Chapter 9: Of vain fighting
15:14 PM (Japan Time), Tuesday July the 23rd…
"… Comrades! Rejoice! This is the key to victory!"
"THAT is the famed "Synchronizer"? For real?"
"Man! You're as skeptical as ever!"
"I am careful…"
"Whatever. Victory is guaranteed!"
"It isn't until we figure out how to exploit it. Airhead!"
"What was that!?"
"Zoan" Spark Man made it back to their base.
He still carried the block of ice with "Monokuma" inside.
A fellow soldier stepped out of the darkness to argue with him.
"As "Zoan" Gate Man… I calculate each move…"
"Whatever!"
"Zoan" Gate Man was about a meter and sixty tall.
His irises were two red dots over the yellow eyes.
His orange head had a mask covering the face.
It integrated golden "hair" which reached past the chest.
He had spheroid shoulders, and his arms sprouted from there.
They were covered in sturdy, dark brown armor.
The hands were black.
His chest armor had an octahedron set there.
A vertical stripe ran across its height, separating it in two halves.
His lower body was brown, too.
His tall boots reached almost to the knees.
They were dark brown, and thick.
They ended up in sneaker-like shapes with light brown stripes.
"Come! We'll offer this to Lord Falzer!"
"Fine… Don't blame me for what happens afterwards…"
"Shut up already!"
"Zoan" Spark Man formed a hovering platform.
He deposited the frozen bear atop it.
They both headed further inside of the darkened space.
They reached a wall which had a mask carved into it.
It looked like a pyramid when seen above.
Two red eyes were carved on it, too.
The blue bird symbol was set on the forehead.
"Lord Falzer!"
Both kneeled and lowered their heads.
"We finally found the "Synchronizer"!"
A beast's howl echoed.
"Yes, Lord Falzer! We shall draw out its power to defeat Greiga!"
The howl echoed again.
"Yes! We readied a diversion to keep them busy!"
The howl became more intense.
"Yes! I am aware that it shall not hold them at bay forever!"
The howl became lower in tone.
"Yes! We shall proceed to study it right away!"
The eyes dimmed.
Both stood up and circled around the frozen bear.
"Zoan" Gate Man crossed his arms over his chest, as if thinking.
"It's said that it can assimilate our "factors", but…"
"Then let's pour them!"
"Don't be so hasty, brute…"
"Lord Falzer is watching!"
The eyes became active again and the howl echoed.
"Zoan" Spark Man gasped and kneeled.
"Yes! What is your command, my lord?"
The howl became intense.
"What!? Go back to the front and fight Greiga?"
The eyes glowed further.
"Naturally! Such is our purpose! I shall go!"
"Zoan" Spark Man warped out of the location.
"Yes! I will be careful! It might be a trap by Greiga!"
"Zoan" Gate Man also kneeled to answer to its orders.
He stood up and carried the thing away.
"I'm back! I finally got rid of those pesky Greiga pawns!"
"Good job, "Zoan" Snake Man…"
"And? Did you figure out anything?"
"Not yet. I'm going to work on it…"
"Fine. I'll patrol the outer perimeter…"
"I'll join you, too!"
"You finally came! "Zoan" Swallow Man!"
This Swallow Man wasn't too different from the "real" one.
"My bad. The Greiga dogs were restless…"
"Fine. Patrol the eastern side! I'll handle the western side!"
"Sure!"
They split ways as "Zoan" Gate Man carefully studied the prey.
His right hand glowed and pierced through the ice.
He plunged it inside of the bear's chest.
"This is our "factor"… Let's see what happens when I pour it inside!"
The bear agitated and suddenly awoke.
It yelled in pain as its body convulsed.
Crimson wings grew from behind the body.
The arms and legs were covered in feathers.
The hands and feet became talons.
A beak formed over the mouth.
A crest emerged atop the head.
The bear roared as both eyes glowed red.
An aura of power was unleashed, shattering the ice.
The bear beat the wings and hovered in the air.
It roared and flew for "Zoan" Gate Man.
"Remote Gate!"
A huge octahedral object formed behind him.
Two huge doors opened into darkness.
He stepped inside, and the doors closed.
The object vanished.
The mutated bear stopped in mid-air, disconcerted.
"Gate Cannon!"
"Zoan" Gate Man emerged from the reformed door.
The doors on his chest opened.
A weapon with a brown body and a muzzle emerged.
It shot a blast and hit the bear's back.
"Remote Gate!"
He recoiled inside of the gate before the bear could recover.
"This isn't it! It's a normal program!" He grumbled.
The bear roared and flew for him at top speed.
"Demon's Hand!"
A purple arm ending in a claw flew out from his chest cavity.
It gripped the bear's face and stopped its movements.
"What's this fuss!?"
"Zoan" Snake Man returned.
"We've been deceived! It's a trap by Greiga! Help me dispose of it!"
"Delighted! Snake Buster!"
"Zoan" Snake Man shot the bear's back, opening wounds there.
"Zoan" Gate Man flung it inside of a "Remote Gate".
The thing self-destructed right away.
"That was close!"
"Damn you, Greiga! They'll pay for this!"
15:28 PM (Japan Time)…
"… We are back!"
"We brough the "Synchronizer"!"
"Impressive work, warriors…"
"It wasn't easy, but we shook off those Falzer bastards!"
"Zoan" Guts Man and "Zoan" Dark Man made it to their base.
They also carried a frozen "Monokuma" with them.
"What about you, "Zoan" Yamato Man?"
This "Zoanoroid" Yamato Man also was identical to the "real" one.
"I had to shake off that stupid snake!"
"Talk about a persistent fool!"
"Whatever. Let's report to Lord Greiga!"
"Go ahead. I'll patrol. Falzer might try to assault us…"
"Good point. Handle it…"
"Delighted…"
Both "Zoanoroids" headed for the depths of the base.
There was an oval rock set on the wall.
Several spikes emerged from its perimeter.
The golden star was set near the top of it.
Two red eyes existed in the lower end.
Both kneeled before it.
"Lord Greiga!"
A growl rang out.
"Yes! This is the "Synchronizer"!"
The eyes glowed.
"Yes! We will test it!"
"And bring us victory!"
The growl became louder.
"Yes. We are aware that Falzer might try to steal it from us…"
"But we won't make it easy for them!"
The growl became quieter.
"Yes! Victory for us!"
A short growl followed.
"You wish for me to go fight them in the frontlines?"
"Zoan" Guts Man looked up.
"It is an honor, sir! I shall go right away!"
He warped out of the room.
A slightly longer growl rang out next.
"Yes! I shall be careful when testing it!"
"Zoan" Dark Man bowed again.
The eyes dimmed.
He stood up and carried the block of ice away.
He entered a bare room and left it in the center of it.
"Let's try infusing with "factors"…"
His right hand glowed and plunged through the ice.
He gripped something inside of the bear.
It groaned and its body agitated.
The eyes glowed.
"Awaken your latent skills!"
The bear groaned and then roared.
Scales formed over its body.
A tail ending in a spike formed behind it.
Armor covered the limbs.
The hands and feet became claws.
Its mouth became jagged teeth.
An aura of power radiated from it and shattered the ice.
The bear became a beast that dropped on its fours, growling.
"Zoan" Dark Man stepped away from it, careful.
"… This reaction… It's not the "Synchronizer"…!"
The thing roared and jumped for him.
"Killer's Beam!"
The beam hit it and knocked it away.
It hit the far wall, bounced away and flew for the target.
However, the enemy had already become a colony of bats.
"Dark Shadow!"
The axe was flung it, and it stabbed on its back.
The beast howled and turned around to run for the enemy.
But since it was out of sight, the beast stopped, confused.
"What's this fuss!?"
"Zoan" Number Man made it there.
"Fool! Stay away!"
"No! It's time to show my bravery!"
"Bravery and recklessness are two different things!"
The beast flew for "Zoan" Number Man, who gasped.
"C-Curse Shield!"
The shield barely blocked the beast's assault.
"We've been tricked by Falzer!"
"What!? Damn it!"
The little beast growled and jumped away.
It tried to assault the shield again and shattered it.
However, the prey had already run away.
"Thousand Spears!"
"Good timing, "Zoan" Yamato Man!"
"I take it that this thing is a defective…"
"Correct! Let's dispose of it!"
"Delighted!"
"Zoan" Yamato Man joined him to fight the thing.
It swung its tail and shot blades in all directions.
"Zoan" Yamato Man spun his spear clockwise.
He deflected the blades, which stabbed at random across the room.
"Killer's Beam! Dark Shadow!"
Both attacks hit the thing, but it was still in top shape.
"I recognize that I tried to rush it. But we can argue that later!"
"Naturally… Let's become serious!"
"Zoan" Yamato Man roared as he transformed.
He drew two blades and carried out a fierce assault.
The beast was beheaded and its limbs severed in the blink of an eye.
The bear self-destructed and scattered shrapnel around the area.
"Good job!"
"Such is my duty!"
"I wish that we could hit those bastards, but…"
"Their base? I found it by tracking that snake…"
"Really?"
"But they're probably expecting us, too…"
"True. I don't like following their pace!"
"Maybe we can lure them out?"
"Pretend that we're about to find the real deal, you mean?"
"Exactly…"
"Why not… If we can crush them, so be it!"
"That thing is finally gone?"
"Zoan" Number Man timidly popped his head into the room.
"Show more courage, or you'll become His food!"
"Y-yes! I will show it!"
"Let's get ready, then. Not a second to waste!"
"Agreed!"
"W-where do we go to?"
"The battlefield! Where else?"
"I knew it…!"
"Unless you want to invoke His anger…"
"N-no! I'm coming!"
15:44 PM (Japan Time)…
"… I see. They aren't half-baked things, then…"
"Unfortunately…"
"We did manage to turn them against Clark, but…"
"We dunno how much longer he'll keep up with the farce…"
"And Regal sent a pawn to interfere, too…"
"No surprise…"
The defenders were exchanging data amongst themselves.
Omega calmly listened to their reports.
Blood Shadow and Sigma stood behind him.
"We'll act as a diversion. Rest and store forces…"
"Alright…"
"Sigma. No time for jokes!"
"I didn't say anything, sir!"
"But you meant to. Am I right?"
"That's… Yes, sir…" He admitted.
"See?" Blood Shadow sighed.
"Alright, alright…!"
"By the way. How do we check if we're dealing with a fake?"
"Phantom Navis? They are very frail. One blow, they break apart…"
"But if Twilight bothered to make them stronger?"
"That could be annoying, true…"
"He could try to interfere with transmissions, too…"
"And we can't be sure if they'll have "emergency codes", too…"
"Their code and data structure should be different from ours…"
"But how can we tell that?"
"Stab them with a blade and siphon a sample of their data…"
"Good idea. That could work…"
"If you're unsure, ignore it and proceed on your own…"
"I see. That might make them impatient and prone to forget the acting…"
"Or to try to literally backstab us…"
"That works better for us…"
There was a knock on a door in the real world.
"Excuse me, gentlemen…"
"What is it, Mr. Officer?" Charles.
"A young man named Mr. Komaeda wants to meet Mr. Hikari…"
"Komaeda? I don't remember such an acquaintance, though…"
"He says that he has something important to tell you…"
"Did you check that it was a real human?"
"Yes. It was a real human…"
"Did you have him go through the security control?"
"Yes. He only carried a wallet, keys and a flip phone…"
"Fine. Bring him to the questioning room…"
"Despite that it's a visitor?"
"It sounds like a trap by the enemy. We want to be careful…"
"Understood…"
"Netto and I will go. Alright?" Charles asked him.
"Agreed!"
"Handle it, then. We'll go!"
"Later!"
Omega and his men left the system.
Rock Man returned to the PET.
Netto and Charles entered a small room.
There was a one-way see-through glass there.
A small questioning room was visible on the other side.
A door opened and someone stepped inside.
It was a teenager around Netto's age and height.
His hair was a mix of white and pink.
He wore an open green coat, a white shirt and dark jeans.
He used brown sneakers for footing.
"I'd recognize that visual anywhere!" Charles growled.
"Thought as much…!" Netto sighed.
"Komaeda Nagito! Dangan Ronpa V2!"
"Must've paid some random student to disguise as him…"
"Hi! Is Hikari here?" "Komaeda" called out.
"Might or might not be…" Charles answered.
His voice rang out of a speaker.
"I have something important to tell you, Hikari…"
"He's busy. Tell me instead…"
"Sure. It's very simple, see…"
He drew the phone and opened it.
The screen had a picture on it.
Everyone gasped.
It depicted the Ayanokouji manor in flames.
"The royal strawberry palace is burning to the ground as we speak…"
"Ridiculous!"
"If you don't hurry, Princess Kushinada will become a charred corpse…"
"You can't harm women. Anaya forbid you!" Charles grumbled.
"Anaya? I don't know. I'm but a messenger!"
His facial expression became filled with a creepy smile.
"As expected of a real ninja… Deep Kabase…!"
"Didn't we catch that man months ago?"
"It's probably a bluff…"
"Glyde! What's happening there!?"
"A mass of onlookers and reporters surrounds the mansion!"
"Why?"
"Because someone in SNS spread photos of it burning!"
"But it's not burning, right?"
"No!"
"Keep your eyes open! They might try to trap you there!"
"We called the police. They are on their way here!"
"Good. But don't lower the guard!"
"Understood!"
"Komaeda" exploded into laughter.
"Yes! The despair! The angst! The fear! The agony!"
"This guy is a nutjob from the start to the end!" Charles growled.
"But he's a normal human. Can't do anything odd!"
"You want to see a beautiful spectacle…?"
"NO!"
"Tomorrow at dawn… The titans will attack!"
"Titans? The "Cybeasts"?"
"Which will be the winner of this endless war…?"
"Neither! Because we'll take them out!" Netto challenged.
"Komaeda" burst into laughter again.
He then groaned and collapsed face-up on the ground.
He reverted into a random teenager.
"That's from Class C of my school year!" Netto recognized.
"I knew it. Must've been hypnotized…" Charles grumbled.
Two policemen rushed in.
"Take him to the police hospital! I'll talk with Mr. Kifune!"
"Understood…"
The officers carried the teenager away.
Netto sighed and shook his head.
"Even folk that I've barely ever spoken to are dragged into this…"
"The sly bastard will always look for weaknesses in the security…"
"I wish that I could go and smash them myself…!"
"We all wish that. But we must be careful to avoid their traps…"
"Let's end this farce and bring out the real driving force…"
"Sure. We'll do this together…"
"The real battle is yet to begin!"
