Getting off the roof was strangely more difficult for Arthur than getting up. Valerie had swung herself over the edge and dropped down like it was something she'd outright practised, and Blaze had followed suit. Joe had walked off the edge, and just about lowered himself down, but Athur was trying too hard not to damage the roofing tiles.
"What are you waiting for?" Said Treble.
"I'm just trying not to damage anything!"
"Jump, then."
Arthur shrugged, and leapt. "Oof!" He brushed himself off. "Well, back to the labs then?"
"...Yes." Said Valerie. "If I'm buying into this craziness then I might as well look for the way out." She gave Blaze an odd look. "Although I'm still not sure about your claim."
Blaze shrugged. "Hey, I don't see any other possibilities."
"Hey, I've been curious for a while now, but... what kind of PET is that?" Said Arthur. "Technology's probably progressed far in 200 years. I mean, 200 years ago we didn't even have computers."
Valerie looked at the device on her arm. "This is a Transer. It's... uh, they... basically replaced PETs... look, I was never good at history."
"Ah. A shame, most historians would be ecstatic if they got a chance like this." Said Joe.
"So what can your Transer do? I'm curious." Said Blaze.
"Well, it can hold data and lets me fight viruses if I need to. Plus it has phone and email stuff."
"Sounds like a PET." Said Arthur. "Anyway, what about your... um, wizard, wasn't it? That must be where they're above PETs, if wizards can exist outside them. Right?"
"...I think so. Look, I'm just a bit overwhelmed right now. Give me space, ok?" Said Valerie.
"Can do."
"So anyway, I notice Chroma's kind of irritated right now." Said Blaze, to Arthur's confusion. "Is it because you can't hide from me?"
"...I don't see anyone." Said Joe.
"Don't worry about it." Smiled Blaze.
Valerie mumbled something.
"Huh?" Said Blaze.
"It's... 'Don't worry about it.'" Quoted Valerie. "You just... remind me of someone. So do they."
"...Tell me about them." Asked Blaze. "I'd love to know everything about the future. Even if it's just the people there."
"...Just a few classmates. I always liked to call them the triple threat." Said Valerie. "You three... I don't know, you're like them but a bit less... pushy."
"Hm." Said Arthur. "...I bet Ethan wouldn't be too happy to be left out of that. Quadruple threat doesn't have the same ring though."
"We ought to have a friendly battle. It looks like our technologies can at least fight each other." Said Joe. "Let's see if your math teacher's tougher than you gave him credit for?"
"..." Valerie shrugged. "I could swear I asked for space."
"Whoops."
They got into the labs to see Ethan waiting in the foyer. "Hey everyone. I'm not needed at the hall until the delivery arrives later today. So... this is the mystery girl, right? I'm Ethan."
"I'm Valerie."
"Want to NetBattle? It would probably be a good way to get to know each other." Offered Ethan. "But I guess I've got science if that's more your thing."
"...Can you help me work out how to get back to my time? I mean, I know you guys are all excited that I'm from the future, but.. I have friends there! What if I can't get back to them?! What if I... What if..."
"Hey, calm down." Said Blaze.
"Yeah, that's going to do it." Said Valerie, rolling her eyes. "I don't even know what hit me to send me here! And technology isn't advanced enough for me to wave change and actually try and use my abilities to find some kind of answer-"
"It's going to be fine." Said Blaze. "Let's go see if Lan can do anything about this?"
"Wait, Lan?" Said Valerie. "...Hikari?"
"Yeah, him." Said Arthur. "Smartest person I've ever met, and Ethan here is capable of rigging a forcefield to a bucket."
"..." Valerie seemed to gulp, before whispering something. Arthur could just barely make out something along the lines of 'Chroma, he's the most...'
"C'mon!" Encouraged Blaze lightheartedly. Everyone followed her to the Hikari lab. She gave a quick knock before coming in.
"Morning Blaze!" Said Lan. "We've been having a look at these anomalies, but not much luck. They're mostly fading away."
Valerie grimaced. "So I'm stuck here?"
"Don't give up so easily. Science is going to have a few things to say first." Ethan smiled. "So! How did you get here? As long as you know how, I'm sure Gregar won't mind powering your return back."
"Well... I was fighting someone." Said Valerie. "Then... I got blindsided. I'm sure it wasn't their attack that hit me- my opponent was surprised too. Either way, they hit me so hard that it apparently sent me back in time 200 years."
"200 years?" Said Ethan, giving a low whistle. "I heard you were from the future, but dang. So anyway, how would that work? Time travel shouldn't be possible..."
"...I have a theory." Said Lan. "The EM tech I'm developing... I feel like it might have acted as an anchor for her. After all, it's meant to be better at interacting with people, more able to influence and be influenced by them. So maybe it was able to give Valerie something to grab on to? After all, the last time this happened then Geo ended up near me because we both-"
"GEO DID THIS TOO?!" Exclaimed Valerie. "How- what-"
"You know Geo?" Said Lan. "Pretty cool, knowing that I was good enough at Netbattling to have someone name themself after my navi!"
"When did you see him? And... how was he like?!"
"Oh, it was a while ago. Near when all the mess on the net started, really. He came after me looking for... Um... I think her name was Sonia? And Roll got kidnapped too, so we worked together to rescue them." Lan was lost in thought for a moment. "Oh! you need a wave hole."
"A what." Said Arthur.
Lan was pulling parts off a desk. "Ethan, I need a soldiering iron and the Black capacitors."
Ethan put a hand in his pocket. "What are you making?"
"Basically an electromagnetic doorway. It'll let Valerie use her technology. Thankfully it's simple enough..." Lan took a huge box of crocodile clips and wires out from under a desk.
"You're as brilliant as I was told..." Whispered Valerie.
"I'm sorry, but I don't have a clue how to get you through time. But at east if we know it's EM tech then I know what to start with." Said Lan. "Hey MegaMan, do we still have dad's Wave hole program?"
"I think so, Lan."
Blaze looked to the side. "So, there's nobody here to freak out at you, or reveal your secrets. Maybe you should go visible?"
There was a brief pause and Valerie spoke. "Might as well give up. It's obvious she's... You know."
There was a ripple in the air. Arthur could just make out something, as if there were a ghost in front of him. "...You must be Chroma."
"Who else?" They said. "...Ugh, I don't like the visible spectrum. Radio is more comfortable. People shouldn't be able to see me unless I shift into their spectrum, but... she's a rulebreaker."
Blaze grinned. "It probably doesn't help you that my frequency-"
"It's not the same as hers." Said Chroma. "Close, but... not the same."
"Aw. Well, I suppose that's not a big deal in the end." Said Blaze.
Arthur's PET beeped. Treble called it out pretty quickly. "We've got a security alert! Get me into the net!"
"On it! I'll handle this." Said Arthur. "Hang in there, guys."
Arthur ran off to the lobby.
The receptionist was looking at the computer. "It's terrible! They're trying to get into the labs!"
"Treble, hunt!" Arthur said confidently.
Treble appeared in the network. "It smells weird in here. Like that wizard."
"...This must be connected to Valerie's appearance." Deduced Arthur. "Move quickly- we can't afford to let them into the labs."
Treble took off at a sprint. Then halted. "Viruses! But... I don't recognise any of them!"
"VariableSword, Left Down Right."
Treble slashed the closest one, and it was still deleted. "Okay, at least that still works."
"They look like Mets with halos. Angel Mets?" Said Arthur. "Not many here, at least."
"Apparently they're called Mettennas?" Said Treble, sinking his claws into another one.
"They're fluttering nuisances, that's what they are!" Shouted Falzar, flying in from the side and shredding one on her talons. "There's a lot of them coming in from all sides. Ethan's got us clearing them up. You get after the ringleader."
"Right!" Treble ran in deeper.
"Do you see anything?" Asked Arthur.
"...ProtoMan!" Treble ran over.
ProtoMan was kneeling, damaged. "I was careless... they outnumbered me. I've activated security to slow them down- hurry."
"Right!" Treble ran forwards, stopping again. "Oh."
"Aw, the letter puzzle. Okay, the passwords are randomised, so... Where's the hint program?"
"Here! So, give me your hint!"
The Mr. Prog looked up. "Peekaboo!"
Treble blinked. "...Hmm..."
"I've got it." Arthur looked at the band of 6 letters on the floor. "...I. C. U. I see you. Probably would have been harder with less choice, but go on!"
Treble stepped over the panels. "Nice! Onwards." He passed into the next area, and immediately looked up. "Hey!"
Some kind of monkey-like program was climbing a wall to try and bypass the security gate.
"Get down here!" Treble started firing his tail buster, and they fell down. Now that he got a closer look, they were a in pink, white and blue, and they were definitely a wizard, not a navi. "...What are you trying to break in for?"
"Wohahah! Wouldn't you like to know?"
"...Leave." Said Arthur. "I'm giving you a fair chance, here and now."
"Idjit!" Mocked the wizard. "Take this- BadaBoom!" They lobbed a small pink bomb forwards, and it burst in midair. Treble raised a hand in front of his eyes, and the smoke cleared to reveal... the security gate, now with a hole blasted through it.
"After them!"
Treble started sprinting again, and as it turned out, he was much faster than the bomber. Before they reached the final gate, they were tackled- and spun quickly trying to pry Treble off before generating a blast and forcing him back.
"...So, who are you? Why are you here?!" Demanded Arthur.
"I'm here from- eh, fugeddaboutit. All you needa know is I'm bustin' this place up!" They had the strongest accent Arthur had ever heard in his life. Almost comical.
"Treble, destroy!"
Treble jumped forwards and tried to stab them, only to be knocked away by another explosion.
"They didn't call me BaboonKaboom for nothin'!"
"Sword, WideBlade, LongBlade! LifeSword!" Said Arthur.
Treble kept a wary distance, waiting for his enemy to make an attack. Thankfully they had no patience, immediately trying to throw another small pink bomb at him. This time Treble dashed forwards, ducking and bringing the sword up in a powerful arc that missed his enemy's chest by a fraction of a second, as they jumped back and threw another two small bombs, one from each hand. They went far, missing completely, but just as Treble was about to leap into the air and dunk him, he exploded again, launching himself higher and knocking Treble away.
"That. Is REALLY annoying!" Treble picked himself up off the floor just in time to be knocked back by another bomb, and dodging yet another one to see the trigger-happy baboon just haphazardly throwing them in every conceivable direction, not even bothering to aim.
"AquaNeedle, Thunder, Reflector2. Knock him down and keep him down."
Treble raised a hand and three needles zipped down from behind the flying monkey, stopping his explosive antics briefly. Treble was already running as they fell, and hit with the Thunder before putting all his strength into one pissed fist. even if the data between the two wasn't compatible enough to cause a bug, Treble was more than capable of doing damage with his claws and other weapons. The foe got up, and raised a shield of some kind.
"Wohahah! Try it, ya punk!" They taunted.
"Don't try it." Said Arthur. "I'll send a break chip, just give me a moment for the PET to be ready."
Treble suddenly looked to the side wildly. Arthur glanced, just in time to see someone drop-kick the baboon in the back. He went sprawling to the floor, and the newcomer managed to land on their hands and flip back upright. Arthur recognised them instantly. "The warrior from Ethan's video... No... Chroma? That you? But you have legs now..."
"Here to help!" Declared the fighter.
BaboonKaboom turned, heaving a large bomb in their general direction, only for another navi to soar over maybe-Chroma's head in a jet-assisted jump, and slash the bomb with a burning blade.
"You're gonna have a rough time taking on two fire users with bombs!" Said Ember, barely fazed by the point-blank explosion.
"Oh really? Well, Baddabing!" They clicked their fingers, and a blue bomb appeared in their hands. They pitched it forwards, and Ember dodged effortlessly, before slashing him again, and now Maybe-Chroma was also upon them.
"Spectral Scream!" They shouted, and a massive wave of fire washed over their enemy.
On one knee, trying to weather the assault, it was clear that BaboonKaboom was going down fighting as they cast another spell. "Badda. Boom!" A wave of multicoloured bombs materialised around them, and all rolled outwards.
"PowerBomb!" Chroma threw a small bomb at the enemy, and it promptly turned into a huge explosion, triggering the smaller bombs summoned by the last spell. Treble was swept off his feet by the force, and Chroma was forced to avert their eyes, but Ember stared down the enemy, and then brought her hands forwards and gave her knuckles an intimidating crack.
"It's over, MasterCross!" Said Ember. Suddenly she split into five, each copy in different armour. The copies rushed forwards, each drawing a weapon. Fists. Claws. Whips. Swords. Icicles. Nobody could have hoped to ward off the flurry of attacks that commenced, Ember knocking the wizard this way and that, and finally jumping back and all five charging power, before letting a blast of power forwards. It knocked BaboonKaboom off his feet.
"I ain't... done yet... ya punks... Big Bang!" He started to glow.
"HeroSword, go!" Called Arthur, sending the data. Treble ran forwards, drawing the golden blade of light, only to get knocked back once again.
"Ya can't... get past the blast shield in time!" Taunted the wizard.
Chroma ran forwards, and glowed for a second. "That trick won't work on us!" They declared. Arthur suddenly realised he could hear a voice from Chroma that was familiar. That was... Valerie!"
"Catch!" Treble tossed the sword's data, and Chroma caught it. They nodded, and ran forwards.
"You're done!" Shouted Chroma and Valerie. They ran forwards, shrugging off the blast shield like raindrops, and then jumped, and for a second, Arthur saw a pair of dragon wings appear behind Chroma, before they dropped down, and drove the HeroSword through BaboonKaboom. There was a crackle, and a flash of light. The attacker was gone.
"...Easy enough. But he got away." Said Chroma.
Ember looked up. "Arthur, come back to the lab. We'll explain."
Arthur got back to find Valerie sitting down. "Oh, hey. Looks like you worked out it was me in there."
"Yeah... How on earth did you- I mean, you didn't use the pulse-in machine." Said Arthur.
"It's what happens when certain people fuse with their Wizard- we can become EM waveforms." Said Valerie. "...Most people haven't seen Chroma, so I've kept a good secret identity back home. Don't spread the knowledge, okay?"
"Okay... Any idea who that attacker was?"
"No... only that they were obviously from my time."
"Well. Good." Said Ethan. Everyone gave him a confused look. "It means there must be a way for them to travel through time on demand. So if we can trace these guys, then that takes care of all our problems."
"...Fair enough." Said Blaze. "But what do we do now? They escaped pretty cleanly."
"Why were they here, anyway?" Said Lan.
"...I wish I had answers." Said Arthur.
"Then let's get some." Said Joe. "I'll go contact Denny, he has eyes everywhere. Ethan, you talk with Zero. Arthur, have Treble sniff around the area where you just had that fight. Blaze- you and Lan plot our next move, since you actually know what's going on."
"O-okay!" Said Blaze. "But what about Val?"
"Val?" Questioned Valerie. "..."
"Yeah, Val. It suits you." Said Blaze. "...Maybe we should use our... abilities, to check for any more anomalies?"
"...Alright."
"Okay everyone, move out. Team aviators will get to the bottom of this!"
"Treble, find anything?"
"Nope. I guess he must have escaped by going outside the computer, where I can't follow."
Arthur sighed. "I suppose it makes sense." He saw Ethan approaching. "Oh, did you get anything from Zero?"
"Unfortunately, no. It's as if he appeared from thin air- and he probably did. So annoying. Anyway, I'm heading down to the hall. If nothing comes up, want to come down to Eastfall tomorrow?"
"Well, we both know-"
"Yeah, there'll probably be a meteor strike before we get a quiet day." Smiled Ethan. "But there's going to be a concert at the mall."
"...I'll try and come. Sure. mind if I bring my friends?"
"More the merrier." Said Ethan. "Anyway, good luck getting the investigation forwards." he walked off.
"...I wonder if Valerie would mind if I asked her some questions?" Said Arthur. "...I kind of want to know what the future is like?"
"Let's go. We have to report to Blaze anyway!"
They caught up with Blaze in one of the parks. "So far, so good for anomalies. Doesn't look like we're going to have any more unexpected guests."
"Nobody could find any hints relating to where that monkey came from. Which... is quite troubling. If we can't trace them, we're sitting ducks for attacks from time travellers."
Blaze nodded. "But I can give some forewarning if someone will appear somewhere, so we won't get caught out. Hey, Valor, found anything yet?"
A disembodied voice called. "No... we can't sense any more. So far, it seems like the incident was isolated."
"Great!"
"Where is she? Is she just..."
"Well, right now she's a bunch of radio waves, so you can't see her." Said Blaze. "Although I guess if you really had to see her she could just drop out of that form and randomly appear in the park."
"It's okay. But now what? I feel like all we can do is wait for them to make a move, but that... well, we've seen how that doesn't always work."
"No, you're right. For the time being I guess I'm just going to have to spend some time getting to know my- her."
"Alright. One last question then... Could... could you ask her if she knows what happens to any of us in the future?" Said Arthur hopefully.
"I'm right here you know." Said Valor. "...Well, Joe's navi ends up as a maths teacher. I'm going to ask him for his card. See if he remembers me. Aside from that... I'm not sure."
"If you two are free tomorrow, you should come to Eastfall mall. One of Ethan's friends is putting on a concert, and I think it would be good for you to meet all our navis. Plus you can probably get some souvenirs that aren't made anymore."
"Look, I'm worrying over whether I'm going to see any of my friends again and you're talking about souvenirs!" Said Valor. "I don't think you understand how bad this is from my point of view!"
"No, you're allowed to freak out. But I think that if you can be relaxed then you'll have a better chance of success. So... well, will you come?"
"Fine, fine. But don't try and introduce me to any more people, please. I've already had to deal with... too many." Said Valor.
"Good. Well, see you tomorrow."
Sunday, Arthur was sitting on a bench in the mall while Treble ran around in it's network. "Where are they? I hope they haven't run into any trouble..."
"They'd call if they had." Reasoned Flare, as she watched Treble and Gregar just racing around the area. "...Will they ever slow down?"
"Okay, we both know Gregar would sooner wear his feet off than lose, and Treble is a naturally fast runner who has a surplus of energy."
"I just wanted to chat with him. Chatting is nice..." Murmured Flare. "Still, I wonder if she'll come into the network and say hello to us? I wonder what happened to us in the future too..."
"...Well, you are immortal within reason." Said Arthur. "We know MathMan is alive and well, and if even Gregar can't kill you, then I bet you are too. I doubt Treble or Gregar would go down either, I don't see them getting deleted short of getting stuck in an area that gets shut down or put in a PET and lost- but nobody is stupid enough to do that, so... I bet you're all fine." Arthur sighed. "Of course, I'll be long gone."
"...Sometimes I wonder what I'll do without Ethan. I... don't like to think about it much. I want these days to last forever."
"But they can't." Said Arthur. "...Well, I came here to be cheerful, so I'll leave this conversation here. How's the presentation going?"
"Ethan's been spending hours trying to learn his lines for revealing the systems. The rehearsals are tiring him out, really." Said Flare. "...Oh, here's Blaze."
Blaze strode into the mall, with Valerie in tow. "Sorry we're late! Had some train trouble."
"Understated much?" Said Valerie.
"Hey, I'd call it a learning experience!" Said Blaze. "And we now know that the portable save-your-butt machine works." She tugged her backpack.
"...There was another time traveller on the train." Said Valerie. "We've take care of it, but they got away again. I tried checking outside the network, but... I think they escaped through time."
"...It make sense, even if it gets us nowhere. The concert's starting soon."
Ethan came over, holding all three of his PETs. "Hey there. Couldn't get Joe and William?"
"They already had plans. I don't see Alicia anywhere."
"On holiday. She's halfway across the world." Said Ethan, as everyone walked up the stairs. The concert was set up just like the last one, with a few rows of chairs and a tiny stage with a backdrop. Unlike the last time, four musicians walked on, all holding instruments of their choice, and then a conductor Arthur vaguely recognised as Ethan's friend came on.
"I thought your friend was a saxophonist?" Said Blaze.
"He's multi-talented. Actually... He just really loves music. He can play the piano and the guitar too." Said Ethan.
"...So, I randomly got sent 200 years through time and just fell in with a bunch of friendly strangers who took me to see a concert. What has my life become?" Said Valerie in reflective confusion.
"I don't think it was random, honestly. Billions of people and places on earth, and you happen to end up near some of the only ones equipped to help? I bet there's a reason." Said Arthur.
"Shh, they're starting!" Said Ethan.
The band started to play, and while they didn't have the depth a whole orchestra could have provided, they all had good skill and timing, resulting in beautiful music. Arthur couldn't help but feel relaxed as a a guitar was strummed at a slow pace, while the navi provided backing sounds.
They sat and listened for a while, as the band cycled through maybe a dozen songs, before finally stopping and taking a bow.
"Nice job buddy!" Shouted Ethan at the conductor, who grinned. "So, what did you think? He pretty good, right?"
"He's something." Said Valerie. "...Does he do this for a living?"
"No, but I'm sure he could." Said Ethan. "...Anyway, want to check out the mall? Or you could meet our navis."
Valerie considered it for a moment. "...I'm either stuck here forever, or never going to see this place again. Let's go and look around the shops. Maybe I can find something antique."
They wandered around for a while. Valerie was fairly quiet, but Blaze seemed to have made it her personal quest to give the girl a good time in the past. She pointed out at least a dozen shops, and nearly dragged Valerie into some of them. Valerie didn't buy a thing until finally coming into a laid-back shop full of cooking equipment.
"I always liked home cooking." Said Valerie.
"Hey, me too." Said Blaze. "We've got a family recipe for banana bread. I always have to get Burn to cook it, I'm not that good myself."
"In the future, a lot of people have automated kitchens. It's impossible to find any new stuff for mine without paying way too much to get it from a specialist." She took some scales, and an electric whisk.
"If you cook, you should buy a cookbook." Said Ethan. "I bet some recipes have been lost to time."
"Even with the net to record them?" Questioned Arthur.
Valerie took a cookbook from a shelf and opened it. "...I recognise most of these."
"There's only really one other shop you might be interested in. No wait, two." Said Ethan. "Clothes or tea?"
"Tea? I thought that was... always kind of upper-class, I guess. And I have plenty of clothes." Said Valerie.
"Well, you don't have plenty in this period of time." Said Arthur. "You'll have to wash them eventually."
"Are you suggesting I need to wash my clothes?" Valerie suddenly sounded like she was about to murder someone.
"N-no! No!" Arthur instantly went bright red. "I didn't mean it that way!"
"Kidding." Valerie finally smiled, for the first time since everyone had known her. "It's been three days and I've been in battle a ton. I guess I do need some more."
Arthur internally went out of panic mode. "Okay... well, your choice as to where you go first then."
An hour later, everyone was sitting outside the tea stall, with tea. With the exception of Ethan, who was drinking coffee. "Well then, what should we do now?" Said Ethan. "We don't really have any leads to follow for this, so..."
"Well, when we encountered the time traveller on the train here, they did let something a bit weird slip." Said Blaze. "...They sounded like they were trying to stop someone doing something- but... well, the weird thing is is that they never mentioned they were trying to prevent something."
"This... well, finally some important information!" Said Arthur. "Now we know they're trying to stop something, then it's probably something major one of us will do, right?"
"Right." Said Ethan. "...And I bet that's my reveal." he sipped his coffee.
"Don't jump to conclusions. Why would they bring me here if they wanted to stop you?" Said Valerie.
Ethan frowned. "Hmm... Yeah, that makes no sense..."
"For the time being, Ethan can just be on guard. The reveal's the day after tomorrow, so that's not long to wait." Said Arthur. "Until then, I guess we should just get ready to make sure it goes smoothly? I'm happy to go backstage and be security."
"Same here." Said Blaze.
"Thanks. And most of my friends will be in the crowd, plus Lan and his lot. Security should be pretty good, and you'll see a time-traveller coming, so... should be fine. Aw c'mon Ethan. You don't get nervous over something like this." He told himself. "Anyway... there's one other thing we could do while we're here before we all go home."
"Oh?"
"Do you want to go and speak with our navis?" Said Ethan. "Pretty sure we've all been thinking it, right? Not like they see humans in person often. Electromagnetic humans from the future? That's got to be a once-in-existence chance."
Valerie nodded. "I'm not wave changing here though. Too many people."
"Here's the machine, if you want to just go and stand behind that tree. I'll pick it up." Blaze held out her backpack.
"Machine?" Said Arthur.
"The portable save-your-butt machine." Said Blaze. "It just makes something called a wave hole for a few seconds."
"...I think portable hole would be a better name." Said Ethan. "But okay."
Valerie took hold of the backpack and wandered off. Arthur faintly heard her call out 'Val Ayaka, on the air!', and then a few seconds later Treble perked up.
"I smell her. Yeah, there she is!" He pointed over to Valor, as they walked over.
"...You know, I've literally never socialised as Valor before." They said. "This is our battle form."
"It's nice to see a human again though. And you're probably much more resistant to bugs than Arthur if you're wearing that Chroma guy."
"...I never really thought of it as wearing him." Said Valerie. "...Weird thought. So... wow, there's quite a few of you. Let's see... Treble... Ember... and I swear that one in black is called Alias."
"Right!" Said Alias. "The other two here are Gregar and Flare."
"Hello." Said Flare.
"Hey." Said Gregar.
"...Which is which?" Said Valor.
"Gregar is the wolf, Flare is the falcon." Said Alias.
Valor offered a handshake to Gregar, the closer one. He somewhat awkwardly took it. "So normally I get to know people by battling them, but... hmm..." He sighed. "Guess you'd have to log out if I won. Maybe next time."
"Can..." Valor narrowed her eyes. " Okay, two canines, can either of them be petted or is that condescending?"
"There are exactly two beings in the world that are allowed to pet me without losing their hand, and you're neither."
"Yes! Yes!"
"Valerie, I don't know about this. We should at least try and be cool or something." Echoed Chroma. "This isn't a petting zoo. And, uh... I'm feeling a hint of something..."
"Shh." Said Valerie.
Arthur noticed Flare glaring just a little, but decided not to bring that up. Valerie gently touched Treble's head.
"Heh, and to think we were trying to kill each other about two days ago, eh Chroma?" Said Treble.
"Oh, the frills are squishy." Said Valerie. "...Huh. This definitely does not feel like a normal dog. Wolf. Whatever."
"So what do you want to see in the cyberworld?" Asked Flare. "There are viruses, if you want to do some easy fights."
"I used a fair amount of energy this morning in battle, no thanks. Are there any sights to see?"
"...Central area's statues?" Offered Ember. "Although if you just wander around, then I suppose this will all be new to you."
"...Yeah. Might as well make the most of this opportunity, before we all go home for today. Guide me."
Author's notes: I feel like there are spelling errors in this but I'm too tired to root them out. College. I love my college but it can be tiring sometimes.
