Chapter 12: Shattering the past
08:28 AM (Japan Time), Sunday February the 1st…
"… Here's the place..."
Nelaus stepped down from a bus on the outskirts of a village: he walked towards the south down a large slope, which headed towards a wide concave valley; the skies were gray and it threatened to rain at any moment.
"Hmpf! How fitting."
"… Nelaus… Are you sure it was a good idea to come here without telling anyone?" Isaac asked him.
"… See. This is our battle, Isaac. And, besides, I'm sure the guy will deploy a "Dimensional Area". Mr. Vadous won't take long to catch up, anyway, so… He'll understand it." Nelaus calmly replied.
Nelaus continued walking down the dusty and sandy path: he passed through a gap in two hills and crossed through a stealth camouflage field, which was deployed all around the area.
"So this is the spot, huh?"
A pit opened on the earth in front of him: its rim and walls were filled with large burn marks.
A silhouette was standing on the other side of the pit, which was about a kilometer wide and half a kilometer large.
"You came, Nelaus." The figure greeted.
"You must be… Gate." Nelaus assumed.
Gate stepped forward, smiling and looked very confident of his own self.
"Do you know what this place is?"
"… No." Nelaus admitted.
"Is this place that important?" Isaac shrugged.
"This is where the "Palace" was stationed at before it departed on its last journey. It's an appropriate place for our decisive battle."
"… Hmpf. If you try to scare me with the mere specter of the "Palace" it won't work." Nelaus scoffed.
"So be it…"
Gate snapped his right hand's fingers and the stealth field faded away: various "Dimensional Converters" emerged from the ground and ignited, thus forming a "Dimensional Area".
"Now… Behold my battle form!"
"I suspected as much: you're a Net Navi."
"The signature said it all."
Gate shone in a golden light and his whole body was encased in a golden-colored armor.
A white silk cape emerged from the back of his shoulders and reached all the way to the floor.
"Synchro Chip, Slot In! CROSS FUSION!"
Both Nelaus and Isaac performed "Cross Fusion" flawlessly and "CF" Nelaus drew a Mega Cannon Battle Chip.
"Eat this!"
He shot several shots, but they all bounced off Gate's golden armor: Gate smirked and waved his right hand: three green-colored energy spheres materialized and headed towards "CF" Nelaus.
"You can't escape!" Gate proclaimed.
"Hmpf."
"CF" Nelaus quickly dodged and rolled across the ground to dodge.
"Battle Chip, Boomerang!"
"And this ain't running either."
"CF" Nelaus drew the Boomerang and shot it at Gate: the boomerang hit the armor and was deflected: it didn't leave any noticeable dents or scratches.
"Damn! Something should damage him… Battle Chip, Super Vulcan!"
"CF" Nelaus drew the Super Vulcan and shot several quick rounds at Gate, who didn't even bother to dodge: he stood still and let the salvo hit him fully, covering him in smoke.
"Did that do it?" "CF" Nelaus wondered.
The answer to his question soon became apparent: Gate kept on being unscratched.
"Rift of Doom!"
A large purple ellipsoid formed in front of Gate: he jumped inside and it vanished.
"Where the hell did he go to?" "CF" Nelaus cursed.
"Welcome to Hell." Gate's voice rang out from behind him.
"CF" Nelaus tried to turn around, but he felt a kick on his back and he lost balance: he began to fall into the pit.
"Grah! Attacking from behind… That's low! Jet Vernier!"
"CF" Nelaus used his jets to stabilize himself and hover: the end of the pit was out of the reach of sunlight and he seemed to have fallen about ten meters.
"Program Advance!"
"Program Advance!"
"Hi – Cannon, Triple Slot In!"
"Giga Cannon!"
"CF" Nelaus quickly flew towards the sky and aimed his Giga Cannon at Gate, who didn't bother to move.
"EAT THIS!" Both shouted.
The Giga Cannon finished loading and the blast hit Gate's figure fully, causing an explosion: he was not in the same spot when the smoke cleared.
"As I said, you need to die." Gate's voice rang out from behind "CF" Nelaus again.
Gate took out a Long Sword the blade of which was colored silver and slashed "CF" Nelaus' back: there was a cloud of smoke and a kawarimi doll appeared on his place, so Gate gasped.
"Battle Chip, Tank Cannon!"
"CF" Nelaus drew the heavy weapon and steadily aimed for Gate's back: he shot and let the recoil push him.
"Ughrk!"
The shot caught Gate off-guard and hit his back, propelling him towards the ground and crashing into the depression made by the Giga Cannon's attack but he got to his feet again, unscratched: his cape had a large hole to indicate where the attack had gone through.
"Why, you…!" Gate hissed.
"Hmpf. You're the lowlife. You're the one who should be gone from this world. Anaya's goons have no place in this world." "CF" Nelaus replied.
"…"Goon"! I was and AM Her Grace's most trusted agent!" Gate roared.
"I think Twilight would rather object to that by now."
"DIE!"
Gate shot towards "CF" Nelaus, but "CF" Nelaus merely shut down his jets and fell some meters before he ignited them again: Gate gasped as he headed for a Giga Count Bomb Program Advance "CF" Nelaus had left inches in front of his face.
"Eat bomb."
There was a large explosion and a shockwave: "CF" Nelaus quickly landed on the ground and drew two Long Blade Battle Chips.
"Why, you…! Be gone…!" Gate roared close by.
"CF" Nelaus jumped out of the way, as Gate shot a string of three purple-colored energy spheres at the spot "CF" Nelaus had been at before.
"Is that all?"
His face was largely burnt and blackened, but his armor was still intact and the whole of his cape had been burnt out as well.
"… Nelaus. This isn't good. We're not managing to lay a single wound on him even while using Program Advances." Isaac told him.
"Don't worry. I have some Chips the guys gave me." "CF" Nelaus reassured him.
"Whatever you use, it's futile! I am invincible!" Gate proclaimed.
"Every clichéd villain proclaims the same thing. Nobody is invincible, deluded fool. Not even Twilight." "CF" Nelaus scoffed.
"You're beginning to tire me. Is that all you have on you? You're a defective project. Her Grace didn't make sure to fully program her loyalty into you, so that's why you defected." Gate scoffed back.
"… I'm not a "project"! I'm a human! I'm alive, I'm breathing and I can think! Psychos like you, leftovers from a nonexistent crime empire, would be better off if they accepted the truth and stopped dreaming of fake glory." "CF" Nelaus shot back.
"You have angered me for the last time, Nelaus. Now you die for real."
Gate drew two Long Swords and ignited a jetpack on his back to accelerate towards "CF" Nelaus: he skidded across the ground and jumped into the pit.
"How's this for a strategy?"
"Damn it!"
Gate couldn't stop in time, so he met the ground head-first: "CF" Nelaus hit the wall of the pit and used his own jets to fly out on the opposite extreme.
"Take these!" Gate roared.
He shot red-colored energy spheres towards "CF" Nelaus and he cut them up before he swung his swords around to deflect them: one of them was deflected back at Gate, causing an electrical reaction and a dent on his armor.
"I get it! He's invulnerable to practically all kinds of attacks save for his own attacks!" Isaac realized.
"Heh. "One's greatest weakness is one's own self"… This Choina proverb sure applies to this situation." "CF" Nelaus smirked.
"Damn!" Gate cursed.
"See? You presume of being invincible: but your weakness is your denial to admit that everyone has their flaws." "CF" Nelaus accused him.
"Super Vulcan!"
Gate drew two Super Vulcan Battle Chips and began to shoot two salvoes towards "CF" Nelaus.
"Dream Aura!"
The Dream Aura shield surrounded "CF" Nelaus and deflected the whole of the shots.
"Grah! Eat these!"
Gate shot three blue-colored energy spheres at "CF" Nelaus, but he merely sliced them up and shot the remains towards Gate: given how they came at different speeds and angles, he couldn't dodge the whole of them, and two of them hit him, making further dents on his armor.
"Nelaus! If we provoke him, he forgets about this weakness. We must use this opportunity... Come up with something." Isaac told him in a hushed tone while sounding slightly amused.
"Roger."
"So be it, defective! This is your last stand, vermin!" Gate roared.
"Those titles would suit you better than me." "CF" Nelaus shot back.
"Grah! Eat these~!" Gate roared.
He summoned nine energy spheres and shot them one after the other towards "CF" Nelaus while moving around but he merely changed the angle of his body or the inclination of the swords to slice them up.
"Elemental Cyclone!"
"CF" Nelaus began to spin very quickly, becoming a green tornado made up of green leaves: the remaining portions of the energy spheres coiled around it as he advanced towards Gate and the powerful winds were dragging him towards the tornado despite his attempts to run away.
"Stay away! Stay away! STAY AWAY~!" Gate roared in panic.
It was in vain: he began to spiral around the tornado's outer body and all of his energy spheres hit him one after the other, adding further dents to his golden armor, which was beginning to fall off, revealing cyber flesh beneath it; the tornado ceased and Gate fell into the floor: the shock from the landing broke off whatever was left of his upper body armor, leaving only some pieces on the arms, legs and back.
"My armor… This can't be happening! I am… a GOD!"
"You're a mere psycho who doesn't want to accept that all beings are mortal. And Twilight surely uses you as his proxy to battle me." "CF" Nelaus coolly told him.
"I shall destroy you…!" Gate stood up but his balance was far from decent.
"… Black End Galaxy!"
Black energy began to accumulate on "CF" Nelaus' hands and gained the shape of a spheroid.
"HUH? What the hell is that…?"
"CF" Nelaus tossed it behind Gate and it expanded into a large black vortex, which began to suck in everything around it: "CF" Nelaus drew a Neo Variable Sword and placed his right foot forward.
"Farewell."
He dashed forward, slashed through Gate's body, and hit the vortex before stopping behind it, giving his back to Gate: the vortex collapsed in a brutal explosion, which swept the whole of the ground.
"GROA~H!"
Nothing remained of Gate except for a few broken fragments of his golden armor, which had been scattered around the area when the explosion cleared.
"Hmmm… I believe the shockwave pushed him into the pit before deleting him. He craved his own grave." "CF" Nelaus dully commented as he looked down on its depths.
"We killed this ghost of the past come to haunt us."
"Hmpf. From now on, I am who I am. I am Nelaus Rainon. I do not know anyone named Anaya Maria. That name no longer has any meaning for me. Not even Twilight's name does. They can get lost in the Sahara and I couldn't care less!" "CF" Nelaus declared.
"That's my motto too."
The "Dimensional Converters" powered down and retreated; the "Dimensional Area" faded and Nelaus cancelled his "Cross Fusion" to then pick up the Link PET.
"It's time to go home."
"Roger!"
They didn't spot the "Talon" looking from behind a nearby bush.
Sheesh. That guy was so bragging but in the end he was so lame… No wonder Master cut ties with the guy… What a disappointment indeed… Oh, well… Wait for me, Nelaus… I'll make you sweat a lot! Heh, heh!
10:28 AM (Japan Time)…
"… Ah… Home…"
"Yeah. We're here."
Saito sat down on his usual chair, looking more energy-filled and relieved.
"The doctors gave me the go-ahead to leave the hospital… For the time being…. I shouldn't practice swimming and I shouldn't wash my chest with water…"
Netto was standing on the threshold and smiling as he spotted how Saito was back to his normal mood.
"Oi, Netto. You have a mail from Laika…" Sigma reported.
"Saito – kun. You also have one from Search Man." Blood Shadow reported as well.
"So! Good ol' Laika invites us to his apartment for a sleepover." Netto commented.
"They must want to talk 'bout somethin'…" Saito smiled.
"Mwah, hah, hah, hah. About Dragon's newest banner…" Sigma chuckled.
"Which is…?" Blood Shadow seemed to feat the worst.
"Ahem! "Of rivers and seas goes the tuna which plots a tragedy which shall befall those who foul their waters"…"
"How will a TUNA plot a tragedy?" Netto groaned.
"Please…" Saito slapped his forehead.
"Ya never know: it might be a Lord's container even!"
"You got that from Shadow Man and his "arcane" manias."
"Mwah, hah, hah… Dragon's banners are… Hum… UNBEATABLE~!"
"Yeah, yeah. Sure, sure." The three of them drily replied.
"Sigma! Stop acting the moron and check the security! Sheesh!"
10:44 AM (Japan Time)…
"… No one's at home? Where could he have gone to?"
"Dunno."
Tamashita had come to visit Nelaus only to find out that he wasn't home.
"Hmmm… Maybe he had some Net Savior stuff to take care of?" Felicia suggested.
"Could be…"
"Do you want to try to reach him?"
"It's worth a shot."
"Hullo, Felicia – chan. What's up?" Isaac asked, replying to the call.
"Where are you? You're not at home, right?" Felicia asked.
"Oh. We had some business off-town, and we're now in the way back with the bus… We should be there in twenty minutes."
"We'll be waiting." Felicia smiled.
"See you."
"Let's go wait on that café over there. I want to have a cappuccino. And maybe I'll get a "certain" magazine…" She trailed off, giggling.
"What… It wouldn't happen to be an R18+ magazine, right?" Felicia seemed to suspect.
"Of course not… It's a magazine about nothing at all."
"What the heck? Where'd you get that lame joke attempt from?"
"More like where I dug it from: the answer is… Arushi – kun!"
"Arushi – kun from B Class made that lame joke? I feel skeptical."
"Kidding! Ayanokouji – san came up with it. Gotcha! Tee, heh, heh!"
"Ayanokouji? Sheesh. It had to the spoiled missy indeed!"
09:58 AM (Mongolia Time)…
"… Good news. We're being transferred to the border outpost, as I expected. The backup plan can begin."
General Meta had entered the meeting room looking in a good mood: he relayed the news to his comrades.
"By the way, Meta… We've lost Dr. Gate's signal. He told us he was going to finish off that Ameroupe Net Savior, Nelaus Rainon, for unspecified reasons. Something tells me he was bested." Viper reported.
"Hum. That's odd. I didn't see anything weird on the data he sent us, mind you..." General Meta frowned.
"Maybe he knew something important he didn't disclose." Scorpion suggested.
"I'm sad, though! Because Vulture screwed it up I didn't get my chance to shine." Bella commented in a dull tone.
Vulture was apparently busy looking at the ceiling.
"Jeez… Who told him to use such barbarian tactics, anyway?" Cobra grumbled.
"God knows." Viper giggled.
"Ahem, ahem! Remember: we must keep the act up. Soon we will be able to become a powerful independent organization…" General Meta reminded them.
"Someone called Suicide Squad?" Twilight's voice boomed out of nowhere.
"What in the… Twilight! You weasel!"
"My. Some manners for a General… I guess you're more of a Non General than a General in the end but I'd rather be the Grand Moff Twilight. In charge of the Super Laser of Laziness!" He laughed.
"Please…" Scorpion didn't think it was funny.
"Beware of Court of Owls or they'll send the "Talon" for you bucks! Hah!"
15:25 PM (Japan Time)…
"… So… What happened inside of that "Dimensional Area" was Nelaus fighting against that Gate guy?"
"That's how it was."
Vadous was listening to the news Omega had brought over.
"At least we got rid of one of Anaya's goons… What's picking my nose currently is the fact that those Valkyries Navis haven't shown up again ever since they did so in South Korea. They must be saying them for another occasion or improving them…" Vadous brought a hand to his chin and seemed to be thinking about it.
"I'm pretty sure they're having their internal quarrels as well, so they must be busy trying to get outta those before they suck the blood outta 'em."
"Oh. That's right. They'll end up destroying themselves with their own foul weapons. Serves them well, those cowards."
"By the way: there was nothing useful in the house in the end?"
"No. He even switched the dust bag of the vacuum cleaner for new ones and disposed of the others. That methodical and almost obsession – level cleansing… Someone else was living in that house from time to time but I found nothing save for a receipt of two weeks ago… Twilight had purposely cut off all references to the store but he left the products and their prices… It was all groceries enough to feed one person… Twilight's a Net Navi so he doesn't need to eat. He's teasing us: maybe the "Talon" wasn't so "lunatic" as we thought and actually lived there ready to go out into sorties…" Vadous detailed.
"It could be that they pretended to be a sect-like or cult-like bloke and it was misinformation." Omega suggested.
"Maybe they even lived amongst normal people and all and they were just playing the role Twilight wanted them to play… That reminds me! He wrote something in Cyrillic on the back of the receipt… Check it out later."
"Alright. But maybe it's a blind alley to begin with…"
19:11 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Huh? That bag… Aha-hah. Enzan does share ideas with Laika. No wonder…"
Netto entered Laika's bedroom: it contained a single bed, a small side desk, a lamp, a wooden table, two chairs next to it and a mirror set on the wall to the table's right.
A sports bag was placed near the bed and Netto eyed it suspiciously.
"Sorry for the delay… I was finishing mopping the kitchen. I'm a maniac of cleansing." Laika ran in while closing the door behind him.
"Laika… Enzan passed onto you his S&M gear stuff, didn't he?" Netto questioned him.
"Eh… Hum…" Laika seemed to be at a loss for words.
"You could've told me beforehand. I don't like sudden surprises when it comes to this stuff." Netto reprimanded him.
"Sorry…" Laika hung his head down.
"Okay, I see that you've become a nicer guy over the years, so I'll let it slip…" Netto shrugged.
"You really will?" Laika looked surprised.
"Well, see. I've been wishing for some "spicing up" as of late… I accept it 'cause I know you'll feel unsatisfied if not. Try not to be too rough, either. If I ask you to stop, you will stop! Those are my terms. Do you agree with them?"
"Okay. I accept them."
Netto quickly began to undress while Laika opened the sports bag zip.
"Can you stand in front of the mirror, please?" Laika requested.
Netto did so and Laika walked towards him and geared him on the same gear he'd had on the other day when he'd been in the "dungeon" but he obviously didn't realize that.
"Heh. It makes me look horny… Let's get down to business."
Netto climbed into the bed and Laika took out a pair of handcuffs, which he closed on Netto's wrists as he placed his arms parallel behind him: he then connected a large rope to the back of the collar and linked it with a leg of the bed.
"Wait for me."
"Heh. Sure, big boy."
Laika got undressed and climbed in: Netto spread his legs and simply hummed a tune as Laika picked them up.
"Ready?"
"Shoot the first round, I shoot the second." He made up a motto.
"You could patent it, you know." Laika seemed to like it.
Laika began to massage Netto's nipples, drawing some low-toned moans from him: he soon began to lick around them and leave a trail as he moved downwards: Laika had already spotted how Netto's cock had become aroused.
"You get aroused easily, don't you? This is going to be a walk into the park, even!" Laika told him.
"Y-yeah… Guess so…" Netto let out a small chuckle.
"Can I go ahead?" Laika asked.
"Go ahead."
Laika grabbed Netto's cock and smelled it from a close distance: he began to softly move his fingers around his sack to tease him; he soon wrapped them around Netto's cock and lowered the foreskin.
"Get ready." Laika warned.
Netto quickly nodded and, immediately enough, Laika began to suck his cock slowly and carefully: Netto's moans became more intense and Laika kept on sucking it.
"La-Laika…" He uttered.
Laika began to take it further in, and he almost could touch the bottom of the shaft, which had become fully rigid by now.
"I c-can't hold on… much longer… gonna… come to…!" Netto warned between moans.
Indeed, since immediately enough, Netto came to, filling Laika's mouth with his thick substance: he let out one or two extra spurts before he relaxed.
"Wow… I sure let out a lot…" Netto let out a small chuckle.
"Let's share it, then." Laika announced.
He pressed his lips against the brunette's, and they connected: they began to share the unique flavor by mixing their tongues before they broke apart, gasping for air.
"I wanna have a taste of you…" Netto told him.
"Okay. Here you have."
Laika placed his cocky inside of Netto's mouth: Netto closed his eyes and began to explore it with his tongue, softly caressing around it, especially around the head of it: Laika began to moan and closed his eyes.
"I'm… releasing!" He warned.
Several spurts of cum came out of his cock and filled Netto's mouth. Laika took it out and eyed Netto's filled mouth: he immediately connected his lips with Netto's again and they shared the flavor.
"OK. Go for the real stuff."
"You want it so badly…"
Laika spread Netto's legs and used one finger to massage around the outer area of his entrance: Netto began to relax and open up, so Laika put one finger inside of him and massaged the insides.
"Uh… Don't tease for too long… I can't stand it…"
"Heh. I'll try to."
Laika soon put another two fingers inside and kept widening the diameter of the entrance: Netto was moaning and keeping his eyes closed so Laika smiled and removed his fingers from the inside: he prepared his cock and placed the head of his cock against the widened entrance.
"I'm going in." Laika announced.
He placed his hands at both sides of his upper body to have a better grip while he began to thrust inside of Netto: it slid in rather easily.
"It's all the way in… How does it feel like, Netto?"
"Great… Comfortable…"
"I'm glad to hear it. I'm going to start moving, cutie."
"Don't use nicknames on me…" Netto grumbled.
Laika began to move his member in and out, almost slamming in sometimes at an increasing rhythmic: Netto couldn't stop moaning over how good it felt and Laika was being thrilled by it as well.
"Netto…! I'm going to release…!" Laika announced.
"Do it…!" Netto begged.
Laika pushed all the way in one last time and released, filling the brunette boy's insides with his cum: stuff began to come out from the overfilling and slide down his cock: Laika panted and leant his head on Netto's chest.
"It felt… great… Laika… you're a nice guy… after all…"
"Heh… You're also a nice guy, too…" Laika chuckled.
"Can you… ride on my thing…?" Netto requested.
"Yeah… I like the idea…"
Laika licked Netto's cock to get it hard again; he used his own fingers to expand his entrance's width before sitting down so that Netto's cock would slide inside of him.
"O~h! It feels… incredible…!" Netto gasped and let out a large moan.
"It feels good over here, too…" Laika admitted.
Laika began to move using his hands to lean on Netto's spread legs and his hips to move up and down: Netto let out moan after moan while Laika began to rub his own cock as well.
"Laika…!" Netto moaned.
"Yeah, I know…" Laika replied.
Laika came to first and several spurts of his cock stained Netto's upper torso and face with his cum: some fell inside of his open mouth as well while Laika's inner muscles constricted and gripped around Netto's cock.
"I'm going off!" Netto moaned.
He immediately filled Laika's inside with his own cum: some of it began to come out and slide down his cock: Laika detached himself and lied on top of Netto.
"Let's finish it, Netto." Laika told him.
"Let's finish it…"
They both began a passionate kiss while they rubbed their cock against each other: they attained released and stained each other's upper torso and face: they broke apart with a string of saliva linking them.
"That was great!"
"Heh. I'm glad you liked it."
Laika undid the restrains and Netto calmy rubbed his wrists and articulated his arms; he suddenly hugged Laika and then pulled the bed sheets over them.
"And now comes round 2!" He laughed.
"Heh! Not bad! Let's do this!"
"Sure! Round 2: fight! Heh, heh, heh!"
19:49 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Ah! Search Man…!"
"… Saito…!"
Search Man and Saito were making out inside of Search Man's Link PET where a digital bed had been created.
Saito was sitting on Search Man's lap and moaning while Search Man moved his body up and down while Search Man's cock was inside of Saito's insides.
Saito was tightly hugging Search Man. Search Man had obviously removed his right arm's gun and all of his armor, and so had Saito.
"It feels splendid…!" Saito moaned.
"I'm going off…!" Search Man warned.
Search Man let out several spurts of cum which overfilled Saito's insides and slid down his own cock: Search Man let out a sigh of relief while Saito looked like he was in ecstasy.
"You're a good friend, Search Man… I know I can rely on you when I need to…" Saito told him.
"Thanks for the trust, Saito…" Search Man smiled.
"Let's share…" Saito suggested.
Both of them connected their lips and shared a passionate kiss while Saito toyed with his own cock: it soon became rigid and he let out some spurts, which stained Search Man's upper torso.
"Ah… Good…!"
His inner muscles constricted and gripped Search Man's cock, which let out two or three spurts of cum before stiffening.
"A~h… It felt splendid…!" Saito gasped upon breaking out of the kiss.
"You really don't mind switching between me and Blues?"
"Both of you are good friends, so… I like you both, but please don't quarrel amongst you two because of that… You two make a good tag team…"
"Of course we don't intend to quarrel…" Search Man reassured Saito as he softly massaged his back.
"We should go sleep, don't you think so…?" Saito suggested as he let out a rather large yawn.
"I agree…" Search Man smiled.
"By the way, Search Man… Did you try scanning that house?"
"I did: but apart from that receipt Mr. Vadous showed us which had the word "teaser" written on Cyrillic its reverse there was nothing else: guess the guy could get down the point of keeping all clean when he needed the place to be clean… Unlike Laika – sama…"
"But we didn't see much dust in the apartment, mind you."
"No. But you haven't seen the closet. He stores a punch-bag with "The Penguin" face on it." Search Man rolled his eyes.
"Laika's fond of boxing? I always thought fencing was his forte."
"True. But it's rather amateur: he does that from time to time."
"Heh, heh, heh… Laika's got some secrets to him!"
"Sure… By the way: I saw another of those "Past Visions" and that Xon' Edos guy studying it from a safety range… It displayed Shade Man facing Blues and a blurry Navi in a Cyber World somewhere, which had the Science Labs banner… Some purple-colored simplistic Navis accompanied them along with some Viruses… But! Shade Man simply left them to face the grunts. And then fled… Not so typical of "our" Shade Man, right?"
"Really… Guess that one was simpler-minded that the "local" one… But I don't mind it… Let's go sleep and cheer up."
"Heh. That's more like you… Good night."
"Good night."
21:31 PM (Melbourne Time)…
"… I know… This house looks a lot like the previous one but that's because constructors thought they'd sell well…"
"I don't mind, Master."
"Heh. I left them a teaser but they'll surely think you were but a fellow I employ from time to time and whose skills are good…"
"What happened with Dark Land?"
"Heh! Those 6 got a scolding from Big Boss wannabe and they're going to be degraded to be sent to run a border outpost…"
"How the mighty have fallen, huh? What about that Gate bloke?"
"Hah. Gone. As you yourself witnessed… Given how they were a Net Navi IQ – sama designed then… But she was more interested in us hence why she hadn't bothered to approach or contact him in years… He was but small fry in Her Grace's eyes…"
Philip was talking with Twilight on a new living room, which had a very similar design to the one they'd been using, but this one had a central fireplace the previous one didn't have.
"What was Miss IQ's goal in building them?"
"Hah. They were the architect who built the "Palace" by taking care of the whole planning and construction down to the last screw and lock… He engineered the Lab onboard and he was present in all of our "upgrades"… Their weapon design was good and they served their role by reminding Nelaus that he can't lie to himself forever… The geas inside of his genetic code will stir up from time to time… Heh."
"But, really… He went there without a battle plan, got cocky and got beaten? Talk about a rushed guy. He was such a letdown!"
"Truly, Darth Bapgei. Even his armor had flaws to it purposely set there by IQ – sama just in case he got cocky… Hmpf… Heh, heh, heh."
"Hmpf. The interlopers are gone and we'll soon shine… We "Sith" will…!"