"So, we should report back to Ethan before we go after Flare, now that she's not in immediate danger from the officials. I guess we can run Gregar's errand with the music box if we can't find any leads on her." Said Arthur, sitting down on a bench outside Scilabs.
"But... Eh, never mind. Errands are normally kind of boring, but for Flare's sake I can... Still, I want to go after her now! What if something bad happens?"
"Well, Alias would be the first to find out anyway." Reasoned Arthur. "If there's a port around here somewhere, you can probably track him down online."
"Ok! Let's go!"
Blaze stepped out of the doors. "Hold it!"
"Woah there?!" Said Arthur. "Hey Blaze."
"I was wondering if you wanted to have some rematches with people! I'm free for a bit, Gregar's ALREADY had his guard post a flyer challenging every person in the building to a fight, and my big bro should be around for a while!"
"If we have the time to, then sure. But we need to get a bunch of things done. Maybe you could give me a hand?"
"Sure thing! Whatcha need?" Bubbled Blaze.
"Well, if you could go take a quick look at the scans and get Flare's location, that would be good. Just mail it to me. Oh, and by the way... got any BugFrags? I just can't seem to find the time to gather any..." Said Arthur.
"Sure thing!" Blaze turned to leave, then stopped. "...Hm."
"Eh? Is something wrong?"
"Gregar seems a lot less... feral than I expected." Said Blaze. "I was there when MegaMan imprisoned him. He really was a raging beast then. But now he seems more reasonable, for some reason?"
Treble spoke up. "Wild guess here! Flare wasn't with him."
"...she wasn't. Falzar got absorbed by this creepy clown navi immediately. You think that set him off? We never really considered that, given the legend."
"You could go and ask" Said Arthur. "I mean, he's just in there."
"Good idea! I'll catch you online later, then!" Said Blaze. "Bye-bye!"
"Wait, is there anywhere to connect to the net here?"
"The computers inside, silly!" Said Blaze.
Treble was running across an unfamiliar area near Scilabs. "This would be way faster if I could just transform."
"We are not causing a panic unless there's a life on the line." Said Arthur.
"What about Gregar's bike?"
"You can't use it. You need a 'run' line."
"Aw. Wait a minute! I see some viruses over there! Can I just destroy them maybe? Blow off steam?"
Arthur sighed "I thought you were rushing to get everything ready to help Flare?"
"You're right! Nevermind the viruses! We have to get to Alias!" A panel glowed in front of Treble, and he skidded to a halt. "Hey? Is this one of Chip's links?"
Another navi stepped out, in matté white armor, angular around the torso, with crescents subtly forming the boots and gauntlets. Some purple accented the armor, and the helmet showed little but light purpled eyes, although some skin was visible next to them, hinting the helmet could be removed. Something about her design made Treble think of Ember. Probably the helmet, although it didn't seem to put the girl into 'no mercy' mode by being equipped. "Are you Treble? I'm here to get him to our table."
"Yep, that's me! Wait, who are you though?"
"Midnight, at your service. Follow me." She said, keeping her voice neutral yet friendly as she stepped back onto the panel.
Treble followed. He stepped out into a coffee shop. "Huh? Where is this?"
"It's just our local coffee shop." Said Alias, from behind him. "How are things going with Gregar over there? Did you stop them deleting him?"
"Better than that!" Said Treble. "We totally cleared his name."
Alias raised one hand. "Wait... what? How? There is no way you could have cleared like ten years worth of charges in maybe twelve hours. Or even at all! That's cybeast Gregar, how would the officials let go of their grudges so easily?"
"We just proved he wasn't the one to start the fight." Said Treble. "And suddenly, the entire prosecution was completely and utterly destroyed."
"Sweet! So where is he now?"
"They wanted to keep him under watch for two weeks to make sure it was safe to let him on the net. By the way, clearing him cleared you as well. And they can't delete Flare unless she attacks first!"
"Two weeks? ...I'm not sure Flare has two weeks. Zoano holding a little bit of her power is the only reason she hasn't hit 100%." Said Alias. "Any way we can get him out early?"
"...No idea." Admitted Treble. "I guess if things get bad I could ask them to let him out for a bit, but... you can't go breaking him out now. There's no way we could clear him a second time."
"Well, in that case, set up a link from Scilabs to this coffee parlor." Said SheepMan, holding a set of coffees and pointedly ignoring Treble. "We will need him. And when we do, we'll need him fast. Alias darling, your coffee?"
"Oh, thanks." Alias took the drink.
"Gregar wants you to send him his music box, by the way. He doesn't have anything to do in his holding area. He's challenged the entire building to a fight."
"It's Flare's music box, not his." Said SheepMan automatically. "...but she won't mind. Chip, please open a home link." A white panel glowed in front of SheepMan, and he warped out.
Treble looked to Alias. "So, what's Flare's situation?"
"Bad. She's totally lost control, but since there's no Gregar to target she's been shredding any viruses that come near her. She seems to be trying to get somewhere, but we're not sure where." Said Alias. "We don't know what'll happen if her power hits 100%, but it probably won't be good."
"Flare..." Said Treble worriedly. "Do you think it's possible to get her back? Because... I don't think I can delete her."
Alias nodded. "I'm sure we can. As long as we have even a scrap of hope, we'll never stop trying. Some of my other friends have been monitoring her, since they can get near safely."
"Huh? How?"
"Remember the carvings? We gave them to some other navis. The ones with an F-carving... Flare doesn't seem to detect them very well. G-carving is the opposite, though. Nearly lost someone."
"Ok... Well, I guess we need some kind of plan then." Said Treble. Then he looked at Alias curiously. "Oh yeah... how does that 'Grezar' form work? Can it help us?"
"Not really. Cybeast power is honestly like some kind of universally effective magic. Anyone could do that transformation in theory, but the data overload would absolutely destroy them. The only reason I can survive it is because the Ciel system gives me a VERY large memory for short periods. I guess you could also do it if you had like, an ExaMemory or something, but I've only heard rumors those exist."
"That's got to be so advanced. I wonder if I could substitute Gregar in that form?"
"The ciel system was made to let things be put together, it's just using cybeasts rather than chips to make Grezar. As for substituting Gregar... I don't think so. Your powers aren't the same. Just similar. I haven't seen you use that soul energy Gregar likes."
SheepMan came back out of the link, holding the music box. "...Alias, you're sure we can trust his word?"
"Yes. We noticed the officials pulled away from us, if you need proof beyond the fact that Treble is awful at lying."
"...Take it." Said SheepMan holding out the music box. "And make sure he stays out of trouble. I've lost enough friends to you."
"That..." That hurt. Treble looked away. "I'll get it delivered. Make sure Flare stays okay for me." He logged out.
Arthur walked into Gregar's room to see half a dozen staff members holding their PETs.
"Come on, we can beat him together!" Said one. "Go, Sword!"
There was an audible 'Wham' as a navi was thrown into something, followed by a growl and buster fire. Then Arthur noticed Hub standing across from the other staff members, holding a PET.
"Hey there Hub. Is he nearly done?"
Hub grinned. "Nearly! Operating's more fun than I expected!"
"You haven't operated before?"
There was another slamming sound. "Done!" Gregar shouted. "How long was that?"
Hub read some numbers off the screen. "You beat a navi every four seconds on average! Total time was twenty four and a half seconds. Just what I'd expect from you!"
"Gregar, can you hear me? We've got your music box." Said Arthur.
"Bring it in then!" Called Gregar.
"Treble, hunt." Arthur pointed his PET towards the computer.
Treble appeared holding the program. "This thing's sure gotten around, hasn't it?"
Gregar took it and fiddled for a moment, before taking a video file out of a small compartment on the bottom. Music started playing halfway through a track, lyrics clear enough, as the video showed Flare singing on a stage.
'-a journey all the way through time, step forwards then rewind!'
"Good memories." Said Gregar.
"Wow, Flare's singing is amazing!"
"She did enjoy learning that song. It was one of her favourites... Alias' too." There was quiet between the two for a while as the listened to Flare singing.
'Cause I've got my friends right by my side...'
Eventually, the track ran to its end. There was a small pause.
"Do you still have any of my music on there?" Asked Treble curiously.
"Flare wouldn't let us delete any of it..." Said Gregar quietly. "...Anyway. I think there's something I should do. You don't seem to know how to use your power to change stuff at all. Get your buster out."
"Uh, okay!" The end of Treble's tail was replaced by the buster he barely used. Treble reached around and grabbed it, holding it in front of him.
"Okay, using cybeast power... or whatever your power counts as is pretty easy. Just give it instructions with your soul, the simpler the better. How it interprets things is different between me and Flare, and probably you too."
"My soul? Um... how?"
"Don't think you want it. Want it."
Treble focused. "...Oh, it's like causing bugs. I've got this! Here I go!" his hands started to glow a bit, and the buster started to glitch out.
Gregar looked closely. "I think you're doing it right. Give it more power, you're holding back too much."
"Okay... POWEEEEER!" Yelled Treble. There was a small explosion.
Gregar jumped back. "About right!"
Treble got to his feet. "Ow, my tail. Do you think that worked?" He formed the buster. "Oh it worked!"
"Try it. You can use that power for other things too. I don't think you're very efficient with it though. You seem tired, and you only modified a buster."
Treble tried holding the buster steady, and gave it an experimental shot.
Gregar whipped his hand back in surprise. "Watch where you're aiming that!"
"I wasn't aiming at you!" Said Treble. "I was just thinking that I have trouble hitting anything with it, and I must have added some kind of lock-on."
"Huh. I guess that's not bad, but still not great. Want that rematch?" Said Gregar.
Arthur stepped in. "Treble, I know you want to, but for Flare's sake we should put all our time into finding her."
"That'll do more harm than good." Said Gregar. "She's gone into hiding, right?"
"...Yeah." Said Treble.
"It's so she can focus. If she doesn't have any distractions, it'll help her out. So fight me while we wait for her to be done. Then go grab that Ember navi. I want to fight her, too. Practice makes perfect."
"Okay then." Said Arthur. "Hub, do you have time to do this? ...Actually, I'm surprised Gregar would just let some random guy operate him. How did that happen?"
Hub smiled. "We just felt a bit of a connection. I've got half an hour before I need to go. So, Gregar, battle routine set!"
Gregar gave his music box a shove to one side, out of harm's way. "Executing!"
"Treble, destroy!" Said Arthur.
Hub already had a handful of chips. "FastGauge, DoubleShot, NeoVariableSword, Prism battlechips in, download! Setting to SuperSonicBoom!"
Arthur's jaw nearly dropped, but he held on. "Reflector2, CornShot2, ElementBreath in!"
Gregar leapt forwards, and as he landed the floor in front was catapulted forwards at mach pace. Treble was just about able to get the Reflector up to prevent the damage, but that left the SuperSonicBoom unavoidable, cutting into his chest with a green blast. Gregar opened fire with his buster, while Treble dashed to the side and fired the CornShot, the bizarre gun finding its mark and leaving grass around Gregar's feet. Gregar totally ignored the damage, and hurled the Prism towards Treble.
Hub slotted in his next batch of chips. "Here we go, Spreader, triple download! Program advance, HyperBurst!"
Treble suddenly realised he either needed to move or get blasted to bytes, and leapt forwards to evade the wrath of the Prism. He avoided a HyperBurst in the face by a distance too small to calculate, and then was nearly knocked off his feet by the spray of damage from the Prism, ricocheting off in every direction. Gregar charged to start attacking with his claws, and Treble swiped in to match him blow for blow, perhaps weaker in strength, but the extra speed compensating well enough. Gregar took a firm step back and put all his might into a devastating strike, but Treble hit first, raking him straight across the face before Gregar dunked him into the floor five paces away with his clawed punch, leaving his own set of marks on Treble's shoulder. Gregar tried to capitalise, but from the floor Treble blew fire over him, catching him off guard and letting Treble spring to his feet.
Arthur formulated a strategy, and hoped it could work. "BugAura, UnifyCode, Gregar navi chip in!"
Hub grinned. "Northwind, M-Cannon, AntiDamage, and Thunder, battlechips in, download!"
"Why does everyone have NorthWind?!" Protested Treble, as his aura lasted a grand total of half a second.
"If you don't have it, then you're an idiot. Auras are annoying... unless they're on your side." Said Gregar, raising the M-cannon as his aura came to life. Treble summoned the copy of Gregar, hoping it would be able to get through Gregar's defence. Gregar's M-Cannon went just a little too low, and Treble sprung into the air, diving with his claws to effectively double team Gregar using a copy of Gregar. The buster had been useless thanks to Gregar's innate aura, but there was no way Gregar could fend off both Treble's claws and his own, his aura going down and the last hit catching him on the arm. Gregar growled in anger, and wholeheartedly attempted to stuff the Thunder into Treble's mouth, but only managed to get him by the leg.
"It's over! DoublePoint, MeteorKnuckle battlechips in, download!" Said Hub.
"Oh no! Quick, AreaSteal, LongBlade in!"
Treble teleported forwards, but it wasn't enough to save him from the rain of giant fists, each one punching for terrible damage. He tried to cut with the LongBlade, just barely still in the fight, and then Gregar disappeared for a second, before a shuriken caught Treble in the chest, sending him down.
"Got you." Said Gregar. "Now we're even."
"Back, Treble." Said Arthur. "Hub, you're amazing at operating. You should start entering tournaments."
"I just borrowed these chips. And... actually, I better go now. See you later!" Hub left abruptly, looking at a watch on his arm.
"Actually... will you be ok if I go, too? It's getting kind of late." Said Arthur.
"I'll be fine. I could probably break out if my guard turned a blind eye." Said Gregar.
"Who is your guard, actually? I haven't seen them anywhere..." Said Arthur.
"They're hidden." Said Treble. "I could smell them in there, though."
Arthur felt a chill behind him and turned. Miyabi was in one corner, watching silently. The ninja put his hands together and faded into the shadow completely. "...Ok, I see why you only think you could escape if he let you. Bye, for now."
"Bye Gregar! Stay out of trouble!" Called Treble, as Arthur started to leave.
Arthur stepped into his house to see his parents waiting. His dad looked up from a book. "Trouble with the beasts?"
"Not really, to be honest." Said Arthur. "We've cleared one's name, so that means we can focus on the other."
"Cleared their name? How?"
"We found a memory file that proved Gregar wasn't the original aggressor. It was a defective program that antagonised him into attacking, and Scilabs rallied behind it since they didn't know it was defective, and things spiraled out of control from there."
"Hm. Well, just make sure you play things safe. You can't expect either side to forget a grudge in a day. Anything we can do to help with Falzar?"
"No, at least, not for now." Said Arthur.
"Well, don't hesitate to call on us if you need us. We're honestly enjoying the action. Reminds us of the old days." Said his father.
"I won't forget to. I'm just going to head to bed for now, it's been a long day." Said Arthur.
"Alright, see you tomorrow."
Arthur headed up the stairs and flopped onto the bed. "Whoo... so, Flare... what should we do, if we can't actually go near her without making things worse? There has to be something we can do."
"I think I should just go and look for more BugFrags. I'll hit 1000 health soon, and that means I'll give us another chip!" Said Treble.
"...Yeah, good idea. I'll start strategizing. Go hunt, Treble." Arthur stared up at the ceiling, running through ideas in his head.
Arthur woke up in his clothes, realising he'd drifted off where he was lying. "I... didn't realise I was that tired."
"Me neither! I guess you gotta rest while you can though. You're going to run yourself out of batteries... or whatever people take." Said Treble. "By the way, transform me! It's pretty uncomfortable feeling like there's a chip lodged in your mouth!"
"On it." Arthur sat up to look at Treble's health. All the way up to 1020. "Pretty good. We should go have another rematch with Gregar. That MeteorKnuckle caught us by surprise last time."
"Yeah, Hub's operating was crazy. He had a really high synchro rate with Gregar too, somehow. It was like they knew each other."
"Yeah... I want to know where he borrowed those chips from, too. He really hammered you with a constant stream of attacks." Arthur fed the three chips into the PET.
Treble transformed with a shock, sitting. "OKAY, HAH!" The chip came out easily, bouncing along the floor. Treble leaned his head down close to look at it. "HEY, THAT'S ACTUALLY PRETTY USEFUL!"
"What is it? A giga chip?"
"WIDEBLADE B. WITH THAT LONGBLADE, WE CAN USE LIFESWORD!"
"Hm. That is pretty useful. Especially since we use a lot of B-coded chips. So, I've come to the conclusion our best option for now is to just get prepared. We should hunt down BugFrags, we should try and get through some more of the Secret Area, and we should try and find more rare chips. Maybe check out the Graveyard or that Nebula Area Denny mentioned?"
"GOOD PLAN! LET'S GET EVERYONE TOGETHER AND GO INTO THE SECRET AREA!"
"Sure thing." Arthur opened his email, and noticed two were waiting. "Hey, what are- You weren't connected to the PET last night, were you?"
"UH, NO?"
"Well... 'From Yuichiro: The Giga chip has been completed successfully! I was able to get some great data from this, so thanks. If you need to make another one, it'll take a day and twenty thousand zenny. Good luck, Arthur and Treble.' Attached is a chip..." Arthur put his last blank chromed chip into the PET, and it took a couple of seconds to write the data. The chip popped out, now displaying a picture of Treble's original form breathing multicolour fire. "GSTreble X. 150 damage, 'Long-ranged ElementBreath 4 times!'."
"LET'S GO TRY IT OUT! GET EVERYONE TOGETHER AT THE SECRET AREA!" Said Treble.
"Sure thing. Just a moment..."
"INVITE EMBER TOO!"
A wave of replies came in. Joe, 'Of course, wait for us.'
William. 'We'll be there in five.'
Denny. 'Can't, waiting for someone.'
Blaze. 'Uh... Denny asked me to wait in the gift shop for a hour, so... sorry.'
"WHAT'S DENNY UP TO?" Said Treble in confusion.
"I don't know, but if he hasn't asked for our help he doesn't need it. And anyway, you can't snoop on Denny. It just won't work."
"HEY, CAN I RUN THERE LIKE THIS? I'LL STAY OUT OF SIGHT!"
"Sure."
Treble bounded out of the page at high speed, running for a minute before slowing down and stopping. He looked back to the PET's screen. "ARTHUR... I'M REALLY WORRIED ABOUT FLARE. WHAT IF SHE'S REALLY GONE?"
"...I'm normally the pessimist here, but... I think Flare is still present. When the system sent her mad before, at least according to the legends, she attacked anything that was in her way, but now she's kept herself focused on just Gregar, and Alias reasoned with her. I think that proves Flare is still there."
"I CARE ABOUT HER, AND NOT JUST BECAUSE I'VE GOT A CRUSH. I FEEL SYMPATHY. SADNESS. EVEN IF ME AND GREGAR HAD IT ROUGH, GOT DELETED EVEN, SHE'S ALWAYS HAD IT WORSE. AT LEAST WE ALWAYS HAD CONTROL OF OURSELVES. I JUST... I'M JUST SO WORRIED WE MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO SAVE HER."
"Treble... You're a good navi." Said Arthur softly. "Better than most people. I want to say... you're like family to me, and I'll support you to the very end. I promise that no matter what happens these next few days, I'll give you everything I've got. Your battles are my battles, for as long as we live."
"I CAN'T CRY OR HOWL HERE... THE TOWN'LL HEAR ME..."
"Treble... I'll never judge you for crying. Forget the town. "
What followed was an absolutely ear-splitting howl that lasted a full five seconds before quietening over another few seconds. Treble couldn't smile, but his colossal tail wagged a little. "I'M GLAD YOU OPERATE ME. LET'S GO GET THROUGH THE SECRET AREA."
Treble was serious about getting through the secret area. ArsenalMan on his back, and MathMan on ArsenalMan's back, he leapt from island to island, completely ignoring the invisible pathways and locked doors.
"I see the entrance to the next area. It's a little to the right." Said MathMan.
"GOTCHA!" Treble made another huge jump, landing near the door. "I HOPE THIS THING OPENS..."
'Show your power... collect 40 mega chips.'
"...I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH. YOU GUYS?"
"No good." Said MathMan. "...But if we pool our resources, that will add up. Let's all touch the door at once." He jumped down, and ArsenalMan followed. "On three... one, two, three."
They touched the door. 'You may pass, collector.' The door disappeared.
"ALRIGHT, GET BEHIND ME. I BET THERE'S A GUARD." Said Treble, stepping forwards. And the background darkened for a moment, before a navi appeared. Familiar white armor, and a stance that seemed different to before. More confident. "CRESCENDO?"
"...Treble? How did I end up here?" Said Crescendo in confusion. "One moment I was with Bass, the next..."
"ARE YOU GOING TO FIGHT ME? I'M IN A BIT OF A RUSH, BUT I WON'T TURN YOU DOWN!"
"I'm much improved. See how I've grown!" Said Crescendo, raising his buster.
"...Hold on." Said MathMan. "You're not Crescendo. Watch this, everyone. Analysing now..." He held out a hand.
'Crescendo' stepped back. "What are you doin-" His image was replaced by a wireframe with a glowing orb in the centre.
"...It's just a program designed to make an illusion. I doubt it had Crescendo's true abilities, either. Now... begone." MathMan waved his hand to the side, and sent a shutdown command. "It would probably have been more dangerous if it couldn't have been analysed."
"NEAT TRICK! LET'S GO LOOK IN THE NEXT AREA, THEN!"
Arthur heard a short beep from the PET. "Wait, we have mail." Then he gasped. "Okay, time to retreat. It's from Flare's number, but the sender is Falzar."
"WHAT?!"
"Hold on... 'Treble. Come to the chip shop SheepMan used as a front, alone. And hurry. I don't want to stay in one place for long'."
"WE HAVE TO GET DOWN THERE!"
While ArsenalMan and MathMan logged out, Treble ran for the shop. He dropped origin form to fit through the door, but then Arthur spoke. "Wait just a moment. Let's refresh our chips in case you have to fight."
"But... I don't know if I can fight her. I could fight anyone else, but Flare?"
"I just want you to be safe and prepared. Anyway, that was enough time. Go ahead."
Treble stepped into the shop. It was still as clean as before, but now that it was empty it just seemed lifeless. "Flare? Hello?"
There was a loud clunk, and the door sealed behind Treble. Flare... or perhaps Falzar stepped out of the back room. "Treble. I've shut out Arthur, and the outside doors are sealed. We can talk freely."
"Flare... no, wait. Should I call you Falzar like this?" Said Treble.
"I'm Falzar, I think. It is hard to tell." Said Falzar.
"Why did you call me here? And... well, what's happened to Flare if she's not... here?"
"She's suppressed, barely awake. I didn't want her interfering."
"Give her back?" Said Treble hopelessly.
"Are you going to fight me? I know you can't."
"I... I can still win without any help! The ceiling's so low here, you couldn't fly away from my attacks."
Falzar's eyes glowed knowingly. "You'd rather tear your own heart out. I can't be fooled so easily. But I didn't call you here to fight you."
"...Why then?"
"You're not Gregar. You are a well-made fake, your signature is close to his, but I will not be tricked." Said Falzar.
"I won't just leave you alone! I want Flare back. And so do all her friends!"
"Neither I or Flare want to go back."
"Neither..? Falzar... I'll do anything. Even just to speak to her."
"There's nothing you have that I want."
"Then... wait, why did you call me here?!"
"I was hoping you would silence Flare. I'm no fool. I won't challenge my target until I'm ready, in absolute control."
"W-why would I make her stop fighting?!"
"Because she cares about you. That's why I agreed it was logical to see you. She opposes her destiny... and I am her destiny. If I have her favor... perhaps I can act freely."
"Flare... please come back..."
"She won't. You said you'd do anything? Then never put yourself at risk again. That would truly make Flare happy."
"...I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to upset you then, Flare." Said Treble. "I'd like to travel with you for a while, Falzar. I know Flare wants me to be safe, but I want her to be safe. I won't help you delete her brother and best friend, but I'll protect both of you until I can figure out something for that problem."
"...I never thought I would agree with not only Flare, but also my enemy Gregar. Treble, are you insane?"
"Maybe. Are you going to tell me I can't, or fly off? There's also a third option where you say yes without an argument."
"I can't fly off, this is a sealed room. So you can't. I won't sow discord in my control of this body."
"...Flare, if you can hear me in there... don't worry about me. I can't really offer more, I'm a fighter, not a thinker. But we'll be safer together."
"Safer together?" Said Falzar in confusion. "Explain."
"Bass." Said Treble simply. "He's still out there. I think Gregar could only beat him because he had a fight with your power. He still beat me yesterday. And I'm sure he could beat you. I'm sticking with you for now. He's not getting a chance."
"...I admire your logic. Or perhaps hardheadedness. But there's one condition."
"Anything."
"You're not to be in contact with your NetOp unless I allow it. I won't be stabbed in the back." Said Falzar. Treble could have sworn he saw her shudder as she said that. "...But Flare trusts you not to do that."
"Okay, but I want to explain things to him!" Said Treble.
"...Reasonable enough."
"Um... well, I guess that's not the worst idea I've heard, but you're not designed to go solo." Said Arthur. "I can understand your feelings, though. Let me load you some attacks."
"You're just... letting me go? I was worried you would get overprotective."
"I don't have a better idea. And I really do trust you. You'll be back in one piece. Now, I'm giving you BugAura, UnifyCode and Origin. You'll need to wait a few moments for the secondary body backup to transfer, since Fla- Falzar wants the PET disconnected... alright, done."
"So... what are you going to do?"
"I'm going to go to Scilabs, and wait for you there. You can still jack out through any port, after all. And I think I ought to make sure... our other friend doesn't go on the net right now."
"Who? Oh, riiiight." Said Treble. "Then... this is goodbye for a little while."
"It only has to be goodbye for the time it takes me to ride to Scilabs. But... goodbye, for a little while. Be safe now, alright? I meant what I said earlier."
"Don't make me emotional in front of Falzar." Said Treble jokingly. But he went serious quickly. "...Well. Connection, off!"
The PET screen went blank. 'Connection disabled!'
Arthur looked up. "... I shouldn't get lost in thoughts. I might miss the train. But please don't do anything stupid..."
Author's notes: So, for curiosity's sake, here's Arthur's main folder! Chips might deviate based on situation though, notably they have other navi chips and NorthWind.
Thunder * x2, Reflector2 B x2, Guard *, Sword *, WideBlade B, LongBlade *, Spreader1 (C, D, E), AquaNeedle1 M x2, FireBurn2 B x2, AirHockey M x2, VariableSword B, AreaSteal S x2, CornShot2 B x2, FlashBomb2 B x2, BugAura Y, UnifyCode *, GregarEX C, MathManEX M, BugCharge/BugRiseSword, ElementBreath B.
Reviewer answer!
RushAlias: Thanks! Original solutions and scenarios are what define each writer. It's good to know I've got interesting ones.
-Deleted scene-
Gregar landed away from Ember, the practice match in full swing. "Oh, that's it! Time for my new technique!" He placed his hand in front of his face, pointing to his eyes with his claws. His aura surged up behind him, a great glowing copy of his old self. "BEHOLD THE POWER OF MY STAND, 「CYBERBEAST GREIGA」!"
Ember and Blaze exchanged an awkward glace. "Have you been watching Jojo's?" Said Blaze with a muffled laugh.
"This is why deleted scenes are non-canon..." Said Ember.
