Arthur woke up to the roar sound. He blearily rubbed his eyes, and rolled over to look at the PET.

"We just got an email. :)"

"Open it." Said Arthur, sitting up.

'Local NetBattle tournament begins in seven days! Register at your town chip shop, and bring your best in a competition for a promotional Sanctuary mega chip! The two finalists will also win entries to the National Netbattle tournament, and the prizes don't stop there! Find out more at your local chip shop. Note: participants must be 16 or over, and legal residents of their country.'

Arthur shook himself awake "Hey, that sounds pretty good! Let's enter! I'm not sure what the Sanctuary chip does, but I'm going to try and get it!"

"Count me in! :D"

Arthur rolled out of bed and changed into his school clothes. "How long do I have until I need to be at school?"

"Eleven minutes. :l"

"I'm going to be late." Swallowed Arthur.


"So, are you guys going to sign up for the tournament?" Asked Arthur, to William and Joe. Denny was dozing.

Joe nodded "Yeah, Sanctuary is a really rare chip. Almost nowhere sells it."

"Plus I checked, there are actually smaller rewards for making it to the local quarter finals, since so many people are expected to join. Have you signed up yet?" Said William.

"I didn't have time when I woke up. How many spaces are there?" Said Arthur.

"Two hundred and fifty six. About fifty were filled when I got there before school, but they're expected to fill up pretty much instantly, since the school has about five hundred netbattlers." Said Joe.

"...Maybe I should skip class to go register." Murmured Arthur.

"Don't. Just send your Navi to go and sign up while you're here." Offered Joe.

Arthur nodded. "Okay. Gospel, do you know the way from the school servers to the chip shop?"

"Leave it to me! :)"

"Alright, run for it. If you have any problems, ping me." Said Arthur. Gospel ran off.

"So, Denny?" probed William.

Denny opened one eye "Yeah?"

"Did the police catch those guys?"

Denny chuckled. "I watched them get thrown into a cell personally, screaming bloody murder directly into the recording cameras. It's great dealing with imcompetent enemies. Oh, and they were found in possession of illegally produced chips with intent to sell, and one of them was also wanted for stealing a car."

"Absolutely busted." Grinned William.

Arthur raised a finger. "Illegal chips?"

"Dark chips. You've heard of them, haven't you?" Said Denny.

"Ohh, I remember. Aren't they really rare after the officials caught the makers? Don't you need, like, a license to have them?"

"Yeah. Apparently my cousin found a crate, and was going to pawn them off to unsuspecting people. Heartless."

"I'm back. :)" Pinged Gospel.

"Oh, that was fast. Are we signed up?" Said Arthur.

"Yes. Entry number 125, Arthur Penn and Gospel. oh, and I grabbed a copy of the rules. Apparently the later rounds have a few twists. :)"

Arthur skimmed the text document. "The quarter finals are two-versus-two battles?"

"Yes. I've memorised all the special rounds, round 3 will have a battleground themed to the participating Navis, the quarterfinals are two versus two, and the finals will take place on entirely holypanels. Because the reward is Sanctuary." Said Joe.


After school, all four of them went down to the chipshop. William insisted Arthur come.

"As it is right now, the tournament's a week today. We need to get you ready, since everyone else has had months to get their hands on useful chips." Explained William. "Also, you need to raise Gospel's health up to the rest of our levels. So we need to buy either HP up for your NaviCust, or HP memories."

"But for now, we'll help you pick out some chips." Said Joe. "New stock arrives today, and with a tournament coming up..."

Denny yawned, looking at the mass of students nearby. "I'm going to go get an icecream. You guys can wait for the new stock to arrive."

Arthur glanced at the other students that had gone straight to the chip shop. "Hey... maybe we should try and plan specifically for our opponents. Gospel, who are we fighting in the first round?"

"Contestant 126, PlateMan and Cory Smith. I don't know them, they're in the year above us. :l" replied Gospel.

William tapped Arthur's shoulder for attention. "I think the stock's here! Come on, no time to waste!" He whispered, trying not to tip off the rest of the room.

They ran for the counter, as the ripple of realisation spread through the room. A dishevelled employee placed a 'Max one of each chip per sale due to high demand' sign on the counter. Arthur followed William closely, as the stronger boy zoomed over to the counter at lightning speed.

"Show me what you got!" Shouted William to the employee. They hefted up a display poster with all the recent orders. William and twenty others craned to read it, and then the cry went up.

"THEY HAVE A GIGA CHIP FOR SALE!" Shouted at least three different people.

William was close enough to read the price. It clocked in at a hefty seventy five thousand Zenny. Two were in stock. He turned to Arthur and said "It's NaviRecycle. Don't bother, it's only good if you have a powerful Navi chip and a damage boost chip." And then shouted to the employee "I'LL TAKE AN M-CANNON AND A BUBBLE WRAP!" The employee handed over the chips, charged him and William moved aside.

There was an outcry as a few metres to Arthur's left, a girl bought the first NaviRecycle. Arthur found himself at the desk. He looked over the chip chart, and realised he still had no idea what most of them were. "I'll..." He cleared his throat, and decided to just get one that looked cool. "I WANT A VARIABLE SWORD, AND... A CROSSBOMB!" The employee rang up the order, and pulled the chips out of the just-delivered crate, handing them to Arthur. Arthur wrestled his way out of the crowd, and moved to the far end of the shop. William was waiting with Denny.

"What did you choose?" Asked William.

Arthur showed him the chips, each still in a an individual plastic jacket. "I'm not sure what each one does. But they looked cool."

"Variable sword is pretty great, but it's hard to use. Basically a dozen different blades in one as long as you know the commands. Crossbomb is... kind of underwhelming, but far from the worst chip on the list. Hey, here comes Joe."

Joe came over with a fistful of chips. "Rest in peace, my pocket money." Now he was closer, Arthur could see he had about seven chips in his hand. "I made out like a bandit there. Oh, and also Arthur, I just had to get this for you." He held out a chip.

Arthur took the small item. "Bug Bomb. Well, thanks! What did you get for yourself?"

"I got..." Joe flipped through the stack of chips. "Prism K, FireSword F, Symphony T, Two Spreaders, and Super Vulcan V. I'm so ready for this tournament."

"You got Prism?! Where was that on the list?! I've been looking for one for ages, it's a perfect fit for ArsenalMan." Said William.

"It was about halfway down, on the left. They ordered thirty of them, there'll probably be some left when the rush ends." Said Joe.

Denny sauntered back in. "Sup. Looks like I missed it."

William smiled when he came over. "I owe you for that one."

"Huh? For what?" Asked Arthur.

"Well, how do you think I knew the exact moment the shipment would arrive?" Said William.

Arthur sat up, and realised Denny had a distinct lack of ice cream. "OH. That's clever. He was a lookout?"

Denny nodded. "I have all my cousin's chips, so I don't need these."

Arthur's PET beeped. "Gospel? Something up?" Said Arthur.

"I want to fight ArsenalMan! Since he's here now. :)"

Arthur looked to William. "Are you up for a netbattle?"

"Sure thing. Bring it on, ArsenalMan will blast you away."


Gospel loaded into the battle machine. ArsenalMan appeared across from him.

"ArsenalMan, to war!"

"Gospel, destroy!"

ArsenalMan opened fire, gatling guns blazing and tank cannons firing intermittently. Gospel dashed to the side, and texted "Need to close gap!" He moved an arm to halt a few pellets that would have hit him in the face otherwise.

"Alright, AreaSteal, and Sword, in!"

"Bubble Wrap, in."

Gospel phased out of existence, reappearing next to ArsenalMan. A layer of water veiled the military Navi. Gospel slashed, and the veil popped, but it was enough time for ArsenalMan to shoot at him. Gospel's armor held. Gospel formed the sword, and cut cleanly across ArsenalMan's chest.

"Sending chips now- get yourself away from the target. Airshoes in!" said William.

ArsenalMan jumped up into the air, the veil regenerating. Gospel looked up and ducked as he resumed bombardment.

"Gospel, I'm sending the new chips. Variable Sword, in!"

A new interface opened on the PET for the VariableSword. Arthur looked at it and frowned. 'enter command' it asked.

Joe leaned over his shoulder "Use the direction keys to put in a code. Left, Down, Right!"

"Left..."

Gospel skirted around a missile blast, struggling to stay close to ArsenalMan's boosted mobility.

"Down... Right." 'Command recieved: Fightersword'

The VariableSword formed on Gospel's arm. He lunged, and swung it. He thought he'd missed, and the reach was too little, but the sword made a strange golden arc that nearly tripled the reach, and cut another gash across ArsenalMan's armor.

"No other choice. ArsenalMan, we need to end it now, we can't beat his speed. M-Cannon, in!"

The heavy red gun formed on ArsenalMan's hand. He aimed it directly at Gospel, reading their HP. 115 to the cannon's 120 damage. "Target in range... this will log them out!"

Gospel realised the Navi was recieving chips as he tried to read ArsenalMan's health. 40. "I need a cannon!" he texted.

Arthur had already been scrambling for one. "Cannon, IN!"

The two Navis raised their weapons in quick timing. Gospel stuttered as the gun loaded. He blinked out of reality for a moment, causing the M-cannon to miss completely, and reappeared with his basic cannon ready. "Destroy!" The shot impacted ArsenalMan's bubble, but Gospel was already moving forawds, and dragged their claws over ArsenalMan's stomach.

'ArsenalMan, logged out. Data successfully recorded!'

"I did it! :D" Gospel's mouth opened.

Arthur jumped in excitement. "We got the ArsenalMan chip too! Well done!"

":D"

"Okay, for now Gospel, back." Arthur sighed happily, and looked up at William. "You scared me to death with that M-cannon. I see why they're so expensive."

"Ha, it's yet to pay itself off. Should be pretty handy for the tournament though!"


Later, Gospel was exploring the net. "Hey, can I go to the old undernet? :)"

"Wha- no. It's too dangerous there. We just need to find a good source of BugFrags to brind your HP up for the tournement.

Grinding out BugFrags had turned out to be difficult, and tedious, as much as Gospel enjoyed eating them. "But I remember some things about it... I think I know where I can find some secret areas!"

"Arthur! Dinner is ready!" Called Arthur's mother from downstairs.

"Want me to log you out before I go? I'll be a few minutes." Said Arthur.

"No. :)"

"Okay, just stay in the village area. Log out if you take damage." Arthur dashed downstairs, to the waiting meal.

About halfway through, Arthur's father looked up from his spaghetti and said "So, what were you making on my computer the other day?"

Arthur's heart skipped a beat, and he paled. He realised at that exact moment that with all the drama of recieving Gospel, he'd forgotten to tell his parents anything. "I... ah.. can explain everything" The fact his old Navi was gone. The fact he'd run a potentially dangerous program on his father's machine without asking. The fact that -oh sweet mercy, the huge useless file was still saved there. What if the machine was bugged out?! Arthur panicked internally.

"Are you okay, dear?" Asked Ms. Penn.

Unable to work out exactly what not to say, he just resorted to his usual pressure response, a mental 'screw it'. He choked down a completely inedible mouthful of perfect spaghetti. "IAccidentallyGotMyOldNaviDeletedAndHeTurnedIntoACustomNaviFullOfBugs" He blurted.

His father leaned back in confusion. "I was talking about you using all my printer ink. What's this about a custom Navi?"

"Oh, the ink was me dear. But yes, tell us everything!" Said Ms. Penn.

Arthur looked around. "Right... so... well, I was busting in the old undernet because you can earn Zenny faster there. But I almost instantly ran into a powerful virus. It would have deleted my Navi in one shot, but the undershirt activated. I tried to run, but... it was faster. It chased us down to a dead end, and... deleted them. My PET went black for a while, and I disconnected it, but then it started acting weird. I found there was a REALLY glitched-up program on there, and it was too big to run on my PET. I tried moving it to my computer to run a bugfix, but that didn't work because it was still too big, so... I asked to use yours. I was able to get the worst bugs out, and I had a working, custom Navi that registered to me!"

"That's great, son! I mean, I can't praise you for gambling with my computer, but... I'm glad you have a Custom Navi! You say they have some bugs, right?" Asked Mr. Penn.

"Yeah. Do you want me to go get them? I can't believe I forgot to introduce you..." Said Arthur, panic fading.

"Of course. Anyway, I know a good man who works at Scilab international, and he'd be happy to fix up your Navi for you. My treat. I'll even pay for the train tickets."

"Okay, I'll go get them! Oh, they look kind of intimidating, so... don't get scared!" called Arthur, running up the stairs. He burst into his room, and went over to the computer. "Gospel, back! You're going to meet my parents, so come on!"

"Who? Are they the ones who make you all that food? :l" texted Gospel.

"They're excited to meet you!" Arthur neglected to explain further, and ran back down the stairs. He sat back down at the table, turning the PET to face his parents. "Meet Gospel, my Navi." He heard the familiar beep of Gospel texting.

"You're a quiet one. I'm Jane." Said Ms. Penn.

"I'm Micheal. So, you're my son's Navi? I hope you two'll get along." Said Mr. Penn. "So, has Arthur told you about my offer for your bugs?"

Arthur placed the PET on the table so everyone could just about see the screen. "Um, before you tell him... I should say that he likes most of his bugs."

"Hm. Gospel, would you like it if we had Scilabs fix some of the more debilitating bugs in your code?"

"... ;L"

Arthur looked at Gospel. Gospel looked back awkwardly. "Come on, at the very least we want to fix the one that makes bomb chips appear outside your hand."

"... :l"

"I'll have them fix your tail."

"...fine. But make sure they don't mess with anything I don't want them to! ;("


Elsewhere

"Are you perfectly sure?" Said an older man, to the Navi on screen.

"I'm simply relaying what I've found. There is some evidence that a Cybeast has stirred."

"...This is not good... MegaMan still has possession of one, and I presumed the other would have been destroyed when he defeated Bass. We'll have to plan an expedition to the graveyard of all places now, too."

"Actually... the signature resembled Gregar more than Falzar. Yet MegaMan still has Gregar, at least to a degree."

"A third beast has emerged?"

"We can't say for sure. For what it's worth, the signature seemed to indicate it's weaker than either of those two. And it appeared in an area far removed from the initial incidents, not the graveyard."

The old man was silent for a while "Tell ProtoMan and Chaud. They'll make sure everything stays clear so I can continue to work on you."

"Of course, Wily."

Author's notes: Chips in this story may not be exactly the same as the games. The main example is chips that alter terrain, like AreaSteal and GrabRevenge, and that interact with your folder, like FullCust and FolderBack. I have ideas for what the new functions of some will be, but if anyone wants to suggest the altered function of a chip, I'm all ears. Also, even high-grade chips will be available early, but they're very expensive, and when a chip is rare, it's actually damn rare. I'm talking 'sift through the deepest, most dangerous corners of the undernet for weeks and maybe you'll find ONE' rare.

Update: fixed some spelling errors, added a response to the chapter 2 reviews. I think I forgot to save when I made my final draft.

Review answer

JaneValentine007: Ah, glad you spotted it. In the future I think I'll make it clearer when advances are being used. I've beaten 1 and 2, my 3 broke after beating Plantman but I watched a let's play, as well as 4, I've 100% beaten 5, and I made it to 6's endgame and lost the cartridge. More chapters are on the way!

-Deleted Scene-

The PET pinged. Gospel looked at Arthur. "Hey! I was looking through the Choinese alphabet, and look what I found! ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)"

"Gospel, what on earth is that face?!"

"( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)"

"What emotion is that for?"

"I'm not sure! But you must know ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)"

"It's kind of creepy..."

"( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)"