First and foremost at over 32,000 words, this may be the longest chapter in NEXE: SubSpace up to date. If not, than it's a pretty long chapter, and you should clear your schedule and/or grab a sandwich if you want to read this one in a single go. I've put the utmost of my literary ability into this chapter, so tell me what you think. REVIEW PLEASE!

And start chapter.


Shortly after Onishiba had retreated, the NetPolice finally decided to show up and earn their pay, allowing everyone else to leave without having to worry about the HeelZombies taking over NetCity like something out of a crappy horror movie where the world's netnavi population gets turned into zombies. Snake, Fox, and Falco were all found back in the real world from where they entered the cyber world from, knocked out until they could come to. With the crisis averted, for the time being, this allowed an important question to be asked.

When asked just how the Smashers had been coming and going from the real world to the cyber world at their discretion, without using the yet-to-be-perfected Cyber World Gate in SciLab or through Rush's NetHoles, Samus answered by drawing out a silver-colored badge, lines of digitized code running along the outer perimeter with a robot-like face printed on it. She said its creator called it the R.O.B. Pass, and was by their world's standards similar in principle to Dr. Wily's Reverse Synchro Chips. The badges themselves were used by pointing it at an infared jack-in point and in a flash you were in the cyber world. The primary constraint however was that even though they could re-materialize in the real world out of the cyber world once they were done, they could not materialize outside other jack-in ports. This essentially meant if they wanted to travel anywhere, they had to do it the old-fashioned way. When the NetNavis-turned-humans or NetHumans as they called themselves, asked about getting some R.O.B. Passes for themselves, the bounty hunter said she'd contact Rob and see about it.

For the Smashers themselves, some were acclimating to having to hide better than others, after it became evident things with SubSpace wouldn't be resolved after a few scuffles here and there. This was going to be a long, drawn-out conflict on a new war threat, and some simply had to adapt to the new circumstance.

After finally being convinced to remove her Zero Suit, Harukawould take Samus out with her whenever she went into town for something, though the bounty hunter would always keep her Stun Gun on hand just in case. She may've been marginally more vulnerable without her armor or Suit, but she was more than a match for the common criminal, a point she enunciated when a pair of muggers attacked her and Harukaafter grocery shopping, only for the blond to leave them as a bloody smear on the ground. They just didn't make bad guys like they used to.

Snake had similar reservations to removing his gear, though eventually took to wearing some of Yuichiro's baggy sweat shirts and sweatpants so he could leave the Hikari residence. He still carried his grenades, C4, mines, and pistol, but it was a compromise nonetheless. After Haruka had nearly beaned him over the head with her frying pan for smoking indoors, the man's CQC almost putting her in a headlock had Samus not intervened at the last moment, he'd walk around town to do so. Every once in a while he'd be attacked by street punks or someone looking to make an easy buck, but they were usually left unconscious behind a bush or in a dumpster somewhere.

Lucario was acclimating to the peaceful times quite well after settling himself in Maylu's attic, having dusted the place out to make it quite livable. For most of the day he meditated since he neither cared for TV or what was happening in the net community. The only times he left were for meals -Maylu and Rain still trying to figure out how he used chopsticks with paws- and for his midnight runs in the cover of darkness, his black and blue coat helping him blend into the night, while his superhuman dexterity and stamina kept him out of the public's eye. He actually had been spotted a few times when he dropped down into the light to stop some muggings and would-be-rapists, but oddly enough the black markings around his eyes made people think he was just a superhero. At the least he had a bit of freedom in that regard.

Diddy was a simple creature of sorts, happily prancing about like a monkey in the Oyama's backyard, and no one paid him any mind when he was out in the open, apart from his vest and cap. Pikachu, living at the Ayano residence, had a fair degree of freedom, easily passing himself off as an exotic pet, though he did not directly try. Pit merely had to fold out his wings against his back to pass himself off as a regular human, and while his initial step into the wing of the Ayanokoji house rigged with booby traps had initially been an error on his part, he and Naruto eventually came to use it for training, the two testing their times against one another, with fresh challenges available since the array and arrangement of traps was changed out from time to time.

Sonic... really wasn't acclimating as well as the others. While he technically was a hedgehog, he was far more anthromorphic than Pikachu, and thus couldn't pass himself off as an exotic animal, or pet. Not to mention that unlike Pit, his unique features couldn't be hidden for too long if people paid too close attention to him, even while in disguise. Suffice to say he was going stir crazy, and a stir crazy guy capable of kicking the sound barrier in the nards was never a good thing.


It was now late into the morning, almost the afternoon, and with things beginning to quiet down before something came out of the woodwork to attack them again, everyone decided to go to the park and do nothing for once. After what had happened with Onishiba, MegaMan had to recover in his NetNavi form, otherwise his NetHuman form wouldn't survive materializing. At the moment all in attendance from the real world were Lan, Maylu, Dex & Shisao, and Yai. In attendance from the cyberworld were Iris, Megumi, and Rain, Rush dozing in the grass off to the side. For the past few weeks he'd been hiding out in Roll's PET, but with things calming down a bit, he saw fit to come out again, content to do nothing with the others.

"Lan. Where'd Naruto say he'd be going this morning?" Iris saw fit to ask, looking away from the skyline as she imagined the clouds as different objects.

"Something about getting his last paycheck from the newspaper," Lan answered, the others looking on in confusion. "Commander Fish photos just don't sell like they used to, and CF has been appearing less and less as the police become more proactive."

"That's good though, isn't it?" Jasmine said as she munched on a riceball. "It means we can rest easier."

"Maybe, but with all the bad guys that have been showing up, I'm not sure how many of these quiet days we'll have," Yai sighed. With enemies from SubSpace substantializing in the real world, and Darkloids from the past being resurrected, it was only a matter of time until the guy in charge of all this decided to reveal herself.

Or at least she hoped it'd be that simple. After that mess with the giant Cybeast materizling in the real world a while back, and the planet-spanning Dimensional Area before that, and what with the brawlers from other dimension appearing now, there seemed to be no end to the lunacy. For all she knew the entire planet would wind up eaten for all she knew.

"Hey guys, is it just me, or am I the only one curious as to who Onii-San really is?" Lan questioned out of nowhere.

"Well obviously that isn't his real name," Maylu stated aloud.

"Why do you think he has himself addressed by honorifics? They're so outdated," Dex huffed lacing his fingers behind his head.

"Maybe it's because they're outdated," Chisao suggested.

"You could be right about that," Jasmine replied.

"Something that's been bugging me," Lan started. "That Onishiba guy, he said something about Anonymous having a human soul or something like that. MegaMan, is it possible he's like you? A NetNavi created using human DNA, reborn as a NetNavi?" Lan asked looking into his PET screen, the finalization of MegaMan's repairs occurring even now.

"I can't say for sure. It's possible that Pulse or Psychotransmission are involved as well, however those are purely theoretical concepts, and even if Anonymous was just a human, most of what we'd seen done to him would've easily killed a human in the cyber world."

"I guess he's aptly-named then. Completely anonymous with no real indicators as to who he is. By the clothes he's wearing he could simply be using a FashionChip and just be a really strong NetNavi," Rain theorized, having used FashionChips in the past. Of course when you compare it to having a real body and real clothes... there really wasn't any comparison.

"Yeah, I suppose we never entertained that possibility," Megumi stated.

"Hey, come to think of it, we haven't seen that Bolt guy in a while," Lan thought remembering back to that really crazy Saturday afternoon a few months back. "Where do you think he ran off to?"

"Don't know. Didn't really get his contact info with everything that was going on," Maylu returned.

"Hey Lan, Maylu, Yai! Is that you guys?" a familiar voice suddenly asked, the group getting up from the ground to see a familiar blond running up to them. "Hey it is you. Man, I thought I'd never run into you guys again," he said running up to them. This time his attire consisted of a blue T-shirt with a pink lightning bolt running across the chest, a black hoodie with yellow lightning bolts running down the chest, tan-colored shorts, and red and white running shoes with metal plates on the front.

"Bolt? Hey, Bolt! I thought I recognized you," Lan remembered as he got to his feet, having recognized the lightning bolt pattern on the kid's sleeve. "Where've you been all this time? We haven't seen you since those crazy Roaders attacked the town."

"Well, after what happened, I was kept inside until things quieted down a bit," the teen admitted.

"Do you live in DenTech?" Maylu asked.

"No, I live... far away, but for the time being I'm staying with my uncle while he teaches us a few things."

"Us?" Dex asked with a raised brow.

"My twin sister arrived a few days ago. You can meet her if you want," the blond returned before he called out over his shoulder. "Jane! Tyson! Over here! There are some people I want you to meet," he called out, two people coming around the corner and towards their direction.

The first figure was a girl around Bolt's age with long blue hair with blond highlights going down to the middle of her back with jade-colored eyes, around 5'7" in height. Her attire consisted of a blue long-sleeved jacket, a white shirt revealing a bit of her D16 chest –the guy's naturally eyes drawn to it-, hip hugger jeans, and blue running shoes with red lines down the middle with gold buckles on the sides.

Lagging along with the bluenette's help was a young man a couple years older than the two with short-cut blond hair and blue eyes standing around 5'8", a red hat with a metal N-1 Grand Prix plate on his head. His attire consisted of a loose-fitting black leather jacket over a white T-shirt with a black circle surrounded by a gray ring over his chest, faded blue jeans, and worn out black-and-red sneakers practically falling apart, yet still holding together. The reason he was lagging behind was due to the brace running itself up the course of his left leg indicating recovering injury, a silver cane in his hand supporting him as the girl helped him along by the arm.

"Come on, Bolt, you shouldn't run off like that. Honestly, you're as bad as your father," the limping blond chuckled, though his free hand went to his side a moment later as he cringed visibly.

"Uncle, you shouldn't strain your injuries. Why you went hiking of all things before I arrived, I'll never know," the blue-haired girl pouted.

"Sorry for slowing you two down," the blond man apologized as he scratched the back of his head. "So, these are the kids you met when those crazy unicycles attacked huh? I see you've made a good group of friends here."

"Guys, this is Jane, my twin sister," Bolt said pointing to the blue-haired girl, Lan, Dex, and Tory's eyes going to her chest every few seconds while Naruto managed to keep his eyes above her neckline now that the initial shock had passed. The novelty might not have, but he'd rather not be labeled a pervert. Labels like that never go away, just like bad marks on your permanent record. "The one with the bad leg is my uncle, Tyson Taisen."

"Hello, everyone," Jane greeted with a soft smile.

"What's up?" Tyson asked with a smile, though the spiky-haired blond couldn't help but feel he looked familiar.

"Ah! I just remembered something!" Bolt said bringing out his Link-model PET, colored red and white with gold accents. "My NetNavi just found out about a NetBattle Tournament coming up in a month or so. I wanted to tell you guys, but I didn't have your contact information. Glad I found you guys."

"Wow! A NetBattle Tournament? What's the name?" Lan asked excitedly.

"From what I hear it's called the Synchro Cup. And get this..." he said pulling up a holographic file for everyone to see. "These are only rumors, but apparently you need to have a base Synchro Rating of at least 50% if you even want to compete in the preliminaries."

"Why would they do something like that?" Dex asked.

"Well, this is all just rumor since it leaked a couple days ago, but..." the blond said as he looked around, making sure no one was within listening distance. "Apparently, with everything that's going on, the NetSaviors might be recruiting for new members, and since only people with high Synchro Ratings can Cross Fuse, it'd only make sense that they'd look for the ones most synchronized to their NetNavis."

"MegaMan, hey, MegaMan, you know anything about this?" Lan asked.

"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you if that's true or-" -BEEP- "Oh, you've got an email," MegaMan said from the brunette's shoulder as he opened an envelope, looking it over before his eyes widened. "Lan, I think that rumor Bolt picked up on is true. Your dad just sent me an email with details on how, to commemorate the new PET that's coming out, they're going to host a NetBattle tournament called the Synchro Cup to test out the newest feature; A Synchro Gauge that works real-time to help a NetOp further interact with their NetNavis."

"Whoa! That's awesome!" Naruto cheered as he looked to the PET Watch on his wrist. "I guess since this IS only a prototype, that a newer model would have to come out eventually."

"So, you kids thinking about entering this Synchro Cup that's going down?" Tyson asked.

"You bet I am! I'm always up for a challenge!" Lan said with a clenched fist and a wide grin.

"What about you, uncle? Are you going to enter?" Jane asked.

"I don't know. I'll wake my friend up and see how he's feeling," the blond said as he pulled out a laptop-esque PET in the shape of a hand sign. One of the first PETs much to everyone's surprise since practically everyone had moved past the Plug-in model ages ago and at the least had the Advanced PET at the lowest, Link PET at the most. There were still plug-based jack-in ports out there as part of the standard, but the infared jack-in system had almost completely dominated the electronics world. "Wake up, Basic. I have something to ask you," he said opening the top portion, which contained a keyboard while the screen was on the portion set above the handle.

"Good morning, Tyson. Did you remember to take your calcium and iron vitamins?" a monotone, emotionless sounding synthetic voice asked from the screen. The navi shown was your basic uncustomized NetNavi template; this one was clad in a forest green bodysuit that covered the lower half of his face, a pair of rectangular blue eyes set onto a light gray skintone. A matching helmet was on his head with a thin blue stripe running down the middle, gray guards on the sides and on his shoulders. He wore light gray gloves and boots that stopped below his joints, a blank NaviMark on his chest.

"Yes, Basic, I took my vitamins..." the blond said with a twitching brow, wishing his NetNavi wouldn't so openly broadcast it. "Anyway, there's a NetBattle tournament coming up. Do you feel like entering?"

"Well... I am normally not one to complain, but, despite your skill, the delay between action and reaction of this unit compared to others will eventually hinder you against those with newer models. Perhaps me entering is not such a good idea."

"Well then today's your lucky day. A new-model PET is coming out, and I figure we should get you a new home. What do you say?"

"That is acceptable," the NetNavi known as Basic said before the blond closed the PET and stashed it in his chest pocket.

"Good gravy, you still have that hunk of junk?!" Lan gaped incredulously. "I'm surprised your NetNavi can even move, let alone Net-" he went on to say before Maylu clapped a hand over his mouth and put him in a chokehold.

"Please ignore Lan, he doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut," the red-head replied trying to play off the brunette's lack of tact. Honestly, he practically always got the newest model PET, sometimes before everyone else, and every time he's gotten a big head about it. What he needs the most right now is for someone to knock him down a few pegs, she thought to herself, the bruentte's face slowly turning blue. What can I say? The girl's got one hell of a grip.

"I'm used to it. People think what's newest is always the best, but you can't quite beat the classics. Especially when you can do..." he said as he bopped Lan over the head with it. "That," he said catching the brunette with the flat. "I'd like to see someone do that with a Link PET."

"But if a new PET and tournament are coming up, then we've got to prepare!" Lan said ignoring the rising bump on his head. "We need to get the new PETs, software updates for our NetNavis, stock up on battlechips, and work on our Synchro Ratings! I'll be fine since I can cross fuse, but I can't say the same for-OW!" he cried as Maylu put him in another headlock, this time accompanied by a killer noogie.

"You know, you're really starting to get on my nerves!" Maylu shrieked as she gave it to him.

Wow...Some lady needs to get laid, Bolt thought watching the display.

Hmm...Perhaps this is one fish that will be quite the catch, Jane thought as she licked her lips, a shudder suddenly going up Maylu's spine giving Lan the opening he needed to get free.

"Since we're all going, I'll bring the limo around," Yai said putting Glyde on it. "On the way there, we can all get better acquainted," she said motioning to Bolt, Jane, and Tyson, the prior of which she'd only had little prior experience with.


"So... Tyson," Yai stated after everyone had exchanged names, as to get better acquainted with one another. "What do you do for a living exactly?" Yai asked the only adult in the back of the limo, one of her valets heading towards SciLab on the most efficient route.

"A part of where my money comes from is re-purposing BasicNavis into CustomNavis," he said pulling up a picture from his business portfolio up on his PET for everyone to see. On it was an image of a BasicNavi with the font BEFORE under it before it showed a clearly-modified CustomNavi, the aesthetic changes accompanied by several stat increases and the word AFTER underneath.

"But wait, if you can do that, why do you still have a BasicNavi?" Lan asked more sensibly, not wanting to get pulled into another headlock by the girl who really seemed to lay it into him. "From what I can see, you're pretty good at upgrading and customizing navis, so I just wonder why you don't have a CustomNavi."

"Well, technically I do have a CustomNavi, only, he needed to in for maintenance after that recent scuffle with NetCity because some HeelNavis got the jump on him while he was running an errand," he answered, garnering looks of confusion all around. "Basic here helps me with my customizing business, and while my CustomNavi's out for maintenance, I'll be using him for the time being."

"But why do you still have an old-model PET like that?" Dex asked.

"Since it's a plug-in model, if someone tries and steals my contracts, I can just pull the plug and isolate whoever's trying to cut into my profits inside my PET, since they can't simply escape using a wireless route," he answered. "You see, while CustomNavis can be made through automated programs to be updated further at a later date, CustomNavis modified from BasicNavis by hand tend to be just as powerful as CustomNavis made from scratch. Modified navis can actually be worth more than new ones because the modified navis will not only have more battle experience than green product," he said in refrence to new NetNavis with no battle experience to maximize their higher stats, "but they'll be able to maximize that power much sooner."

"That makes sense. My family has to fend off multiple attempts at robbery at least a dozen times each quarter, and that's for the ones that get past the fence," Yai remarked.

"So Bolt, I've been meaning to ask. What kind of NetNavi do you have? If you've got an uncle that customizes NetNavis, they've got to be awesome," Lan said exuberantly.

"Well... I wouldn't give him that much credit with my NetNavi. If you want to see impressive work you should see my sister's, but mine, we... kinda bumped into one another," Bolt replied bashfully.

"Oh? Can we see?" Maylu asked.

"Sure," Jane said with a smile as she withdrew a blue with white trim and red accents Link PET from between her breasts, the others and her brother blushing at the display -though for different reasons- before the two of them brought their PET's forward and fired the infared beams into the cabin's console, a pair of NetNavis appearing on the TV screen, one familiar while the other looked similar to it.

"Ze-Zero...!?" Lan blurted out while the others gaped.

"Hello, Lan, everyone," Zero greeted.

"Z-Zero?! When did you become a NetNavi? I thought you stayed Solo," MegaMan asked from the brunette's shoulder, though he really did have to assume his human form before Bolt and company showed up, since Zero of all NetNavis belonged to him however, they might be able to let that secret slip out after all.

"Do you remember when I was on the verge of deletion, when we first met, only for the Source File you found that gave Dr. Hikari to seal of the Zero Virus function within me?" he asked, the blue navi nodding in return. "After I was reborn as a NetNavi, I wandered the Net, searching for someone I could call... friend. Then, Tyson's NetNavi..." he was about to announce his name, only for the blond to shake his head, "decided to bring me to Bolt. After a while, I agreed to become his NetNavi, shortly after we met up once again."

"But then if Zero is Bolt's NetNavi, then the blue one must be Jane's," Lan remarked as he pointed to the blue one beside Zero. This one was similar in build to Zero, taller than most NetNavis of his build, bearing a demonic take as well, and unlike Zero whose bodysuit was black with white accents, this one had a white bodysuit with black accents. His chest armor, forearm guards, and boots were blue with white highlights and green jewels, but unlike Zero's that came out in points, these one had bar shaped endings similar to MegaMan's own. His eyes were green instead of yellow while sharing Zero's jagged mouth, his helmet colored blue with white highlights set in a more rounded shape, a red sphere-shaped jewel inset at the top. Unlike Zero, who had a wide mane of cape-shaped hair, the blue-armored NetNavi had no visible hair, only a pair of red flame-like capes flowing from vents on his back.

"Everyone, meet X, my personal NetNavi and Zero's younger brother, made after reverse-engineering Zero by Uncle Tyson here," she said hugging him with a smile on her face.

"It wasn't that big of a deal," the blond said as he pat the bluenette's back in return. "Since he came with his own Source File, all I had to do was make a copy, but modify the AI to deal with projectile weapons instead of close-range like Zero's, since I didn't want to make a clone of him," the blond admitted as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Tyson, I don't know if you know this, but Zero's one of the most powerful NetNavis in the net right alongside guys like Bass, yet you're acting like X's creation is no big deal!" Lan gaped openly as he looked at Zero and X. Looking at the two, they seemed to resemble a demonic parallel between MegaMan and ProtoMan. Man, Dr. Wily's going to flip when he sees this, the brunette thought, considering Dr. Wily had frozen Zero for the explicit purpose of preventing the Zero Virus from getting out of control. Just by looking he could tell X was powerful, and if Zero was any measuring stick, Jane would be quite the contender for the Synchro Cup. If she managed to reach the mandatory 50% Synchro Rating that is.

"Even if you're facing the most powerful, over-modified NetNavi in the world, as long as you've got the skill to back it up, even a NetNavi like Basic here can win out," Tyson said pointing to Basic, though Lan had his doubts, given that MegaMan barely came up to Zero's waist.

"Just how powerful is X compared to Zero anyway?" Dex asked.

"Zero's more of an attack-type NetNavi while X is more of a defense-type. Separate, the two are powerful, but together, they're practically unstoppable, even for guys like Bass," Jane said confidently.

"What makes you say that? Have you even seen Bass before?" Lan asked incredulously.

"Not personally," Jane said shrugging her shoulders. "However, I have faith in my uncle's programming skills. He's one hell of a good customizer."

"How'd you get injured then?" Tory asked addressing the elephant in the room.

"Gunshot to the leg," he answered adjusting his grip on his cane. The tone he used implied he wouldn't delve into it any further. Injured guys were kinda territorial like that.

"You know, the guy who actually made Zero is at SciLab right now. We can have him analyzed to see how good X really is if you want," Lan suggested.

"It's Jane's decision, not mine," Tyson said waving his hand.

"I think it's a good idea. See how good X is beside Zero," the girl said with a grin.

"Man, this Synchro Cup is going to be sweet!" Lan cheered as he pumped his fist, only to recoil when his fist hit the ceiling, causing the others to facepalm wile Tyson, Jane, and Bolt just rubbed the bridge of their noses.


"So this is SciLab huh? Impressive. Did they renovate?" Jane asked as soon as everyone got out of the limo. It was a bit of a hassle to get it through the front gate, but Lan and Dr. Hikari got that squared away with a quick phone call.

"Yeah... Let's just say some freaky stuff happened and leave it at that," Naruto said scratching the back of his head.

"What kind of freaky? Giant monster freaky or killer unicycle freaky?" Tyson asked. It didn't take a genius to look out the window and see there was something off about that.

"Different kind of freaky..." Iris shuddered.

"Well come on then. Let's look at the new PETs already!" Lan said as he skated into SciLab, the others following only for Maylu to look over her shoulder, seeing that Bolt and Jane were lagging behind with their uncle in tow.

"Aren't you guys coming?" she asked, but fell silent when she remembered their uncle was injured with a leg brace and cane. Stupid. Of course he'll be a bit slower than the rest of us, she berated herself.

"Don't worry about me, I'll catch up. The two of you go ahead," he said waving the two off, Bolt and Jane giving him a nod before they ran off with Maylu to join up with the others, Tyson lagging along with cane tapping the ground and leg brace creaking. "Maybe I should've gotten that wheelchair after all," he sighed to himself with a chuckle as he continued on.


"Dad! Hub!" Lan called out as he skated into the lab, only to be tripped up by a cane that caught his ankle after he passed a row of desks, his face sliding across the polished floor for a few seconds before he stopped. Getting to his feet with steaming skin, Lan glowered at the man who had been his sworn enemy for no small number of years until just recently.

"Lan, the flooring at the lab is very expensive, and you'll scuff them with your in-line skates," the man said bringing the end of his cane down onto the floor. "Back in my day we didn't have in-line skates. We had to use our own to feet like normal people."

"When was that? Back when you rode the T-Rex to school."

"You should respect your elders, boy."

"Pain in the ass."

"Takes one to know one."

"Crazy old coot!"

"Upstart brat!" This of course was the scene that the others walked in on, Dr. Hikari and Mr. Famous simply watching the two bicker like children as the others tried to process what was going on.

"Hard to believe the two of them were mortal enemies, once upon a time," Mr. Famous spoke as the two pulled at one another's hair and faces like a pair of children.

"Yeah, Lan nearly had a heart attack when he saw Wily just working in the labs one day," Dr. Hikari chuckled nervously with a sweatdrop on his head.

"Wily?" Bolt whispered in surprise to Jane. "Oneechan, I thought Wily was just Uncles Scartch and Grounder in a dinosaur costume."

"That's for the Seikai Mother and Otou-kun came from before we moved to the Seikai they made for the DaiRyuuseiDan and their friends if they wanted to not be separated," Jane whispered quietly.

"Oh yeah. Man, I just love our home in Kagutsuchi's Orient Town, don't you?" Bolt beamed quietly.

"Sorry I'm late, grabbed a soda on the way up. What'd I miss?" Tyson asked as he came into the lab, soda in one hand while his cane was in the other.

"Lan's arguing with his grandpa," Bolt replied.

"I'm/He's not his/my grandpa/gradnson!" the two snapped at Bolt.

"Well you act like it, you two," Jane pointed out, giving a small smile at that, "I think it's rather pleasant that your bonds are that strong."

"Uh..." the two looked at each other awkwardly.

Wow. That visit from the Rabbit came in handy this time, Bolt thought.

"So...Uh..." Lan coughed, trying to get over the awkwardness. "Dr. Wily, there's a NetNavi that you need to look at, and you're the only one who can compare it to the original," Lan said, motioning both Bolt and Jane forward.

"Lan, there are countless scientists here who are just as qualified to analyze NetNavis as I am. Tell me exactly why I have to be the one to analyze the ones belonging to these two?" he asked as the two jacked in, the man's eyes widening as the red-armored Navi came into view. "Zero? Zero is that you?"

"Hello, father. It has been many years, has it not?" the virus-esque Network Navigator spoke, some degree of familiarity and fondness in his tone.

"It certainly has. I haven't seen you since Professor Toshihiko let you loose upon the world," he said before his eyes turned to the blue-clad navi beside him, hands slamming on the keyboard as he saw the similarities to Zero. "What in all blue blazes is this thing supposed to be?!"

"That thing, as you call him,just happens to be the NetNavi my uncle made for me, so don't you badmouth him!" Jane shrieked angrily at the old man.

"Oh? And just who is your uncle perchance?" the aged Dr. Asked, not losing his ground to a teenage girl of all people.

"That would happen to be me, Tyson," Tyson addressed himself as he up, Dr. Wily turning around and the two's eyes met. For a moment both their eyes widened in shock, however, they quickly steeled their expressions before they began glaring at one another. Within moments the tension began to mount around them, so thick you could cut it with a knife before the doctor spoke.

"Tyson. You look ridiculous," Dr. Wily spoke curtly with some degree of familiarity with the blond.

"And I see you have a few more liver spots," the blond returned without missing a beat, those watching on becoming confused with how the blond could so openly insult someone he'd just met. Dr. Wily was, well, himself, so insulting people off the bat was to be expected. Still, it seemed like the two of them knew one another.

"Hmph," Dr. Wily huffed, sniffing the air a couple times before replying- "Looks like you finally got the burnt hotdog smell out of your skin." –without missing a beat.

"Hey, it was your shitty equipment that made me smell like that in the first place!" Tyson growled back as he and Wily suddenly butted heads, low growls leaving both their throats, their violent auras manifesting in the form of a roaring tiger and a shrieking dragon behind them.

"Um, I might be missing something here, but do the two of you know one another?" Yai decided to hazard.

"Yeah. You could say that," Tyson returned as he backed off and put some weight on his cane, Dr. Wily doing the same.

"How exactly do the two of you know one another?" Dr. Hikari asked, wondering just where this conversation was heading.

"I had said that I had adopted Dr. Regal, Baryl, and Ms. Yuri when they were children. I never said they were the only children I took in and raised," Dr. Wily returned as though he were talking about the weather, the lab air soon filled with startled cries of- "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHH!?-!?-!?-!?" –by everyone that fully knew the ramifications of what was just revealed.

"U-u-u-uncle's Otou-san?!" Bolt exclaimed in shock.

"Oh my goodness!" Jane gasped before hugging Dr. Wily tightly. "I truly regret what I just said. I had no idea that our caring uncle was your son."

Unfortunately for the males watching, Dr. Wily was just a bit shorter than Jane, so his head was nestled between her ample figure until she released her hug. Once released he moved back from Jane, blushing a bit and coughed into a fist as he attempted to regain his composure.

"Well... Anyway..." Dr. Wily said adjusting his tie. "Now that I actually know who designed X, maybe now I can take a look at just how far you've come since you've left my employ," the aged doctor spoke as he walked over to the computer, so many questions left unanswered and so many answers so desperately wanted. "Hmmm... I see... Interesting..." Dr. Wily mused as he ran side-by-side comparisons of Zero and X's FrameData, CoreData, PersonalityData, and BattleData. "I will admit... This is good work, Tyson. I see you've improved a bit since you failed your last mission to World Three," he spoke finishing up the initial part of his analysis.

"Wait a minute! You used to work for World Three?!" Lan gaped as he and the others moved back.

"Only on a probationary basis, and the old codger here booted me out since I couldn't bring MegaMan down before the end of the N-1 Grand Prix," the blond replied tugging at the end of his cap. After the site of that monumental tournament sunk into the sea, the value of any reamining N-1 Grand Prix memorabilia had skyrocketed, while the cheap knockoffs didn't sell a single unit.

"Yeah but still-!" Lan stammered.

"That is enough boy!" Dr. Wily growled as he slammed his cane onto the ground, the loud -CRAK- silencing everyone in the room. "Tyson left my employ ages ago, and this is the first time we've spoken in years. Whatever misconceptions you may have about him you should get rid of now. He found his own life after World Three fell, which is more than I can say for the others," the old man huffed, since it took Mr. Match, Maddy, Count Zap, and Yahoot a long time to finally give up on resurrecting World Three and live honest lives as curry chefs. It was a bit flattering that they'd go so far even after he was "gone", but the sentiment got old after a while. "So if you assume he's evil simply because of his past association with me, then you're no better than those who persecuted against him," the aged doctor said pointing his cane at Naruto, the deeper meaning behind his words settling in.

" . . . Sorry, Tyson, for overreacting like that," Lan found himself apologizing after a moment.

"It's alright. Honestly, I never thought I'd actually meet Dr. Wily again, but hey, small world huh?" he asked with shrugged shoulders.

"Yes, yes, we're all friends now," Dr. Wily said dismissively with a wave of his hand. "Now, let's take a look at what you've managed to create," the old man said as he went over the last of X's details, noting that in some ways, he was like an Anti-MegaMan; faster and stronger, and while not sacrificing speed, he had a much larger target profile that could be taken advantage of. "What the devil is this CrunchByte program supposed to be?" he asked as he pulled up their NaviCust screens, a rather... curious-looking program greeting him from a portion of X's Memory.

"Oh, just something to let them fight viruses if their hands are ever bound or otherwise preoccupied," Tyson said as he pulled a small black book from his coat pocket, which opened revealed it to be a Chip Folder with various kinds inside. "Here, you two. Show them just what CrunchByte is all about," he said as he tossed Bolt and Jane a pair of battlechips, one with a Mettuar while the other had a Billy on it.

"You got it," Bolt said as he snatched the Billy chip out of the air. "VirusChip in, download," he and his sister called out as they slotted the chips into their Link PETs, a mettuar and billy virus dropping into Zero and X's hands. Before anyone in the room could complain about the use of a VirusChip inside the lab computers, both Zero and X's jaws unhinged beyond normal limits, the two virus' eyes going wide as dinner plates at the large sets of gleaming fangs that now greeted them. Flail as they may, the two's maws soon came down upon them with a large -CRUNCH-, ripping large chunks out of their little bodies, all in the room speechless at what they just saw. A moment later after Zero and X shoved the remains of their snack down their gullets with a low -BYTE- sound, the two making swallowing sounds, Jane spoke up after the VirusChips left the OUT slots of their PETs.

"Uncle, here are your VirusChips back," the bluenette said handing them to her uncle.

"Much obliged," he said flipping a few pages of his black folder before sliding them into the back page where other blanks lie. Normally VirusChips were used to contain viruses, either in small or large numbers, until they could be disposed of properly if not initially. Never before though, had anyone seen them being used to store snacks. For NetNavis!

"Zero and X..." Lan started as his mouth finally started working again.

"Just ate..." Maylu gaped trying to process what she'd just seen.

"Those viruses..." Dex finished for the prior two. NetNavis didn't so much eat for nutrition as they did for pleasure or interactivity with their NetOps, just like how FashionChips were invented for the same reason, but for a NetNavi to eat a virus of all things...

"Why would you make something like that?!" Naruto cried out. Sure, he ate dead animals before, but never when they were still alive enough to look up at you as they ate them. Sure, Zero and X were Net/VirusNavis –depending on who you ask- and viruses weren't technically animals, but still, seeing them do something like that out in the open was terrifying.

"For why I made something like that, it's actually a funny story," Tyson said with a wistful sigh as he took a seat in a chair propping himself forward on his cane. "Bolt and Jane had just gotten used to their netnavis and were taking them around the outskirts of NetCity, as so they wouldn't freak out the locals since they're practically the tallest netnavis in the history of netnavis, and look a bit scary at fircst glance. The two of them tried to introduce them to CyberFood, only, Zero and X didn't seem to have any taste for it. I off-handedly suggested maybe they only ate viruses as a joke, and well..." he chuckled with a shake of his head. "Next thing I know I'm pulling a couple all-nighters to make a new program for their Navi Customizers so their netnavis can eat like the others. Damn you Puppy Dog Eyes..." he glowered to himself as he faced the other way, though Jane snickered into her hand.

"Oh, Uncle~" a sing-song voice suddenly spoke behind him, causing the shorter-haired blond to pale as he turned his gaze over his shoulder, his niece giving him the biggest Puppy Dog eyes she could muster, which caused Rush to recoil at their overwhelming power. "Now you really don't meant that about Mother's technique, do you~?"

"Uh...N-n-n-n-no..." Tyson stammered out, unable to tear his gaze away from the eyes capable of surpassing the Sharingan in terms of mind-manipulating.

"I thought so," Jane giggled, ending her technique and releasing her uncle.

"You make NaviCust programs too?" Hub asked as he came into the room. "I thought you only customized NetNavis."

"Hey, Hub, how did you know that? You weren't even in the room," Bolt asked. "Well, technically it was a limo, but seriously. How'd you know that?" he asked looking at the elder brunette curiously.

"Oh! Uh...er...I...Uh..." Hub suddenly screamed as he pointed out the window, "UFO!"

"UFO?!" Bolt gasped before zipping over to the nearest window, put the upper half of his body out of it, and shook his fist at the clouds. "You darn Skrulls! You keep away from this planet, ya got me?!"he shouted angrily, garnering varied reactions all around. Lan was simply confused, Maylu found something about his crazed rantings funny, Hub was relieved his cover hadn't been blown, Chisao scoffed at how immature the blond was acting even though he fell for a similar trick once, and Jane simply yanked him away from the window before he fell.

"...Yes...well, CustomNavis and NaviCust programs go hand-in-hand," the blond said off-handedly as he put his weight up on his cane, Jane helping him up after dealing with her brother and receiving a thankful nod in return from the elder blond. "Since making battlechips and setting up viruschips really aren't that different, I guess you could say I'm a jack-of-all-trades for anything not factory standard."

"Yeah, I couldn't help but notice you have a few battlechips here I don't recognize," Maylu said looking at the opened chip folder left on the table.

"StickyBoomer?" Dex said looking over a battlechip that looked like a MiniBoomer, it was colored white with a gray stripe running down the middle and had a slightly rougher texture than a MiniBoomer. "You make CustomChips too?"

"You don't want to know what that one does," Bolt informed as he walked over, a small shudder going up his spine.

"I'm surprise you recognize the subtle differences between BattleChips and CustomChips," the blond replied to the heavy-set teen, ignoring his nephew's comment. "Most people who see them think they're rare or just misprints."

"Well, yeah. I made my MegaGutsPunch after I got him," he said bringing out the battlechip that had GutsMan on it. "What cool NetBattler doesn't have a signature attack?"

"May I?" Tyson asked holding out his hand, Dex placing it on the man's palm as he looked it over. "Hmmm... I see, I see. Excellent design. You've made it so GutsMan and only GutsMan could use this."

"I've also got my GutsHammer," Dex said pulling out another CustomChip.

"There'll be plenty of time to talk about customized chips and programs later. We need to get back to the real reason we're here," Lan said separating the two before he walked up to his dad. "Dad, we just heard about how there's a new PET and a tournament just for them coming up. Can we see? Pleeease?" he practically begged.

"Of course. The first shipment just came in for SciLab the other day, and now we're just waiting for BlazeQuest games to finish distribution before they're release to the public. Come on, right this way," he said guiding the group out of the lab and into the next room, Yai in the back grumbling about it "always being about BlazeQuest".


Speak of the devil and he shall be narrated about. At the moment we turn our gaze to one Chaud Blaze, active president of BlazeQuest Games, one Eugene Chaud Blaze was sitting in his office, juggling both the company and his duty as a NetSavior. With the recent contract for distribution from SciLab set up to take effect in a week with hundreds of next-generation PETs on back-order, along with the recent threat against an enigma he still knew nothing about, he was stretching himself out pretty thin. He hadn't gotten a real night's sleep in days, and was running on nothing but caffeine and adrenaline. Not the healthiest combination out there.

"Mr. Blaze, your appointment with Commissioner Kifune and Ms. Manabe will be in a few minutes," the secretary's voice suddenly called over the intercom. With frayed nerves the dual-toned teen almost spilled his coffee, if the twitching was anything to go by.

"S-Send them in now," Chaud ordered.

"Of course, sir," the secretary returned. A few moments the door to his office opened, the Commissioner of the Net Police, Seishin Kifune, and his personal assistant Rei Manabe, entered the office. Color them surprised at the state they found Chaud in, strands of hair sticking out in all directions from the eggshell-like style, bags under his eyes which were red with blood vessels.

"Dear lord, Chaud, what happened to you?" Seishin questioned at the sight of him. "When was the last time you'd gotten any sleep, or... bathed?"

"*Sniff Sniff* Not recently from my guess," Rei stated, taking a sniff of the air and finding the scent of coffee and sweat.

"No time... Too many unanswered questions... Too much to do... Not enough time," Chaud rasped on frayed nerves, typing away on several holographic keyboards, hands shaking and eyes closing, only for him to snap them open after a few seconds.

"Chaud, if this is about everything that's going with this SubSpace army," Seishin stated, remembering the reports of their insignia being carved or painted wherever they went. "You need to realize that there are other people working towards their capture as well."

"Oh yeah? And when was the last time a couple of kids didn't have to do all the heavy lifting, huh? HUH?!" Chaud suddenly snapped. "Every single time adults are too incompetent or just too stupid, and we kids have to be the ones that pick up the slack!"

"Now Chaud, you know that isn't true. Raika's far from a child," the man argued.

"Yeah, but how many of the NetSaviors are official law enforcement or recognized military? Last I checked the majority of them were either civilians, children, or both," he said before suddenly falling asleep, forehead falling with a low -whump-, the teen snoring for a few seconds before the coffee maker went off with a -DING-. "Coffee's done!" he suddenly blurted out, dashing over to the coffee machine and pouringhimself a fresh cup with shaking hands, Rei's own taking hold of them and stopping him from spilling coffee onto the floor.

"Chaud, not everyone is an expert NetBattler, or were chosen to receive the Mark of-" -SNOOORE- " . . . Duo..." Rei facefaulted, as Chaud had suddenly fallen asleep on his feet like a horse.

"Perhaps we shouldn't wake him," Seishin suggested.

"What he needs is to go home, get a good night's sleep, maybe take a few days off."

"TAKE TIME OFF?!" Chaud suddenly cried out.

"Oh, you were awake for that..." Rei sighed.

"I can't take time off! There's too much to do! So many questions unanswered! Not enough intel on SubSpace-"

"Which can easily be answered by the other departments, you don't have to do everything by yourself," she assured him.

"She's right, Chaud. Let the others bear some of this burden. Take some time off, get some sleep and... bathe," he listed off, Chaud discretely sniffing his pits and fighting the urge not to retch. "As ProtoMan probably told you, the Synchro Cup is coming up, so maybe after you get some rest you should enter. You know, to help take the edge off."

"Hmph," Chaud huffed as he combed down his unruly hair with his fingers. "I already have the highest Synchro Ratings out of anyone, and I don't need a trophy to prove that," he said self-assuredly, though that was ruined when he let out a long cat-like yawn.

"At least consider it," Rei pleaded. "You've been the most at peace when training or NetBattling. As long as you take some time off before you burn yourself out. If SubSpace decides to attack and you can't even stand up straight, you won't be any good to anyone."

" . . . Ayame," Chaud said pressing the intercom button on his desk. "Push back all my appointments and call in the committee. It's time they earn their pay," he ordered in a no-nonsense tone.

"Yes, sir," the woman on the other end of the line said, almost sounding relieved, though in hid dishelmed state Chaud couldn't pick it up.

"ProtoMan, call the car around. *yawn* I'm going to bed, and I don't know when I'll get up," he yawned.

"Of course, sir," ProtoMan replied from his Link PET. "Also, it appears you have a call from Ms. Anetta. Should I patch her through?"

"Go ahead," Chaud sighed as he left his office and descended to the ground floor in the elevator, ProtoMan's image on the screen being replaced by Anetta's.

"Hey Chaud, I've been trying to reach you all week and... good golly, what happened to your face?!"

" . . . Is it really that noticeable?" he asked.

"Like a wrecked train. Have you been pulling all-nighters again?"

"If you don't have anything important to say, I'm hanging up."

"Wait!" the red-head blurted out. "Lan just told me about this netbattle tournament coming up. I was wondering if maybe the two of us could enter together?"

"I'm already the best netbattler with the highest Synchro Ratings. There's no point in me entering," Chaud huffed dismissively, hanging up before Anetta could even respond. "*YAAAAAAWN* ProtoMan. What day is it."

"Sunday."

"Oh, that isn't so-"

"Of next week."

" . . . I have got to stop drinking so much coffee," the dual-toned teen said as he rubbed his eyes. It was pretty bad if he couldn't tell what day it was.


"And here we have it, the next-generation PET," Dr. Hikari announced as they entered a conference room, some of the staff unloading new-looking PET from boxes stacked in the center of the room, the long ellipse-shaped table equipped with a number of data transfer equipment to move NetNavis from the older PET the newer ones. "I'd set some of the new PET aside for Lan and his friends earlier, but I'm sure I can pull a few out for you three," he said addressing Tyson, Bolt, and Jane.

"You don't have to go that far for me," Tyson said waving himself off. "I'm sure I can get by with this older model before upgrading," he said drawing out his sign-shaped PET, the staff spotting it before they got into a panic, grabbing the blond's arms before hauling him towards the unopened boxes and transfer software.

"It seems that our uncle's choice in life has been cut rather short," Jane noted.

"Oh, yeah," Bolt nodded, "It's like when Aunt Misora, Aunt Meiru, and Okaa-chan drag you off for shopping and having me, Pops, and Uncle Subaru get dragged along to carry the stuff you girls buy."

The bluenette's response to that was simple. She slammed her elbow into his gut before giving him a chop to the neck, slamming him into the ground. Everyone took a few steps back from the annoyed teen.

"Okay then, MegaMan, let's take a look at your new home," Lan said looking down into his PET, Rush having taken Hub back into the cyberworld when the brunette had stepped out to go to the bathroom. No need to spring too much on them all at once.

"I can tell it's taken some cues off the Link PET, but with a few additions," MegaMan noted as he appeared on Lan's shoulder, the boy tearing into one of the boxes and coming across what would come to be his new home. It was roughly the same size as the Link PET but more rectangular in shape, and while it flipped open similar to the Advanced PET, it had two screens instead of one, retaining the stylus from the previous model but collapsable. "Lan, there's something else in the box. Pull it out," he reminded Lan before he threw it out, the brunette pulling some kind of bulky bracelet.

"What's this for?" Lan asked holding the bulky bracelet up.

"That would be the mount for the Personal Terminal Exceed, or PET EX for short," Mr. Famous said holding his left forearm out, the double-screened PET worn on his forearm like a large watch.

"Wow, cool! Now I won't have to worry about dropping this thing," Lan said thinking back to all the times he'd dropped his previous PETs. Synching the bulky blue bracelet around his forearm, clicking the clasps so it was comfortable but didn't jiggle too much, he slid the PET EX into place on top of it before locking it in place. "Pretty cool, huh, MegaMan?"

"Yes, except you need to transfer me into it first," MegaMan reminded Lan from the Link PET presently set onto his NetOp's bicep, the brunette looking up to see that those upgrading to the new PETs had the EX models on their charging stations, while they had cabels hooked up to their old-model PETs to transfer out the files. This caused Lan to scratch the back of his neck nervously.

"Hey Mr. Famous, how come the PET EX doesn't look anything like the PET Watch?" Naruto asked holding his up.

"Our original intent was to compress the functions of a next-generation PET into a smaller package. However, when development of the real-time Synchro Gauge suddenly advanced, we pushed it's implementation forward into this model, hence the size," Mr. Famous explained. "On top of that, we've been able to reproduce Rush's ability to travel between the real world and cyber world in small scale, so those of you with... special needs, will no longer have to rely on him or the Cyber World Gate to do so."

"But wasn't that how that ShadeMan guy got into the real world?" Naruto asked dubiously.

"We've thought of that, and have been able to manipulate it so that only those with pre-established flesh-and-blood bodies will be able to change from NetNavis to NetHumans," Mr. Famous returned. "Of course, it'll be a while before we can give all NetNavis the capacity to become NetHumans. This concept is still in the development stage. Come to think of it, had you not shown up and proved materialization outside of a dimensional area with a flesh-and-blood body was possible, we'd need an estimated ten to twenty years before it could work."

"Well uh... Glad I could help...?" the blond returned nervously, beginning to feel like a science lab frog about to have its stomach sliced open with a scalple.

"Here, let me get all your files and features sorted out," Mr. Famous offered as he guided Naruto to one of the transfer consoles. At the same time, some of the lab techs were able to dig up an old jack-in cable adaptor for the transfer module, and were in the process of transferring all of Tyson's old files, and his NetNavi. Given how the transfer wasn't wireless like with the others, the transfer process was a tad more... tedious.

"Well Basic, you ready?" Tyson asked, all of his files transferred, his NetNavi being the last thing to go.

"I believe the saying, see you on the other side, would be appropriate."

"Yeah... Good luck old friend," Tyson said as Basic disappeared from his PET, the blond's eyes turning to the PET EX's open screen and waiting for his NetNavi to reappear. For a few minutes he thought his NetNavi had gone his way of the elderly migrating penguin and was simply too old to make it –or at least by a program's standards-, but after he was about to give up, the top screen surged to life, and Basic re-appeared. "Phew. Looks like you just made it."

"That I did," Basic replied as he looked around. "It is certainly quite roomy in here," the navi stated before he pressed a hand to the screen, suddenly flying out in hologram form, much to his surprise.

"Guess now you know how the hologram feature works," Tyson chuckled, whereas the other scientists were wondering just how Tyson and Basic had managed to survive in the modern world with such an outdated modem.

"Oh man, check out all these features," Naruto said as he flipped through the manual of the special-order PET EX Dr. Hikari had gotten just for him; it was colored orange for his benefit, along with the "NetHole Generator" as Mr. Famous called it. "ChipFldr for instant bring-up and use via touchscreen, real-time synchro gauge to enhance NetNavi/NetOp interactivity, increased distance on the hologram projector with partial-hardlight system. Man this thing is so cool!" And he wasn't saying that just because it was in orange. "Look out, Synchro Cup! Naruto Uzumaki is on the scene!" he said with a clenched fist and fire blazing in his eyes.

"But Naruto, how are you going to enter if you don't have a NetNavi?" Lan pointed out, the blond's train of thought completely derailing at that important as the startling realization hit him. The PET Watch he'd been using, he did so via touchscreen and stylus. He never actually got around to getting a NetNavi since he could always become one. Wait a minute, I can just use a Shadow Clone and leave a "NetOp" behind, the blond thought to himself with a smirk, only to realize how quickly that plan would fail. One wayward nudge or elbow and he'd be without a "NetOp". Plus if he did, then he may end up blowing his cover. This thought of course caused the blond to slump over in the corner, a gloom cloud hanging over his head as he drew circles on the floor with his finger.

"There there Naruto, it's okay," Maylu said consoling him as the blond deflated. "It's still a month until the Synchro Cup. That's enough time to get you a NetNavi to use. Right?"

"Maybe... But I want something special. Not an off-the-shelf BasicNavi I can get anywhere," the blond sighed, before realizing there was one such person in the room. "Ah... no offense."

"None taken," Basic said plainly appearing on Tyson's shoulder, still getting used to the new feature he hadn't taken advantage of before.

"But even then, I just don't have enough money saved up to have a CustomNavi programmed to how I like it on my budget. Commander Fish photos aren't selling like they used to, and I don't really have time for a part-time job," the blond sighed. Reason he didn't use shadow clones was for the same reasons as with the netnavi conundrum. Too much risk of being dispelled, and subsequently discovered.

"N-Naruto," Iris said placing a hand on his shoulder, making him look at her as she began to fidget. "Listen, if you want, you could borrow one of mine. I've got three of them after all," she said pulling them up on the display, the triplet sisters waving with smiles on their faces.

"Iris..." the blond spoke, touched by her gesture. "Thank you, really, but it just wouldn't be the same as having one of my own," he found himself sighing. "I know I'm being a bit selfish, and I shouldn't be too picky right now if I want to enter with the rest of you guys, but... It just... It feels so weird, being the only one here without a NetNavi of his own."

"Tyson, you customize NetNavis, right?" Maylu asked facing the older blond as he finished synching the PET EX to his forearm. "Couldn't you make something for Naruto? Even if he doesn't have enough money on his own, I'm sure if we pitch in we can get him something great."

"Two problems with that plan unfortunately," Tyson answered as he looked over Basic's data with the new interactive touchscreen, finding alot more convenient than the navi's previous home. "One is that my specialty is customizing BasicNavis into CustomNavis, not from scratch. Since Naruto doesn't have a NetNavi in the first place, even if I customized an off-the-shelf model, there wouldn't be any pre-existing battle experience to customize the NetNavi to. Second, I'm already on contract for another job, and I don't handle two at once, otherwise one's end result will suffer while the other benefits. I can recommend a site if you want, but just not me."

"Thanks, I guess," Naruto said with a bit of a smile.

"How about this Naruto. You've helped me out of my fair share of jams in the past, so how about I help you?" Yai asked. "Whatever you want, I'll get it for you. How does that sound?"

"Really? You'd do that for me?" Naruto asked genuinely surprised.

"Of course! After all," Yai said as a ray of light shone off her forehead. "Us blondes have to stick together!"

I won't look a gift horse in the mouth, Naruto thought to himself with a chuckle, the others getting their NetNavis and files transferred into the PET EXs without any complications.

"Uncle, while we're here..." Jane said nudging the older blond's shoulder, right after she had gotten X in a blue PET EX, her brother placing Zero inside a red one.

"Excuse me, Dr. Hikari," he said getting the man's attention. "There's actually a NaviCust program I need a bit of help testing. Most of the data's been finalized, but if I could have the data analyzed by professionals, it'd make what I have to offer a little more... credible, than what a random programmer can make on his home computer."

"Well, I can understand the need for credibility, and if you just need to run some final tests on a NaviCust program before presenting it as product, I actually think there's something you can use here that's vacant at the moment," Dr. Hikari said after a moment's thought. "It'll also be a good chance to see how well you programmed X when compared to Zero. Naruto, if it wouldn't be too much trouble, could you wait for a bit before putting your CustomNavi on back-order?"

"I guess..." the blond replied, though patience wasn't really his strong suit. He could hold back from leaping into something head-first, but he still couldn't stand not moving for too long. No wonder Sonic's practically pulling the quills out of his head.


"Whoa. What is that thing?" Lan asked as the group was guided into another lab. It looked like most of the others, only the device in the center was marginally new to everyone there. The device appeared to be cube-shaped and divided into two halves, a portion of the hardware visible through the fissure. There were a number of vents releasing heat mounted on the upper half, a few consoles set onto the bottom half for analyzing data. Set into the top was a large sphere made of hexagons similar to a dimensional area, curved pieces holding it in place.

"That would be our BattleChip Stadium program," Dr. Hikari said booting it up, a few of the scientists on break rushing up to help. "With it, we can create near-perfect copies of NetNavis, capable of fighting in the same way their originals do. As a failsafe, the copies can't exist outside BC Stadium, otherwise we'd have rogue copies running around."

"Why's it called BattleChip Stadium?" Dex asked. "This thing doesn't look like a battlechip at all."

"Not everything that's named something has to look like its name," Jane frowned, slapping Dex on the back of the head. For some strange reason he didn't seem to mind though.

"She's right, program is capable of generating nearly every kind of battlechip there is for active use, and because of the AudienceProg that gives the CopyNavis the will to fight to their highest potential, the fighting copies aren't simply automated AI, but will fight to win with the utmost of their ability," Mr. Famous explained.

"Essentially, we can test netnavis to the highest extreme, collecting reliable data without putting the originals in any feasible danger," Dr. Hikari summarized.

"Whoa! Neato! Let's test this bad boy out then!" Lan said as he was about to jack into one of the ports, only for Mr. Famous' hand to get in the way of the beam.

"Hold it, Lan. If you don't jack in through the console first, then the CopyNavi won't be created, and you really could get MegaMan deleted."

"Eh heh... Right..." Lan said as he stepped out of the lab to regain his composure, bumping into Hub on the way out. "Life was a lot simpler back when I only had to carry you around," he sighed.

"Actually, your dad and I have been talking about that," he said leading Lan away from listening ears. Bringing up his PET EX, the brunette could see that it looked slightly updated from the model he had. "Whenever you need me, just press the following beacon in your PET EX," he stated, an icon with MegaMan's NaviMark appearing in an empty corner of Lan's PET's bottom screen. "When you do, I'll get the signal and be there as soon as you can, like this," he said pressing the emblem, a light atop Hub's PET EX going off. Taking a few steps back before pointing his arm at the ground, he tapped the top button and fired a laser into the ground at his feet, a NetHole like Rush's appearing, which he soon fell through. "And that's how you do it," his voice suddenly said form inside Lan's PET as MegaMan climbed out a hole that appeared.

"Whoa, that's so cool!" Lan awed.

"A similar features has been built into the other NetHuman's PETs for this purpose. The low-maintenance power source for was actually inspired after studying Naruto's chakra."

"His chakra? How does it work? The power source I mean."

"Well, um... It'd take five to ten hours to accurately explain it," MegaMan said scratching his cheek, Lan faltering at how long it'd take to explain. And even then everything would end up having to be dumbed-down for him. "We'll talk about it later. For now, let's take a look at how BattleChip Stadium works," he suggested, Lan nodding as he headed back into the lab.

"Zero/X/Basic! Jack-in! Power up!" Bolt, Jane, and Tyson all called out with their PET EXs held in front of themselves, arms pointing upwards in an upsidedown V with middle and index fingers resting on the top plate. Spinning their wrists around under their right arms while keeping their fingers under the buttons, the three lowered their hands at the wrists and pressed the button, infared beams firing into the jack-in points, like using a wrist-mounted laser. (This would be the "animation" for the new jack-in sequence, if this were animated. If I didn't illustrate it well enough, it's like if you put a watch on your left wrist, put your fingers on it with the watch face pointing forward and your hand up, before moving it around to face in front of you.)

"Copying: Zero. Copying: X. Copying: Basic," the BattleChip Stadium AI called out. As scanning cursors ran over the three inside the computer. "Now creating CopyNavis. Set CopyNavis to Automatic, or Manual?" the machine asked, the three's PET EXs opening as a holographic window came up, the prompts AUTOMATIC and MANUAL appearing in front of them.

"Manual control," the three said tapping the right button.

"Now establishing line of control. Executing program," the AI said as the three's CopyNavis appeared in a large arena-like stadium, masses of randomly-generated NetNavis in the audience cheering the three on, Zero and X facing across from Basic. With numerous flickers of light, dozens of battlechips of all types began to float around the arena, all contained within glowing spheres.


"Alright you three, you know the plan. CopyBasic," Tyson said addressing the copy, who looked up at the Window that appeared behind his shoulder. "While the three of them get the battlechips they need for the test, I'm going to install a copy of the NaviCust program we're testing into you, so sit tight," he ordered, though in a tone like he'd use with the genuine article, and not just a copy. The CopyNavi in question simply nodded his head and rooted his feet into the ground, CopyZero and CopyX bounding around the field, their larger-than-average frames deceptively agile and nimble, plucking the floating battlechips out of mid-air.

"Uncle, I have the chips required for a Program Advanced," Jane suddenly announced.

"As do I," Bolt returned.

"Alright you three. Once you're ready, hit CopyBasic with everything you've got," Tyson replied, the others gaping at what he was asking of them. Sure, it was only a copy and the original wouldn't be affected, but for him to subject anything like his own navi to that kind of duress.

"FighterSword, KnightSword, HeroSword, triple-download!" Bolt called out as he had CopyZero slot the three chips into himself, his arms replaced with a long red and blue blade before the third came in, the energy blazing up his arms before it formed a massive golden colored rainbow-edged blade above his head, much like the Life Sword. "Program Advance: Ultima Sword!" he called out as CopyZero swung the blade down, a massive golden shockwave tearing across the ground. With arms spread wide CopyBasic took the brunt of the attack head-on, thrown back and sent rolling across the ground before he came to a stop. Surprisingly enough, instead of being logged out, CopyBasic simply got back to his feet, which meant the original could've done so as well.

"Incredible... was able to withstand a Program Advance with greater power than the Life Sword," Dr. Hikari gaped at the sight, Basic's readouts indicating his data's structural integrity, or "Hit Points", had held up to an impressive 45% remaining after-attack.

"Tyson, what's the point of all this?" Lan asked, not comfortable with watching a netnavi, copy or not, being used as target practice for some purpose he did not yet understand.

"M-Cannon, triple-download!" Jane called out as she had CopyX slot in the three battlechips, right arm forming into a massive tri-barreled cannon, whereas most Navis had to use both arms for this kind of PA. "Program Advance: Titan Cannon!" she called out as CopyX fired a trio of high-powered blasts straight at CopyBasic. Mid-flight the three beams became one and struck CopyBasic, a cloud of dust rising into the air, and the AudienceProg cheering loudly. Lan was about to protest the abuse of the being just deleted, whether it was a copy or not, only for everyone to fall silent at the sight that CopyBasic was still there.

"I don't understand..." one of the techs blurted out as he went over the results. "That last attack was as powerful as the Ultima Sword program advance... How could CopyBasic survive something like that? I mean, he's down to 1% HP, but that attack should've easily deleted his copy."

"It was? Yes! YES YES YES YES! It worked! Holy crap do you know what this means?!" he asked as he took the nearest person to him, Lan, and shook him by the shoulders. "It means the UnderShirt CustProg 'works'! It really, REALLY WORKS!" he said exuberantly.


"So then you're saying your NaviCust Program is meant to protect NetNavis from Program Advance? Seems a bit limited in scope to me," Dr. Hikari said with crossed arms.

"It isn't just Program Advance, I only set this test up this way to prove it could work against the uppermost extreme of what any NetNavi would encounter. The UnderShirt gives NetNavis a buffer for everything, in order to make one last stand. That way they can get one last hit in or retreat before they're deleted," Tyson explained giddily.

"So it's like a life insurance policy," Mr. Famous surmised as he analyzed the data. "That Titan Cannon should've easily caused another 55% HP of damage to Basic. I suppose the fact that it only caused 44% proves this program works," he said as he repeated the test in the simulator, but at a faster speed, showing that the UnderShirt custprog worked the same way nearly every time with a 99.99% reliability.

"This program has the potential to save thousands, no, millions of NetNavis from deletion each year if it can keep them at 1% no matter what happens to them," a lab tech said happily.

"Actually... One more hit after the UnderShirt acts as a buffer, no matter how small, and the NetNavi would be logged out or deleted," the blond cut in. "Now, if you were to use a Recovery battlechip of any type, it would be able to work again, but without additional stability, a NetNavi wouldn't stand another hit, even with the UnderShirt."

"How did you come up with such an idea?" Dr. Hikari asked, curious as to where the inspiration for such a revolutionary customization program came from.

"Well..." Tyson said with a wistful sigh as he looked off into the distance.

"Oh boy, here he goes again," Bolt sighed, while Jane got ready to listen to her uncle's story.

"So there we were, my friends and I celebrating my 17th birthday on the beach, tiki torches and grass skirts all around," he began to reminisce. "We were doing the limbo, when suddenly one of the torches fell over and landed on my chest right as I got out from under the stick. Suffice it to say my shirt, on account of how I was self-conscious of my body back then, burst into flame, and it took a couple minutes to put me out. Once it was all over, the only thing that had separated my skin from being burned was the undershirt I happened to be wearing because it was a tad chilly, and thus the UnderShirt custprog was born."

"So you got lit on fire... and that's how you came up with this program?" Lan asked questionably as he looked it over on the computer. Providing a protective barrier over the final percent of a NetNavi's structural integrity to prevent an instantaneous deletion, even if only for a moment. This thing could save a lot of NetNavis, the brunette thought.

"I know. Hilarious, right?" Bolt snickered, only for Jane to slap him across the face while stifling her own giggle.

"Dr. Hikari!" one of the lab techs suddenly cried out. "The audience program within BattleChip Stadium... it's become infected!" he cried out, the doctor running over to the screen and looking it over, eyes suddenly widening at what had appeared on the display.

"No... No, this isn't a simple bug! I'm reading full range of sentient thought and capability of movement. This thing... it's a mobile battle bug... BugRiser!" he suddenly blurted out, the bug that had somehow evolved within the computer humanoid in shape, its texture similar to that of the Grave Virus Beast. It stood several netstories tall, right arm a massive sword many meters in length, white bands around its wrists and feet, which had four toes similar to LaserMan. Over its chest and shoulders its body was shaped as though it were wearing armor, a high collar around its neck, and a horned helmet like people's misconception about Vikings on its head, a cross-shaped visor serving as its eyes.

"I'm... guessing that isn't part of the program, huh?" Bolt asked worriedly. -BZZT! BZZT! BZZT! BZZT!- A moment later the console containing BattleChip Stadium suddenly sparking with massive arcs of electricity, the room shaking and everyone thrown off their feet save a few.

"The system is running out of control. If BugRiser escapes into the Net, it'll be a disaster," Mr. Famous stated.

" . . . What are the chances of the original Zero and X becoming bugged?" Jane asked as the CopyNavis fought against BugRiser with everything they had, only for their bodies to become bugged and deteriorate.

"Since Zero was originally the Zero Virus the possibility of him being affected by BugRiser does not exist," Dr. Hikari said running the data against itself, while leaning away from the lancing arcs of electricity that occasionally jumped over the device. "X also has similar properties, but if the original Basic goes in, being a first-generation off-the-shelf BasicNavi, he will most likely become infected within the first five minutes."

" . . . I see..." Jane returned, going through her PET before finding something within her transferred files. "Uncle, I'm transferring a CustProg to your PET. Prepare to receive."

"Got it," Tyson responded, a progress bar appearing on the holo-screen before it read out as Received. Opening it up, he saw that it was- "A NaviCust program?"

"Yeah. And not just any NaviCust program either," Jane said with a smirk.

"BugStop will make Basic completely immune to BugRiser," Bolt returned.

"BugStop...? Are you saying-"

"There's no time to explain, but yeah, it stops bugs," Jane cut in before Lan could finish. "Come on guys! Let's crush this thing like a bug under a shoe!"

"Got it!" Bolt and Tyson returned. "Zero/X/Basic! Jack-in! Power Up!" the three shouted as they sent their NetNavis into the BattleChip Stadium, though most of the titular element had already been consumed by BugRiser.


"Show that thing what you're made of!" Jane, Bolt, and Tyson instructed their NetNavis from their own Windows.

"Z Saber!" Zero roared as his right arm extended into its sword configuration. "Sonic Boom!" he shouted as he swung the sword with tremendous power, a slicing air wave tearing through it before slamming into BugRiser, knocking him over into the stands.

"X Buster!" X called out as his right arm assumed a shape similar to MegaMan's Mega Buster, only with more white accents and was larger, a low -WHRRRRRRRR-ing sound emanating from its core before he shouted, "Charge Shot!" With a loud -CHWOON!-, a massive blue energy blast with spiraling blue trails sailed out of the end of the Buster and right into BugRiser's chest.

"BN Buster!" Basic called out as he brought his Buster program to bear against BugRiser. To everyone's surprise, the fire rate was greater than even the Hyper Burst PA, BugRiser's hide riddled with dozens of regular-powered shots for second.

"Geez, this guy's still standing!" Bolt cursed as the dust cleared from their three attacks, BugRiser no worse off than before.

"Not for long. Bolt, Tyson, AreaSteal, on my Mark!" Jane ordered as she drew nine chips from between her breasts, much to the embarrassment of all watching.

"Synch!" the two said almost immediately with no delay.

"Mark!" Jane shouted as she slotted in the nine TimeBomb battlechips at the same moment Zero and Basic used AreaSteal, three Giga Time Bombs dropping into BugRiser's lap as a result of the Triple Program Advance, which was shocking since most NetNavis could only process one PA at a time, let alone three. Firing a charged shot into the ground, X used the recoil to carry himself away as the explosions went off, half of BattleChip Stadium consumed in a large mushroom-shaped blast. When the smoke cleared, despite the fact that half of BattleChip Stadium was now a smoking crater, an uninjured BugRiser once again rose up.

"Guys, let the rest of us help you out!" Lan shouted over their shoulders.

"Jane, give the rest of us BugStops too!" Maylu cried out.

"I'm sorry, I only had the one, and I made it special, just for Uncle," Jane replied, the blond affectionately ruffling her hair before his eyes turned back to the fight.

"Alright, Basic. Time to change our tactics! Sending you Style Change data now!" he said pulling up the file with his touch screen, Lan struck speechless at the sight that the emblem was the same as when he used Style Change. In the telltale twin rings that surrounded him, Basic was immersed in a tremendous light, BugRiser's gaze soon falling upon him.

"Bug Rise Sword!" the mobile battle bug called out as he broke away from Zero and X, the end of his massive blade coming down towards him mid-transformation. Right as the blade was about to connect however, a silver streak suddenly tore through blade like a drill, Basic landing in the stands, his configuration modified by Style Change.

"Style Change: Break Style," Basic called out, his right arm replaced with a pink white-cored lance, a snaking ray of blue energy coiling around it in the shape of a drill. His forest green bodysuit was now dark blue with orange streaks running up from his chest down to his feet. There was a gunmetal gray belt synched around his sides with hip guards attached, his forearms and shins replaced with silver guards bearing raised drill-like edgings, his gloves and boots colored dark blue as well. His chest and shoulder armor was connected but with flexible joints, colored gunmetal gray with silver accents, a raised collar guarding his neck. His helmet was shaped like a knight's covering his entire form, a vertically-running faceplate with an orange V shaped visor and single horn on the forehead connected to the NaviMarks on the sides of his head.

So MegaMan really isn't the only one who can use Style Change... Lan thought with some small level of disappointment, before remembering that there was only one MegaMan, and even if all his other programs were copied –which Double Soul kind of was already-, MegaMan was still the one and only.

"Break Sabre!" Basic SC called out as he launched himself at BugRiser, sword poised to strike at his corr only for his opponent to retaliate with a cry of- "Bug Rise Thunder!" -, his extended hand shooting a massive column of black lightning that struck Basic SC mid-flight and held him in air as the attack continued to electrocute him.

"Oh no you don't! Sanctuary! Battlechip in, download!" Jane called out as the arena's floor suddenly became Holy Panels. The next moment she drew out a red-colored chip, which drew everyone's eye. "HolyDream! Battlechip in, download!" she called out as X raised his buster and began preparing a charge shot, this time a white and blue sphere forming in front of his X Buster. The next moment the Holy Panels across the floor began to rise off the ground before transforming into balls of balls of light that were quickly absorbed into the attack, creating a pure white sphere four times as large as X himself.

"Holy... BEAAAAM!" he called out as the massive attack was launched, catching BugRiser in the side and sending him flying, X shooting forward in a blue blur and catching Basic on the way down as BugRiser took out yet another portion of the stands. "Basic, are you alright?" X asked as he set the navi down, armor blackened with soot and scorched.

"I am fine," Basic said before facing the Window over his shoulder. "Tyson! While Zero and X hold off BugRiser, activate this form's exclusive Program Advance."

"You've got it!" Tyson said as he flipped through his folder, drawing out three battlechips, one bearing a Drixol, the next bearing a Drixor, with the final bearing a Drixia.

"X! Zero! Keep BugRiser pinned, I'm only going to get one shot!" Basic SC called out as his Sabre continued to spin, the two nodding as they rushed at BugRiser just as he'd gotten to his feet, X firing a Charge Shot into his face and disorienting him, Zero slashing at his foot causing him to fall to one knee as he fell to the ground. As Zero and X disengaged however, the damage inflicted upon him by the HolyDream battlechip began to heal, as did the crack across his visor and the slash to his knee.

"Geez, why don't you just stay down already?" Bolt growled in frustration before drawing a red-plated battlechip like his sister had before. "OmegaRocket! Battlechip in, download!" he called out as Zero leapt back. The next moment a shadowed, one-eyed colossus with floating arms with spiked hands appeared. The next moment its core opened wide, a massive gray rocket with white fins, armor, and red accents flew at BugRiser, the massive projectile sailing towards BugRiser right as he rose to his feet and catching him in the chest, detonating on impact and destroying everything behind it. Or so they thought since BugRiser remained, but the portion of BattleChip Stadium caught within the blast had been vaporized.

"Tyson! What're you doing!? If you're going to do something, do it-" Lan yelled at the blond who had been breathing in and out with closed eyes for the past ten minutes, the brunette about to shake his shoulder only for Jane's finger to go to his lips, a blush rising on his features which, caused a pit of ire to form in Maylu's stomach.

"Let him concentrate. This isn't like the other Program Advance you and MegaMan aren't used to," she scolded in a no-nonsense tone. "If Tyson and Basic aren't perfectly synchronized, the use of this PA could tear the two of them apart," she summarized, though the look on her face made it seem like she was trying to remember something.

"Perfectly Synchronized. You mean...?" Dr. Hikari asked in shock as the two's eyes opened. The next moment an invisible wind caused the NetOp's hair and clothes to flutter, both of their bodies glowing softly like lightbulbs, the NetOp and NetNavi taking a single step forward at the same time, Basic raising his Break Sabre into the air while Tyson held the three battlechips in hand.

"DrillArm 1, DrillArm 2, DrillArm 3, battlechips in, download!" the blond called out as he slotted the three chips in.

"Program Advance!" Basic SC roared out as his Break Sabre suddenly extended ten times in length, suddenly expanding in size forming a massive silver drill many times his size above his head. "GIGA... DRILL... BREAK!-!-!" he roared as the massive drill spun and he poised it at BugRiser, a massive silver and white flame covering his form from the base of the drill as he shot towards his intended target. A moment later the attack caught it in the stomach, carrying BugRiser into the skybefore punching a hole cleanthrough him, Basic SC jacking out right as Zero and X did, BugRiser's remains falling to the ground before they too detonated, completely destroying what remained of BattleChip Stadium. At the same time in the real world, Tyson's skin began to burn as though exposed to flame, but Jane and Bolt quickly hosed him down with the fire extinguisher, covering him in the fire-suppressing foam.


"Uncle! Uncle are you okay?" Jane and Bolt said worriedly as they scooped the foam off his form, his skin a bit red but otherwise alright. While FullSynchro granted NetNavis and their NetOps near-instantaneous command-reaction time, the major drawback was that any damage received to the NetNavi was inflicted upon the NetOp as well, or at least in a reduced form since, when a navi gets damaged, the Synchronization between NetNavi and NetOp falls, thus creating a "buffer" between them.

"Yeah... Thanks you two... You really helped me out back there," he said with a smile, only for Jane to suddenly roundhouse kick him in the face and send him rolling across the floor, a flaring shoe-mark across his face, everyone cringing at the sight. Jane was on top of him in seconds, fisting the front of his shirt with one hand while the other was raised up to slap him.

"Do you know what could've happened to you using Full Synchro like that? You could've roasted yourself alive! Why didn't you break off from Full Synchro once the Program Advance started?!" she cried angrily with tears stinging the corners of her eyes, holding herself back from slapping him so she could get that question answered.

"Because if I didn't..." Tyson said with clenched teeth. "Basic would've been ripped to pieces..." he said motioning to the PET EX, Basic inside, though his body was damaged. Nothing a few Recovery battlechips couldn't fix though since there was no damage to his CoreData.

" . . . I-Idiot! Don't scare us like that, alright?" the bluenette sniffed as she pulled the blond into a bone-crushing hug, his face contorting into a pained grimace as she squeezed the slightly-burnt skin, while Bolt simply sighed and scratched the back of his head.

"Sis...Your boobs are suffocating him like Aunt Litchi's do to me when we visit her," Bolt pointed out, Jane's assets currently cutting off Tyson's oxygen. "Still, what a way to go, huh? In pain, yet also in pleasure from suffocation by breasts."

Jane's eyes narrowed before they widened. She quickly released her hold on the blond, letting Tyson gulp in as much air as he could. Jane then proceeded to glare at Bolt while making the motion of a meat bun and her eating it. Bolt paled significantly as he dashed behind Lan, trembling in fear at the unspoken threat, though to the others it simply looked like Jane eating an invisible sandwich while and glaring at her brother.

"Whatever that Program Advance was, it seems to have completely destroyed BugRiser," Mr. Famous stated after analyzing the data for BattleChip Stadium.

"We'll need to re-vamp the Audience Program to prevent something like this from happening again, and isolating BC Stadium's cyberworld might be in order," one tech spoke.

"But still..." Mr. Famous mused. "There should still be some BugFrags left over from BugRiser, yet the system is completely clean."

"Why do you think that is?" Dr. Hikari asked, only for the bluenette to suddenly speak up.

"Uncle, check out this data we got out of BugRiser," Jane said holding up her PET's holographic screen to Tyson, leftover data from the enemy they'd just defeated appearing on display.

"Think you could make some CustomChips with these?" Bolt said holding his own data file up. With that Tyson looked the two over, eyes analyzing what data had been leftover from Bugriser's defeat before saying-

"Sure! I'll need to spring for a couple GigaCopyChips, but I think I can squeeze a BugRiseSword and BugDeathThunder battlechip out of these," the man said with a nod.

"Wait a minute, you're taking the leftovers of the thing that nearly killed us, and you're to make battlechips out of it?" Lan balked.

"I don't see what the big surprise is. The LongSword was made after analyzing the Swordy virus. Don't you know how battlechips are made?" the blond asked incredulously.

"O-Of course I do. I'm just... asking for those of us who don't happen to know, eh heheh..." he said nudging Dex with his elbow. Suffice it to say, the heavy-set teen had alot of face to save after Chisao found out all the stuff he'd been saying about himself was a lie. He was flattered Dex would actually go that far to impress him, but you don't have to be a top-notch netbattler to impress your family.

"*Sigh* Alright, for those of you who're interested in making CustomChips, listen up, 'cause I'm only going to explain this once," Tyson sighed as he sat himself down in a chair, bringing out a few battlechips and spreading them out on the table in front of him. "BattleChips, be they custom or not, fall within three Classes; Standard," he said pointing to a Hi-Cannon chip, the casing colored gray. "Mega," he said pointing to a SuperVulcan, the casing colored light green. "And lastly, Giga," he said pointing to a red-plated battlechip, this one bearing the picture of a reddish-colored black hole with a pair of narrowed eyes and fanged smile cackling from the depths. "Despite the difference in class however, there are some Standard chips out there as rare as Mega-class chips."

"But then why are they still Standard?" Naruto asked.

"Because the different Classes do not necessarily connote rarity. Primarily, they are for separating battlechips from one another in terms of the power required to use them. Standard-Class chips are for generic battling purposes, and can be used by any NetNavi, no matter how high or low their parameters. Mega-Class chips on the other hand are marginally more powerful, thus while BasicNavis can use only 1 per fight, CustomNavis can use up to 5 per fight or between recharge periods. GigaChips on the other hand are so overwhelmingly powerful, that while it would most definitely destroy an unmodified BasicNavi, CustomNavis can use only 1."

"But then how come ProtoMan sometimes breaks MegaMan's swords when they NetBattle?" Lan asked.

"I know this one! It's because..." everyone leaned in a bit at Bolt's words. "...You ain't go nothin' on his swordplay!" he replied jovially, various facefaults resulting.

"Bolt, you forget how Uncle Roronoa always says that it's not the number of blades, but the weight of them?" Jane scolded.

"Maybe..." Bolt looked away.

"Not quite, Bolt," Tyson cut the past some of you may have noticed that certain battlechips have activated for your NetNavis sooner than others," he stated, a few of the group looking into their PETs. "That's because the processing power of different NetNavis can easily process some battlechips faster than others, as well as drawing more power from them based on the navi's own affinity. For example, water-type NetNavis can use water-type chips faster than those who don't fall under that element, however if you use an opposing class, like an elec-type chip, the deployment will be slowed down since it's an opposing element. Some netnavis don't experience any deployment drops despite what battlechips are being used, though as a consequence may not be able to increase activation speed without training your programs to do so. Zero for example can deploy sword-type battlechips almost as soon as it's downloaded into the PET, though projectile-type chips like Cannons and the like take a little longer. X on the other hand can activate most projectile-type battlechips near-instantly as well, though sword-type chips come at a slower rate."

"So then that's why Chaud and ProtoMan always use sword-type chips? Because they play to their strengths?" Lan asked.

"Correct. Some NetNavis may be designed for specifically one purpose, while separating opposing parameters to do so. NetNavis that work in the mailing industry sacrifice power and dexterity for speed, while NetNavis that defend servers and other important computers sacrifice speed for power and dexterity. If you think of it like an RPG, it'll make perfect sense," the blond returned.

"But what was this you said about viruses being used to make battlechips?" Lan asked.

"If some of you will notice, some of your battlechips have pictures of viruses on them," he stated, Lan and Maylu pulling out their MetGuard and AquaTower battlechips to see pictures of a Mettuar and VolGear staring back at them. "When the net first started out, fire, water, elect, and wood-type data didn't exist. However, as the net evolved, so did the viruses inhabiting it, some developing elemental properties to counteract the anti-virus measures being created, hence the Sword and Cannon type battlechips that nearly everyone uses," he said holding a Sword and Cannon battlechip between his fingers. "Eventually, people got the idea to use leftover data from slain viruses in order to create battlechips with elemental affinities. Some battlechip companies breed viruses for the purpose of making certain battlechips, though they usually lack the power of battlechips made from viruses found out in the wilds of the cyber world. A Cannon battlechip made by one company, may not be as powerful as a Cannon battlechip you acquire after putting a CannonDumb virus' data inside a CopyChip after virus busting."

"So then what was this about a GigaCartride, and what you were going to do with BugRiser's data?" Jasmine asked.

"All battlechips start out life as either Standard, Mega, or GigaCopyChips; blank templates that can have data placed inside them to give them power. Whether you wager them in NetBattles, buy them online, or receive them in emails, the data can only be used by the receiver if they actually put the data inside a CopyChip," the blond stated. Not everyone knew about the CopyChips, or at least not as in-depth.

"CustomChips of course aren't only made from virus data," Jane said walking up beside her uncle, drawing a pair of glasses from her chest before putting them on her face, adjusting them with delicate fingers, though the guys had their eyes on other things. "FashionChips which offer only aesthetic changes to NetNavis, can usually be custom-made to tailor a NetNavi's taste, most of which are used for festivities, or interactivity between NetNavi and NetOp. In addition to that, you can create data packages that allow a NetNavi to adapt to different conditions, allowing you to change your navi's parameters on the fly by using the program, or Style Change," she stated, Lan's eyes widening since he'd always thought only MegaMan could use Style Change. If this was all true, which is probably was, then Double Soul wasn't as exclusive as he thought, since all you needed was the right program.

"However, since new varieties of virus are born every day, by busting them and collecting the data they leave behind, you can use that to create new, more powerful battlechips, or... create battlechips with new properties, like the StickyBoomer," Tyson enunciated with his StickyBoomer battlechip, which probably did what the name implied. "The main constraint in making CustomChips is what CopyChip can handle what power. For example, data from BugRiser wouldn't be able to fit inside a Standard or Mega-class CopyChip, but only a Giga since they can accommodate the most data out there."

"Normally there is a bit of lag time between when a high-end battlechip is used, due to the processing power required from NetNavis to activate them. However, by synchronizing yourself with your navi to perform FullSynchro, that constraint can be circumvented," Bolt finished explaining. "Dex over here seems to have a knack for making CustomChips, since he developed a few that play to GutsMan's strength. GutsPunch and GutsHammer may be able to be used by other NetNavis, however without GutsMan's raw power, they won't be used to their fullest effect."

"Okay..." Naruto groaned as he rubbed his temples. "My head hurts... but I think I understand what you're saying. Basically if I encountered a virus that threw shuriken, and I collected its data after busting it, then I could make a battlechip that lets me throw shuriken?"

"Right on the money," Tyson said putting his chips away and getting to his feet.

"And now, we go to Yai's house!" Lan declared fiercely, getting ready to prepare.


Getting back into town from SciLab, Lan, Maylu, Dex, and Naruto all disembarked so they could grab a few things from home before going to Yai's house. With the recent revelation of how leftover data from busted viruses could be used to create battlechips out of CopyChips, most everyone had gone home to collect the old data they've been accumulating from busting viruses, as so they could save money on battlechips. Tyson pointed Yai towards a good hardware and software store in DenTech, where she proceeded to buy enough ChipBurners and CopyChips for everyone. She of course ended up buying out the entire store leaving them with no product for the next week or until they could get more in, but hey, that was progress for you.

Naruto, who hadn't been busting viruses except for the sake of fighting, ran off to Higsby's to see if he could get some good battlechips to get himself started. He had a few already, but without a wider array, he wouldn't stand a chance in the upcoming tournament.

"Good morning, Higsby," Naruto said as he entered the shop. Since he already knew where Yai's house was, he needn't wait for the limo to pick him up.

"Ah, Naruto, how are you doing today? Are you going to shop or just browse?" Higsby asked.

"Well, I'm a little light on cash right now, but I'm hoping maybe I could get some in-store credit by trading this in," he said raising the DiceTurretSP up between his fingers.

"What? But this is a rare chip! Why would you want to trade it in?" the man asked. "Not that I'm complaining, but most people tend to hang on to their rare battlechips."

"Well, I'm not really patient for this sort of thing, plus... I feel a little bad for blackmailing you when we first met," the blond admitted.

"Well... I suppose it's my fault too, for not being as discrete as I should've been," Higsby admitted. Taking the chip and analyzing it, he saw that it was still in practically perfect shape. "Alright, on top of the trade-in value for the DiceTurretSP, I'll give you ten battlechips from the bargain bin for free. So, go on and have at it," he waved off, feeling rather generous after having his painstakingly-crafted DiceTurretSP back in his hands.

"I've got a bit of money of my own too," the blond admitted as he browsed over the shelves. Since the Commander Fish photos weren't selling that well, Haruka had decided a while back to give him an allowance, given he do a few chores around the house. Flipping through the bargain bin, he selected ten chips that caught his eye before moving over to the shelves, pointing out a few within his price range. Walking over to the glass cases, Higsby unlocked the case before he and Naruto placed the thirteen selected chips out on the counter.

"Alright, let's see what we've got here... For the low low price of free, we've got..."

"A Cannon, Hi-Cannon, two AreaSteals, an AirShot, and a handful of Mini-Boomers," Naruto announced as he tapped each one out, already coming up with ways to combine them once he had a NetNavi of his own to use.

"And for the standard fee, one M-Cannon, SilverFist, and Mine," the man finished off, Naruto handing over the money as he slotted his new battlechips into the folder Higsby gave him. "You know Naruto, it seems like only yesterday you'd caught me spying on Ms. Mari and blackmailing me about it, but now here we are having a nice chat about battlechips."

"Yeah. How things change huh?" Naruto said as he looked his stock over. "Hey, the Cannon, Hi-Cannon, and M-Cannon make one of those Program Advance things right?" he said noticing the pattern. Honestly he'd gotten the three so he'd have some easy-to-use projectile weapons. He hadn't really been thinking about making a Program Advance until just then.

"Yes, very astute of you to notice. With the recent Darkloid activity, you might need a little firepower. Of course you'll have to practice if you want to avoid mis-firing. Or blowing your NetNavis arms off," he chuckled nervously, since once before he'd tried getting NumerMan to use a PA, only for his weaker frame to be unable to handle that kind of power.

"Yeah. I guess. Anyway, I'll see you later, I'm finally getting myself a NetNavi of my own," Naruto said heading out, Higsby waving him goodbye. As soon as the blond and his friends had departed, the man's hand went to his DiceTurretSP battlechip before he began polishing it, whispering to it in a dark corner as he fret over the small piece of plastic and software, Shuko coming in and wondering just what was going on with her boss.


Meeting back up as they made their way to the Ayanokoji house, Yai was sent to guide Bolt, Jane, and Tyson ahead of the others while those remaining in the limo discussed how they should tread around the three. While it was true one of them had Zero, the former procreator of the Zero Virus, as their NetNavi, and had all defeated BugRiser before he could escape into the cyberworld, they were doubtful as to whether or not they should reveal the full scope of what was already going on. There were already misconceptions about the Halberd being the vanguard of an alien invasion, the term misconception being used because the denizens of SubSpace were not so much aliens as they were creatures from a separate dimension. For the moment they didn't have to walk on eggshells around the three since they hadn't asked any questions too deeply concerning the going ons of the world. Should anything happen however to reveal what's going on behind the scenes, and they may have to come clean.

Naruto agreed they should wait and see what whould happen, but even if it came to that, he still wanted his privacy on the fact that he was from another world, similar to the Smashers. All it took was one loose tongue, and suddenly he's on every tabloid across the country, or on a lab table being sliced open so they can poke and prod at his chakra circulatory system. To ensure nothing was unnecessarily revealed, the blond would send a couple clones out to make sure Pikachu and Pit stay hidden.

"It's not that big," Bolt admitted with a straight face.

"What?!" Yai demanded, turning to him.

"We hate to admit it, but we once dared our Uncle Franky to build a treehouse. You know what we got? A tree mansion," Jane explained sheepishly.

"All in under an hour," Bolt chuckled, "We actually made it our summer home, too."

In return, Yai openly gaped at what the two of them had just said.

That shouldn't be possible! An entire mansion in a tree... under one hour?!

"Man, that thing could be a birdhouse for pteradactyles," Tyson noted as he took the sight in, managing to distract everyone from what Bolt and Jane just said.

"See! I'm not the only one who thinks so!" Lan blurted out.

Close one... the twins thought with a sigh before they turned their eyes to Tyson. Thanks uncle, the two said with a gratuitous smile.

"Yes, we get it, the tree house is big," Dex sighed as he got on the ladder. "Come on, I wanna start practicing for the Synchro Cup," he said making his way up for the ladder, Lan following behind.

"Since Dex and Lan are occupying the ladder, Tyson, would you like to accompany me on the elevator?" Yai offered, being mindful of the blond's injury.

"Thank you, I was afraid I'd have to hazard the ladder with my bum leg," the blond chuckled as he, Yai, Bolt, and Jane got in the four-person elevator located on the side of the treehouse. This just left Naruto, Maylu, Jasmine, Iris, and Megumi on the ground, MegaMan and Roll back in their NetNavi forms.

"Naruto, think you could carry me up to the treehouse?" Maylu asked, Lan's grip on the ladder rungs tightening as he heard that.

"Sure, I guess," Naruto said scratching the back of his neck. "What about you? Anyone else want to go?" he asked, Iris and Megumi stepping forward, electrically-charged glare between them when the two stepped forward, while Jasmine and Rain settled for the elevator. Scooping Maylu into his arms and leaping onto the balcony, Lan couldn't help but scowl at the sight. Sure, he wasn't as physically fit as the blond, or could leap tall buildings in a single bound –not necessarily a lot of call for that-, or riddle targets full of ninja knives, but the blond didn't have to rub it in his face like that.

"Who's next?" Naruto asked after setting Maylu down.

"I am!" both Iris and Megumi spoke up, Rain chuckling nervously at the sight while Jasmine simply contented herself to watch what was happening. After MegaMan got together with Roll, Meddy seemed to redouble her efforts to capture Naruto, and while Maylu's growing crush on Naruto left Lan open, by the way he was scowling at Naruto when he carried Maylu up bridal style, it would seem Lan had his attention elsewhere as well.

Hmmm... What to do, what to do? the Choinese girl questioned herself as she entered the tree house, Rain and Megumi opening up their own NetHoles like Rush's and returning to their NetOp's PETs.


All settling themselves in within the large tree house, the group was greeted by a large computer suite with all the latest equipment; a small NetArena for private netbattles, devices to record and analyze the fights for the most data retention, PCs linked to ChipBurners for the creation of battlechips, and a myriad of other things the group couldn't tell what they were without looking in the manual.

"Alright MegaMan, let's get the MegaBooster up and running!" Lan said excitedly with a data disk in hand. "The moment you take to the skies, the competition won't know what's coming!"

"Lan, remember what happened the 'last' time you tried to make me a jetpack? You sent me right into a wall," MegaMan said with a winch.

"Hey, after Tyson gave us that lecture on how viruses are used to make battlechips, I have all kinds of ideas to make the MegaBooster work," Lan said as he inserted a DashCondor battlechip into the ChipBurner. "Like this DashCondor. If I combine the thrusters with its natural flying ability, we'll have you up in the air in no time."

"That's what I'm afraid of," MegaMan said nervously. Lan's next suggestion to combine a Burner battlechip to give the MegaBooster an afterburner caused him to shudder just as much as ghosts did.

"GutsMan, if we're going to wind this, we're going to need as much power as we can squeeze out," Dex said with a wide grin. "I'm upping the power on your MegaGutsPunch! Get ready!" he hollered as he uploaded a new program into the MegaGutsPunch.

"Giga... Guts Punch!" GutsMan roared as his fist doubled in size like with MegaGutsPunch, then tripled in size from there, making it six times as large from before. The program seemed to be successful, however... "Guts?" the overly large netnavi gaped as he began tipping backwards until he hit the ground. Try as he may to get up, the massive fist was simply too large for him to lift. As if things couldn't get worse, the massive fist soon shattered into a hundred pieces, and while GutsMan's arm wasn't taken off, again, he still lost his hand, which was a bit of a bummer.

"Dex, GutsMan isn't physically strong enough to handle that large a fist," Chisao stated, the heavy-set kid's shoulders sagging. "Secondly, perhaps we should use one of those Mega-Class CopyChips that Tyson mentioned," he said prying open one of the packages that Yai had been kind enough to purchase on her own dollar. Swapping out the Standard-Class CopyShip out before slotting in the Mega-Class one, the boy tapped a few keys before, right in front of their eyes, the data for the GigaGutsPunch adhered to its new home. While it was still impossible to use practically, they could at least have it as an ace in the hole in case they just needed to smash a stationary target.

"I just insert the CopyChip like this... and viola," Maylu narrated as she slotted the CopyChip into the burner, a whirring sound going off from the device before a brand spanking new TyphoonDance chip appeared. "Hey Roll, maybe you should see about being a model. You've got a great profile," the girl whispered to her NetNavi.

"Well, thanks, but no thanks. There's only 'one' guy I want looking at me like that," Roll said with a blush as she looked in Lan and MegaMan's direction, particularly MegaMan's, her NetOp before she got to work.

Seems like everyone has a plan but me, Jasmine thought with a sigh. Yai and Tory were already making plans to enter the Synchro Cup together since it was a tag-team affair. Opening up her PET EX, she saw that Meddy was going over her past battle experience, whether on the Net or in CrossFusion. Obviously the latter required a high Synchro Rating in order to perform, but if everyone entering had a high SR, then she'd need something more than what she had in order to do so. Lan and MegaMan were off to the side trying to re-unlock Style Change after it'd been buried inside MegaMan's programming for so long, but since Tyson already had customized his NetNavi with it, maybe he could give her some pointers. Speaking of which... she said as she eventually found the blond in one of the room's corners, surrounded by a trio of computers which he seemed to be operating simultaneously. "Tyson, what're you doing?"

"Oh, just working on Bolt and Jane's trump cards for the tournament, as well as one of my own," he answered as he tore his eyes away from the screen, as to face her. The leftmost monitor had a simulation of what the finished product, BugRiseSword, would look like, sword length, sharpness, and power measurements dotting the screen as well as how much force would be required to move it. The rightmost monitor had a simulated picture of the finished product for BugRiseThunder, potential energy readings and how much could be drawn out of the provided data before it became too much for the netnavi using it to handle. The screen in the middle didn't have a simulated finished product, clearly made from scratch as the wireframe for what looked like a backpack of sorts was slowly taking shape. "But what of you? Any plans for what you'll do in the tournament."

"To be honest... I'm not even sure I'll get that far in," the Choinese girl said with a sigh. "Meddy might be able to bust viruses left and right, but she isn't a powerhouse like MegaMan, GutsMan, or Zero. She's a medic, and while she can keep a NetNavi together just fine... In the middle of a fight the two of us have always had to rely on others."

"Hmmm... That's a bit of a conundrum..." the blond mused. Pulling out the data from the middle console, he ushered her over to it. "How about we take a look at Meddy's parameters, and we can decide what to do from there?" he offered kindly, a bit of pink forming on Jasmine's cheeks before the two sat together and began to talk. At first it was just what Jasmine wanted Meddy to be able to do, but soon things deviated to the two asking random questions about one another.

"Aw...isn't that so adorable?" Bolt whispered as he and his sister watched the two's interaction.

"You think we'll be getting an aunt sometime in the future?" Jane whispered.

"Yosha..." Bolt grinned with a whispered reply.


After a couple hours of non-stop customizing, most everyone had plans for what they were doing for the tournament. Since there wasn't a lower age limit for the tournament, just the base Synchro Rating required to qualify, Dex decided to team up with his brother Chisao as a brotherly bonding kind of thing. Since Glyde and IceMan had worked together in the past, Yai decided to work with Tory. When the topic of partners had come around, Iris had surprised everyone by asking Naruto to be her partner, and since he saw himself getting a usable NetNavi before the tournament he replied he'd be happy to. Maylu teamed up with Lan and MegaMan shortly after since they'd had prior experience, though the red-haired girl seemed a bit jealous of the brunette NetHuman. Bolt and Jane were still contemplating whether they should team up with one another or someone else, and Tyson still hadn't decided who to partner up with, if at all.

With stomachs growling and it being a few hours past noon, Yai called up her maids to bring up some lunch. Soon, carts full of high-end food most of them wouldn't be able to afford flooded the semi-crowded tree house. When a small girl around Yai's height with burgundy hair in a maid outfit came in, nearly everyone pressed themselves against the nearest wall as though she had some kind of contagious allergen laced into her skin. When Jasmine asked what was up, Maylu replied that whenever Kiryuuin Sakurako, one of the apprentice maids, touched anything, it ended badly. This was only further confirmed when Tyson asked for a cup of sweet tea, the girl accidentally grabbing the coffee pot... and spilling the contents right into his lap.

Normally a person with scalding hot liquid soaking their lap would've been running about like mad, however Tyson's leg brace soon put a stop to that, and for some reason Jane hosed his lap down with the nearby fire extinquisher, Kiryuuin apologizing repeatedly with bowed head, tears in the corner of her eyes. Given the looks the others were giving her, things like this going wrong were a common occurrence. Two such tales involved a vacuum cleaner and washing machine on separate occasions, while in both everyone had lost their PET for several hours and had to hunt the rogue appliances down after the girl had somehow gotten them infected with VirusChips.

Tyson was eventually given a change of pants while the maids took the coffee stains off of his, and with the disaster-bringing maid-in-training gone, everyone dug into their lunches, making small talk amongst themselves. After most of the food was gone, the adopted son of Dr. Wily –the fourth adopted child by the group's current count, or at least as far as they knew- asked something rather surprising of Lan that came out of nowhere.

"Lan Hikari, how'd you like to NetBattle me and Basic?"

Well maybe not that out of nowhere. After all there was a big NetBattle tournament coming up, so of course there was bound to be people NetBattling all around.

"Okay... But what brought this on?" the brunette asked the blond warily. Considering nearly every child Wily had raised turned out to be evil –or at least at the beginning, Baryl being the exception-, something told him there was more to this guy than met the eye.

"Oh, you know. I just wanted to see what was so special about you that the old man practically ripped out his hair in handfuls," the blond replied off-handedly as he flexed his wrist around the PET EX. "And plus I always wanted to see how I'd do against the kid that saved the world a half-dozen times by now," he said off-handedly.

"My money's on Uncle!" Bolt declared before Jane slapped the back of his head, "Ah! Ite! Yukikuso-Onna!"

"You want me to eat a meat bun?" Jane threatened, making Bolt pale significantly.

"Not Icykaka!" Bolt screamed as he jumped into Dex's arms, confusing the heavy-set boy about what would be so bad about the busty bluenette eating a meat bun. Or at least for another person apart from her.

"Sure, I'll play your game," Lan said with a smirk, ignoring the insanity that was going on in the background. "Just don't expect me to hold back. I saved the world you know," he said self-assuredly, his smug tone causing Tyson's brow to twitch. After Yai had pressed a switch on the wall, the table in the center of the room receded into the floor before a private-use netbattle projector rose up in its place, a holographic dome showing the field in high resolution.

MegaMan
vs
Basic

Battle Routine Set!
EXECUTE!

Cue BlazBlue OST - Nightmare Fiction

"Lan, don't underestimate this guy," MegaMan saw fit to remind his NetOp as he and his opponent faced off from one another in the holo-dome. "Remember, he's been raised by Dr. Wily. We have no idea what he's capable of."

"Aw, what's there to worry about?" Lan asked, getting a bit of a big head. "I beat World Three, Grave, Nebula, the Neo World Three, and everything else that's fought me. Plus all this guy's using is an off-the shelf BasicNavi. What harm could he possibly do?" the brunette asked, blond's brow twitching as his hand went to his black chip folder.

"Let's start this simple," Tyson said through grit teeth as he drew out his black chip folder. "GrassStage, BulkBomb, FireRatton, HeatShot, quadruple-download," he called out as he slotted four battlechips in.

If that's simple, what in the world is complicated supposed to be? Lan thought to himself as the ground became over-run with GrassPanels, a large black bomb with a short fuse almost crushing MegaMan's foot at Basic's chuck. The next moment he tossed an angry-looking red Ratton to the ground before striking it with a HeatShot, the tail lighting up like a fuse and sending the little rat in a straight shot towards the BulkBomb. Leaping out of the way as the flaming rat detonated, the twin-powered explosive sent him flying by the shockwave alone, and the smoke rising from the expanse of burning grass obscured his sight all around.

"WindRacket, battlechip in, download!" Lan called out, MegaMan's right arm forming into a large fan which he used to extinguish the flames in a row out in front of him, though a wall of smoke still covered the far portion of the field.

"AirHockey and AirSpin, double-download," Tyson said plainly as he slotted the two battlechips in. When a black puck-shaped blur shot out at him through the smoke, MegaMan dodged, only for his eyes to widen at the sight of the wind turbine riding on top of it, air blades slashing him and throwing him to the side.

"He used a moving attack to carry a stationary one to its target. Smart," the blue navi admitted with a smile. This would be a fun fight after all.

Oh how wrong he would be.

"Alright MegaMan, time to whip out the new gear," Lan said drawing out his new BattleChip, still warm from the ChipBurner. "MegaBooster battlechip in, download!" he called out, the pack on MegaMan's back glowing white as it began to change. Sprouting from the top and sides were gold fins with yellow accents, data taken from a DashCondor battlechip, while the four cylinders changed to red afterburners with black accents, data taken from a Burner battlechip.

"Lan, I hope this is a good idea!" MegaMan called out as the afterburners roared to life and he took to the skies. All things considered, it was going far better than their first attempt at it. Only drawback was that even the slightest amount of damage would cause it to tap out, since they couldn't really apply any armor to it and still get MegaMan airborn.

"Now that you're in the air, it's time for a bombing raid," Lan said as he looked into the holo-dome, proud that he'd finally gotten MegaMan a jetpack. "MiniBoomer, battlechips in, download!" Lan called out slotting the fistful of battlechips in rapid succession, MegaMan throwing the hail of explosives right at his opponent.

"Shotgun, MetalBody, battlechips in, double-download!" Tyson called out, Basic firing a multi-shot attack that took out half the MiniBoomers before the rest landed at his feet, detonating in a cloud of smoke. As MegaMan came in for another sweep, surprised at how well Lan's hastily-made MegaBooster was flying, he saw that ast eh smoke cleared, Basic's body was completely unharmed and colored like chrome.

"That must be a more powerful version of StoneBody," MegaMan theorized as he backed away while in mid-air.

"Area Steal, Barrier, FootStomp, battlechips in, triple-download," Tyson called out slotting the three battlechips in, Basic disappearing in a red and blue blur before appearing above MegaMan, a barrier appearing around him as he fell at his opponent feet-first.

"MegaMan, dodge it!" Lan shouted, MegaMan whirling around in an attempt to fly away only for the barrier-widened stomp to catch him in the chest. Sudden weight sending the two barreling to the ground, Basic dismounted from MegaMan's chest at the last second, MegaBooster on his back logging out at the sudden shock.

"I'll admit... you're pretty good," MegaMan said with a chuckle as he got to his feet and dusted himself off.

"Me? Or do you mean my 'NetOp'?" Basic asked.

"What do you mean?" MegaMan asked warily as he got to his feet.

"Were it not for the skill of my NetOp, I would not be as good as I was," Basic replied as he and MegaMan circled around one another. "No matter how powerful the NetNavi, if their NetOp is a loser, then even the most powerful NetNavi in the world is just that. A loser," he said with narrowed eyes, a scowl in his monotone voice before he slammed his palm into the ground. "Geddon3!"

The next moment a vile purple tide swept across the field from the navi's fingertips and, much to MegaMan's shock, the entire field was soon covered with toxic purple tiles, bubbles of acrid smoke rising as the floor gurgled.

"Yow!" MegaMan cried as he bounced about the field, swampy ground eating at the soles of his heels and sapping his energy. Looking to basic, his eyes widened as he saw no acrid smoke rising from beneath the soles of his shoes. "Hold on! How come you're not being affected by these PoisonPanels?"

"You really don't know the first thing about NaviCust, do you?" Tyson asked Lan, jovial tone replaced with a condescending one. "If you bothered to actually read the manual that came with your NetNavi, you'd know that with the FloatShoes custprog, you could avoid the ill effects of different panel types," he said motioning to Basic's soles, which upon closer examination could be seen floating just an inch above the field, hence the Float. "While you were out saving the world and fighting enemies relying on pure strength and borrowed power, the rest of us have just been trying to wade our way through the mess your conflicts always left behind. You'd better step up your game, Lan Hikari, otherwise I'll pull the rug right out from under you like I did against BugRiser."

"Alright you cocky bastard, you want a piece of me, then here goes!" Lan said drawing out a battlechip with GyroMan's symbol in hand. "GyroSoul, battlechip in, download!" he called out, intending for MegaMan to take to the air once more.

Cue BlazBlue OST - Gluttony Fang

"AntiNavi battlechip in, counter-download!" Tyson said with an uncharacteristic smirk as, before everyone's eyes, MegaMan was painfully electrocuted from the inside out as GyroSoul's armor began to form, the DoubleSoul breaking apart a moment later.

"Wh-What?" Lan and MegaMan gaped together as the form was canceled out right in front of their eyes.

"Contrary to popular belief, there are NetNavis out there who use data from others to bolster their own abilities aside from MegaMan, whether that data is given freely or otherwise. Normally it isn't that much of a handicap, but... Hahahahaha! To think I could bring the NetNavi that saved the world to his knees with only one battlechip!" he laughed madly as the shock dropped MegaMan to his hands and knees, the floor sapping his energy rapidly as he recovered from the jolt. "Really hilarious when you stop to think about it. World Three, Grave, and Nebula all tried to stop you, but none of them ever thought to cut you off from the true source of your power! It isn't determination, or friendship, or anything like that. It's dumb luck and your reliance on others that makes you strong! Mwa ha ha ha ha!" the blond cackled with a wide grin on his face.

"I-Isn't he getting a bit carried away?" Maylu thought with a sweatdrop on her head as she watched the once-tepid blond now going ballistic.

"Oh boy...Uncle's going Hazama on him," Bolt gulped.

"It's a good thing he doesn't have the Ouroboros or they'd really be in real trouble," Jane nodded in agreement.

"What are you two talking about?!" Tory gawked. For all intents and purposes DoubleSoul was the solution to everything. Never before had it been countered like this.

"Basically, Uncle Tyson..." Bolt began before trailing off into a slow pause.

"...despises weaklings," Jane finished.

"If you're going to fight me seriously, you should do so with your 'own' power, despite how 'tempting' it maybe to borrow the power of others," Basic said as he stood above MegaMan, PoisonPanels sapping the blue navi's energy as he tried to get to his feet. "Here's an example of what a self-made navi should 'be'," Basic intoned as he floated into the air, twin rings rotating around him as his features began to change, much like before only the end result this time was different from his BreakStyle. His forest green bodysuit had now become replaced with a black one, crimson streaks running down his sides and along his legs. His forearms and shins were covered in purple guards and greaves, reinforced on the fronts with score-marked plates held in place by rivet-like studs, the tops of his feet and the backs of his hands bearing metal plates. Mounted on purple shoulder, elbow, kneeguards, and his knuckles were metallic bolts of appropriate size. His helmet was now colored purple with black accents, a welding mask hinged to the NaviMarks on the sides of his head resting on the back of his head. His facemask now replaced with a jagged faceplate like Zero's, his skin a shade paler and blue eyes now glowing a fierce red.

"Style Change: Punk Style," Basic SC said as he assumed a more aggressive fighting style, a throaty growl leaving his throat and his voice a tad darker.

"Don't worry MegaMan, I'll clean off the field!" Lan called out. "PanelReturn!" Lan called out as he slotted the battlechip in, the field glowing white before it returned to the pristine condition it was in before. To be honest all he ever thought to use it on before were the appliances in his house whenever viruses gouged our portions of their cyberspcace. He'd have to keep this one with him more.

"Changing the field won't stop me from kicking your ass!" Basic said in a snarky tone. "FlashBomb!" he called out as he threw a glowing yellow sphere at MegaMan, a welding mask-like helmet with a thin horizontal slat and spiked studs dropping over his face before the flash burst out. MegaMan stumbled backwards while rubbing his eyes before a swift knee strike caught him in the gut, bolt digging into him and doubling over before he was sent tumbling away. When his eyes finally recovered, they quickly widened as Basic SC held a 9x9 foot RockCube above his head as though it weighed nothing.

"Uwaaaah!" he cried as he rolled out of the way of the throw, impromptu projectile sailing through the air like a softball as it bounced across the ground a few times before coming to a stop. "Man, this guy isn't playing around."

"Hungry? How 'bout a knuckle sandwich!" Basic SC offered, suddenly right in front of him as his left fist came forward and struck him right in the nose, sending him reeling backwards with a cry of pain. "Not in the mood? How 'bout some 'punch'?!" he shouted as he suddenly caught MegaMan in the chin with his other hand causing the teeth in his skull to rattle as he descended to the ground. "Or maybe a 'foot long'!" he bellowed as he lashed out at the falling navi with a snap kick that sent him tumbling across the field, getting to his feet only for his opponent to lunge sideways at him. "Here! Have a 'jaw breaker'!" he shouted as he held his right fist in his left hand before he drove his elbow right into MegaMan's jaw, the jarring motion inside his head causing him to stumble about before he fell on the ground.

"So... So strong... Oi!" MegaMan grunted as Basic SC put his foot down, literally, the force of the stomping motion forcing MegaMan's back into the ground beneath him and cracking the blank panels.

"MegaMan, allow me tell you a little story," Basic SC said as the welding mask folded back, a look of what appeared to be pity in his eyes as he looked down at the weary blue netnavi. "Once upon a time, before I found my way to Tyson, I used to have a scrawny piece of meat and bone for a NetOp. Just started in the fifth grade, and every day since the start of the school year, he'd challenge the biggest kid with the biggest netnavi to a netbattle, and every time he lose. Pitifully," he spat at the memory, though that may've been the HeelNavi-inspired Style Change talking. "Some might blame the NetNavi, i.e. 'me'for the losses, but as I recall, my dope of a NetOp only rushed blindly forward into every conflict, not 'once' using even the slightest 'hint' of strategy as he threw me against a NetNavi with stronger parameters than mine. One day, the kid got a CustomNavi from his dad, and whether he intended it or not, I was cast aside, thrown out like so much old garbage," he said as the feeling of being ejected from the only home he knew came to the forefront of his mind, eyes filling with sadness at the memory, while some of those listening began to tear up. "So, there I was, left on my own to wander the cyberworld. Even though I had no reason to, I kept tabs on the little piece of meat that used to be my NetOp after he got his CustomNavi. Hard to believe that on the day he gets a 'CustomNavi'," he spat as though the words were acid,"the little brat finally decides to grow some spine and rub more than two brain cells together. Shortly after he began tearing through everything in his path, all the while using the same level of strategy that, if even a small 'shred' of it had been present when I was his NetNavi, I wouldn't have gotten my ass kicked twenty different times times!" he ranted before calming down. "Anyway, long story short, I found myself in the UnderNet, on my last legs and having fought everything within a mile of myself. Just as a fresh batch of punks came along like hungry vultures, Tyson's NetNavi came along and ripped them to shreds," he said jabbing a thumb at the blond behind the hologram. "Thirty punks there, and he took them out in three seconds. Three," he enunciated while holding up three fingers for emphasis, the others shocked that anyone could defeat twenty opponents in two seconds.

That means Tyson's original NetNavi had to have cut through each one in .1 seconds, Yai gaped. That time was even faster than ProtoMan's, or at least as far as she knew.

"Not too shabby," Bolt whispered as Jane nodded, "Remind me to see if Uncle Ragna would like to meet Uncle's NetNavi sometime."

"That would be overkill for everyone, baka," Jane hissed before she -CLAP- slapped the back of his head.

"After that I approached that lone NetNavi, his body tempered by the harsh fires of the UnderNet into a fierce fighting machine, so much unlike when that whiny piece of meat from before was his NetOp," Tyson began speaking. "I asked him, what did he fight for, and instead of answering that he fought for power like every other denizen of the UnderNet, he told me he fought because there was nothing left for him, nobody who needed him. After he passed out, body de-rezzing and on the verge of deletion, I took him in, fixed him up, and downloaded his modified state into the ."

"A few weeks later we began our navi customizing business," Basic SC began again. "Since I'd been in the UnderNet for a long while, I knew where the most choice program data to be made into new programs was to be found. Tyson gave me a home when I was so callously abandoned, and in return, I gave him my life to do as he saw fit. I thought I'd been strong after fighting for my own life in the UnderNet for so long, but then Tyson took me to such great heights, that I began to wonder... If I ever fought the NetNavi that replaced me, just how easily would I beat his cyber-ass into the ground? Well... Hmhmhmhmhm," he chuckled mirthfully, seeming to enjoy some kind of inside joke before he spoke again. "I guess I got my answer after so long," he said cryptically as his style change tapped out, and the implications of what he'd said hit everyone over the head like a sack of hammers.

"Well then..." Tyson said clapping his hands as one would to get dust off, most in the room gaping, mouths opening and closing as though they were fish, no words coming out. "I think that's enough out of us today. Bolt, Jane," he said facing the two. "I'm due to see Mamoru in a bit. Would you mind cleaning up my BattleChip data and bringing it back home for me when you're done here?"

"Sure thing, uncle. Leave it to us," Bolt said giving a mock salute, the older blond nodding as he headed to the elevator and descended to ground level, silence permeating the massive tree house before Lan fell to his knees, propping himself up against the netbattle machine.

"Holy crap... Not only did we just get our asses kicked... but by our old NetNavi too," Lan gaped as he tried to process what he'd just heard.

"Don't you mean I got my ass kicked by your old NetNavi," MegaMan rebuttled. "You seriously mean to tell me you didn't uninstall him and put him back in his disk before returning him to the distributor."

"I thought you just overrode his data," Lan argued.

"NetNavis installation doesn't work like that," MegaMan argued. "Didn't you read the manual?" he asked, only for Lan to sheepishly rub the back of his neck. "Do you ever read the manual for 'anything'?"

"You don't think Basic remembers we're the ones he lost to, do you?" Dex asked nervously.

"I'm scared, guts," GutsMan whimpered from inside his PET, top half clamped shut like a stubborn clam.

"Who's this Mamoru person he limped off to see?" Tory asked, despite the revelation that had just taken place.

"Mamoru is uncle Tyson's little brother," Jane answered. "Not by blood though, but it doesn't change that they both look so cute together," she giggled with a smile, her chest bouncing up and down tantalizingly, Lan, Dex, and Tory taking a profound notice. Seeing this, Bolt walked over to the three to clear something up.

"I should probably tell you this," Bolt whispered to the trio. "She's not looking in the opposite side."

"Huh?" Lan blinked.

"She's playing for the same team," the blond reiterated.

"She's on a team?" Tory asked before Bolt facepalmed.

"..." Bolt made the three lean closer into a four-man huddle with a wag of his finger. "Jane is a lesbian who likes to be dominant in bed."

Hearing that, Dex and Tory collapsed with nosebleeds while Lan's face turned completely red from the blush. Had Chisao's ears not been coverd by Bolt, that last statement by itself would've destroyed his childhood innocence.

"So... Yai..." Naruto trailed off putting all else aside. "About that NetNavi you said you'd help me get...?" he asked hopefully.

"That's right, Basic gave Glyde the link before all this happened," she said motioning to the defeated forms of Lan and MegaMan, the netop sulking at how easily he'd been beaten, not to mention chewed out, while Roll was at MegaMan'sside healing the damage across his frame. "Let's get it set up and put in the order."

"Thanks Yai, you're the best," Naruto sighed. Maybe I'll be able to make it in time for the Synchro Cup after all.

"I know," Yai said with a smile as she pulled the site up. The site was called Custom Customizables, vertical banners on the sides showing various CustomNavis of varying height, size, gender, and shape. "Well this is interesting. The site says it helps you select the NetNavi you want by running your personality profile against the stock of NetNavis they have."

"Must be for compatibility purposes," the blond mused. "Let's start it up," the blond requested as he took the mouse from Yai's hand, the first questions being his gender, and the preferred gender of his NetNavi: He chose Male.

"So... Do Tyson and his brother meet up often?" Jasmine asked the two as she came up to them, the others of course drawn to the conversation like flies to honey. Of course, what would you expect when the topic of a brother to the guy who beat MegaMan like so many others tried and failed came up.

"Yes. While their meetings aren't that frequent, they make the most out of the time they have," Jane replied, Naruto filling in the Personality Profile on Custom Customizables while Yai inserted herself into the conversation.

"Well, we'll have to see about having Tyson bring Mamoru by, won't we?" Yai suggested as she looked up from the computer. In the background the spiky-haired blond continued to mumble to himself, occasionally clicking answer bubbles before moving on.

"I'm sure he'd like that. Mamoru's really opened up since Tyson became his onii-chan," Jane replied, a few ears perking up at that word. "Anyway, lets meet up again sometime. We have to get going," she said as she and Bolt waved over their shoulders as they left, the group giving their farewells before they too went home.

"Yai! I'm ready to place my order," the blond shouted, the large foreheaded girl coming up to him and looking at the NetNavi that had come up on screen.

"Hmmm... That's an interesting shape. You're sure that's the one you want?" Yai asked looking over the foreign shape. Had Lan and Maylu been at their sides, they would've been surprised at what NetNavi had been selected for Naruto based on the personality profile he put in against his preferences.

"Yeah. There's just something... cool, about him," the blond noted.

"Alright then. I'll just have Glyde insert the billing and shipping information and..." -BLING- "Presto! You're order's been sent on the fastest delivery service that money can buy."

"Yai, you have no idea how much this means to me," the blond ninja said with a sigh.

"Why Naruto, you're going to make me blush," the shorter blond said playfully.

"Ah! Wait! I almost forgot! Tyson's chipdata!" Bolt said suddenly dashing back into the room from outside, heading towards the computer suite. "All I've got to do is save the data, put it on a disk, grab the copychips and..." the blond said as he tapped on a few keys, only for the sight that greeted him to make him pause.

On the screen was none other than all the members Saru Gang. There was a small, tense silence after that with Bolt's eye twitching as the on-screen simians paled at being caught. It was then that the Saru Gang screamed in fear, shoved the remaining battlechip data into a sack that was with the chimpanzee, and they proceeded to hightail it out of there. Bolt just stood there, his eye twitching as his body shaking.

"Zero..." Bolt began, "I need 'Reppu.'"

"Activating the pre-loaded ToneChip," Zero sighed, I'm not surprised that he had that song uploaded in here.

"Those dastardly lowlifes!" Bolt declared as 'Reppu' began to play from his PET EX, fire burning in his eyes.

"Where did he get that scarf?" Maylu blinked, seeing a long red scarf had suddenly appeared on Bolt's neck.

"As a student to the great Boss, Bang Shishigami, I, Bolt Light, will bring these cowardly thieves to justice! Let's go, my partner Zero!" Bolt declared, heroicly holding up the PET EX to the heavens. "Henshin!" he called out as he held it out in front of himself like in a Super Sentai scene before pointing it at the console.

"Why me...?" Zero groaned as he entered the Network followed by the others.

"Glyde! Give me as much data as you can on where they're heading! I'm going after their NetOps!" Naruto growled. All these HeelNavis, Darkloids, and Saru Gang members were starting to seriously piss him off.

"Alright. Analyzing vectors and downloading them into your PET," Glyde spoke up, Naruto opening up his Next PET to see a loading bar going across the screen before a floating arrow appeared. "I've got the most basic vector. I've been able to determine that they're hacking into our servers from somewhere within DenTech."

"Doesn't really narrow it down, but alright!" Naruto said as he leapt off into the distance.


"I apologize for my NetOp. He was trained by the loudest ninja you will ever meet," Zero apologized as the group of NetNavis pursued the Saru Gang member's navis down the circuit. The others were about to confusedly open their mouths, only for Zero to reiterate. "Not Naruto. This guy's even louder and his strongest attack causes all his clothes to burn right off, leaving him in just red underwear and his scarf," Zero facepalmed, making the other gawk.

"Let us be off then, Zero! Onwards after those cowardly villains!" Bolt declared, the fire in his eyes growing on the screen.

"...Is he..." Roll began.

"Yeah..." Zero sighed, "Only when there's a time to be a hero arises does he enter what I call 'The Human Equivalent of Double Soul: Bang-Soul'." Damn you, Bang Shishigami! If I ever meet you, I will pummel you to an inch of your life for teaching this boy! the ex-procreator of the Zero Virus intoned to himself with a clenched fist.


Leaping through town with the Waymarker Glyde had provided him with, he was able to determine that whoever had hacked into the Ayanokoji's servers had to have been doing so through a land line in the southern district. With the large number of warehouses and various jack-in ports, it was easy to mask your signal, if not scatter your numbers so you all weren't caught at once.

Too bad for them, I can be in more places than one at once, the blond thought with a chuckle as he bound over the buildings, even if someone looked up to see him, he wouldn't be anywhere long enough for anything but a blurry picture to be taken. To anyone below, he was nothing but a blur.

Mid-leap however he felt the hairs on the back of his neck bristle, and he stopped in the midst of an empty construction site. Looking up, he saw a tiny black square in the sky above his head. That tiny black square however soon became two, then four, then eight, before duplicating at a rapid rate, eventually forming a jagged, pixilated diamond-esque shape in the sky. The next moment a red spiraling portal appeared from within the depths of the black abyss that suddenly appeared in the sky, root-like arcs of red energy arcing out, changing directions in 90 degree intervals until it formed a random mess of squares and lines, the singular portal in the center.

"We've finally found you!" a myriad of voices shouted from within the portal. Looking up, the blond's eyes widened before he quickly leapt out of the way of a large mass that descended from the portal right at him, a surge of earth rolling out in all directions from the impact.

"What the hell's going on here? There's supposed to be a Dimensional Area."

The five figures were all characterized by the same attire and accessories; All were clad in yellow bodysuits with an orange chest bearing an inverted rising sun emblem, but not exactly a NaviMark, orange forearm guards and boots with black accents bearing electric green and blue lights on their forearms and legs. Lastly was the orange helmet with black visor, glowing green eyes visible and two plug-like antenna running down their backs. This was where the similarities to the one he and MegaMan had deleted, however.

Consisting of varying heights, proportions, and performing poses like something out of Super Sentai that made him unable to take these guys seriously, he had always shuddered at the possibility that there wre more of BrightMan, hoping beyond hope that the original was just an unfortunate accident of a spam processor in the cyberworld. Sadly this was not the case, as evidence placed before him showed.

On the leftmost side was a bloated copy of BrightMan with his left leg bent, right leg straight out at the side, left hand going across his waist with right raised in the air. Second from the left was a copy of BrightMan that kinda looked like him, only with a messy fringe of hair jutting up out of his helmet, left leg bent with right out, left arm above his head at the sky and right hand bent at the elbow and pointing at hi chest. The one in the center stood with arms raised and feet spread making an X shape, the eyebrows he could see through the visor reminding him of Rock Lee. Second from the left was a copy of BrightMan that looked like he'd been thrown onto a taffy stretcher and tallest out of the five, performing an opposite pose to the second from the left. The rightmost one was about half the size of the original BrightMan, right leg bent as he propped his weight on it with both arms pointed to the right.

" . . . Who are you guys supposed to be?" the blond asked with a sweatdrop.

"We are the BrightMan Brothers!" the five shouted in unison before sounding off from left to right. "Joannes, Samuel, Victor, James, Kenny! And we're here to avenge our brother's untimely demise by your hand!"

"How exactly do you think he died?" Naruto found himself asking. Not that he really cared in the slightest, the guy was a perv if ever there was any.

Narrated-Flashback

The setting was a straight dirt road amongst the rolling hills, rolling storm clouds flowing eastward in the wind, a few trees dotting the side of the path. Traveling down one end of the road was BrightMan, a straw hat on his head, a small group of girls travelling at his side, one brunette, one blond, one with white hair, and another with red hair.

"Wait right there, lightbulb head," a snide voice suddenly said, BrightMan adjusting the brim of his hat to see an orange and blue-clad blond-haired NetNavi standing in the middle of the road and barring his path. "The recent way of this world is quite disturbing, is it not?" he asked with a silver katana in one hand, a green-bladed saber in the other. "Any random tsujigiri could come around and do whatever he wishes. Maybe you should leave those girls with me, I'll take good care of them," he said eyeing the four behind BrightMan hungrily with slanted eyes. Tsujigiri were especially rampant during the early Edo period, attacking defenseless passerby after they had gotten a new sword, as to test it.

"You would assume I'd hand over those under my protection to someone like you?" BrightMan asked.

"Over your dead body or not, it doesn't matter to me," the blond returned, a chuckle leaving his fanged mouth.

"Very well then. I will fight you off!" BrightMan throwing his hat into the wind, the four girls behind him scrambling to catch it, even fighting amongst themselves before the brunette of the four won out. "Hold onto that for me. We will settle down for the night after this."

"Yes, milord," the four said bowing.

"Take this!" the blond sad jabbing his katana into the ground before pulling up, a haze of dust flying into BrightMan's eyes, blinding him. "Hmph. Careless," the blond said as he dashed forward, cutting BrightMan down in front of those under his protection.

"I leave... their protection to... my brothers..." BrightMan rasped as blood pooled around his fallen form. "Avenge me!" he cried into the heavens before he fell still.

Narrated-Flashback End

"Damn you!" the one with the eyebrows said pointing at the blond.

"We won't forgive you!" the one with the messy fringe of hair cried.

"Thieving scum!" the stretched-copy growled.

"You stole BrightMan's wives from him!"

"Your rain of terror ends here!"

It's "reign" you moron, and I so don't have time for this, the blond thought as he dashed out of the construction yard, hoping to lose the five of them, or just deal with them after he beat the Saru Gang netops into a fleshy pulp.

Before he could escape however, eight massive stakes flamed into the ground around the courtyard, forming what looked like an electrical fence made of energy around him. Attempting to jump over them however didn't facilitate his escape, since even though there wasn't any visible barricade, he was still thrown back onto the ground.

"Damn it, I don't have time for this, so I'll make this quick," he said opening up his PET EX. "Mr. Famous! Mr. Famous do you read me?"

"There's no need for formalities. What do you need?" the man asked on the other end of the line.

"I'm surrounded by some kind of energy field, and there are Darkloids here without a Dimensional Area."

"Are you sure they're not using CopyBots?" the man asked, referring to his ex-girlfriend's work.

"No, they materialized out of nowhere," the blond answered. "Enough about that. I need you to home in on my position and give me a DA so I can fight these guys."

"Honing in on coordinates... Dimensional Area is on the way," Mr. Famous returned, the blond nodding as the line cut off before he withdrew a card with an ox symbol on it from his sleeve, a storage seal on the other side.

"At least this thing won't go to waste," the blond thought as he unsealed the contents of the storage tag -which was much more pragmatic than having to unfurl a scroll- and donned his disguise within the smoke, on the off-chance someone saw him fighting these Darkloids.

Naruto
vs
BrightMan Brothers

Battle Routine Set!
EXECUTE!

"Remote Plug!" the five shouted as they threw their heads forward, the plugs on the backs of their heads snaking towards him from different angles. It was as the attack occurred that time seemed to stop, or at least in his mind, as he thought to the weeks prior.

After the subsequent butt kickings he'd received from Arma and Onishiba both, the blond had eventually managed to contract Miyabi and ShadowMan to train him in what it meant to be a real ninja, and not just one that spammed special techniques like they were going out of style. It may have cost him a small fortune to hire him out, but since Naruto reminded Miyabi of himself as a child –only not blond and wore less orange- before he got the scar and he became jaded, he decided to train Naruto at a reduced rate. It also might've helped matters that both parties benefited from this partnership.

While Miyabi himself was unable to train Naruto personally, ShadowMan, being able to travel through the cyber world near-instantaneously, was able to train him in the ways of the Cyber Ninja after night had fallen. The blond soaked up knowledge like a sponge, and in return the blond taught ShadowMan the surface-walking techniques and even the Rasengan. Even though he was made of what was effectively 1s & 0s, he showed he could do what any ninja could do, only better.

Given that ShadowMan could already make clones, both illusionary and solid, the blond didn't need to teach him the Shadow Clone Jutsu, and ShadowMan's preferred method of approaching a target was through the shadows, which was better than any disguise since those could be compromised but shadow couldn't. Now that he had a few moving targets, the blond decided to put what skills he had to good use, and see just how far ShadowMan's teachings would take him.

If I can become a real ninja, and not just a fireball-shooting ninja-tank, the blond thought, since his definition of ninja didn't really match up with this world's definition of it. I might just stand a chance against guys like Arma, and Onishiba, and whatever else this world decides to throw at me.

The BrightMan Brother's remote-guided plugs flew at him like winding snakes. To the blond however, they may as well have not been moving at all, their trajectories nothing compared to what ShadowMan had put him through. At first the cyber-shinobi had tested his ability by throwing shuriken at him. The blond had been able to dodge them easily enough in the beginning, but that only lasted until ShadowMan began using synthesized ninja wire on them, and could change their trajectory in mid-air.

After this mess is said and done with, I am definitely going to dress more like ShadowMan. I won't have to worry about my classmates thinking they saw me as a NetNavi on the net, and I'll look badass doing it, the blond thought with a smirk as he came out on the other side of the attack, electric explosions going off behind him. I mean, ShadowMan's like a more badass version of Kakashi that isn't late for everything. What more can a guy ask for in a teacher?

"Get him!" the BrightMan brothers cried as they ran at him from five directions, hoping to surround him. To the blond's satisfaction, the Dimensional Area finally materialized overhead, his attire changing to that of his NetNavi form, though his mantle and helmet remained.

"Kanashibari no Jutsu!" the blond called out as he released a wave of ill intent in all directions, his targets frozen mid-step by the overwhelming force weighing down on them. "Kugutsu no Jutsu!" he then called out directing his will towards the wrecking ball, arcs of white electricity dancing over its surface before it whirred to life, wrecking ball lifted from the ground before it swung into the largest of the BrightMan brothers, crushing him against the magic barrier and erasing him from existence, black-and-purple particles wafting out. After hearing how his past self used this technique against Lan with a giant crane machine, I always wanted to test that out.

"You killed him!" the tall one shrieked.

"Vengeance will be ours!" the eyebrowed one cried.

"Not on my watch! Wirusu no Kuchiyose!" the blond called out as he slammed his palm onto the ground, a car-sized Scuttle virus materializing in a haze of spiraling data, as did a small squad of Ninjoy. Once again another skill taught to him by ShadowMan, which consisted of fighting off packs of viruses before encountering one of the higher-end ones. After besting a house-sized Scuttle virus in the wastes of the UnderNet, as well as a large NinJoy about as tall as he was, it felt strangely natural to summon the smaller ones to him at will. For some reason, after Gamabunta had helped him save Iris, it kind of felt as though he should leave the toads be, and use what was in the world he was in now, rather than rely on the past. "Attack!" he ordered as he threw an arm forward, the Scuttle scuttling forward and lashing out at the eyebrowed and fringed BrightMen with its front legs, the skinny and little ones being herded away by the NinJoy and their swinging kunai. The little one went down easily enough, his body breaking down into black-and-purple particles, however the tall one was smart enough to draw out an ElecBlade and slice the two NinJoy in half.

Hm. Time to see exactly what this thing is supposed to do, Naruto said as one of the first battlechips he ever won appeared in his hand. "CutterSP!" he called out, a large pair of rounded scissors flying through the air before it caught the off-guard BrightMan brother in the chest in two places, pinning him to the ground before his body deteriorated into a haze of black-and-purple particles. Huh. Who would've guessed anything from a guy like CutMan would've been remotely powerful, the blond thought to himself, the deletion of their two brothers spurning the remaining two on, ElecBlade and Static attacks augmented by their own affinity bringing the large Scuttle that was assaulting them down.

"There! We beat your giant monster!" the BrightMan with the fringe of hair cried.

"Now you're completely defenseless!" the BrightMan with eyebrows added.

"If you really think that's the case, then give me your best shot!" the blond taunted. "Come on! Right here! At the least you can hit a stationary target, right?" the blond said with a smirk.

"Rrrrrrrrgh!" the two remaining BrightMan brothers growled at the one that had slain their brethren. "Bright Beam!" the two shouted out as they fired laser beams at the blond from their eyes, catching him in the chest, his feet leaving trenches in the ground as he slid back, scorch marks on his bodysuit, but otherwise unharmed. The smirk the blond gave them only sought to infuriate them, the two throwing neon green energy balls at the approaching blond with a call of- "Energy Ball!" -, the spheres of energy catching him in the chest once again. "How you beat our genius of a brother I'll never know," the one with hair spoke. "We'll be sure to rectify that," the one with eyebrows added, only for the blond to begin chuckling. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, heheheh. Nothing much. Just thinking how funny it all is," the blond said with a grin as he brought his arm up, a silver katana blade forming. "Muramasa... I think you've had your fill of pain, at least from small fry like this," he said with a smirk as a bloody red aura began to waft off the blade. "Kage Bunshin," the blond called out as he split in two. "Shunshin!" he called out as he disappeared in a blur of movement the two brothers going back to back as the helmed blonds appeared on opposite sides of one another, blades poised. "Fumikorosu!" the two blonds shouted as they rushed forward at unreal speeds.

"Flash Stopper!" the two called out as they projected energy fields out in front of themselves. In a flicker of orange and silver, the two Naruto were now on opposite sides of one another, backs turned to their opponents, barriers still erected. Though the two saw fit to smirk, that soon died on their lips as their bodies suddenly opened up by two bisection wounds that had cut them clean in half, their Flash Stopper shattering like cheap glass. "But... Our vengeance..." the two rasped as their bodies fell to the ground. As the blond looked over his shoulder, he assured himself that what he was seeing wasn't a trick, but that their bodies were deteriorating into-

"Shadow Bugs..." the blond mused to himself as he watched the particles dissipate, the collective rising into the portal overhead before it changed from crimson to teal, the anomaly seeming to remain high above even as the magical barricade held him in place disappeared. "I'll look into it later. Right now I need to stop those Saru bastards before they get away with such dangerous data," the blond said to himself as he leapt off, Waymarker guiding him.


"There you are, you lowly thieves!" Bolt declared on his screen as the pursuing group managed to catch up to the Saru Gang, GutsMan having used an AreaSteal to bar their path. "Unhand that data at once and we will only give you the lighter punishment for stealing instead of unleashing my Master's Astral Heat upon you!"

"...Astral Heat?" Meddy asked with a sweatdrop, wondering what kind of roots this kid had been chewing on.

"It's a special BattleChip he made that's based off Bang's attack," Zero explained before turning to the screen. "Don't you dare use that on me, dammit! I can't just make clothes reappear like you said his could do after a few minutes!"

"What?! Very well then, then perhaps..." the blond was about to suggest, possibly something as off-the-wall as something that'd make Zero's clothes disappear.

"No BattleChips!" Zero snapped with a shake of his fist at Bolt, earning sweatdrops from the others.

"Aw, what's the matter? Too much of a chicken?" the gorilla began to flap his elbows like wings while clucking.

"Why you..." Zero growled.

"Oi, boys, let's give them some GigaCanons!" the gorilla ordered, the simian-like NetNavis pointing their arms at different members of the group and waited for their weapons to deploy. With only a tense silence greeting them, one of them decided to pull up their NetOp's Window and see what was going on. The picture only showed a dank wall somewhere, the only sounds filling the now-silent circuit being a myraid of pain-filled cries and some loon in the background shouting- "FIIISH!" -and- "Processed Cheese Spray of Justice!" -loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Hm. Guess our friend got to your NetOps before you could," Roll said with a smirk.

"So what will you do?" X asked as his arm changed into the X Buster. "Even if you possess such high-powered ChipData, it is not in any kind of form usable for combat. Surrender and we can all go home peacefully."

"Heh. As if we'd settle with that deal!" the boss sneered.

"We won't go down without a fight!" the smallest of them added.

"...We were hoping you'd say that," Bolt grinned.

"For the last time: no BattleChips involving the burning or losing of clothing!" Zero barked.

"Drat. There goes my GigaChip," Bolt snapped his hand in sadness.

"Hold on, Niichan," Jane held a hand before Bolt, "X, do you have a request?"

"But of course," X nodded before taking out a white glove and slapped the leader NetNavi of the Saru Gang, "You, sir, have insulted the honor of my host family. I demand satisfaction in a tag-team NetBattle."

"A NetBattle, eh?" the gorilla smirked as the mandrill walked up beside him, "What's the conditions?"

"Two of you against just me," X informed, "I will only use one BattleChip while you may use anything you wish. Commander Fish, you can hear me, correct?"

"Hyess!" the helmed blond returned as his face appeared on one of the Windows, the Saru Gang NetOps tied up off to the side with steaming bruises on their heads.

"You will give them BattleChips to use," X stated.

"What?!" Commander Fish exclaimed.

"Do not worry. This will be over by the time you slot the first ones in," Jane waved her hand.

"..." the gorilla and mandrill began to laugh.

"Fine! We'll take you on," the gorilla sneered.

"Ready?" X asked.

"Lust Sin, MusicChip in and Download," Jane informed as music began to play, "And just to note; I am merely setting the mood for this one-sided victory."

"One-sided victory? Heh. Thanks, but we prefer 'Witch Doctor,'" the mandrill hooted.

"That's fine. But this is our victory," X stated.

"Ready?" X asked, shifting into a drawing stance.

"Bring it!" the gorilla roared before the two charged at X.


"You went overboard!" Bolt frowned.

"It was better than being called a nudist," Jane waved him off.

"But did you really have to let X tear that gorilla's left arm off and then use it to..." Bolt shuddered as he made a vague motion with his hands.

"We got the data back, so everything is fine," Jane shrugged.

"You are so lucky I told them to look away when he grabbed the arm," Bolt scowled.

"YAIIIIII...!" a voice was suddenly heard in the distance.

"What was that?" Bolt asked.

"YAIIIIIIIIIIII...!" the same voice from the distance cried, only it sounded like it was closer that time.

"Whatever it is, it's getting-" Jane stated right before a blue blur rushed by her, hers and her brother's hair whipped out to the side. "... closer," she finished as she turned to the left, eyes widening at the sight of a three foot-tall anthromorphic hedgehog with bluequils and red running shoes with white stripes and gold buckles shaking Yai by her shoulders.

"Yai-I-need-to-run! I-don't-give-a-kick-to-Chaos-that-you-don't-want-me-exposed! I! Need! To! Run!" Sonic shouted at high speeds, "Anywhere-I-will-go-just-so-long-as-I-can-run! So-please-let-me-run-run-run-run-run-run-run-run-run..."

Good heavens...Is that...Otou-kun? Jane thought in shock at the sight that greeted her. No...It isn't him.

Wow... He sure is nuts, Bolt thought with a laugh in his noggin. Guess that answers the question I had earlier, he mused to himself.

"Just calm down and sit!" Yai shouted as she threw Sonic onto the couch, pressing a button on a large purple remote with a shout of, "Opening Gate Four!" The next moment a seatbelt coiled its way across the blue hedgehog's chest before that part of the couch suddenly raised from the floor and flattened out, an open tube appearing beneath him before he was dropped in. As soon as Sonic was sent on his way through the tunnel to the underground hangar where the supersonic jet was waiting to take him to NetFrika, the group suddenly realized there was an elephant in the room to address. Well, technically it was a hedgehog, and it has just left the room, but you know what I mean.

"You uh.. Wouldn't happen to think that was a kid in a costume... would you?" Yai asked when she remembered that Bolt and Jane were present when all that happened. Receiving two shaking heads in return, Yai and the others hung their heads. "I thought not..." she whimpered pitiably. Sonic just had to snap right before Bolt and Jane had left, didn't he?

"Can I say something before you explain?" Bolt asked, earning a nod from Yai, "That...was...awesome! He was crazy nuts-o! What did you do? Not let him run around a place big enough for him to run?"

"..." Various facepalms happened while Jane slapped Bolt on the back of the head.


Suffice it to say, Bolt and Jane required an explanation for what they saw, so Lan begrudgingly decided to explain what was going on; That there was an interdimensional entity attempting to take over the world, and those who stopped him had come to their world to stop him, one of which they just saw. The brunette saw fit to keep the blond's secret since none of his actions had necessarily been seen, but eventually that would come to light as well. When the two left, Giga-Class chipdata in tow, the group was finally able to relax, what started out as a great day soon becoming tremendously stressful.

"Man, Chaud is not going to be happy about the Smasher's cover being blown," Lan groaned as he looked up at the ceiling from the couch. The general consensus amongst the Net Saviors was that they try to keep as tight a lid on this as possible, and while Tyson had in fact left before Sonic showed up, and he had asked that Bolt and Jane keep quiet about it, he couldn't help but think this whole top-secret-mission thing was on the vestiges of falling apart.

"Geez, why can't Sonic be more like Lucario? All he does is meditate in the attic, eat away from any open windows, and maybe watch a little TV with Roll and I. That's it," the red-head groaned as well.

"Well, there's no going around it now," Dex sighed, knowing at least a little bit about what was going on since he and GutsMan were right in the middle of it while everyone in NetCity was running for the hills as soon as the Halberd appeared on the horizon.

"Miss Yai, a reminder that your cousins from Kingland and Central Japan will be arriving here in two hours," Glyde said from the girl's shoulder, the statement causing the blond to groan.

"Ooooogh... Not those two," the Ayanokoji heiress groaned, which strangely enough reminded Lan and Maylu of their own moanings whenever the large-foreheaded girl would drag them halfway across the world, good intenions be damned. "Yes, fine, have the cooks get something ready, and have one of the maids bring me some aspirin," the blond muttered. "And not Kiryuuin! For all I know she'll mix up the aspirin with cyanide pills!" she amended.

"Who would keep those things next to one another?" Tory asked.

"Trust me, if it's Kiryuuin Sakurako, she'll find a way," Yai groaned as she rubbed her temples, this being the first time anyone had ever seen her this stressed.

"You never mentioned having any cousins," Maylu added in.

"That's because I had hoped you'd never meet the two of them," Yai groaned.

"Why? Are they that bad?" Tory questioned.

"Bad? Bad?! Oh they're worse than bad!" the shortest blond they knew ranted. "One of them is literally Kingland nobility and always lords it over everyone's head! The second one? The girl could throw away 20 trillion yen in a red herring investment and call it a prank!" she shrieked as she raked her nails across her scalp. "Honestly! How can someone spend money so frivolously like that?!"

Have you tried looking in a mirror lately? those familiar with Yai's own financial escapades thought with sweatdrops on the sides of their heads.

"Anyway..." the blond said between pants. "We aren't related by blood, but our aunts and uncles ended up marrying into the other families like in a twisted version of rock, paper, scissors, and because of that our families expect the three of us to play nice."

"Well, why can't you?" Maylu asked.

"You wouldn't understand... Compared to the two of them, I'm the middle-class commoner," Yai sighed, everyone shocked that she'd ever admit that about herself, given she prided herself on being leagues above everyone else. Sure, she'd gotten better about it, but she still liked to spend money frivolously. Lan and Maylu could only imagine how much that giant robot/elevator that brought them to Kingland must've cost.

And did it really have to drag us all over the place? Lan and Maylu wondered at the memories of nearly being drowned, eaten by lions, roasted by a volcano, or frozen in the arctic circle.

"Anyway... We won't be getting any work done once they show up, so we should probably clean up," Yai sighed dejectedly.

"Why? Don't you want them to join us?" Tory asked.

"Let's just say when it comes to my cousin from Kingland, that anything and everything has a habit of blowing up whenever she's near it," Yai groaned. "Last time she got near one of her home's wall consoles, she wound up deleting half the maid's netnavis, and all she did was place an order for cookberry pie. So, unless you don't want all your netnavis deleted beyond repair, by all means, associate with her."

"Y-You know what, I think I hear my mom calling," Dex said as he tucked Chiaso under his arm before bolting.

"I... Have to go to the bathroom," Tory said nervously as he collected his things and left.

"I have a piano recital to attend to," Maylu said as she left.

"And I have homework to do," Lan said as he left.

"That's what I thought," Yai huffed as her friends left. And for good reason too.

"Miss Yai, are you sure you aren't simply exaggerating?" Glyde asked.

"You tell me," the short blond returned poignantly. "It was the blue-haired one that riddled you full of bullet holes, and the doggish one that lopped your arm clean off."

"Point taken. I'll have the chefs begin preparing dinner," the butler-like navi returned.


"Well, today was certainly an interesting day, wasn't it?" Dr. Hikari asked aloud to Dr. Wily, the others having left for the evening, whether it be to go home and be with their families, get acclimated to all the new features of their PET EXs, or merely get some rest after everything that had happened. Naruto's earlier observation of the BrightMan Brothers had proven SubSpace was working with someone from their world, if they could create Darkloids capable of appearing in the real world without CopyBots or a Dimensional Area. The temporal anomaly floating just above southern DenTech had required the site be cordoned off until further sense could be made of what was going on. It wasn't like anyone would actually go near the thing, since there were people who had been hoarding canned goods since the Halberd appeared and everyone thought it was the vanguard for some kind of alien invasion.

"I didn't notice anything out of place," the aged doctor returned plainly.

"You mean you're not the least bit surprised about one of your adopted children just walking in and seeing him for the first time in years? On top of everything else that's going on?"

"It's a small world. Anything's possible, if recent trends have anything to show." The aged doctor of course was speaking in reference to the Smasher's appearance in their world. R.O.B., the one that coordinated their immigration into their world, hadn't been heard from since that tournament in NetCity right before the Halberd arrived. All he knew for certain was that whatever means they used to come to their world, it had scattered them to the far corners of the globe, hence why they weren't all in the same place, at the same time, and it couldn't be predicted where they'd land or even when they'd resurface. From what I understand half of them aren't as human as the rest of us, so they may simply be in hiding. And it isn't like we can advertise where they can go now can we? he thought to himself.

"Yes, but still... What exactly did you mean by the 'burnt hotdog smell'?" Dr. Hikari asked, only for a low growl from the aged doctor to shut him up. That must not have been a particularly good memory if he was being glowered at in such a way.

"It was a long time ago. Doesn't matter now," Dr. Wily huffed as he adjusted his cane in his hands, the years starting to catch up to him moreso than ever. He'd been able to walk again easily enough after Grave collapsed on itself, but it was in recent years that he felt himself beginning to slow down. Quite frankly, it sucks getting old, he thought to himself.

"Well um... Hey, my wife is making her famous meat spaghetti for dinner. Care to join us? We always have extra," he said trying to change the subject.

"I'd like to, but I can't. I have other plans for dinner," the old man replied plainly as he hobbled off.

"Oh... Well, alright then," Dr. Hikari returned. He sometimes couldn't understand the old man in the slightest.


Author's Notes:
First and foremost, since I've become a better writer and researcher, the fight scenes taking place in the cyberworld or within dimensional areas will be more diverse. Guys like Mana and Onishiba would've still curb stomped everyone in the beginning, but with the recent changes and adaptations I've made, the characters will be able to get stronger without resorting to super-rare chips all the time.

Secondly. Since I've become marginally better at writing FanFiction as I've had more practice since the recent updates, I've decided to establish a few things about this world.
-Timeline- The timeline for
and "Naruto EXE" and "Naruto EXE : SubSpace" is set after the events of MegaMan Beast, set before the events of MegaMan Beast+ (since I didn't know about it at the time I'd started writing the prequel, which was right after I'd finished watching Beast). The main characters (Lan & co.) are around 15-16, though younger characters like Chisao and Yai are a tad older than their anime counterparts.
-Anime- The MegaMan anime are more or less unchanged between the events of the first episode in season one to the last episode of Beast. This is where the primary structure of the and Naruto EXE:SubSpace world comes from.
-Manga- The primary source of manga-related cues for this story are from the 13 volume-long "MegaMan NT". These cues include the fact that battlechips can be made at home, such as the MegaBooster which was "made" in Volume 2 Chapter 6 of the "MegaMan NT Warrior" manga. The term "ChipBurner" was made-up, and acts similarly to a CD Burner.
-Games- The games don't contribute as much to the storyline as the anime or manga, though do contribute the stock of virus species, battlechips and their classes, as well as NaviCust. While HP or "Hit Points" are put into numerical form within the game, they ARE mentioned within the anime, but not given numerical values.

Since was my FIRST EVER attempt at fanfiction, there are bound to be some inconsistencies, the primary one being Iris and Colonel's existence outside of Beyondard even though this takes place after Beast. Sadly, I possess no real explanation for this at the time, and I likely will not anytime soon, so just use your imaginations.

Now on note of MegaMan. Some of his strengths are being under-played, and that's my mistake for not being as good a fanfiction writer as I am now. With this update I hope to change that. Someday I may make a rewrite of , though whether it follows THIS storyline or a different one is up to conjecture, as is whether or not I'll make a re-write at all.

In reference to Style Change, while in the anime and manga the Style Change is exclusive to just MegaMan, in the games it's categorized under the Change . BAT program, and it's implied there are other NetNavis that can use it. Whether it's to the same extent as MegaMan is up to conjecture. Style Change was replaced with Double Soul after consuming Gospel's Grave Virus Beast and subsequently releasing the Internet in the Anime, while in the Games, Style Change was lost at the end of MMBN3 when Tadashi Hikari's "letter" resurrected MegaMan after he'd been consumed by Alpha.

Double Soul (Soul Unision in Japan) on the other hand is not the result of a 1s & 0s program like Style Change is from the Change . BAT, but is the result of MegaMan's "soul" communing with that of another NetNavi's. Whether that's through the Deus Ex Machina of "friendship is magic" (not the ponies), or the fact that when two NetNavis synchronize they can exchange data is left to conjecture altogether.

Naruto's Unity Formation was an early attempt at something similar yet different to Double Soul for Naruto. The name came from part of "Soul Unision", while the "Formation" part of it was from the Fusion Dance of DBZ, only without the dancing but closer to what happens sometimes in Double Soul, which of course changes like the seasons in its aesthetics. Him spitting the chips out of course was intended as a bit of an inside joke (pun not intended). If you really need an explanation for Naruto being able to commune with the souls of others so sporadically, think back to people like Inari, Gaara, Tsunade, etc.

On note of Naruto's origins in this story, once again, it was my FIRST fanfiction, so there were bound to be inconsistencies. I started writing this back before Naruto had a definite ending, and at the time there were "Sage Mode Naruto" videos all over youtube. Consider him being "reincarnated" in the CyberWorld with the Kyuubi as a "Cybeast" one of those Deus Ex Machina things (like in a lot of FanFiction where God/Kami/Allah/Whatever decides to step down and be proactive). To put it simply, there's no real explanation for a lot of the inconsistencies, though recent revelations have allowed me to create a more coherent storyline for New Mystery Enterprises and its members/OCs, so I'll be touching up on that to add some depths into this storyline.

Lastly is why Onii-San's alias has the Japanese honorific when no one else uses them. Reason is, "Onii-san" was the only piece of Japanese I knew at the time, and while I know more now, I'm not going to re-write every chapter in this story to accommodate. It'd take too long. If you need a "fanfictional cannon" explanation, think of it like how in the future, no one has any morals or knows the value of a hard day's work.

As for who Yai's "cousins" are, I left a few hints so those of you widely-versed in anime should be able to figure it out. While the Author's Notes secion now ends, here are the disclaimers so I'm not accused of plagiarism.


Disclaimers:
I do not own Naruto, MegaMan, or Smash Brothers.

Jane Light is an OC created by GammaTron and is being used in my story with his permission, just like Bolt Light is. Tyson Taisen is an OC created by the both of us for use in this story. X does not exist in this form in the Battle Network series, so I suppose X would be an OC created by me, inspiration by from Capcom.

As for Zero's backstory, since this fanfiction takes place before the events of "Beast+", Zero's origin comes from the video game, "Mega Man Network Transmission", where you have the chance to save Zero from deletion if you bring Dr. Hikari his Source File. As for "Professor Toshihiko", otherwise known as "Professor" in MegaMan Network Transmission and "Beast+", since his actual name isn't given, I gave him the name of his Japanese VA.

BugRiser is a character taken from the "MegaMan NT Warrior" manga, volume 12 chapter 6, "Nightmare of BattleChip Stadium". Since the Program Advance seen at the end came off as a little... odd, I decided to re-vamp that section of the manga in this fanfiction. BugRiser actually makes a cameo appearance in the form of two Giga Chips in MegaMan Battle Network 6: Gregar/Falzar, depending on which version you get.

The BrightMan Brothers are based on the CutMan brothers only with different names. Left to right (in the scene where they do the Super Sentai-esque poses); Joannes, Samuel, Victor, James, Kenny, based upon Joey, Sammy, Vinny, Jerry, and Nicky in the EnglishDub. Jiiro, Saburo, Shiro, Goro, and Rokuro were their names from left to right in JapaneseDub.

Lastly are the ninjutsu that Naruto used in this fight. Here are some translations so no one has to ask what they mean.
Kanashibari no Jutsu = Paralyzing Spell
Kugutsu no Jutsu = Puppetry Technique
Wirusu no Kuchiyose = Virus Summoning
Kage Bunshin = Shadow Clone
Shunshin = Body Flicker
Fumikorosu = Step Cross