Chaos. Complete and utter chaos. That was the only way to describe the out of control situation that unfolded before Netto Hikari. The familiar streets of Densan City were in complete disarray as people tried to flee the destruction that was taking place all around them. Countless people, both young and old scrambled to get out of way of the intense fighting taking place. However, the thirty-seven year old scientist was doing the exact opposite. Netto was struggling to make his way through the sea of people, but it was like trying to fight against the rapid current of a river.

Why…Just why is this happening?! He shouted internally. His was mind racing in confusion as he tried to make sense of what was going on. But, the screams coming from the people around him made it hard to concentrate. The loud explosions which could be heard above the shrieking did not help. Every time the ground shook from a tremor, the screams went up in volume as people cried out in terror…

"Netto, what's your status?" The urgency in Enzan Ijuuin's voice caught his attention as the earpiece in his left ear came to life. The device was white and had Rockman's Navi Crest displayed on it as decoration. However, the Navi Crest design was also a button, as demonstrated when Netto pressed down on it. Automatically, the device's sound cancellation mode was activated; within seconds, all of the noise around him was filtered out. Right now, the last thing Netto wanted to do was raise his voice just to make sure Enzan could hear him.

"It's a serious mess over here, Enzan! This crowd is slowing me down by a lot, so it's taking longer than I expected to get to the lab!" He replied as he continued to try to navigate his way through the literal sea of people. It was a time consuming effort, and his patience was growing thinner by the second. But, what other choice did he have? Trying to drive while the roads were either unusable or overcrowded would not have saved him very much time. Taking a ride on a helicopter was also a bad idea, as there was a risk of the flying vehicle getting shot down. It was not a chance he was willing to take, so he made the decision to head to SciLab on foot. "How are things on your end?"

"While I'd like to tell you we're getting the situation under control, the truth is anything but. We're barely holding on as it as, so I really need you to pick it up over there. No pressure of course." Towards the very end of his sentence, Enzan's words had become sarcastic. This caused a small smirk to appear on Netto's face as he chuckled a bit to himself.

"I should be there in the next fifteen to twenty minutes. So, just try to hold out until then!"


Honestly, that fool! Just how in the world does he expect us to try and hold this thing back for that long? We're already being pushed to our limits but this damned monster won't stay down! Enzan growled in his mind as he glared at the creature displayed on the monitor in front of him. He was in SciLab along with others such as Raika, Dekao, and numerous Official NetBattler agents. Most of Netto's childhood friends were gathered in the SciLab building as they waited for the scientist. But, Meiru was not one of them. She was at home with their son, Raito. As a result, Roll also stayed behind. For Enzan, her absence meant they were missing some of their potential battle strength. But, he also understood the reasons behind Meiru's choice. While he felt that it would be safer for the family to be with them in SciLab, he knew it was futile to try and convince the mother otherwise. Therefore, he would just have to make use of what was currently available to him until the brown haired scientist arrived. In the meantime, an army of Net Navis led by Blues and Searchman were fighting against the monster attacking Densan City. The monster they were battling had features which resembled a Komodo dragon's. However, the similarities pretty much ended there, as this was no ordinary lizard they were facing. While it was hard to correctly guess the monster's size, it appeared to be around twenty-three feet tall or more when it stood on its hind legs. Metallic silver colored scales covered the monster's body in the form of thick armored plating. In addition, the creature also wore a suit of armor that nearly covered its entire body. The dark-green, almost black armor had a sleek, cybernetic appearance giving the armor a very futuristic design. Although the armor was designed to look light, it was surprisingly tough, as it further strengthened the Komodo dragon's already impressive defenses.

The monster was just as heavily armed as it was armored. The claws on its forepaws were at least five inches long, somewhat curved, and sharp enough to slice through thick metal beams with ease. Around the tip of the reptile's long and muscular tail were spikes. There were three of the ivory colored spikes laying horizontally on both the right and left side of its tail. Anyone foolish enough to get within the range of the monster's tail was subjected to brutal punishment. If the combined force of sheer speed and force which the reptile used to swing its tail was not enough to finish someone off with, then the spikes almost certainly were… The monster's efficient use of its tail had caused more than a dozen of the Navis belonging to Enzan's subordinates to meet their end. The monster's arsenal of additional weapons and the array of attacks at its disposal were almost too numerous for him to remember. It had shoulder mounted canons, could fight with energy based broad shoulders, fire off a multitude of AoE attacks and more. However, the thing which concerned Enzan the most was the strange dark-purple, pixelated aura leaking off of the monster's body. Sometimes, the aura would be thin enough to provide the combatants with a clear look at its features. Other times, it would become so dense only the reptile's amber eyes and barely distinguishable outline remained. He was unable to determine why the aura behaved as it did. But, he was certain of the fact the aura was actually some sort of glitch or corruption. He had witnessed its corrosive effect on the environment after the monster lashed out with some sort of attack. Whatever came into contact with the dark-purple aura when it was not in its least present state, left behind a glitch like distortion in the fabric of reality itself…

There was no doubt that the Komodo dragon was a walking calamity. But the devastation being left in its wake was not limited to the real world alone. Due to the rapid advancement of technology, the real world and its online counterpart were more connected than ever. One of the inventions which resulted from this was a new type of machine that behaved similarly to the Copybot. These new machines called LiveNav was believed to be capable of addressing the issues which plagued its discontinued predecessor. As a result, it became possible for Net Navis and humans to once again interact with each other on more personal level. However, unlike most of the world who felt ecstatic over this recent development, Enzan was one of the few who remained wary. There was always some sort of drawback to things like this, and now both the Earth and the Net were suffering as a result. Humanity's decision to revisit the idea of giving Navis the ability to interact with the real world was a mistake. It should have been obvious that trying to integrate the Net even further into the real world would have repercussions. Yet, people chose to ignore the Net's unpredictable nature and pretend that the previous disasters never happened. People had overestimated their abilities and control over the Net and its inhabitants. Now, they had an out of control monster whose very existence threatened both Earth and the Net. The monster's unusual abilities allowed it to affect both places simultaneously. The glitch-like distortions it left behind after an attack damaged the Net as well. Meaning there would soon be nothing left of Densan City and its online counterpart if the reptilian monster was not stopped. Unfortunately, Enzan and his companions lacked the necessary fire power to deal any significant damage. This meant they had no other choice but to stall for time until reinforcements arrived. The reinforcements were Netto and other Official NetBattlers who were stationed in Electopia. But, despite knowing reinforcements were on their way, Enzan was beginning to worry.

"Raika! Have Searchman take Gyroman and get the two of them draw the creature's attention! We can't afford to let it get any closer to the east sector of the city!" Enzan ordered as he glanced over at the light teal haired man. Raika acknowledged his words with a nod and relayed the order to his Net Navi, Searchman.

"Searchman, you heard him! Team up with Gyroman and lure that monstrosity away from the evacuees! Try to bring it back closer to the center of the city!" He instructed and watched as Searchman stopped firing at the monster long enough to approach Gyroman. The helicopter-themed Net Navi agreed to the plan after he was brought up to speed. His Net Op, Charlie Airstar, was not present in the SciLab building as he was helping the civilians evacuate the city. However, Charlie's absence did not mean Gyroman was unable to participate in the fight. Over the course of time, technological advancements had given both Official and Honorary Net Battlers the ability to have their Net Navis fight independently from them. This feature was necessary in situations where Navis were somehow separated from their Net Ops. This separation severely hindered the Navi, as there was little they could do at times without their Net Op. Depending on the situation, this could even lead to the deletion of a Navi. In order to increase the Navi's chances of survival, it was necessary for them to be able to fight even if their Net Op was absent. As a result, select Navis now had the ability to access their Battle Chips if the Net Op selected the appropriate mode.

Within seconds, Gyroman and Searchman were airborne after Gyroman transformed into a helicopter. The yellow helicopter then proceeded to fly in the direction of the Komodo dragon who still trying to get to the east side of the city. Its progress was brought to a halt after it received a couple of shots to the face, courtesy of Searchman. This earned the reptilian creature's annoyance as it roared at the flying nuisances before it attempted to shoot them down. However, the pair made sure to evade its counter attack and continued to harass it for a few more seconds. After they made sure they had the monster's complete attention, the two began to make their retreat. The fleeing duo could hear the monster's enraged roars as it gave chase.


After what felt like an eternity, Netto had finally reached the others in SciLab. "Sorry, for the wait you guys!" He said as he approached the group of people who were gathered in front of the large monitor. Several heads turned in his direction after he made his presence known.

"About time you got here, Netto Hikari!" Enzan said with an irritated sigh accompanying his words. Clearly he had become even more annoyed with the brown-haired scientist since they had last spoken. But, Enzan's lack of patience and manners were not without reason. The situation had begun to take a serious turn for the worse. The reinforcements which arrived sometime before Netto made his appearance helped somewhat in the beginning. However, the monster started to behave even more aggressively as it tried its hardest to eliminate the Navis attacking it. If its behavior patterns were unpredictable before, it was acting completely erratic now. This resulted in their forces losing ground and numerous Net Navis in the process. How they were able to last this long was lost to Enzan, but he was still grateful they managed to hold out.

"You sure know how to make a guy feel welcomed, Enzan." He laughed as he rubbed the back of his head. His words earned him a groan and a muttered complaint from the other man while the others present in the room expressed their own forms of amusement. After the laughter died out, Netto directed his gaze over towards the monitor. The frown which appeared on his face as he observed the fighting had not gone unnoticed. But, the room remained silent, as everyone present opted to leave the scientist alone with his thoughts. Thankfully, they did not have to wait long before Netto turned his attention back towards them. "So, things have gotten this bad, huh?"

"Unfortunately, this indeed the case." Raika responded with hints of an apologetic tone being present in his words. He was feeling more than a little frustrated with how the situation was playing out. "At this rate, that creature is going to break through our formation. If that happens, it'll be very difficult to reorganize ourselves."

"We can't let that happen. We don't have unlimited Battle Chips at our disposal, and our Navis are exhausted enough as it is." Enzan added as he observed how the Navis desperately continued to fight. The battle against the Komodo dragon had lasted for so long, the Navis were having to fight against their own fatigue as well as the monster. Their stamina was not infinite, and the risk of someone making a fatal mistake grew even more likely. "If it manages to break free now, reforming the encirclement will be impossible. Worst case scenario, we'd have to abandon Densan and any nearby areas."

His grim words were met with silence as everyone let the possibility sink in. Even if someone wanted to protest against the action, there was nothing that could be used to refute Enzan's words. The silence continued for several long seconds before it was broken.

"…Then, it looks like we'll really have to use that after all…" It was Netto's voice which cut through the suffocating silence. Everyone in the room was now looking at him; a mixture of different emotions on their faces. A drawn out sigh came from Enzan as he glanced away from Netto to instead look at the monitor. "…Enzan?"

"I don't like it, Netto. I'm seriously against using that thing! It's way too risky! You of all people should know this better than anyone! Hell, you helped design the thing!" Enzan shouted after remaining silent for several seconds. There was a deep set scowl on his face, his eyes containing all sorts of different thoughts and emotions.

"I know, believe me, I do. This entire time, I've been trying to come up with some kind of alternative! If things weren't so dire, I'd never even consider using that sort of weapon! But, we don't have any other choice here, there's too much at stake!" At first, Netto's words were calm and composed. But, as he continued to speak, a desperate sort of anger began to creep in. His unexpected outburst had caused Enzan's own temper to cool down a bit as he stared at Netto. By this point, the whole room had once again gone silent as the two friends went at it. With his head lowered, no one could see the expression on the scientist's face. "Something like this monster… can't be allowed to continue to roam free. If we don't stop it here, then we lose our best possible chance of winning against it." These words were softly spoken, almost as if Netto was talking to himself and not the others. However, his point had been made, and Enzan had no other choice but to back down. No matter how he looked at it, the situation had long since passed the point of no return. The monster they were fighting was far too dangerous and unpredictable to take any more chances on. There was no telling how many more lives it would claim before it was stopped; if it even could be stopped should they fail here…

"…Do what you want then." Enzan said coldly, his tone making it clear he still wasn't happy with the decision. However, his words appeared to be what Netto needed in order to go through with his decision. For seconds after Enzan finished talking, Netto turned to address the scientists who worked under him.

"What are you all standing around for?! Start getting the preparations under way!" He ordered, and the members of his staff scurried away to fulfill his demand. Meanwhile, his friends and Enzan's subordinates returned their full attention back towards the fight. Enzan joined them soon after, but only after he caught sight of the hesitation Netto struggled to hide. Raika had also taken notice of the scientist's reluctance, but like Enzan, he refrained from saying anything. Neither of the two men made any comment about his barely noticeable trembling.


Back on the battle field, the Navis had been informed of the decision to use their secret weapon. How they felt about it no longer mattered, as this was the only option left. Everything else they tried either ended in failure or barely so much as scratched their adversary. Even so, there were some among them who were still reluctant to place all their hopes on the weapon they were about to unleash. It was an understandable concern, as they were also aware of the risks they were potentially facing. Still, nothing changed the fact that their backs were figuratively against the wall now. Which is why they forced themselves to stop worrying about the what-ifs. All they could do now was keep the monster here within the weapon's range until it was ready…

"Don't lose focus! There's only five minutes left until the weapon fires! This monster won't live to see another day! It will regret its decision to take up arms against our loved ones!" Blues shouted as he tried to keep the group's morale up. The Navis under his command and his friends responded to his words with passionate cries of their own. As tired and beat up as they were, each and every one of them was determined to fight until the very end. This display of fighting spirit brought a small smile to Blues' face before he turned around to glare at the reptilian monster before him. "This is it for you, foolish monster! Prepare yourself!" He declared as he pointed his sword at the monster. The Komodo dragon responded to his words with a defiant roar as its amber eyes glared down at its opponents. Blues responded to the creature's actions with a smirk before he went on the offensive. If it were possible, he would feel a bit of pity for the ignorant creature. The thing was entirely unaware that the next couple of minutes would be its last.


"The preparations are finished. We can fire the weapon at any time, sir!" One of the other scientists said as he informed Netto of the weapon's readiness. The weapon was a massive, bronze colored canon which was sitting on top of SciLab's main building. It had a long barrel which was squared shaped. The weapon had a sleek design which hid the fact it was actually well armored and heavy. There was also two cables feeding power into the canon. These cables were stationed behind the canon's main body.

"Lock onto its coordinates and prepare to fire!" Netto replied as the other scientist concentrated on entering the correct set of coordinates. There was an air of anticipation and suspense as the weapon's power continued to climb. Outside of the lab, a ball of light began to grow in size until it filled nearly all the available space inside the barrel. The time for when the canon was ready to fire rapidly approached. The sound of his assistant's voice counting down the last remaining seconds echoed in the silent room. During this time, Netto kept his gaze firmly on the monitor which featured the Net Navis and the monster. His face was unreadable and gave away no indicator as to what he might have been thinking. He remained silent up until the point where the countdown had reached its end.

"Fire." The single word which left Netto's mouth resulted in a large beam of concentrated energy shooting forth from the weapon. This energy beam headed straight for the monster, intent on erasing all traces of the creature from existence…


Without any clear warning or explanation, the monster suddenly stopped paying attention to the Navis gathered around it. Instead, it appeared as if it had been distracted by something else entirely. All of its movements came to a halt and this left the Navis confused as to what it was doing. In the following seconds, they had their answer as a massive streak of light raced straight towards them. Or, more specifically, towards the massive reptile they were fighting. Even though the laser was still some distance away, the Navis were able to detect the immense power packed within the beam. Which is why the monster's utter stillness continued to baffle them. Surely, the creature could sense that the laser had the potential to end its existence. So, why was it not trying to at least muster some sort of defense against the oncoming laser?

"!?" An ominous sense of foreboding suddenly wracked Blues' entire body. Every last fiber of his being was warning him that something was wrong. There was just something completely and utterly wrong with the reptile's lack of a reaction. Directing his gaze upward towards the creature's face, he felt a growing sense of dread. The Komodo dragon's indifferent expression had not faltered by the slightest bit. But, even so, Blues was experienced enough to know that was never a good sign. He needed to warn the others immediately, however; that was a chance he would never get. Seconds before the laser could come close to reaching its target, the monster decided to make its move. Suddenly, a large dark-purple dome shaped barrier came into existence and surrounded the monster's body. The barrier's dark coloration completely hid the Komodo dragon from their view.


The sudden appearance of the barrier had caught everyone back in SciLab off guard as well. Up until now, the monster had never revealed that it was capable of creating barriers. Had it been hiding this ability the entire time? Or, had it been building up energy in order to unleash an attack powerful enough to decisively end this conflict? The lack of an explanation which could describe the new development sent Netto and his fellow scientists into a frenzy. They needed to figure out what the deal behind the barrier was and quickly at that!

"Sir! The energy readings that are coming from the barrier are unbelievable!" A scientist who was in his late twenties reported with a voice full of disbelief. His statement caused Netto to quickly rush over to the other scientist's side.

"What's going on?" Enzan asked as he quickly grew tired of being kept in the dark and watching the scientists move about in a panic.

"I can't say… But, I'm 100% certain it's not good. As far as I can tell, the laser's not having any effect on the barrier at all. It's almost like the laser is getting-!" Netto cut his response short as his eyes widened in realization. "That barrier's absorbing the laser's energy!" Netto was on the verge of saying more, but he was cut off by the younger scientist.

"I apologize for interrupting, but there's something strange going on with the barrier!" Those words pulled Netto's attention back over towards the screen his co-worker was looking at. As he studied the information being displayed by the monitor, his mind worked frantically to make sense of it all. However, the answer continued to elude him. But, at the very least, it did not take very long before the answer revealed itself.

The monster's barrier started to shrink at a rapid rate until it was half of its original size. Before anyone could begin to question this latest turn of events, everything was already over. The barrier released all of the energy it stored in an unexpected burst. The energy being expelled was several times greater than what was originally absorbed. This meant the barrier had amplified the laser's power and was now releasing it over a wide area. There was no defense against the immense wall of energy that showed no signs of slowing down. Within seconds, all of Densan had been engulfed by the blinding light. Not even SciLab was spared as the wall of energy continued to travel further and further away from its epicenter. Everything in its path was thoroughly obliterated, as it continued to spread destruction far and wide…

By the end of it, Electopia had almost been completely wiped out of existence. The country's population had been reduced to such critically low numbers that it was miracle anyone had survived at all. The Electopian side of the Net was entirely destroyed, and as a result, inaccessible to the rest of the world. The disaster which virtually destroyed Electopia had also affected the networks of several nearby countries. The resulting damage the other countries took left them with having several areas of their own networks becoming unusable. The government officials of the other countries were not happy at all, but they could not exactly demand answers from Electopia. The country had been left in shambles, and there were virtually no individuals capable enough to run their government in place of their deceased leaders. Even if there was anyone among the survivors who could take their place, they would hardly be a reliable source of information. After all, no one knew where the monster that destroyed their country had come from. They didn't even know whether or not it was still alive, as there had yet to be any further sightings…