The PET beeped. "...Mail? Huh, who from..." Arthur opened the message.

'From: Denny

If your navi is on the net, log them out for an hour please. You'll thank me later.'

Arthur tapped his reply.

'Can't, we temporarily split up so Treble could keep an eye on Falzar. On the train at the moment.'

The reply came in less then ten seconds.

'Please get to Scilabs as fast as possible.'


"...So, where are we going Falzar? You seem lost."

"I can sense Gregar's power, but I can't find a path to it. It's as if it's both connected to the net and sealed off." Said Falzar. "..."

"Are you totally sure?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I know where all his power is. He's got about 60%, maybe a bit more? And MegaMan has the rest. There's none on the net right now."

"...I am sure of it. Help me locate this power."

"...Yeah, alright. I'll sniff for it. But I'll need to be in the general area. Any idea where it might be?"

"...Judging by my readouts... It's all together... I just can't make it out? Why can't I find a path to it?" Said Falzar.

"Um... maybe there's a- Flare, watch out!" There was a sparking sound as a ZapRing was deflected by BugAura.

Falzar's head whipped around to see who'd fired it. A pair of darkly armored navis were standing there. "You won't get in my way." She said automatically.

Dark navi one stared. "Intel was wrong?"

Dark navi two pressed a hand to their ear. "Got 2 with 6. send a 'lil backup."

Treble was slightly crouched, like a pressed spring. His claws were ready, and he was close enough to Falzar that the aura was a shield. "Back. Off." He growled.

"Attack. Shoot to capture. Focus our specialised target." Said one of the navis. They raised an M-cannon, and it bounced off the BugAura harmlessly.

"Squad 6, move now." Said the other. And suddenly, ten other navis jumped from hiding, surrounding Treble and Falzar.

Falzar looked at them in contempt. "...Locked on."

"Flare, you make the first move. I can't stay close to you when you fly, so be careful." Said Treble quietly.

Falzar fired a pair of Wing Boomerangs without warning, striking the closest navi to fragments. Treble activated his tail buster and started firing, the empowered buster actually doing decent damage per hit now. Nonetheless, the BugAura could only last until it took 250 damage at once, and a pair of well-timed M-cannons was enough. The aura flickered and died, and the remaining assassins charged.

That was a large mistake on their part, as Falzar lifted into the air and started hailing them with her buster, while Treble shot forwards, filled with rage and the will to survive. The nearest enemy suddenly lost their face as Treble slashed right through, and proceeded to take a fight against three at once. While normally those odds would have overwhelmed any navi, there was a burning in Treble's heart. Many combined feelings, from finding out he made the right decision to come with Falzar, to fear at the sudden attack, to rage that someone would attack, hatred for attacking Flare, and most of all, the desire to absolutely destroy this enemy. Treble was a blur, his rage fuelling a never-ending storm of claw swipes. His enemy was fighting dirty, trying to gang up on him and use FlashBombs and ZapRings that would have knocked Falzar out of the sky, but he was too fast, destroying every bomb mere moments after it left the thrower's hands, dodging every Thunder, every sword and every cannon, and more often than not striking back ferociously, taking huge chunks from his target's hit points with no intention to spare. His bugs spread like a disease, and before long the squad was buckling under Treble's furious assault.

Then he heard a yelp, and from the corner of his eye saw Flare hit the ground, struck from behind with a Static.

Before the attacker could follow up with another cheap shot, Treble was in the way. The blast was enough to make him stumble, but his anger was reaching critical mass. Arthur's caring presence while Treble was new to the net had instilled values of mercy, of forgiveness. And they would stay with Treble forever. But in the face of this enemy, the ones who hurt Flare? No mercy. No forgiveness. And no hesitation.

Of the twelve assassins, six were still functioning.

A roar ripped into the hearts of the assassins as Treble grabbed the nearest one and threw him like he was weightless, and they crashed into another assassin hard enough to delete them. Treble saw one so much as begin to move, and in a berserker rage stabbed both claws into them, all but tearing them in half in the space of a second. A third was starting to take a step back in fear when Treble caught him with his jaws. He didn't often bite, since it was a close-quarters move that left his body in place for a second, but he clamped down with enough force to delete in one blow. Not staying still long enough to be attacked, Treble jumped high into the air, and saw Falzar using winds to shred another assailant. Of the two remaining, Treble struck the closest one twice, feeling a surge of joy as they dissolved into nothing. One left, heading for Flare. Treble dashed forwards and grabbed their neck, lifting them off the ground in a vice-like grip. He radiated satisfaction, staring into their face and seeing absolute terror in it, And he had an idea. He reached for his own 'soul', and told it what he wanted, with his whole being. Make them suffer.

"I always wanted to totally destroy a navi." Said Treble in a psychotic, almost happy tone. There was a low crackle as purple energy surged out of Treble's hand, wrapping around the assassin's body and throwing their arms out to the side. They started to shatter, code bugging at a rate nearly unheard of. Treble intensified the blast of power, and there was a blinding flash as their body disintegrated around them, but their AI was still around for a few extra moments, as every memory was systematically corrupted and the personality matrix torn to individual letters. And then the AI was gone too, deleted to such a degree as to be irreparable.

Treble looked around as the burning rage ended, and then took a deep breath. He stumbled over to Falzar. "Are... are you... alright?"

"I never knew you had that kind of sadism in you." Said Falzar.

"...I don't regret it." Said Treble. He sat down as the explosion of inner rage faded, and Treble realised how much of his own energy he'd burned to fuel those attacks. "...Whew... you seem okay... I'm glad you're not hurt, Flare."

"More are coming. We need to fall back to defensible terrain." Said Falzar.

Treble got to his feet. "I'll fight to the end... let's go."


Arthur hit the ground running. He wasn't the fittest, but if Denny gave an instruction like that then it was serious alright. He felt like he was suffocating as he reached the top of the steps to Scilabs in record time, bursting through the doors and nearly shouting at the receptionist. "Which room?!"

"Ah, Four?"

Arthur made it in to see Denny. "Denny! What's going on?"

"Co-ordinated attack. We'll be hit in two minutes. You're too late for Treble, he'll already have been hit. Go and make sure Gregar doesn't go onto the main net." The words hit like a shattering window.

"What do you mean..."

"If he was on the net, they'd have reached him first. Look, think about it later or else we're all going to lose our navis!"

"Who are 'they'?! Denny! He hasn't been deleted, has he?!"

"Truthfully we don't know if Treble's been deleted, but at this point he's either gone or he's fought them off. And... they're after the six legendary foes."

"Who are those? Please just explain? And I'm getting Treble now!" Arthur took his PET and suddenly the words on the screen hit him as hard as bricks. 'Navi disconnected'.

"The LifeVirusR. Treble. Alpha. Nebula gray. Gregar. Falzar." Said Denny. "The six most powerful programs ever deleted but not erased. Look, there's no time right now. Go guard Gregar! That's an order!"

Arthur's heart screamed and screamed, but he knew that it was no good. He couldn't contact Treble unless Treble unblocked him, and that wouldn't happen in a fight.


"This place will have to do." Said Falzar. "We'll choke them on this bridge."

"I WILL NOT LET THEM PAST." Said GS-Treble determinedly.

"Be wary of break attacks." Reminded Falzar. "And do not use any more of your energy. Your cybeast power will be totally depleted for some time after using so much."

"I'M NOT A CYBEAST, THOUGH?"

"...Giant, self aware program with godlike yet limited powers? Coded entirely differently to a navi? You're a cybeast."

"...HM. COOL." Treble's head drooped a little. The last fight had really drained him. "I THINK THEY'RE COMING."

"I will delete them. They will not stop me."

The bridge proved to be an excellent defensive position. While it seemed this group's strategy revolved around a lot of Break attacks, especially AuraHead, they had no choice but to try charging forward in two lines. Treble could barely fuel Junk Flyer, but it was still doing decent damage to their ranks. Falzar was devastating them with her Wing Boomerangs, and when all twelve were on the bridge she suddenly broke the panels behind them and used Junk Reborn to crush the back line to dust. But then, from the corner of her eye, Falzar saw an attack hurtling for her, without a chance she could dodge. A flying, flaming skull.

Treble was too good at intercepting blows for his own good, and the skull hit him instead. He'd reared up to block it, and it caught him in the open mouth. This wouldn't have been a problem while Treble was still at over a thousand health, but he couldn't quite see where he was putting his foot down when the skull exploded. It went clear over the edge of the bridge, and suddenly Treble was falling. "NOOOO!"

Falzar watched her only ally crashed to the floor below. It was a good thing fall damage wasn't as big of a deal in the cyberworld, but the skull seemed to be some kind of powerful channelled attack. She turned and calmly started spraying the area the attack had come from with her buster. A navi became visible, holding a staff and trying to dodge. Without any distractions or the ability to cast safely, it was over for them before it had begun.


An alarm blared. Gregar looked out. "What's going on? Fire?"

"...No. It's some kind of attack."

"Then let me help! I'll beat them easily."

"I think they're after you, but I'm not sure. If Treble was here..."

"He isn't?"

"Falzar allowed him to travel with her, since he wanted to keep her safe- on the condition he was disconnected from his PET while he travelled. I've been split with him for all of two hours and everything's gone to pieces."

"So, who's attacking? If they're after me, will they go after Falzar too?"

"...I guess so. But I don't know who it is. Hey, is that computer connected to anything? You should fall back to somewhere defensive." Said Arthur. "Or set a trap. Standard stuff when you know an attack's coming."

"I have a better idea. Have you got Treble's PET?"

"Uh, if you're willing to go into it. The attackers couldn't hope to find you in there."

"No. But I'd be okay having you operate me. You cleared my name, after all. I'm going to head into the main Scilabs area and lend a hand either way. The doors on the detention area are pretty flimsy." Said Gregar, starting to move off.

"Just remember, you'll be the main target at all times. As soon as you're out there, they'll be gunning for you."

"Story of my life." Deadpanned Gregar.


GS-Treble opened his eyes to see three walls. Everything hurt, thanks to the break attacks he'd intercepted, but his large health pool had kept him safe enough. But the skull attack seemed to have been some kind of energy drain, on top of his tired state. And now that he thought to check, his health was actually really low, at 112. Strange, he could have sworn he had more when he fainted. Then he woke enough to remember everything that had just happened. "...FLARE?"

No reply.

"FLARE?!" He said, voice quieter than he'd expected.

Still nothing. Treble was about to force himself to his feet, when there was a presence near-ish him. He relaxed, both the smell and feel of the power familiar. And his head felt heavy. Treble just breathed out and lay where he was, feeling beat-up but happy enough.

There were some footsteps, and he could feel Falzar walk in front of him. She was holding something, too. The smell was unmistakable: BugFrags. Falzar took a couple more steps, and Treble felt her hands on his face. They were oddly gentle. Treble was suddenly aware his health was rising a little, and he felt the spent feeling begin to leave his body. He just relaxed completely.

Treble was surprised then, as Falzar started talking to herself. "...She really cares about you. It's easy to see why. You're loyal to a fault. But you're just so naive. More than even her." Falzar seemed to finish giving him the BugFrags, and Treble felt a hand rest on his cheek. "You try so hard to please everyone. To make sure nobody you care about gets deleted, that everything works out in the end ...You idiot. Someone's going to get deleted. Either me or Gregar. And isn't that why you followed me? To make sure I didn't- no, Flare didn't get deleted? While you tried to find a loophole? Some way to cheat fate? ...Flare. Yes, you did this all to keep Flare safe. To get Flare back from me. To free her, give her back her sanity." Said Falzar bitterly. "But you know what? I've been around for a long time. I know I don't need anyone to protect me. Not Ethan, not Alias, and sure as the hellscape that the underground is, not you. If I were alone, I could simply delete Gregar... and then, at last...

...Then what? I'll delete his ghost..?" Falzar sighed. "...It's a good thing you're unconscious right now."

Treble felt some weight on one of his forelegs, and realised Falzar was using it as a bench. He realised he really wasn't meant to hear any of that, and while part of him was hurt at Falzar not really wanting him here, part of him had already suspected Flare had pushed the system into it. It hurt a lot more to know that she felt so hopeless when he was trying to give her hope, and he had no idea if there was anything he could do about that. And the fact that no matter how he tried he might still fail to save both the beasts scared him. That he could be stronger than even MegaMan, or Bass and still fail. I wish I knew what to do. I'm trying my best, but I'm just a fighter...

Treble turned the words over in his mind, again and again. He realised he was getting drowsy again, his energy still low. And then, finally, he spotted something. There was something that seemed wrong about the way the system had spoken. While normally it was devoid of emotions, just a being driven by logic and fixated on one goal, now it seemed... almost a full navi. It had emotion, it could see the bigger picture. And Flare clearly wasn't currently awake enough to influence it, either. Was the system... more than everyone thought?


Gregar kicked down the door and glanced around. The area seemed a touch quiet. The battle had to be going on elsewhere. "Where will they be fighting?"

"There's only one way in or out of this area. But are you sure you should be on the net right now, with Falzar looking for you?"

"If she gets close, then I'll sense her." Gregar summoned the bike, and gave the handle a short twist, blasting off. But he only travelled for a short while before he swung to a stop. "...Wait, the enemy is near."

"Are you sure? We're still in the side areas. They can't have gotten past the front gate so easily, or I'd have heard people shouting in the physical world."

Before Gregar could reply, there was a short scream from his left. One word, in a voice all too familiar. "HELP!"

Gregar jumped for a wall that was in the way and scaled it like it was nothing, vaulting over to see something that shocked him to his core. He saw his disguised self, saber in hand, in front of Flare as a Navi wrapped in white, almost translucent armor tried to hit him with a sickle, a cocky grin flashing. 'Colonel' was losing badly, barely on his feet and injured, yet still between Flare and the attacker. Gregar didn't hesitate for even a moment.

"YOU! GET AWAY FROM THEM!" Shouted Gregar, leaping down. His claws found their mark against the distracted enemy, and Gregar had enough experience fighting against scythe users to know just where to aim against a sickle. He slipped past the foe's guard and nearly deleted them in one blow, sending them crashing back from the force of his attack.

The translucent-armored navi suddenly lost the cocky sense about them. "They said there'd be no guards!" He hissed. "No matter, die!" He tried to cut forwards again. A grave mistake. Gregar fired a TailArrow straight into the attacker's chest, and prepared to strike.

"Gregar, destroy!" Instructed Arthur. "Thunder, GSTreble in!"

Gregar had no problem following that order. The Thunder found its mark, leaving the ghost-like enemy rooted to the spot and Gregar activated the Giga chip, knowing only it was going to be powerful. The copy of Treble's origin form materialised, and spewed a sea of Red, then Blue, Yellow, Green fire forwards, every wave doing a serious amount of damage, and leaving the attacker in double-digit health. Before they could recover, Gregar leapt onto them and slammed them to the floor hard, completely pinned.

The Colonel-like navi stumbled forwards. Gregar suddenly noticed something about him. This navi was still in development, adolescent by navi standards. Something inside him was especially enraged by that. Even the dirtiest of tactics the officials had been forced into against him hadn't stooped so low as even endangering a child. Even most navis on the Undernet weren't that bad.

"You... absolute scum." Said Gregar. He looked back to 'Colonel'. "Look away."

"What are you going to do to them?" Said Arthur, suddenly a tiny bit afraid.

Gregar's power surged around him, and the assassin flailed, their body starting to break apart. There was suddenly a flash, and Gregar was standing about two steps forwards, hunched over a little. The ghostly one was nowhere to be seen. Where did he- Gregar made a motion like he was swallowing something, answering that question. "...I'd have deleted him, but I want information. So we'll rip that out before I give him what he deserves."

There was a whimper behind him, from the navi that looked like Flare. The young Colonel stepped over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Iris! Iris, are you okay?!"

Iris took a shaky breath. "Brother..." She started crying. "Are we going to be deleted?"

Gregar realised they were scared of him, too. "I'm not here to hurt you." He shimmered, putting on his disguise. "I'm here to protect you."

Colonel looked up. "I... I'm not scared of you! You won't trick me by looking like me."

"You don't have to be scared. Please, find somewhere safe." Said Gregar sincerely. Arthur realised his voice was almost exactly the same as Colonel's, perhaps a bit deeper.

Colonel seemed wary. "But... we thought this place was safe."

Arthur had a good idea. "Gregar, you should stay with them and protect them. It's obvious they're an important target, and there might be more assassins."

"Good idea. You two... do you know anywhere around here that only has one way in or out? I can defend that easily."

Colonel shyed away a bit, then stumbled again. Iris caught him. "Brother, your wounds!"

Gregar leaned in. "...They're bad. He can't take another hit. Iris... can you carry him? I need to react fast if we're attacked."

Iris was just able to hold Colonel up. "Please, save my brother!"

"I will. If I switch back to my other form, will you be scared? That one would be easier to defend you two."

"...Yes." Said Iris. "But I just want to keep my brother safe."

Gregar nodded. "Stay as close to me as you can." He dropped the disguise, and his aura bubbled him. It covered a larger area than normal, but not that large. "...Arthur, do you know any way I can expand it more? If I stretch it too thin then it won't be as protective."

"Take this." Said Arthur, slotting in BugAura.

Gregar's aura took on a slightly grey tone, expanding much farther. "Alright, you kids stand inside this."

Iris gingerly touched the grey-green energy. It didn't repel her. "...What is this?"

"It's an aura." Explained Gregar, feeling unusually like a tutor. "It'll deflect attacks that do less than a certain amount of damage."

Colonel looked around curiously. "...Sorry I got hurt, Iris."

Gregar felt a surge of protectivity towards the two children. "I'll keep you safe. Arthur, is it possible to send some recovery chips? Can you send them to these two?"

"...I think so..." Arthur scrolled through a few menus. "Um... here, you'll be able to give it to Colonel. I don't have many recovery chips."

Gregar recieved a Recover80. "Take this. It'll heal some of your injuries."

Colonel healed a bit, and stood straighter. "Thanks, mister... uhh... what's your name?"

"I'm Gregar."

"Thanks, mister Gregar!"

"No problem. Let's keep going. Battle and children should be kept apart."

Arthur looked around. The alarms were still blaring, but they hadn't gotten worse and everything still seemed to be functioning normally. "I think Scilabs is winning the battle. I hope everyone's okay. I need to have someone check on Treble."

A few more minutes passed. Gregar and the two kids holed up in an alley, with one way in. Eventually, the sirens stopped. "Is it over?" Said Gregar. "...Or are there going to be more assassins?"

"I think the attack is over. Let's head to the entrance. And try and find someone to hand these two over to." Said Arthur.

Gregar started walking out of the corrdor, moving for the entrance. The two children followed. "Are you kids okay?"

"Thanks to you!" Said Colonel. "That was so cool, how you just beat that guy in a few seconds!"

Gregar could have sworn he heard a voice in his head. He's not like me. "...Battle is only cool if nothing depends on it. Trust me."

"So how did you manage to look like me?" Said Colonel, voice filled with wonder.

"That's a long story." Said Gregar. "Very long."

"I want to hear it!"

"No. We'd scare Fl- Iris." Said Gregar. "Iris, how are you feeling?"

"..."

"Iris?" Said Colonel.

"I'm okay." Said Iris, in a tiny voice.

Gregar was quiet for a bit, unsure what to do. "...Good."

They kept walking, and eventually came to the entrance. A lot of navis were milling around, mostly seeming to be recovering from a fight. Gregar called out. "Everyone? I have some navis here, they were attacked."

The attention shifted to him. PlugMan pushed his way out of the crowd. He was in a bad way, while he didn't show any signs of damage from battle he seemed ill, drained. "R-right... security..."

Ember followed him out of the crowd. "PlugMan?! You weren't supposed to help in the fight! You're already so weak, you could..."

"I want to do everything I can. Better to exist as a good memory than a useless navi." Said PlugMan weakly. "Security?"

A couple of orange navis came over. "How can we help?"

"Can you just guide those two young programs back to safety? Gregar can stay." Said PlugMan.

"Yes sir."

Ember looked at PlugMan in exasperation. "Jack out. I'll handle the talking. Go on."

PlugMan nodded, and logged out.

"What's wrong with him?" Said Gregar.

Ember looked downcast. "Not really my place to say. What happened to those two? And why are you outside the detention computer?"

"They got attacked. An enemy slipped through." Said Gregar. "And you'll have to forgive me for kicking the door down, but I'm not standing by while we get attacked. That's not how I do things."

"Fair enough. If you want to go with those two for now, that would be good. You can keep an eye on them for a while. Anyway, I'll see you for that rematch later, once I've sorted all this out." Said Ember.

"Once they're safe, you'd better come into my PET for a while until that door can be repaired. We don't want to attract Falzar." Said Arthur. "Oh, and can you tell Ember I need to ask her a favor?"

"Hey Ember. Can you have your NetOp speak to Arthur later?"

"Sure."


Treble woke up, feeling refreshed. The first thing he realised was Falzar was leaning against his neck, dozing. Treble found that both incredibly endearing and a bit embarrassing at the same time. "...FLARE." He said gently. Then the vented frustrations came back to him, and he decided to call something else. "FALZAR?" he rumbled. "WAKE UP."

Falzar didn't seem to be in a deep sleep, and sat up quickly. "Oh, you're up. Let's go." Treble got a look at her, and saw she was in a new disguise now, or perhaps simply her navi form without cosmetics. Her jumpsuit was a vivid red, the dress gone. Her chestplate remained, but it was joined by a pair of light shoulderguards and a helmet. The helmet framed her face neatly, a lock of now blond hair visible from the front. It was still unmistakably Flare's face, but the eyes were the same red as the jumpsuit, a piercing stare within. Treble wasn't about to say anything, but she looked beautiful AND deadly.

"OKAY." Treble got to his feet, careful not to step on Falzar. Although that probably wouldn't have hurt her.

"...You should return to your navi form. I don't want to attract attention." Said Falzar.

"OKAY!" Treble shrunk back to normal. "Better?

"I'm fully healed. And I've decided upon a plan." Said Falzar. "I want to reclaim the last of my power. Perhaps it can help me locate this elusive data."

"Reclaim? From where?"

"I stored 5% of my power within Alias' pet Mettaur, Zoano. It has not been automatically regenerated, as it already exists. Thus, I must reclaim it. And, I think that seeing them might help keep Flare calmed."

"Um... when you have all your power, will you change back into your original self?"

"Yes. I will become Cybeast Falzar. However, I will not discard my navi form. It has many practical uses."

"..." Treble wanted to ask about Flare, but after Falzar's private rant, he hesitated for a second. Yet his care for Flare won out in the end, anyway. "What's going to happen to Flare? Is she doing alright?"

"Her situation is unlikely to change." Said Falzar. "I'm simply adding to myself. Not overwriting anything. She does miss her allies."

Treble felt a dose of relief. "Alright. Then I'll help you. You can probably get it without a fight."

"What would you suggest? You have a better knowledge of the situation there."

"Well, I think they know Zoano has the only power you need. But I think I could convince them to let you have it. You wouldn't hurt anyone, right?"

"You're being naive. And even then, why would you help me get more powerful? Or further my goals at all? And of course I won't. Flare wants to see everyone again, even if I feel no attachment."

"Because I think that's the best thing to do. Keeping going is the best thing I can think of for both of us. But... if you want to talk to me about anything, I'll listen."

"Hmm. I do have a question, but it can wait." Said Falzar.


Gregar was deposited back into his holding area. "I wonder about those two. I hope they're going to be okay."

"I'm sure they will be. I'll ask about them, if you'd like. But for now, I have to go catch up to everyone else. Denny has some serious explaining to do... and I HAVE to send someone to look for Treble. That can't wait any longer." Said Arthur, walking out of the room. It was just a few short steps to reach Denny's room. He walked into what was basically some kind of war meeting. Blaze, Denny, and Lan himself were present, along with Chaud and a pink-haired girl Arthur didn't recognise.

Denny looked up. "Ah, Arthur. I owe you some explanations."

"First things first, I want to send someone after Treble. I need to know if he's okay." Said Arthur.

Blaze smiled, but there was something missing from it. "I'll have Ember whip over."

"...Is everything okay?" Said Arthur.

"PlugMan's gone. Out of DarkPower." Said Denny simply. "We both knew it was coming. We did think we had a little longer, but he didn't want to waste time on goodbyes with everything that's been going on."

"How can you be so calm about that?" Said Arthur, shaken. "He was your Navi!"

"He's hurting." Said Blaze defensively. "He just doesn't show it."

"Anyway. I have a lot to explain." Said Denny. "I... no, Blaze has been doing a lot for you behind the scenes. While you helped us get through the cybeast threat, and you did a good job doing it peacefully, we've been handling another threat. A hidden one. although there were times you nearly found out."

"Tell me everything." Said Arthur. "Especially why they'd have gone after Treble."

"It's Eurasia." Said Denny simply. "Our evidence against them isn't quite good enough to have them arrested, but thanks to the efforts of Blaze we know that Morgan hasn't been slowed in his plans even after you blew his operations to a degree. They've been trying to kidnap six programs, and we only found out which ones recently. Blaze, if you would?"

Chaud stepped forward. "She's operating Ember right now." He turned to a case on the table, and unlatched it. "These were the targets." There were two PETs inside. A green one and a white one. "At least, two of them. We only knew their true identity once I questioned Ember where she found that memory, but she and Denny had a plan in place already, thankfully. These are the LifeVirusRevived and Alpha, in navi form. Or as they're now known, R and Beta."

Lan picked up the conversation. "I fought and deleted a few really powerful programs with MegaMan. But eight were just something else. Two of them are gone, the original LifeVirus and Duo, but the other six were just waiting to be brought back. If what these guys have found out is true, then this Morgan guy actually found some way of causing them to revive and take a Navi form, and he wanted to take them to use. But we can't let him have them."

"But why would they want these- sorry, stupid question." Said Arthur. "I've seen Treble's power. Gregar and Falzar's too. That kind of power would be invaluable to an institution like Eurasia."

"Their involvement has been something we've tried to minimise, so you could have your chance to resolve things with the cybeasts. I didn't let you know anything because not only would it have distracted you, but if you'd let the information leak then we wouldn't have had the chance to bait their forces into a trap." Said Denny. "Still, FakeMan nearly caused a disaster."

"FakeMan? ...Was he that one who tried to attack Flare, when you wanted to capture her?" Said Arthur.

"That's the one." Said Denny. "Honestly, we were scared you might get suspicious and find out Eurasia was still going strong when we brought him in."

"...I understand why you did all this, but I wish you'd told me." Said Arthur. "I'm angry, but at the same time, thanks. So now what?"

"For now, we'll keep things under control with Euraisa." Said Chaud. "With the cybeasts now less of a threat, although still serious, we can justify turning some resources away from them. We want you to see that situation through to its end, in fact. That frees up Burn and Blaze to completely focus on Eurasia."

"It's a big responsibility, but ok. I can call on you guys for help if I need it, right? Falzar is still a problem I can't answer yet."

"Of course." Said Chaud. "The officials are on your side now. You proved Gregar innocent. If you can just get Falzar under control, we can justify letting her go, too."

"Arthur, I've found Treble." Said Blaze with a warm smile. "He's ok!"

Arthur clapped a hand over his heart. "Whew... mind if I speak to him?"


Falzar stopped suddenly. "Official. I sense one."

Treble took a sniff. "Oh, it's Ember! EMBER! HIII!"

Falzar looked to Treble warily. "...Are you absolutely sure she can be trusted?"

"Yep! Ember's nice." Said Treble. "And if she's not, I'll protect you."

Ember dashed over, grinding to a halt. "Treble, good to see you're okay. Arthur's been worried."

"Is he there?"

"He actually just asked to speak to you." Said Ember. She noticed Falzar, behind Treble. "Falzar. I'm not going to attack. Rules aside, Treble wouldn't be too happy."

"To say the least." Said Falzar dryly, recalling Treble disintegrating a navi and enjoying it. "But I won't be impeded."

"Treble, if you search, then Arthur's PET is connected right now." Said Ember.

Treble connected to the PET to see Arthur. "Arthur! It feels like it's been forever."

"Oh, I'm so relieved you're okay!" Said Arthur. "I heard that some assassins were sent after you. I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you..."

"Hey, it's alright! I was fine, and since I was with Falzar she was fine too."

"Good to hear. Scilabs got attacked, and there's another threat afoot as well. But we've been tasked with dealing with the cybeast conflict. Do you want to keep travelling with Falzar, or come back to me?"

"Well... uh, Falzar? You'll be going where I think you are next, won't you?" Said Treble. "We could meet up there. It's just, I really miss my NetOp. And you'll be safe from assassins around there, all your friends are around."

"I'll be fine. I don't need you." Said Falzar. "...I'm surprised you'd leave Flare's side."

"I don't want to be apart from either of you! Wait, maybe I could just stay connected to Arthur? You know you can trust me now." Said Treble hopefully.

"...Very well. But Ember will not be following us. I do not trust the officials." Said Falzar.

"Didn't plan to." Said Ember. "But we're trustworthy! Just don't do anything illegal!"

"Okay then. Let's go! With Arthur, I can't fail!" Said Treble.

Falzar sighed. So optimistic...

Author's notes: And we're finally getting near the end of the cybeast conflict! But there's more to do, any many powerful foes ahead. Hopefully this chapter isn't a plot overload, things will get a bit simpler soon. If there's anything you're confused about as a reader, leave a comment! I'll be glad to explain.

Reviewer answers!

RushAlias: They have a lot of faith in each other, as well as trust. Plus Arthur knows that leaving something as potentially dangerous as Falzar unchecked is a bad idea.

RandyPandy: A single piece of context can change everything, right? Sometimes even the biggest villains aren't the ones at fault. SheepMan is definitely justified, but at the same time he's a pretty smart guy. He knows that Treble isn't pure evil and that trying to undermine him would be bad, even if he hates him. Now that I consider it, just how powerful would that kid be?