AN: Sorry for the long wait everyone. I've started college and it took me a while to readjust to life living on my own. Thank you to everyone who sent me words of encouragement. Don't worry! I'm not planning on quitting!

Chapter 5: Sinking Predicament! Hacked Ability?

"Are you sure you saw correctly?"

"I'm positive Dr. Regal. I saw it with my own eyes." Yuriko looked up at the sitting figure of the mysterious man. She couldn't discern his expression due to the shadows casted from the light behind him, but it was obvious he was intrigued by the information. "That navi, Ryuusei… it stayed materialized even when the dimensional area disappeared."

"Practicality would state that it's impossible… but…" the figure turned his chair towards the lighted screens. He'd been analyzing what had happened the previous day at the arcade. While his ultimate goal of world domination was still on mind, he could not simply ignore this anomaly. What kind of technology did it utilize to stay materialized in the real world? He had to know. Muttering under his breath, the genius scientist contemplated, "Perhaps this navi… isn't a navi at all."

"Sir… It's obvious that it is on the Net Saviors' side." Yuriko interjected her own thoughts. She may have shared the same curiosity, but the threat that the anomaly presented was something that could not be dismissed. The mystery behind its power was what especially bothered her. It looked and battled like any NetNavi would, but according to simple analyzing it was of a completely different composition altogether. Further analysis would be needed to determine exactly what it was. There was no telling what the thing could and could not do, which was a large part of her worry. "Did you not say that we should eliminate any threat to Nebula's plan?"

"You're right. I did say that…" Regal nodded his head slightly to acknowledge Yuriko's concern. He turned to look straight as the kneeling woman who was more then just a little disgruntled on being sent on a wild goose hunt. Even with a tracker and a frequency resonator, trying to catch the mysterious navi was like trying to grasp water. The man continued in order to ease her thoughts, "You won't specifically go out to find the navi. Rather, let's call it… a side mission."

Raising an eyebrow, the woman couldn't help but question his choice of words. "Side… mission?"

"Our mission still remains the same. With or without this Ryuusei character, we must still carry it out. However, let's just say if the opportunity presents itself then take action to secure it." Tapping the chair's arm support, Regal continued to think upon the benefits if they were so lucky to be presented such a chance. "Yes. Obviously we cannot lure out this 'Ryuusei' intentionally with the information we have now… but if so…" he mumbled to himself as he reviewed over the anomaly's various powers that it seemed to have at its disposal, "… to be able to materialize outside of a dimensional area… to emit an energy signal of the quality and magnitude to disrupt electronics… the ability to mutate programs at will…"

"Sir…? What of Shademan?" Yuriko inquired suddenly. While she cared little to nothing about Shademan himself, she knew that the darkloid was a being that could not be easily trifled with. "Beastman's deletion no doubt bothers him immensely."

"Hmph… Let him rampage all he wants. It will get him nowhere. I've already sent one of those 'darkloids' on another mission. I hope to see some results." Regal said this with great disdain. One need not be a brilliant scientist to see that the beings known as darkloids could not live nor function without the dark chips that he supplied. Shademan was just a simple pawn in the palm of his hand that was as easily disposable as he was replaceable. However, at its mere mention, a flicker of an idea ignited in Regal's mind as a smile began to tug at the side of his lips. "Yuriko… how is your attempts at converting one of those Net Saviors' navis to the dark?"

"It is still being worked on." Yuriko stated flatly. She wasn't sure whether or not he was disappointed by the news judging by his expression. "Finding someone that can get close to the Net Saviors is proving… difficult"

Regal nodded before turning once more to the large screen. He looked to his work once more and pulled up a few papers. "Let us hit two birds with one stone then. I… need you to look into someone for me. He'll be a good candidate."


"Netto! Hey, Netto!" Subaru tried to shake the brunette awake. He literally slept like a log, much like how his NetNavi and friends described.

"Neeetto-kun!" Rockman yelled out louder then any alarm clock could from the PET. It was morning already, and at the rate they were going, Netto would be late for school once again. The poor NetNavi thought that with the other boy's help, it may be perhaps possible for the two's combined voice and nagging to wake him up. It was however all in vain as it only served to produce more garbled mumblings from Netto's drooling mouth. Rockman simply sighed, "Ah… it's no use, even with the two of us!"

"Ooy! Subaru!" Warrock whispered over to his partner from his own PET. "Put me up against the kid's ear. Might want to brace yourself though."

Obliging the alien's request, Subaru put his PET up besides Netto's right ear. He knew what was to come, and promptly plugged his own ears up to be prepared for the worse. Rockman followed Subaru's example as well as he covered his own noise receptors.

With a deep inhale, Warrock let out a deafening roar that literally shook the house. "WAAAAKE UP, KID!"

Subaru swore that a few car security alarms went off outside from the sheer noise that his partner produced. It would have woken anyone up. Anyone… except for Netto at least.

"Unbelievable! Even with that racket…" Rockman let out an exasperated breath on his NetOps wondrous ability. "He's as good as late!"

"Why don't we try a different approach? Something… less loud." Subaru said as he tried to clear out his ears to hear clearly again. If he didn't cover his own ears, he was sure that Warrock's yell would have made him deaf. For the couple of days that he's known Netto, Subaru had an idea. Kneeling down to the bed's level, Subaru whispered into Netto's ear, "Hey Netto. Meiru told me that your school is holding a Net Battling tournament… and um… the prize is a life time supply of curry."

Just the simple mention of curry was enough to have the brunette Net Savior spring from bed at lightning speed accompanied by an excited yell of, "That prize is as good as mine!"

There was a long pause of silence as Netto's mind began to register where exactly he was. He silently looked from Subaru's face, to Rockman's, to the window displaying the sun high in the sky. Finally the puzzle pieces in his scrambled mind clicked into place, and he literally flew off his bed. "Oh no! I'm late again! Aaaaugh! What time is it?"

Subaru couldn't help but laugh nervously at how effective his method was. Not wanting to stick around to see Netto fly from corner to corner of his room to prepare for school, Subaru quickly exited with a small wave. "Catch you outside, Netto." The boy doubted however that the scrambling brunette could hear him amidst his own panicking as he closed the door behind him

"That kid is quite the handful. Can't help but feel sorry for that Rockman guy." Warrock crossed his arms as he nodded to his own statement.

"Kettle calling the pot black, eh?" Subaru couldn't help but add in sarcastically. The alien had been a source of stress and excitement ever since he met him. "You're one to talk, Warrock…"

"What's that supposed to mean?" The AMian huffed back at the backhanded remark as he gestured towards the bedroom door they'd exited from. "Don't compare me to that kid over there! Heck, I'd say that I'm-"

"Yeah, yeah~" Subaru simply dismissed his companion's continued ranting as he headed downstairs towards the dining room where Haruka Hikari had already set up breakfast. On the table, a steaming bowl of rice was piled high in each bowl along with a side dish of salted fish and pickled vegetables. There was even a small basket of bread rolls if one were to choose a different source of starch. Walking over to the table, Haruka had placed a fresh plate of sweet egg rolls and sausages. "Ah, Haruka-san… Netto is awake now."

"Oh, thank you Subaru! Rockman has so much trouble by himself." Haruka smiled as she clasped her hands together. A slight guilt washed over Subaru as he couldn't help but be reminded of his own mother who was no doubt worried sick. "Thank you very much, Subaru-kun. And you too, Warrock! Feel free to sit down." She gestured over to one of the empty seats at the table as she returned to finishing up Netto's bento lunch box. Not wanting to disrespect her hospitality, Subaru gave a slight nod of thanks as he took a seat.

Though, before he could even reach for the food, the thumping sound of foot steps sounded from behind him. Turning to see the Netto rush towards the dining room, Subaru attempted to greet him with an official "Good Morning" but was drowned out by the boy's still panicked outbursts.

"Aaaah man! I didn't finish my homework… there's a test today… and I'm going to be late again! Mariko sensei is going to flip!" Netto quickly started stuffing as much rice, egg, and sausage into his mouth as he could. Nearly choking on the food that he forced down his throat, he pounded his chest to allow the food passage through his throat and into his stomach.

"Netto-kun, slow down!" his NetNavi's concerned voice tried to calm the boy's sudden hyper activity. "Did you even wash your hands?"

"O-Of course I did! Besides, if you woke me up earlier I wouldn't have to rush!" Netto snapped back at RockmanEXE who wasted no time in scolding him. In a rush, the brunette was already heading towards the front door with a bread roll in hand as he waved good bye to his mother and house guest, "I'm heading out!"

"Have a nice day at school~!" Haruka casually waved good bye back. She seemed un-phased by her son's quick exit as the door slammed shut behind him. Subaru could easily guess that this occurrence was normal for Netto's morning school days. "My~ That boy is always so efficient~" Haruka lightly laughed with slight embarrassment at having a guest see the usual morning routine.

"I guess… um… I better head out as well…" Subaru couldn't help but feel awkward around Netto's mother. Rather, he felt awkward staying over at a stranger's house. The Hikari family was very hospitable and sympathetic to his situation, but the fact that Subaru had feigned amnesia to earn such kindness only made the boy feel horribly guilty. Not having enough time previously due to the arcade incident, Subaru wanted to get back to finding his way out of his predicament as soon as possible. As he headed for the door, he was struck with a sense of déjà vu when Haruka Hikari stopped him.

"Oh! Subaru, I hope you don't mind doing me a favor… but it seems Netto forgot his lunch this time." Just thinking about her son's reaction to not have a lunch made her chuckle. She was holding the finished bento box wrapped in a handkerchief. No doubt it was made with all the care and love from a mother to her son. "He must've left in quite a hurry to forget."

"U-Uhm… Yeah. It's no problem." Subaru took the small wrapped box from her hands. It was heavier then it looked most likely due to it being stuffed full with food.

"What are you? A delivery service? You should just leave it here and teach that kid a lesson on responsibility." Warrock spoke up as he materialized outside of the PET once more. Thankfully, it was out of earshot (or rather out of frequency) for Haruka to hear. "One day without lunch should remind him to not forget again. Serves him right too."

"Warrock… You know I can't do that…!" Subaru tried to whisper back to his companion.

"Hm? What's wrong?" Haruka asked as she visually saw Subaru mutter over to nothing. Worry crossed her face as she asked, "Is it too much trouble? You don't have to—"

"Ah! N-No! It's alright! I'll be sure to get this to Netto." Quickly replying back before she could finish, Subaru began to make his exit with the lunch in tow. He waved goodbye as he gently closed the door shut behind him. Breathing a sigh of relief, he glanced at the lunch box that he was carrying, and back onto the road ahead. No doubt, this was a bit of déjà vu.

"You want to take the inter-whatever road again?" The AMian suggested as he looked up to see the unfamiliar frequency of the "wave" road above. It wasn't particularly a wave road, but it resembled more like electrical pulses. Either way, they were all the same to the alien if they could both be traversed upon.

Subaru simply nodded as he ran over behind some bushes for cover as he pulsed in.


"What exactly have you found out?" Enzan asked anxiously as he drummed his fingers on the table top. He was sitting down on one of the many chairs that circled the main conference room table at SciLab. Some officials from the Net Police along with a few scientists were seated as well. Meijin himself was sitting directly across from the blue eyed Net Savior who seemed to stick out in comparison to the other officials due to his much younger appearance. All of them had finally gathered to address not only on how to deal with the frequent darkloid attacks, but also with the strange "Ryuusei" that had been popping up. Enzan himself didn't care too much for Netto's nickname of the anomaly, but it sort of stuck.

"From what we've recently gathered…" Yuuichiro began as he gestured towards the central screen, "Dark chips empower NetNavis of any kind with the cost of losing their 'soul' you can say. But we've come to find also that with increased use of dark chips, there's an alternate side effect."

"An alternate side effect?" Kifune, the head Commissioner of the Net Police, repeated the words. He raised an eyebrow, looking for clarification in what the scientist was trying to show. "Are you saying it does more then destroy the Navis' morality data?"

"Correct." Meijin spoke up before Yuuichiro could answer. He stood up to take his place next to the scientist as he continued the explanation that the both of them had researched. "Not only does it corrupt their soul… but it also corrupts their programming as a whole. The end result: Deletion. With continued use, I'd imagine that even the darkloids would feel the effects."

"Strangely though, the 'corruption' that the programming is affected by is an energy source all on its own." Yuuichiro continued, "We found this out specifically through 'Ryuusei' who can utilize this energy which we've dubbed as 'Noise'. They solidify into space when he appears." Clicking a button on the remote for the projector, the screen changed to a visual images of materialized 'Noise' that was present during all three recent darkloid incidents. "We found that the energy spikes that we detected have all been due to Ryuusei's presence solidifying and condensing Noise energy into the real world."

"I presume that there is a bad side effect to Noise being materialized." Enzan stated flatly as he predicted where exactly the conclusion was leading up to. "Having something that can potentially corrupt a navi's programming floating around can only mean bad news."

"Yes. You're correct in your presumption." Yuuichiro nodded hesitantly. "Noise not only corrupt and mutate NetNavi data, but it also can also potentially affect any electronic devices, but-"

"If that's so, then this Ryuusei is equally dangerous if not more so and should be immediately eliminated." One of the Net Police officials interjected in a firm voice. An evident scowl was on his face, but Enzan could see a spark of fear in his eyes. "No doubt, he poses a danger to everything just by his presence. He could be another darkloid agent if anything."

"Unlikely." Enzan stated as he glared at the official's outburst. "On all three occurrences, Ryuusei had actually fought against the darkloids. Both Hikari Netto and I can attest to that."

"Don't get sentimental with this navi." The man retorted out hastily. It was obvious that his pride was hurt from being talked down to by someone so much younger. "Just because he may have saved your sorry hide does not excuse his dangerous—"

"That's enough! This is not the time or place to act like children." Kifune said in a hard voice to silence the squabbling. Enzan couldn't help but smirk as he saw the cornered official scoff to the side. "Let Yuuichiro present the remaining data before we come up with a counter measure." The commissioner looked back at the scientist who was standing idly waiting for the situation to be defused. With a nod, they continued.

"Thank you, Commissioner Kifune. Since we're on the topic, why don't we skip ahead to talk more on this navi which we have all come to refer to as Ryuusei." With another click of a button, the visual changed to an image of Ryuusei, Black Ace, and the new 'Wolf' form Ryuusei. They were able to attain the images on them directly through both Blues and Rockman's memory data. Clearing his throat, Yuuichiro continued his explanation, "These two alternate forms, Black Ace and Wolf, are the affects of varying degrees of Noise on Ryuusei. The greater the condensation of Noise, the more powerful he becomes. We observed that at the highest level, Noise takes on a crimson color."

"But the most astounding part of it is that we've discovered that Ryuusei has the ability to also absorb Noise from other navis who are incompatible with it much like what happened with Beastman." Meijin referred over to the incident in which Beastman's rabid frenzy was suddenly silenced after Ryuusei's transformation. Shifting his glasses up slightly, he concluded, "Ryuusei can cure corruption as effectively as he can corrupt by either absorbing or releasing Noise respectively."

Yuuichiro turned off the projector, preparing for the conclusion of the presentation as he added in. "Not only that, but he could hypothetically track the location of a dark chip every time its used by the energy signature that is released. He can be as great of help as much as he can be a danger depending on what his goals are."

The room was silent as everyone took in the large amount of information. Many of the seated officials nodded their head in recognition of the prodigious amount of information and the quick analyzing that followed by the two genius scientists. However, none spoke up on a possible course of action. As useful as the information was, it only increased the anxiety that everyone felt. It was Enzan however that broke the silence.

"Seeing Ryuusei's actions of late, he appears to not be hostile to us at all," Enzan stated coolly as he brought his hands together. "And has actually helped out the Net Saviors on multiple occasions. If we can just talk to him, I'm sure that we can convince him to help our cause."

"All of this information is all fine and well…" One of the officials brought up with an even tone. "But do we have any leads on where exactly we can find Ryuusei?"

"At this time, nothing is set in stone." Yuuichiro stated with a frown. It was the inevitable dead end that was sure to come until further information came in. The scientists and officials talked amongst each other for an hour until the meeting's end in which everyone dispersed with a disappointed look. Only Meijin and Enzan had stayed behind. The scientist was packing up the presentation equipment while Enzan stayed seated where he was.

The boy couldn't help but be disgruntled himself at the meeting's conclusion. "In the end... we couldn't come up with anything." He turned to Meijin, knowing now that there were no longer any prying ears. "Why did you leave out the fact that Ryuusei can stay materialized outside of the Dimensional Area?"

Meijin paused, a cardboard box with the materials he had used in his arms. While he didn't make eye contact, he answered Enzan's question with his own. "How do you think the NetPolice officers would respond? How do you think the scientists would respond?"

Enzan could only nod silently. He already knew the answer. From just the information presented today, everyone in the meeting was incredibly anxious with the dangers that Ryuusei posed. Adding on to it with that kind of information would produce dangerous results. He couldn't help but confirm some of his suspicion as he stated, "There really is a lead to find Ryuusei."

"There is… one link." Meijin said as he finally placed the heavy box on the table, his eyebrows furrowed slightly. "It's only a suspicion, and it might simply just be a coincidence, but there is only one person who happens to be present at every occasion Ryuusei shows up. Not only that but… his back ground is a bit…" the scientist trailed off and turned his eyes finally towards Enzan.

Under the scientist's constant stare, Enzan finally stood up from his seat and began to leave before saying; "I'll go talk to him again."


"So in the end… that Ryuusei guy got away!" Netto said as he leaned back in his chair. The hind legs balancing him teetered dangerously. He had made it just in time to receive another nagging from Mariko sensei. "What a paaaain!"

"You should be happy that no one was injured." Meiru reminded him that his mission wasn't to catch the navi at the time, but to protect the civilians in the area. She sighed while shaking her head once more as she attempted to berate him.

"You sure you weren't just chicken?" Dekao mocked on the side. He gave a cocky smirk as he continued. "I bet Gutsman and I could have taken him easy with one hand tied behind our backs!"

"Ha! That's a laugh!" Netto smiled smugly back at Dekao as he mockingly shrugged his shoulders in fake dismay over Dekao and Gutsman's notorious track record. "You don't even stand a chance against Rockman and I! What makes you think you'd do any better?"

"At least I wouldn't have ran with my tail behind my legs!" Dekao began to raise his voice as he slammed his hands on the table in rage. If there was one thing he hated, it was when Netto brought up Gutsman and Rockman's win-loss ratio.

However, this only prompted Netto to exclaim with the same amount of enthusiasm as he too slammed a fist on his desk. "There's no way I would run away! I told you! It was him that ran away!"

"Enough you two!" Meiru finally shouted at the two. She had already brought out her bento and was proceeding to unwrap it. With a small huff she glared at the two boys into silence. "It's hard enough to eat when only one of you is shouting. You guys better finish eating too before class starts again."

"M-Meiru-chan!" Faced with the threat of more scolding, Dekao quickly put the argument out of mind as he too began to take out his monster-sized lunch. "Y-You're right! I better chow down before Mariko sensei gets back."

"Me too…" Netto said also as he began rummaging through his backpack for his own lunch. He was absolutely starving. Suddenly, his face began to pale as he sifted through his backpack more intensely. Both Meiru and Dekao stared at him silently in confusion until Netto stopped his futile search. His situation clicked into his head as his stomach suddenly growled loudly.

And then a single cry of anguish rang out across the school, and was suddenly silenced.


Meanwhile in the classroom's cyber network, the navis themselves were discussing the incident. The school's network was littered with pillars of data and floating orbs that regulated the streams of information. As the children's PETs were often connected to the desk terminals, it wasn't rare that they would get together to converse on the latest gossip.

"He sort of appeared out of nowhere." Rockman said simply as he scratched the side of his cheek. The others had been asking him questions regarding "Ryuusei", but it was hard to describe the mysterious navi that seemed to appear out of the blue as anything else but mysterious. "Ryuusei helped us defeat Beastman with what looked like a Style Change and—"

"Whoa whoa…! A Style Change?" Roll interrupted him suddenly, clasping both her hands over her mouth in shock. "I thought—"

"I-I thought… you were the only one who could Style Change…" Iceman continued with what was most likely on everyone's train of thought.

"W-Well it's not exactly Style Change. But Meijin-san told us that it was very similar." Rockman tried to explain, calming the general excitement of the crowd. "I think the strangest part though was what happened after the incident…" Rockman began to describe the scene during the arcade crisis that occurred but paused as if unsure whether such information should be divulged so easily.

"And…?" Roll prodded the blue navi as she leaned in closer. "What happened after?"

Rockman was about to open his mouth to continue until a strange sensation washed over everyone in the immediate area. Simultaneously, each navi began to look around for what they sensed was another presence. In a small classroom server such as this, it was easy to detect another navi logging into the network.

"I… I think someone just entered the server." Rockman broke the silence after confirming that no one was there. Strangely, it felt familiar. For a second, he could hear a sort of white noise ringing in his ears, but it had quickly disappeared as soon as it came. He could only assume that everyone else heard the same scratchy sound judging by the shocked expressions on their faces.

"I don't see anyone. Guts…" Gutsman muttered in a low voice, only slightly annoyed that he had looked around hastily to find nothing.

"M-Maybe it's…" Iceman began to look around once more to ensure that no one was around before whispering out, "Maybe… it's a ghost…!"

"E-Eh? A ghost? On the internet?" Rockman began to stutter out. A ghost was the last thing he wanted to see in this situation or, for that matter, in any situation.

There was an awkward silence once more as everyone took another look around for whoever or whatever came in.

Roll however, was the first to actually talk some sense as she brought both her arms to her waist, pouting slightly from the cowardly immaturity displayed by the boys. "Geez! What are all of you so scared for! It's probably just a glitch in the system. Nothing strange about it!"

"Y-Yeah! Guts!" Gutsman exclaimed as he scratched his head bashfully. "Just a glitch. Guts!"

Everyone laughed nervously at the ridiculousness of the situation that they were previously so absorbed in. However, Rockman couldn't shake off the feeling of familiarity of the noise that he heard.


"That inter-whatever road sure is convenient. You humans and your technology…" Warrock remarked almost snidely from the PET. They had just "logged out" and rematerialized back into the physical world. It was definitely a different experience in comparison to traversing cyber cores, but it was also very much the same. "What will you humans think up of next?"

"It's called the internet." Subaru attempted to explain as he headed towards what he believed to be where Netto's classroom was. He stood just outside of the classroom with Netto's bento in hand. "Internet technology was used way back before wave technology was even developed. You should already know what happens in the future."

"That'd explain why it's so easy to adapt to this PET." Warrock materialized outside once more outside from the aforementioned device. He rubbed his chin with one of his claws as if pondering whether the Internet based technology or the wave technology of the future is better. Though before he could come to a single conclusion, a loud wail came from the classroom ahead. Unsurprisingly, it sounded a lot like Netto. Warrock couldn't help but smirk in response. "Heh… Serves the kid right!"

The brunette could only laugh nervously at his companion's reaction before knocking on the classroom door. Not waiting for an answer, Subaru slowly slid the door open and peeked a head through. It was easy to spot a particularly slumped brunette that had planted his face on his desk. A few students looked up from their lunches to see Subaru, but few gave him another glance before returning to their meal.

"Oh! Hoshikawa-kun!" Meiru exclaimed in surprise as she spotted Subaru entering. The last she saw him was at the arcade the previous day. She waved to him to come over where Netto had presumably passed out. "What are you doing here?"

"I just came to deliver this." Subaru lifted up the neatly wrapped bento that Haruka Hikari had put the effort to make. Delivering yet another item to the same boy gave him that same sense of déjà vu. Looking down at Netto, Subaru couldn't help but inquire, "Is… he alright?"

Placing the bento box on the desk, Netto curiously peeked up and spotted it hungrily. In a blink of an eye, Netto shot up and grabbed a hold of the small box, lifting it above his head as if it was a gift from the gods. "My lunch! I thought I forgot—"

The blue headband-wearing brunette however stopped suddenly as he turned to his right to see Subaru. There was a pause as Netto began to register why exactly Subaru was in his classroom. All he could manage to say however was a simple "Oh" until Mariko reentered the classroom with her usual cheery smile.

As she headed towards the front of the class, she clapped her hands twice to get everyone's attention as she made her announcement. "Alright everyone, it's time for class to start! Put your lunches away!"

The class responded in a resounding "Yeees!" minus one brunette who had slumped over once more on his desk. His stomach growled once more, but Mariko didn't even seem to bat an eye. Most likely she was still flustered about Netto's habitual tardiness.

Spotting a new face among her students, she walked over to Subaru. "You need to get back to your class too, young man!" She took his hand and proceeded to try and lead him to the door despite his protests.

"I-I don't—!" Subaru tried to say but was cut short as the school suddenly shook with incredible force. A couple of students let out a surprised scream, prompting Mariko to take her hold off of Subaru to calm the kids down. From above, what appeared to be sand started seeping out from the ceiling boards and air vents. Everyone looked upwards in wonder, shielding their eyes from the falling particles.

"This is…!" Netto began to mutter under his breath as he peaked his up before leaping from his seat.

"Netto-kun! Look outside!" Rockman yelled out from the PET with urgency in his voice. As if to confirm their suspicions, as Netto looked out the window the familiar dome like field had already surrounded the school. "A dimensional area… that means it must be…!"

The Net Savior nodded silently before bolting for the door, conveniently ignoring Mariko's yells to stay put. He had already taken his PET out from his pocket to get ready for Cross Fusion away from the eyes of his peers.

Subaru himself recognized the situation immediately as well having gone through it a total of three times this past week. He quickly went for the door after Netto as he made a hasty explanation. "I'm going to go after Netto!" Subaru exclaimed as he began to close the door behind him.

"Wait! Hoshikawa-kun! It's too dangerous!" Meiru yelled out but to no avail as Subaru was already out of earshot. She quickly opened the classroom door after him but he had already disappeared. "Where… did he go?"


"Just as I thought..." Enzan stood before the school gates, unable to enter. But it wasn't the metal bars that prevented him from entering the school so much then the newly materialized dimensional area that formed around the grounds. He had just finished visiting the Hikari residence in search of the amnesiactic brunette only to be directed to another battleground.

"Enzan-sama... could it be—" Blues began to ask but was stopped by Enzan. They both knew with a single glance that the same thing was on both their mind. It wasn't a surprise that the darkloids would take an interest in most likely eliminating Ryuusei after what happened to Beastman. What did surprise the Net Savior however was how the darkloids were following the same lead, ending up at the same place where both thought Ryuusei may appear. "It seems like we aren't the first ones to get here."

"Yeah. That guy has a knack for attracting trouble." The blue eyed Net Savior couldn't help saying to his dismay as he began to bring out the familiar blue colored gem encrusted chip. "At this rate, he might as well be as much of a magnet for trouble as Netto is. Let's go, Blues."


"Theeee traaaail… ends heeeere…!" Desertman's voice came out in a long drawling moan as his form shifted across the tile floor of the cafeteria. His crowned head began to surface, revealing the gaping black pit of a mouth. The booming voice of the darkloid echoed loudly against the walls of the cafeteria. Sand was still pouring out from the newly made cracks in the ceiling as students huddled together on top of the cafeteria tables to escape the sea of sand. Turning an eye towards the defenseless children, he let a loud holler out with obvious amusement in his voice. "You feeble humans…! I'll devour you all whole…!"

The roar of the darkloid caused the sea of sand to undulate until a large wave of sand began to form, threatening to submerge the unfortunate children that lie in its wake. The kids held each other and screamed in horror as the wave's shadow casted over them. However, the impact never came. One of them dared to peek their eyes open to see what happened, only to see the wall of sand solidified before them. Curious, the kid reached out a hand but the wall collapsed into a pile of unanimated wet clods.

"Ooy! Desertman!" R Rockman yelled out from behind them, brandishing a newly materialized Aqua Sword. It became apparent that he was the one responsible for halting the attack as he pointed the tip of the blade at the darkloid's shifting form. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"

"Yooou're not the one I'm looking foooor." Desertman's mouth opened wide as his voice seemed to slur every word. Once more, the sand began to stir on its own until it became a sinkhole. The very nature of the ground became that of quick sand as Netto found himself being dragged towards the center. "Buuut I'll glaaaadly deletee yoou heeere annd noooow!"

"You won't get me with the same trick twice!" He struggled against the strangely sticky texture of the sand that clung to him, reaching all the way up to his knees. From his previous experience, he already had an idea on what to expect as he lifted up his weapon. "Aqua Sword!"


"Where did Netto go?" Subaru said under his breath as he pushed against fleeing students heading the opposite direction. He could only assume that heading against the flow of the crowd would take him to where the trouble was.

"This is new, kid." Warrock floated upwards above him to take a look past the crowd. Despite such, the AMian couldn't help but chuckle slightly as he mentioned, "You aren't usually so quick to jump into danger. What's got you worked up?"

"Well that's because..." Subaru began to say before stopping suddenly in his tracks. The last of the students had finished evacuating, leaving Subaru alone in the halls with only far away foot steps slowly fading into the distance. He looked up to where Warrock was, shifting his Visualizer down over his eyes. "It's because... he's my friend..."

It felt strange to say. Not because he called Netto a friend but for a different reason. Since coming to what was said to be the "past", Subaru tried to not become too attached to the people he met here. But without his knowing, he already had developed ties to this era. The fear of never seeing those he cared for washed over him like in the past as he tried to correct his previous words. "N-No... Netto isn't my—"

Seeing the hesitancy in his eyes, Warrock couldn't help but cross his arms. "Look kid. I know what you're thinking, but you've got it all wrong."

"Eh?"

"I thought Daigo would have taught you better." Warrock shook his head in disappointment as if expecting more out of the boy. "You've been here for more then a week and you still haven't realized it yet?"

Subaru could only look at his partner in confusion. He was unsure of what the alien was trying to get at.

"If there's one thing that Daigo taught me, it's that bonds aren't something that you can choose and pick to form or break." Warrock stared down at Subaru with his red eyes, and then shifted his gaze out one of the windows towards the sky. "You may not have your Brother Bands right now... but you still feel the 'bond' that you have with everyone back home, right? Just because our stay here is temporary, it doesn't mean you have to fear losing the friends you make here as well."

Subaru paused to take in Warrock's words, looking downwards as if to contemplate their meaning. He rolled it over in his mind before coming to a clear understanding. Looking up at his partner, he gave a firm nod. "You're right... Thanks Warrock" Putting a hand to his chest, he could feel his heart beat with a slower rhythm. His words gave him comfort that he didn't have to be alone. "Just because... I might not see them again, it doesn't mean that the bonds we make here will be broken..."

As Subaru prepared to sprint down the halls once more, a new yet familiar voice sounded across the halls from behind him. "Oh? What are you still doing here?" Subaru turned, taking his Visualizers off to see the same woman he had met in the arcade. She still had the same slick and cool voice with a trench coat on her shoulders. It threw him into confusion on why she was here of all places, but she continued to walk closer with worry on her face. "Didn't you hear the noise, boy? You should be evacuating the school for your own safety."

"You're..." Subaru began to say but found he was suddenly breathing heavily. Something began to ring louder and louder in his ears as the woman drew near. He gripped his head as a headache began to pound once more. "You're... that woman... from before?"

"You don't look too good." She leaned in closer, taking off her shades once more to show her deep brown eyes that complemented her braided hair. Looking up, Subaru noticed in particular a dark jewel stud on one of her ears that sparkled ominously.

"This woman rubs me the wrong way... but she's right in that sense." Warrock turned to Subaru who was showing visual signs of deterioration in health. He wasn't sure what was causing it, but the AMian turned a side-glance at the woman. "Kid, get a hold of yourself. You can't fight in that condition."

"I'm... I'm alright." Subaru looked up at to see the woman stand over him. He tried to give a reassuring smile to both the stranger and his partner, but it came off a bit weak. Taking a deep breath, he tried to block off the incessant ringing from his mind. Walking past the stranger, he tried to hastily leave towards where Netto was. "S-Sorry... but I have to get going."

"Wait...!" The woman grabbed his shoulder suddenly to stop his escape. Despite her appearance, her grip on him was strong enough to hold him fast. "It's dangerous up ahead."

Subaru paused to look at her face again. With a closer look, it clicked in his mind the similarities in her face with the teacher he had met only moments ago. Even more confused, Subaru couldn't help but ask. "Who... are you?"

The woman smiled as if she were waiting for him to ask that question. "My name is Yuriko. You don't remember me? I gave you a gift not too long ago didn't I?"

"Gift... Ah!" Subaru dug through his pockets to take out a certain dark colored chip that had gone unused. He didn't even know what it did, but he wasn't planning on using it anytime soon with Warrock. AMians weren't exactly compatible with battle cards, so he'd assume the same thing with battle chips. "I wanted to return this to you. I'm... not exactly capable of using it."

Yuriko chuckled at the outstretched hand returning the "gift" that she had so frequently handed out. This was the first time anyone had returned a Dark Chip to her, but she could only assume that the boy was simply one who wasn't fond of Net Battling. A rare occurrence, but sometimes it happened that she made such a mistake. "Keep it. Didn't I say it was a gift?" She released her grip on his shoulders and patted him on the head. "You're such a good boy. If you don't use it... then you should give it to someone that needs it then. It can make NetNavis very powerful after all."

All Subaru could do was nod at the stranger's advice. Finally free, Subaru attempted to make another quick leave as he said, "I... best be going. Thank you!" At that, he ran off and made a quick turn around the corner to get out of the woman's field of vision.

Now standing alone in the empty halls of the school, Yuriko couldn't help but let a smirk slip on her face. The only sounds now were the shifting of sand as streams of the particles fell from the ceiling cracks. She put her shades back on and began to walk off in the opposite direction. Fiddling with her earring once more, she muttered under her breath. "I'm sure we'll be meeting again soon, Hoshikawa Subaru."


"Fuuutile...! All of it fuuuutile!" Desertman's voice boomed once more as his head surfaced above the sea of sand. The wet clods that had formed from the aqua sword's swings began to dry at a rapid pace. The sand seemed to suck the moisture from the battle chips within seconds as more and more sand began to pour from the ceiling. "Diiiid yoou thiiiink the saaame taaactic wooould work?"

"Rockman... another battlechip!" Netto said with urgency as he prepared himself for another wave of sand coming their way. While he had rescued most of the kids who were unfortunate enough to be caught in the heat of battle, Desertman had managed to secure one student in his sandy grip.

"We don't have anymore downloaded!" The Navi's voice echoed within the brunnette's head in distress. Their last weapon was used up, and they were running out of options. Only a standard Rock Buster was usable at this point, and it proved even less effective then what they were using before. "Netto-kun...! We have to find his weak point!"

"I know, I know!" Netto exclaimed his standard virus buster materialized over his right arm. He took aim and shot at Desertman's exposed head, but it seemed to do little to no damage. He hated to admit it, but having Enzan with him during their last encounter with Desertman made it seem easy. "But I can't get a good hit on him without hitting—!"

"Yoou cannot hope too wiiin, hummaan!" Desertman began to shift and undulate once more to create another tsunami of a wave. He had been hiding his head behind the human child to avoid the cross fused human's assaults after learning from his previous experience. But now that his adversary had expended his last resource, it became safer to approach. With sand continuously pouring into the room, having a little of his body solidify was of no concern. "Yoour compassion maaaakes yoou weaaak!" the darkloid drawled on his laugh as a huge wall of sand extended its shadow over R Rockman.

Preparing to dodge, R Rockman found his feet stuck fast as the sand had already reached well over his knees, sticking to him like glue. He attempted to disperse the wave with a charged shot, but it proved futile as the small hole that it created was quickly filled up. All he could do was brace himself for the impact as the wave of sand crashed upon him, literally "devouring" him whole. Netto could vaguely hear his navi's concerned pleas over Desertman's muffled laughter behind the layers of sand that covered him.

Disoriented, R Rockman proceeded to claw his way to what he believed to be the surface. His lungs were starting to give out and his vision became blurry. He couldn't even cry for help if he wanted to or else he'd be getting a mouth full of sand in the process. Trying to reach for the surface once more, Netto couldn't help but swear under his breath. "D-Dang..."

Suddenly though, he could hear a familiar ringing in his ears as he felt someone grab hold of his outstretched arm. He vaguely wondered whether it was oxygen deprivation that was causing him to hallucinate before he felt a strong jerk upwards. His head popped out of the sand, finally giving him a chance to breath as he looked up at the figure that grabbed a hold of him.

"Netto-kun. Are you okay?" Rockman's voice echoed once more clearly. As Netto looked up at the blue figure before him, for a second he thought it was Rockman that had magically materialized and saved him. But on closer inspection, it was obviously that of "Ryuusei." That would explain the constant beeping he was hearing in his ears from the Noise detecting module.

"Are... Are you alright?" Ryuusei asked as well as he pulled the rest of his body out of the sand. He had just arrived in the knick of time to pull out the submerged R Rockman from a sandy grave.

Finally gathering his bearings, R Rockman stood up once more, coughing out the bits of sand that were in his throat before replying. "Y-Yeah... But... What are you doing here?"

"U-Uh... I was..." The mysterious "navi" seemed lost for words. However, before he could formulate an answer to the question he was asked so frequently, Desertman's voice once more boomed.

"Yooou! Yoou're the ooone that deleteeeed Beaastmaaaan!" The darkloid's head surfaced once more to take a good look at the navi he was sent to track. Not only did this Ryuusei character attract the attention of the mysterious man, but Shademan too had marked him as something that needed to be eliminated.

"Netto-kun, we better take care of Desertman first!" RockmanEXE reminded his NetOp of the immediate danger that they faced. As much as his curiosity wanted to be sated, they had to address the problem at hand as the student within the darkloid's grasp let out another desperate scream for help.

"Are you ready?" Ryuusei urged the brunette as he let go of his grip on his arm. As his hand drew away though, two distinct yet different messages rang in both R Rockman and Ryuusei's head.

Data Transfer Successful. Hacked Battle Chip Data Acquired.

Resonating Noise Found. Would you like to respond?

Simultaneously, both Rockmans let out a sudden "Eh?" as a strangely artificial voice spoke in both their ears, followed with both their partner's responding at the same time.

"Netto-kun! We just received some battle chip data! Should we use it?" RockmanEXE inquired with a worried voice. The concept of using "hacked" data wasn't a particularly good one, but at the time they didn't have much choice.

Additionally, Subaru could hear Warrock's voice trying to catch his attention. "Ooi, Subaru! Do you want to respond or what?"

Yet again, both Rockmans simultaneously said the same thing as they yelled out a hurried "Yes!" as another wave of sand was heading their way.

The wall of sand crashed down once more on both of them, engulfing their forms once more. There was silence for but a moment before the small hill of dirt produced burst forth, scattering the particles into the air. As the light settled, two new figures were revealed.

R Rockman's armor had transformed, now sporting two gauntlets and a helmet that seemed to burn with an unquenchable flame like a torch. Despite the close proximity, he didn't feel the heat of the fire himself. In addition, his once blue armor had turned to a brighter red that was reminiscent of a certain other navi. Looking himself over. He finally noticed the change. "Th-This is... Soul Unison, Fire Soul! I didn't think we could use Double Soul while cross fused!"

"It's from the hacked data!" RockmanEXE observed in awe at the occurrence. What could have caused such a mutation in the materialization process? The navi couldn't help but take a side-glance at Ryuusei whose form had changed as well.

In deep contrast to R Rockman's own new form, Ryuusei's armor had become almost pure white. His shoulder armor looked more bulky with blue streaks across both sides. In addition, his helmet had a pillar-like shape resembling that of a crown. As the residual Noise clusters dispersed, Ryuusei opened his eyes as he whispered the name that the Meteor Server gave him. "Virgo Noise...!"

"Alright kid, you ready to go buck wild?" Warrock roared in his ears. Subaru could feel the battle-hardened warrior's excitement as he nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. Let's go!"


"Just as I thought." Yuriko smiled as she examined the screen. Needleman was kind enough to hijack one of the camera modules in the cafeteria room, giving her a clear view of what was going on in the battle. The appearance of Ryuusei didn't seem to surprise her one bit. "What Regal said was true... wherever that boy appears, Ryuusei seems to always appear as well."

"Not only that... but Rockman..." Needleman began to point out the strange occurrence with R Rockman. Soul Unison was thought to be unachievable during cross fusion, but yet again they had defied all logic and probability. "To think that Noise would even give a beneficial mutations such as this..."

Letting out a sigh, she couldn't help but shake her head already predicting the inevitable outcome of the battle. Instead, she contemplated on what the boy Subaru had to do with Ryuusei. From what she saw last time, Subaru's NetNavi didn't exactly resemble the mysterious navi all too much. In a way though, it looked as if...

"No. That's impossible." Yuriko frowned at the dead end in logic she had encountered. "Not only do the Net Saviors only have access to only two Synchro Chips... but they wouldn't give it to a random kid on the streets even if they did have extra. Ryuusei doesn't even... seem like a NetNavi to begin with other then from appearance." She pondered this string of logic for a second. To begin with, a NetNavi, or for that matter any program in general, cannot utilize Noise. Let alone, a program can't even come into contact with Noise without corrupting its data. If that were the case, what was "Ryuusei"? It was something out of this world, that's for sure. No wonder Regal had taken such an interest in him. "Needleman, let's go."

"Eh? Already?" Needeman seemed disappointed by his NetOp's desire to leave. "Don't you want to see the end of this battle? Shi shi shi!"

"It's pointless anyways. The outcome has been decided." She muttered under her breath. Yuriko couldn't help but pity how unfortunate Desertman was for following Ryuusei's trail up to this point. Sympathy wasn't a feeling that those of Nebula felt very often. Taking out another device that greatly resembled the tracker that was lent to Bubbleman previously, she noticed that something outside the dimensional field was producing a high level of Noise. "Besides, there are more important things to attend to."

From the distance, Yuriko could spot R Blues heading straight towards her, slicing the materialized viruses that stood in his way. It was only in a matter of seconds before the two of them came face to face. Immediately, the blue-eyed Net Savior pointed his blade at the Nebula agent. "You... You're the one that caused this?"

Brushing off the sand that had collected on her person, she looked straight at the boy before giving a response. Her voice dripped with sarcasm as a smirk crept on her lips. "You're lucky to have such an extraordinary Navi on your side. I have to say, I'm jealous." She gave a casual shrug and began to walk away down the halls. "But don't expect him to always be so helpful. I'll assure you that."

"Wait right there!" R Blues yelled out, causing her to stop in her tracks to take another look back at him. Her smile unnerved him, and she held a dangerous aura about her.

"I don't have the time to play with you, boy." She hissed back. Before R Blues could make a lunge for her, blue blocks of data began to materialize in between them and solidified into the familiar form of Needleman.

"Shi shi shi! Ready to play again, boy?" The darkloid snickered as he easily parried the Net Savior's swipe. Needleman pushed him back, allowing Yuriko to simply walk off into the distance out of sight.


"Hydro Dragon!" Subaru yelled out as he raised one hand high. A watery serpent began to materialize above him, and slithered through the air towards Desertman's exposed head. As if by reflex, the darkloid put his hostage between him and the serpent to protect himself. The student screamed as the attack headed straight for him, but rather then feeling the hard impact, the serpent had twisted and swerved to wrap itself around the student. Before the kid could say another word, he was floating upwards in the giant blue bubble produced. "Now!" Ryuusei signaled towards R Rockman.

"Gotcha!" The Net Savior exclaimed as he jumped to catch the student just in time as the bubble popped. Jumping away once more to safety, he set the frantic student down near the cafeteria exit to allow him an escape. Turning once more to the darkloid, R Rockman's eyes narrowed as he pointed both flame arms at Desertman. "It's time to end this!"

At that, he unleashed streams of searing flames at Desertman. Now unable to find a way to prevent the attacks, Desertman took the full brunt of the assault as he felt his body become super heated. Letting out a yell of pain, the darkloid's attempt to escape proved futile. Flame Soul was powerful as is, but with the additional power up granted from Cross Fusion, its effect was even more devastating.

A slick black surface started to surface over Desertman's body, as if solidifying it whole. The darkloid's sand composed body started to visually show the effects of the extreme temperatures, as his body seemed to form a glass like cover.

"The sand is melting...?" Subaru exclaimed in surprise as he saw R Rockman's continued onslaught. He remembered learning how glass was produced by heating sand to well over 1000 degrees Celsius, but he had never thought he would witness it first hand on this scale. "A-Amazing..."

What was left of Desertman's sifting form was now a glossy black glass that seemed to glow red from the residual effects of continuous heating. R Rockman turned to him and gave a silent nod to finish the now stationary darkloid.

Nodding back in response, he raised his hand once more. Ryuusei called upon another battle card in his arsenal as rain clouds began to form inside the cafeteria itself. "Sticky Rain!"

Upon his command, a massive downpour finished everything as the heated glass figure of Desertman cracked from his center due to the sudden heating and sudden cooling that followed. His body dematerialized along with the rest of the sand that had consumed most of the school.

Both Rockmans' let out a sigh of relief that the event was finally over. They turned to one another and looked at each other in an awkward silence, unsure of what to say next. Netto was the first to take action as he raised a friendly hand up, making a wide grin. Subaru couldn't help but smile back as they both gave each other a high-five.


Far off from the school, the abandoned warehouse at which Subaru had previously landed upon his arrival received a second peculiar visitor as another "star" fell from the sky. A small crater was formed from the impact as dust was kicked up from the landing. As the dust settled, a white haired boy stood up from the rubble. Red eyes peered through the hole in the ceiling that was created up into the blue sky. He hated to admit it, but he had missed the breath of fresh air and feeling of orientation on Earth.

"This is..." Solo muttered under his breath as he took in his surroundings. He had already reverted back to his human form upon exiting the rip in time and space that was produced from the Noise congregation after the final battle. Laplace too appeared from the shadows of the walls hurriedly.

"KzzZZzzzt!" Its muffled words seemed urgent as the strange wave composed creature pointed towards a direction. Turning, Solo noticed a stranger staring straight at him. The figure was tall and cloaked in black. Lime hair sprouting from his head down to the ground. The Murian couldn't help but give a glare bacck at the figure, noticing immediately the open hostility the stranger was emitting.

There was a long silence as the two red eyed individuals stared daggers into each other before the stranger finally spoke. "Are you the cause of this 'Noise?"

Solo's face was unreadable, as he looked the figure over once more to gauge his strength. His eyes narrowed slightly at the mentioning of Noise. "And...? What if I am?"

In response, the ground beneath them shuddered as a dimensional field formed overhead the two of them. The stranger seemed to slump over like a ragged doll and gracelessly flopped onto the floor. While confused at first, it wasn't difficult to trace the source of killing intent as Solo turned his eyes upwards to see a brown-cloaked figure floating overhead looking down at him. There were fin like protrusions coming out of the stranger's helmet along with a blue star shaped jewel at its center. His voice seemed to boom as he commanded. "That power. Give it to me."

The statement only made Solo frown at the sheer amount of stupidity of it. How ignorant of an individual to demand something so intangible from a being such as himself. Calling Laplace to his side, the shadow like creature's form changed to that of a twisted blade to which Solo wielded single handedly. He could only scoff as he simply stated his description of the character before him. "To think I would encounter a fool already."


AN: And another chapter is over! All of you guys' warm reviews helped me get back on my feet. I hope you guys are enjoying reading this fic as much as I love writing it.

As a side note, I'm currently looking for a beta that can help me on my grammar and is familiar extensively with both the EXE and RnR universe.