Chapter 25: New gen enemies
07:57 AM (Spain Time), Tuesday December the 27th…
"We now have a total of four "new gen" units and five "elites" to protect the supercomputer… Three more "elites" are under production to add up to the planned eight…"
"That is good enough. However…"
"What's up?"
Obihiro, Hunter Man and Death Shadow were having their usual meetings to discuss production when Death Shadow trailed off, for once.
"Do you know any eyes made of fire and that have a black and lifeless pupil to them? I saw one inside of the Cyber World of our portal machine… It was seemingly scanning it. It noticed me and fled but I could recognize it was an avatar…" He brought up.
"Eye made of fire… Black and lifeless pupil… Wait. Do you mean the Eye of Mordor from the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy?"
Obihiro brought a hand to his chin.
"So the design is, as I suspected, extracted from somewhere else?"
"There's no mistaking it. But I doubt it being the Net Police… Maybe the Dark Realm was experimenting with it?"
Hunter Man suggested while seemingly frowning under his shades.
"What?"
"Sidier… Is Kuroumi – sama fond of the Lord of the Rings? We've seen an avatar shaped like the Eye of Mordor…" Obihiro brought up.
"Frankly, I dunno. It could be Kagehi – sama trying to pull a joke! Otherwise, it could Yamikawa – sama running some experiment! Only they have access to the means to project into the "outside world"… And I'm the only one who can come in and out!"
Sidier frowned, unsure.
"Hmmm… Yet…" Death Shadow trailed off.
"What?" Hunter Man asked.
"Do not mind it. I thought I could feel some kind of "aura" or "presence" to it but I may have imagined it."
"We can settle that later on… Let's show them what stuff our "new-gen" units are made of." Obihiro shrugged.
"Go ahead. I'll go back. This topic is bothering me! Maybe I'm being paranoid, but… I want to clear it up. I'll only take a short while to talk to the three of them…"
"It would be good if it could be clarified. Go ahead."
"Okay. Later, guys."
Sidier ran off the room while Hunter Man checked on another of the robots by looking at an LCD screen's display.
"All is ready."
"Let's send Two and Three! They should teach the golden duo what subtleness is about." Obihiro announced.
"Let the mark I granted into them lead them into self-destruction! We shall save ourselves some unnecessary efforts."
"S-sure…"
"My bad. I tend to get excited, even though I am aware that my comments actually have the opposite effect for others…"
"No, no! It's not big issue!"
"Alright. I shall finish tuning up the "Elite" units…"
Death Shadow hovered away while both Obihiro and Hunter Man sighed in relief as if a pressure had left them.
"At least he is aware of his defects!" Obihiro sighed.
"Y-yes, sir. Let's focus on the task at hand, sir!"
16:08 PM (Japan Time)…
"What? The Eye of Mordor? I know it. But I don't have such a hologram, Sidier…"
"Sorry to have bothered you, Solo."
Sidier was speaking with Kuroumi inside of the temple's main corridor.
"What's this about Mordor?" Kagehi asked.
"Somari – chan. I apologize, but… Did you, by any chance, project a hologram of the Eye of Mordor in the refuge's portal machine?"
No. I hadn't thought of that. I'm busy enough coming up with a giant-sized hologram to scare some guys off. And I'm not that much of a fan of Peter Jackson's trilogy, anyway." She admitted.
"Thank you for sparing you valuable time with me. I shall consult Yamikawa – sama." He thanked.
He headed towards the doors and stepped into the main chamber.
Yamikawa had reverted out of his battle form, and was using a dummy to train in kendo swordsmanship.
He stopped to wipe off his sweat and noticed Sidier standing there, saluting.
"Sidier? I thought you'd gone check on Obihiro."
"I sincerely apologize, my Lord, but Death Shadow request of me to investigate a certain matter…" He bowed.
"Death – dono did? What's it about?"
"Has Yamikawa – sama projected a hologram with the Eye of Mordor into the refuge's Time Space Device's Cyber World by any chance?"
"What? The Eye of Mordor…? I know what you mean, but… No. I have no need to project such things."
He lowered the sword and frowned.
"Strange, then… Solo and Somari – chan were not, Yamikawa – sama was not, Obihiro and Hunter Man wouldn't bother and Death didn't know what it was to begin with and he wouldn't stage for such a thing! I doubt it being Forte or the Net Police! They'd dropped by there by now if they knew the place's location." Sidier argued.
"That reasoning is logical, yet… I feel like there's more to it for some reason. It can't be the so-called Organization to which Sgt. Sneaky and Togakawa belong! They don't have the means to and Togakawa was never told the refuge's emplacement apart that it was "somewhere in Spain"… He won't want to know anything about us anymore given how Solo told the Hong Kong guys about Sgt. Sneaky's escape route…"
"Truly odd, sir."
"Ain't it? I'm starting to wonder if someone else is involved."
"But who would that be? That's the enigma, sir."
"There's someone we don't know about…? Hmmm…"
"It could be someone who's been lying low…"
"Well. We did lay low for all these years, after all. But our case is special, since this area is isolated from the normal Cyber World…"
"Hmmm… Maybe it's a new type of Darkloid? Or a Navi like Forte, someone that has formed on their own?" He suggested.
"Could be. It's bothering me. Everything was going smoothly and yet an unknown, unforeseen factor suddenly jumps into the picture. Let devil bite me if it doesn't intend to interfere at some point in time."
"That eye thing is an avatar, obviously enough. However, that alone doesn't tell anything about what kind of subject is behind it! I'd like to drag them out of hiding, indeed!"
"Don't we all? Sheesh. I feel like it's some irony, even!"
"If you'll excuse me, I'll return to the refuge to help out."
"Do that. I'll try to investigate using proxies…"
16:33 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Togakawa – sama."
"What's up, Stealth Man?"
Togakawa was seemingly practicing his aim in a shooting gallery by aiming at cardboard figures of persons.
His eyes had become red and emotionless.
His face was emotionless, too.
"I found a strange avatar program shaped like the Eye of Mordor roaming around the base! Camouflage Man – sama tried to corner it but it fled before he could properly analyze it! Security has been heightened. I was commanded by Sgt. Sneaky – sama to report it." Stealth Man reported.
"The way it behaved didn't suggest the Net Police! While they have some idea of the existence of the Organization, they'd rather break in and attack us instead of being so sneaky."
Togakawa slightly frowned and lowered the gun for a moment.
"An anonymous email has appeared on everyone's inboxes! It sounds threatening, even." Stealth Man added.
"What does it say?" Togakawa questioned.
"…"Ra will gain its power from the gathering of 3 Sacrifices. However, God shall only obey the one who offers the ancient spell to the sky. God shall revive from the earth. The servant will devote its life to complete its resurrection rite. All foes on the battlefield shall instantly become corpses, along with flames… God shall instantly become a phoenix. The chosen Monsters will sleep within the Land." … It sounds terrific enough!"
"Idiot. Someone ripped this off a fantasy anime or manga and they're running a massive prank by using several mail servers to forward it to multiple remittent guys. It's nothing to be scared about! There's far more pressing matters to handle!"
"I don't share that opinion, Emil." A man's voice announced.
A man stepped into the room through a door in the south side.
He looked on his thirties and close to a meter and seventy tall.
He had a small brown mustache, brown hair and blue – irises eyes.
He wore a cap, camouflage – colored clothes, military boots.
"Sgt. Sneaky. What is your opinion, master?" Togakawa asked.
"I believe this was aimed for us. And I believe the culprit behind it is the so-called triumvirate." The man, Sgt. Sneaky, announced.
"What does Camouflage Man – sama think?" Stealth Man asked.
A Navi projected out of Sgt. Sneaky's Link PET, colored in camouflage colors.
Its emblem was a patch of different tones of camouflage colors.
His body used those colors, too.
He had a mouth guard on while his eyes' irises were brown.
The helmet had some leafs attached to it as if to provide further camouflage.
He had curves with patches of brown and green along his arms and legs.
His central body had black lines drawing the borders between the different camouflage patches.
He carried a scout knife and grenades.
"The origin address doesn't lead anywhere. I'm sure this is a warning of something." Camouflage Man announced.
"Anyway… Emil. Wrap up your training and then come to my room: there's job to be done." Sgt. Sneaky commanded.
"Yes, sir. By your orders." He saluted.
"Good man." Sgt. Sneaky replied.
"Thank you very much, sir."
Sgt. Sneaky exited the training room while Togakawa stored the gun on a holster he carried beneath his sweater.
"Stealth Man. Go and check the inventory." He commanded.
"Roger."
Togakawa walked down some barely lit stone corridors until he reached a door labeled "Sgt. Sneaky".
"Here it is."
He knocked on it and Sgt. Sneaky opened the door.
Togakawa stepped into a bedroom, which had a bed with iron railings, a small table with portable chairs set around it and an adjacent restroom.
A video camera mounted on a tripod was set facing the bed and had enough height to be able to film in an unobstructed manner.
"Sir."
Togakawa merely saluted and Sgt. Sneaky signaled the bathroom.
Togakawa headed into it and closed the door while Sgt. Sneaky made a sinister smile as he adjusted something into the camera.
Time for some recording!
"Sir! I found graffiti on the outer firewall! Camouflage Man reported.
"Sheesh! Who wrote it?"
"That eye thing! It froze all sensors for a few seconds' time!"
"What does it say? "Tut, tut. I'm not part of those fellows. I'm a mad fella, just like Sephiroth. Wanna catch me, ring up Sherlock Holmes."… What the hell is this? A challenge? I accept it!" He grumbled.
"I'll revise security again to make sure no-one's intruded, sir!"
"Do that! Only contact me if it's urgent, I'll be busy in a meeting!"
"Roger, sir! Glory to the Organization!"
17:09 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Jeez. They had to direct us to this place of all ones."
"And I can guess why."
Netto and Enzan stepped into an abandoned factory.
Netto was annoyed while Enzan was calm.
"This is the place where, a year ago "Zoan", Pharaoh Man parked his pyramid during the Net Navi Remodeling Scheme. And when Trill tried to help niisan to fight both the guy and the remodeled "Zoan" Spark Man, their fusion led into a terrible rampage…" Netto grimly muttered.
"I still haven't atoned for my sins. I should've done that time ago…"
"No! Nissan! You weren't conscious! Papa told me! You had really become a monster with no rational thinking! It was thanks to Iris that she was able to split you two! So you're not to blame for actions you didn't do because you weren't conscious of them!" Netto insisted.
"As far as I know, Bubble Man had to show up and he ruined the whole effort you'd made trying to seize him because his attacks lacked aim and they broke the restrains, right?" Blues recalled.
"Dingo told me." Enzan confirmed.
"Anyway… The past can be discussed later. Show up, you ugly and deformed robots!" Netto challenged.
"We're ready for anything you guys throw at us!" Enzan challenged next.
"Unit Thanatos – Two: acquiring targets."
"Unit Thanatos – Three: acquiring targets."
"Meijin – san! Please deploy the "Dimensional Area"!" Netto called out.
"San wa iranai! Dimensional Area: Activate!" Meijin replied.
The "Dimensional Area" formed around the building.
"Synchro Chip, Slot In! CROSS FUSION!"
"Targets ID: Hikari Netto and Rock Man EXE. Orders: annihilate all targets."
"Targets ID: Ijuuin Enzan and Blues EXE. Orders: annihilate all targets."
"Battle Chip, Custom Bolt!"
"Battle Chip, Variable Sword!"
"Battle Chip, Lighting. Slot In."
"Battle Chip, Curse Shield. Slot In."
"CF" Netto's attack was intercepted by the lighting, and it shot back towards him.
The Curse Shield pushed "CF" Blues back.
"CF" Netto managed to dodge the counterattack and looked towards "CF" Blues, who nodded and signaled the left.
"Battle Chip, Curse Shield!"
"Battle Chip, Curse Shield!"
"Battle Chip, Drill Arm. Slot In."
"Battle Chip, Drill Arm. Slot In."
Both robots jumped towards the two "Net Saviors" and began to drill through the Curse Shields.
They broke through them but found that "CF" Netto and "CF" Blues had switched places, and both had a Tank Cannon Battle Chip drawn.
"Tank Cannon!" Both announced.
They shot the blast at close-quarters and managed to make a dent on both of the robots' armor.
However, minuscule black spots came out of the body and quickly repaired the wound.
"Auto – repair nanomachines: repairs complete."
"Shit. Death recreated his own tech into them!" "CF" Netto growled.
"And the same trick won't work twice, either." "CF" Blues muttered.
"Orders: annihilate all targets."
"Battle Chip, Area Steal, Mega Cannon! Double Slot In!"
"Battle Chip, Area Steal, Elec Blade! Double Slot In!"
Both warped as the robots turned around to meet them.
However, they reappeared on the same spot and ran towards the jetpacks.
"Let's go!"
"CF" Netto placed his Mega Cannon's muzzle next to it while "CF" Blues plunged the Elec Blade into the other one's back.
"Elec Blade!"
"Mega Cannon!"
Elec Blade had no visible effect on the robot's jetpack while the Mega Cannon bounced off and the recoil pushed "CF" Netto back.
"What? They have some kind of extra armor?" "CF" Netto realized.
"And it must be plastic or a similar compound! It doesn't conduct electricity in an efficient manner." "CF" Blues grumbled.
"Damn. They do learn, after all." Saito grumbled.
"And we're in a pinch." Blues growled.
"Orders: annihilate all targets."
"Hell! I'm tired of that stupid motto. Let's risk it! Battle Chip, Geyser, Tornado! Double Slot In!"
"Battle Chip, Elec Blade!"
"Go!"
The combined Geyser and Tornado soaked the ground.
"CF" Netto jumped and hovered above the air while "CF" Blues hit the ground with the Elec Blade.
Given how it was made of metal, the electricity conducted across it and crawled across the robots' body.
They began to utter noises and move in an erratic manner.
"Now! Program Advance! Hi Cannon, Triple Slot In! Giga Cannon!"
"Program Advance! Sword, Wide Sword, Long Sword! Dream Sword!"
Both Program Advances met their targets and caused an explosion.
"Did that do it?"
The smoke cleared to reveal that a large patch of the robots' front armors were broken and shattered.
The nanomachines were starting to regenerate it but the two "Net Saviors" were already running forward.
"Battle Chip, Long Blade!"
"Battle Chip, Wide Blade!"
"Warning. Danger level above 3: tactical withdrawal enforced."
The purple portal opened behind them and sucked them in before closing.
Both ran past it and stopped before turning around.
"Damn. They'll increase the repairs speed next time around. And they'll find a way to make them invulnerable to electricity, too!"
"Guess so… Anyway… We managed to get out of this one intact, so… Let's head back to the Science Labs." "CF" Blues replied.
"Rescuing old combos is useful, too. We should take that into mind!"
"I agree with Saito's opinion! We must try to mix them up so that they have a harder time coming up with a counter." Blues added.
"Anyway… Let's head back. This place gives me the creeps."
17:19 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Dr. Hikari."
"Dr. Regal. What is the matter?"
Dr. Regal entered the Science Labs' main room, looking concerned about something.
"That is… Someone copied and stole Rock Man's backup data."
"What?" Yuuichirou gasped.
"His backup data…?" Meijin wondered.
"I tried attacking the culprit but it was in vain, because it was an avatar."
"It was shaped like some kind of eye made out of fire… Maybe you have seen it somewhere before?" Dr. Regal suggested.
"The Eye of Mordor…?" Meijin wondered.
"Wasn't that in the Lord of the Rings movies? They aired the Return of the King yesterday on TV and we all watched it together at home! It was on top of that tower…" Yuuichirou recalled.
"Something leads me to believe it wasn't the triumvirate! They would have no need for that, given how Sidier's design is based off "Cross Fusion" Rock Man to begin with." Dr. Regal exposed.
"Then it's a new party? They could've been waiting for a chanc! Wait a minute. It didn't break through the firewalls?"
"No. It formed out of nowhere and even froze that patch of the Network for about 55 seconds! I couldn't see anything through the PET and Laser Man's processes were all frozen. By the time the effect faded, the culprit had already escaped." Dr. Regal exposed.
"What! Then that means that the culprit must be an extremely powerful Navi!" Yuuichirou gasped.
"It has to be! No other Navi we know of has been capable of doing such a thing before." Meijin muttered.
"However… What would they gain from picking the backup data, anyway? It's missing one component for safety reasons! I store it elsewhere, isolated from the Cyber World! They couldn't fully rebuild Rock Man using that stolen data! They'd be missing a key component which makes up around 15% of his code." Yuuichirou muttered while frowning.
"Maybe it is a challenge?" Laser Man suggested.
"It could be! The culprit must want to impress us and he decided to do that not because he needed Rock Man's data! He wanted to make a demonstration of its power."
"The only problem left will be finding out its identity and motives! Such an avatar can't hope not to call the attention wherever it appears at."
"True…"
"There's graffiti written in the outer firewall!" A Navi reported.
"What? When was that?" Laser Man asked.
"Less than a minute ago! Part of the system froze!"
"It's attacked again!? What's that graffiti about?" Yuuichirou asked.
"That's… "Tut, tut. The claxon will horn in the fog. Be glad the driver isn't Wario and destroys everything on its path. I'm off for some tea-time at the Piccadilly Club of London. Yours truly, a wannabe gentleman"…"
"What's that supposed to be?" Yuuichirou sighed.
"Sounds like Kagehi's stupid songs." Meijin grumbled.
"It's supposed to be King Land English, but… It feels like a parody to begin with, Dr. Regal – sama." Laser Man argued.
"It obviously is! Who'd call themselves "wannabe gentleman"?"
"And making up a gentleman's club as if it was the 19th century…"
"Maybe it's pulling things from the Sherlock Holmes stories?"
"Somehow, that wouldn't surprise me… Who's that guy?"
18:02 PM (Japan Time)…
"This was a piece of cake. Really… They don't know the classical proverb: "fool me once, you're to shame. Fool me twice, I'm to shame" ! I got a hold of this stuff. I'll go and seize the other. I'll work on recreating the missing DNA string. It won't be very hard, anyway… I'll wait for a while before putting my plan forward. I firstly want to watch how this nice show unfolds itself! It'll be interesting to see. If I can play prophet, then I'd say that it'll wrap itself up before New Year's, even!"
The "Eye of Mordor" was floating around the old WWW base and a man's voice was booming out of it.
"Our beloved monsters! Enjoy yourselves! This show is quickly escalating and it'll soon run into the climax. I'll allow for a little pause before my own show kicks off and you'll see the subtleness I can crave! "Build" would be a more correct verb. You won't be able to trace me and you'll be filled with doubt and confusion until I come out into the scene! I'm a genius!"
A holographic screen displaying Death Shadow looking towards the camera emerged.
"They sure must be puzzled over there. Who did that and why didn't they tell the Net Police? Stop 1."
The next screen showed an annoyed Camouflage Man aiming a Mega Cannon Battle Chip at the camera.
"Stop 2! Those guys could be dangerous. Maybe I should tackle them. Let's just have some fun teasing 'em!"
He opened another screen to see Camouflage Man and Stealth Man arguing somewhere.
"I still think we should take it seriously, sir."
"Sheesh. Agree with you. That bastard irritates me!"
"They shall grow to fear us!"
"Tut, tut. Gloat while you can, my chums… Let's continue!"
