"A canon? Where are we going to find something like that in this situation?" Kath exclaimed. "That is something you cannot find in the middle of the city, you know?!"
"Something that big cannot be summoned using the chips inserted in our watches either," Michiyo added. "Even if you try to pull it off, the codings are very difficult."
"I know, but I have to try." he sighed.
They all gathered on a corner of the rooftop looking at their enemies swarming below the building. They have to face them in order to get through the hell they are in and find their chance to counterattack. They've agreed on taking their heads up and picking a fight against those chickens on their way but now they are having doubts.
"Well, it's not really a cannon like the old-fashioned stuff they've used in the medieval wars which can be found in most museums but not here at Scorpio. It's more of like a futuristic gun, about 8 feet tall, 15 feet wide with three tubes for firing different kinds of ammunition and can execute rapid-fire in 10 seconds." Hachiro explained.
"That's why I'm asking where will you find such a thing?"
"I'll find a crack in the internet and--" Hachiro replied.
"A crack? That's impossible!" Kath exclaimed. "...You know the Stonehenge is raised around the city, right? If what the GM said is true, you can't just swarm its barrier and cut through it like a piece of cake!" she added.
"I know...I know." Hachiro muttered, "...but we'll never know unless we try.."
"De,, that's why I'm asking where is that cannon now?" Kath continued. "How are you going to summon it here?"
"It is at ROA-RPG." Shichiro replied, wagging his tail as he listen to their conversation.
"ROA?!" Kath exclaimed and glared at the guy. "Are you insane?" she grabbed his arm and moved her face close to his. "How are you going to do that? We can't access the outside web due to the interference of the Stonehenge, right? It was second to Aegis in defending the system fort that can block even the most advanced program created." Her glare turned into a frown. "And besides, the ORION has the Aegis, right? Right? What you're planning to do is impossible! You can't do it!" she strongly disagreed to what Hachiro was trying to do.
"I know it is impossible..." Hachiro slowly removed her hand from his arm. "but being here in the first place and escaping is also impossible..." Hachiro said, pouting, trying to convince the group. "So all we have to do is to create a possibility." he stepped forward and found a space to spread his arms to convince his allies.
"Let's just say you'll be able to do that, but how?" Drake asked. "Just as they've said, in here, we have Stonehenge; at Orion, they have Aegis."
"I'll get pass through the Stonehenge by wrapping firewalls on my codes. I will program it along with my hack with the same encryption with the barrier. I'll manage to leave a glitch on its vulnerable spot to make a way in and out of the program." He replied. "I'll leave a bug that will make the glitch steady and open a hole so our cannon can get through..."
"Where would that glitch be? The Stonehenge is built to be invulnerable.."
"No program is invulnerable.." Hachiro replied. "Everything is susceptible to hacking, it's part of the danger when things are connected to the internet. Every single data, though they said with all conviction that the data is protected, can be accessed by a foreign host for whatever he wanted it to use with. Besides, cheats are part of the program. You can't use it if it is not registered to its files. Programmers sell it together with the program file for it to be accessed."
"You're right. You have a point." Michiyo nodded. "It's the irony of a program."
"Even Facebook was hacked a lot of times..."
"It did?"
"Yeah,, try to seek for news about it you'll see different perspectives..."
"But how would you get in the ROA at ORION?" Kath asked again.
"I have my means.. besides, we're from GSSTI and I can get access through their system anytime I wanted..." Hachiro smirked.
Kath stared at him with doubt. She thought of his words as lies, meaningful lies. She's trying to believe them in order to survive.
"That's what the president's son can do, huh?" Michiyo thought for a second.
"All I need is a space to work on and a few chips to install the cannon. I'll show you one of my few masterpieces if I have the means." Hachiro said. "You'll help me with it, right?"
"So in the end you're using the chips." Michiyo said.
"It's our only means." Hachiro replied, "We'll try to make do with it."
"Cocky Brat.." Kath rolled her eyes. "De, how long will it take to get the cannon ready?"
"About 645 seconds..." Shichiro replied after calculating something on his holographic tabs. "..more or less.."
"That is impossible!" Kath mentioned. "You're underestimating the power of GS Tech, Haro." she grabbed his collar this time.
"You've said that a while ago.." Hachiro teased her and she pouted. She let go of his collar and turned her back.
"But..." she muttered.
"I have something in mind. Try to have a little faith in me... all I need is a little time and a few spaces to work with, besides," Hachiro said confidently and his eyes sparkled in the middle of the high noon. "I know what I'm doing.."
"Ahh... we decided to trust the guy so let him do his job.." Michiyo stepped in the middle, trying to act convincingly. She knew they still have suspicion towards Hachiro and she knew she started that thought that is why she's trying to patch things up.
"So, what are you going to do then?" Kath asked.
"I'll hack the systems, get pass through the Stonehenge, leave a track for a spot to be a vulnerable entrance and exit gateway and become our glitch, install the ROA program in this AR to utilize its specks, use the chips and insert it in my watch to materialize the cannon. I will not be able to install all of them at ones but at least I will prioritize the weaponry to initialize the cannon I needed. In that case, we will be able to fight all the way we can like how we fight in ROA. I will also do a little tinkering to get additional finds and perhaps something we can use to escape or ask for help. We'll take advantage of what the GM instructed us to use and what we have are cheats, skills, and brains to at least make it through the game and stay alive perhaps... Well, we'll use the cannon to eradicate their front lines and the moment that happens," Hachiro took a deep breath and sighed "...We'll try to do the frontal assault..."
"That thing?! But, that's reckless...we don't have enough ammos and weapons and people to do the job." Kath said. "We'll just jump into their trap and die!"
"Have a little faith. The cannon will ruin their formation and that's when we will start our counterattack. I will try my very best to summon more weapons aside from the cannon. As you can see, the chickens have a specific area to cover and they protect that spot as if their lives depended on it."
"So you're saying we will target that spot?" Drake said.
"That is basically their weak point," Kath muttered.
"Exactly."
Hachiro hit keys and a holographic map popped in their midst showing the chickens as dots and their routes are also shown.
"I see... so everything is still up to how good we fight, huh." Kath nodded as she saw what Hachiro was trying to imply, tracing the chicken's routes. "Then?"
"We'll take advantage of that." Hachiro pointed a spot on the map and it blinked. "Once the cannon is fired, you have to run straight to the entrance of the palace. And we need to get ourselves to get ready for a party."
"A party, what for?" Drake asked.
"It's for the team to communicate and monitor the activities of the other. Stats and histories will be sent to the Party's system where we can exchange valuable information especially when we lost each other on the field. It's our only way to communicate in this AR where most of our systems are wiretapped."
"That's helpful. In that case, we can run and save whoever's in need as long as we have the comms." Kath said.
"Yeah, and we can talk in a private line where the hacker will not reach our calls. I will make our line bug-free.." Hachiro added. "Besides, I know you thought of me as suspicious so, you can watch me from anywhere..."
"That's not the case here, idiot.." Kath poked him.
Hachiro gave a fake smile and turned his gaze away from his comrades.
"Well, anyway, that's cool..." Drake said, trying to calm the heavy atmosphere. "So, what's our Party's name?"
"Well, I haven't thought of any yet, but I have started on making the firewall," Hachiro replied.
"What about, the chicken hunters?" Kath exclaimed.
"Lame.." Michiyo muttered.
"What? That's befitting our team, right?" Kath protested.
"No... that's too boring, Kath." Drake sad.
"What about, BUGS?" Shichiro exclaimed.
"BUGS? Why?" Kath asked. "It's too gross. Not to mention, lame."
"Ja, lets just call it Ariadne." Hachiro said.
"That's cool. But why Ariadne?" Drake asked.
"She's a mythical creature in a form of a spider. Thus, a bug." Shichiro explained. "Why didn't I think of that. Anyways, we will ruin the program in this AR, right?" the fox explained. "Then, we are like bugs in the computer system. We will wreak havoc and go against the GM's plan."
They stared at each other for a couple of seconds and slightly nodded.
"Then it's decided. Kath, form the party and name it as Ariadne." Hachiro said.
"Why me?" Kath asked.
"It's better if you take the admin role. I am quite suspicious as what you all suspect so you better make it."
"If that's what everyone wants. But I'm not suspecting you, okay?"
"Hai, hai..." Hachiro nodded smiled.
Monitors appear in front of them and a party request was sent. They all accepted and a ring appeared on their right wrists with the name ARIADNE.
They formed a circle and shouted "Ahh!".
"So, when you're inside the palace, it will all be up to you.." Hachiro said. "Just don't let yourself die. If someone needed help, try to reach out. We'll be right behind you. We need people to get this through."
"So, we're responsible to take care of everyone's life, huh? That's fine." Kath muttered.
"That's part of the game. We need a number to stand against the enemy."
"Youré right.."
"Anyway, what about you?" Michiyo asked.
"Me?" Hachiro's eyes twitched. He didn't expect the thought from Michiyo so, he manage to reply in a sly manner, "Well, I will find a way to enter the palace myself...and" he looked back on the map. "...we'll rendezvous on the spot I will send on your watches," Hachiro explained.
"Where would that be?" Kath asked.
"In front of the treasure room of course."
.....
He started hitting keys on his portable 3D projected keyboard on the spot he chose in the middle of the rooftop. Three different keyboards and two monitors fronting his chair on his chosen spot. The cloudy gray sky roofed him as he tried to materialize his cannon in that place to fire it on the chicken's heads. The command post was settled and their fallen friends lie near his spot. The others prepared to do the frontal assault while he continued doing his hack. Little by little the cannon is sprouting in the middle of his area.
"You sure this will work?" Drake asked, looking at their enemies and back to the cannon that Hachiro is setting up.
"That's not the question, Drake! We'll have to trust this will work or else we'll all gonna die." Kath replied, poking his head, trying to get him out of his anxiety. "That is our last straw."
"We will get through this.." Michiyo said. She reloaded her gun with ammos. She also programmed her chips to have enough weapons to fight, though he gave 2 chips to Hachiro for the cannon. "He's the guy we needed to do the job.." she looked on Hachiro who was not letting a second wasted. "anyway...he's more than what we thought he is.."
Kath and Drake looked at each other in confusion. They didn't understand what Michiyo is trying to say.
"What kind of cannon will it be, huh, Haro?" Drake asked walking towards the busy guy. He loaded bullets on his magazine.
"It'll be ready in 251 seconds..." Hachiro shouted. "You'll see very soon..."
"We'll fire it at the right time!" Shichiro said, running around, wagging his tail. "You should get to your positions now..."
The cannon started to fully manifest upward in the middle of the rooftop. The silver linings of the weapon shine even in the dark cloudy sky. Its obsidian black body stares like an abyss trying to eat everything it sees. The ammos appeared alongside it.
His companions went to their designated area to launch their assault towards the chicken flocks.
"Check..." Shichiro said "...connection checking.." he said on their earpieces.
"Loud and clear, wolf..." Drake said.
"I've said I'm not just a wolf, idiot!" Shichiro exclaimed. "Shichiro desu!"
"I'm sorry.." Drake laughed on the line. He's still in awe of the vixen's presence in their group. He didn't think that a glitch in the program would accompany them and was a big help to their mission. It made him more impressed with what Haro can do for their team.
"Well, as for your information, the cannon is a self-made program I injected into the ROA about a year ago.." Hachiro explained. The transmission was sent to their watches and so his party members can hear it thru sound transmission.. "It was a tank-big cannon with 3 tubes in one carriage. The first tube in the middle looks like a 6 feet long, old-fashioned tube with a muzzle of 10-in radius and an inner circle having a 15-in diameter recoiled cylindrical hole packed with a 15-in spherical shell containing shrapnel that was timed to explode in front of the enemy. The tubes on both sides are 5 feet long, 3-in diameter semi-automatic grenade launchers that spiral the grenade in the air like a football, and the grenade sets to detonate at a programmed time as well." He continued hitting keys to program the coordinates of his launch and set the radius of his damages. "It fires 7 30mm grenade per second with a velocity of 143 kph. It'll wipe out the terrain in an instant whenever it will be fired."
His companions stopped their steps in awe of what he said, their jaws dropped as their blood pumps up with excitement.
"I have won a lot of Battle royal because of this cannon, because of my---"
"They're coming!" Michiyo shouted from his position.
"Never mind...Okay!" Hachiro shouted back. "Ja, let's start this one, are you ready?!"
They stood still in their position and held their guards up.
"Hai!" they all shouted and their voices echoed on their minds.
"Let's do this one, Shi-chan!"
"Hai!" Shichiro replied. He powered up the tubes and anchored the chassis deep in the floor to control the recoil and minimize the damage in their position knowing that they have unconscious members with them. The tubes adjusted with the coordinates set by Hachiro. "All systems clear! Power is steady, the chassis is steady, the ammos are all ready. No unwanted programs detected, Phantom firewall is risen and doing fine. SYSTEMS are all green and the cannon's ready to fire!"
"Yosha! Let's get this on! Phantom Cerberus' Crown, FIRE!"