Chapter 13: "The call of God"
11:06 AM (Japan Time). Thursday February the 5th…
"Hmmm…"
"What's wrong, Tamashita – san?"
Tamashita was sitting inside of the classroom and behind her desk, leaning her elbows on the desk and holding her head with her hands: she turned to her left to see Nelaus standing there, looking slightly concerned.
"Ah… Hum… Say… You know those photos I got the other day in an anonymous way? I can't get them off my head for some reason or another… They were so… weird…" Tamashita slowly replied.
"It was but a prank by some jerk or another. Of course, they'd be weird. The jerk wanted to scare you." Nelaus calmly told her.
"Huh… But… I wonder…"
"What is it now?"
"… Hmm… I don't understand that weird cylinder, the stuff that was inside and that hospital-like graphic… Was someone supposed to be inside of it? It looked like one of those "hibernation" devices in the sci-fi movies…"
"I told you: the jerk used frames from a film to fool you into believing they were real. It must be someone who picks on girls." Nelaus tried to shift the conversation elsewhere.
"… Yeah. Huff. You're right. Why should I bother to care about what does a jerk do? They're bad people, after all." Tamashita grumbled.
"That's my point."
"I get it, Rainon – ku~n!"
"Please… Could you stop prolonging that last syllable? It sounds weird…"
"Tee, heh, heh! I like teasing you." She giggled.
"You're smart, then." Nelaus smirked.
"Of course I'm smart! Everyone knows that I get good marks on my exams!" Tamashita replied with obvious pride.
"Grr…" Dekao grumbled while sitting behind his desk.
"Yo, Ooyama! What's up?" Nelaus asked.
"Mrkrpxzkrmtfrzl!" Dekao growled.
"Man! What's that idiom? Are you talking an alien idiom?"
"Grrr! Huff! Don't mess around! I hate exams! They're so hard…!"
"Sorry! But did you expect middle school to be a walk into the park? I'm surprised you've reached this far… You must've needed help, right? Well, not like that's anything shameful!"
"Hmpf!" Dekao played the offended.
"Okay, I can see you're not in the mood for talking things today… See ya around. And tell Guts Man that Aki – chan is going to hold a concert next week…"
"O~H! DE GUTS! AKI – CHA~N! GUTS! I MUST GO THERE~!" Guts Man jumped around of the classroom's Cyber World in excitement.
"Jeez…" Dekao rolled his eyes again.
"Ooyama will always be Ooyama. He's the slow guy of the class."
"And Guts Man is Donkey Kong's Bahamas cousin." Isaac joked.
"My." Felicia giggled.
"No wonder." Roll wasn't surprised.
"Desu! It's no wonder."
"But as long as he behaves…" Glyde shrugged.
"Mwah, hah, hah… Oi! Guts Man! Beat Guts Man!"
"Not again…"
"GATTSU~! Guts Punch! Guts Hammer! Uo~h! Guts Man fainted… Guts…"
10:18 AM (Mongolia Time)…
"… The scheme is a total success. By the time they realize we're gone they won't be able to react in time."
"That's perfect, Meta – sama."
General Meta and Vulture were talking with their companions about their "desertion" from Dark Land.
"By the way! I'm no longer technically a "General"… But I know you guys don't care for it, anyway." Meta announced.
"Of course not, Meta…" Viper smiled.
"Heh. It looks like things will get interesting. Maybe I'll be able to accomplish what Viper – sama's second disciple couldn't accomplish in the end." Bella smirked.
"Oi. Don't get funny ideas." Cobra grumbled.
"Meta. You should keep an eye on Vulture. We don't want him going off the hook again." Scorpion added.
"But of course." Meta replied as he directed a suspicious glare at his subordinate: he gulped.
"Say! What's the name of our new group?" Viper asked.
"Will you tell us already, Boss?" Scorpion asked next.
"We are… The Desert Wraiths." Meta announced with obvious pride and triumph.
"Desert Wraiths… It sounds cool." Cobra smiled.
"Doesn't it?" Bella giggled.
"And since we have the whole arsenal of weapons at our disposal… We will able to operate anywhere and vanish in an instant."
"This will be our M. O., then." Scorpion guessed.
"Glory to the Desert Wraiths! Let a new campaign begin! Hah, hah, hah!"
11:31 AM (Japan Time)…
"… Boss? I've got some news…"
"… Let me guess: bad news."
Omega had come to tell Vadous some news, but he had already suspected they wouldn't be nice.
"The Foreign Department has been dismantled, but their members have deserted Dark Land." He reported.
"Lovely. So our plan to make them destroy each other failed, huh?"
"We don't know their current whereabouts: they took all the information regarding the weapons with them." Omega reported next while looking slightly nervous.
"More headaches…" Vadous grumbled next.
"And Schneider admitted to Kount Serbauf that Gate seemed to have been working on some Net Navi, but he has no more info about it. He never said a word to either him or the Dark Land guys, it'd seem. I believe he took the secret with him to his grave. He was being very cautious."
"If it was just a project and he never got to work on it then that's no problem… Hopefully it never went past planning stage!"
"By the way! We searched the house again but there was nothing and we can't know if Twilight switched city, county or nation altogether."
"The guy's resorting to an annoying cat-n-mouse game: he gotta think he's the Joker, vanishing and reappearing when he feels like it."
"Obviously… I got told by Shadow Man that the "Talon" appeared near Yuriko and just threw her a bat-boomerang which had the word "TRAITOR" written there: she was unimpressed because it was Twilight's intention to let go of her."
"Maybe it was a reference to "Alternate" Yuriko given the memories of "Alternate" Rock Man provided by Kuroshiro and Kanou Shade over a year and half ago…" Vadous suggested.
"Ah. That's what it could mean, yeah. I wouldn't be surprised if "Alternate" Yuriko tried to refuse to continue working for the guy when she got back her memories somehow."
"…memories of lust, greed, ambition and gambling which…"
"Dragon!"
Hurried footsteps rang out followed by a pair of mechanical hums: Vadous fumed while Omega rolled his eyes.
"The guy just won't learn. He really needs a scare to work!"
"Guess that. At least he's discrete, which is a must…"
"Code I. Code I. Zoan Gate Man detected outside Firewall 3."
"The outer layer firewall…? Omega! Go give him a lesson on what happens when you provoke me in purpose." Vadous fumed.
"Roger. Delighted. Got a score pending with the bastard, too!"
Omega ran off while Vadous inputted some commands and spotted that Zoan Gate Man was shooting with the Gate Cannon at the firewall while his 64 Mettools tried to attack it from different spots in the perimeter: Vadous smirked and inputted some commands.
"Sigma's little idea will do fine."
Zoan Gate Man was focused on what he did and didn't see a creepy grayish fin cutting through the "ground" and silently heading for him: he suddenly gasped as his feet began to sink as if he'd stepped into quicksand followed by a CRUNCH sound.
"OUWA~H! MY RIGHT FOOT! THE PAIN!" He gasped.
"Hmpf. You made me sweat the other day in Melbourne: I'm going to pay you back with the same currency, Twilight…"
"GRUAH! DAMN IT! WHAT THE… IS THAT…! A DAMNED CYBER SHARK…? TACTICAL… OUWA~H! W-WITH… HUA~H! DRAWAL! MY RIGHT FOOT!"
"Hah. Earn the lesson, vermin, and don't come back twice."
00:47 AM (Iceland Time)…
"… I've found you."
"No more games."
Dr. Spimer had receiver another anonymous and distorted phone call, but, this time around, he knew who it was.
"What do you mean by "no more games"?" The voice asked.
"That voice distorter hardly hides your accent. And I know who you really are." Dr. Spimer calmly told the person.
"You're bluffing."
"Veronica! For God's sake! Stop your insistence. Everyone has a right to some privacy." Dr. Spimer grumbled.
"… How did you know who I was?" She asked after having discarded the distorter.
"I asked "Octopus – han" for a favor."
"So! You do know who he is." She guessed.
"Wrong. I know how to contact him, but we've only spoken via emails. All I know is that he's Japanese. If he's from Kansai or not, I care not."
"That's weird… I'm in Sweden! But this connection keeps on being horrible. Are you really in Sweden? The rumors insisted on that…"
"This region is often hit by severe blizzards and snowstorms during this time of the year: it's no surprise."
We use Iceland Time but we're really in an ice shelf about an hour's flight from Iceland and NNW…
"Let's be serious. What are you up to?"
"… I've simply founded my own haven."
"Don't you mean "Heaven" instead or I'm hearing it bad?" Defeux didn't seem to know the word.
"No. I said "haven" as in "ship havens". It's a refuge where people who have not been able to achieve their goals because society impeded them can do so."
"Doesn't that sound like…?" Defeux began before being cut off.
"For God's sake, no! We don't have any political ideology! We're just like people on a ship. We live and work on the same ship so we all get along perfectly." Dr. Spimer grumbled.
"Okay! If you insist so… I'm satisfied: I won't bother you anymore… Wait. Then, the "Council of Armies" stuff…"
"I am the founder of it and the President of it, but I always get along perfectly with the other council members. And like I told you, we only try to force the enemy to retreat and don't like direct confrontation." Dr. Spimer replied while trying to close the affair for the last time.
"You win. Farewell, Pierre."
"Farewell, Veronica."
Dr. Spimer sighed in relief as pocketed the cell phone.
At least she now understands that sometimes, some facts are better off not being known…
"… Heh, heh, heh… I am Fortencho, Lord of Admirals! Come! We must stand united and fight to the end in Charum Hakkor!" A voice chuckled through the interphone.
"Merde alons. Twilight. You forban!" Dr. Spimer cursed.
"… My business partner, the Didact, says he'll bring you a nightmare!"
"How original. Is that your best shot, you cretin?"
"Mwah, hah, hah! Play around while you can, Dr. Frankenstein!" Twilight sneered next.
"WHAT? DAMN YOU~!" He violently stood up and scowled.
"Hah, hah, hah! Nyah, hah, hah! Mwah, hah, hah! Hyah, hah, hah!"
13:13 PM (Mongolia Time)…
"… Meta! We've got trouble!"
"What the hell? Already?"
Scorpion ran into Meta's new office, looking anxious; Meta was obviously taken aback.
"Huff, huff… Several of our Valkyries have vanished without any apparent reason! They left no traces at all!" Scorpion reported.
"That's weird! They don't have a will of their own! They're pre-programmed!" Meta frowned.
"I knew that! The ones who vanished are the four with the most experience on the field… And I don't believe it to be a coincidence."
"But they didn't have any override codes, did they?" Meta brought a hand to his chin.
"Wrong. They had. Cobra and I had a look at their programming and found it hidden behind the "loyalty" program. But I'm sure Herr Präsident didn't do that." Scorpion explained.
"… Dr. Gate did, then?" Meta guessed.
"It's the only possible choice. I do believe he was loyal to no - one and that he had his own interests." Scorpion replied.
"But… If he was deleted the other day, then who could've triggered the code, Twilight…? Unless… Did you have a look at it to see if it was set to be triggered in case he was deleted?" Meta asked.
"Cobra and I did. The code will only be engaged under a specific clause: "the call of God"..." Scorpion announced.
"Huh… Sorry. What did you say?" Meta didn't seem to have understood him.
"I said: "the call of God"..." Scorpion replied.
"And what the heck does that mean?" Meta grumbled.
"Dunno. There's nothing more written in the code itself. Maybe it's hidden elsewhere. Cobra is still working on deciphering the hidden programming." Scorpion replied.
"Keep at it and try to erase it while you're at it. Having our most experience Valkyries vanish will do us no good… I know that we still have the Nibelungs and Bifrosts, but the Valkyries are the cavalry to finish the job." Meta instructed.
"Okay, Meta. I'll report to you later." Scorpion acknowledged.
"…"The call of God"… What the devil does that mean?" He muttered while scratching the back of his head.
"Maybe it means the Master Builder for all we know."
"Where'd you get that idea from, Vulture? And didn't I tell you not to creep into me from behind?" He didn't bother to turn.
"Heh, heh, heh. Maybe you should watch out your back, fellows."
"What! Twilight! You fucker!"
Meta turned around to see Twilight lazily leaning his back against the wall and stuffing both hands on his pockets.
"Heh, heh, heh. Behold! The Captive will come visit you!"
"What the hell? What "Captive"? Don't bring up rubbish nonsensical stuff, you lowlife!"
"Heh, heh, heh. Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself. Send my greetings to Ms. Viper and Ms. Bella: I'm their fan."
He dematerialized, chuckling, and left behind a picture of a gigantic ring construct speeding towards a planetoid in space: Meta grumbled and tossed that into a garbage bin.
"Rubbish! Mere rubbish!"
He sat down on his desk and began to work with the computer.
"Hmpf! Nothing will impede the rise of the Desert Wraiths!"
15:05 PM (Japan Time)…
"… So… Things won't just stay quiet, huh?"
"It'd seem that they won't."
Dr. Wily had heard some of the news and was muttering aloud while enjoying a Maha Special at Maha Ichiban's; Maha had happened to overhear him, so he made a comment.
"You're right on that, Maha Jarama… It'd seem that some of those guys look up to the mistakes of the past without realizing what they truly are: mistakes." Dr. Wily commented.
"That's so true, Dr. Wily – sama." Maha Jarama nodded in agreement, as he served him some cold water.
"By the way… Have those two been behaving or did they try to get each other's neck again?"
"They've been behaving but Hinoken gets those moods in which he claims he'll go down to Hell to search Freeze Man."
"Huff. It's my fault, I know it."
"… So? Did you find something?"
"Shah, shah, shah! I spotted a weird guy…"
Yuriko was checking with Needle Man in the meanwhile as Wily chatted with Maha.
"Hmmm… Did he have any Cyrillic sign on him?"
"Yeah! The character for the "C" letter… I believe it was the jerk named Cobra. That jerk seemed to be lookin' for somethin', but didn't find it and fled! Shah, shah, shah!" Needle Man explained.
"Hmmm… I wonder what he was looking for… Guess we'll find out sooner or later." Yuriko muttered.
"Shah, shah, shah! I'm gonna go and slice up some Viruses! I need some action to stay in form! Heh, heh, heh! Later, Yuriko!"
16:49 PM (Japan Time)…
"… A ver! Confiesen! Dónde se esconde El Dorado?"
"There goes Vincent again…"
"He never gives up…"
Netto and Saito had just gotten home when Saito's PET rang and they groaned when they found out the ID of the caller.
"… "Let's see! Confess! Where is El Dorado hidden at?"…" Blood Shadow translated.
"…"El Dorado"? Isn't that a myth?" Netto frowned.
"Last time I checked it was." Saito rolled his eyes.
"Huff. Leave 'im to me... Oiga! Para llegar al Dorado… Interrogue al Presidente! Él lo sabe!" Sigma told Vincent.
"… Heh… Pues voy a convertirme en - El AMO DEL MUNDO! BWAH, HAH, HAH!" Vincent exploded into laughter before finishing the call.
"What did you tell him about some President?" Netto asked Sigma.
"I told 'im: "Hey! To reach El Dorado you must interrogate Mr. President!"…" Sigma laughed.
"And he replied: "Well, then, I'll become - THE WORLD'S RULER!" … And he exploded into laughter."
"That's it: he's nuts." Saito grumbled.
"Wasn't it obvious by now?"
"Mwah, hah, hah… Dragon's newest banner! "Oh, Lord of Sailors! Thou voyage is blessed and cursed by Goddess Hylia and the Apocalyptic Being, source of all Demons! Proceed with care!"…"
"Hylia? That's gotta be something which will be used in the next Zelda game: Twilight's spoiling it for us already. Triforce of the Gods used the term "Hylia people" to define the Hyrlue inhabitants." Netto groaned.
"Maybe we'll have forgotten by the time that happens."
"Good point, Saito – niisan."
"Mwah, hah, hah… Commander Omega told me Boss used the "virtual" Michelangelo to bite Zoan Gate Man's right foot and have him learn what happens when they try to piss him off in purpose!" Sigma reported.
"No wonder." Both merely muttered.
"Huh? Call from Higure – san: the location ID and the phone ID matches."
"Let's check… Higure – san! You're the best at bowling!" Netto grinned.
"A~h! De masu! Don't bring up bowling again, de masu… Number Man! It was your fault!" He groaned and tried to blame Number Man.
"Yamitarou. You moron. I learnt the lesson. Have you?"
"Hmmm… Ms. Glassy likes The Beatles!"
Higure showed up on screen and Netto pulled a joke on purpose so he gasped in fear before he began discussing with Number Man: Blood Shadow suddenly came up with something.
"What? Be-what? De masu?"
"Beatles, Yamitarou! The always-popular King Land music band…!"
"Gotta get their latest disc…!"
"You moron. They disbanded on the 70s."
CRASH!
"Masu~…"
"Oh. Higure – san fell from atop the counter." Shuuko muttered.
"Pyrururu."
"Sorry for the bother: Yamitarou wanted to ask if Davis' Operator hadn't changed his mind and he was going to sell him his Chips."
"Jeez. They're but little edits! Anyone could do them for free, anyway."
"That's what I told Yamitarou but you know the moron."
"Ms. Glassy~…"
"He Who Fell From A Glare Coming From A Seer." Shadow Man's voice rang out in the store.
"Shadow Man. Stop labeling scenes as if they were canvases." Number Man grumbled in annoyance.
"Mwah, hah, hah… How clever!"
"How stupid." Blood Shadow shot back.
"Time to crave and grave~…"
"… Sigma. Shut up." Saito coolly snapped.
"Yikes." Sigma gulped.
"You had to pick a taboo word!" Blood Shadow scolded in a hushed tone to Sigma.
"W-what?"
"Don't "w-what"… Remember what happened last year's winter!"
"… Yikes. I'd forgotten… I mean… I didn't associate the word… Guess my tag search system needs an update…"
"Time to rhyme and giggle~…" Netto tried to improve the mood.
"Heh. I can do better! Time to smile and pace…"
"Heh, heh, heh. Guess Saito – niisan beats me to rhymes."
"Today I was inspired by some reason or another."
"The Inspired Seer Of Inspiration." Shadow Man chuckled.
"Shoo, shoo." Number Man shooed him away.
"Mwah, hah, hah… Let's have some fun with Mario and Luigi~…"
"You want a rematch, huh? Next time around, I guess."
18:07 PM (Melbourne Time)…
"… Desert Wraiths? They must think they're ugly."
"Hah, hah, hah! Good one, my apprentice…"
"I was making sarcasm, Master."
"It doesn't matter… Those guys can do as they want: they'll be useful to draw kyoudai's attention at them. The guy surely thinks I've gone out of Australia by now… Hah! Too easy, too easy!"
"And they can't image we just moved 2.7 km NNW."
"Heh, heh, heh. Expect the unexpected."
"OH YEAH! LET ZA FOOLS HIT ZA VAN!"
"Cloud Man!"
"Yikes!"
Philip and Twilight were chatting inside of the living room when Cloud Man interrupted them with another parody.
"Go sing that on some Internet City: NOW!"
"R-roger!"
"Phew. About time!" Freeze Man sighed in relief.
"How's Zoan Gate Man's right foot like?" Yamato Man asked.
"We sterilized it: but he'd already shaken off the 5 tracers on its body in some router near Taiwan…" He replied.
"5 tracers! Guess he was desperate." Cosmo Man looked amused.
"Heh, heh, heh. College of Charleston is my prey!" Swallow Man chuckled.
"I won't deny you that, Swallow Man." Twilight told him.
"Thank you very much!" He saluted.
"College of Martinston is for me to try out." Zoan Gate Man came in.
"How's the foot?" Twilight asked.
"Already healed. I apologize for my failure."
"Bah. Even I would've fallen for that: I didn't predict he'd use a random idea from Sigma just to show how annoyed he was."
"Roger. Next time I will be more careful."
"By the way: look at this." Freeze Man grinned.
He opened a screen and showed "CF" Charles and "CF" Martin facing two "Valkyries" somewhere inside of a "Dimensional Area".
"… Hyper Ball! GO!"
"OK! Speed Ball! Go!"
The devices mounted on either of their right shoulders hummed as they formed a "Hyper Ball" and a "Speed Ball" on them and they got energized; both arched their arms backwards before flinging them forward and throwing the "Balls" at the "Valkyries" which didn't bother to dodge; purplish energy in the form of a claw closing formed for a second and both "Valkyries" vanished before the "Balls" hit the floor, bounced once or twice and they began to tilt either left or right.
"Come on…!"
"Another little bit…!"
Both "Balls" stopped moving and a victory fanfare rang out.
"Heh! Valkyrie: get!" Both clasped their hands.
The insides of the "Balls" glowed and they suddenly detonated: both gasped and then groaned in disappointment.
"Commendable yet futile." Twilight sneered.
"Isn't it?" Freeze Man amusedly asked back.
"Heh. Struggle and sweat for a while, you guys…" Philip smirked.
"Heh, heh, heh…! You're destined to struggle in vain, you guys!"