Chapter 29: Snakes and traps

13:33 PM (Utah Time), Sunday August the 18th…

"… How dull. How… repetitive…"

"Do you wish to order French wine?"

"No. I don't feel like it today!"

"May I make a list of suggestions?"

"Sure… Try to bring me some passion…"

"Here they are…"

Ms. Millionaire lazily looked at the screen before the sofa.

She held a cup of red wine in her right hand.

She was clearly bored.

"… View from the Empire State… The Statue of Liberty…"

She sighed and shook her head.

"Been there countless times. Next!"

"Yes, ma'am…"

A new list was displayed.

"Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas… Also been there…"

She shook the wine in the cup.

"Excuse me. I have received a notification…"

"What is it?"

"A mysterious young man entered the Survival Seven hall…"

"Really…"

"No data about him is available…"

"Is that so?"

She became slightly amused.

"Wears a pilot's helmet, so face recognition doesn't work…"

"Careful type…"

"They registered as "Black Knight"…"

"My. How poetic!" She giggled.

"They're about to enter the game…"

"If they come so prepared, it's not a joke…"

She corrected her pose and properly sat on the sofa.

"Live feed!" She ordered.

"Right away, milady!"

Live feed was shown onscreen.

Isaac entered the system.

"You're Snake Man?"

"Yes! And you are?"

"Isaac…"

"Welcome to the Survival Seven…"

"Before that… I have a message for you…"

"Really?"

"It's from my instructor… "Liquid Snake"…"

"Excuse me?"

"He says that you, as "Ivory Snake", are entitled to a duel with him…"

"… I didn't understand any of that…"

Snake Man was perplexed, for once.

"Not like I do, either. But orders are orders…"

"Milady. What should I do in this case?"

She was laughing under her breath, even.

"Don't mind it. Must be some "pulp fiction" joke…"

"As you desire…"

"Begin the games…"

"Right away…"

Snake Man cleared his throat.

"Please step through this door…"

A door formed before Isaac.

Isaac grabbed the doorknob.

A small snake coiled around his wrist.

"It's a sign to prove that you're a contestant!" Snake Man explained.

"Roger…"

Isaac stepped through the door.

He entered a jungle landscape.

Four Navis ran towards him.

His body emitted orange light before he punched the ground.

Geysers of magma shot upwards, hitting the attackers.

He jumped over them and found a big bulky Navi blocking his way.

"Diamond Blade, Slot In!" Nelaus announced.

"Diamond Blade!"

"I'm starting to like this!" Millionaire eagerly muttered.

"His technique is radically new!" Snake Man gasped.

"Impossible! My armor…!"

"No armor can withstand diamond. Step asides!"

"Damn you~… Zeus Hammer! DELETE~!"

"Wrong!"

Isaac dodged the attack.

He formed two round blood red disks.

They climbed up the Navi's armor, opening crevices on the armor.

Isaac drew two Long Blades and inserted them to hit the insides.

The Navi growled and collapsed.

Isaac rushed for the door and stepped into the next area.

"2nd area! Fight!" Snake Man rallied.

Five Navis rushed towards him.

He formed a gray cloud above him from which thunderbolts rained down.

They were followed by a white swallow flying across the air.

They knocked one of the Navis to the ground.

He formed a spear next.

He delivered blows to one of the Navis.

He switched to the Cosmo Ring and swung it around.

He knocked down the remaining Navis.

However, two bulky Navis rushed in.

"A bug!"

"Let's smash it!"

"Wrong!"

Isaac skid past one through the gap on the legs.

He formed two yellow orbs of energy.

He shot them towards them and attached them to their backs.

The Navis were electrocuted.

Isaac was already rushing for the next door.

"Go on!"

"Sure, Senhor Snake Man!" Nelaus joked.

"Excuse me?"

"Sorry. My instructor told me that, too…"

"He must be a snake collector, even!" Millionaire giggled.

"Check it out in Wikipedia! As Bright Man used to say!"

"If you insist…"

"Let's see how he makes it past the 3rd area…"

Isaac was surrounded by a legion of 11 Navis.

They held several types of weapons.

"Delete!" They all laughed.

"Says the FBI spy!"

Isaac signaled one of them, and they were surprised.

"What!?"

"Didn't you notice that this jerk stole your money, too?"

"What!?"

"W-wait! That's a lie!"

"You're the lie!"

The others turned on their former pal and a brawl ensued.

Isaac formed a Giga Count Bomb and flung it towards them.

It detonated and the blast sent them flying away

They landed in different parts of the area, clearly beaten.

"Next! 4th area!"

"Good!"

Isaac stepped into the next area.

He was surrounded by 8 bulky Navis.

"Crush!"

"Objection!"

He formed a Mega Cannon and placed the muzzle on the ground.

He fired it and the recoil pushed him skywards.

He dropped behind them as they attacked each other.

Isaac calmly lifted his arms.

"Program Advance!"

"Program Advance! Sword, Wide Sword, Long Sword! Slot In!"

"Dream Sword!"

He rushed for the bulky Navis and swung the blade horizontally.

He cut them in half, and they collapsed on the floor.

"The 5th area!"

"Right away!"

Isaac entered another area, but nobody attacked him.

He looked around, confused.

"Weird. There are no radar signatures, either…"

"Stealth camouflage?" Nelaus suggested.

"No. I tried IR vision and X-Ray vision, too…"

"My! Almost like a comic book superhero!" She laughed.

"But he has a point, milady. Where are the opponents?"

Snake Man was also surprised.

"I sent them to the endless abyss already!" Someone laughed.

"There's no such area in this game!" Snake Man argued.

"Snake! Did you like my sunglasses?"

"Sunglasses? Which sunglasses?"

"FOX… DIE!"

"There are no foxes here!"

"Wait! The ground is rumbling! Underground!?"

"What!?"

"Drill Drive!"

Three holes opened in the ground.

Drill Man emerged from one of them.

"I'm the mighty Drill Man!"

"The wanted criminal!?" Snake Man gasped.

"Snake! The worst environmental terrorist ever!"

"What are you babbling about!?"

"My, my! A mouse dared to enter my castle…"

She smirked and sipped some wine.

"Confess, Snake… Where's Naomi Hunter?"

"What? Naomi Hunter? Who would that be?"

"Your lover! Naturally!"

"Lover!? You have no sense of shame, do you!?"

"I don't know any "Naomi Hunter", either…"

She sighed, annoyed at his behavior.

"Young man… Do us a favor and teach them a lesson, will you?"

"Sure! They're in the way of the game!"

"Panel Crusher!"

Drill Man compacted into his drill form and shot forward.

Isaac jumped and landed atop his body, forming a Mega Cannon.

He placed the muzzle on the back and fired.

"Tactical withdrawal!"

"Don't run away!"

He jumped into a tunnel that he'd excavated, and Isaac followed him.

There was an exit shaft.

He exited into the 6th area.

12 "Dream Viruses" were laying across the area.

Their cores had pierced through by Drill Man.

"This guy is no joke!" Isaac muttered.

"Triple Hole!"

He formed two additional drills and they all dived for Isaac.

He maneuvered and flipped before landing atop the main one.

He shot his back again.

Drill Man growled and landed on the ground.

He drilled a path across it and shot forward like a missile.

Isaac calmly dodged and shot another attack at close quarters.

Drill Man returned to normal form and tried to hit Isaac with his arms.

Isaac dodged that with ease.

He drilled through a building to make it collapse.

He tried to bury Isaac under the debris as he tried to chase.

"Take that! Now I'll steal the corporate data!"

"It's too early to laugh!"

"What!?"

"Dimensional Gate!"

The purple "portal" formed, and Isaac jumped out from there.

He wielded his Diamond Blade.

He plunged it through Drill Man's waist.

Isaac quickly pulled it out.

"Have more!" Isaac challenged.

"Shit!" Drill Man grumbled.

"Don't run away, you!"

"Have at ya, damned brat!"

"Look who talks! Aren't you the coward type to begin with?"

Drill Man had jumped into another tunnel-

Isaac chased him into the 7th area.

Giant "Spikey" and "Mettool" Viruses had been knocked into the ground.

Drill Man emerged again and fumed.

"No more hide-and-seek!"

"That's my motto!" Isaac shot back.

"Wha~t? Damn you!"

"Give it up already, Tunnel Newbie!" Isaac taunted next.

"Damn you~! Panel Crusher! I'll grind you TO DUST!"

"Wrong. Program Advance!"

"Battle Chip, Spread Gun! Triple Slot In!"

"Hyper Burst!"

The blast hit the head of Drill Man's drill body and began to push him back.

Drill Man crashed against another building and groaned.

Isaac aimed a Long Blade at his neck.

"Go back to your masters!"

"Fuck. I'll remember this!"

He finally jumped into the "sky" and escaped through a hole opened there.

"I deeply apologize for the inconveniences caused…"

Snake Man was apologizing to Millionaire.

"I don't mind. It was a fun show. Blew away my boredom!"

"Let them leave. I'm sure that they know the setup, anyway…"

"As you desire…"

The snake in the wrist "woke up" and uncoiled, jumping away.

"By the way. I have a message from a VIP…" Nelaus announced.

"Really?"

"Ms. Anaya of the Deadly Pandora mercenary business…"

"Anaya…?"

She frowned, trying to recall.

"Anaya Maria! From my college days!"

She became amused.

"Talk about a nostalgic name!"

"She wants to talk to you through a secure channel…"

"Go ahead…"

"Hi, Millionaire. Been ages!"

"Sure, Anaya… You're still hanging with Izono?"

"Naturally!"

"How many times have you divorced by now?"

"A billion, I guess!"

Anaya appeared on the screen next, laughing.

"I see that that annoying drill came to hinder you, too…"

"What's with the kid?"

"An annoying man is using it as a pawn to annoy us…"

"A business rival?"

"More or less…"

"Fine. Tell me who they are. They'll hear from me!"

"A lousy man named Regal… Who's very sneaky and smug…"

"Snake Man!"

"Yes. Sent the data to the security team…"

"You can leave, "BK". I'll handle the rest…"

"Roger… Plug Out!"

Isaac left the system.

"Don't bring up your hobbies. Others are listening…"

"I know. I only came to talk about business…"

"Good. Go ahead…"

"Delighted!"

13:51 PM (Utah Time)…

"… You look impatient, sir…"

"It must be the tension. With Regal lurking somewhere…"

"Understandable, sir…"

"Did you properly pocket that envelope?"

"Naturally, sir…"

"Good. Don't open it until the specified date…"

Nelaus talked with Izono as they rode in a car.

Izono was impatient or nervous.

"Regal's puppet was walking across Honolulu as if he owned it…"

"What a smug fool!" Nelaus sighed.

"I know. That's why we must be several steps ahead of them…"

"And Ms. Millionaire can help with it?"

"Her contacts network is very useful. Hence why…"

"She might know someone who has a lead, then?"

"Correct. Any leads are welcome at this point…"

The car stopped at a red light.

Nelaus distractedly looked at the adverts in the street.

"… The Incan Emperor, Rascar Capac… Mummy exhibit…"

He was slightly surprised at one displaying a mummy.

"What? Rascar Capac!? From The Seven Crystal Balls!?"

Izono gasped and looked over there.

The light shifted to green, and he quickly turned to the right.

"It's Regal's next move announcement!"

"Really!?"

"Means to attack with hallucinogen gasses!"

"Devil!"

"Or send a copy of that mummy to scare us!"

"What a rascal!"

"At least we keep the windows shut!"

"What? Means to throw something inside of the car?"

"Sure. A crystal ball filled with one such gas!"

"How nasty!"

"I know, right?"

He turned right onto another street.

"Do me a favor. Watch for any cars trailing us…"

"Roger!"

Nelaus looked in the side mirror.

Two Harley-Davidson bikes were following them.

"Bikes count, too?"

"Anything!"

"These fancy bikes are following us…"

"I see them now!"

"What do we do, sir?"

"I prepared something for cases like these!"

"Protocol B-11?" Isaac asked.

"Correct. Execute it! I assume all responsibility!"

"Roger, sir!"

Several small metallic bats with spikes formed behind the car.

They flew for the bikers and attacked them, distracting them.

Others stabbed into the tires, opening wounds.

The bikes lost control and crashed.

A crystal ball fell from the luggage box behind one of them.

"See?" Izono grumbled.

"Devil! He was literal!"

They joined the traffic of a larger avenue.

"I suspect that Point A and B are compromised…"

"But we have a backup?"

"Naturally. Points C, D, E, and F…"

"How can we shake them off?"

"We'll have fake cars with the same plate appear across the city!"

"I see. Smoke and mirrors…"

"I already warned Dr. Clark through the secure protocol…"

"Good job. He'll handle the rest…"

"That advert isn't funny, either. "Rascar Capac Mortuary"…"

Nelaus signaled another advert.

The mummy was riding atop a mortuary car.

He held a crystal ball over his right middle finger, like a basketball.

Izono rolled his eyes.

"If the Incans saw that, they would be coming for Regal…" He sighed.

"Because they'd think that he stole their dear mummy?"

"Exactly!"

The car made it to another area of the city and entered a garage.

They both climbed down.

"We're finally at Point D. Let's turn on the machine and flee…"

"Affirmative, sir…"

"Once we return there, take a nap and then we'll resume study session…"

"By your orders, sir…"

"As I told you, it's necessary to understand how middle school is like…"

"I don't question it, sir. The more knowledge, the better…"

"Exactly!"

They made it to a room which had the "portal" machine.

Izono quickly turned it on and set up a timer.

"It'll destroy 10 seconds after we cross through it…"

"It's a hassle, but we need to do it to shake Regal off…"

"Correct…"

The machine ignited and the "portal" formed.

The sound of a machine gun rang out at some distance.

"Come out, punks!" Some thugs roared.

"They're attacking the garage!" Izono cursed.

"What persistent fools!" Nelaus grumbled.

"It's ready to cross!" Isaac reported.

Both rushed inside.

They emerged inside of another room.

The machine stopped and both sighed in relief.

"Damn you, Regal!"