13:05 PM (Japan Time), Friday February the 24th…
"… Well, well. The kitty wants to dance…"
"Somari… This isn't the time for jokes…"
"Don't worry, Sorocchi. All's under control..."
"Saruba... Say something!"
"Leave it for later... I'm sorting out our priorities…"
A trio of figures wearing black cloaks and hoods stood in a foggy area.
They were waiting for something or someone.
"Sorry for the wait!"
Cait Sith ran towards them from beyond the fog.
"I have important information to share with you, Hoshi…"
He gasped and stopped.
"Sorry. Yamikawa, was it?"
"Correct…"
One of the figures lowered the hood.
It was a young man on his late teens.
He had messy, silver hair.
His eyes were a mix of red and golden.
"I think that we didn't have time to introduce ourselves last time…"
"M-maybe…"
"What. It's not like I'm going become annoyed over that…"
"A-alright…"
"While we're at it… I'm Kagehi. Remember it, Kitty!"
Another of the figures lowered the hood, too.
She had red hair and red eyes.
"And I'm Kuroumi…"
The third figure also lowered their hood.
He had white unkempt hair.
His face had a red pattern on his right check, like a trail of lighting.
It ran down from below the eye.
His eyes were blue.
"Death Shadow hasn't been idle, and it made something dangerous…"
"As if it would make something that's NOT dangerous…"
"Well… When you phrase it like that…"
"And?" Kagehi asked.
"Look at these!"
He formed a screen depicting those "tigers".
Kagehi frowned and crossed her arms as if she'd noticed something.
"Tigers with wings…? Where have I heard that before…?"
"Isn't it the chimera beast from Greek myths?" Kuroumi suggested.
"Could be, but… I feel like I've heard something similar before…"
"Guess that you'll eventually remember…"
"Possibly!"
"What's more worrisome is that it's trying to recreate that thing…"
"And spread it across the world…" Yamikawa grumbled.
"But Death Shadow is, ultimately, a Net Navi…"
"It can be defeated…" Kuroumi concluded.
"Yes! Remember that it was found on a state close to full deletion…"
"We'd need something very powerful…" Yamikawa guessed.
"Maybe if we all attacked with our strongest attacks…"
Kuroumi rubbed his chin, trying to think of something.
"Could work. Problem would be ensuring that it's not a fake…"
"True. That'd be the issue…"
"And I don't want to use those right now, either…"
"Because the foe might design countermeasures?" Kuroumi guessed.
"Exactly…"
"Regarding that… It's nothing new for it, because…" Cait Sith admitted.
"It's already seen those or has data on them…" Yamikawa deduced.
"Yes. But it doesn't change that it's high firepower…"
"I remember! It was in The Three Kingdoms!"
Kagehi gasped and recalled what was bothering her.
"Excuse me?" Cait Sith asked.
"When those bossy folk scold Kong-Ming. They begin by praising…"
"And?"
"… "It was a vigor like that of a tiger that had grown wings"…"
"Devil! It's exactly that!" Kuroumi gasped.
"It probably was in the files of the original owner of the system…"
"And interpreted the wording literally…" Kagehi deduced.
"And here I thought that it was looking after Umbrella Corporation…"
"Wouldn't be odd if it did…"
"The remaining issue is how do we locate it…"
"I'm keeping tabs on Dubai, maybe there's another location there…"
"Could be. Make us think that it went far away, but didn't…"
"Speaking of faraway… What about Magnets?"
"Saw her on Odaiba the other day, raiding a warehouse…"
"What for?"
"She mistakenly thought it was the maker of her lunch boxes…"
"And wanted to steal a bunch of them?"
"Probably…"
"Feels like a distraction… Remember her ploy of two years ago…"
"Sending the Asteroids as distraction as she stole things…"
"Maybe she's acting as decoy while Gauss does something…"
"Well. But compared to Deathly Shadowy, it's no big deal…"
"Surprised that you dare to treat it so lightly…"
"I'm not. It's to soften the tension…"
"Alright. If you say so…"
"By the way, Kitty. Did you know? The Kitty Kit Kat!"
"Excuse me…?"
She laughed at her lame pun and the other two rolled their eyes.
"By the way. What about that samurai…?" Cait Sith asked.
"Don't worry about him. It's a loyal, smart warrior…"
"Understood. Won't ask more questions…"
"By the way. Did Jerry steal your sardine?" Kagehi giggled.
"Very funny…" Kuroumi sighed.
"Beware. It's the fishing fish!"
"Anyway. Each will chase the target from different angles…"
"We agree on that…"
"And that Sam Yosemite will hunt Donald Duck…" Kagehi laughed.
"I fail to see any correlation, Somari…" Kuroumi sighed.
"It wouldn't be the first time…" Yamikawa sighed, too.
"Beware! It's Olriquenate Puertoriqueante!"
"Who…?" They all asked.
"The Puerto Rico cousin of Olrik Ilkor, everyone's favorite clumsy fool!"
"Sure, sure…"
"Maybe we can send those three agents to dig for information?"
"Why not… It would be the best time to test their skills…"
"But better send them to remote places, least…"
"They bump into their "cousins"…"
"Elemental, my dear Saruba…"
"Finally! The more hands onboard, the better…"
"Are you going to negotiate with Ninja Man next?"
"Shadow Man!" They corrected.
"I'll try. If not, there is another party…"
"Princess Zelda and Link?" Kagehi giggled.
"Princess Pride and Knight Man…!" Yamikawa sighed.
"Well then… Goodbye!"
The other two rolled their eyes, too used to her moods.
"Let's go dispatch the patches of dis-patching!"
13:47 PM (Japan Time)…
"… This is SM-DS… I detect enemy presence… Over…"
"Z-DS over here… Confirm that… Over…"
"R-DS reporting… They are trying to ambush us… Over…"
Three cloaked Navis were operating across a Cyber World area.
It was mostly unlit and full of pillars, forming a maze.
Each of them communicated to the other.
The trio rushed down the corridors until they reached an open space.
Tall, smooth walls rose around the space, closing it.
"Welcome to my onslaught show!" Someone laughed.
"That's not the target…"
"Voice pattern matches with the database…"
"Rufus Shinra…"
Spotlights formed on the walls, illuminating the arena.
Legions of Zoanoroid Soldiers formed around them, surrounding them.
"Did you think that Death Shadow would make it so easy?" Rufus sneered.
Nobody bothered to reply, and he clicked his tongue.
"Whatever. You must be weaklings. I'll wipe you out!"
One of them flung a Prism into the air and aimed the right arm upwards.
A black beam shot out and hit the prism, splitting into smaller beams.
Another of the figures drew a black sword and cut through the foes.
The third one formed golden "antennae" and struck the foes, too.
They quickly wiped out all foes, and Rufus gasped in disbelief.
"Ridiculous!"
"You underestimate the intense training of these warriors…"
"Not you again! Stalker disgraced samurai!"
"Charmed…"
Yoshitsune appeared atop a spotlight, which he stabbed with his blade.
"Then they aren't agents come from Dubai!?"
"No. They are busy trying to agree on who'll be team leader…"
"Whatever. I was looking for a chance to crush you, gloomy fools!"
"As if it would be easy… Bring it on…"
"Come! Greizer!"
The furthest wall was smashed as Greizer's head emerged from there.
It roared and began to suction the air.
The three Navis jumped into the air and formed countless Mini Bombs.
They then formed 30kg weights next to their feet and dropped to the floor.
The Cybeast suctioned the Mini Bombs, and they detonated inside of it.
It was momentarily stunned from the streak of explosions within its body.
"Infinite Vulcan!"
"Dream Sword!"
"Giga Cannon!"
The three warriors formed the Program Advances and shot them.
They landed on the beast's jaw and damaged some of the skin layers.
The beast recovered and pulled out.
The next second, it smashed the wall with the head.
The hole became wider, and the crown made it inside.
Each spike frizzled with electricity and shot lightning bolts.
The warriors dodged and counterattacked with the previous attacks.
Some of the spikes were broken, and more layers peeled off.
"Hojo's defectives will be but defectives…" Yoshitsune mocked.
"Whatever. I don't stake it all on this toy…" Rufus scoffed.
"What a convenient excuse to run away…"
"What was that?"
"My blade is ready to cut down the evil that you are…"
"Whatever. I'll eventually deal with you!"
"Which means "never"…"
"Don't twist my words! Charlatan apprentice!"
"Tell that to Mansemat… The charlatan angel…" Yoshitsune sneered.
Rufus growled something under his breath.
"What kind of parodies did you bring along?" Rufus growled.
"Tell that to Clark…"
"What?"
"We "borrowed" them from an army that Clark had readied…"
"Nobody told me!"
"Because it involves "another world"…"
"… Shit. You brought it over from another world?"
"Exactly… We choose the best from the ranks of the army…"
"Just like you stole that vessel!"
"We "borrowed" it…"
"You're one to talk!"
"Blame Clark for not entrusting you with his beloved assets…"
Rufus growled something undecipherable again.
"This is our new Special Ops & Recon Unit…"
"Fancy! Do you believe yourselves to be FOXHOUND or what?"
"If you must…"
"That lack of reaction is what annoys me the most!"
"Proves that you are but what they commonly call a "bully"…"
"Don't associate me with those stupid kids!"
"Bullying isn't restricted to children. And neither is harassment…"
"I'm above those!"
"Prove it…"
The beast shot a stream of flames, but the warriors flew to dodge.
They all formed the Giga Cannon PA.
"Giga Cannon!"
They shot three blasts inside of the mouth and hit something deeper in.
The beast was stunned again as they formed Count Bombs.
They flung them inside of the throat as well.
The explosions further stunned it, and it swung the head at wild.
The wall finally collapsed, and its front claws and body stepped inside.
Parts of its main body skin layers had peeled away, too.
It raised the tail, and it became a bazooka.
It shot a rocket-propelled grenade towards the trio.
"Black Hole!"
They used the Black Hole to absorb it, but a flash of light happened.
A shockwave ensued and hit the trio, pushing them towards the walls.
Rufus laughed, victorious.
"Did you like my shockwave grenade?" He laughed.
"They made countermeasures for this tactic… Could be troublesome…"
Yoshitsune merely rubbed his chin and thought aloud.
"Master. We can still fight… It's light damage…"
"If you feel anything odd, pull out at once…" He ordered.
"Roger, Master!"
"Whatever you do is in VAIN!"
"All fools say the same. Clark lost to curry, didn't the man?"
Rufus roared and shattered something on the end of his line.
The others ignored his tantrums and resumed battling the beast.
The tail morphed into a flamethrower and swept the ground.
Yoshitstune cut the support of a spotlight and flung it away.
It hit the top of the Cybeast's head and shattered.
The thing looked up and beat the wings.
Fiery birds formed before the wings and flew in that direction.
Yoshitstune waited and then jumped over them.
The birds detonated when hitting the wall, opening small holes.
Sulfuric acid poured out and slid towards the ground.
The warriors remained airborne as they also attacked the walls.
More acid poured out and formed a puddle.
It began to corrode the soils of the Cybeast's feet.
However, it didn't react to that and kept shooting at random.
"I see. It lacks pain sensors there…" The girl warrior guessed aloud.
"The hunter becomes the hunted…" One of the warriors muttered.
"Fitting for a fool relying on stunts…" The other concluded.
"Who do you think you are, Kong – Ming!?" Rufus growled.
"If you must…"
The acid pool increased in volume and corroded the forward feet.
The beast's front body collapsed, and its underside hit the acid.
It roared as it struggled to lift is body outside of it.
"The beast itself acts as a wall, clogging the acid…" The girl giggled.
"Meaning that the intended "trap" still works…"
"Not feeling almighty anymore, Rufus Shinra?"
"By the whiskers of Kûrvi-Tasch! I'll hang you from the forest trees!"
"Now you believe you are in the European Middle Ages?"
"Doesn't matter! I'll use this acid to send you back to the VOID!"
"Very Original Informative Disaster?" The girl giggled.
Yoshitstune sighed, as if he was too used to that.
"Lady Harp Note sure has a curious sense of humor…" He muttered.
"No comments…" The other two muttered.
An explosion rang out on the other end of the line.
"Found you! Invading starver from Dimension Alpha!"
"Tesla Magnets!? How did you…!?"
"You're not the only one hiding in Shinjuku!"
"Weren't you in Odaiba!?"
"Your sources are lame! So much for "charming CEO of the year"!"
"Who the hell is saying that!? The gossip press!?"
"Who knows? Mag Missile! Mag Ball!"
"Shit! Casting a "DA" inside the building backfired!"
"Same mistake as Umbra and his lackeys!"
"Ridiculous!"
"Double Mag Cheek Slap!"
Two slaps rang out and Rufus groaned.
The girl warrior giggled, amused at the naming sense.
"Damn it! Get lost in Alaska!" He growled.
"You go build your fancy hideout there, like that Blofeld old man!"
"Don't place me in the same league as that clown!"
The discharge of the gunshot echoed, followed by a scuffle.
A window shattered and Rufus roared.
"Enjoy the free fall from the 33rd floor!"
"I'll be back!"
"Naturally! Formed a jetpack to fly away…"
The beast's skin had been deleted by now, and only the skeleton remained.
It also melted into the pool, and only the rear half remained.
It was filled with the acid since there was no head to block it.
The remaining portion of the body was soon erased.
"As I said… Defectives will hardly stop us…"
"I can see that…"
"Well, well. If it isn't Sir Thunder Man…"
Thunder Man had appeared atop the eastern wall.
He was crossing his arms and looking at the scene.
"But I'll take note that that rascal likes these kind of traps…"
"Go ahead…"
"You must be the mighty Masked Thunder!" The girl giggled.
Thunder Man gasped as Yoshitsune sighed and shook his head.
"Hadn't we agreed not to poke at others, warrior?"
"I apologize, Master. It was out of impulse…"
"More like Her Grace's bad habits…" He muttered.
"I remember! You were in that Screaming Contest with Blues!"
Tesla gasped as she recalled.
"How do you know THAT?"
"Don't underestimate the intelligence network of our family!"
"Lovely!" He sighed.
"Tell that Paul man that he doesn't intimidate me!"
"Raul! Not Paul! And we're not here to intimidate others!"
"They'll know the might of my charisma!"
"Charisma? More like reality distortion field, auntie…"
"WHO'S AN AUNTIE!?"
"Warrior… Are you trying to anger me?"
She gulped as Yoshitsune hinted at some extent of anger.
"N-no, Master…"
"Then behave like a warrior! Like your comrades!"
"Y-yes, Master…"
She bowed to display obedience.
"Anyway! No Screaming Contest can defeat me!"
"Who said anything about that to begin with?"
"Your buddy, Sneaking Snake Man!"
"That man is hardly my "buddy". It's an annoying complainer!"
"Must be a friend of the invading starvers, too!"
"Your leaps in logic defy common sense…" Thunder Man sighed.
"Wouldn't be the first time…" Yoshitsune sighed.
"In that, we agree…"
"Whatever. I'm off, and don't interfere with my businesses!"
The line was cut, and they all sighed in relief.
"Master. Several signatures approaching… Likely Net Police…"
The warrior with the gun warned as they looked southwards.
"Alright. Let us return to our realm and report…"
"By your will…"
"Portals" formed on mid-air, and they flew inside.
"I don't recommend following us. It's a toxic realm…"
Yoshitstune warned Thunder Man.
"Blues told me. And I don't intend to. I'm chasing Rufus…"
"Good. Do it in whatever way that you deem necessary…"
"In that we agree…"
"Farewell!"
He also jumped into a portal as Blues and Prism Man made it there.
"Been a while, Blues…"
"Thunder Man. What happened here?"
"Rufus and his stupid stunts…"
"What. It wasn't Death Shadow?"
"Unfortunately…"
"Maybe Rufus wants to keep us busy to claim the merit for himself…"
Prism Man crossed his arms and suggested an explanation.
"Makes sense. Those types always want to brag about something…"
"That Samurai man has some curious "disciples"…"
"First-timer. Tell us more…"
"Unfortunately, by the time I arrived, it was almost over…"
"Any traits?"
"One of them is a gal who takes things lightly…"
"Like Kagehi…" Enzan muttered.
"The others are silent and efficient…"
"Fine. But they probably won't hinder us, we have a common foe…"
"That Death Shadow freak… I'm glad not to have to deal with it!"
"Ironically enough!" Misaki sighed.
"Also… Magnets raided Rufus somewhere in Shinjuku…"
"Must be the office building where a brawl rang out…"
"A team is heading there to analyze the scene…" Misaki confirmed.
"Fine. Maybe we'll find some breadcrumbs, with some luck…"
"I'll go chase another lead. Will update you if I find anything…"
"Thanks. We'll also tell you if we find something relevant…"
Thunder Man nodded and left the area as the duo scanned it.
"Let's study this to figure out the enemy's tactics…"
"Affirmative. The sooner, the better…"
18:18 PM (Japan Time)…
"… How is Dingo like, Ms. Manabe?"
"He's almost healed from the cold and fever…"
"But he's still too tired to move?"
"They pushed him to his limits, but he'll eventually recover…"
"That's great!"
Netto and his friends were talking with Manabe in the hospital lobby.
"Unfortunately, he's not in a state to talk. Visits aren't allowed…"
"I understand. But at least he's safe. That's what matters…"
"Truly!"
"Now, if only his stubbornness also healed…!" Dekao sighed.
"That's asking for a miracle!" Chisao sighed.
"Agreed…"
Meiru rolled her eyes.
"Maybe he needs his friend to come encourage him…"
Yaito rubbed her chin, pensative.
"Why not… Maybe if she tells him directly…" Hikawa agreed.
"Actually… She has come over here and is waiting to meet him…"
Manabe lowered her voice and whispered to them.
"Well. She obviously would be worried if he ran into major trouble…"
"I'd say that we don't poke our noses here…" Yuuki suggested.
"It's between both of them…" Hoshita added.
"You're right. Let's go home and ready for the weekend…"
"Take care, everyone!"
"Thank you, ma'am!"
The group headed outside, where Yaito's limo was waiting.
They climbed inside and it drove away.
"I'd never thought that I'd actually ride a limo!"
"Same. Thought it was stuff of Ameroupe movies…"
Yuuki and Hoshita looked around, amazed.
"Miss Yaito. Ms. Manabe adds that Kiryuuin Sakurako…"
"True! She was also abducted. What about her?"
"Is making a favorable recovery. She was only hypnotized…"
"Glad to hear. She's a troublemaker, but doesn't mean harm…"
"Hypnosis… Reminds me of Maha's debut…" Netto muttered.
"Wasn't there an incident by the Neo WWW involving that, too?"
"True. They took over the factory of those robot dogs…"
"To turn them into Dark Chip carriers…" Rock Man added.
"When I snuck inside, everyone acted like automatons…"
"It was spooky, even!"
"Flash Man, right?" Roll recalled.
"Same one… The foe that triggered my first "Soul Unison"…"
"Hard to believe that it'll soon have been 2 years since then…"
"Time sure does fly by…"
"Can't complain that I had my "leisure" summer holiday…"
"What exactly happened back then?" Dekao asked.
"Some people sheltered me from Clark's pawns…"
"And we trained to gain new abilities and skills…"
"It was clever. Nobody would think of searching Switzerland!"
"And even less that area which wasn't that "famous"…"
"But those landscapes were amazing!" Hikawa commented.
"Maybe we could organize a trip there next summer!"
"That could be fun!"
"I'll make sure that Kiryuuin doesn't follow us there!"
"Let's hope that!"
"By the way. Master Count Elec is inspired…" Dekao began.
"What did he do?"
"He uses the storeroom to practice rock 'n roll…"
"Well. Always had the image that he loves playing the guitar…"
"If it doesn't harm anyone…"
"He was talking about a major contest in which he wants to debut…"
"How daring!" Hikawa muttered.
"The Rolling Rocking Contest…"
"They sure spent time thinking about the name…" Hoshita ironized.
"Let's hope that he does read the conditions closely!" Yaito sighed.
"You mean that incident when Narcy joined that contest?"
"Sure… The fool couldn't be bothered to read that it was for children!"
"Apparently, he'd started plans of becoming an independent artist…"
"And even quit the Neo WWW…" Rock Man added.
"Ended up with a useless stash of blank Chips…"
"Which overloaded a floor of the Neo WWW building…"
"Really…"
"Even went to a milk bar to try to "drink" his frustration away…"
"Well. Better that than overdose of alcohol, I'd say…"
"Although drinking too much milk can be bad for the body, too…"
"How do you know so many details?" Chisao asked.
"That person, Mr. Kanou, had been surveilling the Neo WWW…"
"And shared his records with us last summer…"
"Was he a private eye?" Dekao asked.
"Well… You could say so…"
"He must've been eager to show Mr. Mouri what it's about…"
"I don't think that it's a fair comparison…" Netto argued.
"It's a joke. No need to take it seriously…" Yuuki laughed.
"Alright!"
"By the way. Dekao. Tokugawa's buried gold is but a myth…"
Yaito looked up from her PET and over at him.
"Don't try to team up with Mr. Higure to dig for it…"
"Why would I?"
"Dunno. Glyde says so…"
"I didn't, ma'am. That's an email by "The Gold Saucer Kitty"…"
"Cait Sith…? Why bother sending that?" Netto wondered.
"Maybe it's not him but Nakayami or Akihiko…" Yuuki ventured.
"True. Maybe an attempt to make us fight over that…"
"Devil! Glyde! Did you check that it was clean?"
"Naturally. It was in the quarantine folder to begin with…"
"Good job. Must be more careful about that…"
"Tooru – kun. Beware of rice crackers by the spooky secretary…"
Ice Man projected from the PET to warn him about something.
"What is that supposed to be? Rather, who sends that?"
"… "The Queen of Shinjuku"…"
"Tesla? She sure has free time!" Netto sighed.
"Or maybe it's those two, trying to direct our attention to her…"
"That wouldn't be illogical, either…"
"Did you quarantine it?" Hikawa asked.
"Sure. Like you told me to…"
"Good job. Be careful of such odd emails!"
"OK!"
"Maybe they're using Bubble Man as a middleman?" Roll suggested.
"If Shade Man used him as a spy, they can do the same…"
"Guts! Leave it up to me. I'll make him sing!"
"Don't overdo it, OK?" Dekao warned.
"Don't worry. I'll merely cross my arms and wait!"
"Knowing him, he won't last more than 30 seconds…" Roll giggled.
"I like that. We must prove that we're smart!" Yaito giggled, too.
"Don't overdo it, either…" Meiru warned.
Yaito sipped some of her strawberry milk glass and smiled, confident.
"I'll show to Enzan how it's done!" She announced.
"If he hasn't beaten you to it already…" Meiru muttered.
"It'll be a romance with strawberry flavor!"
She laughed at her lame motto and the others chuckled or giggled…