Chapter 20: War General
18:08 PM (Japan Time), Wednesday December the 21st…
"… No. It's no big deal, really, but… To be on the safe side, he shouldn't do exercise with it for three days."
"Thanks goodness."
"Thank you very much, sensei."
Yuuichirou and Haruka were talking with a medic.
Both entered the room, where Netto was sitting up on the bed, with bandages around his right shoulder and wearing the hospital pajama.
Saito was sitting on a nearby chair and seemingly trying to comfort him.
"Papa… Mama… I'm sorry. I got into a mess again." He apologized.
"No, Netto. You were fighting for your friends. You didn't get into a mess! You mustn't let it make you feel guilty." Yuuichirou comforted him.
"That's right, Netto. So relax and take it easy. The medic told us you can be discharged tomorrow and we'll soon have Christmas. We can be at ease for a few days." Haruka added.
"See, otouto? There's no point in getting depressed. Cheer up."
"Papa, Mama, Saito – niisan… Okay. You're right." Netto sighed in relief.
"And I'll make spaghetti with meat balls when you come home! That always blows away the gloomy moods!"
"That reminds me… Saito. I promised I would work on a program to help you be able to eat and drink, but… It's only halfway done. I've kept on forgetting to properly work on it. I'm sorry. I announced it back on August and it's already December…" Yuuichirou apologized.
"Don't mind it, Papa. I've waited six years before reuniting with otouto and seven before I could come out into the real world through "Cross Fusion"! I know you will complete it, Papa. But I don't want to pretend I'm human yet. I'm still Netto – kun's Net Navi." Saito calmly replied.
"But, Saito… Don't forget. For us, you look as human as anyone else."
"You're also our son, Saito." Haruka added.
"I knew that, Papa, Mama… I just don't want to pretend. I don't want to ignore reality."
"Well then… I leave you to take care of Netto. I'll start working on the remains we secured, but we don't hope getting any clues save for its chemical and electronic composition. The remains barely make up 10% of it, anyway. I'm sure your theory about the processor is correct, after all."
"I'll cook you a nice curry which will make you forget the bad mood in the blink of an eye!" Haruka giggled.
"Thank you." Netto thanked.
"Later."
Their parents exited the room and both managed to smile as Netto looked at Saito and nodded in agreement.
"Guess we'll be able to take a little break around Christmas… We'll have to bear with it! At least it'll heal in three days' time. It could've been worse for all we know!"
"Otouto… Remember! We must be strong and not allow those guys to depress us." Saito reminded him.
"By the way! That reminds me! How did I "enter" Yaito – chan's tree-house computer's Cyber World back when the Bug Style Incident?"
"I believe that the screen somehow became a gateway into Cyber Space because of my actions… I'm sorry for grabbing you like that back then, but… I was barely conscious or aware of whom I was."
"I understood that. You needn't worry. At least we could restore all of the Navis absorbed by "Gospel" to normal as well as all the data. I'm surprised, though, that Forte made his way to Gospel's hideout… I guess the monster had the coordinates on it and Forte used them. Or maybe there was a control link that was still active."
There was a knock on the door.
"Come in!"
"Hello, Netto. And Saito."
"Pride! Thanks for coming."
"It's the least I could do!"
"Indeed!"
Pride walked in and sat on the chair next to bed since Saito stood up and freed it.
"Those villains sure are arrogant. They sent a non-traceable message to all Net Saviors… Signed by that "Death Shadow" foe…" She sighed.
"It was very arrogant, indeed! The foe gloated that we were "deluded" by his "grand subtleness"! And by that they meant the mystery behind the STS initials. We'd thought it could've been Special Terrific System, Super Time Special or Sample This Salt. But, in truth, the initials stand for… Sensou Tai Sho… War General." Knight Man explained.
"War General… I'd never guessed it. I thought it was written in English."
"That villain kept us fooled from the beginning to the end! The real name for that is… Thanatos." She sighed.
"That's the Grim Reaper a.k.a. the personified "death" in Greek… Isn't it?"
"Death Shadow had the irony of naming those things after himself like they were his servants! What arrogance!" Knight Man grumbled.
"Thanatos… Death…" Netto muttered.
"And I'm worried upon seeing how just one of those is able to handle so many opponents at the same time. The next one, whenever it shows up, won't be so easy to incapacitate."
"But they've hit the limit when it comes to processing power. It'll eventually be unable to process so many inputs and data without having to "kill" other processes." Saito brought up.
"I like that better. We'll keep up the search but I guess we'll have to expand it… It'll be hard to tell where they went to. I'm sure Obihiro used some kind of disguise so as to not call attention to him when driving the van around… The problem is that we don't know its color, registration number or model. And he could pose as an Italian tourist or citizen living there to mislead us."
"Man. I hope no – one gets interested in this stuff and tries to buy some of them when they're completed. That's the last thing we need! As if dealing with those guys wasn't enough, some terrorist group could use them to inflict chaos somewhere." Saito sighed in defeat.
"This is a mess. And I don't see any solution to it coming out anytime soon expect for finding out their base and trying to blow everything up along with the schematics." Netto muttered.
"Unfortunately enough… Sorry." Pride sighed.
"Why do you apologize, Pride? It's not like you're at fault."
"No, I meant… I wanted to contribute more."
"Princess…" Knight Man muttered.
"We're all doing what we can, Pride. There's nothing to be ashamed of."
"You're right. I mustn't let those cowards depress me!"
"That's the spirit!"
"So? Are you and Meiru – chan making progress?" She teased.
"Wha!? No! We're… simply… childhood friends!" Netto argued back.
"W-well… Roll – chan and I are simple friends, too…" Saito trailed off.
"Don't worry! I was teasing you! I didn't meant to force a confession!"
"G-gotcha…!"
"Well! I'll resume the investigation! Take care, Netto!"
"T-thanks!"
10:39 AM (Spain Time)…
"… Good news! Emperor S – sama just told me! Hikari won't be able to fight for three days. We got have player out of the roster."
"That's splendid."
Sidier had come to report the news to Obihiro and company.
"And those fools learnt the true name of our servants. I am sure fear will soon rule over their fleshes and bodies before they give way to anger and frustration…" Death dramatically announced.
"Hmpf. That'd be lovely to witness, even." Hunter Man muttered.
"So… We know we can't increase processor speed. But we're making good progress. It's not possible to increase the armor because that would make them way too heavy. I guess we can just rely on the battle circumstances and not dragging the fights on for a long while. We'll switch to a "fear" tactic! We push the guys to their limits and then escape. They'll be left scared and unsettled." Obihiro suggested.
"So… "Hit and run", so as to speak…" Sidier muttered.
"I'm gonna stage a little show to keep the audience busy!"
They turned around to see Harp Note DS' hologram standing there.
"Kagehi – sama!" Sidier greeted.
"We are glad to have such a noble visitor." Death Shadow gallantly announced.
"What might the matter be?" Obihiro nervously asked.
"Can we help in some manner?" Hunter Man added.
"There's no need to be concerned. I'm off to staging this little show. It'll be amusing. Don't forget to tune into it in a few minutes' time. Bye – bye."
"Don't mind it too much, Death. It'll serve as distraction for those guys!"
"Excellent. Let us focus on the re-design of the next robots!"
18:51 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Really… What were you expecting to accomplish, Telsa?"
"I want to find another of those things and beat it up!"
Airstar and Tesla were flying over the city in Airstar's helicopter.
He rolled his eyes under his smoked glasses and sighed.
"I told ya already! Netto and the others blew one up a little while ago! They're gonna fix the mistakes before thinking of sending another out!"
"No! My business sense says it all! It's gotta be around here!"
"Man…" Gyro Man sighed.
"We're in trouble." Magnet Man grimly muttered.
There was a beep coming out of the console.
"Charlie! Data has intruded the chopper's computer! It's fusing together!" Gyro Man reported.
"What the hell is this?" Magnet Man wondered.
"Charlie – sama~! Don't forget about tonight's promise! We're going to go the Up & Down to have some fun!" A voice rang out.
"Charlie…! You've been going out with someone else!"
Tesla formed a twitch above her right eye and looked about to explode.
"N-no! This must be some kind of mistake!"
"There's no mistake: Charlie – sama is my idol!"
Harp Note DS showed up behind Airstar's seat and she leaned forward while closing her arms around his upper body from behind.
He began to sweat and looked nervous.
"Who the…? How did cha get here?" Tesla demanded.
"Can't you see? I'm using a hologram!" Harp Note DS announced.
"Why, you…!" Tesla cursed.
"I recognize you! You're one of that Yamikawa guy's buddies!"
"The prologue is in movement. My nice little pet will play around with those two Navis." She announced.
"Garuu Virus…! And it's gigantic!" Gyro Man exclaimed.
"Shit." Magnet Man cursed.
The giant Garuu roared and shot blasts of fire towards the Navis: they dodged just in time as the Cyber World burned.
The chopper began to heat up and seemed to be about to suffer a mechanical failure given its condition.
"Shit! Battle Chip, Geyser! Slot In!"
"Damn! Battle Chip, Aqua Blade! Slot In!"
Both attacks hit the Garuu and it growled as it stepped back and opened his mouth.
"Crap! Battle Chip, Bubble Side! Slot In!"
"Battle Chip, Spread Gun! Slot In!"
These new two attacks hit the throat of the Virus and it growled as it fell down on the ground.
The chopper shook but Airstar managed to keep control of the thing.
"Mag Ball!"
"Tornado Arm!"
The two attacks hit the Virus and defeated it, so both Airstar and Tesla sighed in relief.
"But this is where the show turns interesting." Harp Note DS teased.
"Crap." Both muttered.
"… Kidding! 'Bye!" She giggled.
Her hologram vanished, surprising them.
"Charlie. The engine was almost fried. We'll need to run some repairs into it before our next sortie." Gyro Man reported.
"It'd seem that the Virus was assembled in a rush! Its power level wasn't much higher than the normal-sized version of it."
"Rushed or not… I'm glad we managed to get out of it in one piece."
"Hmpf! That woman… Trying to stir civil war…" Tesla hissed.
"What "civil war"… That was "jealousy"…"
"I'm – gonna blow – her – away – by – my hands!" She threatened.
"How are you gonna do that, anyway? She's just a hologram."
"I'll bring out my anti hologram sword and cut her up!" Tesla boasted.
"There's no such thing." He sounded exasperated by now.
"I'll self-made it, then!" She countered.
"It's impossible to attack a hologram! You might break the projector but that's all!"
"Hmpf. You want to act like Wikipedia – sama."
"Wrong!"
"Hmpf! Sheesh!" She played the offended.
"Jeez. Lovely!"
"Get ready, you silly woman!" Tesla challenged.
"Lovely. Is this gonna turn into a carnage or what?"
"I won't lose to some idol wannabe!"
"Sure, sure…"
"My might will overwhelm those kittens!"
"Sheesh! No need to drag others into this!"
19:02 PM (Japan Time)…
"… I know…"
A teen walked down a street.
He seemed to be close to a meter and seventy tall.
He had black hair and green eye irises and he appealed to be close to sixteen years old.
He wore a navy blue wool sweater, black jeans and white sneakers.
He also sported a red cap, and smoked glasses (transparent enough to see his eyes).
He carried a gray Link PET the emblem of which was a transparent shape of a person delimited by a black rim around their figure.
He was speaking through a flip cell phone.
"I insist! I'll do it. What? You don't like that I'm doing it 'cause it's something personal? Wait! What?" He argued with someone.
He didn't notice Miyabi looking from inside of a tree's foliage.
"This one looks like a neophyte, Miyabi. How about we teach them the limitations of their skills?" Shadow Man suggested.
"You mean a "novice". And, no. First I need to assess!"
"Don't screw me! It was hard enough to locate you guys… What? You don't need me!? Whom do you think you're talking with…? Can't be… You're actually not gonna move a finger about the jerk?"
"Hmmm… Suspicious!"
"I'll prove it to you guys! I trained with a pro during five years! What!? Zero chances of succeeding!? It's just a jerk! And my method is perfect! No – one would think of it!" He discussed.
"Perfect… Not even I am perfect." He muttered.
"Because Ooyama's curse is on place…"
"Stop bringing Ooayama Dekao up."
"I'll bring him down then."
"Don't overdo it either."
"Don't worry… I'll just quote the Art of War…"
"Sun Tzu's work? I don't think he'll gain anything from that! He'll distort the thing to begin with." He was skeptical.
"You bunch of jerks! I'm invincible~! I'll prove it to you guys like it OR NOT!" The teen was yelling.
"Operator, I don't think that…" A Navi interjected.
"You just shut the trap up!"
"R-roger…"
"Don't try to ditch me, you! What? Proof? That's what I was talking about: I'm so gonna prove it to you guys! What? Not again! Zero chances of success…! What's your proof for that!? "Countless variables and factors"!? Ain't that some Math problem?"
"Hmpf. I'm flattered." Miyabi sarcastically muttered.
"I'm flattened." Shadow Man joked next.
"Oh come on. Go hunt stray souls."
"Delighted… Starting by that guy over there!"
"Fuck! They cut me off! The smug-faced jerks! The smug-faced imbeciles who think that they're invincible! Fuck 'em all!"
"That's why I said that…"
"SHADDUP! I'll prove it to them! My word!"
"Hmpf… Come anytime, novice… I'll be waiting…"
"And I'll cast the curse of the lazy jerk on them…"
"Sheesh! Save me the curse mania!"
