Chapter 12: Ryuusei Form
17:57 PM (Japan Time), (Japan Time), Saturday March the 3rd…
"…Boss! Are we gonna do it or not? I don't want to make it look like we were all bluffing."
"Don't worry, Miquel – kun… Legato! Bring out the R – Program."
"Roger, sir. Please wait a moment, sir!"
"Finally!"
Kage was speaking with Noir inside of his office; Noir calmly nodded in agreement before inputting some commands into his laptop atop the desk; he brought up a display of Legato next to a safe built within the Cyber World, who momentarily kneeled and then stood up to start working on opening the safe.
"Here it is."
Legato handed Andy a spheroid colored black and red, glowing with overflowing energy; Andy held it on his hands and lifted it to stare at it while his eyes displayed eagerness.
"Golden Star's power will be proven! They shall realize their foolishness… No – one but us will decide what to do with this power! Let them cower in fear ahead of a power they don't control! They won't be able to impose their control over us! None of them can match for Slur – sama to begin with… And even less this power!"
"That's exactly why we made it. Go ahead, install it!"
"Roger! Install! R – Program!"
Andy let go of the spheroid and it hovered down before shooting into his chest emblem; black and red patterns of energy traveled across his body and skin, forming an "aura" colored both black and red; Andy roared and seemed to be feeling the effects of the program; none of them noticed Akemi looking on from the room's door keyhole.
What is going on? Just what is that program…? What power…!
18:18 PM (Japan Time)…
"…Torolov sends me an email, summoning me to apologize about that of the morning… Fancy place to choose for a meeting, though! This is the abandoned video club where I battled Hikari for the first time!"
"Truly, Enzan – sama."
"You came! Ijuuin! Blues! I've been waiting for this day…!"
"Who goes there? You ain't Torolov."
"Use your brain, Holmes. Uncle Moran came to say hi, ya know?"
"What in the… Kage!?"
"Same man!"
Enzan made it to the abandoned locale which was largely unlit and then heard a voice; he recognized it and aimed his PET's flashlight at Kage, who was having trouble standing and was leaning his right arm against the far wall to have a point of support; his voice sounded forced.
"Enzan – sama! The enemy's in "Full Synchro" yet it seems that it's taking a toll on their physical strength… I can feel a power signature off the charts inside of the computers as well… It must be Andy, sir."
"What. Legato had you train for three consecutive hours or what? I don't believe a man like you would tire so easily." Enzan taunted while trying to look confident.
"You think we hadn't noticed that Suzuki – san leaked info to the PSB? We let her be 'cause it was beneficial to us! The bomb stunt was lame! Whatever… You're about to see… our power… our new power, our secret weapon… Which you won't be able to stand up to and you won't be able to control by force and threat… like you did in the past to him…"
"Whatever! Plug In! Blues, Transmission!"
Blues entered the Cyber World; it was largely unlit save for a dot deeper inside where all energy seemed to be gathering; reddish/blackish flashes of light came out from there and the air felt distorted somehow.
"What the…?"
Blues rushed on forward and stumbled upon a cocoon hovering five centimeters over the ground, and it was two meters tall; all energy was spiraling around it and it was the only source of light in the Cyber World.
"What power! It's totally off the scale… I hadn't felt anything like it ever since I met Slur…" Blues muttered.
"You came… Oppressor… Tyrant…" Andy's icy voice rang out.
"Oppressor? Tyrant? Me?" He grumbled.
"Prepare to witness… GOLDEN STAR'S NEW WEAPON!" He roared.
The cocoon exploded and released all energy, restoring the light to the Cyber World; the shockwave sent Blues flying backwards for about ten meters before hitting the ground; he panted and tried to stand up.
"Whack! If coming out of the cocoon was that powerful then I can't imagine anything else more powerful than it…!"
"Then feel it, accomplice of tyrants!"
"W-what's THAT?"
Andy had gained a new form that emitted an intimidating "pressure".
Andy's hair came out behind a black helmet; red transparent shades covered the eyes and nose; metallic armor protected his chin and lower jaw the skin over his neck was black in color.
Andy's eyes, visible under the hades, displayed a total lack of emotion and they had switched to a mix of red and blue as if to display his current "Full Synchro" status.
The forehead of the helmet had the Golden Star logo set there, duplicated in the ear pads, which had silver edges.
Armor covered his chest; black was used for the body while gray was used for the edges; the golden letters "GOLDEN STAR" were drawn horizontally across the armor.
Black "skin" covered the rest of his torso and until the hips.
The shoulders had red dome-shaped pads covering them from above, and they had the golden letters "GS" set atop them.
The arms, forearms, and elbows scales, which used crimson for their body and golden for the edges, covering them.
Bronze featureless gloves protected the hands, and the hands' palms had a black featureless circle set on them.
Crimson boots covered his legs, and they had golden hexagons scattered over their surfaces; the boots' soil was black and red.
Two discs having an external black edge, an inner thin yellow edge and a red dome built on the core hovered slightly over the shoulder pads; crimson energy emanated from the outer edges and formed a circle around the shape of the discs.
Two "wings" emerged from his back; the body was made up of crimson glowing energy while thin black frames were set around it.
"This is our ultimate power! The Ryuusei Form!" He announced.
"Ryuusei Form!?" Both Enzan and Blues gasped.
"Now you see why it takes me so much effort to remain in "Full Synchro" with Andy… This power is the reason!"
"Black End… Galaxy!"
Andy lifted his hands; a small spheroid of blackish energy formed over the, and he dropped it behind Blues, turning into a large black hole that began to suck everything around it; Andy drew a reddish blade on his right forearm and boosted forward, cutting the air where Blues was at, and opening a large wound on his upper chest; Andy flew past the black hole, which collapsed, and the shockwave originated from its implosion sent Blues flying across the area again; he hit the ground and groaned as he somehow managed to stand on his fours.
"Meteor Light Barrage!"
Andy jumped into the air and hovered; he shot spheroids of light, which bombarded the ground around Blues, and further weakened him thus making him collapse.
"I-impossible… His HP numbers have hit the 1 HP mark already?"
"This wouldn't have happened… if you'd acted wisely back then…"
"Back then? Define "back then"!" Enzan growled.
"Gospel! The Saito Style! You Cyber CID repressed it: saw it as a mere weapon! Didn't you? Say it!" Andy exclaimed.
"W-what? I didn't! I wasn't the one who triggered it! I just wanted to see what kind of power it was!" Enzan argued back.
"Hmpf! For a hound, you sucked at it! Failing to smell the presence of that bothersome mouse!" Kage scoffed.
"Bothersome mouse…? You mean that "Gospel" man? Sheesh. I admit I was too focused on wanting to see that power, but…!"
"Hmpf! Pathetic. I fail to see why Serenade would give you that mighty blade. Guess he was a bit too naïve, as Slur – sama argued."
"Whatever! You might be powerful in the Cyber World, but I can still fight in the real world! I'll catch you here and now!"
"Hmpf! You fool… You forgot we're trained by a pro!"
Kage drew his left hand from the coat's pocket and drew a Beretta M92F, the safety of which was already unlocked; he aimed it at Enzan, who stopped on his tracks as he'd been running towards Kage, and cursed something under his breath.
"Got no time to waste on loser dogs. I've got another two fools to punish today. They will all regret their arrogance and foolishness!"
"What the hell!?"
Kage pressed the trigger and a tranquillizer dart shot out, hitting Enzan's shoulder; he soon wagered and dropped into the ground, unconscious…
18:29 PM (Japan Time)…
"Laika – sama, sir… A mail from Superintendent Oda… It's a re-mailing of a mail by Suzuki."
"Excellent. Show it to me!"
Laika had been working on a report's draft before Search Man called for his attention; he stopped to read the message.
"… "Andy installed a new weapon, rumored to have been in VR testing until now, but it's going to go for field testing. I dunno where he went off to but the mere installation triggered a power signature that was felt across the whole building. I've got a bad feeling about this. Please be careful!" … New weapon? That can't end up well!"
"Indeed! That means that you fools want to oppress it and use it for your own profit! Don't you!? Repulsive foreign soldier!?"
"What the hell!"
All lights went out save for the glowing of the emergency lights, the laptop's screen glow, and that of the PET's own holographic screen which displayed Search Man shining in the middle of a pitch-blackened space; the red and black glow formed and Search Man tried to lock on it.
"My software doesn't recognize it as a valid target!"
"That's gotta be Andy! They came to test it out on us!"
"You bunch of fools! Speaking of pride and all! Then falling for the enemy's trap! What good is scanning abilities if you can't tell black apart from white? You threatened to destroy a civilian system on which citizens were dependent! All to test out if you were correct or not! Isn't there something called ANALYSIS to begin with? Huh?"
"The incident with Rock Man DS…" Search Man recalled.
"Sheesh. I admit I overdid it! Commander did heavily scold me for my actions! Why bring it up now? Are you a fan of the guy or what?"
"Wrong! I am Rock Man's sword! His sword to slay ghosts of the past!"
"So did the man tell you to do this, then?"
"Tell me to? No! He'd disagree with me on that! Nevertheless I'm going to prove how far Golden Star's power can reach when we want it to!"
"Coming…!"
"Red Gaia… Eraser!"
Andy came out of the cocoon; the disks hovering inches from the shoulders flew into the air and hovered, aiming diagonally towards Search Man; they produced continuous streams of reddish energy which travelled across the ground drawing the Alphabet "X" character; before Search Man could recover from this attack, Andy formed a red beam which he shot straight at him; a gigantic dome-shaped explosion spread on the spot and wrecked a large part of the floor just as lighting began to return.
"What in the…!? Search Man!"
Once the light was back, a crater easily ten meters wide and three deep became visible as the result of the explosion; Search Man was struggling to shake the debris off him when Andy hovered over him and looked down (literally) at him with eyes that denoted a total lack of interest.
Damn. I've seen that kind of glare before… The glare of a trained killer who blanks its mind before the killing…!
"The end. Elemental Cyclone!"
Thousands of greenish leaves began to spin around a cyclone; it travelled down into the hole and hit Search Man several times in a row before it stopped; Search Man collapsed, out of energies.
"Ri… Ridiculous! What the hell is this!? It's over powered!"
"Hmpf! Of course it is! Slur – sama built this as Golden Star's trump card!"
"By all the… How the hell are we supposed to counter this!?"
"You'll NEVER be able to! I've got one last fool to punish! Farewell!"
"Damn it. To think my blunders would come back at me…!"
18:46 PM (Japan Time)…
"… What's going in here? Blues said there was something very important going on but instead I find this unlit Cyber World! What's that light? Barrel. I'm going to check it out."
"Go ahead."
Colonel came into a Cyber World somewhere only to find the blackout phenomenon and the creepy glow from deeper inside; he walked towards the cocoon and stopped, drawing his sword; the cocoon's glow and pulsations increased.
"Sinner! I've come to make punishment descend into you! The likes of you shall regret holding a comrade hostage against their will, and trying to use them as mere bait! You wanted to use them! Just like the Sharo mob intended to do as well! I am the sword! I deliver punishment! You're powerless when faced with this strength… The strength of Golden Star!"
"What! Golden Star!?"
The cocoon exploded; Andy came out in his transformed state, roaring; his cry of anger sounded like it was something it'd been held back for a long time, and his eyes sparkled with hatred.
"The power bestowed to me by Golden Star and the grand Slur – sama! Her Grace designed this power for me to use yet it is not mine: it is Golden Stars' power!" He announced.
"What in the…" Colonel gasped.
"Thunderbolt Blade~!"
Andy drew a sword shaped like a thunderbolt and hit Colonel with it three times in a row by swinging right and left; next, he hit the floor with it and a thunderbolt rained down from the sky; it landed and electrocuted him.
"Not yet. Atomic… Blazer!"
Andy accumulated energy, and shot a gigantic stream of flames at Colonel, leaving large burnt marks on him.
"Feel the wrath I deliver! Such is my new purpose in life! I've become an avenging sword! Too many have suffered because of your petty games! It's time that you realized their pain! Dynamic Wave! Drown in your own arrogance and foolishness!"
Andy spun upon his axis and formed four large tidal waves, which swept Colonel away; he collapsed from the attained damage as Andy calmly landed back on the ground and lowered his head while making a quiet giggle-like sound; he broke into laughter, and lifted his head to display how he was apparently rejoiced with the outcome.
"We did it, Miquel – kun! We did it! Thanks to the power of Golden Star we have killed the ghosts of the past! Our comrade can now be free of that unnecessary torment!"
"Hmpf! Truly! Let's go back! Today was a long day and you're not easy to sync with in this state. We gotta tell Boss and hand over the battle data!"
"Just what do you want?" Barrel questioned.
"Me or Golden Star? There's a big difference. When it comes to me, I've already done what I wanted to do. When it comes to Golden Star, we're going to bring stability!"
"What in the bloody…!?"
"Hmpf! Is that not why most nations keep nuclear weapons? To create a deterrence and stop each other from destroying the other?"
"Can't deny that…!"
"Hmpf! We merely are copying the same principle. We need guarantees to ensure no morons like you will come bother us. Now that you've felt in on the flesh yourself, you can't say "it's a bluff"… Can you? Will you go rely on "fake news" to try to evade reality? "Immortal" Barrel?" Kage sneered.
"TGJSLTGKJLFIKOHJ!" He growled something undecipherable.
"Hmpf! How satisfying! Whatever. Farewell!"
"Indeed! Remember this pain, sinner! It'll haunt you FOREVER!"
19:03 PM (Japan Time)…
"Boss! We're back… I'm beaten!"
"Whoa! Miquel – kun! Are you OK? Breathe! Slowly, relax! Should I call for a medic?"
"N-no… I'm fine! The calculations on the stress it means for the Operator were… too low."
"I'm sorry! However, that couldn't be totally calculated, because there are too many factors which vary from Navi to Navi and from person to person to begin with…"
"Are you alright, Andy – kun?"
"Somehow! There were moments when I felt weird like I wasn't myself to begin with! The program must've brought up repressed instincts! However, I feel like I blew all of them away! I feel refreshed, even!"
"Wow! That's great, then!"
Kage made it back to the office and actually collapsed into the chair; Noir rushed over to him and placed both gloved hands on the shoulders; Kage shrugged it off as he took out the sunglasses to reveal blue irises; he pocketed them while Andy's life-sized hologram was talking with Legato.
"Nevertheless… We became swords to slay the ghosts of the past! In the process, we proved how mighty Slur – sama's power is! She will not allow for a fair hero who Serenade believed into to be tormented by ghosts of the past… Serenade would've agreed with us! It was just a demonstration with no intent to delete…"
"You've done splendidly. Go home and rest. We'll have busy days ahead of us before "it" can be completed…"
"It was fun! I wouldn't dare to do it too often, though! Now that we have this power to act as deterrence… Golden Star's goal will be… achieved."
"True… Glory to Golden Star!" Legato rallied.
"Glory to Golden Star!"