Whoops. Massive oversight on my part. (I'll be so glad when I get a full nights sleep tonight for the first time in a month). Once again, thanks goes to LazerWulf for supplying more YGO information about the Blue Eyes Toon Dragonfor that last chapter. And thanks for the 'Huggle' line as well.
A. John, obvious to you maybe. But no one else got it when they showed up.
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"I still can't believe this!" Sozoji sulked in his own private 'pity party'. The other Nebula members, well accustomed to his habits, didn't even give him a second look for it. "Not only did that pest refuse to use a Dark Chip, but she freed MegaMan from his Dark Soul as well!"
"I guess that's just the way the melody plays." KaraokeMan shrugged from his P.E.T., "Nothin' we can do about it."
"But I'm not done yet." The lounge singer muttered, "We'll find a way to make those Navi ours, if it's the last thing I ever do."
"Can it, Sozoji."
The Op's face went white, as he looked up to find Yuri standing over him. And it was clear that she wasn't in a good mood.
"The plan to take them failed, true." The Nebula agent snapped, "But we gained a more powerful asset in their place. And that asset is all we need."
"What could possibly be more powerful than those three Navi?"
"Bass." Yuri's eyes flashed in annoyance at this Op's curiosity from behind her sunglasses. "Apparently, our lovable villain noticed an increase in the power of MegaMan's Ultimate Program and decided to steal the said program. Fortunately for us, Bass made a horrible mistake, meaning that the most powerful Net Navi the world has ever seen now currently works for us."
"You mean… Bass?" Sozoji's face turned even paler at the thought.
"No, I mean WackoMan on steroids. Of course I mean Bass!" The Nebula agent barked with furious intensity. "As of now, we are no longer concerned with MegaMan, ProtoMan or Roll. Forget about them, its time to move on."
With that pleasant exchange, Yuri turned on her heel and stormed away, leaving a humbled Sozoji behind.
Humbled until a familiar gleam appeared in the performer's eyes.
The gleam of revenge…
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"Well, I'm glad that that mess is over with." Lan breathed a sigh of relief as their aircraft touched down in Den Tech International. "If we ever go through a mess like that again, it'll be too soon for me."
"I agree, wholecyberheartedly." MegaMan nodded from his P.E.T., being thrust into Dark Soul and becoming a Darkloid was not something he really enjoyed. Nor did he have any desire to repeat the experience.
"But now this adventure's over with." The brunette replied, "Well, almost… I'd say we could close the book on this just as soon as Maylu's surgery is finished. Speaking of which, has Chaud scheduled it yet?"
"As a matter of fact, I have." The double-haired kid nodded from his seat across the aisle. "If it's fine with Maylu, we'll have the procedure performed in about two months."
"I'd do it tomorrow if at all possible." The blind girl commented, "Its… amazing, I'm actually going to see again…"
Chaud remained silent; he didn't want to remind her that there was still a possibility that the surgery would fail. But he would never have proposed the idea if he weren't certain that it would work. It was funny. He'd always been reserved and looked on a cold-hearted, but there was something about Maylu that just brought out the warm-spirited person in him. He just wished that he knew what it was…
But there would be time for that later; a slight jerk caught everyone's attention as the plane settled down in a landing. This was it; their world tour was over…
And that was a welcome thought.
Fortunately, they passed through customs without a problem. And were soon free to leave and head home.
"Well, it's been fun." Lan commented as he snapped his rollerblades onto his shoes. "But I've got to get to SciLab and have Dad check MegaMan out. We want to be sure that his Dark Soul's completely gone."
"What's that?" Maylu expressed her mock disbelief. "You don't trust those Vaccine Chips?"
"I trust those Chips about as far as I can throw Chaud while he's Cross Fused." The brunette quipped, before tossing a wave over his shoulder. "I've gotta get. See ya!"
Chaud shook his head as the brown-haired Op skated away. But since he was in this situation, he decided that he might as well take advantage of it.
"Maylu, may I walk you home?"
"Oh, I… suppose so." The redheaded Netbattler nodded, more than a little surprised at her companion's boldness. Normally, walking her somewhere was a privilege reserved for Lan alone, but this time she felt like making an exception… "Although it would probably be easier just to let Mom and Dad know that we're home. But then, I'd like to surprise them."
"That's fine with me. Let's go."
"You know, Chaud. The more time I spend with you, the more I find myself thinking that you're not the jerk we all took you for at first." Maylu seized the first thread of conversation to come to her mind.
"I wonder if I should take that as a compliment or an insult." The double-haired kid muttered; a hint of teasing nature was in his voice.
Maylu's face reddened as she realized just what she had said. "I didn't mean it like that! It's just… I don't know, you've changed a lot over the past few months."
"I know you didn't." Chaud smothered a look of annoyance as his P.E.T. began beeping wildly. Suppressing his urge to ignore the Terminal, he excused himself and then took the call. "ProtoMan?"
"My apologies." The Raider's voice was all business, "But you need to know about this. KaraokeMan and Sozoji are attacking the mainframe of Blaze Medical. And you know as well as I what they're after."
Chaud's face went white as the full implications of that fact hit him like a Net Bike in overdrive. "But how did he know?"
"That, I don't know." The Navi admitted, "But if we don't act soon…"
"Then KaraokeMan will wipe out all our records on this surgical procedure, the only one that can restore her sight..." The Official Netbattler could feel a spark of anger igniting within him. Maylu had been through so much in these past few months; she deserved better than this. And he wouldn't let some moronic Net Op with a psychopathic Net Navi destroy Maylu's only chance of seeing again. "Tell them I'm on my way. Maylu, I'm afraid that you'll have to excuse me-"
"No, I won't because I'm coming with you!" The redhead's voice left no room for argument. "This guy's been a thorn in our side for too long, its time to take him down once and for all!"
The Official knew from past experience that it was pointless to argue with a determined Maylu. So he quickly agreed, and together, they set off to put an end to this new threat.
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"Sound Blast!"
Net Navi Logging Out.
"So far so good." KaraokeMan nodded to himself as the last of the security Navi vanished in a burst of data. "It won't be long now and then we'll have wiped out all of the info on this surgery."
"Take your time." Sozoji replied; he didn't want that data destroyed just yet. He had much bigger things in store for that redheaded pest and her pink cohort. "Don't forget, I want them to show up."
"Yeah, yeah…" The singing Navi glanced up and down the Network. Where would they put the data on something like this? Not out in the open, surely. It had to be someplace more secure…
Suddenly, the Nebular Navi stiffened as he sensed a rush of movement behind him. Acting on his instinct, KaraokeMan threw himself to his left, just as a hailstorm of hearts exploded through the spot he had vacated.
The Dark Navi whipped about, turning to face his attackers.
"You know, we've really got to stop meeting like this." KaraokeMan glanced up to see Roll and ProtoMan charging toward him.
Roll ignored the taunt, and continued to race onward towards her opponent.
"Cyber Sword, Battle Chip in, and Download!" Maylu's voice rang out.
"All right, KaraokeMan." The pink wonder raised her fist as a neon pink sword materialized came to life. "We're about to cut you from the show!"
"Enough with the bad puns already…" The electrical Navi groaned in annoyance as his Op inserted an Electro Sword. In response to the maneuver, the Nebular Navi's right hand transformed into a sparking blue blade.
KaraokeMan and Roll met, their blades locking together. Neither Navi moved, not wanting to be the first to break out of the hold.
Which played right into ProtoMan's hands. The Red Raider summoned his default blade and went flying forward, sending his sword into KaraokeMan.
Stunned by the attack, the electrical Navi gasped as the force of impact sent him plunging backward. For a few seconds he flew through the air, and then abruptly crashed to the ground, hard.
"Now, let's make this quick." Chaud instructed as he fed two Battle Chips into his P.E.T. Advance. "Wide Sword, Long Sword, Battle Chips in, Download!"
"Blade Tornado!" ProtoMan's frame exploded into a blurred image as he began rapidly spinning in place. The 'tornado' roared over the ground, ProtoMan's blades flying out at all angles from the windstorm. The Blade Tornado rushed over KaraokeMan, repeatedly slashing him with the two different blades.
Once ProtoMan had passed by Nebular Navi, he stopped his spin and dropped to the ground.
"You know…" KaraokeMan panted as he tried to catch his breath from the assault. "Two to one odds just aren't fair. I think I need a partner…"
"You should have thought of that before you came rampaging in here." Roll snapped; her patience was at an end.
"Now, let's finish this." Maylu held a group of Battle Chips above her P.E.T., "Its time for the Program Advance-"
"A partner? Oh, I thought of that." The singing Navi chuckled to himself.
"And make sure that you put up a good fight." Sozoji's voice flooded the Network; "I can assure you that it'll be your last."
"So without further ado." KaraokeMan chortled, "May I present my partner in tonight's power battle? The one, the only, the great Bass Dark Soul!"
"Say what?" Maylu and Roll gasped in disbelief.
"So that's what happened to Bass." ProtoMan muttered, as the answer began to dawn on him.
"He must have tried to interface with MegaMan." Chaud picked up the explanation. "And absorbed MegaMan's Dark Soul in the process."
"But if that's the case," The pink Navi noticed a minor inconsistency in that story. "Why didn't MegaMan go Bug Style again?"
"Last time he went Bug Style because Bass interfaced with him, merging his consciousness with MegaMan's to read his memories." The Official pondered out the solution to these events. "This time he must have just tried to steal MegaMan's Ultimate Program via the Get Ability. And messed up big time."
"Now, I think that's enough talk." KaraokeMan was practically beside himself with glee. "Let's get this party started! Come on out Bass!"
As soon as those words left the electrical Navi's mouth, the ground began to shake and rattle beneath Roll and ProtoMan's feet. Together the two Navi bucked left and right in a wild attempt to remain upright.
"This is not good." Roll frenziedly shifted her feet in an effort to keep her balance.
"That's stating it mildly." ProtoMan shot back, as he too tried to maintain his footing.
Abruptly, the shaking stopped.
And then it struck.
A section of the Network's tiled floor exploded. The tiles erupting into dust and debris, creating a large hole in the process. As the Network shuddered and lost power, causing the interior to darken dramatically, the ominous form of Bass DS began to emerge from the crater.
Overall, his armor hadn't changed at all, the only differences to his Dark Soul being that his body was more muscularly detailed than in its previous state.
"So, its time for Round 2." Laughed KaraokeMan. "Right, Bass?"
"I am at your service." The Dark Bugged Navi swept his cloak behind him, preparing himself for battle.
"Just fine, now, annihilate those two!"
"With pleasure." Two Air Bursts, semi-transparent orbs of energy, appeared in Bass' palms. Without another word the Black Shadow began move forward, stalking his prey…
END CHAPTER!
Next: In the heat of battle, Roll performs her final Soul Unison... ever.