Chapter 4: Past
19:21 PM (Japan Time), Saturday June the 7th…
"… If that guy is punctual, then… He'll soon be there…"
"I'm looking forward to a burning battle, man!"
The biker known as Past was waiting inside of a warehouse.
A brown Toyota bike stopped behind him.
He was leaning his back on a pillar and crossing his arms.
"We know that his Navi has a bunch of special skills…"
"Makes the fight more passionate!"
"If you must…"
"I'll grind them into DUST!"
The Navi laughed.
"Dusty Man for POTUS?"
"If it isn't the foul bird of the deserts…"
A hologram of Swallow Man formed there.
Past wasn't surprised.
"That Vulture man of the Desert Wraiths is waiting for you…"
"Interesting. I'll pluck off his feathers!"
He laughed and vanished.
A door opened, and Nelaus walked inside.
"You did come. Rainon…"
"Naturally. Been using the morning to train…"
"Excellent. Let's get down to business, shall we?"
"But of course…"
Past flung the device into the ground before them.
"I go first. Plug In! Isaac, Transmission!"
Isaac entered the system.
"Plug In! Balrog, Transmission!"
Balrog was around two meters tall.
His head was shaped like a demon's.
His eyes were red, glowing with energy.
He had two black horns protruding from the sides.
A stone guard covered his mouth.
He had black armor with purple patterns covering his body.
His arms were sturdy and ended in claws.
Two small wings with armor over emerged from behind him.
He had a tail with a purple flame lit on its end.
Purple flames surrounded his body.
He wielded a wrecking ball in his right hand.
A long spear with red thorns hovered next to him.
His mere presence radiated an intense heat wave.
"You shall plunge into the depths of Khazad-dûm!"
"The depths of… What?"
"You shall climb up the endless stair into the tower atop Zirakzigil!"
"What are you talking about?"
"We will battle there! And mutually destroy each other!"
"What's the point, then?"
"To be freed from our mortal cages!"
"Did you program all this… poetry?"
Nelaus was about to say another word but corrected himself.
"No. Was already like this when it was given to me…" Past replied.
"… Found it. This guy is inspired by The Lord of the Rings…"
Isaac had run a search in the meanwhile.
"He believes himself to be a character there…"
"That "Priest" must be a fan of them, I take it…"
"Don't think that that's all it can do, else you'll be burnt…"
Past became slightly amused.
"Naturally. Let's do this…"
"Go!"
"My claws will cut anything! Even if it's made of mithril! Blood n' guts!"
"Iron Body!"
Isaac formed a metallic layer over his body.
The foe swept the left claw, but it bounced off the skin.
"Death Wrecking Ball!"
The wrecking ball bounced off Isaac, too.
Balrog calmly reeled it back in before stepping back.
He gripped his spear and flew forward.
He plunged it into Isaac's body.
Its end transformed into the Drill Arm and began to drill through him.
"What!" Isaac gasped.
"I have several tricks up my sleeves, too! Drill Lance!" Balrog laughed.
The Drill Lance shattered the Iron Body and inflicted a wound.
Balrog drew a circle and hit him with his tail.
Isaac was sent flying, and he crashed against the ground in a hard manner.
"He's Breaker and Flame combined… Swords won't do any good in here!"
"Bubble Side!"
Nelaus quickly slid the Chip into Isaac.
"Bubble Side!"
The attack hit Balrog, but the water evaporated on contact.
His flames lost nothing of their power.
"Balrog Breath!"
Balrog exhaled a torrent of flames which damaged Isaac.
"Nelaus! Give me something more powerful!" He called out.
"Geyser!"
The Geyser hit Balrog from beneath and caused vapor to build up.
He dashed forward and plunged his claws into Isaac's upper body.
He kicked him away afterwards.
His flames had lost some power but were still active.
"Shit. We'll need a firefighter truck at this rate!" Isaac cursed.
"I'd rather say three firefighter trucks!" Past sarcastically replied.
"Ice Cannon Ball!"
"Balrog! Go!" Past commanded.
The blue spheroid hit Balrog.
The consequent melting and evaporation extinguished his flames.
He stepped forward and swung the Death Wrecking Ball above his head.
"Death Wrecking Ball!"
He shot it forward at a mad speed.
Isaac ducked and skidded across the ground.
He ran towards Balrog as he was still reeling it inside.
"Gold Fist, Drill Arm!"
"Take this!" Isaac exclaimed.
He jumped atop him and hit the face with the Golden Fist.
He plunged the Drill Arm into his upper body.
Balrog roared and his eyes emitted a red flash.
He flew skywards and spun around his axis, shaking Isaac off him.
He plunged towards him, aiming his lance at Isaac.
He rolled across the ground as Balrog plunged the lance into the ground.
A heat shockwave ensued and Balrog laughed.
"How's that, Net Savior?"
"They're dangerous enough at 50%...! They must be deadly at a 100%...!"
"Feeling the despair, Rainon?" Past taunted.
"Balrog Storm!"
Balrog beat his wings, and the wind began to build up around the arena.
"Go, Isaac!"
"Giga Cannon!"
Isaac shot the blast and hit Balrog fully.
He laughed at and shot the Death Wrecking Ball as a counter.
It hit Isaac as he was recovering and left a deep mark on his upper torso.
"Not bad! Balrog Dive!"
Balrog flew skywards and dived towards Isaac.
Isaac jumped towards him and tried to land on his back.
Balrog suddenly headed skywards and grabbed Isaac by the shoulders.
"Let go of me!" Isaac growled.
"As you wish!"
He dropped Isaac and dived towards him from above.
He jumped out of the way but couldn't avoid being hit by the foe's tail.
He was sent flying and landed hard against the ground.
"Let's level this up. Annihilator Chip, Slot In!"
"Already!?"
Balrog's flames regenerated and became incandescent red.
His eyes became purple.
His claws gained a purple sparkle as well.
The echoing voice of "Puppeteer" rang out.
"Can you stand up to this body's max potential?"
"Bestialize Style: Greiga!" Isaac exclaimed.
"Come! Beast!"
"Greiga Claws!"
Isaac ran forward while dodging the incredibly fast Death Wrecking Ball.
He jumped into Balrog's body, cutting through the flames.
He formed slicing marks on the armor before he jumped into the air.
He delivered a kick with his right foot to the enemy's face.
He was stunned for some seconds.
Isaac took the chance to seize his tail and whip him around.
He threw him forward, making him crash against the wall.
He stole the Death Wrecking Ball and pulled it towards him.
He let go of it and it hit Balrog's face.
It shattered the stone guard, revealing his mouth.
Fire could be seen in the depths of the throat.
Isaac plunged both claws into the forehead.
Balrog moved around in a confused manner.
Isaac quickly jumped out and stole the spear to plunge it there.
Something invisible shattered and Balrog collapsed to his knees.
His flames died down and his eye color returned to normal.
"The crest was destroyed!?" He gasped.
"I knew it. I did feel an energy signature from there…"
"Devil!" Past gasped.
"Well? Not feeling so confident?"
"Aqua Sword!"
Isaac jumped and plunged the Aqua Sword into the exposed upper body.
Balrog howled and was automatically retrieved.
"We'll need to improve a system to prevent that!" He grumbled.
"If you can, that is…"
Past grabbed a BB gun that was leaning next to the bike.
"Don't try to follow us…"
"As if I could…"
Past holstered the gun and jumped into the bike.
The shutter opened and he ran away.
He dropped the flashbang grenade.
Nelaus was already heading away in the opposite direction.
He ignored the detonation and exited the building.
"It's invisible to the naked eye, but there's this…"
Isaac showed him a picture taken using IR imagery.
It was a glowing crest on the forehead.
The white Kanji hametsu (annihilation) was drawn on its center.
"Maybe it's a hint to the name of the boss…"
"Annihilation… Doesn't sound good…"
"But it also makes you think of Regal's "Black Bombs"…"
"Maybe it's an indirect way to say "I am involved"…"
"Wouldn't be strange…"
He stopped to check the surroundings.
He frowned when he noticed an odd smell.
"What's this?"
"My perfume with cloud accords, my bud!"
"It had to be you…"
Cloud Man emerged behind a large container.
He had a bottle of perfume with a spray attached to it.
"I borrowed it from Beauty Salon Once A Week!"
"Who's that?" Nelaus sighed.
"A character from Turnabout Trials 5… That narcissist man…"
"Biyouin Shuuichi? I see. That's the pun on his name…"
"This will send his hair to the clouds!" He laughed.
"Settle it with the man. Don't drag me into it…"
"Found you. What are you doing there?"
"Devil! It's Yama – chan!"
"Yamato Man!"
Yamato Man appeared there and was annoyed at the nickname.
"Wasting time and going AWOL, as always…" Nelaus told him.
"I knew it. You're in for another lesson!"
Cloud Man gasped and escaped, followed by Yamato Man.
Nelaus ignored them and made his way back to the city.
He waited at the bus stop and rode onto the bus.
He validated his pass and sat in a free seat.
He distractedly looked at the landscape outside.
"I sent the data…" Isaac confirmed.
"Thanks…"
"It's nothing. But consider that…"
"Same trick might not work again…"
"You look unsatisfied…"
"Probably because we ended it pretty fast…"
"Prolonging it wouldn't have been beneficial to us…"
"I know. Guess that I trained too much and don't feel rewarded…"
"All in due time…"
"You're right. I need something else to focus upon…"
"Maybe playing a game online?"
"Good point. Maybe a round of Smash Bros will help…"
20:08 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Hi, Number Man…"
"Hello, Miss Felicia…"
"I heard that your partner ran into trouble…"
"Sure. The usual routine…"
A girl had come to Higure's and talked with Number Man.
She was about a meter and seventy tall.
Her eyes were cobalt blue.
Two twin tails of blonde hair extended behind her head.
Her helmet was olive green.
It had a sapphire set on its forehead.
A cobalt blue matrix was drawn over its surface.
Her body was cobalt blue, too.
The emblem was a snowflake against a white background.
Her shoulders had ruby plating over them.
Her arms and elbows were a mix of blue and white.
They were decorated with emerald square dots.
Her forearms were orange.
They had eight thin pink circles circling along their length.
Her legs used a mixture of blue and yellow.
They contained diamond-shaped brown dots scattered at random.
The boots were orange.
They had zigzag patterns, which vertically spanned the height of them.
"It's the curse of the nameless samurai!"
"As you can see…"
"I see…"
"Guts. Is the challenger here, Number Man?"
"What? Challenger? There's no such challenger here, Guts Man…"
"Had the feeling… Guts…"
Guts Man entered the store, looking for a challenger.
"Hi, Felicia. Did you receive an email from Glyde, too?"
"No. What did it say?"
"… "Challenger approaching. Ask the smart fellow for details"…"
"It must be a prank email impersonating him, anyway…"
"Probably! Guts!"
"Hi, Guts Man. Did the challenger come?"
"No, Ice Man. It was a prank! Guts!"
"I knew it…"
Ice Man joined him and sighed in defeat.
"Beware! Nubete for POTUS!"
"It had to be you…"
Cloud Man appeared there next, opening his arms wide.
"Beware! It's the raccoon posing as a bear! Kumabe!"
"And?" Number Man asked.
"He stole the shoes of your buddy!"
"How do you steal the shoes when he's wearing them?"
"Ask Officer Ban!"
"Must be some game parody…"
"Tried to bribe a judge with those!"
"Bribing a judge with shoes? That's new…"
"He instead ended up as a food for the hawk!"
"No surprise…"
"And? What do you want? Guts?"
"Audience!"
"Lovely!" They all sighed.
"I'm back… A customer?"
"No. A nosy fellow…"
"Really?"
Aqua Man returned to the store and was puzzled at the scene.
"Did you meet your Atlantis cousin?"
"What's that? A new store?"
Cloud Man laughed.
"Why not…"
"Net Police! Freeze!"
"If it isn't Subject #0!"
Prism Man made it there and aimed his lances.
He wasn't impressed by Cloud Man's taunting.
Silence ensued.
Cloud Man scowled, becoming impatient.
Prism Man lowered his weapons and left.
"I apologize, sir. It was a lookalike…"
"Can't be helped!" Misaki sighed.
"Lookalike!? I'll show you what a Neo Gospel Darkloid is about!"
He raced outside of the store.
A brief scuffle ensued.
"Nobody told me that Major Tom and Reds were here!" He groaned.
"He means Zero and Blues. Net Saviors…" Number Man explained.
"Why "Tom"?" Felicia asked.
"A game joke…" He summed up.
"Classical!"
A roar echoed next.
"Trapped him in the Labyrinth of Light. Let's bring him to the MOS…"
"Affirmative…"
"Doubt that he has any valuable information, but you never know…"
"Was going to happen, sooner or later…"
"I still find it hard to believe that he's a terrorist…"
"Looks like he has a glitch that can't be removed no matter what!"
"I see. That makes more sense…"
"And their leader doesn't want to be bothered with it…"
"No surprise there, either…"
"The area is safe. You can come in an out…"
Prism Man returned to report.
"Thanks for your hard work, Officer…"
"It is nothing. It is duty…"
"Guts Man. Did something happen?"
"Cloud Man was joking, Dekao…"
"Not that guy again…"
"Ice Man. Are you alright?"
"Yes! Nothing bad happened!"
"Aqua Man… Are you… alright?" Kido asked.
"Sure! Miss Shuuko!"
"The curse of the nameless samurai!"
"Yamitarou. If you don't behave, she will never speak to you again…"
Higure gasped and seemed to snap out of it.
"Show your best business smile and positivity!"
"Right away!"
Felicia wasn't too surprised and crossed her arms.
"Maybe I should train more often, too…" She thought aloud.
"Can we help? Guts?"
"Maybe. I'll think about it…"
"OK! Guts!"
"I'm returning to Aura's place. See you around…"
"Bye!"
Felicia walked out of the store and into the street.
She hummed a tune.
She stopped and checked the surroundings.
"… Felt like someone was spying on me… A stalker?"
She closed her eyes and seemed to focus.
"I can hear someone's avid breath… Over there…"
She glanced at an alley where crates were accumulated.
"Snow Blades!"
Snow fell around her like snowflakes.
They spun upon their axis and flew over there.
They flew around the obstacle and hit someone behind them.
The "stalker" yelped and began to fight them.
Felicia quickly jumped and landed above the crates.
"What's with these snowflakes!?"
The "stalker" was Witch, who tried to shake them off with her rod.
"I can bite. Ms. Stalker…" She announced.
Witch clicked her tongue, annoyed.
"Whatever. I did achieve my mission!"
"To get me to show my battle skills? You overestimate me, dear…"
"I don't decide that. But you look like the prideful gal type…"
She became amused.
"The type that then plead for more pain and dominance!"
"While I'm not against lesbians, rape is rape…"
"Do I look like I care? I'm Witch. Remember it, Anastasia!"
She laughed and warped out of the alley.
"Come on. As if I was the princess of a tragedy…"
She shook her head and sighed, exasperated.
"But I was right. I need more training…"
She jumped off the crates and resumed her walk.
She looked up a list of Program Advances, too.
"To show that gal that she won't have it easy…!"