Chapter 14: [Universe C] Harnessing the Power Act II
- Life can be as unpredictable as the ocean, some days it is calm and peaceful and on other days it is torrent and stormy. When harnessing a new power is like sailing in the ocean at first it will be rough but over time it will become a thrilling and adventurous event. -
Morning floods over the Anahi South Sector, Netto, Frost, and Henshin were already awake and eating breakfast again. All of them were eating different brands of cereal. "So what are we going to do today?" Frost asked. "We can go look around Akemi City," Henshin suggested, "I mean the Anahi Section alone had at least four sections I mean what does it say about the rest of Akemi City." "Good point," Netto added, "Should we ask Seimai-kun and Roudou-chan for a tour?"
At the same moment, Netto got an email on his TS PET, "It's an email from Mei-kun." "What does it say?" Henshin asked.
Hey guys, this is Mei,
A friend of ours from the East Side of Anahi invited us to her birthday party, we're going to pick you up from our Team's van.
Thanks,
Your best bud, Mei
"I'm pretty interested in this East Section," Frost said, "it will be a good experience to explore and learn more about this dimension's city."
Later that day, Netto and his gang were transported to the East Sector courtesy of Seimai, Roudou, and the rest of the OverDrive Team.
The East Sector reminded the children of their life back in Universe B only it was upgraded for the rich and famous to enjoy. It was near the beaches in which various people were either lounging under the sun or colorful parasols, swimming on the beach, or other activities. Behind them were a set of tall buildings that house luxurious condos. "Whoa, so this is the East Sector?" Ruby said looking around, "I feel jealous of those who could afford all of this. This is way beyond my wildest imagination."
"That's not all," Mei said, "You should see the condos. Our friend and her Navi, live there and it feels like a five-star hotel!"
"Really, so where is the condo located?" Ruby asked. "They're located in Nissie Springs," Luna informed, "It's not far from here, only a short walk." "Then let's go!" Aimi said, "I can't wait to meet them!"
- Anahi Sector [East Side] Nissie Springs -
Inside one of the condos was a breathtaking view of the ocean and beach. The walls were colored blue but the ceiling was white and the couches were a light yellow to compliment the walls and rugs with stripes of red and decorations of white rope and flags. On the wall on the right side of the window was a white cabinet that houses a T.V., a model sailboat, and a painting of a beach with a hibiscus bush with red flowers. A clock designed as a life buoyant with blue stripes was attached above it along with an air conditioner.
There was a walk-in kitchen with white cabinets, an oven with carved blue and white marble and fine porcelain, white and blue vases to compliment it and a marble counter to finish it.
On the couch was a girl in her adolescent years with blond hair and blue eyes. She wore a red hat with a red ribbon with her Navi's emblem on it, a blue and red vest with white borders over a white shirt with frills, a semi-transparent skirt with a yellow stripe that shows her blue summer shorts and brown boots. Her Navi had a blue helmet with a red heart on the front and a white stripe around it and yellow, folded hair that reaches her shoulders. Her bodysuit was black. Her armor was white with a blue miniskirt, blue gloves with a white stripe, and red boots with two white rings. Lastly, there was a red cape with a white stripe attached to her back. Her emblem was a red heart with white ribbons on a blue background, surrounded by a yellow ring.
"So Jillian, our friends have bought moreover to visit us," the NetNavi said. "Hm? I wonder who these new people our friends bought would be like?" Jillian pondered, "Oh well I can't wait to meet them."
Nissie Springs was a small complex of condos that circle a pool with palm trees in a hexagon formation.
"So where's the one is Jillian and Applause live in?" Henshin asked, "All these condos look the same to me. The same tan color is kind of hard to distinguish." "That may be true to the untrained eye but each of the buildings has the symbol of a tropical fish and a plant." Ruby squints her eyes and notices that obvious. The buildings have a picture of a tropical fish and plant on the right side. "Hey, you're right! I see them!" The brunette girl said, "So which one is theirs?" "It's the one with the clownfish and Begonia Plant," Luna informed. "Oh yeah, those!" Aimi said, "My aunt sends them from her trips to Asia." "Which parts of Asia?" Netto asked. "I think the southern parts?" Aimi replied.
"Here we are," Seimai said, "They're on the fifth floor in Room 502." The lobby was similar to a resort hotel. Some parts of the floor were white tiles while other parts were wooden in a diamond-shaped formation. The place was decorated with palm trees and some hibiscus flowers. They all gather around the reception desk to inform the receptionist that they arrived. The woman with short brown hair and two white barrettes in her hair had her dark brown lit up in recognition of the twins, Mei, Luna, and their friends. "Oh, it is you two, I see you bought more friends than usual!"
"Hello Clarissa," Seimai said, "Yeah, we're here to visit them." "Okay, I'll let them know," Clarissa said as she presses a few buttons on her phone to contact Jillian. "Yes, Jillian? Your friends are to visit you, they brought more friends with them." She then hangs up, "Jillian and Applause are ready to see you."
After taking the elevator and arriving on the fifth floor, Seimai knocks on Room 502's Door. "Jillian," he said, "It's us." "Come in, Seimai-kun," Jillian cried out. The door opens and everyone was let inside. "Whoa is that your Net Navi Jillian?" Aile asked. "Yes," the blonde girl replied, "This is Applause my NetNavi." "Nice to meet you all!" the female Navi said, "I'm Applause."
"Hey, I'm Netto Hikari," Netto said.
"I'm Ruby Unido," Ruby added.
"Frost Kumo," Frost said.
"I'm R.C.," R.C. introduced.
"I'm Draga," Draga said, "Nice to meet you."
"I'm Felica," Felica said.
"I'm Angel," Angel introduced.
"Hey, I'm Henshin Daiidairo!" Henshin greeted with a peace sign.
"I'm Aile," Aile introduced while holding a fist.
"I'm Ciel Rei," Ciel said with a small said.
"I'm Aimi Tsubuki!" Aimi said.
"I'm Briana Triana," Briana said.
"I'm Stacy," Stacy said.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Bulleta Assaina." Bulleta blankly said.
"I guess we have a whole party here," Jillian lightly joked, "Anyway do you remember what today is?" "How can we forget?" Seimai said, "Today's your birthday! We bought presents." "Oh, you're too kind," Jillian said, "Well my parents are coming this year along with the other members." "Other members?" Frost asked, "You mean they're more than you two, Mei, Luna, and the other Net Navis?"
"That's right," Roudou said, "You'll meet them later." "Alright, let's start the party!" Henshin said with his fist up high. "*giggle* I guess your friend is very enthusiastic," Jillian said amused, "Let's go, my parents are waiting!"
- Anahi Sector [East Side] Luxury Calla Beach -
The Luxury Calla Beach was very beautiful as it was one of the best spots on the East Section of the Anahi Sector. As its names suggest, a wide variety of Callas adorned it in which various gardeners were tending them. "Whoa!" Aimi said, "This is so beautiful! Callas as far as my eye can see!" "So where is the party taking place?" Briana asked. "There's a hotel not far that reserves birthday parties," Jillian informed, "That's where my birthday will be taking place."
The hotel was called the Calla Growing Ingrain Hotel or C.G.I for short. The inside was very grand with green carpet, wooden furniture with some restaurants open up for the guests. But the most spectacular was the glass Callas that seem to grow out of them. "Whoa, this hotel is so grand!" Aimi said. "I must admit, this hotel is quite beautiful especially the glass Callas," Stacy commented, "I wonder how long the artist took to make all of those?"
"Are you Jillian?" A gentleman with neatly combed black hair and red-brown eyes wearing the standard black and white waiter attire. "Why yes, that's me," Jillian said. "Your birthday party is being held in Room 6," the waiter informed. "Okay, thank you, sir," Jillian said, "Come on, don't want to keep the rest of the guests waiting."
As they arrive at Room 6, they were greeted by all the party guests. "Surprise, Happy Birthday Jillian!" They cried. Jillian was very grateful, "Thank you, everyone." After the whole greeting, everyone was either eating their food or chatting with each other. Netto noticed Jillian and Applause meeting with their parents. The mother had waist-long blonde hair like Jillian and share the same blue eyes. She wears a long white dress that shows off her slim figure and wore a pearl necklace and bracelets. The father shares the same hair color as Jillian and the mother but had brown, sierra eyes. He wore a grey jacket with blue cuffs over a white suit with a black tie, grey jeans, and black shoes. Netto felt a bit nostalgic as it reminds him of meeting with his parents with his NetNavi by his side.
"Hey, Netto!" Ruby cried snapping Netto from his trance, "You should try the food, it tastes really great!" On her right hand was a plate full of cake pops dipped in chocolate, fried shrimp, some cheese cubes, and crackers. "Huh, sure, I'll go try some," Netto said. The brunette falls in line with the rest of the guests and notices R.C. behind her. "Something wrong, Netto?" R.C. said, "You zoned out for a bit before Ruby brought you back." "Oh, just a little homesick that's all," Netto said. "I see, miss your loved ones?" R.C. asked. "Yeah..." Netto trailed off almost tearing up by the bittersweet memory. "It's all right if you miss them," R.C. said, "It's quite normal actually."
After Netto gathered some food from his plate, he was about to go to his table when he accidentally bumps into someone. "Ah, I'm so sorry!" He cried. The person who he bumped was a young boy around his age, "Hey, you okay?" Netto looks up to get a good description of him. His short black hair with green highlights in different shades and dark green eyes, the only thing that caught his eye was there was a pink scar on his right eye. He wore an open collar, brown jacket with short sleeves that had dark magenta stripes, light blue scars, and grey buttons over a sleeveless purple shirt, black jeans, dark green shoes with light blue stripes with black soles. 'What happened to his right eye?' Netto blinked, 'Did he hurt himself, or was it an accident?' "Is something wrong?" the scarred boy asked. "It's just your scar," the brunette blurted. "Oh this," he said touching the pink scar, "It's nothing. I've got many questions about this but I don't mind. It's just a reminder of what I lost." "What you lost?" Netto asked.
A female voice called out the boy's names, "Keitai-kun?" "Oh, Haya," Keitai addressed the female voice. That female voice belongs to a female NetNavi. She had long, spiky white hair that came from the back of her azure helmet that vaguely resembles a beetle with two white horns in different sizes and colors and semi-transparent magenta ribbons. Her eyes were blue but her left eye had a noticeable green scar-like Keitai's right eye, pink scar. Her chest armor resembled an open, blue-collar vest, gold diamond shoulder pads, and gold gloves. A white belt with cranberry gems on the hips and over-the-knee white boots with magenta accents and gems. Her emblem was a black triangle on top of a dark blue circle on a blue background.
"Sorry, I've got to go," Keitai said. He disappears into the crowd along with his NetNavi. "Who were they?" Netto blinked. "There you are!" R.C. said finding the brunette in the crowd. Behind her were Roudou, Blade, and Draga. "Is something wrong?" Draga asked, "You look like you saw a ghost." "I saw an operator and his Navi," Netto replied, "But the weird thing was that it was a male operator and a female NetNavi duo. "Male operator - female NetNavi duo?" Draga said confused, "isn't that combination pretty rare? I know the female operator - male NetNavi is pretty common but the opposite is very rare. I was starting to think those don't exist." "I believe you saw Keitai and Haya," Roudou said, "They're one of the best male operators and female NetNavi duos on our team." "Yeah, but what's with the scars?" Netto said. "They said it was to commemorate a fallen family member," Blade replied, "Though I'm not too sure who, but it seems to be the original operator of Haya." Netto was curious about this, "Original operator? You mean Haya wasn't always Keitai's Navi?" "No, Haya's first operator was Keitai's older sister, Chaya Nihon," Roudou explained. The purple-haired girl then looks down with forlorn, "Those poor things, they weren't the same when Chaya died due to an unknown illness." "An unknown illness?" R.C. said confused, "You mean it was a life-threatening one?" "Yes," Roudou said, "They were beyond devastated, but they seem to be alright. Though I think her death left some scars that time may not heal, physically and emotionally." Netto frowned and felt empathetic towards the two. It reminds him of what Rockman was coping with his death, physically he will be fine as NetNavis doesn't usually get permanent scars but emotionally was a different story. He clutches his vest in worry, 'No, Rockman will be fine. I'm sure Papa will keep him company.'
Meanwhile, Stacy, Bulleta, and Natsu were eating their food next to the wall since all the tables seem to be occupied. "My, these rich parties are really something!" Natsu said savoring the flavor of the hotel food. Stacy nodded, "Indeed, the food is something of high quality." Bulleta was enjoying the food as well but in silence. She looks up to see an unknown guest. She was intrigued by her presence, was she another guest? The mysterious female guest had long blue hair tied into a ponytail with a simple white, hair accessory and blue eyes. Her skin was slightly pale. She wore a light blue, hoodie jacket with white stripes on the sleeves over a black T-shirt, grey fingerless gloves, simple jean shorts, black over-the-ankle socks, and grey shoes. Lastly, her insignia, a white feather on a dark blue background around a silver ring was attached to the right side of her jacket around the breast area. "Who is that girl?" Bulleta pondered. "Hey, who spiked the punch?" A guest cried. Her attention was reverted to a male guest who was trying the punch then realizes that alcohol was present after taking a sip. "Alcohol, but that's impossible!" A female employee said, "Someone must have sneaked it in when we weren't looking. I'll replace it." "That's dumb," Stacy commented, "Who would spiked punch at a kid's birthday party? Most of us are barely legal age." Bulleta looks back to see the blue-haired girl gone, "Strange that girl is gone. By the looks of it, she was eyeing Netto with caution and worry. Why was she interested in him?" "Bulleta?" Stacy asked, "Are you there?" "Huh?" Bulleta looks back at Stacy and Natsu, "It was nothing..." 'It's not like they would believe me anyway...'
After Jillian's birthday party, Luna had brought them to Celosia Mall. As the name suggests the mall was decorated with Celosia, a small flower belonging to the amaranth family that is used in food and garden plants. Different types were placed around the mall. "Wow," Aimi said at the flower arrangement, "Look at all the Celosias." "Yeah," Ciel added, "They really outdid their selves." "Why don't we do a little clothes shopping?" Draga asked. "Oh, hell no," Frost protested, "If you're going to go clothes shopping, then carry your own bags." "Oh come on, Frost," Draga assured, "We're not going to buy too much." "I have to agree with Frost on this," Henshin said, "last time we shopped we had to carry loads of shopping bags because you girls were on a shopping spree." "I remember that," Frost added, "So much agony..."
"Um, if it makes you feel better, I'll help," Netto offered, "Well your help will ease the workload will help a little, but trust me those bags can get heavy," Frost warned.
The mysterious girl that Bulleta saw early had completely changed her appearance. Her skin was slightly tanned, her hair was blonde and her eyes were a pale green. She now wore a black T-shirt over a salmon pink V-neck shirt, both wore tucked for a brown belt and blue skirt. Her gloves were now pink with black cuffs, her socks were a darker shade and her shoes were now pink.
Bulleta notices the girl again not by her appearance but by her facial features. "Hm? That girl again?" She noted, "Why is she following us?" "What's wrong, Bulleta?" Aile asked. The duo pigtailed girl turns back to face Aile. "Someone was watching us just now," Bulleta said. "Huh? Someone following us?" Ciel said confused. She looks back to see that the mysterious girl had vanished, "Are you sure? I don't see anyone." "Could it be a spy from T.I.F.F?" Stacy noted. "I can't be too sure," Bulleta said, "But I believe she might have set her eyes on Netto." "Netto?" Ciel said, "Is it because he is the Aaron?" "For now, we need to keep a close eye on him," Bulleta said, "If she is an agent from T.I.F.F. then she is waiting for an opportunity to get him alone, contact them to plan an attack to distract the officials, and take him away." "But how will we know that odd girl is working for T.I.F.F?" Stacy asked, "We have no proof and we can't report to Luna on suspicions alone." "We need to find a way to lure this girl and confront her." Bulleta planned, "So here is the plan."
"Hey, Netto!" Ciel piped up, "Is it okay if I go shopping with you guys?" "Huh, sure," Frost said, "I can sure use a change of clothing." "I thought you hate clothes shopping," Henshin teased. "I just hate carrying the bags around, alright," Frost argued. "Sure, you can come with us Ciel-chan," Netto said. "That's great!" Ciel said. As she follows them she felt a presence following her. The unknown girl's appearance had now changed. Her skin was now very dark, her hair was black and pink eyes. Her ponytail was now arranged to come at the top than below. She wore an open blue vest over a black T-shirt, black jeans, white knee socks, and blue shoes.
Inside a clothes store in the boy's section. Frost, Henshin, Netto, and Ciel were browsing the shirts and pants. Ciel was looking through the socks section when she comes across some long black socks. "Hey Netto," Ciel cried, "I found something for you!" "Hm? What is it?" Netto said, "A pair of long black socks?" "I believe these will fit you quite nicely!" The blonde girl insisted, "I'm sure you'll like them." "Thanks, Ciel," Netto said as he takes the socks from her hands. The girl was now wearing red hair with her hair down and brown eyes. She wore a white composite jacket over a black T-shirt, blue mini skirt, floral pattern white stocking, and black shoes. Ciel slightly turns to meet eye contact with her and takes notice that her insignia and facial features. 'Is that the girl that Bulleta warned?' Ciel thought.
"Hey, Netto can we go somewhere place private?" Ciel asked. "Huh? Sure, what do you need to talk about?" Netto asked. "Just something in private." Ciel replied, "Hey Frost and Henshin, I'm taking Netto out somewhere else." "'Kay, stay safe," Frost said. He was too busy browsing through the jeans.
The girl then follows Ciel and Netto, this does not go unnoticed by Henshin who saw her follow the duo out.
After Netto purchases his socks, Ciel then takes Netto to the part of the mall that no people were present. Some of the places were either empty or closed. She then ushers Netto to sit on one of the benches that were circling a palm tree. "Wait, here," Ciel instructed, "There's something in the store, I want to check out. So stay here and I'll be right back." Netto nodded and sat on one of the benches.
As he was waiting, the girl was standing there with her appearance drastically changed. She now had brown hair tied into a high ponytail with a blue ribbon and brown eyes. Her clothes consist of an open blue jacket, white-collar T-shirt, brown shorts, fluffy beige over-the-knee socks, and blue boots. He looks up and sees her. "Huh? A girl what is she doing here?" Netto said confused, "Hey are you lost?" "No," the girl said, "In fact, I have found what I've been looking for." "Huh? What do you mean?" Netto asked. "I have found you, Netto Hikari, the vessel of Draco," the girl announced. "What!" Netto said in shock, "What do you know about Draco?" "That's enough," Bulleta cried as she and Aile stepped in front of Netto and confronted the girl. The girl was shocked by this sudden ambush. "I was correct, you are after Netto!" The black pigtailed girl then removes the sword from the hilt and held it close to the girl's neck, "Talk, what is your motive?" "Tch, all right you got me," the brunette girl said. The air around her suddenly starts to distort in a computer glitchy effect. After that, she reverts to her appearance that Bulleta first saw her. "What," Aile cried in shock, "She can change her appearance at will?" "Yes, allow me to introduce myself, my name is Ava," the blue-haired girl said, "I am a Guardian searching for vessels of Draco or Purity and protect them from those who wish to harm them." "A Guardian?" Netto asked, "You mean to tell me that someone sent you to protect me? But I already have protection." "That may be true but there are other forces at work that may try to capture you by other means necessary." Ava warned, "Please let me join your team. We both have the same goals as we both want to protect Netto from any harm." "Hmm~, well you seem to be telling the truth," Aile said crossing her arms, "I mean, you don't seem like a threat. All right you can join our team."
"Did you confront the girl?" Stacy said from her hiding spot. Ciel also came back from the store. "Stacy?" Netto was confused, "You and Ciel were also involved?" "Yes," Ciel said, "we were worried that Ava might be an agent of T.I.F.F. so we kept a close eye on her. She actually fooled us pretty well, I didn't think she had that ability." "Netto and all of his friends," Ava said, "I will assist you from here in now." "Ava, thank you," Netto said, "even though we barely know each other, I believe we'll be great friends!"
After regrouping with the others, Netto notice that some of his friends had changed into their new outfits.
Ruby had now wore a shorter red jacket with ribbons around the sleeves, her blue skirt now had flame designs in it and black bracelets one of them had her emblem sewn onto it. Her leggings were longer and she seems to ditch her red scarf so her ruby diamond necklace was better seen.
Frost's scarf was white instead of cyan, his jeans had button strap-ons and white winter boots with blue lace. Around his waist was a brown waist bag with a pouch to store his P.E.T. and battle chips.
Aimi was wearing a new set of clothes. Her clothes were similar to his world's sailor fuku uniform. The navy-style collar was black with a magenta ribbon tied around it, the sleeves were around the elbow area and her black skirt had white and pink stripes on it. She still retains the black choker and bracelets.
"I see you changed into your new clothes," Bulleta observed. "Yeah, well it was nice to have change clothes," Ruby said.
"Hey, who's that with you," Aimi asked pointing to Ava. "This is Ava," Ciel introduced, "She's going to be our new member." Everyone just gave half-hearted hellos to her. "Not the best first impression..." Stacy noted. "Well, Ava welcome to the team," Draga greeted.
- Anahi Sector [East Side] Eastin Maple Hotel -
The Eastin Maple Hotel was located near the heart of the East Side. It was a large skyscraper that towers all the other small buildings in the area.
Jillian's aunt, Capris had invited her friends to swim in their pool as a celebration of Jillian's birthday. Almost everyone was dressed in their swimsuit attire.
Netto wore blue swimming trunks with yellow highlights. Frost wore simple, pale blue swimming shorts.
Henshin's swimming shorts were red.
Draga was wearing a two-piece swimsuit with heart patterns on it.
R.C. wore a one-piece swimsuit with a skirt design with light blue trim on the sides.
Felica wore a red swimsuit top and blue shorts.
Angel's was a two-piece swimsuit with wing designs on it.
Stacy wore a green one-piece swimsuit with black shorts.
Bulleta's was a simple, black two-piece swimsuit.
Natsu's was a simple one-piece swimsuit with lavender and white stripes around the chest and waist area.
Aile's was a blue swim top and black swimming shorts.
Briana's was a white one-piece swimsuit.
Ciel's swimsuit was a pink one-piece and Aimi's one-piece swimsuit was an aqua green.
Lastly, Team Overdrive wore their swimsuit attire. Seimai was wearing blue and black swim shorts.
Roudou was wearing a two-piece blue swimsuit with her Navi's Logo on it.
Luna was wearing a blue one-piece swimsuit with starry patterns on it.
Mei wore dark magenta swimming shorts.
Jillian wore a blue, red, and white striped swimsuit.
Their Navis were all either wearing goggles, inner tubes, or both.
The only people that were not wearing swimsuits were Ruby and Ava.
"Hey, Ruby-chan are you not going to wear your swimsuit?" Netto asked. "Sorry, guys but I'm not interested," Ruby said with a sad smile, "You go on without me." "What about you Ava?" Aimi asked. "Swimming is not my thing," Ava replied, "I just see it as unnecessary." Jillian then leads everyone to the swimming pool area.
There were beach chairs with blue and yellow umbrellas and small tables to put their belongings on. The tiles were ceramic and the pool itself was a clear blue. Everyone was amazed at the quality of the place.
Ruby was nervous at the sight of the pool which got Ava's attention. "Alright, everyone let's put our belongings somewhere safe and we'll go swim," Jillian instructed. Everyone agreed and went to put their belongings on chairs near the pool. Then various splashes were heard as they all jumped into the pool to swim. "Hey, Ruby," Ava started, "Why are you nervous when you see a body of water." "Huh? Oh, you mean, why I get nervous when I see the pool?" Ruby clarified, "Well, you see I can't swim. I know it's embarrassing since where I live I'm near the beach, but I can't stand going near the deep water." "Why is that?" Ava further protruded. "Well, when I was five, I almost drowned," Ruby said reliving that memory, "Good thing my friends were there that day, otherwise I wouldn't be here."
"I see," Ava concluded, "So the reason why you refuse to go swimming is that you were traumatized by that drowning event when you were 5?" "I know it sounds childish but it was so scary," Ruby said, "Nowadays I can handle swimming in the shallow water just not the deep." "I see," Ava said. "I know that scary events in childhood can cause trauma that could last to adulthood." "Huh?" Ruby said confused, "Are you some sort of young philosopher or something?" "No," Ava stated, "I'm just a guardian appointed to protect the vessels. I chose to protect the Aaron while my brother has chosen to protect the Zeva." Ruby was confounded by Ava's words, "Wait, what? Now I'm very confused. So you're telling me that you have a brother and that someone appointed you two to protect the two vessels?" "Actually, my brother and I were appointed the role to chose which vessel to protect," Ava corrected, "My brother, Eito has chosen Zeva while I have chosen Netto, the Aaron." "But the Aaron and the Zeva are on opposing sides," Ruby said, "Does this mean you have to fight your brother?" "We did discuss this," Ava said, "But if we are to fight each other then we will do it with no regrets although he did have some hesitations."
"I see," Ruby said, "It seems like your brother does care a lot about you." Ava smiled at Ruby's observation, "If you say so, but when the time does come. I will have no choice but fight against him for the safety of the Aaron. I hope Eito will understand." Ruby frowned at the statement, she just hopes that it doesn't lead to the two guardians killing each other.
"Man all this talking is making me thirsty," Ruby said, "I'm going to get something to drink." "Are you sure, you're okay going around the hotel by yourself?" Ava asked, "I mean this is your first time and this is a big hotel. You're going to get lost." "That's okay, hey why don't you come with me?" Ruby suggested, "Don't worry Netto's in good hands." "If you say so," Ava trailed.
Ruby and Ava were wandering the hotel looking for a drink of water. "Hey, found a water fountain!" Ruby said. She presses the button and water comes out. She starts slurping the water to quench her thirst. "Ah, this is so refreshing," she said. Suddenly the water turns pink, Ruby quickly notices it and spits it out. "Gah," Ruby wipes her mouth in disgust, "What the heck? The water suddenly turned pink!" "What?" Ava said, "Let me see..." Ava pushes the water fountain button and pink water started to burst out. "Pink water?" Ava said, "But it was clear just a second ago. Hmm, it's not toxic so I believe it is safe to drink. Just how did the water turn pink anyway?" "I think I know why," Ruby said, "I think a chemical called potassium permanganate is responsible for this, but I don't think it's toxic though. How did it get in the system anyway?" "Good point," Ava said, "But there's not much we can do, the water systems are responsible for flushing this chemical out using the distribution system." "Do you think that there is a malfunction or something?" Ruby suggests. "Who knows," Ava replied, "But we better get back to the pool."
When Ruby and Ava arrive back at the pool area, Netto and the others were already out of the pool as well as the other guests. They were perplexed by the water's sudden color change. "What here too?" Ruby cried. "Ruby, Ava the water suddenly turns pink!" Aimi said. "We know Aimi," Ruby said, "I was drinking some water and it turned pink, too." "Looks like the hotel's water system is now full of pink water," Ava added.
Suddenly Seimai's TS P.E.T. starts ringing, "Seimai, Roudou are you there?" "It's Father," Blade said. "What is it, dad?" Seimai said as he goes to pick up his P.E.T., everyone gathers around him to get some info, "It's T.I.F.F. they have infiltrated the East Sector's water plant, go to the place to deal with the threat immediately." "We're on our way, dad!" Seimai said, "Sorry guys but we have to cut this birthday celebration short." "I understand," Jillian nodded. "Go get them," Applause cheered.
- Anahi Sector [East Side] Water Plant -
Inside the Water Plant's network, ScorchGirl and another Navi were looking over the systems via hologram screens.
This Navi was male with a cyan and grey bodysuit. His helmet was fitted with icicles and his chest armor was also fitted with icicles as well. His wrist long grey gloves had icicle patterns on the cuffs and his boots had icicle patterns on them. His eyes were blue and his emblem was a blue circle on a black background and the ring was yellow.
"So Gemini, how's the progress?" ScorchGirl asked. "It's going smoothly, Scorch-san," Gemini replied, "Soon the officials including Team Overdrive will be here soon." "Excellent," the braided NetNavi said with a smirk, "the distraction is all set but the real target is Netto. One of our spies spotted him in the Eastin Maple Hotel, Aponi will go there and take him. Such a shame that the A Portal Key is still in Team Over Drive's Base, no matter how far our agents go into there they don't make it all the way. The security system is government levels tight."
"Anyway, Team OverDrive will be coming soon," Gemini said, "Better get prepared." "Very well, come at me Team OverDrive!" ScorchGirl exclaimed. She takes out a wooden staff that suddenly lights in flames at both ends. She twirls it around without any trouble, "This time I will have my revenge."
- Anahi Sector [East Side] Eastin Maple Hotel -
Netto and his friends were chilling inside Jillian's aunt's suite. Her aunt was named Noema Brooklyn, she had long black hair with a moonstone headdress around her head. She had light azure eyes and pale skin. She wore a blue dress with floral patterns on it, lunar ripple bracelets on both wrists, and blue flat shoes.
The entire suite had the wallpaper of the night sky in which the crescent moon was over a swamp in which floating lotus flowers and fireflies reside. There was some Chinese-styled furniture especially the tea tables and a few lanterns with Chinese letters on them. "Hey Jillian," Aimi asked, "I'm curious about this T.I.F.F. organization, I know that they're a terrorist group but I never knew their true motives."
"Well, I'm glad you ask," Jillian said, "You see T.I.F.F. or The Information Forging Faculty is an organization known for forging fake information to cause disarray." "That doesn't seem too bad," Ruby asked. "It may not at the surface, but they have been known to forge fake government documents that can cause misunderstandings and attack other countries by mistake," Applause further explained. "Yikes! That's scary," Aile said, "So they're that threatening?" "Yes," Jillian said, "It's quite frightening but Seimai and Roudou were the first people to take them down. Over time they formed Team OverDrive and got their own organization?" "Wait, you mean Seimai and Roudou were the ones that form Team OverDrive?" Netto asked in amazement. "Not exactly," Jillian further explained, "OverDrive was around before they were involved with the officials." "I see," Bulleta said. "But this doesn't make sense," Frost said, "Why would they be attacking a random water plant, unless..." The sudden realization hits Ava, "The target wasn't the Water Plant but here." "Here? You mean that the Water Plant was a distraction to get Netto?" Ruby panicked. "Ruby, calm down," Frost said, "Some of us are here, so why would they risk that?" "Maybe they sent someone who's an expert in blending in?" Henshin explained, "With the hotel this huge and so many people wandering around, it's sure is easy to blend in." "But there are security cameras around," Noema explained, "If they were going to do that, the cameras would pick up something." "True but this is T.I.F.F were talking about," Stacy added, "They might have sent some Navis to disable the cameras so they won't be tracked." "Good point," Ciel said, "So what do we do?" "I have an idea," Ava said.
"Oh, you mean your disguise ability?" Ciel asked. "Disguise ability?" Frost said confused. "Oh, yeah I forgot," Netto said, "You didn't show the rest of us your ability to change your appearance." Ava nodded and suddenly the area around her began to distort in a glitchy computer effect when it faded she was in a different appearance. Her hair was brown and shoulder length with a pink bow and magenta eyes. She now wore a pink vest over a white dress and pink boots. Everyone was amazed by this.
"Whoa," Henshin said. "I've never seen like this before," Stacy added, "Ava just who are you." "A Guardian of the Aaron," Ava said, "And please I want this ability to be kept a secret. If others found out, then they will do anything to get their hands and do unethical experiments on me." "Understood," Bulleta said, "But how would your disguise ability be useful?" "Simple, what I need is a sample of human DNA," Ava explained. "Wait, you mean the reason you can disguise yourself so easily is that you can copy Human DNA and add it to your own?" Ruby comprehended. "Yes, I know it's unbelievable but that's how it works," Ava said, "Anything containing human DNA, hair, blood, spit, tears or sweat, I can copy it and add it to my own." "If that's the case," Netto then removes then a strand of hair from his head and gives it to Ava. The girl then touches it and something clicks inside her, "DNA sample confirmed, transforming into Netto Hikari."
Ava transformed again this time she had messy brown hair that was spiked in a similar manner to Netto's but it was in a lighter shade. However, it was long instead of shoulder length. Her eyes were also brown but in a different and lighter shade. Her clothes were an orange vest over a white shirt with black patches and blue cuffs. Her gloves came back only it was black with blue cuffs. Her shorts were black with yellow highlights on the side, her socks were black and about the same length as Netto's new socks and orange, black and white shoes. "Whoa, you look like me!" Netto said astonished. "That right, Netto," Ava said, "With a sample of your DNA I can take the form of your appearance, hair color, eye color, skin color, and even your clothes." "That's amazing, Ava!" Ruby said, "Your abilities are incomprehensible."
"I can even mimic other people's voices," Ava said in Netto's voice only it sounds much more feminine. "That's so cool!" Aimi explained. "Yeah, that's nice but Ava my voice isn't that girly," Netto noted as he frowned at the tone his voice was on. Everyone chuckled after that.
After some training on perfecting Netto's tone of voice, Netto trains her on what he likes and his personal life. "Alright, got everything down?" He asked. "Yes," Ava nodded in her Netto disguise, "I'm ready."
Then an explosion can be heard and the power was cut out. "Oh no!" Netto cried, "They're here already?" "It's time for the plan to be put into action," Ava announced. "Right," Netto said, "Oh, one more thing." Netto takes out a copy of his old bandana which had his family's emblem on it and ties it into her hair. "There, that way it would be easier for the enemy to know you."
Outside on the roof of the building, Aponi was outfitted with her Green Dragon Armor. She wore a green helmet with lime green fins and a light blue visor in which her hair was seen flowing out of a yellow hole in the back. Her chest armor was similar to her pink hoodie only it was green, with a yellow belt with a pink gem on the buckle. Her gloves were green with yellow rings and pink gems on the back of the palms. Her skirt was dark green with light green squares on the side but was open to reveal dark green armor underneath, her bodysuit was a cadet grey but her lower legs and thigh were green and seem to blend with her green boots with yellow rings. On her back was a pair of green wings with pink gems. Her chest emblem was a pink plug on a black background surrounded by a yellow ring. "Hmph, now that the distraction is done, time for the target," Aponi said.
She takes a look in the dark then notices that the lights were back on. "Huh, emergency lights," Aponi noted. She then notices the brunette with the orange vest and black shorts, "Aha! Found you, Netto!" Ava (in her Netto disguise) turns around and sees Aponi. "W-who are you?" she demanded. "Oh, this is the first time we met," Aponi said, "I'm CoilWing, I was sent here to capture you." "Okay, you got me just don't hurt anyone in this hotel," the fake Netto said. "Huh, very complacent aren't you, I thought you would be more resistant," CoilWing noted, "Very well come with me and no one gets hurt." The long-haired brunette follows CoilWing and gets a good grip. "Now hold tight, I'm flying you to our base."
The green wing Navi then flies out a balcony and disappears into the night. The real Netto along with the others look over the same balcony that the fake one flew from.
"Ava-chan, please come back safely," Netto muttered.
"Wait," Ruby said cutting through the drama and tension, "Shouldn't we call the Kazami Twins and the others that the agent captured the imposter instead of you?"
- Anahi Sector [East Side] Water Plant -
Back inside the Water Plant's Net, ScorchGirl and Gemini were fighting against Buster and Blade in a tag battle. ScorchGirl is understandingly frustrated by how they were easily dodging and blocking her attacks. 'Tch,' she mentally thought, 'this is so frustrating! Looks like the Fighting Navi Twins are stronger than ever. I know this brings me a better challenge but how am I suppose to land a hit? Gemini isn't doing much better.'
"Battle Chip, White Capsule, Slot in!" Seimai cried. A white pill appears in Buster's hand and throws it at ScorchGirl and Gemini. The two NetNavi quickly dodge the attack. "Crap, I missed," Buster muttered.
"Icicle Push!" Gemini cried as he summons an icicle and pushes it at them. Buster and Blade quickly dodge it. "This is harder than I thought," The cyan and grey Navi noted. "No shit, you just threw icicles at them!" ScorchGirl hissed. "Well, you're not doing better either!" Gemini argued back, "You know what we can take this conversation later, we need to prolong this fight."
Beep! Beep! ScorchGirl gets a call. She taps on her right ear emblem. "Hello, Aponi?" ScorchGirl said, "Wait, the Aaron has been captured? Excellent, no problems then." She then turns to face the Navi Twins, "Looks like our job is done." "Done?" Blade then quickly catches on to what the braided NetNavi said, "You captured Netto? So then this Water Plant takeover was just a distraction to capture him?" "Bingo, you caught on fast," ScorchGirl said, "Come on, Gemini let's go we're going." Both ScorchGirl and Gemini exit the net.
"No, Netto captured?" Seimai said in shock. "So this was all a diversion?" Roudou said, "Damn it, I know there was something fishy about this?" "Should we plan a rescue mission?" Blade asked.
Ring! Ring! "Seimai-kun, the phone!" Buster said. "It's a call from Netto?" Seimai reads at the caller I.D. in disbelief, "But didn't Netto get captured?" He picks up the call, "Netto?" "Seimai-kun!" Netto said, "I'm okay." "Netto, but how?" Roudou said baffled, "We overheard them that you were captured." "Well, we sent someone disguised as Netto to fool the enemy," Netto explained. "Thank goodness, you're alright," Roudou said, "So who was the one that was disguised as Netto?" "It's Ava," Netto replied, "She is really good at disguise." "I see," Roudou said, "Don't worry we'll plan a rescue mission to save her, but it will be very difficult since we don't know where their base. So it will take them to pinpoint and plan."
- Team OverDrive Base [Training Facility] -
That night back at Team OverDrive Base, it was Netto's turn. Everyone that Netto knew was present. He was a bit nervous since there were a lot more people than the other night. "Alright, here goes," Netto said, "Draco give me your strength..." He levitates on the ground before being engulfed in red and black flames. When they left, Netto's appearance has drastically changed. His hair was now a solid color in a darker shade of brown and his eyes were narrower and slightly red. His choker was in full view not concealed in his yellow scarf. His bandana became a Marengo gray helmet with Draco's emblem instead of his family's with a black wing on each side. He now wore a red vest over a Marengo gray T-shirt, his gloves were black with red fingers and two rings on each glove and red gems. He wore black pants with red lines on the pocket area with a dark red belt with a red diamond-shaped buckle. Knee-long red boots with a black stripe in the middle with white rings and red gems and black soles with wings attached to the heels. Lastly, there was a pair of black wings attached to the back.
"Wait, what happened to the Draco Form?" Netto asked.
'It appears that connecting to R.C. might have altered it,' Draco noted.
"Alright, time to test this new form out!" Netto said.
Netto flaps his wings and begins to fly. "So I can still fly?" He said, "I guess there are some features that carry on from the old form." He then takes out his weapon, which was the Alpha Saber, it was like the Z-Saber Sword Battle Chip only it was colored red and had the letter A imprinted on it. "Alpha Slash!" Netto cried as he slashes a Mettool. Netto then focuses his energy and creates a dark ball of energy. It then sends out a burst of energy which deletes some Swordys. "Is that it?" Netto said confused, "Is there anything else?"
'Netto,' Draco mentally thought, 'there is a new ability built into this form. Choose anyone you formed a bond with or shared your power with.'
'Okay,' Netto mentally replied. He chooses Ruby as the first choice and held his arms out. A transparent image of Ruby holding her Ruby Specter overlays with him and notices her weapon in his hands only it was black adorned with sharp, red diamonds on the ends. "Whoa, I can manifest my friends' weapons and use them as my own," Netto said. "Let's see if I can do that weapon combination like R.C. Guys! Can you send an elemental NetNavi to assist me?" "I'll go," Frost said.
In a few minutes, Frost was in Mountainman Form and ready to fight. Just as he saw R.C. do last night, he raises his saber high and it starts to glow. Mountainman then taps it with his Ice Kunai and his saber turn cyan with a cold atmosphere around it. "Awesome," Netto said, "I have it!" He then swings at it and the viruses were frozen solid.
"So his abilities are similar to R.C.'s?" Hideyoshi scanned, "So amazing, his stats are higher than hers."
- Anahi [South Side] Arika Hotel -
Netto was having a meeting with everyone else but Team OverDrive and their members had already gone home. "So now that Ava is in T.I.F.F's hands should we plan a rescue?" He asked. He was obviously worried about her safety. "No, too risky," Draga said, "We don't know where their base is located, and even if we do know we need the help of Team OverDrive and the officials for plans of successful infiltration." "Draga's right," R.C. said, "This rescue operation is very risky." "But I'm worried about Ava," Ciel said, "Even though we had met for a short time, she was a nice and honorable person." "But looks like plans for a rescue will have to wait," Angel sadly points out, "Without an exact location, we can't plan a rescue mission."
"I see," Netto said sadly, "Guess we do have no choice but to wait. I hope she's okay." "Ava has her disguise ability," Bulleta said, "She can use this to escape, I'm sure she would be out by now." "I hope you're right," Netto trailed.
After that conversation, the others had retired for the night waiting for news about Ava's wellbeing.
- Unknown Location [T.I.F.F HQ] -
Ava was being held in a small cell that had some machines and tubes that were big enough to hold a person. "So this is where Netto was supposed to be held?" Ava noted, "This place is dark and I don't see any windows." Suddenly she heard a door slide open and close with a loud clunk. She heard the footsteps getting closer to skills. She had to brace herself for who was going to harm her.
She then stops when she sees a boy with light green hair and blue eyes. He wore a cream-yellow scarf around his neck. A green T-shirt with his insignia (a leaf on a black background surrounded by a brown emblem) on the front and sides of the sleeves. He wore Reseda green, fingerless gloves. He wore brown pants with a walnut brown belt around his waist. His shoes were the same color as his gloves.
"Eito?" Ava asked. "Hey, how did you know my name, unless..." Eito takes a closer look at the long-haired brunette, "Ava? Is that you..." "Yes, it's me, brother," Ava said as she reverts to her old self. "I knew the real Netto wouldn't know me unless it was my sister," Eito said. "So what are you doing here?" "I came as a distraction so the real one doesn't get captured," Ava said, "So what does Raquel look like?" "Well, Raquel is a girl so my appearance will appear a bit more boyish," Eito said. The air around him begins to distort and he was in a different appearance. He now had shoulder-length hair with some purple highlights that resemble the letter M. His eyes were light brown. He wore a purple hoodie jacket with short sleeves, his fingerless gloves were purple with black cuffs, black shorts, black socks, and purple and black shoes. "This is what Raquel kind of looks like only she has spiky pigtails in her hair," Eito explained. "I see," Ava said, "But I need to get out, the others are worried." "Don't worry, I have a DNA sample of a female worker," Eito said as she takes out a strand of black hair from his pocket.
Ava takes it from his hand and her appearance changes. Her hair was now black and tied into a bun with a ponytail. Her eyes were dark blue. She now wore a blue hat, a blue shirt with black buttons, a blue fish-tail skirt, and black high heels. "Alright, you're set," Eito said, "Now let's get you out."
After wandering around empty corridors that seem to have no cameras and the occasional water dripping from a pipe, Eito found a room with an open window. "There's your escape, now go!" "Thank you, brother," Ava said, "I hope to see you again." She then leaps from the window and lands safely on the ground. She then dashes away making sure no guards were around and turns back until she doesn't see the building anymore.
A/N: Phew! What a long ass chapter and a total of more than 8,000 words. In the next chapter, Sapphire returns to Green Town and meets with Opal and Shard to discuss with Corla of the Portal Keys.