09:38 AM (Japan Time), Sunday February the 19th…
"… Too quiet, too empty…"
"A trap, I can tell that…"
"Sure. Let's fight it head on…"
"I'm tired of having to stick to their pace, too…"
"Let's split and strike from both sides at once, Raika…"
"Agreed, Enzan…"
Enzan and Raika stood in the deck of a ship.
They were checking their surroundings, untrustful of them.
"Did you notify HQ, Blues?" Enzan asked.
"Yes, sir. They're readying a strike team, sir…" Blues replied.
"Are there any incoming or outgoing transmissions?"
"No, Lord Raika. It's all quiet on this side, too…"
"Alright. I'll go right, you go left…"
"Roger. Keep the channel open!"
Enzan rushed down the right side of the deck.
He found an open door leading to the lower decks.
He rushed down a flight of stairs and landed in the corridor.
He turned a corner and met with Raika, who came from the left.
"Nothing!"
"Same…"
"And this must be the famed door…"
They looked at an armored door next to them.
It had several, small LCD displays and Plug-In ports.
The name "GOD-ODIN" was written on the top of the door.
There was a banner below.
It read "NO ENTRY WITHOUT AUTHORIZATION".
"I'll use this USB with an automated decoder…"
Raika drew a USB stick.
"Agreed. Must be full of traps for Navis…"
"Baby, baby, baby!"
Both were startled as someone began to sing.
A man emerged from the hold behind them, holding a mike.
"Come and dance with me! DJ Bandit Keith!" He laughed.
"Bandit Keith…? Let me guess… Another "geek" reference!"
"Yes, sir. From the Yu-Gi-Oh! series…"
Music began to play out as an energy barrier covered the door.
"The Show Addiction Barrier has activated!"
"What lame naming sense!" Raika grumbled.
"What did you expect from these punks, anyway?" Enzan grumbled.
"Mass Destruction of Jinmei's fan-club!"
"I don't have a fan club! And I'm MEI-JIN!"
Meijin complained over a speaker.
"I patched the MOS to this corridor's speaker!" He laughed.
"How dedicated of you!" Meijin grumbled.
"Well? Did the French femme fatale dupe you, too?"
"Keep Levé – kun out of this, you greedy fool! Strangle Pegasus!"
"No need to! Nobody leaves 'till my show is over!"
"And if we object?" Raika questioned.
"You dance the Fool Dance 66 times in a row!" He laughed.
"How stupid!" Enzan sighed.
"Let the show begin!"
The music became louder as lights shifted to a "disco" ambience.
"Baby, baby, baby! Baby, baby, baby! Baby, baby, baby! Yeah!"
Keith began to dance, stepping back and forth.
Enzan tried to punch him, but he was a hologram to begin with.
"Naturally!"
"Fear's awake, anger beats loud, face reality!"
"Never beat charity!"
"The enemy you're fighting covers all society!"
"(Damn right)"
"Mommy's not here, gotta fight!"
"(All night)"
"And?" Both drily questioned.
"It's from the game Persona 3… The normal battle theme…"
"That's the normal battle theme? Not the opening?" Enzan sighed.
"Right here, Shadow 10 o'clock direction!"
"Seize the moment, destroy the nation!"
"Your rhyme is slow motion, give me motivation!"
"Freaked out now, and dead-on arrival!"
"(What?)"
Keith flipped and supported himself with the free hand.
He spun his body as he kept singing.
"Round up around, spit out!"
"All over!"
"Rhyme like a rolling stone!"
"Comin' a crowd!"
"Watch out, they move, they diss you loud!"
"Guess what this sound, it bombs whole ground!"
"(So round up)"
He flipped again and, this time, he glued his feet to the ceiling.
He danced back and forth across it, hanging down.
"Don't ease your pace, 'cuz enemy's brutal!"
"Moment of truth, There ain't no truce!"
"You're the only one, one world, one love!"
"But the battle goes on, Shadows of Mass Destruction!"
"Make Shadow!"
"What!?"
"Damn!"
Spark Man dropped down from a hatch in the ceiling.
He crossed his lances and created a powerful flash.
The shadows of both humans elongated.
They rose and gained mass, with white patterns drawn over them.
They formed a Long Sword and a Super Vulcan respectively.
Both ducked to dodge the attacks from their "shadows".
Spark Man laughed in his maniacal way.
"Trash will fight trash! And I'll take it out with a clean slash!"
"Shit. I remember how it came to hinder our "DC" analysis!"
"I saw the records, too! What an annoying fool!"
"Ooh yeah!"
"Dada-dada, dada-dada!"
"Baby, baby!"
"Da-dada-dada, dada-dada!"
"Ooh yeah!"
"Dada-dada, dada-dada!"
"Baby, baby!"
"Da-dada-dada, dada-dada!"
"Ooh yeah!"
"Dada-dada, dada-dada!"
"Baby, baby!"
"Da-dada-dada, dada-dada!"
"Ooh yeah!"
"Dada-dada, dada-dada!"
"Baby, baby!"
"Da-dada-dada, dada-dada!"
Keith dropped back on the ground and walked over to Spark Man.
"Let's make them shiver and dance, bud!"
"Sure thing!"
"Meijin! The "Dimensional Area"!"
"We're on it! Deploy the "Dimensional Area"!"
The field formed over the ship, and both drew their "Synchro Chips".
"Synchro Chip, Slot In!"
Their PETs glowed.
"CROSS FUSION!"
They both transformed and drew their default weapons.
"Long Blade!"
"Super Vulcan!"
"Go, Shadows! Evolve into Fusion Shadows!" Keith laughed.
"LAME!" Meijin groaned.
The shadows changed to reflect the "Cross Fusion" forms of the duo.
"Spark Balls!"
Spark Man formed his attacking spheres, and they flew for the duo.
They shot bolts of lightning across the space, taking out the lights.
"Too bad! We have IR vision mode!" "CF" Raika let out.
"Darkness isn't going to help you!" "CF" Blues added.
"Who knows?" Spark Man chuckled.
"The real deal is yet to begin, brothers!" Keith laughed.
"Spark Waves!"
The lances frizzled and shot bolts of lightning towards the duo.
They tried to dodge but something stopped them there.
They were hit by the attacks, and they hissed.
"What the hell!?" Both cursed.
"Careful! The radar has detected further enemy signatures!"
"Where!?"
"The ground! It's a collection of miniature signatures!"
"Hence why our radars didn't detect them!"
"The darkness is cover to hide them!"
"And they use them to glue us to the ground and limit our movements!"
"Exactly!"
"That happens for not paying attention to the show!" Keith sneered.
"Shut up. Megalomaniac jerk!" Meijin grumbled.
"I can see it coming! The carnage!"
"Very funny. Go sing that in the depths of a cave!"
"I have an idea. Battle Chip, Tsunami!"
"Good idea!"
"What!?"
A tidal wave formed and ran across the corridor.
It washed both foes away, down another corridor.
"Impossible! The party's but begun!" Keith roared.
"I haven't taken out the trash yet!" Spark Man roared.
The barrier covering the door vanished and both examined it.
"Wait. Could it be that…?"
"CF" Raika drew a Samurai Sword and thrust it into the door.
The blade "tore" through it and both gasped.
"The same trick as in the building! Trompe l'oeil!"
"Heck!"
Both quickly tore open the paper and found a heap of wooden crates.
"CF" Raika opened one to find it filled with canned crab cans.
"CF" Blues grabbed one and shook it.
"There's something inside! It's not canned crab!"
"Naturally…"
He deposited one on the floor and "CF" Raika opened it with his blade.
They found a card inside of a plastic case.
It read "EMBRANCE YOUR INNER DESIRES".
"That's it?" "CF" Blues groaned.
"It's probably a "hint" of what the smuggling is about…"
"All this struggle for a "hint"! Damn you, Rufus!" "CF" Blues groaned.
"Never had high expectations about it, nevertheless…"
"I feel like I've heard these words before, too…" Meijin muttered.
"… Dark Chips…" Yuuichirou grimly muttered.
"Devil!" They all gasped.
"I just received samples from a team, they have the "Shinra" logo…"
"Heck. So that's why they were so quiet! They were making these!"
"The party ain't over yet! By the blood of Keith!"
"S-same! By the data of Spark Man!"
"You're as stubborn as gorillas…"
"GORILLAS!? DAMN YOU, KIDDOS!"
The two foes made it there, dripping with water.
"I see. That Keith is a Navi. Switched places with the hologram…"
"Better for us. Eat crab!"
"CF" Blues grabbed a can and flung it at Keith.
It hit his face, and the sunglasses flew off.
He rushed in and delivered a punch to the nose.
Keith groaned and collapsed face-up on the ground.
"Bastards! Make…!"
"Scope Gun! Zero-range Shot!"
"DAMN IT ALL!"
"CF" Raika set the muzzle next to Spark Man's chest emblem.
He shot and pierced through him, deleting him.
"Thought as much. A "Phantom Navi"…"
"You rascal! You're asking for it!"
Keith jumped to his feet and jumped for "CF" Blues.
He sidestepped and the foe landed inside of the crate.
Some cans jumped off, revealing "Dark Chips" lined up beneath them.
"Heck! The cans were there to hide the real deal!" "CF" Blues gasped.
"CF" Raika reached out for them and grabbed one.
"They're real things, not holograms or materialized data…"
"One more reason to bring a team and confiscate these!"
"Rascals! You'll regret pissing me off!"
"I see that you need another bath. Battle Chip, Tsunami!"
"Not again!"
The tidal wave washed Keith away once again, and he roared.
"This isn't the last that you'll see from me!"
"Naturally. You're as annoying as that tiger man…"
"What about the crew, though?" "CF" Blues asked.
"A tipoff said that they were on this area last night, but…"
"They must've fled using the darkness and fog as cover…"
"They probably have another ship elsewhere…"
"Wouldn't surprise me…"
"However… I'd suggest that you get out of there right now…"
"Do you think that there's some trap?"
"This whole show feels lame and stupid… And pointless…"
"True. Why bother calling attention if they want to smuggle?"
"This whole "smuggling" tale must be a dead end to begin with…"
"Alright. Area Steal!"
They warped back into the main deck, filled with Viruses.
"Let's jump to the ground!"
Both jumped over the rails and used their jets to fly away.
Explosions rang out on the bottom of the ship, below the waterline.
More explosions rang out sequentially across all decks.
"I knew it! This ship is a death trap to begin with!" Meijin hissed.
"Hell. Your instinct was correct!" "CF" Raika hissed.
He looked at the Dark Chip on his hand and frowned.
He held it up to the light and gasped.
"It's a dummy! Another trompe l'oeil!" He cursed.
"Hell. All that farce for nothing!"
"Typical of the lot!"
"I can tell that!"
09:55 AM (Japan Time)…
"… Say, Anetta. Did you send me this?"
"What? No. Why?"
"Because it was on an envelope with your name as sender…"
"Speaking of which… I also received one from you…"
"What ARE these, anyway?"
Jasmine was talking with Anetta in the park.
They stood next to a fountain in the center of it.
Both had open envelopes and plastic slabs on their hands.
The slabs glowed and "became" the infamous "Dark Chips".
Anetta gasped and let go of it out of instinct.
She recoiled, panicked, and cold sweat formed over her face.
"Not again…! Silk…!" She muttered.
"Watch out!"
She tripped with an almost invisible piano wire behind her.
Two explosions rang out behind the benches, damaging them.
Jasmine tackled Anetta to the ground to avoid the flying splinters.
"Welcome to the new edition of the show of terror and fear!"
Keith stepped into the area, holding his mike and laughing.
"Another pawn of Hojo!" Jasmine hissed.
"Don't place me in the same boat as that jerk!"
"I do what I want to! Get lost! Enemy of civilization!"
"Before that, confess the password of the rich missy's safe!"
"As if I would know that!"
"Bully! If you want to a start a fight, do it with someone of your size!"
SMACK!
"How! Who!"
"Yuriko! The Woman in Black. Remember it, Bandit Barbarian!"
"Why, you…! WIB!"
"Patent it!"
Yuriko rushed there and smacked Keith from behind, challenging him.
He grumbled and tried to fight her back, but she quickly dodged him.
"Want a piece of me? This way!"
She ran away towards the south and Keith chased her.
Patrol car sirens approached the area.
"Anetta?"
Anetta had fainted as Jasmine lifted her to her feet.
"Are you alright!?"
"Mr. Misaki!"
Misaki rushed there along with two first responders.
"We're not hurt, but Anetta fainted from the shock…"
"Bring the stretcher!" A first responder called out.
"Careful! There are piano wires there and there…" Meddy warned.
"Linked to bombs, I take it… Deep Kabase's style!" Misaki guessed.
"Yuriko came and drew some gruff man away…"
"Must be Bandit Keith… The one that was in that ship…"
"Also, those odd plastics…"
"Fake "Dark Chips"…"
"That's a "Dark Chip"!?"
"Holographic imitations. They're unharmful, but…"
He sighed as he glanced at Anetta.
"It's the sign of her trauma… I'm sure that it's no coincidence…"
"What fiends!"
"You needn't tell me…!"
"I'm the invincible and immortal BASEKA! Tremble, world!"
A man's voice rang out, laughing.
"More imitations of Kabase? He must be more famous than the Beatles!"
"What!? Don't mix me with those folk! I'm a real ninja!"
"You're a disgraced ninja. Couldn't beat Dark Miyabi…"
"MIYABI! I'LL BLOW YOU SKY HIGH!"
The sound of something shattering rang out from behind a tree.
"A speaker. As always…"
Yuriko emerged from behind, carrying a broken wireless speaker.
"What about Keith?" Misaki asked.
"I tripped him and fell into a pond, dematerializing…"
"Alright… It was pointless to try to catch him, anyway…"
The first responders loaded Anetta on the stretcher and took her away.
Jasmine followed them, and both adults sighed, saddened.
"That Clark…! Is the one who caused that incident, and…!" Yuriko hissed.
"I know. I also was lured in by the man's bait…" Misaki sighed.
"Anyway. I'm hunting for leads and keeping watch on the girls…"
"Good idea. They might try to attack them again…"
"Also… My "comrade in arms" gained some important data…"
"What is it?"
"That ship, King of the Sea… It was a dummy to begin with…"
"Yes. Because they sank it, and…"
"No. I meant that it does exist and already sailed away…"
"What?"
"That ship that you raided was a dummy that pretended to be it…"
"Heck. That means that the real cargo already shipped away?"
"But why didn't anyone report that?" Prism Man wondered.
"Easy. They swapped places during the evening…"
"And they altered the ship names, too!" Needle Man added.
"Devil!"
"And, to top it off, it has a powerful stealth and jamming field…"
"Which means that it can't be tracked by radar…"
"We were keeping watch on it all night long, hence why we know…"
"But you didn't realize the swapping until today…"
"Unfortunately… We thought that they were hiding the cargo…"
"It's not illogical. Issue will be finding it…"
"On the ship's charter, it's slated to head to Anchorage, Alaska…"
"But it could be a lie to begin with…"
"Yes. Maybe they're headed to Kyushu or Hokkaido…"
"Or Macao… Didn't you say that Clark was involved in that business?"
"Good point. I can interrogate local contacts…"
"Alright. Use your means, we'll use ours…"
"By the way. They might try to go harass Mr. Nenji next…"
"Rokushakudama Nenji, the fireworks maker… Noted…"
"And given his Tokyoite-like nature, it can evolve into a brawl…"
"It wouldn't surprise me…"
"Sent a warning message to Napalm Man, sir…"
"Good job, Prism Man…"
"Roger, sir…"
Yuriko suddenly noticed something and looked behind a broken bench.
A black cat with a red cape and a golden crown stood there, listening.
"There! The cat!"
"Run for your golden saucers!"
The cat ran away as Yuriko tried to chase it.
"The Bottom Wells is waiting for you to eat it!"
"As if I would eat such a huge, poisoned fish!"
"Maybe you'll evolve into Ultra Cait Sith!"
"I prefer to stay as I am! Thank you!"
There was a scuffle beyond the trees and a meow rang out.
"Heck! Unleashed a real cat to distract me!"
"At least he finally appeared!" Misaki sighed.
"Next time, I'll ready a trap!" Yuriko fumed.
"Do as you like. I'm going to Mr. Rokushakudama's place…"
"I'll resume chasing leads about that ship, too…"
"Good. See you around…"
"I know…"
10:10 AM (Japan Time)…
"… Open the door, rascals! The real man has come to town!"
"What was that!? Real men don't act like Yakuza!"
"Says the shaming bomber!"
"Bomber!? Fireworks aren't bombs! Rascal! You're asking for it!"
"Come, meek rascal! I'll turn you into canned powder!"
"I'll cover you in powder!"
Rokushakudama was working on mixing the powders.
Keith began to kick the workshop's door from the outside.
Rokushakudama became annoyed and rushed for the door.
"That must be that Keith rascal that Prism Man warned me about!"
Napalm Man called out to his Operator.
"Fine! I'll show him the way out!"
"Don't overdo it, Nenji…"
He violently pulled open the door and Keith fell inside.
He quickly stood up, grabbing his sunglasses.
"My luxury glasses, valued at 100000Z! You're gonna pay for 'em!"
"Sure, sure! All Yakuza wannabes always say the same thing!"
"Good guts, old man!"
"OLD MAN!? I'm not THAT old! Eat this!"
THUD!
He delivered a punch to the face and the foe recoiled, groaning.
"You're asking for it, gramps! Bandit Punch of Might!"
"LAME!" Napalm Man groaned, annoyed.
Rokushakudama dodged the fist and brought up both punches.
He dropped them on Keith's back, and he collapsed on the floor again.
"The rumors were true! Former champ of the Yokohama underground!"
"What nonsense is that!? Eat this!"
He delivered and uppercut to the lower jaw and the foe groaned.
He collapsed face-up on the floor and managed to recover.
"Look forward to the bill of the dentist!"
"Look forward to the bill of the handyman!"
A barrage of punches was exchanged by both.
Keith tried to deliver some kicks, but they didn't connect.
"I'll send you to the bottom of Tokyo Bay!" Keith roared.
"I'll send you to the top of the local prison!"
"Never and ever!"
"Never says never again!" Napalm Man taunted.
"What was that!? Nappy!"
"Who's "Nappy"!? I'm NAPALM MAN!"
He roared and the PET became hotter.
"The hammering hammers of hammering hammer will hammer YOU!"
"Save me the tongue twisters, rascal!"
"Mighty and smart! Such is the great Bandit Keith!"
"That "Professor" rascal said the same and failed at everything!"
"Whatever! Third-rate actors trying to steal my glory!"
"This jerk is NUTS!"
"What did you expect from a clown sent by that Rufus rascal?"
"I'm no clown! I'm the master of bounties!"
"Become a bounty hunter, then!"
"No need! Already am! Hunter of tournament bounties!" He laughed.
"What a greedy jerk!"
"Beware! The Ghouls are waiting to turn you into their puppet!"
"What! Those creepy rascals! I'll smash them yet!"
"Then go smash them!"
"After I smash you, gramps!"
"I'm NOT a "GRAMPS"!"
"Come on, Nappy! Show me your moves!"
"You go dance deep inside a cave and stop bothering others!"
"There's no fun to that!"
"Then go to a "disky"!"
"You mean a "disco"! Outdated gramps!"
"You're asking for it, rascal!"
Rokushakudama grabbd a foldable chair and unloaded it on the foe.
They groaned and collapsed on the floor for the umpteenth time.
"I'm immortal!" He roared.
"Use a water bucket, Nenji!"
"Good idea!"
He grabbed a water bucket and showered the foe with it.
Some of his data became unstable and he groaned.
"W-what's that!?"
"A Navi!"
"Say that from the start!"
"My bad. Was too heated up!"
"By the hounds of Densanville! I'll remember this, gramps!"
He ran away but was showered by a garden hose held by Misaki.
He uttered something undecipherable before he dematerialized.
"I arrived some minutes ago and was ambushing that man…"
"Thanks, runt! That should teach that jerk a lesson or two!"
"If only!"
"But what did the rascal want to achieve, anyway?"
"It's a smokescreen to distract us from the real deal…"
"Again? Man! They're so repetitive!"
"They have no capability to innovate. Fortunately for us!"
"Or maybe they pretend that!" Napalm Man warned.
"Fair point. What do you think, sir?"
"He has a point. We better not take them for granted…"
"Where is that vile bandit that stole my fortune!?"
"That's… Countless Ann Electel…!"
Ms. Electel appeared there, visibly annoyed.
"Jack! It must be Jack!"
"No, ma'am. It's a ruffian named Bandit Keith, ma'am…"
"Dared me to send me a challenge letter!"
"What does he think he is, a student delinquent from the 80s?"
Rokushakudama rolled his eyes, unimpressed.
"I shall paralyze them with my might!"
"Go ahead. It's a Navi, anyway. A clown…"
"A clown! How childish!" She fumed.
"Send complains to Rufus Shinra, wherever he is…"
"Rufus Shinra!? I shall find them! They shall regret it!"
She gripped her folded umbrella with both hands, hissing.
Static electricity jumped off her arms, even.
Both stepped away, surprised.
"They will soon know the might of my bloodline!"
She turned on her heels and walked away at a brisk pace.
"Is it OK to leave her to chase those?"
"Well… Maybe we can suggest an officer to protect her, yes…"
"Officer Misaki, sir. Thunder Man of Ameroupe sends a message…"
"What is it?"
"Rufus tried to buy Ms. Millionaire Navi Museum, but she refused…"
"Feels like a dead end. Let's leave it up to them to investigate it…"
"Understood, sir… Also… He warns about the "little cuckoo"…"
"Then that's not the real deal because he hates that…"
"I did check that it was clean of Viruses and other malware…"
"We'll bring it to the MOS for analysis, nevertheless…"
"By your orders, sir…"
"Man! Let's refill the buckets and resume working…"
"That's the spirit, Nenji! Ignore those childish bullies!"
"The issue now is finding that smuggler gang. Where are they?"
"I have a bad feeling about this, sir…!"