Chapter 10: Factory
18:18 PM (Japan Time), Tuesday August the 31st…
"I see. He ran away with the data on a fusion reactor of the repulsive Underground City! I should really speed up the dismantling of that place! We need to cleanse it from the "ghosts" there. The "ghosts" of those who suffered at the hands of those criminals…"
"Calm down, Boss! It's very possible that our guy is headed for the factories in SS3 to try to figure a method to speed up mass-production of the "P" series robots…"
"And I guess he's gonna show up any moment now!"
"Subaru and Hibiki found out that Tabuu has designed barriers for resurrected "Darkloids" which counter any attack but end up breaking if hit repeatedly with Breaker attacks…"
"Good!"
"But the guy claimed he'd quadruple their resistance, too."
"Crap!"
Lartes and Vadous were talking inside of the command bridge.
"Can't be helped… I should try to focus on digging out the bloody schematics, too! I dunno where I stored them. I really should've set up a system of folders organized by year and month…!" Vadous cursed.
"We are not perfect, Boss…" Lartes reminded him.
"I knew that, but sometimes…"
He scratched the back of his head.
"Don't try to rush it all!" Lartes advised.
"I know. Make sure to keep an eye on Earth, too…"
"Akatsuki is working on it!"
"Excellent!"
18:23 PM (Japan Time)…
"… I know it's a classical topic, but… Do you think that Luna – chan has a crush on you, Subaru – kun?"
"Hard to say! She always claims I don't interest her and that she only cares about "Rock Man", yet I know she does worry about us. But I wouldn't describe that as a "crush"… I'd rather say that it's admiration!"
"Hmmm… Guess admiration fits better, true!"
Subaru and Misora were resuming their earlier talk as they looked out at the planet beneath them.
"It's not like I'm jealous, Subaru – kun. We're all friends and we share a Brother Band, don't we?" Misora reminded him.
"I still feel silly for what I did after the Gemini Spark incident and how you got into danger trying to help War Rock…" He admitted with a sigh.
"Don't worry. I was also acting in a risky manner back when Empty was using me to find the Mu Continent!"
"True. We're not perfect! We've all made some mistakes from time to time, too…"
"I'm sure that Tabuu will soon challenge us for real!"
"I hope so! I'm getting tired of playing cat and mouse!"
"By the way… Are you looking forward to starting middle school?"
"Of course! I'm sure I'll do just fine!"
"And whatever happens, I'm not quitting my contract with Okudama Studios. Take that, ugly competency!"
"Pororon! Show them that they're outdated!"
"Sure! I'll make them jump off their seats!"
"Let's not overdo it!"
Subaru let out weak laughter while Misora made a challenging gesture…
18:33 PM (Japan Time)…
"Pom, pom, porom… Yessir! This place is the remains of the half-dismantled "P" – series production factory. And I'll make sure to study it to make sure I can speed up my own factory's production ratio… Catch me if you can, gentlemen! My new envoys are waiting to challenge you…"
Tabuu showed up inside of a building which was missing the ceiling and was exposed to a downpour.
All equipment inside had rusted and had long become dysfunctional.
Some half-assembled robots' parts stood in a row next to a half-built carrier ship and fighter ships pending construction.
"Hmm! I can see that construction was halted in a very sudden manner! There are five factories on this planet, and I know three of them are totally dismantled, this one is 25% dismantled while the fifth one is 90% dismantled… I came just in time to find this. But Partner has surely deployed a system to check if I'm roaming around… Well then… What are ya waiting for, Vadous? Come at me. You and your beloved collaborators!"
"Warning. Warning. Intruder detected!"
"Hmmm? What now?"
He turned around to see a Police Wizard facing him.
He and drew a golden sword over his right hand which he used to slice the Wizard in half.
"Is that all? Wait! This was security! Which means that… Those two will be coming for me! Well then! Let's give them though adversaries, shall we?"
He headed inside of the factory building.
He waited until he saw how the purple gateway opened.
Rock Man and Harp Note rushed out and began to look around.
"Where are you, Tabuu?"
"Now! Come out, you two!"
"Intruders detected. Unit Gravity Man's orders state: "immediate disposal of intruders"…"
"Hmpf. Save the machine talk. I, Flash Man. can do it alone!"
"More "Darkloids"…!" Rock Man cursed.
"Sheesh! How annoying!"
"And now…" Tabuu muttered.
He snapped his fingers.
Yellow circles opened on the ground to make those cylinders filled with circuitry boards come out in different heights and angles.
They formed a "Dimensional Area", which sealed the factory off.
"These "Dimensional Converters" sure are useful to keep visitors away while you're busy!"
"Gravity Drive."
"Neon Light!"
Gravity Man didn't move from his position, yet he was able to form a gravitational shaft which glued Rock Man to the ground.
He lifted his arms and made him crash with the "ceiling" of the shaft.
He aimed the arms downwards to make him meet the ground.
"Welcome to my gravitational Hell!"
Flash Man pressed his right hand into the ground and created a small dome of yellow electricity which travelled across the ground, bit Harp Note dodged it just in time.
"H-Harp… Note…! Give me a… hand… please…!" Rock Man called out.
"Don't forget me! Neon Light! Neon Light! Neon Light! Neon Light!"
"Holy Panel, Super Barrier!"
Harp Note had to shield herself from the volley of Neon Lights.
Rock Man was struggling to break free of the "gravitational Hell".
He cursed and tried using his buster, but all shots bounced off the walls and had null effect.
Gravity Man kept on tossing him up and down.
"C-crap…! Someone…! Blood! Gimme a hand!"
"Useless!" Gravity Man proclaimed.
"I wonder about that!"
The sound of a shotgun rang out.
"Impossible!"
"Saved…!"
"Why, you~!"
Blood Shadow had showed up behind Gravity Man and shot his shotgun at zero range, inflicting damage and cancelling the "gravitational Hell" where Rock Man had been trapped at.
"3 vs 2? That's a bit unfair! Let's add one more to the roster. This one should do! Have fun with my new pawn!"
"Fools! The mighty Drill Man will beat them all!"
"Reinforcements…! Bothersome Tabuu…!" Blood Shadow cursed.
"Why, you…! Delete! Delete! Delete!" Gravity Man intoned.
"I'll handle this robot! Rock Man! Try to handle that drill!"
"Leave it up to me: I remember this guy's moves!"
"Boast while you can! Triple Drill!"
Drill Man compacted into a two-end-drill and then jumped into the air while summoning another two small drills to accompany him.
The foe dived towards Rock Man, who was trying to dodge them, and managed to hit Drill Man's exposed body with the Sword Fighter.
It was followed by the Break Saber.
Drill Man growled something and drove into the concrete ground.
"Tunnel Crusher!"
He emerged from beneath Rock Man and plunged his drill into his back.
Rock Man didn't yell or stop and merely jumped towards the ground while gripping Drill Man's right arm with his left hand to drive the Drill Arm into his body.
"You lowlife~!"
"Cheap!"
"DIE~!"
"Nope. Giga Card, Gorgon Eye!"
Ophiucus Queen showed up on the field and shot a continuous laser at Drill Man's exposed chest, piercing through him and making him explode while roaring.
"One down!"
"D-delete… Delete…!"
"Shut up. Light of Saint!"
Blood Shadow had given Gravity Man quite a fight as evidenced by his multiple wounds.
Queen Virgo descended and projected her rotating spears of light which hit Gravity Man eight times in a row before deleting him with a bang.
"C-crap… Neon… Light!"
"Dragon Sky GX!"
Dragon Sky, the AM Sage, appeared on the field and formed a tornado made up of countless green leaves.
Its power was more than enough to destroy Flash Man.
The group sighed in relief and stretched before getting their bearings.
"Good! All that's left is getting inside of that!"
"Sadly… While you guys were playing around with my pawns… I already got all the info I desired!"
Tabuu flew out of the factory building and shrugged.
"Why are you always stalling for time when you know we can't beat that armor yet?" Blood Shadow demanded.
"You see… It's not fun to be overwhelmingly powerful. I'd desire to have a more intense battle in which you can harm me. That'd be way fairer, don't you think so? I'm a genius, or so they all say…" Tabuu teased.
"Hmpf. Maybe. But I don't like men who make girls sweat. So don't be surprised if I go all out on you!"
Harp Note signaled him with her right hand's middle finger.
"My, my… Bring it on!" Tabuu challenged.
"I'm not silly enough to fall for that!"
She lowered the right arm and made it lean against the right side of her body's torso.
"Hmmm… That pose looks ideal for a poster!" He teased.
"You pervert!" She snapped at him.
"My, my. That's some language!"
"Come here!"
"Sadly, Ms. Lioness, other stuff recalls my attention. Maybe you'll meet me in a rather freezing spot next time? Beware of the summer flu!"
He deactivated the "Dimensional Area" and flew upwards before vanishing out of sight while his laughter echoed around the artificial island's surface.
"That pervert…! He'll pay for that!"
"Sure, sure..." Rock Man and Blood Shadow muttered.
"Did ya say something?" She suddenly asked.
"No, no!"
"Ya act like twins, even!"
"Can't be helped. I was supposed to act like I was him!"
"And he did a rather convincing acting, too!"
"Whatever. Let's go back. I feel tired!"
"Now, now… Hibiki. Don't take out your frustration on them because they're not to blame for that!" Vadous told her over the radio.
"I know. But I sometimes feel like I should!"
"That won't do. Anaya began like that!"
"What!? That tyrant began like that!? Taking out frustration on people she found annoying?" She gasped.
"Envy, lust, frustration, hunger for power… They can make anyone become a tyrant. History has taught us this. So be careful about what you think of the world, Hibiki. Don't make the same mistakes the previous generation did. Learn from them. And move on forward. That's what humanity does with each passing generation!"
"… Alright. I understand. I'm sorry. I'll think it again!"
"Alright. One must be careful not to repeat mistakes of the past! Which is why we have history! To learn from it!"
Rock Man and Blood Shadow exchanged a glare before Rock Man brought a hand to his chin.
A cold place? Where? Siberia? The North Pole? Antarctica? Or Alaska? Dunno…! Where is Tabuu headed? And what is his aim? We lack info!
"Brad Shad! Got some news for ya!" Sigma contacted.
"What now?"
"Someone sent you a proposal ring!"
"… Very funny!" He wasn't impressed.
"Really?" Harp Note eagerly asked.
"It's a troll, Misora – chan…!" Rock Man whispered.
"Say that earlier!" She sighed in disappointment.
"Pororon! This isn't a TV drama!" Harp sighed.
"Sigma! What have you done now?" Lartes questioned.
"Nothing, just…"
"Making fun of me, sir!"
"I knew it. When will you do something productive?"
"R-roger, sir! I'll go inspect the logs!"
"NOW!"
"About time!" Rock Man muttered.
"Lupin the 3rd is about to jump into the skies with a lil diamond courtesy of Blofeld! James Bond VS Lupin the 3rd! Only in theaters!"
"Lovely!"
"Kaitou Kid is coming to steal the lady's heart! He's already forwarded his advance notice to Senior Advisor Suzuki!"
"Who? A pervert?" Harp Note complained.
"A daring gentleman thief!"
"Got no interest!"
"Maybe you'd like to research about the "Phantom Lady", the mysterious 20-faced lady thief?"
"Hmmm… It could be an idea for the next production… The scriptwriters seem to be stuck…"
Harp Note rubbed her chin and looked up.
She obviously had entered another trail of thought and wasn't paying attention to the surroundings.
"That reminds me. Hoshikawa! Beware. He might steal the crown jewel you hide in your desk's drawer!"
"Crown jewel? Me? Stop trolling us, Tabuu!"
"Tabby~! I'm going to turn ya into a mess!" Sigma challenged.
"… Will you quit it with the nicknames?" He sighed.
"That's ya weak point! Tabby – chan!"
"I'm a man! Not a girl!" He complained next.
"There are guys who can pretend to be gals! It's named Kazuji!"
"Kabuki!" Blood Shadow corrected.
"That was the name? Man. I always mix them up!" Sigma laughed.
"Sheesh. That's unrelated! Kabuki is kabuki! I am who I am!"
"The dragon and the tiger will dizzy ya~!"
"Sheesh. My mood's gone. This must be nature's vengeance, even. I need something to get back into the mood!"
"Such as beating your wings to a pulp?"
"How do I do THAT to begin with? Youth nowadays! SHEESH!"
Sheesh. I gotta agree with the guy! You overdo it, Mr. Sigma!
"Sigma! Take responsibility if he gets annoyed and attacks us!"
"What? That's…"
"Are you going to run away like a coward?" Omega grumbled.
"N-no, sir! I'll take responsibility for it, sir!"
Sheesh! Anyway! I should train and improve my tactics!
