GT: Here's another chapter of A Slight Change, folks! This time, we're finally heading on into the plot of Battle Network 5…but with a twist!
Simulation 30:
"This place seems so nice," Roll noted as she and Megaman, the two wearing a simple white sundress and a blue shirt and jeans respectively, walked through a large town by the sea, "The sea breeze feels so nice and the people are so nice."
"Only issue I have is how they're all frightened by the Marines when they've done nothing," Megaman noted.
"Mmm…That is worrying," Roll noted, frowning a little before they reached the plaza and paused, "What in the…?"
"Well now…seems we just stumbled upon an execution," Megaman noted, seeing the old twenty-year-old execution platform was occupied by a young man of 17 in a straw hat being locked down onto it with…um…it looked like a clown trying to be a pirate only to fail at it standing over it as more clowns trying to be pirates were scaring off the townsfolk.
"...Should we…?"
"May as well," Megaman replied as they approached one side while they saw a man with green hair and three swords charging in with a blond man in a black formal suit and started brawling with the clown pirates on that side.
Megaman quickly delivered a lariat to one distracted clown pirate as Roll threw off her sundress, exposing a pair of magenta shorts and a pink shirt, before throwing a kick to another. She grabbed Megaman's arms as he spun her around, allowing her to deliver several rapid kicks to the pirates that surrounded them, before letting her go. He tackled another pirate and threw him into several more. Roll landed on the head of one and began to use them as stepping stones to head towards the scaffolding.
"Zoro! Nami! Usopp! Sanji!" the straw hat-wearing young man called before smiling happily, "Sorry! Guess I'm dead!"
*KRA-KOOM!*
"?!" Roll barely landed on her feet from barely dodging the bolt of lightning that slammed down hard on the scaffolding, blowing it apart into a burning wreckage, "What in the…" she barely caught the young man, who seemed completely unharmed.
"Oh wow! Guess I'm still alive! Shishishishishi!" he laughed, "Thanks for catching me!"
"No problem, though now you owe me," Roll noted.
"Ah, no worries! I'll pay ya back with the One Piece when I claim it!" he beamed before Roll spotted a cut on his cheek.
"Hmm…Hold on now," Roll noted as she put a hand on his cheek and called on her Recov Element, healing up the cut, "There we go."
"Huh?" he felt his cheek, feeling no cut aside from his scar, "Wow! You can use magic?!"
"Just healing. I can also float and make a bow and arrow from my hand," Roll replied before pointing over at Megaman as he ran over with the green-haired man and blond, "My best friend Hub, though he prefers 'Megaman' is a really good brawler and can shoot a beam from his arm."
"He can fire beams?!" he awed, stars in his eyes, "Oi! Join my crew, you two!"
"Now is not the time for that!" the green-haired man and blond snapped.
"Oh! Sanji, Zoro!" he beamed, "We have two new crewmates!"
"We have to get out of here and to the docks!" Zoro, the green-haired man, snapped.
"Mellorine! Who's this maiden?!" Sanji, the blond, awed as his visible eye became a heart.
"Taken," Roll replied, hugging Megaman's arm.
"Gah!" Sanji froze at that.
"R-Roll?" Megaman whispered.
"Go with it," Roll replied quietly before speaking aloud, "And sure! I'm Roll, by the way. Sakurai Roll. This is Hikari Hub, or Megaman as he prefers. I just call him 'Mega' myself."
"I'm Monkey D. Luffy! I'm going to be the King of the Pirates!" he cheered, "Whoo! New crewmates!" he ran off to the docks, followed by the four, "Let's go~! To the sea~!"
"Guess we're becoming wanted folks!" Roll noted.
"Looks like it!" Megaman agreed.
"Okay, this should be everything that I remember during my captivity," Roll noted as she held up a few folders, "I even made copies for them all to read."
Lan grimaced, on the train to SciLab with Maylu, "I can't believe that's why they kidnapped Papa."
"That program…it sounds terrifying," Maylu shuddered.
"Which is why we are gonna nip it in the bud something fierce," Megaman assured, "If we don't have missions for the team, we'll be scouring for that VisionBurst that houses this 'Gow' and get it contained."
"Oh! We could use a SubPeT for it!" Lan suggested, "That way, it's out of the Network and we could hide it!"
"...Lan…That is a good idea, but…"
"O-Oh…right…if they found out we had it and hid it away…" Lan grimaced.
"What's wrong?" Roll asked.
"...When we found that DarkChip…one day our house alarm went off," Megaman explained, "It was set off on purpose by Nebula after they knocked out Mama and tied her up in Lan's bedroom and left a message on the computer saying they could do far worse if we didn't give them the DarkChip."
"?!" Maylu and Roll gasped.
"If we find this 'Gow' and Nebula realizes it…" Lan gulped.
"Then let's delete it!" Roll noted.
"They could use the deleted data to recover Gow," Megaman pointed out.
"Maybe we can give it to Chaud and this Baryl person?"
"Probably for the best," Megaman agreed as the train slowed to a halt.
=Now arriving at the Government Complex, home of the Waterworks Den City and the Ministry of Science, SciLab=
"That's our cue," Maylu noted as she stood up.
"Are you ready for this?" Lan asked while standing up as well.
"...Not really," she replied.
"Nervous?"
"...A lot really," she admitted as they walked out.
"Oh Maylu…Sweetie, look at me, alright?" Roll spoke, using the PeT's hologram projector to appear on her shoulder, "You've got this."
"...What if I can't do it?" Maylu questioned.
"Try your best."
"What if my best isn't good enough?" Maylu asked.
"...It's good enough for me," Roll replied, giving her an encouraging smile.
Maylu managed to return it after a few moments. She breathed in deeply before exhaling and gave a nod to Lan. Lan grinned as he offered his hand to her and they went off up the stairs. The sea breeze and its salty scene entered their nostrils once they emerged. Roll looked up to the top of a large flight of stairs to the right and then further to the right, barely seeing the tall multistory structure at the top and gave a small nervous gulp. Even if it had been centuries to her…
"Hey…" a hand gently grasped hers, making her turn to see Megaman, materialized right beside her and gently whispering, "It's going to be okay. We're here today to start making a difference." he took her other hand and she turned to full face him, letting his emerald eyes and her jade eyes meet fully, "There is nothing to fear, because you cannot fail... only learn, grow, and become better than you've ever been before."
"..." Roll giggled before moving closer and hugging him as Maylu and Lan went up the stairs, passing by occasional statues of different colored 'vines' carrying an invention in the center of them, getting more modern with each statue they passed, "Thanks, Mega."
"Anytime, Roll," Megaman chuckled as they soon arrived at the top.
Instead of going through the two sliding doors at the front, Lan took Maylu around the side. The two soon approached an empty wall near the back. Maylu moved closer to Lan as she gazed out at the sea, letting out a soft gasp of awe at the view as well at the luxury cruise liner that was currently docked nearby. Lan pulled out his PeT before pressing it against the wall. The screen flickered before showing an emblem of a circle that was half black and half white divided by a jagged line with a silver 'minus bar' in the center of it. The wall moved it and slid to the side, revealing a set of stairs. The two entered it before the entry closed behind them, leaving none aware of it. The two spent a minute just walking up before entering a large room. At the end of it was a large computer/desk system with a massive screen hung up behind it, showing the emblem of SciLab on it.
Standing behind it were two figures. One was a boy around their age with layered hair in black and white, the white making it look like he had an eggshell on the top of his head. He wore a long-sleeved black shirt under an open red sleeveless jacket and camo cargo pants, his sharp eyes looking at the two. The other was an older man with long black hair that covered his eye, the other watching the two carefully. He was wearing a white shirt underneath a large brown fluffy jacket with brown zebra stripe patterns, black combat boots, and black baggy pants.
"Hikari, what is the meaning of this?" the teen questioned.
"A recruit and the rescued NetNavi, Chaud," Lan replied, managing to not gulp nervously under the looks he was getting.
"Your girlfriend," Chaud deadpanned, making the two blush.
"They're more than capable, Chaud, Baryl," Megaman informed, appearing on Lan's shoulder, "Roll was even complimented on her power by 'S' themselves."
"?! She has the approval of 'S'?" Baryl asked.
"I do!" Roll replied, appearing on Maylu's shoulder, "And I'm the NetNavi that Megaman saved from Nebula. Um…" she looked around, "Where do I give you my intel?"
"...In there," Baryl replied as he pointed at a nearby computer setup, "Colonel and Protoman are already in there, awaiting that report Megaman has."
"You mean the report we have," Roll corrected.
"Dear…"
"What? Just correcting the error."
"This is Simulation 800 all over again…"
"Hah?!"
Before the two could argue further, Maylu and Lan logged them into the system. The two exited the Jack In/Jack Out panel and looked around. Megaman tapped Roll's shoulder and pointed ahead. Standing before them were two NetNavis. One was a red NetNavi with a sunglasses-like visor over his eyes with long silver hair. The other was an older man donned in black armor with an armored jacket with a red armored 'beard' and a bulky red gauntlet over his left hand/lower arm.
"Protoman, Colonel," Megaman greeted respectively.
"Megaman?" Protoman asked.
"Yes, it's me," Megaman replied, "We met in the WaterWorks Network when Dr. Froid was being blackmailed with the safety of his son, Tory, by Maddy of WWW. You tried to scare me off with a swipe of your blade at me."
Protoman nodded, "He's Megaman."
"This is the NetNavi who has the intelligence?" Colonel asked.
"Hi! I'm Roll," Roll greeted, "A pleasure to meet you. My husband has told me nothing but good things about you, sir."
"Your husband?" Colonel asked.
"She means me, sir," Megaman replied, the two showing their wedding rings.
"...Megaman…did you use last night to get married?" Protoman asked, his eye twitching under his helmet.
"No, not at all," Megaman replied, "Last night was reuniting Roll with Maylu and getting the two caught up with everything."
"..."
"Sooo…you're both chicken of my badass self, ain't ya?" Roll asked with a smirk.
"Roll! Language! This isn't Simulation 666!" Megaman scolded as both NetNavis gave her a look.
"You enjoyed it. Don't deny."
"...I did like the princess was actually a nice girl who just wanted to help others," Megaman muttered.
"She was a hoot and our days off helping her hotel were enjoyable," Roll grinned before adopting a southern accent, "Now y'all done quit your interrupting of me and Maylu getting on this big ol' team, sugah."
"Simulation 666?" Protoman repeated, raising a brow.
"We went through 968 simulations in a few hours of human world time," Megaman explained as Roll pulled out a pair of folders and offered it to the two, "It's in our report."
"..." Protoman nodded as they began to read them.
"You've been married since yesterday?" Colonel asked.
"Not officially yet. We agreed to wait until after Nebula is dealt with for the ceremony," Megaman replied.
"We're really hoping to have our family and a priest be there via Pulse Transmission," Roll added.
"And you shared your Cores?" Protoman questioned.
"We did," Megaman replied, holding Roll's hand, "We're in it for the rest of our lives."
"No regrets," Roll smiled.
"...I can't believe I owe Gutsman five rare BattleChips."
"Wait, what was that last part, Protoman?" Roll asked.
"This is all accurate, correct?" Colonel asked.
"Yes, sir," Megaman confirmed, putting a hand on Roll's shoulder before she could march over to demand something from Protoman, "Especially the part about us sharing our Cores."
"Minus one program," Roll added.
"Minus one program," Megaman corrected himself, wrapping an arm around her waist.
"And you believe she has the ability to handle what we'll be facing?" Colonel asked.
"I know she does. She's why we escaped Nebula. Her Recov-Element is strong enough to counter the Dark Power," Megaman replied.
"Really?" Protoman asked.
"Yep!" Roll beamed, "Soo…Do we get to join or what?"
"I am so sorry for her shenanigans," Megaman apologized.
"Hey! I'll anigan your shen!" Roll warned playfully.
"Is she really making jokes about this?" Baryl frowned.
"She jokes when she's worried," Maylu explained.
"I can attest to that," Megaman agreed before frowning, "Lan and I do the same and you don't complain."
"Because we know you're competent in NetBattling," Chaud replied, "We have next to nothing on your girlfriend and her NetOp."
"She's my wife, thank you very much," Megaman frowned, showing his ring, "And as for how strong they are, they nearly beat Lan and I in the Eagle Tournament and would've won if I didn't have an UnderShot program installed at the time. And during our time in those consecutive Simulations, Roll has gotten stronger and we're at the point we have to wear limiters for the integrity of the Network."
"It's kinda why Serenade doesn't leave Secret Area. Hates wearing limiters," Roll added as she tapped one of her gloves' rings, "I don't get why, though. Easily fashionable and can be made to look like your original armor."
"You went through a total of 968 Simulations…consecutively?" Protoman asked.
"Yes," both replied.
"How are neither of you long deleted from the overload?" Colonel asked.
"Because I'm more human than NetNavi and we shared our Cores, so Roll is more human than NetNavi now as well," Megaman replied, "We're a paradoxical existence to be honest."
"?" Both raised a brow.
"Look…If you're concerned, can't Maylu and I do some sorta big test?" Roll asked, "Anything to prove we want to join and are capable of being valuable assets?"
"...There is something we intended to have Lan perform in our stead," Chaud informed.
"If you can do this, then we'll consider you as a member of our Anti-Nebula Task Force," Baryl stated, looking at Maylu.
"Right now the luxury passenger liner, Queen Bohemia, is in port behind SciLab. We've got wind of a party that's going to be held on board the ship tomorrow by a certain company from Electopia...The guest list is full of the world's top business-people and royals."
"...Sounds pretty important. What's it all about?" Lan asked.
"Ubercorp, the company hosting the party, is going to present a Booster System it has developed. Apparently it can multiply the power of any program," Baryl explained.
"If you accept this task, you are to go to the presenta...I mean, auction…"
"Auction? So they're going to sell this booster system?" Maylu asked.
"Yes...and we've reason to believe Nebula is after it," Chaud confirmed.
"Believe nothing! They want it to boost that insane monster of theirs that they get the Dark Power from!"Roll exclaimed, "They were talking about it before my Hubby showed up all strapped down and knocked out!"
"And it's a system that can power up programs, right? If Nebula got hold of something like that…" Lan began.
"Say bye-bye to the Network…again!" Roll threw her hands up in exasperation, "At least this time I'll be there in person and not in my PeT, shut off from the outside world…"
"That's your task, to stop that happening," Baryl informed.
"Ok. I'm on it. So I'll have to get on the Queen Bohemia tomorrow then, right?" Maylu asked.
"Yes. Except you'll need an Invite to board the ship…"
"Well your Dad's the boss of that big PET-making firm...IPC, isn't it?" Lan asked, "You must be on the guest list already. Haven't you got an Invite?"
"...Unfortunately not. Ubercorp's long been a competitor of IPC...We're not invited. She'll have to get in herself somehow," Chaud replied.
"What?! How? We don't know any bigshot business people…" Lan trailed off.
"No, wait...Lan, we do know someone like that," Maylu reminded, "Yai!"
"And if that fails, there's always Princess Pride and Tesla Magnus," Roll added.
"Oh right! How did I forget that?" Lan asked.
"You've been having a bit of a stressful time doing this," Maylu pointed out before turning to the two and bowed, "I'll go ask Yai right now."
"We'll either be back with the ticket or coming back to ask where the princess and the heiress are! Bye~!" Roll waved as she was logged out and Maylu ran out.
"Ah! Wait up!" Lan called.
"A moment first, Lan," Chaus spoke, causing Lan to skid to a halt.
"Huh?"
"What's wrong?" Megaman asked.
"Are you two certain they can handle this?" Baryl asked.
"...I trust Megaman on Roll being strong enough to do this," Lan replied, "And Maylu's a lot tougher than people like to think she is."
"The only reason they didn't get into the N1 is because of the Ratton viruses in that last round," Megaman added.
"We mean mentally," Baryl corrected.
"...We just want to get this over with, go to school, and be kids," Lan stated.
"To be fair, Maylu is far more mature than Lan at times."
"Hey!"
"And again, nearly a thousand consecutive simulations. Serenade even gave Roll the honorary Rank 1.5 after our final spar before we ended the simulations. You also have all that intel to look over, too. Intel that Gutsman, Gylde, and Roll collected."
"...That is true…" Chaud admitted, frowning as he skimmed it again, "We're going to have to be on the lookout for these VisionBursts."
"The four of us agreed that if we find 'Gow,' we'll put it in a SubPeT and give it to you two to deal with," Lan replied.
"This was your grand…"
"I know, but the last time we kept something involving the internet with my gramps involved, Alpha nearly came back and Megaman spent six months in isolation while everyone thought he had been deleted," Lan glowered, "Would I have liked seeing and experiencing SoulNet? Sure. But I'd rather it be destroyed and never have a chance of coming back than letting Regal get his hands on it and twist it to his intentions."
"Do what you want with it, but we honestly want it completely destroyed so it can't be used by Nebula or anyone else like them," Megaman stated firmly on the matter, "Anything else you need from us, sirs?"
"Originally, we were planning to loan Colonel to Lan yesterday until you could be recovered from Nebula," Baryl informed as Chaud typed on the console, "But due to your escape, we dropped the matter. Chaud decided to scout ahead on the End Area and discovered that our next area to Liberate is closed off." The screen displayed a large group of HeelNavis with various weapons on the ready, "Each one of these is enhanced with several DarkChips. Until we can find a way to overpower them…"
"I'll be on the lookout," Lan promised.
Baryl nodded, "Dismissed."
"Thanks! We'll be back with the ticket!" Lan called as he ran off after Maylu.
"It seems the majority of what she learned was through the HeelNavis and what she could pick up from the interrogations of Dr. Hikari," Chaud noted as he looked over what Roll gave them.
"So this is their end game…Nebula Gray…" Baryl frowned, narrowing his eyes at the intel, "We'll need to check the Undernet to make sure that 'S' and their men are liberating it like they said they would."
"We can also deploy Officials to apprehend the distributors of the DarkChips," Chaud added, "It needs to be done quickly before they realize what Roll gave us."
"Is it complete?" Regal asked.
"Yes, Lord Regal. It took five DarkChips to build it up from just the small piece left behind, but they are more than capable."
"Excellent. And the analysis?"
"It seems that the Recov Element is the near-polar opposite of Dark Power, which explains why DarkRecov causes that terrible bug. It is why the DarkChips were ejected, but the full blown explosion would only happen if the true polar opposite of Dark Power was mixed in."
"A power that is near polar-opposite…interesting. Any hypothesis on the true polar opposite?"
"Unfortunately, we are unsure of it at this time."
"Keep an eye out for it and be ready to terminate that source. It would do us no good if it were to be used against us," Regal ordered, "Now…allow me to speak to them."
"...Hello, my Lord."
"Greetings. How are you?"
"I feel glorious, my Lord. This Dark Power coursing through me feels wonderful~!"
"You are going to be deployed with our latest Darkloid to the Edo Area. We were able to access his NaviCust and installed a BugStop in him, so you are free to use DarkRecov on him as often as you please."
"Excellent, my Lord~! I will make sure he gets all the support for this."
"Good," Regal replied as he turned away from it and walked up to a figure with messy red/brown hair, a pair of broken glasses, a swollen black eye, and chained up to a wall, "Your older son would have been a perfect Darkloid were it not for the intervention of that pink Navi, Yuichiro."
"Heh-heh…There's a reason why…I approve of her…" the man weakly replied, 'Roll…hopefully, they're taking what you gathered with the others seriously. You saved Hub from becoming a Darkloid…I can't imagine how I'll be able to repay you once this is over with…'
"Hmph. Well, let's see how she will handle what comes for her. My agents are already deploying to reclaim her and Megaman," Regal informed, making Yuichiro tense, "I was not done with either, yet. And I intend to finish what we started."
"If I remember right, Yai was going to spend today at home," Maylu noted as the two entered ACDC Town once more.
"Here's to hoping she has a ticket for it," Roll noted before gasping, "Shoot!"
"What?" Lan asked.
"Who is here?" Roll asked, gesturing to herself.
"...Oh!" the two realized.
"This is gonna be awkward," Lan admitted.
"We tell the truth," Megaman shrugged, "Neither of us were anywhere close to Glyde or Gutsman before the Jack Out went off."
"...Do we have to tell them why I wasn't near them?"
"Roll."
"Mmmm~" Roll slumped before Megaman sighed and vanished from Lan's shoulder to Maylu's to hug her from behind.
"Look, I get why you did it. Really. And, yes, I would do the exact same thing if the roles were reversed," Megaman spoke, laying his chin on her shoulder while closing his eyes, "I've already gotten it out of my system decades ago in NetNavi Time, but Lan and Maylu only learned of this yesterday. You're going to have to deal with this for a little while."
"...It stinks…" Roll pouted.
"But that's just another part of life," Megaman pointed out, "You just have to owe up to things like this. And you always have me to be there for comfort."
"Oh you…" Roll blushed, turning her head to peck his cheek.
"...You're trying to get used to this, too, right?" Lan asked.
"I am…and it's kinda cute," Maylu noted.
"Huh?" Lan tilted his head.
"They kinda remind me of your parents," Maylu pointed out.
"..." Lan tilted his head as he looked at the two NetNavis, "...Huh…It…kinda does remind me of times when Papa comes home." he looked at Maylu, "It's gonna take time to get used to this."
"Yeah," Maylu agreed as they soon came upon the large yellow mansion's entrance and pressed the buzzer.
=Hello?=
"Hello, Ms. Gates."
=Ms. Sakurai, Mr. Hikari, how may we assist you today?=
"We're wondering if Yai's home right now," Maylu explained.
=Indeed. Lady Yai is in the treehouse with Mr. Oyama. She intended to have you and Mr. Hikari come, but neither of you were home and your PeTs would not pick up= Ms. Gates informed as the gate opened =I will inform Lady Yai at once=
"Thank you, Ms. Gates," the two thanked as they entered, unaware of a black van nearby with tinted windows.
=Lady Yai, Mr. Hikari and Ms. Sakurai have arrived=
"Thank you, Ms. Gates," a short girl with a large forehead and her long blond hair pulled into braided ponytails thanked as she got off a pink recliner and looked over at the larger tan-skinned boy with a 'spike' of brown hair in a green shirt and blue shorts on a pink couch, "This'll be nice, Dex."
"You said it, Yai," he agreed, "A movie day was a good idea."
Minutes later, Lan and Maylu arrived at a house-like structure in a large tree. Lan was the first to climb up the ladder before Maylu followed him up. Maylu knocked on the red door and Yai opened it.
"About time you two showed up! We already finished one movie," Yai grinned.
"Movie?"
"Yeah. I was trying to find you two for a group movie day," Yai explained as she led to the two in.
"Oh! That does sound nice, but…um…we were actually coming here to ask you about something," Maylu replied.
"Huh? What's up?" Yai asked.
"Well…It's a bit of a big thing," Lan replied, "But first, we do have some great news!"
"You do?" Dex asked.
"Yep!" Lan beamed as he pointed at Maylu's PeT.
"...Huh?" the two pondered before Roll appeared on her shoulder.
"Hi!" Roll greeted with a wave.
"Roll?!" Dex and Yai gawked.
"Two days ago, Megaman got caught by Nebula. Roll managed to convince them to put a DarkChip into her when they were going to do the same to Megaman to make him a Darkloid," Lan explained, "But her Recov-Element actually negated and overloaded the DarkChips before they could infect them, blowing them up and waking up Megaman long enough to activate an escape program."
"We couldn't see much since they had all of us off the entire trip there. I managed to wipe all data in Maylu's PeT before they logged us into a cage in their Network. All I know is they're using an address in the Undernet," Roll explained before frowning, "I'm really sorry I can't give more info."
"Were they alright?" Dex asked.
"Yeah. Gutsman and Glyde are safe. Afraid, but they haven't tried anything to harm either," Roll assured.
"That's a big relief," Yai sighed with a small smile.
"But there's a bit of an issue," Roll spoke, "Please tell me you have a ticket for that big boat docked near SciLab!"
"The Queen Bohemia? Goodness, no! My family is a gaming company and don't even want that program they're auctioning," Yai replied, "They only give those out to big tech companies and royalty!"
"Shoot."
"What's going on? Why did you need a ticket for that?" Dex asked.
"...Um…" Lan glanced to the side.
"Roll…" Maylu groaned as she facepalmed.
"Long story, but it involves why I was kidnapped," Megaman explained.
"Can we do a TLDR for them?" Roll suggested.
"Lan and Megaman are a part of that team of NetNavis that have been liberating Electopia's Network from Nebula and because of Roll, I'm being recruited and need a ticket to the ship so Nebula can't get that Force Program they're auctioning."
"WHAT?!" Dex and Yai gawked.
"Roll's fault," Lan blamed.
"Oh that is so not true! …It's Chaud and Baryl's because they recruited you and Mega first," Roll huffed, putting her hands on her hips.
"Roll, you're the one who dropped it on Yai in the first place," Maylu noted.
"And how were we gonna explain the ticket, huh? And they're friends, aren't they?" Roll argued, "We're gonna be in a ton of danger now, so it's better to be honest and not let them worry about us when we're making lies. Only time you should lie is when telling stories or to help yourself mentally."
"I still can't help but be shocked by how Usopp's lies were more predictions than lies," Megaman whispered, rubbing his chin in thought.
"That explains why you and those two ladies were at that old looking telephone post on the island," Dex noted.
"I knew that you saying you were cashing in favors they owed you was fishy," Yai frowned.
"Actually, that was true. Princess Pride owed us for trying to kill us in Ameropa when she was a member of Grave and Tesla had to take on her father's debt to us for that same reason, but on the plane home instead of in Ameropa," Megaman replied, "We just chased those in for them joining the team and helping us get into the area we needed to Liberate for the entire Oran Area."
"...Right, you're not leaving until we beef up your Folders," Yai stated.
"Huh?" both blinked.
"You think we're just gonna let you two go off fighting those jerks that took our Navis without helping you out?" Dex asked, "Heck no! We can't give them a beating, but you guys can and are!"
"And this is why it's better to be honest with friends on things like this. Especially with the goal of wrecking a criminal organization that messed with all of us!" Roll grinned before an alarm went off, "...I'm guessing Nebula."
=Lady Yai, the mansion is entering Lockdown. We have intruders attempting to access the network= a maid informed from the nearby PA.
"What?!" Yai gasped, "What's happening? Visuals, please, Ms. Banks!"
=Displaying= Ms. Banks replied as the projector changed from the Network to surveillance footage of men in black bodysuits and gas masks trying to breach the mansion doors, having already gotten onto the grounds.
"Yep. That's Nebula," Roll confirmed.
"They're more than likely after Roll and I," Megaman noted.
"Huh?!" Lan gawked, "Why?!"
"Lan, we got away from them after destroying two DarkChips with a previously unknown method. They more than likely want to study Roll and want to make me a Darkloid still," Megaman explained before tensing, "Mama!"
"Not again!" Lan panicked.
"Already calling her!" Megaman replied before the PeT changed to show Mrs. Hikari.
"Hello?"
"Mama! Are you home right now?" Lan asked.
"No. I needed to get out of the house for a bit, so I decided to go to Seaside Town for a bit," she replied.
"Stay away from home! You gotta get to SciLab quick and ask for Baryl!" Lan explained.
"What?"
"Mama, Nebula is after me," Megaman explained, "They're attacking Yai's house right now because that's where we are. They may kidnap you to get to me if they can't get me here."
"Gh! Boys, please…stay safe, okay?"
"Don't worry, Mrs. Hikari!" Yai spoke up, "We have an escape route at the location we're at!"
"Maybe we can hide on Oran Island until they give up," Dex suggested.
"I'm so glad that I haven't bought my ticket yet," Mrs. Hikari sighed, "Lan, Megaman…Please…stay safe."
"We promise, Mama," Lan assured, "Just go to SciLab and ask for Baryl."
"Tell them it's a Code 47-52. They'll understand what it means and make sure you'll be safe. We love you, Mama."
"I love you boys, too," Mrs. Hikari replied before the call ended.
"On the couch, you three!" Yai ordered as she jumped onto her recliner, "We're gonna get out of here pronto!"
Lan, Maylu, and Dex ran over and sat on the couch. Yai flipped a part on her recliner's arm, revealing a button that she quickly pushed. With a shake, the couch and recliner dropped down a tunnel, the trio on the couch yelping. Within moments, the couch reached the bottom of a tunnel before it was pulled to the right, causing Maylu to press against Lan as his back pressed against Dex's stomach. The brunette and redhead blushed at the closeness until shaking it off just as the couch slid into a slot on the ground before Yai's recliner lowered onto another slot. Walls rose up, revealing the interior of a limousine.
"To the docks!" Yai ordered to the maid wearing old-time driving clothing, "We're heading to Oran Island!"
"Yes, Lady Yai," the maid replied as she began to drive the limo through a tunnel and emerged from a secret entrance near the park, speeding away at a lawful speed.
"Keep your heads down," Megaman advised, the four quickly ducking and peeking out the window just as they passed Lan and Maylu's houses, seeing agents looking through them.
"Oh god…" Roll gasped softly before grimacing, "This is our fault…"
"No it's not," Yai argued, "This is that stupid Nebula's."
"What was that code you gave anyway?" Dex asked.
"The moment Mama gives that, she's going to be relocated to a safe house in Yoka until Nebula is stopped," Megaman explained, "Better her safe than to be abducted."
"And now it's going to be harder to get to the Queen Bohemia," Roll sighed.
"I'm calling Chaud," Megaman informed.
"Huh? Chaud?" Lan pondered before Megaman called the teen up.
"What is it?" Chaud asked.
"Nebula just attacked us!" Lan explained, "They're raiding our houses and just attacked Yai's! We barely got away thanks to her!"
"They must be after your NetNavis," Chaud realized, "Roll especially due to her intel that she gave us." he paused, "You told them?"
"Had to because of Nebula!" Maylu replied.
"Damn. Where are you at?"
"On our way to Oran Island."
"Pride and Tesla are there at the moment. With luck, they can take your friends to a safe house," Chaud informed.
"We sent Mama to SciLab. Thankfully, she was in Seaside Town when this happened," Megaman informed.
"Chaud, please keep Mama safe!"
"We'll make sure she's taken to a safe house," Chaud assured, "...You're aware that…"
"Yeah…I…I'm not gonna see her until this is all over, huh?"
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. Just make sure she's safe," Lan replied before the call ended and left the four in silence, realizing things were now further from safe than before.
GT: Here's Day 27, folks! And how's this for a big twist, eh?