Chapter 21: Ambitions

08:37 PM (Japan Time), Saturday August the 10th…

"Bubbles! They'll regret underestimating me!"

"…overwhelming charming beauty…"

"Yamitarou!"

"…hearts I'd like to offer to Ms. Mariko…"

"Stop playing broadcaster! It's shameful!"

"…grace in movements…"

"Ya-mi-ta-rou~!"

"…passionate fighting spirit of the 21st century…"

"That's SILLY! TOO SILLY!"

"Better for me! Bubbles!"

Bubble Man had come to the stadium.

Roll was fighting a standard Navi in the arena.

Higure was the commentator and was making silly comments.

Number Man was scolding him in live, too.

Rock Man and Blood Shadow sat amongst the spectators.

"Her technique has improved a lot as of late!" Blood Shadow muttered.

"Sure. She wants to prove that she can fight if needed…"

"That's great. The more defenders, the better…"

"I know…"

He rolled his eyes.

"Guess that Mr. Higure will soon end up in flames again…"

"Thankfully, he doesn't use SNS…"

"Because his comments are borderline harassment…"

"Even if he doesn't intend that…"

"He should listen to Number Man more often…!"

"Agreed…!"

Bubble Man snuck beneath the bench, chuckling under his breath.

"…brightness which blinds my eyes…"

"Shut the trap up!"

"…dancing which can rival Swan Lake…"

"That was silly. Poor Number Man..." Rock Man sighed.

"By the way. Did you test the new Battle Chips?"

"Naturally. The O – Saber is versatile and useful…"

"…kick which delivers passion…"

"WILL YOU SHUT UP ALREADY?"

"How can a kick deliver passion, anyway?"

"Ask him. If he knows…" Blood Shadow grumbled.

"…punch which delivers grace and subtleness …"

"SILENCE~!"

"The summer heat…?" Netto wondered over the radio band.

"Surely…" Rock Man sighed.

"No room for mistakes…"

"…Program Advance which pours out the burning youth fire…"

"Chut! Chut! Chut!"

"Needs a cold shower!" Blood Shadow cursed.

"Aqua Man should shower him!"

"…Another Program Advance which delivers shining endless energy…!"

"Shining endless energy…! YAMITAROU~! YOU MORON!"

"… A starring triumph! 2 minutes 51 seconds!"

"That's fast!"

"The brute couldn't lay a scratch to the starry 21st century gladiator!"

"Gladiator matches were to death in most of the cases and very bloody!"

Blood Shadow sighed and slapped his forehead.

"I know…"

"Hullo, Bloody Shady! Enjoying the avid season?"

Sigma joined them, sitting left of Rock Man.

Blood Shadow didn't bother to look over there.

"No use pretending!"

"… Come on! Sigma!"

Blood Shadow read between lines.

"Not here!" Rock Man fumed.

"What… There's a face-down Trap Card…?"

"No!" Both sighed.

"The Dry Duo!"

Both fumed and were already fed up with Sigma's lame mottoes.

He leant backwards.

"Chance! Bubbles!"

He tried to attach a miniature wiretap on one of his right hand's fingers.

"What's this? It tickles!"

"Almost there…!"

Sigma suddenly used the other hand to grip Bubble Man's head.

He pulled him out, swinging him over him.

He had him stand very close to his face.

"BUBBLES!"

"Bubble Man!" Rock Man gasped.

"He was spying on us?" Blood Shadow gasped.

"Tried to wiretap me! But I noticed it!"

He laughed.

"Skull Man told me that the same had happened a few days ago!"

"Really?"

"He's trying to collect info on our battle techniques!" He grinned.

"Guess that Clark hired him for the job!"

"Or maybe it's Regal…" Blood Shadow suggested.

"Rock Man! Showdown! Bubbles!"

"No need to…" Rock Man calmly replied.

"I'm gonna beat ya to a pulp with bubbles!"

"Patent it!"

"Patent? What's that?"

"Dunno. Check it out on Wikipedia!"

"Anyway. I'll bring this chap to Search Man…"

"Sure. He'll find out what he's plotting…"

"I won't say anything! Bubbles!"

"Sir Omega is over there, too…"

"Great. Omega's glares should suffice to make him shiver…"

"Bullies! Bubbles!"

"Come, Prince of Bubbly Land!"

Sigma walked away, taking Bubble Man with him.

Roll joined them, curious.

"What happened?"

"Bubble Man is trying to play spy…"

"I see. They use him because nobody takes him seriously!"

"Agreed…"

"…Higure Yamitarou: a shining man!"

"You DON'T shine AT ALL!" Number Man fumed.

CRASH!

"I'm seeing the stars… I shine, I shine~…!"

The broadcast finally ended, to everyone's relief.

"I prefer Guts Man to that…" Rock Man sighed.

"Really. Even Ms. Yaito is better than that madness…" Roll sighed.

"I should keep Sigma away from him, or chaos ensues…"

"Sure thing…" Netto grumbled.

"I should do the same with Yaito – chan…" Meiru muttered.

"OK. Leave it up to me!"

"It's about my turn. I'll go…"

Blood Shadow stood up.

"Sure. We'll be encouraging…"

"Good fighting!"

08:58 AM (Japan Time)…

"… I bring a suspicious character, Sir Omega!"

"The errands boy? What did he do this time?"

"Bubbles! You must be Mega-O!"

"And what if? What does that change?"

"BUBBLES! They're all a bunch of bullies!"

"Speak…"

"Gun Man doesn't scare me!"

"Search Man. Remember it, "Darkloid"…"

Sigma brought Bubble Man to the Net Police HQ.

Search Man and Omega had been going over data.

Neither bothered to look up from it.

Sigma flung Bubble Man to the ground.

A small cage formed, trapping him inside of it.

"I won't say anything! Bubbles!"

"Doesn't matter. I only need to scan you to dig out the data…"

"That's cheating! Bubbles!"

"Says the only survivor of fools that meant to wipe out humans…"

"If you'd stayed quiet in the depths of this world, we'd ignored you…"

"But you started a war. The attacked has the right to fight back…"

"Or are you the real bully who complains about that?"

Bubble Man hissed and bit the nails of the fingers of both hands.

"As Obelix said… Talk!"

"I won't!"

"Guess that you want 100 slaps!"

"A real "Darkloid" never gives up!"

"Guess that. Given you botched that duel so many times…"

"Those jerks! They talk too much! Bubbles!"

"Maybe you want to become my new basketball?"

"You don't scare me! Guts Man! Bubbles!"

"Sorry, but I'm not Guts Man. I'm Sigma. Remember it!"

"Who cares for some loser?"

"Loser? When did I lose a battle?"

"Always! Bubbles!"

"Ignore it, Sigma. It's trying to taunt you…" Omega ordered.

"Alright, sir…"

"… Data is powerfully encrypted. It's not this man's handiworks…"

"Neo Gospel or Regal, then…"

"As if! A real "Darkloid" doesn't work with humans!"

"Then why did Shade Man work with Regal?" Omega challenged.

"He was using that fool to gain a foothold in the human world!"

"That's what he believed. But Regal was 100 steps ahead of you!"

"Whatever! Lord Shade Man won't make the same mistakes!"

"I see. Dracula is back in town… Should've checked it more often…"

Omega wasn't too surprised.

"That sounds more like Twilight. Regal wouldn't bother…"

"Unless he wants to humiliate Shade Man once again…"

"The possibility exists…"

"What? What did I say? Bubbles?"

"Everything!" Sigma chuckled.

"No way! Bubbles!"

"Way. But don't worry, Simon Belmont will go say hi and bye…"

"Who the heck is that?"

"Your doom! Doom Slayer!"

"BUBBLES! Someone! Save the New Era of "Darkloids"!"

"How dramatic. Sounds like Twilight's naming sense…"

"Fine. Let's try digging more information…"

"I won't say anything! Bubbles!"

"Burner Man must be about to discredit you…"

"Burner Man, Bright Man, Plant Man, Flash Man! Making fun of me!"

"Beast Man must be about to kick you to the Bahamas…"

"Beast Man, Video Man, Spark Man, Sword Man, Desert Man! Bubbles!"

"Gravity Man and Star Man will send you to the Moon, too!"

"I'm the only and one loyal servant of Lord Shade Man!"

"Thanks for the confirmation. As expected, the whole club is back…"

"Bowl Man wasn't part of them, anyway…"

"Sure. Was forcefully recruited through a "Dark Chip"…"

"Bubbles? Could it be that…?"

"Yes! You told us all! You can go home!"

Sigma warped Bubble Man away, chuckling.

"Whatever. We'll bust them again…" Omega sentenced.

"Roger…"

09:13 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Don't bother. You failed. I can tell it…"

"B-b-but! Lord Shade Man!"

"I don't have time for useless fools. Get lost!"

"NO WAY!"

Shade Man didn't even bother to correct his pose in the throne.

He lazily partly opened a wing and formed an air gust.

Bubble Man was sent flying away.

"Lord Shade Man…"

"Flash Man. Knowing you, there's useful results…"

"Indeed…"

Flash Man appeared and kneeled in the landing before the throne.

"Regal is on the loose. Means to take out that man, Twilight…"

"The bastard that dared seal me beneath my castle…!"

He clutched his hands.

"Twilight is suspected to hide somewhere in Jawaii…"

"What about Regal?"

"Jumps from place to place using dummies. Can't tell yet…"

"Fine. Maybe if he feels that we'll steal his merits, he'll intervene…"

Shade Man rubbed his chin.

"Continue the searches, Flash Man!"

"As you desire…"

"Ignore the human puppets for now. Those two are first in my list!"

He stood up to impose authority.

"Please leave it up to me…"

He lowered his head.

"I shall bring you better results in less than 6 hours…"

"That's what I wanted to see. Competent Darkloids! Go!"

"Yes, my lord…"

Flash Man as Shade Man sat on the throne again.

"… However… That server was too convenient…"

He was mistrustful about something.

"And these fools don't remember anything, either…"

He grumbled under his breath.

"Whatever. Let's use them as distractions…"

He stood up and clenched his fist.

"Once I have my payback on those, I'll turn them into my servants…"

He opened his wings.

"I know that you're listening, Regal! Come out!"

Regal's laughter echoed.

"Been a while, Shade Man – kun… Thought that you'd become dust!"

"Don't screw me! Crush Noise!"

He shot his attack into the air but hit nothing.

"As if I would be here…" Regal mocked.

"REEEGAAAALLLL!"

"Don't worry. I sent Simon Belmont to hunt you down… Enjoy…"

Regal's laughter echoed again.

"Damn you!"

14:40 PM (Jawaii Time), Friday August the 9th…

"This training course was intense!"

Nelaus was sitting on a bench.

He had a tower over his shoulders.

He wore a sleeveless shirt and shorts.

He had a strap to hold the PET in place, too.

He also wore short socks and sneakers.

The place was a gym room.

He had a plastic bottle of water.

"I've been training with Yamato Man, too…"

"Great…"

"He says that we'll soon add a new mode to the training…"

"Makes sense. To further develop our tactics…"

The PET beeped.

"What is it, Mr. Clark?"

"Nothing important. Merely checking on everything…"

"I finished the scheduled gym session…"

"Good work. Take a shower and rest…"

"Roger that!"

"You have free time until 18:00…"

"By the way. Isaac said that the simulator will be updated…"

"It's true. I'm working on it right now…"

"Great, sir. Looking forward to it…"

"I won't disappoint you, indeed…"

14:50 PM (Jawaii Time)…

"… Well, Platinum?"

"We received a tipoff from an agent in Chicago…"

"What happened over there?"

"Someone stole some files from an FBI office…"

"… That could be bothersome…"

"I know. You never know how many copies of File X exist…"

Platinum and Opoulos were going over updates.

Opoulos didn't bother to hide his annoyance.

"What about the Miss?"

"Remains silent and behaves. Is absorbed in playing crosswords…"

"Fine. It's a bargain chip. Make sure that no harm comes to her…"

"Mr. Izono is taking care of that…"

"What about Ruby?"

"Arrived at Aleppo, as scheduled…"

"Good. What about Sapphire and Emerald?"

"Handling the business in Afghanistan…"

"And Pearl and Diamond?"

"Managing our accounting and banking, as always…"

"Did they receive the new terminals?"

"Yes. Dr. Clark personally brought them…"

"Good…"

He exhaled smoke from the cigar.

"Let's resume work…"

14:55 PM (Jawaii Time)…

"… I see. I did suspect that it was the case…"

Izono was issuing orders through the phone.

"The usual protocol. Tip the cops and shut it down…"

He tapped the edge of the desk.

"No. Don't bother warning. Move to the next one in the list…"

He drew a wooden toothpick and used it.

"What? It vanished overnight with the money?"

He grumbled.

"Must have a new face by now. But the money has a hidden tracer…"

He became amused next.

"Use it to locate them and ice them. Take back the money…"

He left the toothpick in an ashtray.

"Don't bother. They'll think that it's another turf war…"

He nodded with approval.

"Good, good. Keep it up, Maeda. You're competent. I like that…"

He turned the chair around to look at a map of Japan.

Several pins were set over different cities across the nation.

He removed a couple of them and stored them in a case.

He used a red marker to draw two red "X" letters instead.

"It's time to purge the morons and leave the useful ones…"

He placed the cap on the marker.

He walked back towards the desk.

"Let's enjoy the hunt, shall we?"

15:02 PM (Jawaii Time)…

"… You still can't find that Woman in Black, Mitsuda!?"

"I offer no excuses!"

"You better don't. I don't have time for those…"

"I will continue the hunt…"

"Do that. I want that bitch in one piece!"

"As you desire…"

Anaya was also coordinating with someone.

She distractedly spun a pen between the fingers of her free hand.

"I know that it's not easy. But nobody is perfect!"

"Roger…"

"I know! Say that Regal has appeared in Fukuoka…"

"Right away…"

"Hire some actor and lure her to a closed space!"

"Understood. We'll ready gas…"

"Yes. You can't beat her by force! Use gas!"

"We have an excellent place for that over there…"

"Good, good! I want bright ideas! Innovation!"

"It shall be done in less than 24 hours…"

"Great. Keep them in some underground room…"

"Yes. We know a great place for it, too…"

"Take care of the decoration. I'll handle the rest…"

"Yes. It shall be done…"

"Wait for me, Woman in Black…!"

15:08 PM (Jawaii Time)…

"… At least they returned me the PET…"

Iris muttered to herself.

She sat in the chair and was solving the crosswords.

She stopped and tapped the page with the pencil, distracted.

She sighed and leant back on the chair.

"Maybe I should've asked him for help from the beginning…"

She shook her head.

"While couldn't I think of something else?"

She bit her lips.

"I'm sure that he's in safe hands, but…"

She resumed solving the crosswords.

"He must miss me. I didn't think of his feelings…"

She solved the crosswords and went over them again.

She glanced at the PET again.

She left the pen in the gap between the pages.

She grabbed it and began to interact with it.

She drew the touch pen and input a sequence of commands.

A different UI appeared.

"Undo any updates in the last 5 days…"

A progress bar formed.

"This should take care of wiretaps or hidden cameras…"

She left it on the charger.

"Wait for me, Trill…!"