossed three Magma Seed at the ground and formed three puddles of magma, limiting the range of movements for both "Net Saviors", while the meteors kept on raining down.
"Roof!" "CF" Blues yelled.
"Roger!"
Both jumped into a nearby roof and disbanded.
"Needle Buster!"
"Neo Variable Sword! Sonic Boom!"
"Battle Chip, Black Hole. Slot In."
The black hole opened up and sucked both of the attacks in before closing.
The foe drew its default machineguns and aimed them at each opponent.
"Shoot!"
It shut off the jets and fell some meters before igniting them again to dodge a blast crossing the space where its back had been.
"Close!"
They turned around and looked down to see "CF" Netto aiming the Rock Buster at them.
"New enemy confirmed: inputting entry into battle pattern program. Data confirmed." They announced.
They flew upwards to dodge the two attacks which "CF" Blues and "CF" Yuriko tried shooting at the thing.
"It can use gun-type Battle Chips with recoil to jump into the air… But he couldn't maneuver on the air sans the jetpack, then…"
"Wait. Maybe they're susceptible to magnetism?" "CF" Yuriko suggested.
"Good idea. Netto! Keep it busy for a few seconds!" "CF" Blues called out.
"O. K.! You trash! Catch me! Jet Vernier!"
"CF" Netto flew into the air and shot various Rock Buster shots in a quick manner while drawing a pattern around the robot.
The robot was unable to dodge all of them and some left slight wounds on its body.
"Battle Chip, Elec Sword!"
"Battle Chip, Heavy Shake!"
"CF" Blues placed the Heavy Shake on the roof and "CF" Yuriko hit it with the Elec Sword while falling from the roof.
A massive EM radiation pulse originated and swept the area, so the robot frizzled and its jetpack began to alter between left and right exhaust, making the robot's balance swing from side to side before it completely stopped and it began to fall.
"Kzzzz… EM radiation… Battle Chip, White Web. Slot In."
The robot used it to cushion its fall and tried to stand up.
Only the left leg and right arm obeyed and it was having trouble keeping a proper balance while on the web.
"Freeze Bullet!"
"Kzzz… Battle Chip…"
The Freeze Bullets hit the web and it broke because of the robot's own weight and the minimal thickness of it.
The robot met the ground and fell inside of one of the meteor-caused craters.
"Laika!" "CF" Netto greeted.
"CF" Laika was flying across the air and aiming his Scope Gun at the robot, which seemed to have stopped.
"… Not yet." He muttered.
"Battle Chip, Area Steal."
The robot warped and everyone began to look around.
It reappeared in front of "CF" Netto and quickly plunged a Samurai Sword into his chest emblem before he could react.
His "Cross Fusion" came apart and he began to fall.
"Area Steal!" "CF" Blues gasped.
He showed up beneath Netto and caught him by the shoulders as he fell.
"CF" Laika shot a streetlight with the Freeze Bullet and it formed a small ice platform.
The PET landed on it and he quickly retrieved it.
"Needle Cannon!"
"Battle Chip, Hell's Burner. Slot In."
While "CF" Yuriko kept the robot busy, "CF" Blues helped Netto land in a safe spot while "CF" Laika handed him the Link PET.
It had ejected the "Synchro Chip" and it was broken.
"Crap. Again…" Netto muttered.
"Be glad it was from the front." Saito grimly told him.
"I really should be."
Netto closed his eyes and made a grimace.
"Laika! Keep the fight on. I'll be shield." "CF" Blues told him.
"Roger. I'll go for the Prism strategy. Get a Dream Aura ready."
He flew skywards and assumed an angle to be south-west of the robot's current position.
"Battle Chip, Prism!" He muttered.
He shot the Prism into the air while "CF" Blues drew the Dream Aura and made the thumbs up sign to him.
"Battle Chip, Mega Cannon!"
The blast from the weapon hit the Prism and several beams of energy reflected by it shot out in multiple directions.
The robot, atop a roof and clashing with "CF" Yuriko, was unable to react as two of them hit his jetpack and pierced through its body.
The robot stepped back and "CF" Yuriko kicked its lower jaw to make it fall into the street with a loud CRASH sound.
"Eat that!"
Both "CF" Laika and "CF" Yuriko landed on the ground and aimed towards the spot where the robot was.
It stood up and still seemed to be able to battle.
"Shit. We'll have to break open the chest armor to force it to leave. Else it won't stop working anytime soon no matter how hard we try!"
"Let's try to get its attention." "CF" Yuriko suggested.
"Battle Chip, Area Steal. Slot In."
The robot warped and "CF" Laika tried to scan where it was using his scan capabilities.
BLAM!
The sound of a heavy gun firing along with a cry of pain rang out.
The robot had warped behind Netto and shot a Mega Cannon at his right shoulder from behind.
"OTOUTO~!"
A scorch mark remained on the skin and Netto collapsed on the ground while "CF" Blues faced the machine.
"One enemy defeated. Currently engaging remaining enemies…"
"You lowlife!" "CF" Blues hissed.
Rock Man materialized, having already loaded the Rock Buster, and placed its barrel on the robot's head.
"Charge Shot!"
The blast effectively blew up the robot's head and it stood still as it lacked a processor to control its body.
"Let's finish it off! Program Advance! Sword, Wide Sword, Long Sword! Dream Sword!"
"Program Advance! Vulcan, Triple Slot In! Mugen Vulcan!"
"Program Advance! Hi Cannon, Triple Slot In! Giga Cannon!"
Two of the attacks blasted through the robot's body and the third one hit the super energy core.
It began to grown and collapsed just a like a supernova.
Rock Man shielded the unconscious Netto along with "CF" Blues from the expanding plasma ball and the shockwave.
The only remaining pieces were very small and varied on size but it was obvious that over 90% of it had been destroyed.
"Shit. This kind of wound seems to be very superficial, but… If I had to give a verdict, I'd say he needs to take three or four days off any using the right arm in a brusque manner."
"CF" Laika cursed as he crouched and examined the wound.
"At least we've proven that they have their limits to their reaction speed given the quick pace of the fight! I doubt them being able to increase it! They must've hit the limits when it comes to designing operating microprocessors."
"I know." Enzan sighed.
"The 64-bit microprocessors are the fastest thing you can find in the market ever since four years ago." Saito muttered while holding back his obvious rage.
"The IBM POWER6 and others! And its max speed is 4.7 GHz, so even it cannot process an unregistered program out of nowhere in so little time."
"It'd seem the orchestrator is having some trouble holding back his wish to lash out at us!" "CF" Yuriko announced.
They looked at a building's roof to Dark Ryuusei's hologram standing there and looking down (literally) on them.
He didn't seem to be pleased as evidenced by his poker face.
"Sheesh. Hmpf." He grumbled.
"Your so-called "clients" must be about to ask for their money back upon seeing how this thing got blow into bits and pieces!" "CF" Blues taunted.
"Then you fail to see the point. That's a prototype! It ain't the final version. It's obvious that you use prototypes for tuning and they may get damaged or destroyed! It's always happened across History. This is nothing new!"
"And you did that of the Area Steal in purpose!" Saito growled.
"That's where you're wrong. We don't remotely command each move they do! They chose their own strategies." Dark Ryuusei corrected.
"We've proven that your machines are not as 100% reliable as you thought they were. You won't be counting any other victories!"
"Gloat while you can." Dark Ryuusei challenged.
He faded away while the others sighed in relief and tended to Netto.
Saito closed his right arm below his shoulders and lifted him.
"Let's carry him to a hospital to check on him… A Science Labs team is heading here to pick the remains: I doubt those guys want them back, anyway. They must have more of them in the production line!"
"Shah, shah, shah! Hmpf! They got a swollen eye. I hope they get a lot more of 'em!" Needle Man grinned.
"I hope so, too. And we'll one day find that factory and turn it into burning ruins and wreckage."
"Saito…" Blues called out.
"Don't worry. I won't get angry over that. Let's go." He replied.
"Netto… Hang in there!" Enzan muttered.
We're making progress!
"Search Man! What's the status?"
"Knight Man. We beat it, but Hikari ended up harmed. We're taking him to the hospital for a check-up."
"I see. I had to fight off a Virus attack at the embassy…"
"Sheesh. So that's how they keep the others busy. Should've seen it coming!" Laika grumbled.
"Will Netto be alright?" Pride asked.
"Probably. Doesn't look like a major wound, Princess."
"What cowards! I shall crush them with the hammer of justice!"
"Knight Man! Anger doesn't solve anything."
"I shall offer no excuses, Princess."
"Damned jerks! Napalam Man – sama is gonna blow 'em sky high!"
"Go, Nenjirou! Show the fireworks maker's pride~!"
"I AIN'T NENJIROU! AND FIREWORKS MAKER PRIDE IS UNRELATED!"
"At least the overall morale is high." Laika sighed in relief.
"Burn the maker soul, Nenjirou!"
"Sheesh! Makers are unrelated, I already told you~!"
17:19 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Surprise, surprise. Who came to visit ya guys?"
"Kagehi – sama. It has been a while."
"Sure, Phantom Black DS!"
Harp Note DS was talking to Phantom Black DS within the Bog Temple's main area.
"It's been a while since I dropped by… This place gives me some inspiration and some swimming into the underground tunnels will rid me of the foul mood I got a while earlier."
"Did something happen?"
"STS – Zero was blown into bits. But it served its purpose and we already have a replacement and two more into the production line." She admitted.
"Intriguing! This looks like a proxy war, if I'm allowed to use the expression. Our proxies shall fight in our stead."
"True! I hadn't considered that point of view… You keep on being fond of noble words!"
"It's part of my nature." He gallantly announced.
"I'll stay here for a few days. I've gotten enough of playing "Empress"."
"So it would seem. And I would rather guess that the return of a potentially active sunspot will place pressure on them! Even the Sun is unpleased with their poor labor and so it is making it known."
"You know… That ain't a crazy idea. I could use it for my next song: Sun God's Anger." She grinned.
"The Winged God Dragon of Ra…" Phantom Black DS guessed.
"Sure, sure! Good idea! Ra, indeed! One of the terrific God Cards! You know you're dead when you face its threatening shriek and teeth! They are cleaner than any kid's teeth even while using strawberry-flavored tooth paste." She improvised a joke.
"It would like to bring golden light to this world and then set our enemies ablaze with Its God Blaze Cannon. It will make all beings turn into corpses with its One Turn Kill Special Ability… And, finally… It shall become God Phoenix and burn up in flames of pain and torture all enemies."
"Let them fool around as long as they want! Eventually, though, good ol' Death will "Summon" it and the "Net Saviors" shall know it was foolish to defy us."
Harp Note DS played some notes with her guitar, improvising a melody.
"Splendid."
Phantom Black DS took off the hat and made a gallant reverence as if he was addressing an audience.
"The magician always hides his rabbits into the hat. But I was never fond of them, either. They're outdated. I'd rather have mail pelicans but I guess they don't fit inside of it." She seemed to be making up a parody.
"Who knows?" He teased.
"Let glory come to us for all eternity~!"
"Excellent."
"Glory~!"
"Wha! Brachio Wave DS! Don't suddenly emerge from within the water; you're soaking us with it!"
Brachio Wave DS emerged from the waters and the waves he caused splashed the other two, so they complained.
"Crap. I got carried away!" He muttered.
"Looks like you need shock therapy~!" She hissed.
"YIKES! Run for your fins!"
"When will that crocodile wannabe grow up!?"
"Were it so easy, ma'am, were it so easy!"
