Chapter 18: Hastiness
05:18 AM (Japan Time), Monday June the 9th…
"… Did you find that witch yet!?"
"I apologize. I found 79 fakes and deleted them, but…"
"They all were programmed to believe that they were the real one, sir…"
"Damned witch! Inferior human! Inferior life-form! Inferior pest!"
"I shall offer no excuses…"
"It's not your fault! But of that vile insect! That snake! That spider!"
"Manfroy" and Annihilator Man had to bear with Regal's rage.
The man growled over the phone, clearly furious.
Any pretense of elegance and finesse was gone by now.
"Bring me that damned spy! I'll haver her confess!"
"That's… She's gone missing…"
"What!?"
"She left the PET with the beacon in the apartment and vanished…"
"She also returned the Annihilator Chip as well…"
The sound of heavy things hitting the ground echoed.
Glass shattered as well.
"I'll shatter their skulls as if they were GLASS!"
Neither dared to object.
"FINE! I'll do it myself! You finish the machine!"
"Y-yes, sir. It'll be ready in about 20 hours from now…"
"GOOD! That's what I want to see! SOMEONE COMPETENT!"
The call abruptly ended and "Manfroy" sighed in relief.
"Thought that he'd have me assumed responsibility for this…!"
"Does that mean that our priorities have changed, sir?"
"Correct. Resume work on the device…"
"Right away, sir…"
"As for the other members… We'll use them to distract the cops…"
"Acknowledged, sir…"
"But let's not be hasty. Wait until the weekend…"
"As you desire, sir…"
"They need to train and incorporate new tactics…"
"Noted, sir…"
"… I feel hot with this hood on… Not like anyone else is watching…"
He lowered the hood and sighed in relief.
He was a teenager in his late teens.
He had black hair and green eyes.
"Using the name of such an insidious character never fit with me, but…"
He rolled his eyes.
"It works to give an image of someone serious and calculating…"
He distractedly tapped the armrests.
"But as Rick Anderson of Bath, I don't want to be associated with it…!"
He formed a screen and looked at the diagrams of something.
"I added a failsafe, anyway… I'm not a puppet…"
His eyes narrowed.
"Patience…!"
05:47 AM (Japan Time)…
"… And this is the famed busted resort in a private island…"
"Correct. But the "busted" is only to keep people away from it…"
"Naturally. And the darkness of humanity dwells there…"
"Nice poetry, Oozono!"
"It's meant to be irony, though. Kagehi…"
Kagehi and Yuriko lurked behind a slope of a beach.
They were looking at the grounds of an abandoned resort.
There were no lights and no signs of life.
However, security cameras were watching the outer perimeter.
"Kill on sight, kill on sight, kill on sight!"
A song with murderous intent rang out.
A row of "Monokuma" soldiers were marching in a formation.
They carried rifles with bayonets attached to them.
They also had belts with grenades and handguns.
"They are covering the flanks…"
"And there is a moat with water. Too wide to jump over it…"
Kagehi signaled a defensive moat built before the tall fences.
"Those spikes are real blades. And are electrified, too…"
"True…"
"And there's an invisible "Dimensional Area", too…"
"It acts as a ceiling to impede intrusion from above, then…"
"The cargo dock behind the main building must be guarded, too…"
"And the main entrance also is…"
Two gates stood in the front, signaling the main entrance.
Two "Monokuma" dressed as butlers stood at the flanks.
They were inactive right now.
Two rows of cottages extended on the flanks of the main corridor.
There was a main building further ahead, at the end of it.
AAC guns were placed on its rooftop.
Watch turrets stood at its flanks.
Searchlights scoured the terrain around it.
"It's not a mere pastime. It's real business…" Yuriko muttered.
"Or wants others to think that it is…" Kagehi suggested.
"True. It could be a huge distraction…"
"And it is. Because…"
She opened a small control panel.
"Dia. Do it…" She whispered.
"OK! Harp!" A girl replied.
An explosion rang out at a distance.
All the security systems fizzled and vanished.
The "Monokuma" units vanished as well.
"By all the… It was all holograms!?"
"Yes! The moat included!"
She signaled the ground, which was normal ground by now.
"It was a setup to dissuade the curious…"
"Works for me…"
"And the fence is also a fake…"
The fence was replaced by a concrete wall.
"The "DA" is real, though. That's the only real defense…"
"And the cameras?"
"Props with LED lights attached to them. Dia checked it out…"
"She sure was being stingy…"
"It's but a little business to draw in greedy tourists, anyway…"
"No surprise…"
"Queen scouted the main building. There's a basement entrance…"
"Bingo. The business is there…"
"There's no traps or guards or anything. It's decorated to look old…"
"Roger!"
"She's on standby on the garage ramp…"
"To ambush anyone that comes out from there…"
"Sure!"
"OK. You keep watch of the lobby…"
"Delighted!"
"Let's go, then…"
"Sure…"
Both stood up and shook off the sand.
They made it to the main entrance and pushed open the gates.
Kagehi formed a wooden bat with nails on it.
"The school hoodlum came to beat you up, rascals!"
"Why not… They need some lessons…"
"Let's rock!"
06:29 AM (Japan Time)…
"… What!? The Okinawa resort was raided!?"
"Yes… Oozono and a group of women Navis…"
"Heck. Kagehi! Didn't waste time!"
"What should I do about it?"
"Don't bother. They're waiting for us to make a move…!"
"Understood…"
Kazuhira talked with Anaya over the phone.
She was in a hotel room somewhere.
She wore a red night gown and blue slippers.
She was sitting atop the bed.
Anaya was clearly annoyed.
"Whatever! Was but a little thing to draw in gullible morons!"
"How many pieces of merchandise did we have there?"
"Only 6. That's why I said that it was small…"
"But from what Witch saw by going there, it was 18…"
"Who the fuck tripled them without my authorization!?"
"I guess that the manager became cocky…"
"And wanted more money!? The fucking damned moron!"
She hissed.
"I'll crush his balls until they explode and then slice his throat!"
"N-naturally…"
"Send Witch to keep tabs on other managers, too!"
"Understood…"
"But don't start fights! Ignore what Regal's puppets do!"
"I am aware. Hence why I ditched them, following your orders…"
"Good. Forget about them, they're not relevant!"
"Yes, milady…"
"Get ready to move to Nagasaki, Kyushu…"
"Yes. My train to Hiroshima departs today at 9AM…"
"Excellent. The sooner you get away from the epicenter, the better…"
"What should I do when I reach the destination?"
"Move into the room that I readied. And then wait for orders…"
"I already told my acquaintances that I found a job in Matsuyama…"
"Good. That'll send any sniffers to Shikoku instead of Kyushu…"
"By the way. I had found a candidate for the Business 81D, but…"
"I did see the report. The special squad will handle it…"
"Roger…"
"This number will be retired. Wait for further instructions…"
"OK…"
The call ended and she sighed as she closed the phone's lid.
"Well, Witch?"
"The place is swarming with cops. I was using a drone…"
"Wise move. Those odd gals might've sniffed you otherwise…"
"I sunk it into the ocean and triggered its self-destruct…"
"Good. Total erasure of traces…"
She flocked her hair backwards.
"Let's have a shower and get ready to leave…"
06:46 AM (Japan Time)…
"… Interesting. Good job, Bella!"
"Thank you, ma'am!"
"I did suspect some of Anaya's businesses, but…"
"Didn't expect it to be to that extent…"
Bella reported to Viper.
Viper was wearing a black night gown.
She sat on a sofa, crossing her arms and legs.
"18 girls and boys ranging from 15 to 20 in that resort…"
"Yes. Probably brought from Thailand or other islands…"
"Classical…"
"The users were ambitious men and women from across the world…"
"Drawn in by the allure of Okinawa and a private beach…"
"Correct. Tamed through hypnosis and mind control helmets…"
"She sure is thorough with how she operates!"
She distractedly looked at her nails.
"Gate sure was acting dumb, hence why she busted him!"
"Probably was staining her image as well…" Bella suggested.
"Wouldn't surprise me. She felt very prideful…"
"And loves looking down on everyone…"
"Without realizing that it'll eventually backfire on her…"
"Yes. Must be why two of her executives left the org…"
"Without doubt. Keep tabs on the witch, alright?"
"Delighted!"
06:55 AM (Japan Time)…
"… Found you. Defective… Confess your secrets…"
"… Force me to…"
"So be it… I'll slowly tear you to pieces…!"
"Come…"
Zero was inspecting a data server.
Laser Man appeared behind him, and his voice was icy.
Zero calmly stopped his analysis and drew his blade.
Laser Man thrust his right fist forward.
Zero backflipped and landed behind the mole.
He shot a beam from his left hand.
The foe became a hologram and vanished.
"Mirror Body…"
He formed a layer of reflecting material over his skin.
"Cross Laser!"
Laser Man reappeared before him and attacked.
But the energy was reflected in the mirror skin.
It hit Laser Man instead and stunned him for a moment.
Zero stepped to the side as another foe appeared behind him.
It tried to drive a Drill Arm through him but failed.
Zero shed his "skin" and formed a tornado.
The mirror shards flew off in all directions.
They stabbed into the bodies of the foes.
Others flew past them and cut through their skins.
"Dark Meteor Laser!"
The meteors rained down, starting fires across the zone.
Zero didn't lose his cool and assessed the situation.
8 Laser Men were surrounding him.
He formed mirrors around him.
The beams reflected and hit the enemies, erasing them.
He spun in a circle, cutting the air with his blade.
He formed a shockwave that spread outwards.
The copies howled and were deleted.
The ground violently shook, as if something heavy hit it.
Zero looked up to see a giant shadow looming over him.
A giant Laser Man was heading towards him.
Zero focused energy on his left hand and punched the ground with it.
Several "portals" opened and countless Viruses flew it.
They attacked the giant, slowly damaging the skin.
Zero warped and reappeared atop the head.
He flew away as a huge beam shot skywards from there.
He landed behind the head and crossed through the outer layer.
There was a huge cannon built inside of the head.
He attached several bombs to it.
He warped out of it and landed several meters away.
The bombs detonated, taking out the whole head.
The giant's body was also deleted.
"Let's report…"
19:47 PM (Brazil Time), Sunday June the 8th…
"… I'm back, Sarry and Solly!"
"You made new nicknames?"
"Your ability to create them always baffles me…"
"Anyway. I busted that greedy chap that's greedier than Sam Yosemite…"
"Sam Yosemite is 100 times preferable to that fool…"
Kagehi met with two people inside the vault room.
They had brought in portable chairs and a table.
They were analyzing the laptop that Regal had forgotten there.
"Did you find Regal's lucky lottery number, Sarry?"
"No…"
"Sarry" was a teenager in his late teens.
He had messy, silver hair.
His eyes were a mix of red and gold.
He wore a green raincoat.
"And did you find his cache of memes, Solly?"
"As if there was such a thing to begin with!"
"Solly" was a teenager in his late teens.
He had white unkempt hair.
His eyes were blue.
His face had a red pattern on his right check, like a trail of lighting.
It ran down from below the eye.
He wore a blue raincoat.
"Kidding, kidding!"
"We found what he's plotting, though…"
"It's not about reaching Duo's Comet and hijacking it?"
"That's his goal. But, until then…"
"He has something else to keep us busy?"
"A massive generator that uses annihilation to generate energy…"
"What in the…!?"
She gasped.
"But what kind of machine does he mean to connect to it?"
"A new version of "Regal Tower"…"
"That thing again!?"
"But it's not to cover the world in a barrier…"
"What is it, then?"
"A huge missile silo to shoot warheads with anti-matter on them!"
"The fuck!? Is that man nuts!?"
"Or maybe it's a deterrent to impede nations from chasing him…"
"But how is he going to do build such a tower unnoticed?"
"That's the neck of the question. We don't know the how…"
"There was no data about it in this thing…"
"… Are you sure that this whole tale isn't a lie?"
"Why bother? He didn't expect anyone to peek into this PC…"
"You're right, but…"
"The whole point of Rama was to have them build the generator…"
"And Annihilator Man is a proof of concept?"
"Yes. At a miniature scale…"
"And that means that he and "Manfroy" are building it…"
"If this data is accurate, it's near completion…"
"Devil. No time to waste, then…"
She turned around to leave.
"You meant to have the trio spill the location of the base?"
"… What. He beat us to it?"
"I already sent Yoshitsune to pay them a visit, but…"
"They had no memories of where it is?"
"We tried to check their bikes, but the trackers were removed, too…"
"And the Operators?"
"We eavesdropped on the Navis reporting to them…"
"But they all had experienced an intense headache and forgot it, too…"
"Shit. That Regalia Nebulae!"
"I'm starting to see why Clark bothered to reset the one in our side…"
"Masters Yamikawa and Kuroumi. I am back, my lords…"
"Good job out there, Yoshitsune…"
Yamikawa, the lead teen, praised Yoshitsune.
He had returned and kneeled before him, lowering his head.
"Take a rest and upload the data to the server…"
Kuroumi, the other teen, issued further orders.
"As thou desire…"
He lifted his head and noticed Kagehi near the entrance.
"I apologize, milady. I had not seen thee…"
He lowered his head again.
"Hadn't we agreed that…?"
"I apologize, but… When I don this armor, I must act the role…"
"Fine. Suit yourself…"
"Thank you very much…"
He stood up and headed for the open "portal".
He stepped inside and vanished.
"Ace is on the other side of it, keeping it under control…"
"And Joker is on standby, in case that there are intruders…"
"OK. Doubt that Clark would want to fight them at once…"
"He stopped caring about this gizmo long ago to begin with…"
"Good point…"
"And Anaya mustn't want to tell him out of shame…"
"No doubt about it. Her pride was out of bounds!"
She sighed.
"Hence why we scanned her while she was KO…"
"Sure. After seeing that Dark Roll break out of the cell…"
"That's the smartest approach to it…"
"We did add extra security layers to be safe, though…"
"And even if she escapes, she'll collapse from the poison…"
"Wait. I have an idea…"
She rubbed her chin, amused.
"I'll place Ogami Sakura as the warden. She'll be terrified!"
"Suit yourself…"
"Shudder, bear-lover! The Ogre has come to town!"
The other two sighed, too used to that mood.
"I take it that there's no data on Manfroy's identity?"
"A little hint…"
"What is it?"
"… "A useful brat. With more therapy, it'll become a useful tool"…"
"Hell. It's the same as the members, dragged into it…!"
"But with only this, can't even tell gender…"
"You're right…"
"And if we don't know where Regal is, can't intercept his call…"
"Maybe he's in a spaceship again?"
"Wouldn't be strange…" Kuroumi agreed with her.
"Or maybe he's in a room somewhere in a nearby city?"
"This area is deep in the jungle, but he could borrow a chopper…"
"Maybe he's in Brasilia, even…"
"But what criteria do we use to find him?" Yamikawa argued.
"That's another issue…!" Kagehi admitted, sighing.
"Let's set up a surveillance system and see who dares fly here…"
"Good idea. And check the surface. Maybe he's dug a hole…"
"We set up jammers to impede the use of the tubes, so…"
"He'll be forced to physically come inside…"
"Y can ambush Regal. We should find the generator and the tower…"
"Agreed. We must destroy it before a major tragedy ensues…"
"And once Regal is deal with, Clark and Anaya come next…"
"This conflict is far from over…!"