Kamen Rider Drive Battle Network

by Kamen Rider ZER0

The Global Freeze a day the earth stalled. Only saved by the legendary Kamen Rider, but the evil lives in the virtual world. Waiting to strike back at the real world and the humans. From across the virtual worlds uncanny valley rise the Roidmudes! A new brand of heroes must rise in both worlds. To move fast enough to save both worlds from destruction, Start your Engine!

10. Who is Causing the Slowdowns

GT: Hi folks~! Today's gonna be a weird chapter, no?

Z0: Oh I'm prepared for weird *dressed in an alien suit to defend against all hijinks and nonsense*

GT: Well, we won't bother you folks for too long. As usual, we don't own Kamen Rider Drive nor Megaman Battle Network/Rockman dot EXE. They're owned by their respective owners. And I am so excited for the Legacy Collection! …Getting the Secret BattleChips in 4 is gonna suck but rock, too! *Z0 puts me into a chokehold* GACK!

Z0: Maintain control! Or so help me I'm using the alien knife! *holds up talking alien knife*

GT: …*toe manages to push a button*

*BOOM!*

---

"Advanced PeT?" Maylu repeated, walking alongside Lan towards school.

"Yep!" Lan beamed as he held it up for Maylu to see, "It's smaller than my last PeT, but it comes with a lot more!"

"The storage in here is something else," Megaman noted, "And we don't need to pull out a cable to Jack In anymore, either."

"Really?" Roll asked as Lan sheepishly scratched his cheek.

"Yeah. It…The other day pretty much showed why the cables have become a bad idea to keep," Lan spoke as he put his new PeT into its new holder on his shorts.

"The other day? …Oh! You mean the attack on SciLab and the underground Power Plant, right?" Roll asked, unaware of Megaman flinching at the reminder.

"Ah…Those stupid Roidmudes and WWW messed with a PeT and spliced it to a cable that'd fry a hostage and delete the NetNavi," Lan noted before passing by some students heading their way to school, "I heard that the Kamen Rider managed to deal with the situation."

"Oh? It must have been scary since you were there, right?" Maylu asked.

"Nah. I didn't get to see the Kamen Rider, but Papa did!" Lan grinned before they separated from the students as they went off in their own direction on the campus, "Shinnosuke-nii managed to unlock a neat green garbage truck form called Type Technic. He was so awesome, disabling the machine they were using and shooting them with his Door-Ju without even having to look at them while he was getting me out of it!" he kept his smile up as Maylu's eyes widened, "...Ah…I messed up."

"You did," Megaman groaned, facepalming, before Maylu grabbed Lan and pulled him around a corner of the school building.

"You were where?!"

"..." Lan poked his pointer fingers together while looking away from her, "It…It wasn't all that bad…"

"Lan, you'd likely still be in the hospital if Mad Doctor hadn't been healing you from the time Tomari-san handed him over and going to the hospital," Megaman sighed, knowing the jig was up.

"Hospital!?" the two girls exclaimed.

"Ah! It's fine, it's fine!" Lan assured, rubbing the back of his head while Mad Doctor peeked out of his hair as Midnight Shadow peeked out of Maylu's school bag, "I'm here and I'm a-ok!" he looked down, "Shouldn't have happened in the first place if I hadn't gone after Papa…"

"Oh, Lan…" Maylu spoke, realizing the issue.

"We knew it was an assignment from the CID working with the SIU to watch the non-officers there in case the WWW did attack like they did, but…" Megaman spoke.

"Oh Mega…" Roll whispered before letting out a hiccup, "?!"

The two kids tensed as they felt a familiar heaviness in the area. Their PeTs quickly went off.

"A Slowdown?!" Megaman exclaimed.

"Ah! Not good…" Roll gasped as the two NetOps looked around with concern until Roll hiccuped again, making her quickly cover her mouth, 'Ah! I didn't expose us if they're around the corner, did I?!'

Just as fast as it came, the Slowdown vanished and caused the two to stumble. Doctor and Shadow quickly shot off the two and onto their tiny roads that formed. Both let out several honks as they went off.

"They're going to check for any signs of the Roidmude," Megaman explained.

"We should probably call Shinnosuke-nii, too," Lan suggested before the bell rang, "...After we get scolded by Ms. Mari for being late again…"

"Mmm…" Maylu groaned.

---

"Ah mou…another quickie?" Kyu pondered, looking over the detection machine in the office.

"Is that bad?" Jun asked, looking at his color fortunes.

"They're too fast for us to get an exact location," Kyu replied.

"Eh? Not even Rush-kun?" Jun asked, sitting up straight.

"Awoo…" Rush whined sadly on Kyu's computer.

"It's like if you're looking from a vantage point for the one house that flashes its lights on and off," Kyu explained, "Normally, a Slowdown lasts long enough to leave a trail, a scent," he motioned to Rush for emphasis, "These are like…ah…I don't have a proper term…hiccups! Like Hiccups in the sensors. Enough to set it off…but not enough to track down. Even with how good Rush-kun is…he still needs more to work with."

"Ah…Poor, pupper," Jun noted before looking at his phone, "Ah. Rinna-san~ Can you change the color of Rush-kun's collar? Red today leads to a stuffy nose!"

"Ah…I feel like I should just build in a decoration system…" Rinna sighed, "Hai, I'll get on that. And improve the system to see if I can track down these…hiccups."

"Has this been happening often?" Shinnosuke asked, holding up an unwrapped milk candy over his mouth before, with a tug, it opened and dropped his treasured sweet into his mouth.

"Several days now," Kyu replied.

"Maybe there's a virus in the system," Gen suggested.

"If there is, I'm getting Lan-kun for it," Rinna stated.

"Hah?!" Gen gawked.

"I feel slighted, de gozaru."

"What? He's been helping me with bugs and virus for a while now. It's like your a regular handyman; you just have a bond with the reliable one," Rinna explained, "Sides asking you would mean having to explain to Gen-san…how technology works…" she added with a cringe to her voice.

"Oi…what's that mean?" Gen asked.

"All he knows when it comes to PeTs is 'plug into port' and 'insert BattleChip to help me fight,' de gozaru."

"Quiet from the peanut gallery!" Gen barked.

"Alright fine, if you want to help, you need to tell me everything you know of how Density Shifts work, how they are detected, and understand the machine that detects them searches for certain residual traces of…" Rinna paused as Gen had a far away and confused expression that looked goofy, "Aw…it's okay, big guy. I'm sure girls still love ya for the muscle." she roughly patted his shoulder.

"..." Kyu waved a hand over Gen's face, earning no reaction, "I think his brain got fried."

"Should I notify the hospital, de gozaru?"

"You think he'll get the room he got when his cat toy bit him?" Shinnosuke joked as Kiriko rolled her eyes.

---

"This is rather bothersome…" Brain sighed, looking at his tablet.

"Brain…" Chase spoke as he approached.

"Something's wrong," Brain informed.

"Aside from you not being able to transform?" Raijin joked from the couch nearby, reading a drumming magazine and earning an annoyed glare from Brain.

"No…I am still working on that, thank you very much," Brain seethed before turning back to Chase, "I think we have a little wayward Roidmude out there."

"..."

"Look at this," Brain held up the tablet, "I've been picking up short…hiccups…of someone setting off a Density Shift. It's been happening for several days now and I just can't get a good track of them!"

"How odd…" Heart noted as he got up from his recliner, "I guess we'll need to investigate." he slapped Brain's shoulder, "And by that, I mean you and Chase!"

"What!?" Brain gawked.

"Hmm…" Chase muttered as he turned to Brain, "Has the crack to your head healed?"

"Crack to my head? What crack to my head?!" Brain demanded.

"We suppose that will have to do," Zero sighed.

"What is that supposed to mean?!" Brain gawked.

"Nothing of importance. I just hope it ingrained the lesson of never mess with my work…again," Chase replied simply.

"See…you're getting closer," Heart smiled, "The Hakase and I will be busy setting up an important project."

"Project?" Brain blinked.

"Don't worry, Brain, just focus on your task." Heart walked off.

"..." Raijin turned a page in his magazine, "You're gonna get blown up."

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Brain snapped, glaring at Raijin as Chase dragged him off.

---

"I was really hoping my turn had been yesterday…" Lan grumbled as he and Maylu left the school grounds, "I hate it when my hands get all wrinkly from the water for cleaning the classroom."

"I still don't get why students are assigned to clean classroom and I've been with Maylu-chan for five years now," Roll sighed, "It means less time before Maylu-chan has to go do her piano lessons."

"I think it's meant to help teach kids how to be responsible as they grow older."

"Can't they give us an egg to take care of instead?" Lan asked.

"That is a stereotype from American cartoons, Lan."

"Yeah, besides everyone knows it's a sack of flour," Roll joked.

"Ah…Lan would still lose it somehow…"

"Hey!" Lan pouted before looking at Maylu, "You want to walk to your house then before I have to go to the Drive Pit?"

"No. Today isn't a piano lesson," Maylu replied, "And…well…I was hoping to go with you today."

"More practice?"

"No. I'm…" Maylu looked around before moving closer to Lan and whispering, "I think I'm being followed by a Roidmude."

"...Eh!?" Lan gawked before Maylu quickly covered his mouth.

"Not so loud!" Maylu whispered harshly.

"Why do you think that?" Lan whispered after pushing her hand away, "Wait…do you think a Roidmude replaced someone in class? Or a Teacher?" he asked while looking around, "I have had a hunch…but Shinnosuke-nii said no stakeout 'till I have proof…"

"I hope it's not Ms. Mari," Megaman noted.

"It's not just at school," Maylu replied, "A few times in the last few days, a Slowdown has been going off. They barely last long, but…"

"It's really freaky. It's like they want us to know they're there but not wanting too much attention to earn Tomari-san's attention," Roll shuddered.

"Why didn't you say anything earlier?" Megaman asked.

"You two have been really busy with helping the SIU," Maylu replied, "And a few days ago, you left early by jumping out the third story window."

"Ah…" Lan looked away sheepishly, recalling his stunt in getting out of school to get home to see his father that ended up flopping, "..." he coughed into his fist, fighting off the embarrassed blush, "A-Alright…Let's get going to the Drive Pit!" he grinned, "The sooner I'm done there, the sooner I can get home! Because of the attack, Papa's been given permission to be at home the rest of the week!"

"Aw…That's good to hear," Roll noted before hiccuping.

"Yep! It's…" Lan grinned, his hands behind his back as he tripped, "Uwah!" he started falling over…when a Slowdown hit, "?!"

"Not…again…" Maylu grimaced, feeling sluggish due to a lack of their Shift Car friends.

"Oh no…" Roll groaned, managing to cover her mouth as another hiccup went off.

Lan grunted as he finished falling, the slowed down fall managing to keep him from hitting the back of his head on the sidewalk, "Gah! …" Lan looked around, "Okay…I see your point even more."

"This is so strange…if they are here…why is there no attack? They use their power at the moment of attack," Megaman pointed out, "But…nothing… So…what is their game? Are they just being cruel?"

"Maybe Belt-san will know more?" Roll guessed.

"We better hurry then," Lan advised, "Belt-san is really smart, so I'm sure he'll know why they're doing this!"

---

"I honestly have no idea why they're doing this," Belt-san noted from his stand.

"Ah mou~!" Lan groaned.

"I'm sorry, but I know how Roidmudes work on a technical level. Honestly, the complex cybernetic brain they have acts much like a normal one. They have just as complex thoughts as humans. Criminology is not my area of expertise. I can only guess that this Roidmude has some…motive for what they do. For all we know, this is just some sick game to them," Belt-San explained, "We just don't know for sure sadly. I think until such a time as we do, you kids should be shadowed by Shinnosuke. That way if anything happens, he will be on the scene to avert disaster."

"I guess that's the best idea we have for the moment," Roll sighed as Shadow and Doctor drove in one their roads, giving out sad honks.

"Hm? Neither of you were able to find the Roidmude?" Belt-san asked, earning negative-sounding honks, "Alright. Shadow, keep near Maylu-chan at all times. Doctor, same with Lan-kun. I'll request if any of the others will join in on the off-chance something develops and you kids need time to get away."

"Hah…as if Mama being so concerned about everything wasn't enough…now we're gonna be watched 24/7 cause someone is stalking us…" Lan sighed, "Shinnosuke-nii is right…I can't wait 'till I'm old enough to be a bachelor."

"I'm glad you've been paying attention to that grammar calendar Sawagami-hakase gave you," Megaman noted, a hint of amusement in his tone.

"Oi," Lan pouted as Rinna entered.

"Ah! Lan-kun, there you are!" Rinna exclaimed as she hurried over, "I need you to check over the detection system in the office for Viruses." she noticed Maylu, "Oh! Hello, Maylu-chan. Here to try the simulator to work on FullSynchro? We just added that pesky Volt Roidmude from the last case into it."

"Um…W-Well…"

"We were about to call you and Shinnosuke. It seems a Roidmude has been following Maylu-chan and making small 'bursts' of Slowdown go off for their amusement," Belt-san explained.

"...Eh?!" Rinna gasped.

"Yeah…Maylu thinks it's stalking her. Which…it seems like it is," Lan pointed out, "I honestly don't know what it's doing…but…it happens around her most of the time…so…the stalker theory kinda makes sense."

"...I'll get Shinnosuke-kun," Rinna stated, quickly heading back out.

"..." Lan frowned once she left.

"Something the matter, Lan-kun?" Belt-san asked.

"Just…It's nothing, really," Lan replied as he walked over to a nearby workbench with a small little placard on it with his name on it, "I'll work on ideas for dealing with this Roidmude if it's fleeing into the Network each time it sets one off."

Megaman watched Lan from the computer he and Roll were using before gesturing for Maylu and Belt-san to move closer, letting him whisper, "Lan's been a bit…worried lately. The last few times, the Roidmude didn't even try escaping on the Network and he even got caught by that Volt one in SciLab." he frowned, "I feel like he's feeling like he's not able to contribute as much as he'd like to."

"I suppose it is difficult for any man, or boy, to feel like he isn't contributing. He got a taste of responsibility and adventure, so that part of him is…excited. But I'm sure he'll find his place," Belt-san spoke, "Just do reprimand him if he does something stupid, Megaman-kun."

"Papa included a stronger speaker in the new PeT," Megaman grinned, "He knows what I'd do with it to make a point or use it for reprimand."

"Wait…Is that why Maylu-chan's sliding door shook this morning?" Roll asked, her eyes wide in realization.

"..." Belt-san's screen displayed a surprised expression as Megaman looked away from Roll with his cheeks a bright pink, "I may have to apologize to Fire Braver later on…I thought he was exaggerating about Lan-kun's sleeping habits."

"..." Maylu looked over at Lan in concern, a closed fist hiding her mouth, until the door opened and Shinnosuke ran in with Kiriko and Rinna.

"There's a Roidmude following you around?" Kiriko asked, going down to a knee to put a hand on Maylu's shoulder.

"I…I think so. Short Slowdowns keep going off near me," Maylu explained, "I've been thankful that nothing really bad has happened yet, but…"

"It's going to be alright," Shinnosuke assured, "Any places this normally happens?"

"Any chance you've been listing the times and places?" Belt-san asked.

"..." Maylu looked down, finding her shoes interesting as she blushed.

"I knew I was forgetting something…" Roll groaned, facepalming, as Megaman patted her shoulder in assurance.

"It's okay, you're still a child. I don't expect you to be perfect. The fact you have told me all you have is still plenty useful." Belt-san assured with a smile, "But from now on, do try to do so, Roll-chan. It may help us track down the Stalker."

"Belt-san is right. You've probably given him enough data that it's worth more than we normally get from folks," Shinnosuke added, "I guess for starters, I'll pick you both up in Tridoron. Maybe seeing it will scare the Roidmude."

"Oh! Um…Thank you, Tomari-san," Maylu thanked with a bow.

"Hopefully, this doesn't go on too long," Roll noted, looking at Maylu's calendar app, "Maylu-chan's next piano lesson is next Tuesday."

"Eh?" Shinnosuke raised a brow before shaking it off, "I'm sure we'll solve it before then." he rubbed his chin in thought, "...Maybe it isn't a Virus then."

"Hm?" Rinna looked at him.

"The alerts are probably this Roidmude that's following Maylu-chan at a distance," Shinnosuke guessed, "Giving small bursts just to get her unnerved." he frowned, "But what's the motive? Why her?"

"I can think of one guess," Belt-san noted, turning his stand to look at the monitor, "The data inside of Roll."

"...Ah! From Brain controlling her body, right?" Shinnosuke recalled.

"..." Roll bopped the bottom of her fist into her open palm, "I honestly forgot that."

"How could you forget that?" Kiriko gawked.

"I don't like remembering it because Mega got hurt because of it," Roll replied, frowning with guilt.

"Even still, it must be why," Shinnosuke offered, "For all we know, other NetNavis who have fused with Roidmudes might be followed."

"Since only a few got separated…and others were deleted with the Roidmude's destruction, Roll-chan might be the best sample 'cause she merged with a powerful Roidmude who already evolved!" Rinna declared.

Roll grimaced, guilt on her face, "So Maylu-chan is getting followed because of me…"

"To be fair…it's a good bit less creepy than what alternatives were on the board of theories…" Belt-san muttered, the adults all glancing away from the confused Maylu.

"We can't really be sure…but it is our best bet," Megaman offered, "I guess we'll just go as planned. Tomari-san will be a deterrent from following Roll-chan and Maylu-san."

"That's a relief. If these Slowdown bursts can just stop, I'll be happy with that," Maylu sighed in relief.

"I know you have a rather busy schedule, but is it possible you can cut back on some things?" Shinnosuke asked, "Cutting down on places you go to could help us in determining a pattern with this."

"If not…well Shinnosuke-kun will make a wonderful chauffeur~!" Rinna smiled.

"Eh?" Shinnosuke blinked.

"We have cut down a bit on places we go to since this started," Roll noted, pulling up Maylu's calendar to look at as Megaman turned around to not look at it, "The only thing tomorrow we really need to do is grocery shop and going to Yai-san's for tea."

"Yai-san?" Shinnosuke repeated.

"Ayano Yaito, but she prefers her friends like Lan, Maylu-san, and Dex to call her 'Yai' for short," Megaman spoke.

"Ayano? Where have I heard that name before…?" Shinnosuke pondered.

"Does the company GABCOM mean anything to you?" Roll asked.

"Ah! The biggest game company in the world! They made this awesome crossover fighting game franchise between their games and Marvel comics I took a week's vacation from work to play last year!" Shinnosuke recognized before gawking, "Uso! She's a member of that Ayano family?"

"Try 'daughter of the CEO and Founder,'" Megaman corrected.

"..." Kiriko pinched the bridge of her nose, inhaling a bit, "Lan-kun is the son and grandson of the two geniuses behind the Network and NetNavis…and Maylu-chan and Lan-kun are friends with the daughter of one of the richest families in the world…"

Shinnosuke chuckled, "What's next? My old partner's hospital buddy is the son of a guy who made a dangerous underground Network and he has a NetNavi that can oneshot Roidmudes without even trying?"

"That was…oddly specific…" Kiriko blinked.

"Don't let Jun-san hear your connection to a wealthy family," Rinna advised, "He's still trying to figure out how to handle things with our slashed budget."

"Rinna…" Kiriko frowned as she turned to her.

"Joking, joking~" Rinna held her hands up in a surrendering pose.

"Well let's just play it safe," Shinnosuke offered, "Roidmudes tend to goof up when it matters the most so far."

"...Oh! Idea~" Rinna grinned as she quickly whistled and Rush popped out of a hole between Megaman and Roll, "Keep Rush-chan with you. If he's in the middle of a Slowdown, I'm sure he'll be able to catch the scent no matter how brief it will be!"

"It's a good idea," Kiriko nodded.

"Rush-chan can stay with us?! Yay!" Roll cheered as she hugged the dog program.

Maylu couldn't help but giggle, "Roll-chan keeps wanting to get a pet, but the last few times she tried to get one…"

"Ack! M-Maylu-chan, iie!" Roll yelped, her face lighting up in a blush.

"...Wait. That Ratty Virus that trashed your homepage a few weeks before we met Tomari-san was your attempt at having a pet?" Megaman asked.

"Iie~!" Roll cried out, letting Rush go to pounce Megaman and try to cover his mouth with a hand.

"Ruff," Rush gave a flat bark as he gave Rinna a deadpan look.

"It'll be fine, it'll be fine," Rinna assured before chuckling, "Saa…Ike, Rush-chan! Stay with them and get that scent! That Roidmude will rue the day they messed with one of my babies!"

"...She means her inventions, right?" Shinnosuke whispered, moving away from her between Kiriko and Maylu as the scientist let out a mad laugh and over to Lan, who looked up from his writing to realize the situation.

"It has to be…" Kiriko muttered, "Let's get you kids home while the crazy person gets it out of her system." she whispered.

"Great idea," Lan agreed quickly.

"Move-move-move…" Shinnosuke rushed everyone towards Tridoron.

"Wait for me…" Belt-san lowered the volume of his voice as he rolled after them.

---

"Of all the…why that no-good…Urgh!" Brain grumbled as he walked alongside Chase past a small park with a pink squirrel statue, "This is where the majority of the 'hiccups' have been happening, but not a single Roidmude in the area." he looked at his tablet, "This isn't on the fritz, is it?"

"Should I provide assistance?" Zero asked.

"Absolutely not! No digital beings or Roidmude are allowed to go into this tablet!" Brain quickly replied, giving the PeT the red Virus-born NetNavi a death glare.

"Hm? But if there is an issue, why can I not…?" Zero began to ask.

"Leave it, Zero," Chase informed, "Heart-san has also ordered it to not be touched nor entered unless it is himself or Brain that may hold it."

"Soka," Zero nodded.

"It's better for everyone that you forget ever suggesting on going in this," Brain stated before pausing to look at the squirrel statue, "...What is with humans? Wha…Why is this thing pink of all things?"

"Does this really matter?" Chase asked, "You walk around in the same green blazer, Heart loves his red jacket with fur lining…even in summer…"

"You forgot yourself," Brain noted.

"What about me?"

"The…the purple leather…"

"What's wrong with purple?" Chase asked, holding his Break Gunner as neither noticed Tridoron go by.

"I think you overdid it on the petting," Megaman noted, looking down at Rush…who looked catatonic from sheer bliss.

"S-Sorry…Just really excited for have a puppy at the house," Roll apologized as she picked up Rush before giving a small hiccup, "Oh! Excuse me."

"Just around this corner and our houses will be right there," Maylu explained.

"Huh…Next door neighbors, I take it," Shinnosuke noted.

"Yeah, that's…" Lan began before they all tensed, feeling the Slowdown go off, "?!"

"Seems it wasn't afraid," Belt-san noted as Tridoron halted.

"Oh come now! I didn't mean anything negative about the…" Brain defended himself before the tablet went off, "Ah! Seems they just got into the area." he looked up and he tensed, spotting Tridoron, "Gh!"

Chase turned to spot the red vehicle as Shinnosuke got out of it, Belt-san strapped on as he looked around, "Kamen Rider…"

"I should have it in just a moment," Belt-san informed.

"Pretty lucky," Shinnosuke noted as he turned and spotted Chase, "?! You?!"

"Ah! Chaser!" Lan shouted from inside Tridoron, the shout hiding Roll giving out another hiccup.

"So you are the guys stalking Maylu-chan!?" Shinnosuke demanded.

"Hm?" Brain pondered before peeking past Chase to see Lan glaring at him from in Tridoron with Maylu peeking behind him with a worried look, "Oh! That girl!" he narrowed his eyes, "Her and that NetNavi of hers…"

"No more talk, Brain," Chase swung his hand, smacking him in the nose and knocking him over, "Kamen Rider, today we end this."

"I don't care what you want, but stalking a kid is low for you, Shinigami!" Shinnosuke glared, "Now I got a new body to cooly judge you." he held up Shift Technic, "Henshin!"

=DRIVE: TYPE TECHNIC/BREAK UP!=

With that, the two armored warriors classed as Drive Type Technic swung his arms and blocked each swing from Mashin Chaser.

"Nandato!?" he asked as he was blocked at the wrist, "How are…" at that, Drive punched him in the abdomen, "Stronger than Red, but less then the Black…likewise slower then Red and faster than the Black…an inbetween stage…but now you can predict my movements like a machine."

"It has more tricks," he held his hand out as the Door-Ju landed in his palm, he then aimed and fired as each shot hit a vital point of articulation in Mashin Chaser making him groan.

Mashin Chaser spun around and fired, but each of his bullets were shot out of the air by Drive. He then grunted as a barrage of bullets struck his chest, making him stumble back. The Roidmude Warrior ducked and rolled away from more bullets. As he did, he pulled out one of his Viral Cores.

=TUNE CHASER: SPIDER!=

Mashin Chaser held up the Fang Spidey as he used it as a shield before rushing at Drive. The Kamen Rider took a step back before aiming low and shoo"Iting at Chaser's legs, making him grunt as one shot hit his right leg and knocked him over and had him rolling across the ground.

"Is that the form that saved you?" Maylu asked.

"Yep! Type Technic!" Lan beamed, "It's so cool!"

"Chase, what are you doing?! He's fighting more like a machine than you!" Brain complained.

"Grr!" Mashin Chaser turned to glare at him.

"Yay-yay! Ganbare, Chase!" Brain cheered as he hid behind the cover of the squirrel statue.

"I'm surprised he hasn't changed yet," Belt-san noted, "Be careful, Shinnosuke. He may be plotting something."

"You're right, something fishy is going on…" Drive nodded.

"Mmm…How are we gonna distract them?" Lan pondered.

"Oh! Lan, didn't they add a siren into the statue for emergencies?" Maylu asked.

"Oh yeah!" Lan beamed.

"But if we use the Jack-In devices…" Roll grimaced.

"They won't even know," Lan grinned as he held up his Advanced PeT before aiming it at the port on the squirrel statue and pushed on the emblem of his PeT, "Rinna-nee, which Shift Cars are near here to use Tridoron's Shift Tire trick?"

"Eh?"

"We know the who and maybe the why, so now we just gotta get outta here to set up things to get them to stop, right?" Lan noted.

"True…" Maylu nodded.

"The ones I do know are here are Midnight Shadow, Fire Braver, Mad Doctor, and Justice Hunter," Kiriko replied, the four Shift Cars honking in response.

"Mmm…Fire Braver makes a third arm for Drive and Mad Doctor heals but it's also very painful…" Lan muttered before looking at Shadow and Hunter, "You two are our best bet. When Megaman activates the alarm, you two equip to Tridoron and give a big rainfall on Mashin Chaser. Got it?" both gave a honk, "Okay! Megaman?"

"I'm at the control program. Just need to know when and I'll turn it on," Megaman replied.

"Gotta be when he's fully distracted," Lan replied, looking back out at the fight.

"How do we know…"

"Hah!" Drive shouted as he fired at Mashin Chaser as the Shinigami blocked it while charging at him.

The two clashed as Drive used the Door-Ju as a shield to clash with Mashin Chaser's Fang Spidey, sparking coming off the collision. Both glared at one another through their masks, the spectators all swearing they could see actual sparks. The two growled before pushing each other back. Drive reloaded the Door-Ju while Chaser moved his hand to his hip.

"Now! He's trying to use a different weapon!" Lan realized.

"Activating!" Megaman declared.

*BWOOP! BWOOP! BWOOP!*

"?!" Mashin Chaser and Drive jumped, causing the former to drop his Cobra Viral Core he had been pulling out.

"BWAH!" Brain screamed, moving away from the squirrel as a siren went off from it as its eyes flashed in time with the siren, before yelping as he tripped and fell into the small pond behind the statue, "Gah!"

"Koi Hunter!" Drive shouted as the Shift Car drove right into his Shift Brace before he pushed it up.

=TIRE KOUKAN: JUSTICE HUNTER!=

Mashin Chaser was smacked across the face by the Justice Cage making him grunt in pain before he was pelted by a barrage of bullets from the Door-Ju making sparks fly. He groaned as he stumbled over from the sudden surprise combination of attacks. He moved to get up only for multiple bars to slam down around him as he was trapped in the cage. Drive slotted in Fire Braver before lifting the Shift car.

=FIRE BRAVER! B-B-BRAVER!=

With a quick swap of Shift Tires, Drive used the Fire Braver Tire's mechanical arm to lift the Justice Cage which held Mashin Chaser within. The arm shook him a few times before tossing him towards the pond Brain fell in. Brain yelped as he barely avoided Chaser crashing into the pond…but not the water that smacked him in the face that Chaser sent up from his impact. A lillie pad slowly slid off his face, revealing him to have a deadpan expression…with a frog in his mouth, its legs kicking about. Mashin Chaser got up just in time to see Tridoron as it got away. He turned to Brain as he was spitting the frog out before dismissing his armor.

"What did you do?" Chase demanded.

"Hah?! Y-You can't be seriously blaming me for that thing going off!?" Brain gawked, "I didn't even know it could do that!"

"Wouldn't be the first time you tried to do something behind my back that ruined my fight," Chase argued.

"Aibou, I do not think it was him…"

"Listen to the…"

"...this time…"

"...annoying red program…" Brain trailed off as his eye twitched.

"You think it's Drive's younger partner?"

"He must have reworked his device so he wouldn't need to have it plugged into the device he's aiming for," Zero speculated, his yellow eyes narrowing in annoyance and curiosity.

"Hmm…that does make sense," Chase sighed, "I don't know what's happening, but it will inevitably lead to our clashing with the Kamen Rider again. So Brain, figure it out…and don't piss me off again." he jammed the barrel of his Break Gunner up into one of his nostrils, "Or you're gonna need to reprogram this human form of yours…"

"H-Hai…" Brain gulped before Chase removed it and walked off, letting Brain pull his handkerchief out and bit down on it while pulling on it, 'That guy…!'

---

Haruka hummed as she stirred the curry she was making, the rice cooker working on the accompanying rice nearby. Despite the reasons behind it all, it was nice to have her husband at home after being gone for so long on important business. She looked out from the island part of the kitchen to the living room, seeing her husband doing some minor remote work at the coffee table, his suit replaced with a simple orange and red Hawaiian shirt and some brown shorts which just made her giggle as she knew well where he got the habit of wearing those from. The door opened and she glanced over her shoulder to the entryway to see Lan come in with Maylu.

"Welcome home, dear," Haruka greeted as Lan replaced his shoes with a pair of blue slippers, "Dinner's almost ready. Would you like to stay for it, Maylu-chan?"

"Oh! Um, yes please," Maylu replied with a bow as she slid on a pair of slippers.

"Mama, is it alright if Maylu spends the night?" Lan asked.

"Hm? Well…alright," Haruka replied with a motherly smile.

"Yosha!" Lan grinned, pumping a fist, 'Okay. Keeping them guessing where she is if she's not at home. Just gotta remember to ask Megaman about the other ideas Shinnosuke-nii, Kiriko-nee, and Belt-san suggested us to do until Shinnosuke-nii can start keeping an eye on Maylu tomorrow!'

"Um…Is it okay if I spoke with your father, Lan?" Roll asked.

"Huh?"

"I've been having the hiccups lately and I'm worried it might be a glitch that I want to catch before it gets worse," Roll explained.

"Are you okay?" Megaman asked, "Could it be a side effect of that time with Brain?"

"I'm not sure," Roll replied, "I'm hoping it's just a glitch or something not too bad."

"Doesn't hurt to ask," Lan replied as they walked over to the couch, "Papa?"

"Hm?" Yuichiro looked up from his laptop, "Oh! Welcome home!"

Lan grinned, "Hi, Papa. Um…What are you working on?"

"Oh, a small project for certain professions to use that could decrease the mortality rate in them," Yuichiro replied, "A way for a NetNavi to better help them outside of the Network and a way for the NetOp to do more than they normally could. When it works, it's going to be called CrossFusion."

Lan blinked a few times on hearing that before smiling, "Honto? Sugoi!"

"Indeed," Yuichiro chuckled, "But I've hit a small snag in the project at the moment, so taking a break is probably needed at the moment. So what's up?"

"Papa, do you think you could check Roll-chan?" Megaman asked.

"Hm?" Yuichiro looked over at Maylu.

"Roll's been having the hiccups lately and we're not sure if it's a bug or something else," Maylu replied.

"A NetNavi…hiccuping?" Yuichiro pondered, "Huh…Leave her by my laptop and I'll look her over for you two."

"After dinner, mister," Haruka warned from the kitchen.

"Hai, hai," Yuichiro assured, "Wouldn't miss your cooking for the world!"

"Well I guess we won't lose anything enjoying dinner first." Lan offered, "Sides Megman can keep Roll company while we eat."

"It has been a bit since we last checked things out in the house," Megaman noted, "There are some new appliances since you last came over, Roll-chan."

"Oh? How are the Mr. Prog in them?"

"Eh, some are alright. Others are a little…er…eccentric?"

"Oh, those are the best ones," Roll giggled.

"Have fun," Lan smiled, "We'll call you when we're done."

"Okay!" both replied.

"In the meantime, would you boys please help set the table? Maylu-chan, care to help me with getting dinner to it?"

"Of course, dear/Okay, Mama/Yes, ma'am."

---

"Oh? So you lost track of our little wayward friend because the Kamen Rider was there?" Heart asked.

"The timing was all too coincidental," Brain replied with a frown, "It's like they wanted us to spot the Kamen Rider and vice-versa in order to avoid us."

"Hmm…that is devious…" Heart noted, "Or just ironic…" he rubbed his chin, "It's not the guy who keeps robbing places, is it?"

"No. Chase blew him up last night and he's in the tablet at the moment," Brain replied, "I swear, it's insane how he always seems to eventually end up robbing the same bank with the same exact face!"

"I blame Maddy," Heart shrugged, "She's quite the smooth-talker to the more…er…"

"Idiots. They're the idiots of our race," Brain deadpanned.

"...I was gonna say 'mentally challenged,' but sure. She's good at getting them to do stuff," Heart shrugged once more, "Did cause an issue though, so the Doc's taking care of it."

"Hm?" Brain pondered as, in another part of the base, a Spider-Type Roidmude flinched as Wily worked on their left knee, 015 stamped on their chestplate.

"Okay. Try moving it," Wily instructed.

015 looked down at the leg before moving the limb slowly, "...It doesn't hurt anymore!"

"Of course, my boy," Wily chuckled, "Robotics has always been in my life and is my Masters degree. And this wasn't all that bad…not like the two Roidmudes that wanted to be 'little rebels' and keep insisting on being called Manfredi and Johnson."

"I swear, I was not involved with that candy factory they went to yesterday," 015 cringed.

"It feels like our kind…has a limited IQ point pool to draw from…" Brain groaned.

"Doesn't that just mean you used up most of them?" Heart smirked.

"Oh shut up…"

"Okay-okay~" Heart laughed, "So cranky, losing your powers made you so moody. More so now that Chase is mad at you."

"Only because you made me go with him! And now I have to figure out how that boy managed to get into the Network without us noticing that adapter device of his," Brain sighed.

"Well maybe ask Chase? He's seen him in action more than you," Heart pointed out, "I mean, all he ever does is tell me of the weird symbiotic abilities of the Kamen Rider and the boy. Won't lie…I picture a big intimidating macho man grunting 'Boy' all the time when he tells it…" he chuckled, "But that's just Chase-Vision."

"What?" Brain asked.

"Brain-Vision is boring…it's like you see everyone talking like cavemen…which is why you always lose. You expect everyone to be dumb…but that boy might be smarter, and the Rider way stronger."

"Bakana…" Brain muttered in disbelief.

"Glasses, Brain," Wily reminded, still focused on looking at 015's leg before nodding and turning to a few other Roidmude on the other medical tables.

"Ah mou…" Brain muttered, readjusting his slipped glasses.

"Um…Lord Wily, do you think…I could help?" 015 asked.

"But of course. It's good to see one of you become interested in this work," Wily noted.

"...That human is always so strange to me," Brain muttered.

"Humans, while imperfect lifeforms do hold some interest," Heart spoke, "Let's just learn from them, so we can properly surpass them. Otherwise, Brain, we will be doomed to their mistakes." he smirked, patting Brain's shoulder a few times.

"Mmm…" Brain softly fumed, 'What happened to my powers?!'

---

"Hmm…" Yuichiro narrowed his eyes as he looked over the data he had copied from Roll to look over, "Ah." he looked to a worried Maylu sitting beside Lan, "It's nothing too worrisome, Maylu-chan. Her AirShoes and FloatShoes programs are causing a feedback loop that's causing her to simulate hiccups."

"Do they have to be uninstalled?" Maylu asked.

"Not at all. The reason this loop is happening is because she isn't using them as often as they need to be," Yuichiro explained.

"Huh?"

"These programs are actually a rather strong Program when put together for a civilian NetNavi like Roll," Yuichiro explained, "If she were upgraded to an Official NetNavi, then the loop wouldn't cause her 'hiccups.' To stop it, she'll need to start using it for eight hours every other day."

"Oh thank goodness," Maylu sighed in relief.

"The programs Mother and Father installed into me are that strong?" Roll asked.

"When put together like they are in you? Yes," Yuichiro replied, "A lot of SSS-Class NetBattles have these two always installed, often combining it with Geddon2 or 3 and a Snake BattleChip that's been boosted with Damage Boosting BattleChips like Plus10 or Plus40."

"Huh? That weird BattleChip that only works with holes in the floor?" Lan tilted his head.

"Even the most common of BattleChips can lead to devastating combinations," Yuichiro replied.

"But I've had these for over half a year now. Why am only I glitching now?" Roll asked.

"Hmm…" Yuichiro looked over her copied data on his laptop, "...Oh! It's because you're undergoing a StyleChange."

"I…I'm having a StyleChange?!" Roll gasped.

"What's that?" Lan asked.

"It's a rare phenomenon in civilian NetNavis, but when a NetNavi reaches a certain 'plateau' of power, their programming advances and transforms them, creating a form based upon the united 'Style' of NetOp and NetNavi," Yuichiro explained.

"Huh? But…Megaman and I have been fighting Viruses a whole lot and that's never happened," Lan frowned.

"Ah…Well…Megaman can't StyleChange without a special program from Thailand's Network, Yumland," Yuichiro explained, "I still haven't gotten permission to obtain the program."

"Hah?!" Lan gawked.

"That…uh…seems rather specific…" Megaman muttered, "Also kind of a bummer…but mostly specific."

"That's because I've been trying to figure out a way for you to have one, Megaman," Yuichiro replied, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head, "Got into a little bit of trouble with my boss on one theory."

"...Is that when you were home for a whole month when I was eight and you slept on the couch the whole time?" Lan asked.

"Anyway, the point is that what's going on with Roll is that she has actually reached a point where she is evolving, obtaining a new 'Style' for herself and Maylu to bring out Roll's full potential," Yuichiro summed up, "Having her use her two programs will help alleviate the hiccups she's experiencing until the StyleChange finishes its process."

"I hope it's nothing too drastic," Roll noted, "I heard of one on the SBS where a bipedal NetNavi became a centaur-like NetNavi and they had to get used to the extra limbs."

"It all depends," Yuichiro stated, "What you and Maylu have experienced together, your own personal experiences, even the programs inside of you all contribute to what changes. And it may not even change how you look externally, but internally. In a tournament three months ago, one NetNavi had an internal StyleChange mid-battle and developed the ability to eat Fire-Attribute attacks to heal themself and use it in dragon-themed attacks."

"Oh! I thought that was just them no longer holding back!" Lan recalled.

"I'm starting to feel a little jealous, Roll-chan," Megaman noted, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

Roll sighed in relief, "Arigatou, Hikari-hakase! I was really worried about these."

"It's not a problem," Yuichiro assured, "Alright, I need to just finish up this last bit of coding on my current project."

"We'll leave it to you, Papa," Lan grinned, "Hey, you want to go find some Viruses to get Roll used to using her programs more often, Maylu?"

"That's probably a good idea," Maylu agreed as she bowed to the Hikari patriarch before the two kids walked off upstairs.

"Hope they show what she ends up with once the process is complete," Yuichiro noted before looking back at her data and blinked a few times, "What the…?" he looked at his current project's data and his eyes darted between the two, "This is…" he shook his head, "I swear, my luck is chaotic at times."

---

"And you're staying up and doing this because…?" Belt-san asked from Shift Speed on a tree, watching Shinnosuke walking around the area…wearing the Pikopiko device.

"Gathering clues," Shinnosuke replied, frowning as he looked at the reading, "Even though the Slowdowns were randomized in location and short in length, they still leave behind Heavy Acceleration particles."

"Yes, but the speed of their activation and deactivation leave very little for normal data retrieval," Belt-san pointed out.

"Maybe…but there should still be a bunch wherever the Roidmude was standing when they set them off," Shinnosuke added, "If I know where they were when it started…I can piece more of the mystery together."

"Hmm…An interesting theory," Belt-san complimented, "Hm? A message from Midnight Shadow. It seems Roll's hiccups are from her undergoing something called StyleChange."

"What's that?" Shinnosuke asked as Shift Speed got off the tree and onto Shinnosuke's helmet.

"From what I can think of for a comparison…think NetNavi Puberty, but it happens when a NetNavi breaks through their previous limits," Belt-san replied.

"Soka…Well, all the more reason to get this solved for them," Shinnosuke stated as he turned a corner, "Ah! Seems there are more traces here than anywhere else. Straight ahead!"

"...Shinnosuke," Belt-san noted, "You may want to look up."

"Eh?" Shinnosuke pondered before grunting as he ran right into the door he had been walking towards while looking at his tracker, "Gwah!" he stumbled back before rubbing his face and looked up…before blinking a few times at the red-roofed house, "...Wait…isn't this…?"

"Indeed," Belt-san replied, "This is Maylu-chan's home."

"And it's the place with the most particles," Shinnosuke grimaced.

"This…is most concerning…" Belt-san spoke, "Could a Roidmude have infiltrated her family life?"

"I hope not," Shinnosuke replied, narrowing his eyes, "But still…this is one mystery that just keeps adding on to the questions and not giving any answers yet." he pulled out his phone and dialed, "Come on…Come on…"

"H-Hello…?" Kyu yawned.

"Kyu-chan, I need you to look up some people for me," Shinnosuke spoke.

"Eh? B-But it…" Kyu paused to yawn, "It's so early…"

"Sorry, Kyu-chan…but it's really important, okay?" Shinnosuke spoke with a bit of concern in his voice, "I think it's better to begrudgingly get to work then letting something bad get revealed."

"A-Alright…Wh-Who're ya lookin' for?"

"Everyone related to Sakurai Maylu."

"...Say what?"

---

"Remind me again why we have to have one of us in that place?" a woman with silver hair pulled up into a bun wearing a red blouse, a black knee-length skirt, and green-rimmed glasses questioned as she adjusted her glasses.

"One, it's keeping an eye on the few kids on that list we got from SciLab on those that could achieve that FullSynchro thingamajig," Raijin replied, sitting on a table as Brain was slumped over it, an extra tablet barely held by the conked out low-numbered Roidmude, "Two, someone's gotta be the whistleblower if they find the big surprise there. And three? You're the one who copied a schoolteacher, 035." he looked down at the spare tablet and grinned, "Oh? And one more for the road!"

"I'm not stopping anywhere to get you more batteries," 035 growled.

"What? No~! Not that! Seems Brainy here got a lead~" Raijin grinned, plucking the tablet out of his hands and walked over to 035, "Lookie! Our mystery pal seems to be near these two places. Some place in the town and your workplace!"

"...You want me to look for them while dealing with snot-nosed, immature, flesh bags?" 035 questioned.

"Nooo…I don't want you to look," Raijin replied before he slammed his transformed fist into the wall she was pressed against, electricity crackling off him as he bored his optics into her eyes, "I'm ordering you to."

"U-Understood…" 035 gulped.

"Great!" Raijin beamed, disguised once more, "Imma doodle on Brainy now, okay? Gonna blame Maddy for it and everything~"

"R-Right…" 035 muttered, quickly walking away and muttering under her breath, "Why are all the evolved Roidmudes such weirdos?"

"You want in on the doodles, Chase?" Raijin asked, pulling out a pink marker and drawing a mustache on Brain.

"I am going to accompany 035," Chase replied, "Chances are this will lead me to another battle with the Kamen Rider. Besides these children seem close to him. Chances are 035 won't be prepared to fight him."

"Yeah, he tears through the weak ones like tissue paper…wet tissue paper…" Raijin added, drawing a monocle on Brain, "Hey, if I pull him into the Network, you want in on this, Zero?"

"I am fine, Raijin-san."

"Boo~" Raijin pouted before waving them off, "Alright, alright. Good luck out there, man. And here's to ya smacking the Kamen Rider and his little buddy's NetNavi about!"

"...Aibou…What is this 'school' place?" Zero asked as Chase followed after 035.

"It's hell," 035 stated, "For most of the day, you're stuck dealing with snot-nosed little organic brats, most of them loud and obnoxious and I've nearly dropped my cover several times already thanks to this one annoying little shit that keeps hitting me in the back of the head with spitballs!" she squeaked when Chase pulled out his Break Gunner, "Ah! I-I said 'nearly,' Shinigami-sama! 'Nearly.' I swear, I haven't dropped it and I vent in the Network on Viruses so no one catches me!"

"Good." Chase spoke, "Even Heart and I have standards: humans are evil and vile, but children haven't had a chance to be exposed to all their evil. They are no different from us in a way, we never asked to be exposed to evil. It won't change the fact that they will be subjugated to us."

"O-Of course, sir," 035 replied, not seeing Zero nodding in agreement with Chase's words.

---

Lan yawned as he walked downstairs, fully dressed and rubbing his red cheeks, "Maylu's evil on waking me up…"

"She wouldn't have to if you actually learn how to get up without me having to turn the volume up to eleven or her pinching and pulling your cheeks when she spends the night," Megaman pointed out.

"Yeah, yeah…" Lan grumbled before pausing on seeing Yuichiro at the table, snoring with his laptop open and connected to a device with several BattleChips inserted into it, "Huh?" He walked over to the device and pulled one out, revealing it to be a strange cyan BattleChip with a black dot in the lower left corner connected to a gold ring with an emerald-green gem embedded into the chip, "I've never seen a BattleChip like this before."

"Do you think these are the project Papa was talking about?"

"Maybe," Lan replied before a clatter in the kitchen made him jump and run over to it, pocketing the BattleChip in his startlement, "Huh? What was…?"

"Oh! Well good morning, Lan. I was just about to start breakfast," Haruka greeted, putting a pan on the stove, "Was thinking of an American breakfast today before you and Maylu have to go to school."

"Huh?" Lan pondered, "Uh…sure."

"You're normally not up this early," Megaman pointed out in amusement.

"I think I like it when I wake up for ready to eat Breakfast…" Lan whispered to himself.

"You often only wake up long enough to shove it down, nearly choke, and then skate as fast as you can for school," Megaman pointed out quietly as Maylu walked downstairs, fully dressed.

"Good morning," Maylu greeted.

"Good morning, Maylu," Haruka returned, a gentle smile on her face, "Do you need to head home for anything before I get started on breakfast?"

"No. I made sure to have everything I needed before coming over yesterday," Maylu assured.

"She is always prepared," Lan muttered.

"Well when it comes to normal life. A skill you lack in favor of always being ready for action and adventure," Megaman noted.

"I prefer my skill set just fine," Lan argued.

"Boys, boys, you're both pretty," Roll giggled.

"Hey…" both boys whined as Haruka let out a small laugh behind her hand covering her mouth before she went to work on making breakfast.

"Mmm…" Lan pouted as he walked over to the couch and sat on it before Braver honked softly, "Hm? What's up, Braver?"

"He's saying Belt-san sent a message for you and Maylu. Tomari-san is going to be waiting near the school and do a sweep of the place while you're both there," Megaman quietly explained once Maylu sat down by the brunette, "And he also says that Hunter asked for Braver to relay that if you hope the Roidmude damages the school, you'll regret it later, Lan."

"I'm still gonna think it…" Lan spoke in defiance, Braver honking in concern.

"Well, if you don't get a good education, you won't be that good at what you wanna be when you grow up, right?" Roll suggested.

"Yeah…but…School is still partly evil…" Lan sighed.

Braver honked a few times.

"He says Lan spends too much time with Tomari-san." Megaman translated.

"Oi," Lan pouted.

---

"It would make sense the second-strongest spot is her school," Shinnosuke sighed, sitting in Tridoron.

"The Shift Cars have been deployed to keep watch around the entire place for any signs of Roidmude activity," Belt-san informed.

"Ah," Shinnosuke nodded.

"...Are you still thinking about what Kyu pulled up on Maylu-chan?" Belt-san asked.

"I can't help but think about it," Shinnosuke sighed, "But it's not my place to bring it up."

"When the time is right, we can have that talk; but, for now, the investigation is more important," Belt-san sighed in agreement.

"Right. Hopefully, nothing goes wrong while school's in session," Shinnosuke noted.

"If the Roidmude that's following her does show up, we'll be there," Belt-san stated.

"Ah," Shinnosuke nodded.

---

"Gutsman confused," Gutsman noted, standing in the middle of a Network resembling a classroom as he looked at the floating Roll, "Why is Roll-chan floating, guts?"

"I'm having issues with a program Maylu's Mama and Papa installed into me before the Global Freeze, so I have to use them for a few hours a day," Roll explained before sneezing, causing her to nearly float off the side of the area if Megaman hadn't grabbed her hand in time, "Ah! T-Thanks, Mega…"

"The biggest problem with having both FloatShoes and AirShoes…you're so light even a sneeze sends you flying," Megaman sighed, pulling her over to Gutsman and the tall NetNavi standing beside him in browns and golds with a pair of angular wings on his back.

"I do hope you will be able to recover at a modest pace, Lady Roll," the NetNavi spoke.

"It'll be alright, Glyde," Roll assured, "I just need to do this for a bit until my StyleChange is done."

"Huh?! Roll-chan is going through a StyleChange, guts?!" Gutsman gawked.

"Congratulations are in order then," Glyde spoke, a small smile on his lips.

"I'd be more than happy to celebrate if it didn't mean my two 'Shoe' programs are causing me literal hiccups if I don't do this," Roll sighed.

"Gutsman don't get it," Gutsman noted, scratching the top of his head, "Why can't Roll-chan just hold her breath like Dex does when he gets the hiccups, guts?"

"Mmm…No idea. I'll give it a try next time, Gutsman," Roll replied.

"I do hope it helps," Glyde added.

"Same here, Glyde," Roll agreed, "Oh! Um…Glyde, Maylu-chan and I won't be able to attend the small get together this afternoon. We received word from her piano tutor that they needed to change schedules."

"Oh dear. I do hope everything will be fine with her tutor," Glyde noted in concern.

"I-I'm sure it will be," Roll assured before sneezing again, "Eep!"

"Ah! Roll-chan!" Megaman yelped, running after her and quickly catching her, "...Maybe you should do this after school?"

"M-Maybe…" Roll admitted, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head as she lowered herself to the ground.

---

'Ugh…Just my luck…I can feel another Roidmude's particles in the area…and it's all over the school!' 035 thought in annoyance, walking to her next class of students, 'First that bloody Iron wrecked the place…now I gotta be on the lookout for…for…' she trailed off as she spotted Tridoron in the parking lot, "...Oh Florida's Unique Dinosaur Gelatin Extracts…" she pulled out an orange PeT with the word 'SUB' on the top of it, "Come on…come on…"

"Yes?" Zero answered.

"The Kamen Rider's out in the parking lot!" 035 hissed under her breath.

"What?" Chase questioned.

"I know his car from the reports! That is his car right there, in the parking lot!" 035 continued quietly.

"Why would he be there? Have you exposed yourself in any way?" Chase asked

"No, sir!" 035 gulped, "But I've been feeling another Roidmude's presence here today. …Ugh…That one must have blown their cover and hid here and couldn't find the entry to the base…!"

"The one who keeps randomly using theirs for brief moments," Chase noted, "...Ah. I'll handle the Kamen Rider. Try to find the Roidmude that led him here."

"Understood, Shinigami-sama," 035 assured.

"No matter what, avoid using any abilities. The moment he detects you, he will do all he can to chase you."

"Understood," 035 confirmed before hanging up…letting her fall to her knees as tears welled in her eyes, "What did I do to deserve this…?"

---

"Halfway through school…" Lan sighed in relief, the two having stepped out of their classroom during break, "How's Roll?"

"She's holding her breath," Maylu replied, showing her PeT's screen to show Roll keeping her mouth closed as her cheeks had bulged.

"Well…I guess it's a good thing they don't…you know…actually breathe…" Lan whispered, "Otherwise I'd be worried."

"Same," Maylu agreed as Rush sniffed about in Maylu's PeT.

"What's Rush doing?" Lan asked.

"I'm…not sure," Maylu replied.

"Woof," Rush barked, earning a few honks from Shadow.

"Megaman?" Lan asked.

"Tell me what you think first," Megaman spoke.

"Um…Shadow is saying 'He's picked up the scent of a Roidmude?'" Lan guessed.

"Is that a guess or what you think he's saying?"

"...Yeah. That's what I think."

"Well, you're right. Rush is picking up a Roidmude's scent," Megaman replied before Rush yelped and barked frantically, pantomiming slamming an object in one paw into the other paw then swinging it out while barking out a transformation tune, "?! He's smelling Mashin Chaser!"

Lan and Maylu covered their mouths, barely able to suppress their yelps, before finally whispering, "He's here?!"

"That's what Rush is picking up," Megaman replied.

"Oh that no-good je-HIC!" Roll hiccuped before covering her mouth, "?!"

"Ah mou…" Lan sighed before the two pre-teens tensed as a Slowdown went off, "?!"

---

"Shinnosuke!" Belt-san exclaimed.

"Ah, I felt it!" Shinnosuke replied, getting out of Tridoron and slapping Belt-san on his waist…

=GUN=

…before ducking down behind the open door to avoid shots from Mashin Chaser, "Gh! Mashin Chaser!"

"Kamen Rider…" Mashin Chaser spoke, "You will not destroy the Roidmude today!"

'Hopefully…Lan can distract the Roidmude long enough for me to get away from Chaser to fight it off,' Shinnosuke thought, pulling out Type Technic.

---

"Rush…?" Lan asked, looking around while keeping Maylu close, seeing how faculty and students were dealing with their states in the Slowdown from peeking into windows and doors into the classrooms.

Rush sniffed around, walking around on all fours, before pausing at Roll's feet as the pink Netnavi was holding her breath again while hovering a few inches in the air, "Arf?"

"What's wrong, Rush?" Megaman asked.

"Awoo!" Rush looked up at Megaman before pointing at Roll.

"Huh? Rush, that's Roll," Megaman noted.

Rush gave a deadpan look before facepalming. He gestured to outside the PeT where the Slowdown was going on. Then he pointed at Roll and gestured to her with both paws.

"...Yeah, I'm not getting it," Lan admitted, causing Rush to fall over.

"This…does seem like a slight shortcoming in his programming," Maylu muttered.

Rush facepalmed. He hopped up into the air before going into a hole in the ground. He came back out dressed up as a devil and holding up a potato chip. He pointed at himself, then the chip, and then at Roll.

"...You want to give Roll a snack?"

"That's an adorable little costume," Maylu noted.

"Rinna-nee had to put a feature in him to change his collar colors because Jii-san asked for it so no negative effects would come to Rush if he got a bad color fortune," Lan explained, "She kinda went to a cosplay feature."

Rush groaned, facepalming again. A door ahead slid open and 035 emerged, looking around. The two scurried around a corner before she looked in their direction.

"Tch…Seriously? That Roidmude came here of all places? Do they want to blow my cover?" 035 growled.

"Who's that?" Lan whispered.

"Oh. She's the new Home Ec teacher, Ms. Sango. She started working here…six…months ago…" Maylu trailed off as her eyes widened.

"After the Global Freeze, right?" Megaman asked, Maylu slowly nodding.

"So that's the Roidmude chasing you and Roll?" Lan guessed before Rush grumbled, "Hey, sorry, boy. Thought you were looking at Roll."

"It really is our fault for not understanding, but to our credit…we've never had to talk with someone who can't…communicate in some shape or form…" Megaman muttered.

Rush looked at Doctor peeking out of Lan's head and gestured to them. Doctor gave a few soft squeaks as Rush slumped.

"This is lasting a lot longer than the others," Maylu noted before squeaking, "She's coming this way."

"I swear when I find you, you're gonna get scrapped," Sango growled.

"Run," Lan whispered and the two ran off before she could turn the corner.

---

=TUNE: CHASER COBRA=

"Again with the whip?!" Drive Type Wild complained, rolling out of the way of the whip strike that wrecked another car in the parking lot.

"Why didn't you turn into Technic?" Belt-san asked.

"With what we learned last night, I can't really get into a cool mindset at the moment," Drive replied, firing several shots at Mashin Chaser, who slapped the shots out of the air with his whip.

"Ah…Soka…" Belt-san noted before he beeped, "Message from Shadow and Doctor. A Roidmude is following Maylu-chan and Lan-kun. Based on its movements, it's as if the Roidmude is able to keep track of them despite the different paths they've been taking."

"Eh?!" Drive exclaimed, looking down at Belt-san, "..." He took a deep breath, "Then I guess I'll have to end this fast." he lowered his arms, "Ike Shinigami! My tank is full of passion today!"

"I have no idea what that-GAH!" Mashin Chaser gawked as he was tackled by Drive into a car…and then another and so on 'till a large stack of cars were slammed into a wall. Mashin Chaser grunted as he was suddenly punched before being shoulder slammed deeper into the hunks of scrap metal.

Mashin Chaser grunted as he was pulled out before being tossed to the ground. The Shinigami rolled with the fall and flipped up. He swung the Tail Whipper as he struck Drive multiple times, but to his shock, the Rider just let each strike land as he changed forward. This approach seemed so odd and aggressive for the Kamen Rider…and Mashin Chaser barely had time to react as he was punched across his helmet clad jaw sending him stumbling back. The Roidmude Hitman grunted, swinging his whip again only for Drive to block it with his arm and wrap it around his left forearm. Mashin Chaser gasped as the Kamen Rider began wrapping the whip around his arm…and dragging him in closer.

"What…why have you changed!?" Mashin Chaser grunted.

"Right now…Being cool headed is hard…and all I can rely on is this burning passion…" Drive growled, dragging Mashin Chaser closer, "You Roidmudes…hurting innocent people isn't enough…threatening Lan-kun's life…chasing Maylu-chan…" he brought Mashin Chaser into close range as he thrust his hand and grabbed the Roidmude Hitman by his throat before lifting him up.

"Gh…!" Mashin Chaser gawked as he was suddenly spun around before being tossed through the air, but he gasped as Drive pulled on the whip…and pulled him back for a powerful lariat strike to his chest, "Gah!"

"HA!" Drive roared as he spun around rapidly picking up speed before stopping and once more tossing Mashin Chaser into a car, flipping it over and sending the Shinigami flipping along the ground.

"Wow…such passionate power…" Belt-san awed.

"Shift Cars!" Drive called out as several drove over before he caught one, "Koi, Wrecker!" he ordered.

=TIRE KOUKAN: HOOKING WRECKER!=

Mashin Chaser grunted as he was struck across the face by the hook of the new Shift Tire before it swung around and struck him across the chest multiple times. Each strike made sparks fly off him before the final strike hit him like an uppercut and sent him flipping up into the air. As he did, he was wrapped by the cable and pulled down into the ground with great force.

=TIRE KOUKAN: RUMBLE DUMP!=

Mashin Chaser grunted as he looked as the Shift Tire was knocked off…while the cable was still attached to him. The Hooking Wrecker Tire spun around and tied him up further in its cable. The Shinigami gasped as he looked as Drive walked forward with the Rumble Smasher over his arm. Drive lifted the weapon up as it began spinning. The Kamen Rider grunted a kiai as he swung and struck Mashin Chaser multiple times with the drill as it bore multiple gashes into his armor. Drive grunted, rearing his arm back as the drill spun with such speed it seemed to make a cone of air around it before he thrust a punch to Mashin Chaser's chest and an explosion of force sent him flying.

"Gh…ah…" Mashin Chaser gasped as his armor crackled with purple sparks before it just fell apart. He grunted as he reached for his Break Gunner before looking up as Drive just stared down at him…before turning and walking away, "Matte!" he called out, "We're not finished…"

"...I am…" Drive replied, "I'm not letting another person ever get hurt by your kind. Least of all children!" he snapped, "You call us evil…Don't mess with me! What kind of nonsense is that?! Lan-kun almost died to your friend! And he was glad about it…" he turned back to him, "The next time you come up with some crap like humans are the evil ones…I'll kick your ass twice as hard!"

"Gh…" Chase grunted as Drive just continued walking away, "Grr!" he slammed his hand on the ground as the Kamen Rider's words seemed to hurt even more.

---

"Ah…This is bad," Maylu gulped, the two kids having ended up at a dead end.

"Finally! End of the line, you idiot! Turn off the Slowdown already!" Sango's voice snapped before she ran around the corner and stopped, "Gh?! Maska…"

"Roidmude!" Lan grit his teeth as he moved Maylu behind him.

"You two are causing the Slowdown?" Sango asked.

"...Eh?" Lan blinked twice, "But…you're the Roidmude."

"Arf!" Rush barked as he pointed at Roll again in Maylu's PeT.

"..." Roll tilted her head before Rush adopted a deadpan expression, walked over to her…and bit her foot, "?! OW!" she grabbed Rush, "Nani kore?! What did I d-HIC!" all three on Earth stumbled a little as the Slowdown vanished, "Ah…"

"Eh?" both human children blinked, "...EH!?" they gasped louder as they realized what happened.

"Wait…Now I recognize you! You're that girl who Brain-sama was planning to use to Delete Megaman so there'd be one less troublemaker for us," Sango recognized before chuckling, "Oh…Oh this is rich! So that's what's up…Your NetNavi absorbed his power." her body glowed before turning into a Bat-Type Roidmude, "Omoshiroi. Now this is interesting. If I absorbed your NetNavi, one with the power stolen from an Evolved Roidmude…what would that do to me?"

Lan blinked as he gently tapped Maylu to look behind 035, "O-oh no…don't do that…"

035 sighed, "Really? You really think acting like that wouldn't make me aware of the Kamen Rider?"

"Gh?!" Lan gawked as she spun around and fired a blast at Drive Type Speed, who moved out of the way.

"How did you know I was coming?" Drive asked.

"I've spent six months as a teacher here! You think I don't know how kids act when they realize something is going to happen behind me?!"

"Well to be fair, I was always that kid who did the things behind the teachers back…so was hoping I still had that skill," Drive admitted before dodging another blast fired by her, "I was always the kid who put the eraser in the door honestly~" he chuckled while ducking another blast.

035 glanced at the ceiling before shooting at it, sending rubble down. Drive jumped back before narrowing his eyes at the rubble that had cut him off from them. He raised his arm and lifted the Shift Car three times before running off as a blur of red and black as he actually took the long way around the entire school, then out a window…and began running up the wall. He skid to a stop before punching through the wall, making a hole over Lan and Maylu's heads as he poked through it.

"Woo~! Super speed baby! Kids, you're going home early for good behavior~" Drive laughed as he picked both up and pulled them out, "Buh-bye~" he began to run before Lan yelped, making him pause to see 035 had managed to reach through a grab Lan by the ankle, "Ah! Oi, let go!"

"You first!"

"I'm the superhero! That sends a kind of bad message. You're the monster here, so you should let go. No one wants to be touched by the monster, it's gross!" Drive argued, tugging on the back of Lan's vest.

"To us, you're the monster here!"

"Uh rude…I am the handsome hero here…" Drive complained, "Monsters these days…"

'Is this…really happening?' Lan thought as the two kept tugging back and forth.

"Ah if only I had…oh wait…I have a gun," Drive chuckled, letting Maylu go while grabbing the Door-Ju before shooting 035, making her yelp and release Lan's leg, "Off we go! We run away from the bat-looking henchie!"

"Ah! Oi! Get back here, you!" 035 snapped.

"Sorry, can't hear you over the sound of us running away!" Drive called out as he carried the kids off with super speed.

"Gah! Onore!" 035 screamed.

---

"WHAT?!" Shinnosuke, Belt-san, Kiriko, and Rinna exclaimed in the Drive Pit.

"I…I'm the one causing the Slowdowns," Roll repeated, poking her fingers as she floated beside Megaman on the monitor, "When I hiccup, they activate. I never noticed because of everything going on when they went off."

Belt-san turned his stand that held him up as the Shift Cars pushed a glass of water with a straw up to his screen, which he began to actually drink up…before turning around and doing a massive spit take, "HOW!?" he shouted in English.

"...Ah! The Akuma Chip!" Lan realized.

"Soka…" Shinnosuke shook off the water from Belt-san's spit take before tightening his tie, "The reason there were so many slowdown particles at your house and school…they're where Roll-chan is most often since she's almost always by your side outside of being on the Network. When Maylu-chan used that Cyclone BattleChip to eject the Akuma Chip that Brain was using to control her, the feedback of the release must have transferred some of his power into Roll-chan, which explains why she can generate Slowdowns."

"...Oh! That must be how you triggered your StyleChange to start, Roll-chan!" Megaman realized, "Your body is adapting to that power and it's causing your hiccups when you're not using FloatShoes and AirShoes often enough!"

"And the reason you've been triggering them out here could be from the PeT acting as a conduit for these accidental Slowdown activations," Rinna guessed, "Ah…I swear, the more I learn about NetNavis, the more I'm impressed with your family for creating them, Lan-kun."

Rush barked, adopting a smug smile as he put his paws on his waist.

"Ah…G-Gomen nassai, Rush," Megaman sheepishly apologized, "I guess you really were pointing at Roll-chan and not that Roidmude…"

"Excuse me?" Rinna frowned, "Did you think Rush-chan could make a mistake on detecting where Slowdown particles originate from?!"

"I'm going to have to have you stay for the night, Roll-chan, to look over your data and see what's going on," Belt-san informed, "And what is this Style Change you speak of?"

"When a NetNavi reaches a certain limit, their bodies transform to become better adapted to their fighting style and how their NetOp operates them," Lan explained, "Papa told us that!" he tensed, "Gh?!"

"Lan-kun, what's wrong?" Kiriko asked.

"Papa has a copy of Roll's data on his laptop," Lan spoke, turning pale, "That lady Roidmude is after Roll-chan's data to absorb it and evolve. While Roll-chan can't be found while in here…isn't her data still able to be found in a laptop outside if Roidmudes can track NetNavis by their data if they don't hide it like Pallet-san did hers?"

"Uh…let's…go stop by your house real quick," Shinnosuke muttered, grabbing Belt-san as he backed up towards Tridoron.

"Hurry up already, Shinnosuke-nii!" Lan called…already in the backseat with Rinna and Maylu repeatedly looking back and forth between the spot the boy had been and where he was now.

"Okay now that was weird…" Kiriko blinked.

"We'll be back! Don't worry, I won't make things worse! Bye!" Shinnosuke shouted all in one breath as they drove off.

'Papa…Mama…' Lan thought, narrowing his eyes.

---

"I'll get it!" Haruka called as she opened the door, "Yes?"

"Mrs. Hikari?" Sango asked, standing beside a man in a suit, "May we come in? There's been an emergency at the school and we need to speak with you right away."

"Ah! Is everything alright? Is my son okay?" Haruka asked in concern as she let them inside, "Yuichiro!"

"Hm?" Yuichiro looked up from his laptop to see the two, "Eh? What's this?"

"There was an accident at the school today," Sango explained, glancing around as-in her sight-she was searching for a familiar set of data before spotting it on the laptop, "Your son is alright, but we needed to come here immediately to explain the ongoing situation."

"Eh? What do you mean?" Yuichiro asked as he got up and walked over to stand by Haruka, "Why us when Lan-kun is alright?"

"Oh…It's simple, really," Sango assured before the two parents gasped as a Slowdown hit while Sango was unaffected and picked up the laptop, "Hostages."

"?! How…are…you…?" Yuichiro pondered before both gasped as the two transformed into Roidmudes, the man becoming a Spider-Type with 032 on his chest, "?!"

"M-Monsters…" Haruka squeaked.

"Ah…How naughty of you, doctor," 035 noted, looking at the copy of Roll's data, "Having data on us is not allowed~"

"Hm? What's this?" the Spider-Type pondered, picking up one of the strange BattleChips.

"Bring it with us," 035 ordered before firing a blast at the device and destroying it and the table, "We only need one if it's important."

"The…SynchroChips…" Yuichiro gasped as the Spider-Type pocketed the BattleChip before grabbing the two adults.

"Come on, come on," the Roidmude ordered, shoving them to the door.

"St-Stop this!" Yuichiro grunted, "You can't do this!"

"I think you will find that we can do whatever we want," the Spider-Type chuckled, "That's unless you got something to stop us, human~. Tell you what, I'll even let you get a swing in just for proof."

"Oh thanks~" Drive's voice laughed as the Roidemude was punched and knocked back as his face was dented. The two adults stumbled into Drive's arms as he caught them, "Don't worry. Your son is perfectly safe." he assured.

"K-Kamen Rider!?" 032 gawked.

"Super Speed…what do you guys not understand about that super power?" Drive sighed before glancing around, "Ah…Sumimasen for the damage to your home, you two."

"W-We're insured," Haruka assured, managing to look calm.

"You have to get my laptop back. It has vital data on it," Yuichiro spoke.

"Oh? You mean this laptop?" 035 asked before absorbing it into her chest before her body sparked and began to transform.

"Uh…that's going to be a good bit more difficult now, Hakase…but…I'll try my best…" Drive cringed.

In place of the plain Bat-Type Roidmude she had been, the newly evolved Roidmude spoke high-heels with dark-purple armor over her lower legs with a ring of spikes cutting it off just below the knees. Her entire right arm had reshaped, becoming bulkier and redesigned to resemble the body of a purple rabbit with red eyes as its ears were elongated and sharped to resembling two swords as her left arm had a dark-purple gauntlet with a crossbow-like device on the back of her lower arm. Dark-purple and gunmetal armor bulked up her upper body as she sported a dark-purple and gunmetal front-opened skirt that resembling the cloak of Brain's transformation while her head was covered in a large dark-purple and magenta helmet, the magenta made to resemble a broken heart with cables forming a wild ponytail emerging from the back as a demonic face laid within the helmet. Drive looked down at the two adults and quickly pushed them outside with Vegas and Cab on their shoulders.

"Hurry now!" Drive ordered.

"Oh no you don't!" 032 growled as he ran after them.

"Oh no you don't!" Drive counted, charging for a lariat only to scream as the evolved Roidmude stabbed him with her rabbit ear swords, sending him crashing out the front window while she jumped out after him, "Gah! What the heck?!"

"Call me Rabbit," 035…Rabbit Roidmude spoke before firing a barrage of plasma arrows from her crossbow arm.

"You have got to be kidding…" Drive groaned while dodging the shots, "Is it really so hard to just leave people alone…you Roidmudes keep complaining about how I'm the evil monster, that people are bad…yet each and every time…all any of you do is try and hurt innocent people just trying to live a nice life…Ah mou!" he grunted, making a motion of scratching his head despite the helmet, "Mō kangaeru no wa yameta!" he shouted as he grabbed Type Technic, "Ikuze!" he slotted and lifted the lever.

=DRIVE: TYPE TECHNIC!=

Drive jumped as his armor changed to the Green Type Technic. He landed behind Rabbit and blocked her swipe with the Handle-Ken. Nearby, 032 ran after Haruka and Yuichiro before sirens went off and a barrage of bars and fire extinguisher foam slammed into him, knocking the Roidmude over.

"What the…?" Yuichiro gasped before Tridoron skidded to a halt by them and Lan hopped out, "Lan?!"

"Please get in Tridoron!" Lan spoke, "You'll be safe in it!"

"You stupid br…" 032 snarled as he got up…before falling over when Lan squeezed Solar while aimed at the Roidmude, "MABUSHI!"

"Mama, Papa, please!" Megaman pleaded.

"Oh no you d…!" 032 growled as he started to get back up only for Fire Braver to shoot him in the face with more of his spray, making the Roidmude sputter and slip…only to land on Funky Spike, "GH?!" he shot up, grabbing his behind, "AAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"Lan, what are these small cars?" Yuichiro asked.

"Friends," Lan replied.

"Dear…" Haruka whispered, fear in her tone, as she moved closer to Yuichiro while keeping her eyes on the groaning 032 that had his face in the dirt and his hands on his rear, "That thing…it…is it…?"

"No. Drive destroyed the one that attacked you and Kiriko-nee in the Global Freeze already," Lan assured, pushing them towards Tridoron, "You'll be safe in Tridoron."

"T-Tridoron?" the two adults blinked before several Shift Cars jumped and bumped into their backs to help push the entire family into the car. They all blinked as mother and son found themselves in the back, while father was in the passenger seat. The Shift Cars all occupied the Driver's seat as if to say off-limits.

"Gh…I swear, I'll get those little…" 032 grumbled as he got up, "Okay, that's it! I'm gonna…!" he spun around to see Tridoron, "Oh…Um…Nice giant red car?"

"Uhm…buckle up…WHOA!" Lan spoke as the cabin ejected before Tridoron reformed into Type Technic, "It's…not fun being inside when this happens…but also kinda fun…"

"Right…fun…" Haruka groaned, rubbing the top of her head and she felt the bump forming from hitting the roof in that ejection.

"Amazing!" Yuichiro noted, "A multi-purpose transforming vehicle. Just what have you been up to, Lan?"

"Blame those things," Lan replied, pointing at 032, "Well…them and WWW. Since, well, they're working together."

"Oh that's a biggun…Ah…uh…" 032 patted himself before pulling out a trio of Viral Cores, "Oh! So glad I took one before she dragged me along."

"Aaaand that's not good," Lan gulped as 032 ate them.

"What did he just do?" Yuichiro asked.

"Last time one of these ate one of those things, they turned into a giant fireball-spewing cobra," Lan explained.

"And this one is a different type than the one that ate them last time," Megaman added.

The Roidmude twitched before his body began growing and reshaping into a large black car with a red spider strewn across the top. The Spider's legs began extending before stomping into the ground and lifting its body upwards. It revved its engine in place of a roar as it began marching closer.

"Uh guys…Airsick bags…?" Lan looked to the Shift Cars before the glove box opened and deposited several into Yuichiro's lap just as the Mutated Roidmude crashed into Tridoron.

The Super Car didn't take it lightly as it swung its arms and punched the Roidmude multiple times…before grabbing it and spinning it around and tossing it over multiple houses towards the nearest open space, in this case a park. The Roidmude shakily stood back up on its eight legs…only for two of them to be sliced off by a thrown Midnight Shadow Shift Tire. The Roidmude jumped around, only for Tridoron to drive up and punch it with its manipulator arms. Tridoron spun around in place before using a clawing sweep to grab one of its legs…and drag it along for the spin before suddenly stopping…and slamming it into the ground. As the Roidmude tried to get up…Tridoron revved its engine and picked the giant Spider Roidmude up by the sides…and began repeatedly bashing the front of its car body into the ground without any end in sight and seemingly a lot of passion.

"Well, this is a relief," Megaman noted, "Tridoron is handling this perfectly well."

"Have we stopped spinning?" Lan asked as his mother held onto him with spiraling eyes.

"We have," Yuichiro replied before groaning went off, "Hm?"

"What's wrong?" Megaman asked as Yuichiro looked to the side.

His eyes widened on seeing the manipulator arms of Tridoron were struggling to move due to several strands of webbing connecting them to its frame. The berserk body that was 032 struggled back up to its remaining legs before slamming one into Tridoron, knocking it over and causing the top to pop open, sending Lan tumbling out with a yelp.

"Lan!" Yuichrio and Haruka yelped before the top slammed back down to avoid them getting hit with a leg strike.

"Ugh…" Lan groaned as he got to his knees and elbows.

"This isn't good," Megaman gulped, managing to see the Berserk Body repeatedly hitting Tridoron before a clatter at Lan's feet went off, "Hm?"

"Huh?" Lan looked down to see the strange BattleChip he had pocketed that morning, "...Oh!" he scrambled and picked it up, "Papa…He said that this could let NetNavis help humans in the real world, right?"

"I think so," Megaman replied, "But…We don't know what that means."

"So? Anything's better than just doing nothing!" Lan replied, "You trust me, right?"

"Of course I do!" Megaman affirmed.

"Then let's hope that Papa's new chip works!" Lan declared as he flipped open the blue part of the PeT, revealing a slot on the top of the exposed part, "BattleChip in and Download!"

After he inserted the BattleChip, the screen changed, showing two halves of a hexagon moving up and down to connect to one another in the center. The moment they combined, several pop ups showcasing data pouring down them appeared before a light began to shine from the PeT. The light grew brighter until the PeT dispersed into light and data that engulfed Lan. Nearby, Rabbit and Drive struggled with one another in a stalemate of blades before the light caught their sight.

"Nani?" Rabbit pondered.

"What is that light?" Belt-san pondered.

"I don't know…but it's brighter than Solar, that's for sure," Drive Type Technic grunted, holding a hand up.

The light died down…revealing Megaman standing in Lan's place. Yet…there were several things different to the NetNavi. The back of the bars on his helmet had elongated into fins with a yellow bit at the ends while the two yellow rectangles on his helmet had turned into a green baseball diamond with a yellow bar on top of it. The darker blue rectangles on the front of his boots near where the feet would enter them had become yellow while his shoulderguards were outlined in a light-blue lining. More of it extended from the lines on his sides, making two bars around his legs with two lines reaching out to 'hold' his emblem. His hair, normally a deep navy blue, was now a familiar brown. He opened his eyes…to reveal them to be a familiar chocolate brown.

"M-Megaman?!" Drive exclaimed as he looked around, "B-But we're out here…but you're here! A-and you shouldn't be here, but you are…and the…Ah mou~!"

"Shinnosuke…I…I think that's Lan-kun," Belt-san corrected, the Megaman-looking figure looking down at his hands in surprise.

"S-Sugoi! I…I'm Megaman?" he pondered in Lan's voice.

"Nani kore!?" Rabbit gasped.

"I…have no words…this is…the coolest thing I've seen since the super fighting armor currently strapped over my body," Drive gawked.

"HOW?!" Belt-san demanded in English before a crash made Lan/Megaman look back at Tridoron and Berserk Body Roidmude.

"Ah! That thing…" he narrowed his eyes, "Megaman?"

"I'm here," Megaman replied, "Sorry for being silent. Papa installed a tutorial program in this for the NetNavi."

"What is this!?" Lan asked.

"It's called CrossFusion," Megaman explained, "From what the tutorial explained, it only works for NetOps and NetNavis that are synchronized with one another, like people who can use FullSynchro or when a NetOp and NetNavi are focused on a single objective."

"CrossFusion…Sounds awesome!" CrossFusion Megaman cheered.

"Incoming!" Megaman warned before CF Megaman looked up in time to see the Berserk Body Spider Roidmude slamming a limb down at him.

"Look out!" Drive called before CF Megaman grabbed the leg…and barely budged.

"Nani?!" Rabbit gasped before CF Megaman grunted and pulled hard enough to shatter the limb.

"You go after my Mama and Papa…You make Maylu-chan worry for several days because of what one of you did with Roll-chan and made them think one of you were stalking them…" CF Megaman growled before holding his right fist up at the Berserk Body, "BattleChip!"

"No good, Lan! We needed to install five of them before using the SynchroChip," Megaman replied.

"Ah mou…" CF Megaman groaned before his fist turned into the MegaBuster, "Then we'll just rely on the old fashion! Charge Shot!"

The magenta plasma shot shined in the barrel before a shot as big as him came out, the recoil sending him flying back a few yards onto his rear, and slammed into the Berserk Body, tearing right through it and leaving a large gaping hole in its body. It groaned before collapsing, going up in an explosion. Rabbit's eyes widened as she saw 032's Core fly out of the flames before exploding.

"Masaka…" Rabbit took a step back, "He…He destroyed 032's Core?!" her eyes widened, "The data…That scientist used our data for that!"

"Hah!" Drive shouted while punching Rabbit, sending her flying, "I don't really get it. Honestly not much of a smart type. But as a man, I'm proud to admit I have talent in destroying stuff!" he chuckled, "And you Roidmudes have been really testing us humans…so now it's our turn to fight back!"

"Ah!" CF Megaman cheered.

"Saa…Megaman…let's take her for a ride!" Drive flicked his hand before swinging his Handle-Ken around.

"Ike!" he cheered as they both rushed forward.

Drive swung and slashed Rabbit across the chest, making sparks fly. The Roidmude stumbled back before gasping in pain as CF Megman began unleashing a barrage of blasts that pushed her back. She aimed and fired at CF Megaman only for Drive to jump in the way and swing his Handle-Ken and deflect each and every energy bolt fired at them. The Kamen Rider stopped as his eyes lit up. He flipped his Handle-Ken around and held it upside down in a reverse grip before rushing forward as he twisted the steering wheel.

=TURN!=

Drive swung up, slashing Rabbit with the blade and knocking her back. Drive ducked to the side as CF Megaman jumped and unleashed another barrage of energy blasts that caused sparks to explode all over from the Roidmude's body. Drive punched his hand and by extension his sword forward as the blade slammed into Rabbit's abdomen. The Rider grunted as he began marching and pushed Rabbit along the ground before he twisted the Handle-Ken's namesake once more before tapping the horn.

=DRIFT KAITEN!=

Drive began spinning around, dragging Rabbit around with him before he stopped and slashed through her abdomen before sending her flying towards CF Megaman. He grunted as he spread his feet and fired a charged up shot from the MegaBuster that impacted with a large explosion. Rabbit cried in pain as she fell to the ground smoking.

She looked up as the two ran around her. She cried out as she began shooting randomly to try and hit them. But the smoke was dispersed as Drive jumped out in Type Speed once more as he swung the Handle-Ken and slashed her across the chest, before swinging up and using its double edged design to slash her again with the up swing. He spun around and swung his leg to kick her, sending her stumbling back. As she did, CF Megaman ran up behind her and slammed his MegaBuster into her back before unleashing several shots pointblank that sent her flying back towards Drive.

The Kamen Rider spun his whole body around and landed a powerful tornado kick with momentum to add to his strength as he sent her flying away and down the street. Rabbit groaned in pain as the two stood side by side.

"Lan-kun…while violence is not to be used recreationally…given the situation…it's time to learn how a man throws a real punch," Drive spoke up.

"Yosha!" CF Megaman pumped a fist.

"First the basics…curl your fingers tight, not a single gap, then bring your thumb down to close it all in place," Drive instructed, "Then…" he ran forward, "Using all the momentum of your hips and shoulder, you swing forward with all the intent to drive your fist through them!" he shouted landing a punch to Rabbit's chest, making sparks fly, "You land a punch that rings true!" he declared as the Roidmude was sent stumbling back, "Got it?"

"Uhn!" CF Megaman nodded, "No gap, thumb down, then…" he ran at Rabbit and swung his fist, "HIYAH!"

"GAH!" Rabbit screamed as she was sent back a few meters with sparks flying off her.

"Like that?" CF Megaman asked.

"You didn't use all the momentum of your hips, but good with the fist part," Drive noted, "Don't worry for your second fight…Nice~" he gave a thumbs up.

"Second…oh! The Spider…" he nodded in realization.

"Ah…" Drive nodded before twisting the key of his Driver and pressing the Red Button, "Saa…Ikuze, it's time to end this lesson with a big finish!" he held his fist up to CF Megaman.

"Ah!" he nodded bumping fists with the Kamen Rider, causing both their arms to glow with energy.

Red data from Drive's arm met with blue data from CF Megaman's arm. Both their eyes flashed as the two turned to Rabbit as she was getting back up.

=HISSATSU! FULL THROTTLE!=

With that, the two began running forward as Rabbit was trapped in a series of tire towers that began spinning before they slammed into the Roidmude and launched her forward. Both Drive and Megaman jumped as they extended their right and left leg respectively, their boots enveloped in an aura of energy matching their armor, before both shouted and shot forward, slamming their legs into Rabbit's chest and pushing her back before slamming her into the road and dragging her along it for a good distance. Sparks and chunks of asphalt flew in their path before an explosion went off, the two still kicking the core before it shattered, letting the two slide to a stop across the ground. Drive held his arm up as he caught the slightly scuffed laptop which resulted in this evolution in the first place.

"Oh! That's Papa's!" CF Megaman recognized the laptop.

"While I was Technic, I was able to remove this from her programming so it would eject upon the destruction of her body," Drive explained.

"Nice," Belt-san noted, "You as well, Lan-kun. Though I never knew the MegaBuster was so powerful."

"Same here," CF Megaman agreed.

"That's because we're in CrossFusion. Its destructive power is increased while in it," Megaman explained.

"Oh…That's good," CF Megaman nodded, shaking a little.

"Eh? Lan-kun?" Drive looked at CF Megaman as his body glowed before his bodysuit and armor shattered into the light and data before reforming into the PeT.

"Yo…Yokatta…" Lan mumbled before Drive caught him as he passed out.

"Oi!" Drive panicked.

"Lan! Lan!" Megaman panicked, the SynchroChip ejecting from the PeT with the black dot now replaced with his emblem, "Are you alright? Answer me, Lan!"

Doctor let out his siren as he drove over and hopped onto Lan's head. Several moments passed before the siren turned off and Mad Doctor began to honk his horn.

"Phew. It's alright. It seems his first time using this has left him drained. Mad Doctor recommends that he intake a lot of nourishing foods when he awakes," Belt-san translated.

"Phew…" Drive sighed as he picked up Lan while Tridoron drove over, shifting to Type Speed. He looked through the window to see both parents still inside, he nodded in assurance as he opened the door and handed Lan to his father, "He'll be fine, he's just tired and hungry." he explained as he handed the computer and Megaman's PeT, he then turned back to pick up the SynchroChip before walking around to his driver's seat.

"S-So what now?" Yuichiro couldn't help but ask as the Kamen Rider strapped himself in.

"Hmm…well given what Lan-kun just did…I imagine we can't allow him to keep using this," he held the BattleChip up, "And not let you both in on the truth of this situation. It wouldn't be fair as his parents afterall." he nodded, "I'll take you to a…safe place to discuss it all." he looked down at Belt-san.

"Hah…I suppose it's only fair. Lan-kun technically did blow his secret identity in the moment there…" he sighed with a frowny face.

"He's a kid…the fact he hasn't spilled about me to a buddy at school is amazing," Drive complained as he drove off.

"Another technicality considering Maylu-chan is also involved."

"Maylu-chan as well?" Haruka asked.

"That one's on you," Drive stated, looking down at Belt-san for a moment, while they turned a corner…leaving none aware of the SynchroChip 032 had dropped that Raijin picked up.

"Well now…This little thing caused that?" Raijin pondered, grinning a bit as he spoke in English, "Sweet~"

---

Soon enough, Drive pulled up to the secret entrance to the Drive Pit's underground tunnel. The parents looked around a little concerned before they entered the Drive Pit proper. Once parking within, Drive took a deep breath as he turned to the two adults.

"...So…where do I begin…?" he awkwardly tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, "First off…if you're wondering…I know rumors claim I'm either a good robot or cyborg…I'm not…it's just powered armor." he explained while motioning with his hands.

"Considering how there aren't any hisses or the faint sound of gears grinding against one another when you move, I had a feeling that was a strange rumor," Yuichiro noted.

"...Eh?"

"...What? I grew up under my Papa, who was doing robotics before focusing on Networking. I also work at SciLab and several parts of it do involve being around machinery," Yuichiro explained.

"No no no…what do you mean by 'strange'?" Drive asked.

"I'll have you know I worked for days to get that spoiler just right," Belt-san pouted as several of the Shift Cars let out honks akin to laughter, "Oi…"

"Ano…" Haruka muttered as she was currently holding onto Lan.

"I mean I don't want to come off as a robot…but I mean…I'm not strange, am I?" Drive rambled, "No…no way…" he shook his head, "Right…actual issues. That boy needs food."

"I think he's rather young…" Yuichiro whispered to his wife as they noted Drive's reaction to being indirectly called strange.

"So if you'll please exit the super transforming car, I shall explain the vital information…that is to say, I'll say it in human speak after the AI in my belt tells it to you in complicated science mumbo jumbo."

"I beg your pardon?" Belt-san deadpanned as the Shift Cars started to honk akin to laughter once more, "Any of you do that again today and you're grounded." he paused for a moment before groaning, "I am a Papa, aren't I…?"

"Yeah, but we kinda knew that when we realized you made, named, and let them develop unique personalities…" Drive argued with a roll of his hand in place of an eye roll that no one would be able to see due to his mask. He then opened the door as the other one opened for them to climb out and enter the rest of the Drive Pit, "Eto…where to begin? …So…your son is a new hero…and he's been involved in frankly…whacky dangerous monster nonsense…" he nodded, while putting his hands together, "Ah seats are over there. We have pillows and such for comfort." he motioned, "Here, have a seat…" he motioned again rather awkwardly given the conflicting moods at the moment.

Belt-san adopted his deadpan expression, "At least the others are not down here."

"Megaman…" Haruka looked down at Lan's PeT in her hand.

"Ah! Um…w-well…" Megaman moved to the side of the screen to show their badge, "We kinda…got enlisted by the police's Cyber Investigations Division and we're working with the Special Investigations Unit as their liaison with the CID?"

"..." Haruka sighed, "I knew there was something more to you and Lan going out more often."

"...Of course! You two achieved FullSynchro and they took notice of it," Yuichiro realized, "I was wondering why the transfer data from your old PeT included a NetBattle License."

"To be fair, his job was just to do NetBattle type stuff…Unfortunately, it seems he is drawn to chaotic situations…that almost always loops around to me coming in and kicking a Monster 'till they go boom," Drive added.

"This…honestly isn't surprising," Haruka sighed, deciding to take a seat, "Our son's always getting into crazy situations. When he first got Megaman when he was six, he left him home a few times and one nearly had him crushed in a crusher at the recycle center."

"...How?" Belt-san asked as Drive slowly looked at Lan.

"He was playing hide and seek with some friends and got locked in a container that was taken to the recycle center," Haruka explained.

"I was really lucky that the crate had a security system in it so I could find him in time," Megaman added.

"Then there was the time he was eight and I got that week off so we decided to go on that trip to Yoka and he ended up in the kangaroo enclosure," Yuichiro added, "You think he's still sad he couldn't take the kangaroo that put him in her pouch back home?"

"Eh…He was a Joey…" Drive muttered.

"Please don't ask about when he was seven and he agreed to sticking his tongue on a pole…" Megaman sighed.

"How many things has this boy gotten himself into?!" Belt-san gawked before adopting an annoyed expression, "No, no. Think of that later; explanations now. So far, your son has been involved with several different Roidmude attacks, often providing assistance in them and even developed his wireless Jack-In device just so he could better help while remaining safe." he adopted a happy expression, "You have a brave son in what he's been doing to help deal with them."

"Roidmude? …Are they where the RoidVirus comes from?" Haruka asked.

"There is no RoidVirus. Roidmudes have the ability to go into the Network and come out on Earth," Belt-san explained, "They are machines that can create human disguises and are the ones responsible for the Global Freeze."

"?!" Yuichiro and Haruka tensed as they looked down at the sleeping Lan nestled between them.

"He's been fighting what caused that horrible day?" Yuichiro asked.

"Not directly. Often, he works alongside the Shift Cars to provide distractions and stay away from the Roidmudes," Belt-san explained, "Though…I am curious about this SynchroChip of yours, Dr. Hikari. The Roidmude we fought said something interesting about it. What data did you use to make this?"

"It's something I've been working on for months, a way to let officers and firemen to better handle dangerous situations by 'crossing' with their NetNavis," Yuichiro explained, "As for the data, my son's friend, Maylu, has a NetNavi undergoing StyleChange and they asked me to look her over. While looking over her data, I noticed that the StyleChange seemed to have several pieces of data similar to what I've written for the SynchroChip, but also drastically different."

"Soka…That unusual data must have been what was left in her from the time Brain was controlling her," Drive realized.

"And it explains how Lan-kun in that state could destroy a Roidmude's Core," Belt-san agreed.

"Huh?" Haruka pondered.

"My tech and the Roidmudes use the same source," Drive explained, "It's what lets me be able to destroy not just the body of a Roidmude, but also their core."

"Fascinating…" Yuichiro nodded, "What kind of technology is…?"

"If you will excuse me…but I do not feel like disclosing the details of the technology to another scientist. Their shared origin is why we desire to keep this secret. The Kamen Rider here is…not as scientifically minded…" Belt-san muttered.

"Straight C's in science…" Drive nodded.

"I feel you and Lan are very in tune with one another personality wise…" Haruka noted.

"If it at all helps, I try really hard to tell him to listen more…but…I am just one superhero," Drive nodded.

"Also anytime a Roidmude gets within six feet of the boy…he tears it apart limb by limb…" Belt-san added, "So…good news he's safe more often than not…bad news is we think he enjoys watching the mechanical carnage…"

"I beat a Roidmude with his own arms…one time…" Drive muttered in annoyance, "Never let me hear the end of it…"

The door facing Drive's back opened and Rinna entered, a tablet to her face, "Ah mou…My mixer got canceled because the host got a stomach flu…" she grumbled, "May as well check on Roll-chan and then take out my anger at the cancelation on doing maintenance on the Shift Cars."

"Sawagami-hakase?" Yuichoro pondered.

"?!" Rinna lowered her tablet and saw the parents…before turning to Drive and gestured to them, "...What did you or Lan-kun do that led to them being brought here, Shinnosuke-kun?"

"Oi, I didn't do anything. It was the Roidmudes that went after the copy of Roll-chan's data Hikari-hakase had in his laptop," Drive argued.

"Tomari-san? You're the officer Lan talks about?" Haruka asked.

"Nice job, Rinna…" Belt-san muttered.

"See? I can keep a secret identity just fine…My friends stink at it because they have no appreciation for comic book media." Drive complained, dropping his henshin and letting Belt-san relocate to his mobile stand.

"Ah…Oops?" Rinna sheepishly rubbed the back of her head.

"Well I wanted to work up to that more organically…mostly I figured it's safer if you didn't know who the Kamen Rider was." Shinnosuke sighed, "But thanks to Rinna-san…" he gently bonked her on the head with a karate-chop, "That…is bust."

"Why can Lan-kun and Tomari-san keep this secret, but others are terrible at it, Belt-san?" Megaman asked.

"I ask myself that every day…" Belt-san sighed, "Speaking of…where are Maylu-chan and Kiriko-kun?"

"CID," Rinna replied, "Maylu-chan received a message from Inspector Oda to see him after you boys drove off and Kiriko-chan decided to escort her." she looked to Lan, "Eh? What happened? Did Doctor overdo it on healing him up again from the FullSynchro feedback?"

"No…he…became Megaman." Shinnosuke explained.

"Oh…he…What?" Rinna blinked in confusion.

"Hai…" Shinnosuke nodded.

"You mean like…" she made arm motions like Shinnosuke did when he transformed into Drive.

"Hai," he nodded.

"But…how…did Lan's Papa…?" she asked.

"Hai," Shinnosuke nodded again, showing the SynchroChip.

"It's called the SynchroChip," Yuichiro explained, "It 'breaks down' the barrier between Earth and the Network, allowing a NetOp to 'wear' their NetNavi to act here. It's meant for officers and firemen in order to deal with dangerous situations that they normally cannot handle."

"Soka," Rinna nodded, "And Lan-kun resting like he is means there is a high energy requirement from the NetOp because they're the ones doing all the hard work in the stead of the NetNavi."

"I must admit that I'm quite fascinated in that as well…" Belt-san noted.

"Oh Yuichiro…" Haruka sighed while her husband, a female scientist, and a sentient belt on a mobile stand resembling a gas station began to discuss with one another (and boy did that sound so weird in her head when she thought of it later on) as Shinnosuke sat beside her, "Hm?"

"I'm really sorry about all this, Hikari-san," Shinnosuke apologized, "We didn't really expect them to be so bold as to pull off that stunt like they did today."

"...It…" Haruka inhaled before giving him an assuring smile, "It's alright, Tomari-san. Lan often tells me stories about helping the SIU for volunteering, but to think he was doing so much more than simply helping with fixing computer systems."

"He's a very good kid," Shinnosuke added, looking at the brunette sleeping against his mom's side as she held him in a side hug, "I know stopping him from getting involved will be harder…but I promise to keep an eye on him the best I can. Afterall, I'm the adult in these scenarios…it's my job to keep him safe so he can return home to you."

"...Arigatou, Tomari-san," Haruka thanked, giving him a gentle smile, "Though…is there a kitchen I could borrow?"

"A kitchen?"

"I stress cook," Haruka explained, keeping up her smile but Shinnosuke noticed the slight twitch in her right eye.

"Oh…uh…"

"Go out the way Sawagami-hakase came in from, go up the stairs and take a right. Cafeteria is down at the very end. Take me along and I can provide access to the kitchens due to a loophole that hasn't been dealt with yet on NetNavis being allowed to have access to the kitchens or not if they're on the police force," Megaman explained.

"That…is something we don't want to fix…cause some of us stress eat," Rinna added.

"We…fight robots who mutate and can move in and out of computer systems…also the one you saw…was kinda…tame compared to some I've punched." Shinnosuke explained.

"...Right," Haruka nodded, clapping her hands together and picked up Lan's PeT, "Don't be surprised by the amount on the tables when you come up to the cafeteria."

"...I think she realized that it wasn't a taser Lan-kun was hit with that night," Belt-san whispered, a neutral expression shown on his namesake.

---

"Eh? R-Recruit me?" Maylu asked, sitting on the other side of Oda's desk beside Kiriko as the man sat in his chair and fedora hiding his eyes, "B-But I haven't come close to unlocking FullSynchro!"

"And yet, you've been there during several WWW attacks," Oda noted, "And the one attack on the recycling center after the series of heat-related incidents they caused that led to the capture of Mr. Match, Agent Hikari-most likely a pure accident due to how late it was when he turned in his report-explained you showing signs of FullSynchro in the form of your light bruising on the spots your NetNavi was hit."

"Lan…" Maylu groaned as Kiriko shook his head.

"Speaking of…where is your NetNavi?" Oda asked.

"She's being examined at the moment by Rinna-san," Kiriko explained, "Roll-chan is undergoing StyleChange at the moment and Rinna is likely studying the process to see how to apply it to her inventions."

"Sounds like the woman," Oda shook his head, quickly sending a message to stop the FullSynchro test due to lack of NetNavi for medical reasons.

"I…I don't know…"

Oda sighed, "It's not just because of how close you are to triggering FullSynchro that we want to bring you into the CID, Ms. Sakurai." he pulled out a remote and pushed a button on it, turning the monitor on to show a recording of Zero issuing his challenge to Megaman, no sound coming from the recording but showed clearly the names of the ones Zero was challenging, "The WWW is aware of you being a potential threat. I can't in good conscience allow a civilian as young as you are to be in danger due to this organization. If you're willing…" he looked towards Kiriko, "I can assign you to be under Officer Shijima Kiriko as your mentor, a woman you're rather familiar with."

"Oh!" Maylu nodded, "That sounds nice, and a lot like Lan and Tomari-san."

"Though in terms of learning self defense…" Oda went on as he pushed another button, the screen changing to show an older security feed…and Kiriko blinked a few times on seeing a four-year-old Maylu shaking a broom at a trio of third grader boys with a four-year-old Lan curled up in a ball behind her and looking at her with stars in his eyes, "Pretty sure you're a spitfire, little lady."

"Ack!" Maylu blushed.

"I thought that story was just him joking around…" Kiriko muttered.

"W-Why do you even have that?!" Maylu squeaked.

"The CID tends to try to gather as much details about those with the potential for FullSynchro," Oda explained, turning off the feed, "Often to establish their potential…or their danger."

"...A-As in bad people can achieve it?" Maylu asked.

"Bingo," Oda replied.

"...O-Okay. If I'm under Shijima-san, th-then I'm okay with joining. B-But I still want to try to get FullSynchro down."

"Wouldn't think of sending you after anyone worse than online shoplifters until you get that fully unlocked," Oda huffed.

"I guess that's fair." Kiriko nodded, "In the meantime, we will work out some form of regime for training…"

"Do…" Maylu began.

"No they do not," Kiriko replied, "Their idea of training is watching kaiju movies and eating snacks."

"Makes sense," Maylu sighed, shaking her head.

"I trust you're heading over to the SIU's HQ?" Oda asked, looking at Kiriko and earning a nod, "Good. Jun will explain the schedule we came up with Lan to perform his duties. If you need any changes to that one, it's fine to a certain extent." he tossed Maylu a small navy blue BattleChip with the symbol for the police department on it, "Once you get your PeT, put that into it and your badge and permissions will be installed into it."

"Thank you, sir," Maylu nodded.

"Dismissed," Oda spoke.

"I'll meet you in the van. I need to speak with Inspector Oda for a few moments," Kiriko replied.

"Very well," Maylu nodded before giving Oda a bow before leaving.

"...Something you're curious about?" Oda asked once Maylu was gone.

"Why are you doing this now? Why not sooner like when you learned she was involved in the recycling center? Or when Zero's challenge specified her NetNavi?" Kiriko asked.

"..." Oda frowned, "For some reason…the higher ups weren't exactly thrilled with letting in another kid despite the results Lan Hikari and Chaud Blaze are showing." he held up a hand, "Yes, yes, that sounded wrong on several levels. Another reason why it took so long was to see if she could naturally unlock it like Chaud and Protoman did instead of doing a brute force method like we did with Lan and Megaman."

"I see." Kiriko nodded, "I guess this is rather difficult, but it still seems better to have more people that can help with these things. And such a rare trait at that…it just seems odd…" she sighed as she tried to contemplate this oddity in logic of the higher ups.

"You and me both, Officer Shijima, you and me both."

---

"So what you're saying is…You lost my data!?" Brain snapped.

"Well…it's a very interesting story," Heart chuckled.

"How did you even lose it?!" Brain exclaimed.

"..."

Brain facepalmed, "Oh for the love of…I needed that, Heart!"

"What…it was a very interesting story. A boy turning into a NetNavi, it's kind of cute," Heart chuckled.

"...I beg your pardon?" Brain asked, lowering his hand a bit to look at Heart in disbelief.

"Raijin saw it," Heart replied, gesturing to the RoidNavi as he was tapping out a rhythm on some pipes, "Oi, Raijin! Come tell Brain here what you saw!"

"Gotcha!" Raijin replied as he walked over, "So it was supposed to be a simple grab and blackmail that 035 and 032 went on for your missing data. They got the stuff, but Drive shows up and sucker punches them both! 035 absorbed your data and evolved…"

"She what?!"

"Hey, hey, hey. I'm tellin' the story here," Raijin frowned before grinning, "So while she's fighting the Kamen Rider, 032 chases the two humans when his car shows up and his little tiny cars play distraction detail until they get into the car thanks to the kid! Oh, and those missing Viral Cores are kinda gone now. 032 ate them and fought the car when it became a robot on wheels!"

"I was made long after that game, but it's still fun on emulators," Heart chuckled.

"And this relates to my missing data how?!"

"I'm getting there~!" Raijin whined before going back to it, "Anywho, 032 manages to smack open the top of the car and the kid gets sent tumbling out! He puts something into his PeT and a big flash of light goes off that it even distracts 035 and the Kamen Rider! When it dims down, the kid's suddenly his NetNavi and one-shots 032 with that Buster of his before he and the Kamen Rider blew up 035 and they vamoose when the kid changes back and passes out!"

"You've been eating spoiled batteries again, haven't you?"

"Hey, hey, hey! I have not!" Raijin argued as he dug into his pants and pulled out the pilfered SynchroChip, "I even have a copy of the chip the kid used!"

"Nani?" Brain blinked as Heart took it.

"Fascinating…things are indeed changing~" Heart smiled, "If this story rings true, this chip could help us in evolving beyond our limits as well!"

"If it's true, I'll eat a boot," Brain muttered.

"You're on!" Raijin declared, grabbing his hand and shaking it, "Do ya like ketchup or mustard with your boot?"

"It's an expression, you…" Brain began before Raijin ran off with a laugh, "...He's not serious, is he?"

"Hey, you're the one who made the bet," Heart chuckled.

"But…gah! Heart!"

"Relax, Brain," Heart smiled, "We'll fix this. But for the moment just keep calm and study this Chip." he put it in Brain's hand, "Maybe it can help fix you. And also help us further our own kind."

"And what are you planning on doing?"

"Me? Well…" he held up a hand and curled it into a fist with a grin, "I think I've rested long enough to adapt from fighting that NetNavi in the Undernet."

"Wait…Heart…you can't mean?" Brain gasped as Heart turned with a wide, almost sinister, grin of glee, "Now Heart, we promised you wouldn't use the Deadzone in the real world…"

"Oh…you know that all depends on the other guy," Heart replied as everything began to heat up, "I can feel my namesake beating in excitement…the time has come for me…to face the Kamen Rider again~"

---

GT: Oh…That, uh…That does not sound good for Shinnosuke…

Z0: No…no it does not. I guess…uh cue next chapter?

GT: Aye. Hurry…before Heart notices us. *pulls down curtain*

---

Kamen Rider Drive: Battle Network!

Gen: It's a blackout!

Lan: This feels oddly familiar…

Belt-San: It's time I reveal the truth…

Kiriko: We've got to stop today's blackout.

Maylu: Everyone in the city is panicking!

Shinnosuke: This light will not be extinguished!

Case 11: Who Can Prevent the Dark Eve?

Heart: The Kamen Rider will die again!

---

GT: Ah mou…Next chapter is not gonna be pretty…

Z0: Well one thing is for sure…VIOLENCE!

GT: Eep! Wait a moment! *puts on a helmet and straps on extra fluffy pillows to my chest and back* Okay, ready! Read and review, folks!

Z0: HA! *slams headfirst into the screen*