Calculation Chaos

In a net battle arena, a standard NetNavi is using blaster shots against another and seems to have the upper hand. Little does he know that he is falling into a trap like a fly into a web.

"This isn't even a challenge. A few shots and that punk is down for the count." His opponent is surrounded by smoke

The smoke clears and reveals a robotic NetNavi with green armor, light beige arms and legs and a sphere in his head made of panels that light up. The emblem on top of that sphere is of a right triangle.

"You underestimate me. However, I've got your number." He throws a six-sided die and it lands on 6

"What kind of game are you playing?" Six explosions erupt from under the NetNavi and he is defeated

The NetOp of the winning NetNavi sees that he is victorious. He is a man with messy, brown hair, large glasses, and is wearing a white shirt with a red tie, blue jeans, and brown shoes.

"Good work, NumberMan. I'll take that rare battle chip, thank you." A blank battle chip in his PET becomes one with a red cannon

"It's a rarity level three. With your talented dice, my chip collection will soon be the best in the world."

The next morning, Harris is on his skateboard in a big hurry on his way to school.

"Oh man, I am so late!"

"Maybe you shouldn't have stayed up all night net battling again."

"You were there too. Weren't you supposed to wake me up?"

"I did. It's not my fault you kept going back to sleep."

"You're my NetNavi, DarkMan. If I can't count on you to have my back, who can I count on?"

"Yourself?"

Harris arrives at the campus and bumps into the man who was on the net the previous night. He drops his bag and battle chips fall out of it.

"Oh no, my rare battle chip collection." He starts picking them up and Harris also picks one up

"Wow, this is a good one."

"Gimme that. You're going to leave fingerprints. I hope for your sake that there are no scratches."

The bell rings and Harris enters his classroom.

"Hello, Harris. When I told you to be more consistent; being late three days in a row is not what I meant." Said Ms. Mari and everyone else laughed

"I almost made it. I really tried to be on time and I would have done it if it wasn't for that chip guy."

"What are you talking about, Harris?" Asked Julie

"Now class, I would like to introduce you to a guest lecturer from Den University but I can't. He's late too."

"Hi Ms. Mari. Sorry I'm late. My name's Higsby" The man from outside walks in

"No way, that's the guy I ran into."

"Mr. Higsby will be teaching us about virus busting. He's an expert in the field."

"Yes I am. As you know, we live in a network society where computer viruses pose a big threat." He pulls up a picture

"This is the security system that protects the main computer here at DenTech High School. Defensive power is key. The same is true in net battling. To get a strong defense, you need strong battle chips, like a rarity level 3. The higher the level, the stronger the chip; but at that point, they are so rare, they are impossible to find! Like a Hero's Sword!"

"Excuse me, Mr. Higsby?" Asked Julie

"Yes? What is it?"

"Don't you think you are getting a little off-subject?"

"Yes. Sorry about that."

Outside, Sal is outside placing flowerpots and gives Higsby a suspicious look.

"What's he doing here?"

After school, Harris and the others all go to Jack's mansion and they all have their eyes closed.

"Come on, can we open our eyes yet?" Asked Harris

"Ok, feast your eyes."

They open their eyes and are amazed by a giant tree house about the size of a small apartment.

"Whoa, that is the biggest tree house ever!" Said Rocco

"I'll say." Added Lewis

"Yeah, it's a special hangout that my dad made at my request."

They look inside and are amazed.

"This place is beautiful, Jack." Said Julie

"Yeah, but what's special about it?" Asked Rocco

Jack hits a button on a wall behind him, the walls flip over to reveal computers and a net battle arena is projected.

"Whoa, what is this?" Asked Lewis

"You're looking at the latest in three dimensional net battling technology." Jack replied

"THAT'S AWESOME JACK!" Harris, Lewis, and Rocco yelled at once

"Jack in, TerraMan. Power up!" Rocco plugs in his PET

"I'm in. Jack in, Aura. Power up!" Julie plugs in her PET

"My turn. Jack in, AeroMan. Power up!" Lewis plugs in his PET

"Jack in, DarkMan. Power up!" Harris plugs in his PET

The Navis all land in the arena.

"Wow, this is totally sweet!" Said Harris and JetMan lands as well

"Hello, I will be your opponent today." Said JetMan

"Are you sure about that, JetMan?" Asked Aura

"Hey, you remember how tough JetMan is." Said DarkMan

"Yeah, and I'm first up. Though, I doubt there will be anything left to fight after TerraMan is finished with him." TerraMan charges at JetMan

"Gaia Fist!" He launches an energy blast from his fist

"Predictable as always." JetMan is surrounded by a purple aura

"Hey, I know that. That's the Life Aura battle chip." Said Lewis

"You got it. Wait until you see the next one. Download." JetMan's hand turns into a golden sword with a diamond-shaped tip

"Hero's Sword?" Said Lewis, amazed

JetMan launches an energy wave from his sword and it hits TerraMan, knocking him down.

"Hey no fair, Jack, you were using rare battle chips!" Rocco protested

"We all have to work with what we have. Mine just happens to cost more."

"Wow, Life Aura and Hero's Sword. That's my idea of a great match. Go get him, DarkMan!"

NumberMan watches over them and chuckles. DarkMan is momentarily distracted.

"What's up DarkMan?"

"It's weird. It feels like there is someone else here."

"Is that possible?" Asked Harris

"No way, this arena is equipped with the most advanced security system on the market." Jack replied

"You should let me have a look at that. Maybe I can boost the firewall." Lewis added

"You're wrong, Skyan. Soon those super high grade battle chips will be all mine." Higsby watches them from his home computer

Later that day, Higsby returns to the school and walks up to Ms. Mari.

"Excuse me, Ms. Mari, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, ask away."

"It's about a student. I believe his name is Mr. Skyan."

"Oh, you mean Jack." She suddenly remembers something

"Oh, that's right, Jack and his friends are supposed to help me edit the school newspaper. They'll be here any minute."

"That's great."

"Thanks. I would have forgotten if you hadn't come by, Mr. Higsby. Your really helpful."

"Uh, oh, no problem." Higsby blushes

Harris rushes to school on his skateboard.

"Dang, I'm such an idiot. I'm going to be late again." He passes by Masa

"How can you be late when schools over?"

"I'm supposed to help with the school newspaper, but I left some things at home, so I had to go back and get them. Now I'm going to be late." He continues toward the school

"You'd probably have a better memory if you remember to eat more fish."

Lewis, Jack, Rocco, and Julie are all in a classroom. Ms. Mari works on an article and the others wait for Harris.

"I wonder where Harris is?" Asked Julie

"Ha, you can always count on Harris to be late." Replied Rocco

The computer Ms. Mari works on freezes up and Harris rushes through the hallways towards the classroom.

"15 seconds left, I can make it." The door shuts as Harris approaches and he hits it, face first

At the same time, all of the doors and windows in the classroom shut and NumberMan comes up on the monitor.

"Good afternoon. Welcome to my special class."

"What are you trying to pull, bolt head? School's out; there is no special class." Rocco replied

"Yeah, who are you?" Asked Jack

"I am NumberMan."

"I can almost taste those battle chips." Said Higsby as he watches them

Harris struggles to open the door.

"Come on. I wasn't even late. Why won't the door open?"

"I have taken control of the electronic locks on the doors and windows until our class is complete."

"Harris, it's not going to work, something has taken control of the system." Said DarkMan

"To regain control, you must complete my assignment: a test in the form of a net battle. Pass it, and you may leave."

"Excuse me! There are rules about having net battles on school property!" Shouted Ms. Mari

"Sorry, but I control the system, so I control what is and is not allowed."

"I can't believe this is happening. You must be part of World Three!"

"What, I would never work for those maniacal fiends! Never!"

"Bring it on! I'm not afraid of you." Rocco cracks his knuckles and charges, only to be stopped by a sprinkler

"Sorry, but I only battle people with rare battle chips and there is only one human here who qualifies."

"You." He points to Jack

"Me?"

"According to my sources, you possess the Life Aura and Hero's Sword battle chips, correct?"

"Hold on, calculator freak, how'd you know that?"

"As I stated, I have sources. And if you refuse to battle, I will destroy the school's entire computer network."

"Go ahead, my family's rich, we can easily buy a new one."

"What about the data?" Asked Rocco

"We can't replace that." Said Julie

"We need to fight him." Said Lewis

"I can't, there's no net battling allowed in school." Ms. Mari puts her hands on his shoulders

"You have my permission."

"Alright, game on, jack in, JetMan. Power up!" He plugs in his PET and JetMan appears in the network

"Ok, NumberMan, prepare to meet your maker." JetMan's arm turns into the Hero's Sword

"Hero's Sword!" He launches an energy wave

"Only an amateur plays his best battle chip first." He generates a barrier

"What?!" The smoke clears and NumberMan is unharmed."

"Try this; Jet Blaster!" He fires powerful shots, but they do not break through the barrier

"It's no good."

"Of course not. You must first analyze your opponent to come up with an effective counterattack." He launches a die and it lands on 2, two explosions follow it

"DarkMan, we need to find out what is going on in there." Said Harris

"I'm ready when you are."

"Jack in, DarkMan. Power up!" He plugs in his PET and DarkMan confronts NumberMan

"Who is this? You were not invited to fight."

"It's DarkMan." Rocco pointed out

"That means Harris is just outside the classroom." Said Julie

"NumberMan is going to get it now." Said Lewis

"DarkMan, be careful. Watch out for his dice attack." Said JetMan

"Try your luck." NumberMan throws a die and it lands on one, and promptly explodes

"DarkMan!" He jumps out of the blast

"That was way too close." Said DarkMan as he landed

"The strength of the explosion is determined by the number of the dice." JetMan explained

A wall comes up and pushes DarkMan away

"JetMan, I can't get through."

"You have the school's security system to thank for that. Those are virus walls and you can't break them."

"Just watch me." He launches Dark Phasers, but they just bounce off

"This is a one-on-one battle. Intruders will not be tolerated."

Aura and AeroMan drop in.

"Well, did you tell him that you locked everyone in the classroom and forced Jack to fight for his rare battle chips?" Asked Aura

"But who's controlling him?" Asked DarkMan

"We don't know, but he was smart enough to take over the security system and it seems he has rare battle chips of his own." Said AeroMan

"That would mean he is good with computers, knows the security system, and is obsessed with rare battle chips." Harris ponders it

"Wait a minute!"

"It's Mr. Higsby!" They all said together

"Uh-oh, they've got our number."

"Don't worry, it just makes it more difficult for them." Mr. Higsby comes up on the screen

"Mr. Higsby, why are these silly battle chips so important to you?" Asked Ms. Mari

"There's nothing silly about rare battle chips. NumberMan, time to roll the Doom Dice." NumberMan throws a die

"I'm not afraid of you. Life Aura battle chip in, download." He puts the battle chip in his PET

"Right into my trap." The die lands on one and explodes

"That's a great chip, Jack." Said Rocco

"Yeah, but that only buys time. We need to find a way to deactivate those barriers." Said Lewis

"I've got it, since the barriers block viruses and it is part of the security system, there must be a password to deactivate it." Said Julie

"Great thinking, Julie. Have you learned the passwords, Ms. Mari?" Asked Jack

"Yes, but I forgot them."

"Maybe there's something in the wall's data that can give us a clue."

"I'll scan the data and find out." Said Aura

Aura puts her hands on the wall and scans the data.

"Impressive idea, but you don't have the time." A swarm of Mosquito viruses flies towards them

"Dark Phaser!"

"Aero Blades!"

They destroy the viruses, but more take their place.

"We'll hold them off, keep searching." Said DarkMan

"Got it. Wait, I've got something. They're letters: D-O-V-E, dove."

"Right, the password is the number of doves we have at the school." Said Ms. Mari

"Ok, how many is that?" Asked Rocco

"Unfortunately, I don't remember."

"Harris, go count the doves, we'll keep fighting." Said DarkMan

"Got it, hang tight. I'll be right back." Harris goes to the schoolyard

"Good luck counting the birdies. This competition will be over by the time he gets back." Said Higsby

Harris makes it to a cage of doves in the schoolyard.

"Ok. One, two, three, four." They start moving

"Hey, hold still."

DarkMan and AeroMan continue fighting off viruses.

"These viruses don't give up." Said AeroMan

"I know. Harris, what's taking so long?"

"Sorry, they wouldn't stop moving. There are 34 of them.

"Got it, 34… I'm in."

"Great, one down, two to go. What's the next one?" Asked Julie

"Hold on, T-E-N-N…"

"Tennis, I remember now. The password is the number of tennis rackets that the tennis team uses."

"That's great, you're the coach of the tennis team."

"Yeah, do you know this one?" Asked Jack

"Sorry, no."

"I'll go count them." Harris goes to the storage rooms behind the gym

He goes into the room that holds the tennis rackets and starts counting.

"Ok, one, two, they're sure spread out, three, four."

"They're persistence is starting to annoy me." Said Higsby

"I got it, there are a total of 63 rackets."

"Yeah, one more to go." Said Julie

"NumberMan, hurry up. They're breaking through."

"Acknowledged."

"Ok. The last clue is F-L-O-W…"

"Oh yeah! Flower! The password is the number of potted flowers in the school yard."

"Please tell me you remember this one?" Asked Julie

"Sorry."

"Harris! Move it!" Yelled Rocco

"Cool it, I'm going." He arrives at the flowers

"This shouldn't be so bad." He sees how wrong he is

"I got to do this." He starts counting

"JetMan, hang in there." More dice land and explode

"JetMan, are you okay?" Asked DarkMan

"I won't last much longer. If NumberMan attacks like that, I'm finished."

"If we don't hurry up, we're going to lose him." Said Rocco

"JetMan!"

"Don't worry, we can count on Harris." Said Julie

"593, 594, 595, 596…" A ball hits him on the head

"It's cool, I have a hard head. Wait, what number did I leave off on." He sighs

"I have an empty head. I'll never get this."

"There are exactly 665 of them." Harris turns around and sees Sal

"I should know, I planted them all."

"Thanks, Sal, I owe you one." He goes back to the classroom

"You are very welcome, Harris."

"Throw three dice, NumberMan. Finish this."

"Affirmative." He throws three dice

"I got it. The password is 665."

"Got it, I'm plugging it in." The dice all land on six

"Hurry!" Said Jack

"Area Steal battle chip in, download." Harris puts the chip in his PET

"Triple sixes, my favorite." Several explosions ravage the battlefield

"Yes, the rare battle chips are all mine. Huh?"

The smoke clears and JetMan is still standing, supported by Aura and DarkMan.

"Game over, NumberMan."

"Wide Sword battle chip in, download!" DarkMan's arm turns into the Wide Sword and he attacks

Just before the sword makes contact, NumberMan drops to his knees.

"I give up. Please don't divide. I'll do whatever you want."

"Return control to the school's computer system."

"As you wish." The doors and windows open

Higsby comes in, also on his knees.

"How could you do this?" Asked Harris

"I just couldn't help myself. Rare chips are my life. I couldn't afford to watch people waste them. I now know that it was a terrible thing and I am begging you to forgive me."

"Mr. Higsby, you should be ashamed of yourself. You frightened these children and purposely sabotaged the school's security system. Do you realize that what you did is a crime and with one phone call, I could have you put in jail for a long time?" Said Ms. Mari

"Yes."

"Then tell me, do you remember the first rare battle chip you received as a young boy?"

"I don't know, it was such a long time ago."

"Think back. Did you understand their true value back then? I bet you didn't. But was it wasted?"

Higsby flashes back to the first rare battle chip he received.

"It wasn't a waste, I remember now. It was the happiest day of my life. How could have been so selfish. Can you ever forgive me?"

"I'm willing to give you another chance if you are willing to teach these kids about rare chips."

"Ok, I'll do it. Thank you."

The next morning, Harris rushes on his way to school again."

"Man, I need to get an alarm clock chip." He turns a corner and bumps into Higsby, making him drop his battle chips

"Sorry about that."

"Well, watch where you're going next time."

Harris picks up one of the battle chips.

"Wow, this chips is really rare."

"Give me that before you scratch it." He takes the chip back

"Mr. Higsby, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, it's you, Harris. Thanks to Ms. Mari's kindness, I'm a new man, so I decided to sell rare battle chips. Presenting my very own chip store. Best prices anywhere, tell a friend."

"Cool. Oh, I forgot I'm late." He rushes to the school

"I can still make it. 45 seconds until the bell rings." He arrives in his classroom

"I'm here." He sees that it is empty

"Harris, what are you doing up so early." Asked DarkMan as he woke up, rubbing his eyes

"DarkMan, what time is it?"

"7'o clock, Saturday."

"Oh, great."