16:58 PM (Japan Time), Saturday April the 26th…
"… Here I am, Boss! Ready for the next job!"
"2 minutes before time. Good. I appreciate punctuality!"
"As you desire!"
A bulky man wearing the uniform of a transportation business came in.
The space was a mostly dark underground room.
There was a worn-down wooden desk with a lamp atop it.
A man wearing a black suit and a hat lied his feet atop the desk.
He sat on a chair which leant on the wall behind.
"Did you bring the package?"
"Piece of a cake!"
The bulky man pulled a trolley with a wooden box loaded atop it.
"These fools are all in the clouds, only thinking of parties!" He laughed.
"Naturally. And they force others to "read between lines"…"
"Which is why they couldn't see us coming!"
"Exactly…"
"As expected of you, Boss! A brilliant plan!"
"You praise me too much. It's but the result of patience…"
"Yes! It takes wise and patient men like you to do things!"
"It it'd been up to you, then you wouldn't have waited 4 months…"
"No, Boss! I wouldn't be able to! I hate little tricks; I want a real brawl!"
"This is going to be the heating up, mind you…"
"I know. The real deal is waiting for us!"
"Good. Leave the box on the adjacent room. I'll go ready things…"
The "Boss" dropped the feet on the ground and leant forward.
"Aye, Boss!"
The man pulled the trolley into an adjacent, empty room.
There was a pulley on the ceiling and a chain was coiled on it.
It ended in two sets of restraints for the wrists.
The bulky man sneered and walked out.
The "Boss" walked past him and shut the door behind him.
The bulky man sat on a worn-down wooden chair.
"I can remove this cap already…"
He removed the cap to reveal that he was Inukai Takeo.
He sneered and drew a PET from his inner pocket.
"Did you make sure to scatter the Viruses, Beast Man?"
"Sure thing! The cops must be busy dealing with those by now!"
Beast Man appeared onscreen, chuckling.
"We owe the Boss big! He restored my memories and revived you!"
"Sure! I wanted a chance to run wild again!"
"And he gave us the chance to! This is great!"
"My claws are itching to carve up fools!"
He held up his claws and laughed.
"Let's go over the plan again…"
"Roger!"
Data displayed on the holographic screen.
"Our position is in the SE corner…"
"And our assigned target's codename is "Surtur"!"
"To avoid leaks, we won't know their face until the operation begins…"
"Our role is to keep them glued to us and carve them up!"
"Exactly! I'll use some "assistants" hidden in the area!"
"The other corners will be handled by "those guys"!"
"It's obvious who it is, but it's not written here for safety…"
"The Boss is careful. Can't be helped…"
"I don't complain. We'll make society shiver at us again!"
"Truly! I've been waiting for this day…!"
The door opened and the "Boss" waked out.
"Preparations are over, Inukai. Let's go…"
"Roger, Sir Twilight!"
He eagerly sat up and followed "Twilight" into the next room.
"Wonderful!"
A single, naked light bulb hanging from the ceiling provided light.
Hikari Netto and Rock Man stood in the room.
They were both unconscious and their arms were chained to the cuffs.
They both had leather blindfolds over their eyes.
Their legs were bound together with chains held together with a padlock.
Netto was stripped down to his underwear.
The wooden box laid open in a corner, and it had his clothes inside.
"Twilight" closed the door behind them and locked it.
He slid the key inside of his right sleeve.
"Remember. Once I say "stop", you stop right away…"
He walked over to Inukai and whispered to his right ear.
"By your orders…"
"Begin… Don't make a big noise yet…"
Inukai silently nodded and drew a Chip from his left chest pocket.
It resembled the "Dimensional Chip" but had a red diamond instead.
"Vortex Chip…! Slot – In…!"
He slid the Chip into his PET slot.
A transparent spheroid with "cities" and a "sun" inside of it displayed.
The "sun" turned red and grew to engulf the spheroid.
That spheroid formed in the real world.
It reshaped into Beast Man's shape and Beast Man formed there instead.
He was of normal size.
"I calibrated output so that he fits here…" He whispered.
"Roger, Boss…"
"Same applies to you, Beast Man. When I order, you'll stop…"
"Aye, Boss…!"
Inukai drew his favorite whip, coiled inside of his uniform.
He silently unrolled it and took some steps backwards.
He grinned and flung it.
TCHACH!
Netto yelped and awakened as it struck his back.
He flung forward and hit the wall, mere centimeters ahead of him.
"Been a while, Hikari Netto… You haven't forgotten, have you…?"
"I… Inu… kai!?" He gasped, afraid.
Rock Man mumbled as if he was awakening as well.
"Your turn…"
Beast Man violently swung his right claw from the neck to the waist.
Rock Man yelped as shallow scars formed on his cyber-flesh.
"You can't have forgotten me, either! Rock Man!"
"B… Beast… Man…!?" He gasped.
"You're such fools! Thinking that we wouldn't come back for payback!"
Inukai laughed and flung the whip again, hitting Netto again.
He cried and tried moving his legs but was unable to.
"It's in vain! All's been calculated to the lowest detail!"
"Same over here!"
Beast Man swung his claws in a quick succession next.
"This pain will destroy you! I'll turn you into a cripple!" He laughed.
"Twilight" cleared his throat and Beast Man gasped.
"S-sorry, Boss! It's to intimidate them!"
The man merely crossed his arms to show his dissatisfaction.
"R-roger! Anyway! Feel the pain!"
Beast Man resumed his mad assault.
Inukai chained his attacks together, too.
He stopped catch his breath.
"Been a while since I could run this wild…"
He rubbed his lower jaw with the hand to wipe the sweat.
Netto had obviously fainted as he hung his head down.
His back, arms and legs were filled with scars.
Rock Man had also fainted as his wounds glowed and some data leaked.
"Twilight" raised the right palm to command them.
"Roger! I feel satisfied with this… And there's the main deal waiting!"
"Sure! The real fun is yet to begin!" Beast Man chuckled.
The man smirked as he drew the key and unlocked the door.
"We'll be waiting for the signal, Boss!"
"It's going to be fun!"
Both villains ran out, laughing, as the man locked the door again.
He removed his hat.
He had neatly combed blonde hair.
His eyes were emerald, green.
He could be on his early 30s.
"Alright…"
He walked past the unconscious duo and chuckled.
He drew a scout knife and stabbed Rock Man's upper chest.
He yelped and awakened from the pain.
He pulled it out and licked it with his tongue, his face psychotic.
He walked over to Netto and made two quick cuts forming a "T".
Netto also awakened from the pain.
"Hi, Demi-Fiend… Did you enjoy the reincarnation in another world?"
"N… no… way…" Netto groaned.
He coughed and spat some blood.
"Don't worry. You won't die from that…"
"T-that's not…!"
"How can you…!?" Rock Man groaned.
"Simple. What Kagutsuchi killed was a remote-controlled dummy…"
"What…!?"
"I'm dealing with a blockhead alien. You won't know what it'll do!"
He sneered as he walked away and flung the knife into the air.
He caught it as it fell and repeated the gesture.
"I used an insurance again…"
Both gasped as if they realized something.
"What you fought was always dummies…"
He laughed as he pocketed the knife.
"You only met the real me for the few days that I was "there"…"
He stuffed both hands on his pockets.
"In the Ministry of Science (MOS), naturally enough…"
He opened his arms wide next.
"What? You're going to say that it's cowardly? Like I care!"
He laughed.
"Gladiator was also a hollow shell! All his dialogue was mine!"
He sneered next.
"A good spy must be able to act multiple roles!"
"Spy…?" Netto managed to pronounce.
"Indeed! Sent by the ruler of the underground, the mighty "IQ"…"
"I… Q…?"
"It's a codename, naturally enough!"
He became eager.
"Are you going to argue that what I did wasn't "spy-like"?"
He laughed again.
"What began as a spy mission, it grew bigger as I assimilated technology!"
"B-b-but…"
"Spectrum and Earth Erasure? Accounted for, of course!"
"W-what…?"
"I had a space station, remember? Their Grace also has one…"
"T-then…!"
"Theirs is way bigger. More than station, a space colony…"
He leant on the wall next to the door and crossed his arms.
"Which means that they can survive even if Earth blows up!"
He made a mock applause.
"But I'm glad that the mighty, immortal Barrel solved it…"
"You…!"
"What? It's the truth, isn't it? Because I lacked a way to fight the giant!"
He shrugged.
"I guess that Ronin Man smelled that I wasn't dead, but he's too slow!"
"Shadow… Man…!" Rock Man corrected between gasps of pain.
"Brother has been hunting for me, but I sent youth to play with him!"
"What…"
"What. He didn't tell you our relationship yet?"
He chuckled.
"Guess that I kept him too busy for that!"
He walked back towards them.
"We're both executives of Their Grace's organization!"
He scowled next.
"But the fool chickened and quit… What a chicken!"
"More like… rational…!" Netto hissed.
"I needed a competition opponent, and the fool provided it…"
He chuckled again and rubbed his chin.
"Following the rules of the underground, we're "Brothers"…"
"Thought so…!" Rock Man hissed next.
"By the way! Deep Kabase VS Bomber Man! An explosive match!"
"Who's…?"
"What, you didn't know? The owner of "Asteroid" Sword Man…"
"That thief…!"
"That Ringing Ding-Dong found by dumb luck!"
Both grumbled, annoyed at his lame nickname.
"Bomb Vs Bomb! Konami will hire me for their next Bomber Man game!"
"What are… you…"
"Planning? Don't worry. You'll soon know. It'll be spectacular!"
He walked over to Rock Man and landed his right hand over a shoulder.
"I hired professionals to spice it up! And it's not SNS "influencers"…"
He walked over to Netto next and gripped his lower jaw.
"Maybe Four-Eyes will become one to rival Captain Fish?"
He walked away, laughing.
"Those two will end up with a criminal record for stalking, I take it!"
Both grumbled, annoyed.
"Redbeard could become a "flamer" and heat up the SNS!"
"Hi… no… ken…"
"He isn't that type of man, is it? Feels like a failed boxer!"
He sneered at his lame joke.
"The failed boxer, the bankrupt noble, the seducer, the Yoga master…"
He counted with his right hand's fingers.
"The Elite Four of Running Gags!"
He drew the knife and threw across the gap between both boys.
It stabbed the wall and both gasped, afraid.
"Unlike Alonso Perez, I am an expert at knives…"
He walked over to the wall and pulled it out.
"I learned from a real pro agent, Jack Krauser…!"
He leant the tip on Netto's base of the neck.
"And incorporated the skills of scout soldiers…"
He pulled it away but then did the same to Rock Man.
"Well. Enough games…"
He walked over to the wall and drew the words "PARTY TIME" there.
"By the time that the Mexican fan fins me, this'll be empty…"
He wrote the text "DAY OF THE DEAD" beneath.
"This'll work as incentive to get him and my comrade to sweat…"
He drew a black leather collar with four miniature devices inside of it.
He closed it around Netto's neck, and he gasped.
"Alright, then… It's party time!"
18:17 PM (Japan Time)…
"… You were there, Dr. Hikari?"
"Hi, Meijin. Is something the matter?"
"Did you forget about today's event, sir?"
"Event…?"
Yuuichirou was working on his office when Meijin came in.
Meijin sighed, too used to this.
"The anniversary! Weren't you going there with your wife and son, sir?"
"It was today!? Not tomorrow!?"
He stood up, nervous.
"It's at 7:30, sir. You can make it on time if you hurry, sir!"
"Dear!"
He shut down the PC and hung the lab coat on the hanger.
"I'll drive you, sir!"
"Sorry for the hassle…"
He grabbed his leather briefcase and hurried out along with Meijin.
They headed into the parking lot and Meiin unlocked his red car.
They climbed inside of it and drove away.
"Fortunately, this new method to detect "those" is almost ready…"
"That system to detect "Phantom Navis", sir?"
"Sure. It can detect instability of their data…"
"That'd do wonders if something similar were to happen…"
"Yes, of course!"
Yuuichirou's cellphone rang.
"Crap!"
He drew it and answered it.
"Dear! Did you forget about today's event?"
"Well… I did. Meijin is driving me home…"
"You have an agenda for something, no?"
"That's… I forgot that it existed, too…"
Haruka sighed on the other end of the line.
"I'll offer no apologies…"
"Being passionate about work is good, but don't overdo it…"
"I know…"
"Netto went to meet with his friends, and we'll meet on the park…"
"Understood…"
"Also… You needn't use a tuxedo! It's an informal party!"
"Really? It wasn't a party at Gabcom?"
"Sir…!"
Meijin sighed, baffled.
"No, dear… It's the park's anniversary party…"
"That? Thought that it was next week…"
"I told you yesterday at dinner… You already forgot?"
"That's… Shame on me…"
Yuuichirou also sighed and hung down his head.
"Anyway! Drive safely!"
"Understood!"
"Relax, sir! We'll soon be there!"
18:28 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Transport it with care, my chaps!"
"Don't worry, Mr. Rokushakudama!"
Rokushakudama Nenji called out at his fellow fireworks makers.
They were loading the fireworks cannon on a truck.
"Tonight's fireworks will be great! Thanks to you, Nenjirou!"
"No point in fighting over that by now!"
He drew the PET and grinned at Napalm Man, who shrugged.
"But today, I feel itchy for some reason…"
He rubbed the sides of his body with his guns.
"Nenji! I have big news!"
"What? Did you think of a new fireworks pattern?"
"I AIN'T NENJIROU!"
He roared and the PET became hot.
"Too hot!"
He gasped and it began to dance between his hands.
"I'M NAPALM MAN!"
"Calm down, man!"
The PET cooled down and Napalm Man laughed.
"I feel relaxed! Been a while since I said this!"
"Man! You tricked me!"
"You don't know how to read between lines!"
"I don't need to read a complicated book to make fireworks!"
"It's not meant to be literally, man!"
"Hi, Nenji – chan! I see that you're confident! That's great!"
The boss walked over to him.
"Boss! Sure! If it's Nenjirou and I, we're going to make a great work!"
"Good, good! It's thanks to you that our business is prospering, too!"
He patted his back.
"Keep the good work up, my chap!"
"Yes, Boss! Thank you!"
"Sure! Leave it to the Burning Soul of Napalm Man!"
"Hullo! I see that things are ready to burn!"
"My brother, Fire Man! Been a while!"
Fire Man met up with him and crossed arms as a greeting.
"Don't forget me!"
"Or me! Guts!"
Tomahawk Man and Guts Man walked in next.
"The vow of the Flames, again!"
They all crossed their arms and burned with passion together.
"Let's get moving! We must help ready our stand, too!"
"Curry vs fish! The eternal battle!" Dingo laughed over the channel.
"Don't say nonsense and help load the van!" Hinoken scolded.
"And don't spill a single drop!" Dekao warned.
"Each drop has its value in gold!" Chisao added.
"When did you learn those words!?" Dekao gasped.
"Don't underestimate his intelligence, Dekao!" Maha scolded.
"Y-yes! Master!"
"We're heading there!"
"OK! I'll soon head, too!"
The truck with the equipment for the spectacle drove away.
He waved at them along with the boss.
"By the way! Your friend, the chopper pilot, was here the other day…"
"Really? What did he want?"
"He told us to be on the lookout because some "granny" is annoyed…"
"Granny… I remember! The granny that made that robot rampage!"
"Tesla Magnets! Remember names, Nenji!"
"I'm bad at that, as you know! Nenjirou!"
"Can't be helped! I'll ask Gyro Man is he has a lead 'bout Magnet Man!"
"Wait. Does that mean that she wants payback for that? But that…"
"Was months ago! Sure! But it's the moody type!"
"If she doesn't hinder tonight's event, I don't care…"
"But it doesn't hurt to be on the lookout, does it?"
"Sure thing…"
"Well! Go and show them your art, my man!"
"OK, Boss! I'll be going!"
Rokushakudama ran out and climbed into a car with the staff.
"Let's go, my chaps! Time to make everyone happy!"
"Roger that!"
The car drove away as a shadow looked on from nearby.
"Your art will illuminate my glorious return!"
The shadow smirked and chuckled under its breath…