09:48 AM (Jakarta Time), Saturday May the 3rd…
"… We'll soon land on the island…"
"To think that Clark was alive and staged such a comeback…!"
"We still can't remember what happened last week, but…"
"And I insist that it's for the better that you don't…"
"I know. But it's frustrating! Thinking that there was some hint…"
"There's no point to boil your head over that…"
Netto, Raika and Enzan rode in the amphibious vehicle.
"Will he try to assault us with his robots again?"
"The Navy used drones to scout and found nothing, but…"
"Maybe he's storing them in the Cyber World…"
"Wouldn't surprise me…"
They looked at the tall, bleak stone tower rising for the heavens.
Thick dark clouds surrounded the air above its peak.
It had no features whatsoever.
"How did he build this unnoticed, anyway?"
"Probably incorporated the Zero Virus to materialize it…"
"I see. It's made from data… And materialized it recently…"
"Hence why nobody noticed anything odd before that…"
"Wouldn't surprise if Forte bursts in to settle the score again…"
"If he wants to, let's not interfere. Maybe he'll do us a favor…"
"Sure. Like when he took out Slur…"
"Makes you wonder what he wants to do in the long run…"
"Sure. Thought that he'd try to become a ruler again…"
"Maybe he learnt from that and is bidding his time…"
"Could be. There's no point in speculating that, either…"
"Let's be ready to jump out, too…"
"The others will land once we confirm the safety of the area…"
"Understood… This time, it's a team effort!"
"Welcome, warriors chosen by the divine!"
Clark's voice boomed across the island.
"There we go again…" Netto sighed.
"Solidus has managed to give me the slip, but it's a matter of time!"
"Maybe he's hiding right below your noses!" Enzan taunted.
"As expected of the Little Bro, Operator of Masked Thunder!"
Enzan brought his fingers to his face, annoyed.
"Again, what's that about?" Raika sighed.
"You better don't know…" Netto sighed.
"It's a shameful episode…" Rock Man added with a sigh.
"THAT shameful?" Raika asked, surprised.
"So! You came, Rock Man! My name is Masked Thunder! As you can see… I'm a "Darkloid"!"
Thunder Man's echoed inside of the vehicle.
"Crap!"
"Voice pattern matches that of Thunder Man… A trap by the enemy?"
"No, that's…"
Netto and Enzan looked at each other, at a loss for words.
"I heard that you're acting cocky now that you've gained this "new PET", but… You're not a threat to me!"
"Which "new PET"…?"
"Even if you're not, your Operator is a nonchalant bragger!"
Raika averted his eyes as if he recalled something.
"Lord Raika… That's why I said that your attitude wouldn't help…!"
"No need to bring it up, Search Man!" He ordered, ashamed.
"No! That's correct!" A voice with some accent exclaimed.
"Who the heck are you?"
Netto's voice echoed.
"I'm the Operator of the "Darkloid" Masked Thunder!" The tallest replied.
"Voice pattern matches that of Raul…"
"Raul? What is he doing?"
"There were "Darkloid" Operators?" Netto wondered aloud.
There was an uncomfortable silence.
"There are~!"
"There are…"
"You! Hikari Netto! Heard rumors 'bout you! You now have some new PET, and wrongly think that you're stronger! You're but a bragger!"
"WHAT!?"
"We'll show you how weak you really are!" Raul announced.
"Hey, Brother! Show 'im 'round!"
"Rest assured, it's the abridged version!"
"That's not assuring!"
"Did you realize the extent of your strength?" Enzan questioned.
"We'll leave it at here for today!" Raul added.
Both sighed and hung their heads down, defeated.
"Realize the extent of your strength already!" The short guy ordered.
"I want to… leave it… at here…. For today!"
"Abridged mode: activate!"
"What! Rock Man performed "Soul Unison" with a "Darkloid"!"
Netto gripped his head with both hands, further ashamed.
"I don't need a "Darkloid Soul Chip"..." Netto muttered, disgusted.
"Netto – kun! Have a close look at the Chip!"
"What!? Why does this look identical to Thunder Man's mark!?"
"Netto – kun! Masked Thunder's real identity was Thunder Man!"
"Don't say nonsense! Thunder Man's an ally, ain't he?"
"One of those two Operators must be Mr. Raul!"
"Don't say nonsense!"
"Was it that hard to tell…?"
"What! It's really Raul! Then, the other guy… Who the heck is he?"
"Wasn't it obvious…?"
"WHAT! Enzan!? What the…? Why did you come up with that show?"
A screen formed in mid-air showing the scene of back then.
"What are those… disguises?" Raika corrected himself.
"Something that we'd rather forget…!"
"More unbearable than falling into holes in Beyondard?"
"That was an accident! It wasn't on purpose!"
"Guess that you're ready!"
Thunder Man challenged.
"Guess that you're ready, too!"
Blues challenged back.
"What next?"
"No more…!"
This time it showed Blues and Thunder Man at the Screaming Contest.
"Good! Showdown!"
Both formed microphones on their right forearms and yelled into them.
"You can buy snacks in the excursion…!"
"But don't exceed 500 Z!"
Blues had a score of 110 points and Thunder Man had 100 points instead.
"Winner of the screaming contest has been settled! Masked Red wins!"
"Weren't you busy investigating, Enzan…?"
"That was part of the investigation! Checking massive events…!"
"… WHAT THE HECK!?"
A man's voice gasped in disbelief.
"The revolutionary "Lil Cuckoo" compression method that we've made is very incredible!"
Enzan's voice rang out, pretending to speak in a foreign language.
"You'll be able to compress data into a millionth of its original size!"
Raul joined him.
"You liars!" He grumbled.
"There are no lies!"
"Nothing can surpass my Ivan Compression Method Formula rate of data into a five hundred thousandth of its size!"
"There is! It's the latest-generation compression method!"
"Don't reply to my complaints the whole time!"
"Context… That was the owner of "Asteroid" Cold Man!"
"I remember! Navis compressed into small data, cold crime scenes…"
"Who might it be?"
"What business do you have here?"
"Who…?"
The sound of lockers opening rang out.
"You guys! Stop bluffing the whole time!"
"What?" The short one asked.
"What?" The tall one asked.
"Gregory! Your compression technology is but a bluff!" He told them.
"It ain't a bluff!" Enzan announced.
"I agree with him!" Raul announced.
"Your liars! Sky!"
"Sky? Do you live in the skies?"
"This is a surprise!" The tall guy laughed.
"Don't screw me! Nothing that can beat my Ivan Compression Method, researched for 30 years!"
"Sure! That "Lil Cuckoo Compression Method" doesn't exist!"
"The thing behind this mess is the "Ivan Compression Method Formula"!"
"Who are you guys supposed to be?"
"The "Net Saviors"!"
"W-w-what? The Ne… "Net Saviors"!"
"And after the village idiot failed…"
"Village idiot…?" Raika sighed, annoyed.
"An email?" Enzan wondered.
"Me, too… "Tournament runner-up Mr. Masked Thunder"…"
"… "Champion Mr. Red Mask"…"
"… "As greatest singers in Ameroupe…"…"
"… "Request that you come to the Screaming World Tournament…"…"
"T-the World Tournament!?"
"W-well… It was part of the investigation, can't be helped…"
Raika tried to waltz out of it but was still ashamed.
"The finish blow is pending!"
"There's more!?"
A screen showed Enzan talking to Raul inside of an apartment.
Raul walked into another corridor and disappeared inside of a room,
He popped half his body into the room from the corner.
Raul disappeared and he emerged a second later with his "disco" outfit.
"OH, YEAH! You're right, Brother!"
"No. We needn't disguise to tackle this…"
"WHAT? And I'd bothered to change and all…!"
He waved his arms and legs in a comical fashion before stopping.
"You can be pretty mean, Brother!"
"Did you enjoy the recap?"
Nobody answered, each looking away from each other.
The Navis sighed, too.
"By the way. I showed this to those in the other choppers!"
"WHAT!?"
"Or maybe not…"
"Which is it!?"
"Ask Solidus, he's the detective!" He laughed.
"Very funny!" They all growled.
The vehicle finally landed on the island, and they jumped out.
They hid behind chunks of debris to check the area.
"Well? Search Man?"
"Sir. I found nothing anomalous in the area…"
"What about you, Blues?"
"There's only an emergency beacon in the underground…"
"And you, Saito?"
"Since all other systems were destroyed back then…"
The Navis returned to report to their respective partners.
"I'm sure that we'll be cut off from the outside once we go inside…"
They looked at the cavernous entrance of the tower.
"Can these walls be broken?"
"They have a "Dimensional Area" between inner and outer layers…"
"Maybe we can use the IP missile to cross through and act as beacon…"
"It's worth a try, sir…"
"And if we can secure the entrance, they'll come in…"
"Agreed. What about you, Netto?"
"Let's use that. It's Clark. We can't take anything for granted!"
They nodded in agreement and ran towards the entrance.
"It's filled with a "DA" inside, no need to deploy one from the MOS…"
"Hold it up! I go first! I must defeat the invading starver!"
"No way…"
They looked up to see Tesla dropping there with a parachute.
She wore a flight suit and a helmet.
"I managed to restore Magnet Man, that punk can't stop me anymore!"
"I see that Gassing Gauss was busy!" Clark laughed.
"Laugh all you want, Lark!"
"Clark, not Lark…" Netto sighed.
"I don't care!"
She released the parachute and landed on her fours.
She didn't waste a second and ran past them, inside the tower.
"Synchro Chip, Slot In!"
She drew the Chip and slit it inside.
"CROSS FUSION!"
She performed "Cross Fusion" inside of the dark hall of the tower.
"Jet Vernier!"
She formed the jets and flew upwards, out of sight.
"What's this!? It's filled with "Honey Bomber" Viruses!" She hissed.
"I don't waste time designing countermeasures, see…"
"Why, you…! Invading starver that came from Pluto!"
"If you want to meet Pluto, find Donald & Goofy!"
"Mag Ball! Mag Ball! Mag Ball!"
"To the other groups: it's safe to land. Converge before the tower!"
"Roger!"
Enzan contacted the others in the meanwhile.
They heard a chopper land and they saw Airstar's chopper there.
"Devil! When I saw that drone flying past me, I suspected it, but…!"
He jumped out and sighed, shaking his head.
"I took off quickly so that she wouldn't ride on my chopper, but…"
"If memory serves, Gauss owned an airline…" Enzan recalled.
"He used to have a zeppelin!" Netto recalled, too.
"I see! That drone thing must've been one of his possessions…"
"Maybe he had influences in the Ameroupe Army and borrowed it…"
"No wonder. I'm sure that not even my nation has those…" Raika sighed.
"Sorry, but I'm going! I can't neglect her! Call it stupid, I don't care!"
He ran ahead past them.
"Synchro Chip, Slot In!"
He also drew the Chip.
"CROSS FUSION!"
He transformed and ignited his rotors to fly skywards.
"What's this!? It's filled with "Fighter Plane" Viruses!"
"Chopper vs fighter plane! A man's dream!"
"Shaddup, party-pooper!"
"Sure. I'm the Morals Committee Member of your college!"
"There weren't those in my college! I'm not Japanese!"
"Forgot about that. What about your angels?"
"Angels…?"
"Charlie's Angels!"
Airstar growled something undecipherable under his breath.
"Sorry for the wait!"
The other members joined them.
"Did you like the taste of your own medicine, Miss Hermit?"
"I'm not a hermit! Grandpa might be one, but that doesn't make me one!"
"Did you like the despair, Princess Kushinada?"
"I'm not "Princess Kushinada"!"
"Did you like the real manly brawl, Explosion Man?"
"What!? I'm not an explosion!"
"Did you like realizing your own incompetence, Ringing Ding?"
"What kind of stupid name is that!? I'm Dingo!"
"Did you like the near-death experience, Princess Pixy?"
"Who would!? You pervert!"
"Did you like our emotive rencounter, Ex-Comrade?"
"I was moved to tears…"
"Did you like my army of berserk vehicles, Biyami?"
"Who knows… They were slower than a turtle…"
The foe directed taunts to each of them.
Only Yuriko and Miyabi were unimpressed by them.
The other three rolled their eyes, too used to that.
"Anyway! Let's go inside! But it'll be filled with Viruses to annoy us!"
"Reminds me of that tower thing… Clark Tower, was it?" Meiru sighed.
"Now that was a huge number of Viruses…" Search Man sighed.
"Nostalgic, indeed… Come, before your buddies end up roasted!"
They all ran inside of the tower hall, which was vast and empty.
A narrow staircase climbed upwards along the hexagonal perimeter.
"Synchro Chip, Slot In!"
They all inserted the Chips.
"CROSS FUSION!"
They had barely finished when hordes of Viruses dropped there.
"Let's not waste energies with these! Use the jets!" "CF" Blues rallied.
"Jet Vernier!"
They all flew upwards and shot basic weapons at the Viruses.
"The Flames of Destruction and Grief are lit! Only Despair is lacking!"
"More game references, I take it! You never run out of those?"
"How could I? There's such a heap of rich games in the world!"
"Charlie! Don't hinder me! This is for my pride!"
"Not answering to your caprices isn't a matter of pride…"
"Shaddup! It's the humiliation!"
"More like you're too used to getting away with everything…!"
They heard Tesla and Airstar arguing some meters above them.
"By the way. Shallow Swallow will pay you a visit!"
"What the hell is that!? Another invading starver!?"
"There are no such things! Get a grip on reality, Tesla!"
"Swallow Cutter!"
"What! Why, you…! Chicken!"
"A swallow isn't a chicken…!"
"Swallow Man! I remember! One of Umbra's lackeys!" "CF" Netto hissed.
"And the "Zoan" Swallow Man of the Falzer Army, too…!"
"A storming rumbling cloudy mood is coming, too…"
"Cross Thunder!"
"That's Cloud Man! We fought it on that skyscraper!" "CF" Dingo recalled.
"And we also fought "Zoan" Cloud Man in the "DA" Lab…!"
"Unfortunately, blistering blizzards didn't make the cut…" He laughed.
"Very funny…"
"As for Golden Man, I'm saving him up…"
"Golden Man? Who was that again?" "CF" Tesla fumed.
"Cosmo Man… That guy that was with Umbra on that factory!"
"That was that punk's name? I didn't care to know it!"
"I can tell that!"
"What are you implying!?"
"Does it matter?"
"About to file for divorce, my lovebirds? Daddy will despair!"
"SHUT UP!" Both snapped, annoyed.
"Don't fall for such childish taunts…!" "CF" Raika sighed.
"You ask the impossible…" Gyro Man sighed.
"When her anger peaks, she's unstoppable…" Magnet Man sighed.
"Regretting dumping your original owner, runaway Magneton?"
"I'm not one of those "Pokémon" creatures!" He growled.
"Regretting not running when you had the chance to, Pidgeon?"
"I'm no "Pidgeon"!"
"Ask Team Plasma to "liberate" both of you!"
"Don't involve those! And even less their freaky boss!" "CF" Netto sighed.
"G-Cis is just like my pops, manipulative!" The foe laughed.
"CF" Yuriko bit her lip, annoyed.
"It's true that he saw us as guineapigs, but that's not "manipulative"!"
"Who are you talking about, anyway?" "CF" Tesla fumed.
"Your old man's idolized madman, of course…"
"Old man Wily? Didn't he blow up along his nuclear reactor?"
"Not that again… Neither pops nor I used nuclear reactors!"
"What blew up was Pharaoh Man, not a nuclear reactor…!"
"To begin with, he's the one that thwarted your eclipse ploy…"
"Sunayama! That fool! Gloating that they were but mummies…!"
"He's the one who was fooled by the King of Yoga!"
"These "Pulse Bulb" Viruses are annoying!" "CF" Airstar groaned.
"Put up some struggle, else the NicoNico folk are bored!"
"What!? You're streaming this to NicoNico Video!?"
"Sure. They all think that it's a new live-action series!"
"Maybe it's for the best…" "CF" Blues muttered.
"With the sponsorship of Gabcom Inc, but of course…"
"I'm sure that you either tricked her or it's a lie…"
"You never know! Princess Pink is capricious!"
"That reminds me of when she "abducted" us and brought us overseas…"
"Sure… To find the data of a game character…"
"And then she had parodies of us in that game…"
"What friendship! It moved me to tears!" The villain laughed.
"You also spied on us!?"
"More like I hijacked the data feed that Solidus used…"
"I knew that he was often looking, but…"
"At this point, it feels like a stalker…" Rock Man sighed.
"Cops also do that! It's named "stakeout"!"
"But he's not police!" "CF" Blues argued.
"Maybe he really is a member of "Section Zero" of the PSB!"
"PSB… Public Security Bureau, was it? A branch of the Japanese Police…"
"Sure. Section Zero is an urban myth about an elite unit…"
"By the way! Green Soldier! Major Ocelot wants you for his GRU unit!"
"Then send an official letter… If he exists, that is…" He was unimpressed.
"By the way! Red Samurai! Gilgamesh wants a battle with you!"
"Tell it to find someone stronger! Such as Yoshitsune!"
"Now that would be a fun matchup! Gilgamesh vs Yoshitsune!"
"Does this tower EVER END!?" "CF" Pride fumed.
"What villainy!" Knight Man fumed.
"Maybe he's making it longer as we climb! It's data, after all…"
"What a nasty jerk! Right, Nenjirou?"
"Not in the mood to get annoyed right now…" He fumed.
"Wise move…" "CF" Netto sighed.
"There's a room above us, there are open holes to come in…"
"CF" Raika scanned ahead of them.
"I'm sure that some ambush is waiting for us there…"
"No wonder…"
They saw the underside of a room drawing closer.
There were several holes spread around the underside.
They flew inside to end up in a plain, hexagonal room.
The walls and ceiling were bare.
"CF" Tesla and "CF" Airstar were hovering inside and arguing.
"You gave it to another woman, didn't you!?"
"And I told you plenty of times that I wanted to return it!"
"My Magnets instinct never fails!"
The holes on the ground closed once they made it inside.
The room rumbled as tens of enemies formed there.
"The foot soldiers of the "Cybeast" Armies!" CF" Blues hissed.
"They're weak, but they have numbers! Watch out!"
"Roger!"
"More invading starvers! Mag Ball, Mag Ball, Mag Ball!"
"CF" Tesla became annoyed and flung the attacks at them.
"Speaking of "Beyondard"… Eager to meet Himiko again, Demi-Fiend?"
"Himiko…? You mean Iris…? That's lame…" "CF" Netto sighed.
"And your newest little brother must be thinking of pranks!"
"Maybe. Does it matter?"
"You never know…"
"You aren't implying that you did something to they, did you?"
"Ask your Densanville instincts, Bishamonten!"
"Very funny…"
"Tornado Arm!"
"Royal Wrecking Ball!"
"Medical Capsule!"
"Firebombs!"
"Super Vulcan!"
"Sonic Boom!"
"Triple Bomb!"
"Mag Missile! Mag Missile! Mag Missile!"
"Tomahawk Swing!"
"Needle Cannon!"
"Shadow Clone! Clone Slash!"
"Roll Arrow!"
The attacks took out almost all foes but more spawned there.
"… Netto. There's an invisible ring ladder and hole…"
"CF" Raika landed behind him and whispered to him.
"Knowing Clark, he'll only allow you through…"
"Naturally…"
"But maybe you can surprise him…"
"I see. I'll try it out…"
They jumped away and resumed attacking.
"Explosion!"
"Count Bomb!"
"CF" Netto landed behind "CF" Miyabi.
"Can you make copies of others?"
"I'll try… But let's make a smokescreen…"
"Roger…"
They jumped away to resume battling.
"Napalm Bomb!"
A bib bomb ignited part of the ground.
"Now! Bamboo Lance!"
The attack formed there and burned, releasing smoke.
"Intake!"
A Vacuum Fan Virus formed and suctioned the smoke.
It malfunctioned and exploded, spreading the smoke across the room.
"Crap! I mistook! I meant to use "Wind Gust"!" "CF" Netto gasped.
"Use some logic!" "CF" Roll sighed.
"Behind you!"
"CF" Miyabi rushed there as soldiers aimed for "CF" Netto.
"Blinder!"
A flash ensued and he used the chance to slash them.
"CF" Netto made a thumbs up and jumped away to fight more.
"Now…!"
The real one turned invisible and ran towards the end of the room, following the walls.
He scanned and found the ring ladder.
He gripped it and climbed up.
He crossed through the invisible opening.
He exited into a cubical room.
There was a big, metallic spheroid set on its center.
Wires stretched to it from the corners of the room.
A pipe emerged from atop it and into the ceiling, headed elsewhere.
There was a banner that read "HIGH VOLTAGE! DO NOT TOUCH!".
He silently studied it from a distance.
"Well?" He whispered.
"It has a powerful energy mass inside, but can't tell what it is…"
"Maybe it's some kind of weapon…"
"Seeing how he loves copying things from games…"
"How do I make it to the level above me?"
"There's another invisible ladder behind the machine…"
"Alright…"
He silently made it there and climbed it up.
He exited into an open-air hexagonal space.
The pipe from the level below ended in a circular device.
Eight electrical wires spread from it and climbed up steel beams.
They supported a metallic ring which had needles on the inside.
Twilight stood beneath it and was looking at some graphs.
"Less than 5 minutes left until full charge and activation…"
A large screen extending the length of the space showed the battle.
"Let's wait a couple more minutes before summoning them…"
He shrugged and hummed a tune as he looked at data.
"Those four have disguises, money and fake passports…"
The faces of the four "Neo WWW" members and their Navis displayed.
"And I have all these useful tools, too!"
He displayed a list with faces and names.
Net Navis, Darkloids, Asteroids, Zoanoroids…!
"CF" Netto narrowed his eyes when he saw something there.
"The "Darkloid" Blues and Umbra are in the list, too…!" He hushed.
"He must have made backups before they were bested…"
Another screen displayed a set of initials and checkboxes.
AY… ES… HN… HT… OD… OC… SM…
"Those are you and your classmates or school friends, Netto…!"
"But what are those checkboxes about…?"
"There's more…!"
CA… CK… DR... IE… HY… J… M… MG… OY… R… RN… SM… TM… W…
"Those are probably people who have met Clark personally…!"
"Yes. Although "DR" doesn't match anyone that we know…"
"Maybe it's someone that we don't know but has enmity with Clark…"
"Let's see Solidus and his humiliated face…!" He chuckled.
He inputted commands on a data screen and a window emerged.
"Kept you waiting, Brother…"
"Naturally. I expected that you would come taunt me…"
The screen displayed a man on his mid-20s.
His eyes were blue, and his hair was brown.
"Now that I think of it… We never properly saw his face before…"
"They don't resemble at all, guess that "Brother" is not a blood link…"
"Well? What have you made now? A beam to open other dimensions?"
"Now that would be a useful tool!"
"If you bothered to add those to "that man"… He is alive, then?"
"If you consider that "alive"… Trapped between life and death!"
"I see. You didn't have enough with stealing, I take it…"
"I wanted to be thorough!"
"I can see that…"
"Less than 3 minutes until my babe finishes charging!" He laughed.
"And it'll fail spectacularly because you added a rest instead of a sum…"
"Nice try! But I'm very good at numbers!"
"Naturally… Such as forgetting the numbers of the rules…"
Twilight's face contracted into anger and frustration.
"Shut up! I'll bury you!"
"Did your beloved deity give you a stone tablet with a divine command?"
"Fool! Their Grace is a mortal! They don't need such dramatics!"
"You never know. They must be bored and had a flash of inspiration…"
Twilight hissed as if he couldn't argue back.
"Maybe they consider you to be a letdown as well…"
"I did tell them that it would take time to gain power and knowledge!"
"They've always been short in patience…"
"Whatever! They'll rejoice once I show them the results!"
"That's to be seen…"
"Only 85 seconds left! Begin final charge!"
The wires frizzled and energy formed on the tips of the needles.
They shot at a central point and morphed into a black spheroid.
It shrunk and expanded to form a purple energy mass.
It frizzled as it expanded and fit inside of the ring.
"75 seconds until stabilization!"
"That effect… I've seen it before…!" The other man muttered.
"Play Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training to improve mental age!"
"Very funny…"
"65 seconds! Too bad, Demi-Fiend. You won't make it on time…"
"Objection! Charge Shot!"
"What!?"
"CF" Netto became visible and shot the attack at the foe from behind.
He hit him there and he collided against one of the beams.
He roared as he was electrocuted by the energy electrifying it.
He collapsed face-up as "CF" Netto rushed to the control panel.
"Devil! The messages aren't in Japanese or English!"
"What does it say? Maybe I can decipher it!"
"There's a red button that says "GHÂSH"…"
"Anything else?"
"A golden button that says "NAZG"…"
"Running searches…"
"And a timer! Only 40 seconds left!"
"I'm doing what I can, too! Don't touch anything yet!"
"CF" Netto glanced at Twilight, but he was still paralyzed from the shock.
"… Found it. It's Mordor-tongue! "FIRE" and "RING"…"
"Maybe the "ring" button can change the ring's aim?"
"It's worth a try. Don't try to destroy it, that may spell doom!"
"Only 28 seconds left! It's all or nothing!"
He hit the golden button and the ring spun and flipped.
"Hopefully, it'll shoot upwards instead of downwards…"
"Less than 20 seconds left…! Let's hope that this works!"
"Not so fast! I still have time to flip it back on place!"
Twilight recovered and rushed for them, yielding a mace.
"Battle Chip, Curse Shield!"
He formed the shield and the mace embedded on the face of it.
He let go of it and punched the shield with his raw fists.
"Only 11 seconds left…!"
"Come to these, hit the fire button before he can do something!"
"Alright! Here goes nothing!"
"NO!"
"CF" Netto punched the button.
The energy reshaped as a wide beam and shot skywards.
Something invisible higher in the air exploded.
"My space pod to return to the space station…!" He hissed.
"What? You built another space station!?"
"That wasn't the only one that I had!"
"I managed to hack into the system! Let's see what it does!"
"Spoiler man! Shut up!"
"You shut up, madman! Go fight Solid Snake!"
"The time isn't ripe yet!"
"It'll never be, I take it…"
"Shut up!"
"As I suspected, it's a modified portal generating device…"
"What was it meant to do?"
"It probably meant to warp everyone to "Beyondard"…!"
"And trap us there to then do as he likes? Talk about insidious!"
"Shit! How did you make it here!?"
"You're the one that set those invisible ladders!"
"I didn't!"
"I did. I found a competent programmer and paid him to do it…"
"The hell! It's not Jinmen!?"
"If you meant Mr. Meijin, then it's not!"
"Shit! It was a brilliant last move before moving to the next stage!"
"You mean imitating what Shade Man did…"
"No! I don't need to imitate that pathetic Beelzebub!"
"I don't care for your excuses, Clark. You're doomed to fail, too…"
"I'm fed up! This time I'll make you my perfect tools, Half-Brothers!"
"What? Half-brothers? What nonsense are you spitting now?"
"Now that you bring it up… His face has always bugged me, too…"
"True. I thought that it was but my imagination, but…"
"He likely used plastic surgery to change his face in the past…"
"Shut up, fool!"
"And shaped it after Mr. Rock Man as a form of scorn or mockery…"
"That's it! It's my face, but almost 20 years older!"
"Which means that it has traces of Dad's face, too!"
"He wanted to rise to be on the level of your father…"
"I see. Always has been a fool with an inferiority complex…"
"Don't say that taboo word! It denies my existence…!"
Twilight's face contracted into hatred.
"I don't care! Eat this! Step Slash!"
"Step Slash!"
Both dashed at each other and clashed blades.
"You can't escape me! The nanomachines are under my control!"
"Nano… what?"
"Not only you! I have plenty of humans that I can control, too!"
"Too bad. Dr. Hikari already found an exploit to overwrite them…"
"What!?"
"While you were busy playing live-action show villain…"
"Shit! Dr. Hunter! You didn't perform enough debugging!"
"Blaming fictional characters hardly solves your incompetence…"
"Silver Fist!"
"Golden Fist!"
They clashed their free arms and struggled in the deadlock.
"Maybe you'll end up like your beloved "Dr. Wade", annihilated…"
"I'm too smart for that!"
"Your precious "Mega Wave" was defeated by curry…"
Twilight's face further contracted into hatred.
"It's so humiliating! If it had been Pops, I wouldn't mind! But a kiddo…!"
"Because you underestimate others, like always…"
"This can't be happening! I saw the intended outcome and rewound!"
"What?"
"I replaced that man and carved my name in the world instead of him!"
"CF" Netto frowned, trying to understand.
"I laid the foundations for my climax way ahead of time!"
"You only look at battles and not at the personality of others…"
Part of the ground exploded as a hole opened there.
"We made it on time!"
"What!?"
The other fighters emerged from the hole and converged there.
"I also removed the program to endlessly spawn cannon fodder…"
"And your discussion was streamed downstairs, too…"
"This tale is becoming more reeking, indeed…"
"Sounds like someone else would have shaped recent history…"
"But you replaced them and rewrote it… Just like Shade Man…"
"No! It's smarter than Beelzebub! Because it's subtler!"
"I've been feeling like something was out of place, too…"
"CF" Yuriko hissed, as if she suspected something.
"Maybe some of my memories have been rewritten, too…"
"And this man isn't really the man chosen by Duo as "probe"…"
"You knew that all along, didn't you? Kanou…"
"CF" Miyabi glanced at the man onscreen.
He sighed and closed his eyes.
"I did, yes. But I don't know where he is or what's become of him…"
"That fool is neither alive, nor dead… Will stay like that until I am gone!"
"I see. You set up insurance so that they wouldn't hinder you…"
"I'm sure that it'll eventually backfire, anyway…"
"What can a miserable fool with no memories achieve?" He sneered.
"Maybe if we give him his favorite food, he'll remember it all as well…"
Twilight, who'd become smug and confident, enraged again.
"Whatever! I have another trump card! Witness!"
An aerial view of the Tokyo Parliament Building displayed onscreen.
"I have a stealth bomber with a bunker-piercing warhead onboard!"
Everyone gasped.
"If you think that it's a bluff, try it!"
"Too late, fool…"
"What!?"
The feed was replaced by a close-up of Freeze Man.
"I haven't been sitting idle, either… Also, it was an aerial camera…"
"Damn it! White Rider! Didn't Trumpeter absorb you already!?"
"If you mean Forte, that never happened. Must be a delusion!"
"More like fake footage that I made, replacing Slur with him…"
Kanou shrugged, unimpressed.
"Fuck!"
"Since it fit your "previsions", you didn't doubt it…"
"Not yet! I have…!"
"If you meant that bomb in Dr. Hikari's office, they disabled it already…"
"What!? A bomb on Dad's office!?"
"It was sleeping gas, though, not explosives…"
"He meant to abduct Dad again, I take it!"
"Likely…"
"The next backup…!"
"The robot rhino that you snuck in the Net Police HQ? Retrieved, too…"
"Robot rhino? You ran out of ideas, I take it!" "CF" Raika mocked.
"Not yet!"
"The thugs that tried to abduct Ms. Oozono were caught hours ago…"
"Targeting my sister again!? You don't grow, Clark!"
"Those four!"
"Sent them fake orders to hide in different locations and wait for orders!"
"Shit!"
"Bring all you want, I'm 100 steps ahead of you!"
"Weren't you but a passive observer!?"
"That's what you thought. But I decided to act, too…"
"Dark Prism!"
"What!?"
A familiar voice rang out behind Twilight.
A blue sphere of light moved forward, and it hit Twilight.
When it cleared, a blue transparent glass prism was rotating on his place.
"Sorry for the wait!"
"Officer Misaki…!"
"Mr. Misaki!"
"CF" Misaki came into view, yielding his dual guns.
"I had been retraining to properly achieve "CF" since months ago…"
"I see! And you managed to achieve it!"
"Yes. I finally fulfilled my dream, which this man had twisted…!"
"Be careful! It's Clark. He might have means to escape from it…"
"CF" Yuriko aimed her muzzles at the prism.
"Naturally. I am assuming that risk…!"
The prism frizzled and a burst of pure light emerged from its center.
The light expanded and deleted the prism.
Twilight dropped down from there, furious.
"Guineapig…! You were meant to be a backstage actor forever!"
"Who decides that? You're going to say that you're a God?"
"No! The administrator of destiny… Fate!"
"… He's taking it from the game Chrono Cross…"
Kanou calmly looked it up and reported, unimpressed.
"As always, that's the only thing that you can do. Memes!"
"Maybe you should've stayed as a meme poster in SNS…"
"No! It's art!"
"Narcy Hide would object…"
"I don't care for that narcissistic fool!"
"Naturally…"
"… If you're done fooling around, move out of my way…"
They gasped and saw Forte standing behind them.
As usual, the cloak hid his face beneath the nose.
"Trumpeter! Was waiting for you…" Twilight sneered.
They walked to the sides to clear the way.
"Time to settle the score… Earth Breaker!"
Forte loaded energy on the right hand and jumped for the foe.
"I can do the same, too… Negative Earth Breaker!"
Twilight formed a purple energy sphere and jumped, too.
Both attacks met and triggered an annihilator phenomenon.
The energy released pushed them backwards.
"I can counter anything that you use, Trumpeter!" He mocked.
Forte didn't reply and merely drew his blades.
"Dark Arm Blades!"
He jumped for Twilight and the foe chuckled.
"Double-ended lightsaber, from my disciple Darth Maul!"
He formed the weapon and used both beams to block him.
"Well? Not feeling almighty anymore?"
Forte didn't reply and merely jumped back, flipping in the air.
"Darkness Overload!"
He shot the purple energy stream and Twilight formed a black spheroid.
The energy flew inside and shot back as a black stream.
Forte simply ducked and drew his weapon.
"Hell's Buster!"
He shot several shots at Twilight, but they bounced off his body.
"I guess that defeating that smug alien didn't make you stronger!"
Again, Forte didn't bother to reply and rolled away before standing.
"Air Shoot!"
He formed small energy attacks and shot them at the foe.
"It's in vain! Nothing can harm me!"
Forte shot forward and thrust his fist through Twilight's upper chest.
He opened his mouth wide in disbelief.
"Make your favorite choice! Roam around the Under Cyber World forever or to be deleted right now!" Forte mocked.
"SHUT UP! STUPID TRUMPETER!"
"Vanish!"
Forte gripped his head from behind and applied force.
Twilight's body emitted a red glow, but Forte detached the arm and fled.
The others also jumped into the air.
A scream rang out as the body shifted into a red skull.
A dark red energy shockwave expanded and erased all on its path.
The ring fell, having lost its supports.
When the remaining energy and the shockwave met, they glowed.
A brutal energy release formed, creating a white energy "crack".
Air was suctioned inside of it.
"A "Fossa Ambience"!" "CF" Blues gasped.
A roar rang out as "Nebula Grey" emerged from the crack.
"What!?"
Laughter echoed as a black energy mass flew and lodged on the chest.
It formed the shape of Twilight's face, laughing.
The monster roared and shot countless blue needles in all directions.
"Battle Chip, Barrier!"
The "CF" users shielded with that as Forte flew skywards, out of range.
"The time has come! I left my seeds! They will haunt you, forever!"
"You bastard!"
Forte roared and dived for the monster as a "shape" formed behind him.
"Earth Breaker!"
His energy became purple, and he aimed for the monster's face.
"Your greatest challenge is yourselves, Half-Brothers! Remember that!"
The monster clasped both hands together and formed a ball of plasma.
They flung it at Forte and he had to drop to the ground to dodge.
It shot past them and pierced through the "Dimensional Area" wall.
The monster roared and Twilight laughed as they slid inside the crack.
The phenomenon vanished and the fighters landed back on the ground.
"And that must have been a copy as well!" "CF" Netto sighed.
"Wouldn't surprise me, either…" Kanou sighed, annoyed.
"Is it victory, or is it defeat?" "CF" Blues wondered with a sigh.
"It's frustrating, I know…" "CF" Raika sighed as well.
"We have no choice but to wait and see, ladies and gentlemen…"
"If that fool comes again, I'll settle the score…!"
A heavy silence swept the area…