A/N: And now, we head into Central Town… and the future characters sort of figure out what's going on. If you're wondering why the chapter titles seem to repeat… yeah, I'll stop after this chapter, I swear.


Chapter 6: Central Town, City of Yesterday


National WAZA HQ

Heartless stood next to Dr. Goodall, both looking at an Air Display with Kelvin and Hope Stelar looking at them. "…What?" Kelvin asked. "Are you saying that Wilshire Hills just vanished overnight?"

"According to Ace's reports, yes," Heartless answered. "Wilshire Hills has entirely vanished."

"And here I was hoping to do some shopping tomorrow there," Hope said. "I was going to make a carrot casserole. So, what exactly happened?"

"Some time earlier, Wilshire Hills' Wave World was subjected to the equivalent of an earthquake," Goodall explained. "Before we could figure out what was happening, that earthquake came into the real world… and then the entire city went dark. I have spent some time analyzing the situation here… and nothing. There are very few signs Wilshire Hills ever existed, and that's bad for all of Electopia."

"I know," Kelvin agreed. "No Wilshire Hills, no IFL Tower… and no IFL Tower, very few EM Waves, if any at all. The entire country is literally on backup power. We'll eventually be defenseless."

"That's not all," Heartless said. Pressing a button, she turned the Air Display so the two could look at the Satellia Police's supercomputer. As Dr. Goodall typed in a few keys, Heartless continued, "With Satellia Police investigations, we've found something really interesting. Wilshire Hills wasn't just stolen… it's been replaced."

The four looked to see the footage of a new town, which had rather low technology compared to the stuff they had before—no Wizards, no Air Displays, but plenty of people, plenty of electronics, and they were all enjoying themselves. There were also robots around, an artificially upgraded tree, a colossal city in the sky, blank-looking dolls, and overall healthy-looking environments. In the middle of the town was a blue bird statue.

"What is this…?" Kelvin asked.

"Oh, you've seen nothing YET, Kelvin," Dr. Goodall smirked. With a few keystrokes, she added, "Here's something the Satellia Police Wizards found when conducting their more personal search with the electronics." The Stelars were greeted with the site of an entire other world, where human-like (and some non-humanlike) beings walked around and explored. "Apparently, according to the patrols, this is called 'the Net'."

"The Net?" Kelvin gasped. "…How is it possible!?"

"I'm still trying to figure it out," Dr. Goodall confessed. "I'm doing the best as I can, but I don't know how this happened."

"Furthermore," Heartless added, "when asked about the era, these people said 20XX… in short, two hundred years ago."

Hope gasped. "Two hundred years!? Oh, those poor people! They have no idea they're 200 years in the future! So, you need Geo and Omega-Xis to investigate?" Hope asked.

"I figured he would be interested," Heartless said. "But Hope, Kelvin… he's your son. If you don't want him to risk endangering himself for a fourth time, I will do everything in my power to prevent him from becoming involved and see if we can resolve this crisis ourselves before we lose all of our EM Wave technology. However, if there's no other option, we may request his help."

Kelvin sadly smiled. "A little too late for that… Geo and Omega-Xis already on their way to this new city." Goodall and Heartless looked up to see in part of the city, Luna's Rescue Squad—and Ace—getting off a bus.

-GS-

Cyber City—Central Town

Geo's group looked around the city. Despite the Prog telling them that was damage done to the Central Town area a year prior, there weren't a lot of signs indicating the damage. In fact, the only places that were showing mild signs were scorch signs around the northwest part of town, but that area was still accessible. There were child-sized robots patrolling the streets, doing some casual cleaning.

"Actual robots?" Zack said. "You know, now that I think about it, back in 19XX, there was a debate about whether robotics or electronics technology should have been further researched into for future generations. I guess that although Net society had won over the robotics, there still were some robots left. We don't have too many of those in our time."

"True," Ace confessed. "Considering the fact that we can make sentient EM Beings, robotics just died out completely... a shame, too."

"So, how do these robots run?" Jack asked, looking at a nearby one."

"If I had to guess," Zack said, "I figured that they have either their own mini networks, or there is a master computer whose Cyber Core controls much of their movements. If the latter is the case, then chances are there is a place in Central Town controlling their main network."

The group decided to keep exploring. They eventually stopped at a notable shop in town, one that was labeled 'AsterLand Chip Shop'.

"Chips?" Luna asked Geo and Zack. "As in snacks? That's quite a large shop for a candy store..."

"No it's not!" Bud argued. "It's the perfect size!"

"I don't think it's talking about chips as in food, guys," Zack corrected, looking at a poster on the outside of the shop. The six spotted a collection of memory card-like objects with various weapons on them, from Cannons to Swords to even a Vulcan. "These look just like..."

"Battle Chips," Geo finished.

"Battle Chips?" Luna asked.

"Before the Battle Cards we use today," Geo explained, "there were a lot of viruses back in 20XX. However, by 21XX, most virus-related problems had been dealt with by a pair of programs known as 'Colonel' and 'Iris'. Colonel hunted down and deleted them, while Iris repaired damaged programs."

"Not that I'm complaining, but haven't we learned about these in school?" Bud asked.

"That's because they've been decommissioned years ago," Ace interjected. "With no virus-related problems, Colonel and Iris were no longer necessary, and we then removed knowledge about them from the basic curriculum."

"In fact," Zack added, "before the FM-ians, there weren't any virus outbreaks for years. With our conflict with Planet FM and the remnants of the Mu Empire, we were reintroduced to virus problems. Before that, Battle Cards were just a collectible card game featuring prototype Real Waves. Now, they and the Hunter-VGs are our best defenses against EM Virus problems."

"Okay, but where do Chips fit in?" Luna explained her question.

"Before Battle Cards," Geo explained, "there were Battle Chips. They were a bit more complicated to use than our Battle Card system, but they were better designed to work together with the Navis and PETs."

"Yeah, the Hunters were ultimately designed to work with the Battle Cards," Ace confessed. "The past thought ahead when it came to virus-busting and made the Battle Chips to work hand-in-hand with the Navis and PETs. Especially considering that even though plenty of Navis weren't combat-specialists, they were now better-equipped for fighting virus-related problems."

"At least until AM-ians and FM-ians decided to make our debut on Earth," Omega-Xis proudly refuted.

"Chips also made Net Battles popular," Geo added.

"Net Battles?" Luna asked. "What were those?"

"They were battles between two or more Navis controlled by their operators," Geo explained. "Usually held in controlled enviornments, these battles were fought until one of the Navis was defeated. It took both strategy and strong chips to win these battles. They even held tournaments..."

"How barbaric!" Luna gasped. "What happens to the losing Navis?"

"They survived," Geo assured her. "Like I said, these battles usually happened in controlled enviornments, like designated stadiums. Although, I've heard that Net Battles outside of these stadium fights were usually more dangerous... without the proper restraints, there was no guarantee that both Navis would walk away alive..."

"Man," Jack groaned, looking at the shop and ending the conversation. "They're closed for restocking!" Indeed, the shop was closed.

"Hey, you guys!" a voice said from behind them. Geo's group looked to see a kid their age (well, Ace was older but that was beside the point) with dark skin, dark brown shoulder-length hair (with a cowlick) and an X-shaped scar on his left cheek walking up to them, holding a box. He was wearing a light blue jacket with yellow cuffs, darker blue shorts, and black shoes. "Do ya mind movin' out of the way? I kind of need the door open."

"I thought this shop was closed, though," Bud said, looking at it.

"Yeah, it is," the boy said. "But I know the kid who lives and works here. Speaking of which… hey, Tab!"

"Yeah?" a voice from inside the shop asked.

"It's Mick! I finally picked up that order you made! Open up!"

"Mick, I asked you to pick that up for me two hours ago! It was a ten-minute walk!"

"I got… distracted," Mick confessed. The chip shop opened up, revealing another boy around Geo's age with short brown hair and brown eyes behind a pair of glasses. Beneath his green apron marked with a six petal orange flower he wore a white shirt and red shorts. On his feet were green sandals over a pair of gray socks. Finally, resting on his head was a green and orange visor with the same flower symbol on his apron.

"Mick, did you forget we were supposed to go to ACDC Town?" Tab chided him. "Lan and the others are waiting… now we've missed the last bus for the day that goes out that far!"

"I know, I know!" Mick groaned. "We'll make it up to them, later! However, I heard about a new Net Battle Tournament made by the new mayor that will be held at the end of summer, and my useless Navi and I decided to sign up for it. I tried to mail Lan and Dex about it since they're both Net Battlers, but I couldn't get through…"

"Did that kid say 'tournament'?" Omega-Xis asked. This was noticed by Mick and Tab.

"Oh, you guys are still here," Mick said. "Yeah, Cyber City is going to have a Net Battle tournament at the end of the summer. Prelims aren't for a few days, but registration started today. Are you guys gonna compete? That's just more opponents for me and my Navi to crush!"

"Um, I don't really have too many plans for that…" Geo said. "I'm not really a fan of fighting…"

"That's strange," Mick said. "You were talking about Net Battles earlier, right?" Geo nearly jumped.

"Well, I was just explaining them to a friend... I research from time to time outside of school..."

"Why don't you at least check it out, Geo?" Ace spoke up. Geo turned to Ace, surprised he suggested that. "Considering you missed the last tournament you were invited to, you could make up for it by competing here."

"Um, uh… okay…"

"Well, if you're gonna compete," Tab said, "the best place to get more information would most likely be in Central Square's Battle BBS. There was an access point in Central Area 3's Net the last time I checked."

"My Navi will be in that tournament ready to own you!" Mick said before heading inside with the box.

"Sorry about him," Tab said. "Mick's improving, but he's still… immature at times."

"So how do we get to this Central Area we've heard about?" Luna asked. "We're kind of new in town."

"Well," Tab suggested, "You can jack in from a few areas in town. One of them is the bird statue in the middle of town." Geo's group looked at the blue bird statue in town, its wings spread. "That should take you to the Home Page of Central Area."

"Well, thanks!" Luna smiled. "It was nice to meet you… Tab, right?"

"Right!" Tab said. "If you guys ever need Battle Chips for the tournament, can I ask you to come down to AsterLand? We're not going to be open now, but in a few days, we'll be ready for all of your Battle Chip needs!"

"We'll remember it," Luna nodded. "Come on, guys. We better get going!" The group walked away from the Chip shop, Geo having mild concern on his face.

"Ace…" he said, "why did you have me agree to that!?"

"You may look a little suspicious, Geo," Ace explained. "Besides, we could use someone exploring the Net… it can hold more information about what happened last night."

"But… I can't 'jack-in'. I can 'pulse-in' and 'trans-in', but not 'jack-in'."

"That is a problem," Ace realized.

"If I may interject," Acid spoke up from Ace's Hunter. "I'm detecting that there is the possibility that you can access the Net Area from the Wave World. If you EM Wave Change, you can perhaps follow the remnants of the Wave World that was in Wilshire Hills and access the Net from the Bird statue."

"Wow, really?" Omega-Xis said. "You think we can pull it off, Acid?"

"You did the same back in the Bus Stop," Acid reminded him. "It should not be difficult to access the Net."

"Whoa," Bud said. "Hard to believe we did that without even really thinking about it."

"Okay," Geo nodded. "Since nobody here knows about the future's technology, I'll have to Wave Change away from people, but once I do, I'll begin my search for Central Square's BBS."

"What's a BBS, anyway?" Bud asked. "Is it like barbeque?"

"That's ridiculous!" Jack scoffed. "It would obviously be some time of arena!"

"You two are half right... sort of," Zack answered both of them. "A BBS is a type of forum service used back in the Net era."

"A forum?" Vogue asked. "You mean people exchange information and chat on them?"

"That's it," Geo said. "They used to share information and offer advice publically."

"Wow," Luna breathed. "Why don't we have those today? That would actually make information exchanging so much easier! I could keep up with the latest trends way easier that way!"

"As well as sharing battle tips!" Omega-Xis grinned. "Everyone should be able to go buck wild on viruses!"

"Omega-Xis, you're a savage brute," Luna said. "However, that would make virus busting much easier if everyone had places to share tips like that."

"Alright," Geo said. "I'll pulse in and see if I can investigate the Net. You guys can check around the northwest part of town?"

"We'll see what we can do," Ace promised. "Good luck, Geo."

"Alright, now where's a good place to pulse in without being seen…?" Geo spotted an area nearby—an area beside a somewhat new-looking house that had a "For Sale" sign. Geo quickly ducked beside it, and pulled out his Hunter-VG. "Trans-Code #003! Mega Man!"

-003-

Central Area

While invisible in the Wave World, Mega Man easily managed to sneak around the town before accessing the Bird Statue. When he landed, Mega Man found himself in a new world, reminded of all of the Comp Spaces and Cyber Cores he's explored. As he walked down the Cyber Road, he found that he was in Central Area 1. However, despite minor viruses that popped up to hinder him, it wasn't too hard to find Central Area 2 and navigate from there to Central Area 3.

But once he arrived and headed up the stairs leading into the main part of Central Area 3, Mega Man and Omega-Xis were shocked to see the massive pit that took up most of the area. "That is a BIG hole, kid," Omega-Xis said.

"What happened here?" Mega Man asked. "I know more about the Net than almost anyone else, but I've never heard of this hole."

"You've never heard of the Legend of the Cybeasts?" a voice asked. Mega Man turned to see a female Navi walking up next to him. She had blue hair in a sort of ponytail with long bangs and brown eyes beneath her pink visor. Her armor looked to be in a nurse motif, a white dress with pink lines running down the front, blue under armor on her arms and legs covered by white gloves and boots, and a white cap with a symbol on it—a purple circle surrounding four orange half-ovals aligned in an X pattern, almost looking like pills.

"Cybeasts?" Mega Man asked. "They caused this?"

"Well, my operator and I may not be from around here," the Navi explained, "but we've heard of Cyber City's legendary monsters. The legend goes that this pit you see here in Central Area 3 was built in the early age of Net society. There's even a group of statues in the back of this area next to the entrance of Central Square. They'll probably tell the story a lot better than I can."

"You're not from Central Town?" Mega Man asked.

"We're actually from Choina," the Navi replied. "We came to Electopia's Cyber City to study the healing properties of Seaside Area's Healing Water and revitalizing damaged Navis. But nowadays, a lot of people talk about how the Cybeasts were destroyed by a blue Navi…"

"Meddy, we really should hurry up to Seaside Area 3," a female voice spoke up.

"Alright, Jasmine!" the Navi—apparently named Meddy—spoke up. She handed him some type of data labeled "Meddy". No doubt with some patience, he could make a Mega Card with her power. "Well, here's hoping I'll you later!" The female Navi ran off, leaving Mega Man alone.

"A blue Navi?" Mega Man asked. "You don't think she was talking about me, do you?"

"Well, those statues are back where we need to go, anyway," Omega-Xis said. "We may as well look." When they reached the back of the area, they spotted a group of giant statues. One of the statues was a large, fierce looking wolf, the name 'Gregar' marked on it. There was a huge bird as the second statue, labeled 'Falzar'. Two more statues were marked, one being a tall male figure with a sword for an arm called 'Colonel', and the other a girl around Geo's age with long hair and butterfly clips called 'Iris'.

"Here it is," Mega Man breathed. "Let's see here…"

'Long ago, there were two Beasts with great power on the Net. These two Beasts were not friendly to each other, rather they fought each other again and again. They fought fiercely and greatly changed the face of the Net. People feared these two beasts and called them… Cybeasts…

'One of the Cybeasts was shaped like a great wolf: Cybeast Gregar. Its roar was enough to cause the whole Net to shake, and it devoured many Navis with its sharp fangs…

'The other Cybeast was a giant bird-like beast: Cybeast Falzar. With its huge wings, it scattered objects all over the Net, and with its razor-sharp claws, it shredded many programs…

'This is where the two Cybeasts' reign of terror ended—where they fought each other to the end… The chasm in this area was born from their clash, and the bottom of this pit is known as the Underground. The Cybeasts once rested here until a sinister organization revived them.

"The organization managed to capture one Cybeast, but the other was captured by a blue hero. The hero defeated the organization, but the Cybeast escaped from the hero. The hero, joined by these two brave Navis, 'Colonel' and 'Iris', fought and slain the Cybeasts, but Colonel and Iris sacrificed their lives in the process. The blue hero was known as 'MegaMan'."

"Wow," Omega-Xis said after digitizing next to Mega Man. "These two Cybeasts would have been tough, kid. Glad they're already dead… otherwise; we'd have a very powerful pair of enemies."

"It says that 'MegaMan' helped destroy the Cybeasts," Mega Man said. "But Mega… we've fought powerful monsters before, yet never a Cybeast. This means one thing… Mega, this was the original MegaMan's work."

"So your famous Hikaris had something to do with the Cybeasts as well as making us possible?" Omega-Xis said. "Sheesh, when you named us 'Mega Man', kid, you sure know how to pick a legacy."

"I guess," Mega Man confessed. "We've wasted too much time, here. We should head into Central Square and see if we can gather any clues." After Omega-Xis returned to the Hunter, Mega Man turned to see an access panel that warped them into the Square.

Upon arrival, Mega Man was greeted to the sight of many Navis chatting away and going about doing some shopping online. He himself even found a Merchant Hertz had opened his business right in the Square. Ignoring the strange sight, he found two bulletin boards next to each other, one labeled 'Chat BBS' and the other labeled 'Battle BBS'. He scanned through the Battle BBS first, finding what Mick and Tab were talking about.

Poster: Mayor Prairie

Subject: Cyber City Net Battle Tourney!

'Come one, come all, to the Cyber City End of Summer Net Battle Tournament! Sponsored by the mysterious Chromos Organization, competitors will experience some of the best Net Battling for all time! The Navi who is crowned Champion will receive a fabulous prize: the Key to the City, the honor of being the Cyber City Expo Operator Navi for next year, and 1,000,000 Zenny! If that's not enough to whet your whistle, the Operator of the Navi who wins the tournament will receive the fabled OOPArt, the Paradox Crown! Signups are held at Central Town's Event Arena in the northwest part of town, where the Expo Site used to be!'

"OOPArt?" Omega-Xis asked. "You mean like the type that we fought against Dr. Vega over during the Neo Mu Empire incident?"

"It sounds like it," Mega Man said. "I'd hate to see a repeat of that."

"In that case, kid," Omega-Xis said, "then we have to nab that thing just to make sure it's safe!"

"So, we should enter the tournament?" Mega Man asked. "I don't know… it would look suspicious if I came in under the name 'Mega Man' when this city clearly has history with him. And before you even suggest the idea, you'd look like a monster."

"Aw, you're no fun, kid!" Omega-Xis teased. "Alright, we'll let Ace know that, see if we can find a loophole. Still doesn't give us any information as to what happened to Wilshire Hills and Cyber City."

"Maybe someone talked about it," Mega Man said before walking over to the Chat BBS. "…I think I found something."

Poster: Sagittarius

Subject: Quake

'Did anybody feel last night's earthquake? It was pretty shocking! The Net and the real world both shook! You all don't think this means something bad is about to happen, do you?'

"Sagittarius?" Omega-Xis asked himself. "…Could it be…?"

"What?" Mega Man asked.

"Kid, there was someone back on Planet FM I could call a mentor," Omega-Xis confessed. "His name was Sagittarius, one of the greatest combat specialists on the planet. He's a noble warrior, through and through. Back when I was growing up after the destruction of Planet AM, he was the one who took me in, taught me how to fight... even taught me about the Mega Buster. This was in spite of the AM-ians he supposedly deleted in the war between our worlds that Gemini started. But the old centaur had been retired after the Destruction of Planet AM. I didn't see him during my runaway from Planet FM when we first met… but if he's here, he can't be taken too lightly."

"What would he be doing in the past?" Mega Man asked.

"Kid, there's a response to the post," Omega-Xis noted.

Poster: Tab

Subject: RE: Quake

'That quake originated from the Net!? How is that possible!? I know the guy who beat the Cybeasts—Lan Hikari and his Navi, MegaMan! If the Cybeasts were responsible for quakes that big before, we shouldn't be having them! The quake was so bad that my family's shop suffered merchandise damage! Does this mean something?'

Poster: Mick

Subject: RE: Quake

'Tab, you need to stop worrying! So we had another quake! Tell you what… if the damage is that bad, I'll come help you with fixing up your family's shop!'

"Mick kind of reminds me of Jack in a way," Mega Man said.

"Yeah, I guess," Omega-Xis said. "So, are we done here? I'm sure if we pulse out while in the Net like this, we'll pulse completely out and return to the real world."

"Wow, really?" Mega Man asked. "Alright, well that makes Wave Changing back into human a lot easier." He was interrupted by a call, which an Air Display revealed it was Luna.

"So Geo, I mean, Mega Man," Luna asked, "how is the Net?"

"It's amazing," Mega Man said. "Did something happen, Prez?"

"Well, there's going to be some kind of announcement here in the real world. Come on back whenever you can!"

"Okay, we'll be there," Mega Man nodded. Mega Man pulsed out, ignorant of the green and brown being that was watching him. Said being had a brown lower body that was pure energy, yet in the shape of a horse, while his upper body had a humanoid appearance and was covered with silver armor. In his left hand was a huge hunting bow, while on his back was a quiver full of arrows.

"So that's what's become of Omega-Xis," the being mused. "…He's grown strong."

"Are ya done scouting out the target?" a voice asked. "We gotta get ready to take him out."

"Yes, I'm done," the being answered. "I'm mentally prepared for battle… but I cannot say the same for you."

"What are you talkin' about?" the other voice replied. "Ya say that like you can't trust me!"

"I don't care if you're my Operator," the being replied. "You're a terrible human being… and I refuse to work with you unless you promise no civilians will be hurt."

"You're awfully soft for a warrior from Planet FM!" the human laughed. "Did all of the aggression your species have rust off with age!? You're not too afraid to fight a kid!?"

"Orion," the FM-ian warned, "you don't want to go there. My prime was not a peaceful time period, nor is it something I'd wish on anyone. Besides, child or not, that is one of the first people who has ever Wave Changed on this planet in centuries… you are a fool to underestimate Mega Man."

"What's a boy going to do with two warriors like us, Sagittarius?" Orion asked.

"That 'boy' has saved this planet three times now," Sagittarius responded. "You shouldn't underestimate any opponent, Orion. Remember, no civilian casualties. Mega Man will be our most dangerous hunt." Sagittarius pulsed out.

-GS-

Central Town

Geo reunited with his friends, all eager to hear about his experience. "So, what was the Net like?" Ace asked. "It seems like you found some information out."

"There was apparently an earthquake in Cyber City last night," Geo explained. "One that started in Central Area's Net and spread through there. Looking around, the area connects to a few other parts of Cyber City, so it hit the whole town, both Net and real world."

"Whoa, whoa!" Luna breathed. "An earthquake that spread from one world and to another!? That's… is that possible!?"

"Pedia?" Zack asked.

"Calculating the odds," Pedia said. "…Estimates of earthquake from Wave-slash-Cyber World spreading to real world… 10 percent likelihood. However, it has to come from a powerful source…"

"A powerful source?" Omega-Xis mused. "Such as a Cybeast?" Ace gasped.

"Cybeasts!?" he questioned. "…I thought they were destroyed two hundred years ago… could they have come back!?"

"Cybeasts?" Bud asked. "What are those?"

"Powerful monsters that once terrorized early Net society," Geo answered with a scowl. "These monsters, in their battles against each other, nearly destroyed the Net. They were apparently defeated by the first MegaMan, and destroyed by the original Colonel and Iris."

"The first MegaMan helped destroy the Cybeasts?" Jack asked. "Man… I would have loved to see those monsters."

"We should be glad they're gone, Jack," Luna huffed. "Powerful monsters like those Cybeasts were no doubt a threat to society! Still, if they did exist today, I'd know who could stop them… Mega Man!"

"Prez!" Geo nearly yelled. "These people don't…!"

"Oh, right," Luna remembered. "Sorry…"

"Anyway, Geo," Zack said, "we should hurry. That announcement is starting, soon. We should get over there." A brisk walk over to the Event Arena later, Geo's group found themselves standing among a crowd of people, all curious to know what was going on.

Soon enough, a young woman with bright blue eyes, long blonde hair in a ponytail, and a passionate smile wearing a bright pink suit walked out onto the stage. People couldn't help but noticed a white cat pin attached to her suit. "Hello, one and all!" the woman greeted. "Once again, I'd like to thank you all for your support! You've made my time in office as your mayor splendid, all of you."

"I love you, Mayor Prairie!" a boy yelled. The mayor giggled.

"Alright, alright," Prairie said. "I know you're all wondering what I have in store for you all. Well, for those not in the know, at the end of this summer, there will be a Net Battle Tournament held in the newest district of Cyber City, Battle Town. For all of you Net Battlers, there, Battle Town is looking into next-generation Net Battling experience and elite virus-busting tactics. I would like to let you know all know that as of tomorrow, Battle Town will be officially open to the public!"

Everyone roared in applause. "Oh, I see," Geo realized.

"See what?" Jack asked.

"(Remember when I told you guys that Colonel and Iris made virus-related problems non-existent until the EM Viruses came to Earth? If Battle Town was researching virus-busting techniques, it would help successfully apply Colonel's anti-virus capabilities that would lead to a Net society free of virus-related problems and would make EM Wave society successful.)"

"(In that case, we better get Cyber City back to the past,)" Ace said. "(Our time may depend on it.)"

"Furthermore," Mayor Prairie continued, "we will have a demonstration of the new Net Battling we're looking into, the type we're planning to use in the tournament! We'll have two pre-chosen Net Battlers duke it out for the honor of becoming the man to beat for the grand prize of the tournament: the Paradox Crown! Everyone who wishes to take part in the Net Battle Tournament should come to Battle Town for a demonstration!"

"(And that's where we're going tomorrow,)" Ace said. "(If I know bad guys like I think I do, every time something important shows up, bad guys show their face. Hopefully the bad guy responsible for this will show as well.)"

"(And we'll get to go buck wild on them!)" Omega-Xis grinned. "(Besides, I want to see these new battling techniques!)"

"That is all I wish to announce, ladies and gentlemen!" Mayor Prairie concluded her speech. "Once again, thank you all for coming out for this, and I hope to see you all in Battle Town!" The Mayor curtsied at the applause before walking away.


Echo Ridge—Hours Later

"I sure hope she's my ancestor," Luna smiled after the group got off the Wave Liner they took home. With nothing else they could do in Cyber City, Ace and Luna's Rescue Squad decided to call it a day, and Luna spent the ride home gushing over Mayor Prairie. "Mayor Prairie was so cool-looking!"

"Well, we've seen all we're going to right now," Ace said. "We'll have to investigate this Battle Town tomorrow and make sure it's covered."

"Oh, Ace," Geo spoke up. "Could you see about getting us Calendar Applications to the Hunter-VGs? Prez was initially disappointed, after all."

"Sure," Ace said. "I'll make sure to bring some tomorrow if you guys come. Speaking of which, Jack… I think your sister will want to talk to you about your grades." Jack's face turned pale.

"Aw, man!"

"I told you to study," Luna sighed. "Anyway, we should head back to Echo Ridge. We'll all agree to meet up at the Wave Liner Station tomorrow, right?"

"Yes, Prez!" Geo, Bud, and Zack immediately agreed.

"Geo, make sure that if you head up to either the roof of the school or over to Vista Point, you stay warm."

"I will," Geo promised.

"Bud, don't spend all night playing video games, okay?"

"Okay, Prez!"

"Zack, relax on trying to make your taller for one night."

"Got it, Prez."

"And Jack, don't give your sister a hard time tonight!"

"I promise," Jack groaned.

"You have these boys whipped," Ace commented. "Did you ever think about becoming a drill sergeant for the Satellia Police?"

"Nope," Luna answered. The group, with nothing else to say, went their separate ways, Ace taking Jack with him to file his report to WAZA while Geo and Omega-Xis went back to the Stelar residence.


Cyber City—Central Town

In the dead of night, a blue-green clock formed in the air near a house not too far from the LevBus station. Two cloaked figures emerged from the clock, each holding onto part of an orange vest wearing young boy. "Are you sure about this?" one of the figures asked. "You know you're risking a lot."

"I know," the second cloaked figure answered. "But I'm sure we won't be caught… at least, not now."

"We won't, ever, as long as we don't talk about it," the first said. "We could strike it up as sheer chance that he ended up in this era right here. You have a huge heart, dear… can't say who we're working with shares that big-heartedness, but I know now that I'm not the only girl here with a conscience. Regardless, he broke your deal with him that no innocents would be hurt. Are you going to try to find the others?"

"I'm afraid that's beyond my power, right now," the second girl replied. "Navigating the maze of Time Waves is taxing… I could barely lead us this far. And even if it wasn't, if I was caught assisting him directly by attempting to reunite them all—"

"You're worried about what those monsters we're both stuck working with would do. Especially the commander…" The second girl said nothing in response. "Listen, you can still tear into him… I know you hate it when innocent people get hurt. But right now, we should focus on saving your idol, here… and then get back to work. We have a lot to do."

"…Thank you…" the second girl whispered.

"Don't mention it," the first girl said. "Really. By the way, do you have the key to this vacant house, because I don't know how to get in?"

"Don't worry, she's already on it." The two heard the door click open. "There we are. Let's hurry and put him in bed…" They then dragged the unconscious boy into the house.


Kingdom Rider92's Note: I really hate myself for making a tournament announcement. Tournament arcs are ridiculous to write… good thing I've decided that we're not focusing on that... I've had enough of tournaments by BN4.

Anyway, for those of you wondering why I wrote in Meddy and Jasmine from BN5's Team ProtoMan even though general consensus (and the fact that Colonel had a major role in the plot of BN6 regardless of version) considers Team Colonel as the canon version of the game, I got bored and figured those two would help with a story arc I'm thinking about doing.

So, we should probably go through reviews.

Ghost501: You know, it's disturbing how right you are. The games make it very darn clear that a society that has everything connected to the internet and a strong dependence on it (i.e., OUR current society) should have better network security. Approximately how many security breeches resulted in near disaster in the original BN games? At least twice WWW agents caused dangerous animals to be released from their cages at a zoo or an aquarium and cause havoc. How many people could have died because of those?

As for Luna and Jack... it's kind of very loosely based off an alternate character interpretation that Jack has an unrequited crush on Luna (which seems to be the case as well as Zack and Bud, since I'm really wondering what other reason they hang out with Luna as her yes men prior to SF2 and 3). Geo and Jack aren't exactly very different when it comes to the Prez, especially their inital reactions to meeting Luna (borderline antagonistic, with Geo annoyed about Luna's attempts to get him to come to school, and Jack running away from her and telling her to leave him alone). However, as Jack bonds with the group during the Alohaha episode, he seems to have a good time, and seems shocked and horrified about Luna discovering his secret identity by accident (similar to Geo when Luna discovered his... also by accident). When Luna was "killed" by Joker, Jack was really thrown off his game... sure, Geo had a freak out and collapsed in shock, but King had to pull Jack away from active duty from Dealer and sent Tia on a solo mission because Jack was that affected by Luna's "death". And when he came to Echo Ridge Elementary to fight Geo, he was shocked to all heck to find Luna alive and well after watching Joker kill her in extremely cold blood. He also even shot down Corvus' remark about how Jack only cares about destruction when Luna asked. The reason I have Jack and Luna going through this whole "slap-slap-compliment" thing going on is that it still feels like these two would butt heads because they have far stronger personality clashes than Geo would with either of them. Also, if I WAS going down the romance road and I went with GeoXSonia (I'm not saying I will), Luna would at least have Jack...

Matteso585: Great... now I can't get the guy who voices Brock Samson and some other guys out of my head as a talking fire cow. And also, Omega-Xis sounds like a deeper Jack Fenton. Thanks for that.

Guest: Yeah, I bet a lot of people were waiting for this.

ig1712mgj: Well, I'm keeping you half happy. Now, I understand everyone's want for me to make Cross Fusion happen, but I thought I addressed this last chapter. Perhaps I wasn't clear... the reason that Cross Fusion would most likely not happen until very late into the story (if at all) is because I feel that Cross Fusion would just completely overshadow the Star Force characters. Keep in mind that the EM Wave Changes you see in the SF games seem to be a recently rediscovered phenonmenon, and I'm assuming a lot of the research on Cross Fusion, Dimensional Areas, Synchro Chips, and whether or not they ever existed has perhaps been lost in 200 years... and even if the research did exist, where it would be hidden and exactly how powerful would it be in comparison to the average EM Wave Changer (who judging by the fact they DON'T need the technological constraints of the Dimensional Areas to act are much stronger). That kind of information would be something the Hikaris, assuming that they were the ones who invented this technology, would take to the grave. Also, where would the Hikaris have come up with the technology? The answer would probably be Mu.

Before anyone calls "bullcrap" on this theory, hear me out. It's established that Battle Network and Star Force share a timeline. While I'll admit I'm skeptical that ancient Earth had armored knights, sentinent dinosaurs, and master ninjas fighting each other over a floating contenient and had Electromagnetic Wave technology so advanced that they essentially ruled Earth, it technically happened if the Ancient Star Carriers and UMAs are proof. Furthermore, Cross Fusion and EM Wave Change work almost exactly the same way, and who on Earth mastered it first if Mu was the ancient society that ruled Earth prior to the Battle Network games? Judging by the boss rush at the end of Star Force 2, I'd say the Murians... in short, Solo's ancestors, the warrior people of Mu who threw away bonds. So, it's possible that if the Hikaris researched Cross Fusion, they would need a source like Mu to find that technology...

Furthermore, this story series is based almost exclusively on the game universes... with very few direct ties to the animes of either series. As much as I like Cross Fusion, this is where the BN games and the NT Warrior anime split almost completely apart. That is why I'm still trying to find ways for Lan to do his thing despite the technological constraints so he's not completely helpless, and Lan has proven time and again he is a quick thinker when it comes to figuring out real world solutions to a problem. He just has to keep his foes from leaving the Cyber/Wave Worlds, and he and Hub can clean their clocks. Not hard to do for some of them.

Emerald Pichu: Glad you like. I try to appeal with people by using continuity. This is especially so since these two series have essentially reached a climax for both series and this story is a timeline exploration/add-on for both series. I'm using a lot of creative liberties with the timeline, however, since there's 200 years between the two series and anyone can make up some seriously crazy stuff that happens in 200 years... like a ship battle in Choinese waters, a new drought in the Netfrica's desert driving the animals mad, Creamland being invaded, just to name a few things. Of course, while I have a few ideas, I'm always open to new suggestions, here about when and where I should take this adventure.

Guest: Thank you.