YugiKitty and MalikKitsune: Good question.
ri2: It can easily reach her ankles when it's loose. When it's tied back, it get just above her ankles.
maverickzero: Whoa! Thanks for the suggestion!! ^_^
Song: See? That's what I'm talking about! Uh… I don't know, is it?? Oh! I thought it was a cloak or something. Oh well, you learn something everyday. :)
Youkai Ryuu: That is going to be a surprise, for now.
Chibiki: You might have figured this out on your own, but I won't spill anything. [PS: About that previous review you gave me, you're not the only one who needs help! @_@]
Hellspawn: Aha, so that's where it's from. Oh! If you want yaoi, go read After The Storm. It's a sequel to this story.
------------------------------------
I forgot something by the way!!
Chaud: 16
Lan: 15
Jinn: 16
MegaMan: 15
Mike: 15
Muramasa: 14
ProtoMan: 16
Ragnarok: 16
Razor: 15
Shine: 14
------------------------------------
--
Chapter II Part 3: The Help
"That guy was strange."
"I didn't really notice anything about him."
"It was hard to notice… but I just had a funny feeling about him."
"Well, he did have a cool Navi."
"Yeah. We should challenge him to a NetBattle once in awhile."
--
Lan got off the bus, and looked up at the hotel. It wasn't high, but it was still very nice. As he looked around, he noticed there were a lot of people standing around near the entrance.
"Oh, crud," Mega mumbled. "This isn't going to be easy."
"Tell me about it," Lan said solemnly, and started walking around.
Lan looked around, trying to find someone who might be the one who posted the request, but he saw no one of the kind. So, Lan started to walk around, trying to identify the person whom he was supposed to meet. That was not an easy task.
After some time, Lan sat down on the edge of the fountain they had there. The fountain was huge, and quite nice. Also, water-droplets sometimes landed on the surrounding people, cooling them down a little.
"Lan, we have to keep looking," Mega said calmly.
Lan was about to respond, when he suddenly heard something.
"Ragna, did you have to wake me? I'm tired as hell!!" a boy's voice said.
"Hey! You can't have that kid waiting, right?! I mean, who knows how fast he can be here?" a slightly digital voice said, obviously the boy's Navi.
"Whatever," the boy said through a yawn.
Lan blinked and walked around the fountain, until he came across a boy, seeming to wait for somebody. Lan had the faintest idea that he was the one who posted the request. He cleared his throat, causing the boy to look up.
"Yeah?" the boy asked.
"Did… you post a request about some incident in Den City?" Lan asked cautiously.
The boy smiled brightly and stood up.
"That'd be me. I'm Jinn, and you must be Lan, right?" the boy asked.
"Yeah, that's my name. And this is MegaMan," Lan said, pulling out his PET.
"Hi there!" Mega said with a smile.
"Pleasure," Jinn said, and pulled out his own PET. "This here is Ragnarok."
"Everyone calls me 'Ragna' though," the tall Navi said.
After some introduction, the duo sat down on the fountain's edge.
--
"So, what seems to be the problem?" Lan asked calmly.
Jinn began to explain.
"Well, here's what happened. Ragna and myself arrived in Den City and were just checking out some shops here and there, and we stumbled across this fancy antique-store. The lady running it was a fortuneteller of some sorts, seeing as she read my palm and stuff."
"Hey! That's Miyu!!" Mega suddenly said, interrupting Jinn's explanation.
Ragna blinked and asked: "She's a friend of yours??"
"Yeah, but go on," Lan said.
"Thanks," Jinn said with a smile. "Anyway, I suddenly noticed an arena behind her giving off a rather powerful discharge for something that size, so I pulled Miss Miyu away from it, just before it exploded."
"How did that happen??" Mega asked.
"Not sure, but anyway. The store caught fire, and we managed to get to the entrance, only to have it blocked."
Ragna continued then.
"The fire-extinguishers weren't functioning, so I was jacked in onto the Net of the store. The place was littered with viruses, but I managed to ward them off. Until ElecMan showed up."
"ElecMan?!?!" Mega and Lan exclaimed at the same time, shocked out of their wits.
"I heard that he'd been a Navi from World 3, so I thought it'd be wise if I told you two," Jinn said, looking at Lan with a look that said he was dead serious.
Silence reigned for a while, until Lan turned to Jinn.
"If someone is up to World 3's old tricks, we'll need all the help we can get. Can we count on you?" he asked, extending his hand to Jinn.
Jinn smiled and took it without hesitation.
"Sure thing. I'm not going to let anyone mess with this world while I'm around," he said.
"My thoughts exactly," Ragna said.
Mega smiled and extended his hand to the taller Navi. Ragna smiled back and shook the smaller Navi's hand.
"Hey! We should inform Chaud about this! I hate to admit it, but he might be able to help!" Lan suddenly said.
"Chaud?? Who's that?" Jinn asked, though inside his head, he made a groan of denial.
"I'll explain later. Let's just give him a call."
Mega nodded and easily dialed the number to Chaud's PET. It rang a few times, but there was no answer.
"That's funny," Mega said once he hung up.
"I know," Lan said. "Chaud always picks up the phone, no matter who's calling."
Jinn shrugged and said: "He's probably busy with other things."
Lan nodded, though a little unsure. Because he had a feeling it had probably had something to do with Shine. Jinn noticed Lan's slight change though, and it made him think for a moment.
'What's up with him all of the sudden? Why does he look like some sort of jealous kid?' he thought, before it dawned to him. 'Oh.'
"Hey Lan! You alright there?? You suddenly spaced out!!" Ragna suddenly said, shaking Lan from his 'trance'.
"Oh… sorry."
"No big deal," Jinn said, smiling. "You in for ice-cream? My treat."
"Am I?! Let's go!!!"
--
"I'm bored!" Ragna mumbled, sitting down on the floor.
He and Mega had been jacked in on the Net of the hotel, so they could wander about for a while. Problem was, there wasn't really much to do in the boring place.
"Hey, Ragna?" Mega asked after a moment of silence.
"Hmm?" Ragna responded calmly.
"Do you always fight with that lance of yours?"
"Not really. I have a Buster as well," Ragna said, and shifted his right hand into a Buster, "but I prefer my lance above my Buster. Any weapons you prefer?"
"Just my Buster I guess," Mega said with a shrug. "But swords can be convenient too."
"True. But it completely depends on the viruses you're facing at the moment."
"Can't argue with that. If you can't get near your enemy, then it'd be easy to have a Buster in handy."
"Yeah, but if you could be in the advantage by becoming the opposing element, then we would have no problem."
Mega smirked and said: "Is that all?"
Ragna looked up in confusion. At least, that's what showed. Ragna knew that Mega could use Style-Change whenever he wanted.
"Sorry?" he said.
Mega easily activated the Style-Change, and Ragna watched as streams of different data surrounded the Blue Bomber. When the glow that was radiating from Mega became too much, Ragna quickly covered his eyes with his arms, still holding his lance in one hand.
Once the glow stopped, Ragna looked through his arms, and gasped.
"So? What do you think?" Mega said, hands on his hips.
His armor had changed from azure blue to a darker shade of blue, with much lighter lines across his entire body, safe for his hands and feet. His Navi-Symbol had changed from fiery red, to a deep blue, and his helmet, gloves and boots were flickering with lights here and there.
Ragna whistled.
"Not bad. How'd you learn to do that?"
"Oh, Lan's dad used Chng.BAT on me. Every couple of battles I get a new 'Style', as Lan and I like to call them."
"Whoa. He must be mighty clever then," Ragna said, though he knew all of this already.
"Well, Lan's dad is the creator of NetNavis, and Lan's grandfather was the designer of the PETs."
"Looks like it runs in the family then."
"You could say that yeah."
"So, which is your favorite Style?"
Mega thought for a moment, then smiled and declared: "SaitoStyle!"
Ragna blinked as a look of shock and confusion came over his face.
"Sai… to??" Ragna asked, pretending not to understand the smaller Navi.
"I'd rather not show you. I lost part of my memory when I battled a different Navi who was about the same strength. I'd rather not risk going through that again."
Ragna nodded and said while standing up: "I won't make you do something you dislike, but could you explain me what SaitoStyle means?"
Mega nodded and reverted back to his normal self.
"SaitoStyle actually means I fully synchronize with Lan, increasing my abilities on the battlefield. All damage I receive in battle, Lan will also receive, sadly enough."
"Owchie," Ragna said. "I can understand that it must be your best Style, but I don't understand why it's your favorite."
Mega paused for awhile, before taking off his helmet, shaking his auburn colored hair from his face.
"Who do I look like?" Mega asked without answering.
Ragna blinked, and bent down to study Mega's face, one hand still clutching his lance.
"Uh… like Lan, I suppose. Safe for your eyes though," Ragna said, straightening up. "Why do you ask?"
Mega bit the inside of his cheek and hung his head.
"Because he's my brother."
Ragna didn't respond for quite some time, looking shocked like hell, while in truth, that had been something he already knew. He was about to open his mouth, when he suddenly felt something oddly familiar.
"Mail," Ragna mumbled and opened up a screen in front of him.
Mega blinked and said: "Yeah, me too," as he too opened a screen before him.
Ragna read the email, and gasped.
"Jesus!!!" he exclaimed.
--
"Whoa Lan! Slow down! The Oreo's are all over your face!!" Jinn said, smiling at the younger boy.
"Sorry," Lan said and rubbed over his face with his sleeve.
This only resulted into making it worse.
"Lan! It's getting worse!" Jinn laughed, and started helping Lan a little. "There!"
Lan smiled in thanks, then asked: "Hey Jinn. How old are you anyway?"
"I'm 16," Jinn answered, calmly eating his own ice-cream.
"Wha?? But you're my height and I'm 15!"
"Yeah well, I'm short for my age! Okay?! Always have been!"
"Whoa! Sorry! I didn't know that---"
Suddenly their PETs started bleeping, so they stopped talking and pulled them out.
"Ragna? What's wrong?"
"What's the matter, Mega?"
"See for yourself," the Navis said at the same time, and opened up the message both of them had received.
--
About an hour ago, a set of houses in Den City had mysteriously caught fire and had nearly burned to the ground. Luckily, the fires were extinguished before that could've been done. A few people have been severely injured, but none have died. One of the victims said that "the microwave suddenly spat out flames and nearly burned down the house."
--
Lan was so shocked, he dropped what was left of his ice-cream, and Jinn could just stare at the email.
"Oh crud!" Lan said in anger once the shock had faded.
"While we were chatting away, those guys were at it again!!" Jinn hissed angrily.
Lan turned to Jinn and said: "We have to do something about this! Right now!!"
Jinn looked at Lan, blinking, then asked: "And what are we going to do about this?"
Lan was about to respond, but he shut up when he knew he had no idea.
"We could… do what we always do?" Mega offered, making Ragna look at him oddly.
"What's that??" he asked.
Lan smiled however.
"Right! Off to dad!!"
--
"Your dad lives in Marine Harbor?" Jinn asked once they got out of the metro.
"No, he just works here," Lan answered.
"Oh."
The duo walked into the Official Center and stopped dead. The place was overcrowded with people for some reason, everyone running around for one reason or another.
"What's going on??" Jinn asked.
"No idea. But come on!!" Lan said, pulling his new friend through the crowd.
Surprisingly fast, they made it to the elevator. So, they got in and headed up.
--
Yuuichiro gave a sigh as he scanned the Net. Things weren't looking too good, with all those Navis revived and all. He kept on wondering how someone could've done that though, seeing as it was close to impossible to retrace data of deleted Navis.
And what was worse, was that this could go on forever.
"Dad!!!" a voice suddenly shouted.
Yuuichiro looked up in shock, and noticed Lan run into his office, along with one of his friends. This boy wasn't a familiar face though.
"Lan! What are you doing here?!" Yuuichiro asked, getting up from his seat.
Lan took a few moments to catch his breath first, then said: "We've got a problem."
Yuuichiro looked confused, until Lan continued.
"Someone's reusing the data of deleted Navis and causing havoc across the Net!"
"W-what?! Lan! How did you---" Yuuchiro started.
"Jinn here!!" Lan said, pulling his new friend forward.
The boy stumbled for a moment then straightened up.
"Jinn and his Navi have warded off ElecMan! And they found it wise to tell us about it."
Jinn looked at Lan a little worriedly, not at all too sure of what to say. I mean, what do you say when it's said you warded off an enemy that was supposed to be dead (or in this case, deleted)?
--
What Lan and Jinn didn't know, was that while they were talking, somewhere deep in the UnderNet, in a no-jack-out zone, a scheme was being hatched. A solitary figure stood in the UnderNet, staring across the empty Net, void of Navis, viruses, and even programs.
The figure could not be called a Navi, due to its slightly blurry appearance, which wasn't something you usually saw with Navis. It couldn't be registered as a virus or a program either, for its data was far too complex.
But if it wasn't a Navi, virus, or program……………………
Then what was it??
--
"Talk about high-tech," Jinn said, looking at the PC in awe.
"Dad, how did you know??" Lan asked as his father typed in several commands.
"We ran into a few 'deleted' Navis here at the Center as well," Yuuichiro said. "It was a close call, but we managed to ward them off."
Jinn sighed and said: "Thank goodness for that. Because I suspect that that would've caused a lot of trouble."
A sudden blipping drew Jinn's attention from Lan and Yuuichiro, who were talking about how the Navis could've been revived. Jinn walked over to a computer, and noticed something unusual. The screen was projecting a part of the UnderNet, but there were no Navis, no viruses or anything.
Safe for that odd figure standing almost directly in the center.
Jinn looked at it for a long time, leaning on the desk in front of it to get a better look. But just as Jinn started to squint--
It vanished.
"What the!?" Jinn whispered, shocked.
--
It was late at night when Jinn and Ragna finally returned to their hotel room. Jinn was remarkably quiet though.
"Jinn? You alright?" Ragna asked.
"I'm fine, Ragna, just thinking."
"About what?"
"That… whatever it was…"
"Oh. Do you have any idea what it might've been?"
"The computer said that the data of whatever it was was unfamiliar."
"Huh? But if it wasn't a Navi or a virus… then what in blazes was it??"
"I don't know, but for some reason, I think it has something to do with those revived Navis."
"Gosh. If only Raye were here. She could've helped out here."
"Yeah…" Jinn said, sitting down on the bed. "That girl always managed to figure everything out."
*Flashback*
"Say what??" Paul asked the younger girl.
"Wily's King's creator. I can tell by the guy's design," Raye said with a neutral look. "And besides, who else could've made him?"
"Well… Duo didn't have a creator," Nick said.
Raye gave a sigh and said: "He does have one! It's just that we never met him."
"Well, I still say it isn't Wily!" Paul said, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Wanna bet?" Raye mocked with a smirk.
Raye continued to fight her way through King's castle, until she finally had to face King. The battle began, but by the looks of it, King didn't feel like getting away from his shield.
After awhile though…
"Proto!!" the trio exclaimed when they heard the all familiar whistle.
Indeed, it was Proto Man, looking the same as ever. After some talking, Proto blasted King's shield to shreds, and some time later, the battle continued.
After Raye won, Bass (seeing as Raye was playing as Bass) asked King: "Who is your father? Who created you?"
King responded with: "What if I told you it was Dr. Wily?"
Nick and Paul instantly looked at each other in shock, and then at Raye who was looking quite satisfied with herself.
"I hate to say I told ya so, but," she said, smiling, "I told ya so."
*End Flashback*
"Man! I swear! That girl knows everything before it happens!" Ragna mumbled.
"She's not Miyu!" Jinn said, holding his PET in his hand.
"Maybe not, but she makes it look that way."
"Probably, but anyway, we should get some rest."
"Agree."
"Night."
"G'night."
--
During the night, both Operator and Navi dreamt. But not of what they usually dreamt.
This was… darker, than anything they ever dreamt in their whole lives.
*Ragna's dream*
"What the-KGGGG!!-around here?!!?"
"KGGGG!!-is THAT?!!?"
"Ragna!! Ragna!! Come in!!"
"This isn't good! We have to evacuate!! Now!!"
"Nani?!! We can't go now!! We're almost there!!"
"Is this more important than your life!! C'mon!! We have to go!!"
"ACK!! Hora!! You're pulling my arm from its socket already!!!"
"Look out!!!"
"KYAAAA!!!"
"Shit!!"
"What in the world!?"
"Ragna!! Wha-KGGGG!!!-ppend?!"
"Jinn!! Speak up!! I can't hear you!!"
"RAGNA, BEHIND YOU!! LOOK OUT!!!"
"Wha-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"
*Jinn's dream*
"When I get my hands on those overgrown motherfuckers!!!"
"Those bastards are going to pay for what they did!!"
"It's just down the hall!! C'mon!!"
"Ugh!! The aura around here is stronger than it was outside!!"
"Ack! I know what you mean! But we can't stop!!!"
"We should wait for---"
"No time stupid!! C'mon!!!"
"Whoa!!!"
"Oh crud!! It's passcode protected!!"
"Now what?!"
"Just crack the code."
"Huh!?! How the hell did you---"
"I believe we don't have the time for that. If you mind stepping aside."
"You better know what you're doing!"
"I am."
Click click click click click bling!
"Passcode's been cracked, Sir!"
"Good. Then we're off."
"Where're the others?"
"They're underway."
"How can you stay so calm, damnit!! She could be in danger for all we know!!"
"Hmph."
"Ugh! Typical!! Well, if you don't care about her, then you should leave! Good bye!!!"
"?!?! Hey!! Wait up!!"
"………Might as well go with you."
"Damn!!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!"
"?!?!?!"
"That's her!!! Oh crud, if something's happened to her!!"
"Wait!"
"Huh?"
"There's a good chance the place's trapped. …… I smell a rat."
"Well I don't!! And I---"
"What on earth is THAT?!!?"
"Huh?!?!"
"Oh SHIT!!"
"FUCK!!!"
*End dreams*
Jinn shot up in bed, sweating like crazy, breathing irregular.
'What was that??' he wondered, and looked out the window.
It was still dark out. Jinn grabbed his digital alarmclock and checked the time. The time read 3:05 AM, so he had been sleeping for about five hours. With a sigh, Jinn replaced the alarmclock and slumped down on the bed.
The dream was still fresh in his mind, and that girl screaming… why had she sounded so familiar?
No names had been mentioned… so he must've known them pretty well.
Did he?
Jinn gave a frustrated cry of anger, grasping his aching head with both hands, digging his nails in his scalp.
"Is there anything on this world that makes any goddamn sense?!!?" he asked the empty room, not expecting to be answered.
"If everything made sense, the world would be a rather dull place to live," Ragna's tired voice said.
Jinn blinked in confusion, and swung his legs out of bed while sitting up, before walking to the desk where he'd left his PET. He picked up the PET and looked at the tired-looking Ragna, who was rubbing the sleep from his eyes, but it was clear he'd been up much longer than Jinn.
"How long have you been awake?" Jinn asked, walking back to the bed.
"For 'bout yawn an hour."
"Why didn't you go ta sleep?"
The boys were both so tired, that their usual excited voices were dull and almost empty. None of them bothered.
"I tried. Multiple times. Raye's wearing off on me. Once that lass's awake, it's impossible for her to go back to sleep."
"Reason you couldn't sleep?"
"Bad dream. You?"
Jinn gave a yawn, covering it with his hand, and said: "Same."
Jinn dropped back on the bed, holding up his PET, so he could still look at Ragna through his half-lidded eyes. Dark rings were starting to form with both already, but it didn't bother them.
"Wha was yours about?" Jinn asked.
"I was on the Net with two other Navis… couldn't make out anything though, but we were somewhere where we couldn't jack out or something…"
"Then wha?"
"We got attacked. Tha's 'bout when I woke up."
"Ah… Well, I was stuck in some kind of building with a few others trying to save somebody… And then we suddenly got attacked by… somethin'…"
Silence reigned for awhile, before Jinn's arm gave up and dropped beside him on the bed.
"Ugh… I'm gonna try to get back to sleep…" he mumbled, and closed his eyes.
"Yeah… me too…" Ragna said through a yawn, and laid down on the bed he had in the PET.
In no time, the duo was sound-asleep.
--
Somewhere on the Net, sat that same dark figure, staring at nothing in particular. Its eyes were hollow and empty, a pure white, but with a really, really light red line where its eyeballs met the skin of its eyelids. Slowly, it stood up as it felt something.
A presence… and a strong one at that…
With the agility of a cat, it jumped from rock to rock, eager to find this new source of power.
Some time later, it stopped dead, hidden in the shadows. Its eyes were wider than usual, before it shook its head with clenched-shut eyes, and rubbed its eyes forcefully, before looking again.
A violent grin passed over its features.
'Beautiful…' it thought, staring at the figure below him, hands on the hips, looking around for anything suspicious no doubt. 'Beautiful and strong…'
If possible, the grin got even wider.
'I like that in a slave…'
--
If you know who Jinn and Ragna were dreaming off, get yourself a cookie. If you know who the Dark Figure was watching, get another cookie. o_0 Did I just say that?? DAMN!!