Arc I: Black Shadow Virus

Chapter I: Trouble in Akihara

September 1st, 200X

Saiba City, Japan

Central Town

"I can't believe school starts tomorrow..."

It was nearing the end of a beautiful summer in Saiba City. The weather had been very sunny all throughout the summer, seeming to reflect the moods of all the kids and teenagers of Saiba City who were happy to be out of school.

But, like many things, it didn't last.

School would be starting tomorrow. It was a downer to most of the kids. Including one thirteen-year-old boy in Central Town Park.

He was an average, everyday teenager living in the year 200X. He had brown, spiky hair, and usually wore a gray sweat coat with a blue T-shirt and jeans. His name was Jake Matanoa.

"C'mon, Jake, school won't be that bad."

Jake's navi, Maelstrom, looked about his age. He wore an all green bodysuit with green shoulder-pads, and he had a helmet with two small fins on each side.

"Yeah, yeah," Jake replied, though he didn't believe Maelstrom at all. "C'mon, let's get home and go on the net or something. Something to take my mind off of school."

"Maybe we'll meet up with Jessica and Star there," Maelstrom said, trying to cheer Jake up.

Jessica Kaizawa had been Jake's best friend since kindergarten. But, Jessica had to move away to the somewhat distant Densan City earlier that summer, meaning they never saw each other anymore. But, they still kept in touch through the net. Star was her navi, a ninja navi.

"Yeah, maybe," Jake said, cheering up a little.

He got home. Looking around, he saw his parents weren't home yet. He looked at the refrigerator and found a note:

Went to the store for some groceries. Be home soon! Love, Mom

Jake walked upstairs to his bedroom, walked up to his PC, and pointed his PET at it.

"Plug in! Maelstrom! Transmission!"

A thin beam of red light came out of the PET and went into the plug-in port. Maelstrom materialized in Jake's PC in a flash of bright blue light. He spun around as he appeared in the warp, and walked off of it.

"HEY, MAELSTROM!" said the Program-kun who looked after Jake's PC.

"Hey, Program-kun," Maelstrom said, waving as he walked by. He went through the warp and entered Central Area 1.

"Akihara Area?" Maelstrom asked.

"Akihara Area," Jake confirmed. Maelstrom began to make his way to Central Area 3, which had a passage that cut through Sky Area and into Akihara Area. He walked through the NetCafe, heading towards Area 2.

"…Welcome to the NetCafe, Maelstrom…" said the navi at the desk. "…Would you like a cup of coffee…?"

"Not today," Maelstrom said. "I'm just passing through."

"…I see…well, have a good time…" the navi said as Maelstrom left.

Maelstrom walk to Central Area 3 was uneventful. He walked through, saying hi to passing navis, and entered Area 3.

Central Area 3 was always a place of intrigue due to the large pit in the middle. As such, it was usually filled with tourists.

"Wow, this pit is huge!"

"I wonder what's down there?"

Maelstrom knew the legend of the Dennoujou. Two monstrous beasts had fought all over the CyberWorld, and their battle climaxed here, creating the massive pit. They were rumored to be sleeping in this pit in Central Area 3.

He walked past the navi at the desk, who was really just a papier-mache, flashing his AreaPass so he could go through. He entered Sky Area 2 and walked up the enormous staircase in front of him, knowing that if he were human, this would be exhausting. He finally reached the top and entered Akihara Area.

"See Star anywhere, Maelstrom?" Jake asked. Maelstrom looked around for a moment, and then spotted the familiar black-clad navi.

"There she is!" Maelstrom said. He took the warp to the main Akihara Area and walked towards her. "Hey, Star!"

Star turned around, and smiled at the sight of her friend.

"Hi, Maelstrom!" she said. "Long time no see!"

"Is that Maelstrom?" Jake heard a voice say. "Jake? Are you there?"

"No," Jake said. "I'm asleep. Maelstrom got into the net by himself."

He heard a laugh.

"Hi, Jake," she said. "Good to hear from you again!"

The two navis began to walk around Akihara Area.

"So, what's up?" Maelstrom asked.

"Oh, not much," Star replied. "You?"

"Same here," Maelstrom said. "Though Jake's bummed out about school starting tomorrow."

He heard a groan. "Why'd you have to remind me?" Jake asked. He heard Jessica laugh again, and decided to change the subject.

"So, what's Densan like?" Jake asked.

"It's pretty different from Central Town," Jessica replied. "Akihara Town is more like a suburb than Central Town is. Central Town's more urban."

"Sounds nice," Jake said.

BOOM!

"What the-?" Maelstrom and Star both turned towards the source of the noise.

A giant dragon flew through the area, roaring and crashing through the net. Several navis screamed and ran, some escaping and some getting hit by the dragon.

"Quick, plug out!" Jake said.

"You, too, Star!" Jessica said.

"Right!" both navis said. They stood there for a moment.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Jake asked impatiently.

"I can't plug out!" Maelstrom replied. "That thing must've put up some kind of barrier!"

"Dang it!" Jake said upon hearing this. "Okay, we'll have to fight it!"

Star pulled out her shuriken and Maelstrom went into a fighting stance.

"Battle routine, set!" Jake and Jessica said.

"Execute!" Maelstrom and Star said in unison. Maelstrom's facemask appeared and Star pulled her scarf over her mouth. The dragon looked at them, roared, and charged madly. The two navis ducked as it flew over them, turned around, and then landed in front of them.

"Elemental Star!" Star called out. Her shuriken split into four smaller stars, each one of a different element, and she threw them at the dragon. They connected, seeming to do damage, but the dragon barely flinched and shook off the attack.

"Buster Fist!" Maelstrom said. His hand was encased in a large, green, metal fist. He ran up to the dragon at top speed and punched its leg, leaving a dent but doing no more damage than that.

"This thing's strong," Jake commented. "Okay, battlechips!"

He began searching through his chipfolder, trying to find a good chip to use. Maelstrom and Star backed away from the dragon as it lifted itself off of the ground, flew forward a little, and then landed. It reared its claw back…

"Reflector 1, battlechip in!" Jake heard Jessica say. "Download!"

Star jumped in front of Maelstrom with a large, yellow shield with a green plus sign in her hand. She held it up and blocked the incoming claw, and the shield retaliated by sending a shockwave at the dragon. It connected with its foot, but did no damage whatsoever.

"Thanks, Star," Maelstrom said. Jake found an Air Shoes and a Bronze Fist chip.

"Okay, let's try this!" Jake said eagerly. "Air Shoes, and Bronze Fist! Battlechips in! Download!"

Using the Air Shoes, Maelstrom launched himself high into the air. The dragon opened up its mouth, and purple energy began to form in its throat. Maelstrom's fist became a large, bronze fist, and he punched the dragon just before it launched the blast.

The dragon stood there, about to launch the blast, but unmoving. Maelstrom landed, and he felt odd. He felt twice as powerful as he just did. But, how was that possible?

Jake felt something, too. He could feel power. He could feel Maelstrom, almost as if he could hear Maelstrom's thoughts.

"Heaven Shuriken!" Star yelled, taking advantage of the dragon not moving. Her shuriken glowed a pure white color, and she threw it at the dragon's head. The shuriken connected, and the dragon recoiled back from the attack.

"I've never seen that attack before!" Jake said in awe.

"We've been practicing," Jessica said happily.

"Impressed?" Star asked Maelstrom. Maelstrom, though distracted by the sudden power surge, saw the attack.

"Very," he said, grinning at her. "We should netbattle sometime."

The dragon recovered and looked at Star angrily. It leaned over and opened its mouth, charging up purple energy. Rapid blasts fired out at them.

"Look out!" Maelstrom yelled, grabbing Star's arm and pulling her out of the way. The blasts slammed into the ground, breaking it with each blast that connected.

"Thanks," Star said.

"No problem," Maelstrom replied. "Jake, got any more good battlechips?"

"I've got another Bronze Fist," Jake said. He pulled out the battlechip and slotted it in. He then began to type in a rapid code.

"Take this!" Maelstrom called at the dragon. It turned to look at him. He pulled his fist back and punched, sending a flying Bronze Fist at the dragon, feeling the sudden surge of power leave him as he did. It connected with more force than before, and the dragon roared in agony. It began to explode, still roaring, and then it exploded into a million tiny data bits.

Maelstrom fell to his knees, weak despite the fact that he took no damage in the fight. The sudden power surge had drained him. His breathing was heavy as he tried to recover.

"Maelstrom, are you okay?" Star asked, concerned. She kneeled over and looked at him. He looked up at her.

"I'm fine," he said. "Just tired, that's all. We should still netbattle sometime."

"Maelstrom says he felt that power, too," Jake told Jessica over his PET phone. "Do you think I'm going insane?"

"Going insane?" Jessica asked. Jake laughed.

"Gimme a break," he said. "But seriously, do you know anything about it?"

"Hmm…" Jessica thought about it for a moment. "Well, I think I've heard something like this before, but I don't remember much about it."

"Well, I'll ask my dad about it when he gets home," Jake said. "See you later."

"Bye!" Jessica said before hanging up.

"Jake, dinner's ready!" Jake's Mom called from downstairs.

"Coming!" Jake called back. He ran downstairs. Fighting dragons made him hungry.

The Matanoa family, which consisted of Jake, his mother Serena, and his father Dr. Fredrick Matanoa, was sitting at the table, eating Mom's delicious Teriyaki Chicken.

"Great as always, honey," Dad said.

"Thank you, I try!" Mom said happily.

They continued to eat while Dad talked about his day at the Central Town Labs. He was the Head Netbattle Technician, an expert netbattler who worked on developing new techniques to bust viruses with the help of his navi, FighterMan. Because of his expertise, Dad would be the perfect person to ask about the strange power.

"Hey Dad," Jake started once he finished talking. "Earlier today, something weird happened."

He began to describe the fight with the dragon, and the sudden power he and Maelstrom had felt. Dad stroked his chin for a moment.

"Hmmm, if I'm correct," he said, "Than what you've just described to me is Full Synchro."

"Full Synchro?" Jake asked. "What's that?"

"It's a special power," Dad said. "It can only be activated by a navi and operator who have a strong bond with each other. By operating Maelstrom well, you were able to achieve it. Full Synchro makes a navi twice as powerful as he normally is."

"Wow, really?" Jake asked.

"Really," Dad said, smiling. "I'm proud of you. It's a difficult power to achieve. But if you master it, you'll be unbeatable."

"Wow," Jake said, looking at his plate. "But what about the dragon not moving?"

"That's called a Counter Attack," Dad explained. "When you attack an enemy right as it's about to attack, you can Counter it. It'll be stunned. It can also help to activate Full Synchro."

"Full Synchro and Counter…" Jake said. "Alright, we're gonna master them both! Thanks, Dad!"

"You're welcome, son," Dad said.

Author's Note: Well, that's my first chapter. Those who read the original first and second chapters that I didn't post here will notice the huge changes I've made. Jake learns about Full Synchro right in the first chapter! Star isn't knocked out! Different, isn't it? Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter. Read and review!