Rei Saiko
Age:23
Country of origin: Japan, Hashima Island
Education: K-12 completion, graduation from West DenTech University, majored in Navi development, computer science, mathematics, communications. Developed Navi at age 19.
Note on Past Experiences
Assistant to Gauss Magnes in the process of turning into a combat Navi. data for 's abilities were modified and used as the core for 's hypnosis abilities. (Note: Advise Saiko not to use the Hypno Flash on Lan Hikari. General surveillance on the boy -seeing grades, observing general behavior, obtaining thrown out report cards- suggests he is in the medium range, smart enough to register the effect, but too stupid for it to affect him. Shoot on sight instead.)
Takeo Inukai
Age: 45
Country of origin: Japan, Tokyo, Yanaka Ward
Education: K-11, falsified documents made by Inukai that showed him having completed the school curriculum. Despite this, developed at age 16. Currently working as a Zookeeper at the Yoka Zoo.
Was able to implant obedience chips into zoo animals and fool regulation and oversight committees into thinking they were regular 134.2kHz microchips. Despite only completing the 6th grade, his smuggling ability is not to be doubted. The bragging is a problem that needs to be rectified immediately. The Gospel and the original WWW has had such idiots in its ranks, and the less Lan Hikari and know, the better.
Noboru Sunayama
Age:32
Country of origin: Japan, Shinjuku
Education: K-12 completion, graduation from Tokyo University before it's closure, majored in Navi Development, Computer Science, Mathematics, Communications, 3D Modelling, Network Development. Bachelor of Applied Science in Film, Television and Digital Production. Created at age 14, modified into combat upon joining organization.
Crimes for potential blackmail:
Extortion (2nd degree)
Threatened DNN president at time into paying him under the table, otherwise the information on him working with Gospel would go public. As of today, Sunayama's monthly wages are approximately ¥218285000.00, 33% of which is being used to fund Pulse Transmission development, as well as hire test subjects for the prototypes
Extortion (2nd degree)
Threatened DNN president yet again at a later date to allow construction of a gate on Hades Island Cyber Network that connects to the Undernet. Extra funds were also procured from the president's bank account to do this as discreetly as possible, to avoid rousing the wrath of the Undernet's more powerful denizens.
Note on Past Experiences
Out of all three, Noboru Sunayama presents the most danger. His adherence to 'TV ratings' and love of the dramatic could make him a potential turncoat. Inukai's brutality and need for destruction makes him a potentially more loyal unit, being simpler to please. Seek deletion of Sunayama should his obsession ruin the plans.
"These three are the best you've got?"
From his desk, deep in a skull shaped cave within the raging Demon Tides, Lord Albert Wily stared at the bushy haired specter of a child, her hair, longer than her body, seemingly glowing all the colors at once, as was her skin. "Yes, these are my minions Mayu, and get out of my private server, I'm sick of the complaining to me about you!"
The '10-year-old' specter rolled her eyes and did just that. She didn't move an inch, but Wily heard the little creeps sigh in relief, some crying as they put the dossiers back into their proper place. "Thank you. As for your question, I've handpicked these men, and 2 more human operatives, for their skills and competency. Take Mr. Saiko for example, a fantastic record of assassination, years of murder both on the physical and digital realm under his belt! The first Tetracode is within the Hikari brat's school, and with the modifications to FlashMan's beam, Lan wouldn't even be able to jack his Navi in before the knife slits his throat!
"And in case he fails somehow, Inukai's plan will surely get the job done!" Hacking into the Hikari family records was something that Wily could admit was a pain not worth attempting. The best he could do was change the field trip scheduled in the upcoming month to the Yoka Zoo. "And if Lan somehow manages to jack in, Inukai's Navi will get rid of that blue pest! And Sunayama, Sunayama-"
"Please stop gloating daddy." Mayu chastised, floating in front of his face. "Your back can't take another bout of 'Mwahahaha!'"
Wily grumbled. "Yes, you're right. And don't call me that!" The little sadist stuck her tongue out at him before floating back to the other side of his desk. "That's enough for now, what did you come here for?"
Mayu tilted her head at him, confused. "Oh, that's right!" She remembered with a snap of her fingers. "My little project's going along pretty well! My favorite's back and ready to report!"
"Ah, the Ice Navi."
"LRIG."
"I'm not calling them that, just summon her!"
Mayu closed her eyes and held out her hands to the desk. An icy blue pentagram formed a few centimeters above it, icicles shooting out like spears through flesh as what looked like a stage made of ice forming in the center as she began her chant.
A Girl prayed to fulfill her wish.
Scattered strange gene "wixoss"
all around the world fusion into one form.
Searching in vain for a fight...
Victory will be the only way for her
wish to revolutionize.
Now, shall her "Wish Across" be conquered.
And in a flash, she appeared. Wavy blue hair with the left side longer than the right, reaching past her cheek. Pale skin as white as snow, her face being the only thing she had left of her original human form. An icy blue bodysuit covered her entire being from the neck down. and her Navi insignia was quite detailed, far more so than most other custom Navis with a seemingly painted image of a young Japanese teen. She was a brunette, eyes closed and hair done in a left side ponytail. Her eyes were closed as if she were sleeping, hands clasped as if in prayer. "Good evening Lord Wily, Lord Mayu." She kneeled towards Wily, her voice and face blank and expressionless. "My mission is complete."
"Excellent, Piruluk. Did the school's Navis give you any trouble?" A nod from her nearly made him break into a manic fit of laughter, but he had to mind his health. "And is your Selector asking any questions?"
"No.
"Excellent!" Those two boys probably wouldn't even recognize her, how hilarious! "Once you scout out the school, message the schematics to Saiko and Flashman.
"Understood."
"Yes, you may-" Wily put a hand to his mustache, rubbing it. "Ah, that's right. Not to worry; your friend is still alive. Not from a lack of trying from your former LRIG. I'll send you the updated medical data via tomorrow."
"...Understood. Thank you." Her job done, she teleported out.
"Mayu, has she been getting belligerent?"
"Nope! She's probably anticipating meeting her first friend again! Oh, but I can tell it's eating her up inside!"
The noises coming out of the girl's mouth made Wily regret ever teaching her how to laugh like a proper villain. But he could ignore that. 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it' was a favorite motto of his, and it worked for him in the past when stealing the materials needed for the Life Virus. Soon Thomas's family's greatest legacy would come undone, and in a way, it would be the Lights that would have ended the world. "Cybergeddon is near," he whispered to himself wistfully as he looked up at the dreary ceiling of his hideout. "Alpha will soon be freed, and all will reset to zero."
WESTERN DENTCH, MURASAKI WARD, 22:33
HAS LOGGED IN.
Just have to activate the cameras aaaand... good; she wasn't here. Letting out a groan of relief, Piruluk began to relax. She wished her Selector upgraded her PET. the Model 1 variant, with it's tiny keyboard and 22GB storage, was hard to move around in, and the modifications her Selector had done to it -touch screen, larger RAM- were barely enough to make her feel comfortable in this claustrophobic nightmare. Still, at least she was alone. now all she had to do was wait for the- "WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?!" . Her current Selector picked the PET up, staring her in the eye. Fair skin, unkempt shoulder-length orange hair, and some wrinkled clothes she just randomly put on. Akira Aoi, her Selector, was awake. "I nearly missed my photo shoot because someone didn't set my alarm!"
|My apologies, Miss Akira.| Just die already. |I had business to tend to; namely setting up the tracker on your rival's PET.|
"Oh?" And now the little cunt was all smiles again. Fakeness, that Piruluk could handle. "Then why didn't you say so Pi-Pi? Tell me, where's that little bitch headed?"
|To the Kotobuki City limits.| Her Selector stifled the curse that threatened to escape her lips. "Exactly." How exactly Iona and her LRIG could even enter the Cyber Chernobyl escaped her, especially given how dangerous it was for LRIGs. |The tracking function still works within the city, so if-|
"Nope! Uh-huh!" Akira slammed down into a nearby chair. "I don't even want to think about that dump of a city, or even step foot in there again!"
|Understood. Is there anything else you wish from me? I still have only two Life Cloths left, so if you wish to replenish my stock between shifts, now is the time.| She could never forget the Navi her Selector foolishly ordered to fight. Even with the ARTS Chips that edgelord with the fish helmet and dumb cloak nearly deleted her. They hadn't been in a fight since.
"Grrrrrrrr…" Akira gritted her teeth, remembering that stupid Navi. "Fine!" She pocketed the PET and headed out, ignoring the stagehands and the other employees around her. She was staring at her PET's screen, body on autopilot as she blindly and expertly walked to her destination. Two flights of stairs later she was up on the roof. "4 bars, signal strength in the green, Ener levels stable…" Oh yeah, she needed to recharge those, didn't she? "Alright, we're ready to go!" She held the PET up to the sky, a bright, white pillar of energy shooting from the device's infrared port into the night sky, invisible to all but those who were chosen to participate in this twisted game. "PLUG IN, ! OPEN!"
ACDC Town, 22:36.
Hikari residence.
|That feeling again…|
Bringing the PET out of sleep mode, activated the house's security cameras, turning on the energy scanning function and pointing it in the direction of Beach City. |I knew I wasn't glitching out!| That energy felt so familiar to him. But why?!
LOGGING ONTO HIKARI HOMEPAGE.
OFFICIAL NETBATTLER LICENSE RECOGNIZED. (NETSAVER V2, ©SCILAB, 2055)
BATTLECHIP FOLDER PERMISSIONS GRANTED TO NAVI .
CHIP FOLDER DOWNLOADED TO REGISTRY.
MEGA CHIP LIMIT: 7
GIGA CHIP LIMIT: 7
RUNNING ANTIVIRUS SCAN…
SCAN COMPLETE. 44 VIRUSES FOUND ON HOMEPAGE. BEHAVIOR IS BENIGN, WILL POSE NO THREAT.
END STARTUP SEQUENCE? [Y/N]
STARTUP SEQUENCE ENDED.
LOGGING ON.
In the past, the calming blues of his home away from home would be welcoming. The were happy, his friends came over, and it was just a nice place to relax. But then Lan had to go and think he was a hot shot programmer, and now… this thing was what greeted him!
"Lucky Lucky, Aki-Lucky! Lucky Lucky, Aki-Lucky!"
Again and again on repeat, each and every single day! That annoying repetition had been grating both his and the ears of the that lived here, as well as any Navi that visited -well, used to visit- ever since Lan decided he could try uploading his own custom wallpaper. He used to like Akira Aoi, found her quite cute and her personality refreshing. Now he and the live in fear of the Bethesda level nightmare of modeling incompetence staring down at them from above, looking like an X-ray and a bad render at the same time with 90s level texturing, her favorite quote stuck on a repetitive, never-ending loop of madness. What 'fun!' And what was worse was that dad refused to remove the eyesore as punishment for both of them. For Lan, it was modifying data on the super expensive computer without permission. For him, it was being stupid enough to let Lan modify data on the super expensive computer without permission.
Quickly, very quickly, he ran to the homepage's warp gate, ignoring the crying . And soon found himself on the safety of ACDC Area 1. "Finally…" Now to see where this energy was going.
ACDC Network, 23:32
Area 1
The locations of businesses and homes on the network corresponded to their locations in the Human World. AKA, the Hikari household was on the same street and geographical location in the Cyberworld as it was in the Human World.
The gate disappeared as MegaMan exited into the area, and two minutes later he was waiting at the bus stop, sitting down on the translucent green bench as he mentally counted his bus fare, aka the internet bill for the month. ' 38K for the internet, 82GHZ connection, so I can afford the fastest bus. ACDC to Beach City should cost-'
[Hello sir!] Oh, sweet lord, he recognized that flanging effect on the voice! [Would you like to hear about the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?] MegaMan looked up, very slowly, and gulped as he saw the Navi in front of him. No face, no features, just an empty doll with a symbol above its head. It was a symbol all Navis feared one you needed a plugin just to see. [For just ￥ 55,000 a month, you could get the Lord and Savior's word straight to your homepage! Whatdya say?] This wasn't a Navi; it was an Adbot.
"Thank you, but no." And then he logged the Navi's ID into his system and blocked it, rendering the Navi invisible to him. Which should give him at least six minutes of reprieve until it changed its ID. Using that time, he called the bus, waited 4 minutes until it arrived got on, and sat down. And he just knew from the looks on everyone's faces that the thing followed him on board, still talking about selling Christian videos to him. 'Just keep focused, just keep focused…' He could lose it in Beach Square. Adbots fry like moths to a light when they go there, and luring them to squares was often a thing young Navis and some Netops - like Lan, GutsMan and Dex - did to pass the time.
The bus drove off, MegaMan looking at the passengers to see where they were staring, and punching the space next to it, causing everyone to sigh in relief. But they knew it wouldn't last; these things didn't stay down until you bought something from them, or killed them. And if you killed one, more would come. He, like everyone else, remembered Gospel's global freeze of the entire global Network just a month or two back, and how these abominations ran rampant. If there was anything everyone agreed on, it was that leaving them alone and letting them talk was the best way to get them to stop talking to you.
Beach Area 1, 24:10
Tapioca Shopping Mall lobby, closing time.
Tapioca Mall was one of the biggest online shopping centers in central Japan. Hosting over 50,000 stores connected to retailers all across the country, it was anyone's go to place for shopping online, paying and delivering to your doorstep in a quick, secure, and easy manner. It was so big that the CyberTransit System had its own stops and routes in and out of the mall. Security was high, even now at closing time, with powerful, heavily armed and armored Navis stationed at the many store entrances and entryways, armed with sci-fi equivalents to SIG Sauer MCX Carbines. After WWW and Gospel, it was rare to not see these guys in major places of business and areas of high travel, and they certainly did their job, their presence alone scaring many HeelNavis away. Shame they couldn't do anything about the Adbots.
[Look at these nudes!]
"No."
[Look at these nudes!]
"No."
[Look at these nudes!]
"No."
[Look at these nudes!]
"No."
[Look at these nudes!]
"No."
|Oh, for fuck's sake…| Piruluk heard her Selector say on the other end. |Just shoot the damn thing!|
"You know full well that won't work." Even with this NAT cloak she bought, she had a pretty good feeling that her IP Address was already logged into this thing's systems, and no way was she going to risk the same happening with government security as tight as this by firing a live weapon.
|I don't care! You both have been saying the same damn thing on repeat for days!]
"It's been 40 milliseconds, 30-"
|Don't fuck with me Navi! Is that damn Link up?!|
"45%" That little bitch's screams were so delightful under the right conditions. "Estimated time until-" Her eyes widened. "Oh."
[Look at these nudes!]
LRIG (2) DETECTED.
|Finally, some action! We can steal their Life Cloths! Go over there now!|
[Look at these nudes!]
"Understood." That signal...it's just like the one Wily installed in her databanks. The different shades of blue, the yellow ridges on the helmet, the Hikari family emblem on his chest. The scourge of WWW, the savior of Kotobuki, he was coming here, and like it or not, she'd have to kill him, for her sake. 'I'm sorry Lan.' There was no way they planned this meeting, but Mayu was probably giving her father a front row screening to the upcoming event. 'I'm so sorry.'
[Look at these nudes!]
Piruluk just stared at thing before giving it a fake E-mail account and running off. That oughtta buy her a few minutes. She'd kill Lan's Navi and the two LRIG's in his vicinity, though why she was sensing MegaMan and not picking him up on her other sensors was a mystery. It was almost like her systems thought he was an LRIG or something!
Unbeknownst to the blue LRIG however, her target was suffering from similar pains as she was.
[It's almost closing time little boy! Jesus frowns on those who don't follow the rules!] Because he couldn't get rid of this stupid Adbot! [Let us listen to a sample of the King James Bible full version available for download for ¥6000!] The automatic sidewalk MegaMan was on would be more like a walk of shame if there was anyone else about, listening to the Book of Psalms for the twelfth time! Well, that was a lie. This Adbot was glitched out heavily, so he was only hearing the first six lines of Psalm 74, over and over and over and over and over and over again!
[O God, why have you rejected us forever? Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture? Remember the nation you purchased long ago, the people of your inheritance, whom you redeemed— Mount Zion, where you dwelt. Turn your steps toward these everlasting ruins, all this destruction the enemy has brought on the sanctuary. Your foes roared in the place where you met with us; they set up their standards as signs. They behaved like men wielding axes to cut through a thicket of trees. They smashed all the carved paneling with their axes and hatchets.]
'Don't kill it, don't form your Buster, .it!] No weapons, not here! The source of the energy signature was getting closer, 6 minutes away. 'I can get off there and make a run for Beach Square. Just a bit more!'
[Why thank you, young lady! May the word of Jesus Christ enrich your daily life!] MegaMan blinked; someone paid that thing?! He turned around to see the Adbot teleport away, and in front of him was the girl that paid for his freedom. "Thank you?" This was odd. No Navi insignia, her rig was excellent given her 3D Model, and she looked very familiar. Her skin was fair, not a hint of imperfections, and yet the bump mapping on it was done so well it didn't look 'fake' like designer Navis you could buy at the store. 'Energy signature, 4 minutes away.'
"Sup Mega?" Her attire was pink: pink T-shirt, Pink shorts, pink boots, and pink, fingerless gloves and Hello Kitty-esque hat. Her blonde hair cascaded down to her feet, thick and well detailed, and interacted flawlessly with her body without clipping into it whatsoever. In fact, there wasn't any clipping at all! Even for an expert programmer, making clothes for Navis instead of the usual simple armor and bodysuit- like the maroon one she was wearing, and no Navi insignia to boot- was hard, arduous, and not worth the time. Clothes in the Cyberworld were either physical representations of what the Navi's NetOp wanted to buy, or a status symbol to show off how much money the Navi or NetOp had, and while he'd seen more elaborate clothing in illegal Undernet sales alone, this outfit set expensive enough that the money that went into it could've been better suited paying off at least 2 mortgages "...Is something wrong?"
"Uhh, sorry miss, but do I know you?" Why did she look and sound so familiar? She's using some form of audio filter, a faint one, but it was throwing him off track. "Thanks for getting rid of the Adbot and all, but if you're looking for a favor-"
"-What's wrong with you?" The girl asked. "Lan tried messing with your settings again?" MegaMan backed away and raised his arms into defensive position. "What are you doing?!"
"How did you know that?" Battle Chip selection loaded. "That was on a private server!" The guards had their gazes on the two right now, but he didn't care. "Who are you?"
"..." The girl just stared at him. 'He's not joking…' He's acting as though she was a stranger, but that couldn't be right! "Hold on, let me clear this up."
OPENING PET VID-CHAT
SENDING TRANSMISSION LINK
|Huh?| A cute, pale-skinned redhead with brown eyes was suddenly staring down on the two Navis, via a holo-screen only the two could see. |Roll, what's going on? I was busy!|
"Sorry Mayl, MegaMan's acting weird and I just wanted to show him that everything's ok!"
A check of the transmission link's ID proved that he was talking to the real Mayl, which meant… "Why are you dressed like that, Roll?"
"Dressed like what?"
"Like a human!" Eyeing her attire, he missed the looks of panic both girls had. "And you have skin showing! How much did this cost you?" And it was upon hearing Mayl whisper 'Oh crap!' that he knew something was up. "...You didn't pay for this, did you?" He saw that look of fear plenty of times, the same look Lan had when he did something he shouldn't have.
|Hey, we didn't steal it! Roll's always had this outfit! How can you see it?| Mayl's eyes narrowed, staring at MegaMan with the same level of suspicion he was giving to her. |Unless you're an LRI-| NAVI HAS SET VOICE CHAT SET TO MUTE.
"I heard L-RIG. You didn't mute it in time, so I heard her form a G. What's an L-RIG?"
Roll giggled nervously. "Oh, you're so silly Mega! It's an acronym that stands for-"
"Activating search function now, and keep in mind you can't Jack Out in the mall."
A twitch began to form in Roll's eye. "Oh, good." She ignored Mayl's constant texts to unmute the channel. "Look, I-" NAVI CHAT FUNCTIONS OVERRIDDEN. CHAT PERMISSIONS TRANSFERRED TO NETOP.
|MegaMan, we're here on personal business, nothing illegal! You've known me since you and Roll were our nanny Navis, do you really think we'd steal something this expensive and come to one of the biggest, most heavily armed malls in the country?|
"I-" ...That was a good point. MegaMan relented. "You're right; I'm sorry Mayl, Roll. you ever get this feeling that you're...meeting someone important and you gotta beat them up? I've been having that feeling a lot, especially after I left the PET to go to Beach City. first that feeling, then the Adbot, and now this L-RIG business, it's making my head-" He suddenly ran towards Roll and grabbed her, jumping into the air with her in tow as a wave of water came towards them.
"What was that?!" Roll's face told him the answer. "Was that from an LRIG?" He landed on an awning, placing Roll down on the roof behind it as the attacker came into view. They wore a light blue cloak, one that made their body as transparent as ice, and completely hid their figure. UNABLE TO ACQUIRE DATA ON LRIG. ACCESS DENIED. Well scanning them was a bust. And again with LRIG, just what was that-
"It's 'girl' spelled backwards." Of course it was. The guards weren't reacting to what just happened, only staring at the two of them cautiously, and the temperature hadn't shifted in the slightest. 'That was a fake!' And a quick scan proved that. It wasn't ice, it was a movie file! And since he was the only one who acted, that meant no one else but him heard or sensed it!
The playback of the fake ice attack ended, causing it to disappear as the cloaked figure turned their attention to the two of them. MegaMan could see their body shift slightly upon looking at him before turning to Roll. "The Girl who Escaped...I've finally found you." So it was a girl after all; that was rare.
Roll gave a nervous smile as MegaMan turned to her. "W-what's she talking about? I don't know what's going on either! Hehehehhehehehehe…."
The figure shook her head. "Of all the people I didn't think I'd meet here, the last two I would expect to meet were you two. Oh well. Two for one deal." She held out a card, one that MegaMan couldn't look at without getting a headache -same as the guards too it seemed- but Roll? She had no problem looking at it. "In any other circumstances, I would ask how you escaped this wretched game. But I need to refill my Life Cloths, and you're still tied to some aspects of the game."
"What are you talking about?!" Roll yelled, MegaMan rolling his eyes at the poor acting from his friend. "I'm not into WIXOSS or anything!"
"Oh, for Pete's sake..." MegaMan formed his Buster. "Let's just fight, far away from here please."
"Don't worry, that won't be a problem." The card began to glow. "Since neither of you have participated in a fight for an extended period of time, you have no choice but to fight."
"Tch!" Roll gritted her teeth, loading her Card Folder as MegaMan began cycling through his Chips. "Fine. We have no choice. Mayl?"
|Yeah, I got it!| She shot a regretful look at MegaMan before pointing her PET's infrared port to the window outside. |Ready Roll! Battle Routine, Set!|
"...Execute." If she believed in God still, then she would be praying MegaMan would survive this. He had the skill, but not the strength, and in this twisted game, you needed both. "GATE OPEN!"
Piruluk sighed as she looked at MegaMan. 'Killing two people to save one.' Not the worst thing she's done since becoming an LRIG.