Hello all Storm here with a new chapter! And here we'll be getting another timeskip, with some of the characters being aged up, as opposed to being ten/eleven, along with seeing Naruto finding Bass after he runs into some trouble.
Also just to get this out of the way, Mayl and Roll are going to be paired with Naruto (Roll since there are instances where NetNavi can materialize in the real world), while Lan and MegaMan will both have different pairings. Sorry if anyone doesn't like that, but it's happening, if that ruins the story for you, there's the back arrow.
Okay, just wanted to get that out of the way. So, without further ado.
I own nothing
Bass jumped to the side, avoid a large Fire Tower rushing towards him before aiming his hand at the Life Virus with his arm glowing green.
"Air Burst!" Bass said as he unleashed a large and powerful green energy sphere with it slamming right into the Life Virus, only to scowl when its shield flared to life around it, blocking the attack.
With it having been the same for all his previous attacks, no matter what its shield didn't even so much as shudder regardless of how much power he put into his attacks.
'That just means I'm not using enough!' Thought Bass, knowing if the shield can't be brought down from any of his normal attacks, he'll use one that can't be defended against.
Before the Life Virus slammed its fist down onto the ground, causing multiple wood spikes to shoot up towards Bass with the Black Shadow jumping back to avoid being impaled. With Bass holding out his left arm as his hand transformed, before his Heat Blade came to life. Allowing him to quickly slice through the spikes and rush towards the Life Virus.
Seeing Bass coming towards it, the Life Virus held its hands together and charged up a ball of lightning before launching it towards the NetNavi. Though Bass merely smirked at this as he held out his right hand, which transformed as well with a glowing green sword emerging.
"Bamboo Sword!" Bass said, jumping into the air and cutting the Thunder Ball in half with it before rushing the Life Virus with both his blades.
Thrusting his swords at it, Bass's smirk grew as the Life Virus's shield blocked them before he leapt high up into the air with his hands returning to normal as he began charging up energy.
"This will end you for good! Earth Breaker!" Shouted Bass, descended down towards the Life Virus while smashing his fist straight down into its shield.
For a moment it seemed like the shield would hold before it began cracking until it suddenly exploded as Bass's fist slammed right into the Life Virus's head.
"Now you're power is mine!" Exclaimed Bass, placing his hand on the Life Virus and absorbing its power including its shield, incorporating it into himself.
Once he absorbed all its power, Bass jumped away from the Life Virus as it collapsed to the ground and exploded into data fragments. The Black Shadow watched as numerous viruses shot out into the Net before he looked down at himself with a smirk as his new shield flashed around him.
"Life Aura, a very nice addition. Now nothing will be able to touch me." Bass said, pleased at having such a powerful barrier, knowing it'll be incredibly useful in future battles.
Though from what he saw of the Life Virus, it seems like it dropped the Life Aura whenever it attacked before quickly putting it back up.
'Meaning I'll likely need to do the same for my stronger attacks. But no matter, there wouldn't be anyone who'd be fast enough to attack me when it's down. And given I needed to use my Earth Breaker to bring it down, there isn't any NetNavi strong enough to get through it.' Thought Bass as he turned to leave area, knowing he's now one step closer to his goal of defeating Serenade and taking her power.
Five years had passed since he first encountered her, with Bass having continued hunting and deleting more NetNavis while taking their abilities for himself. Giving him an enormous number of attacks and abilities at his disposal, with it only growing larger with each battle. He's even sometimes left opponents alive so they could become stronger and give him a better challenge. Not only giving Bass the chance to fight stronger opponents, but improve himself should they actually manage to push him.
With Bass having soon learned about the Life Virus, an incredibly powerful virus that no NetNavi has been able to defeat, let alone manage to get past its Life Aura. Something that Bass took as a challenge and desired to defeat the Life Virus, using it as a test to see how far he's come. Being pleased at his performance and the newest ability added to his arsenal.
'And soon, your power will be added, Serenade.' Bass thought, clenching his fists in anticipation, knowing he'll soon prove to everyone he is the Ultimate NetNavi.
*Real World*
*With Wily*
"AAAAAHHHHHH! Damn you Bass!" Wily shouted, slamming his cane into the screen showing Bass leaving after destroying his Life Virus.
'Fifteen years of work to create the ultimate virus, ruined! Even if I created another one or if others formed from its destroyed data, no other Life Virus will measure up to the original!' Wily thought, enraged that all the work and planning he put into creating the Life Virus, that his entire plan to destroy the CyberWorld was ruined.
Before Wily stopped and began calming down, narrowing his eyes at another screen showing Bass and all the data he managed to gather on him during the fight with the Life Virus.
'One of the strongest, if not the strongest, NetNavis in the world. Being able to act independently without an Operator, absorbing the data and abilities of other NetNavis and viruses alike. And an unmatched hatred for humans and their NetNavis. Bass is everything I could hope for in a subordinate and ally in destroying the Net.' Thought Wily, knowing Bass would be a prime candidate in completing his plan.
Unfortunately, the Black Shadow was also unruly and uncontrollable, and it's unlikely he'd even entertain the idea of working with a human. And if by some miracle Wily could find a way to control him, his Get Ability Program would likely free Bass and incorporate any program or virus he used. Which would not only make Bass stronger, but have him come after World Three as well.
'But that doesn't mean I can continue to let Bass run freely and risk him ruining my plans even more than he already has. Luckily, with all the data from his fight with the Life Virus, I should be able to come up with something just for him.' Wily thought, looking over all the data he's been able to gather on Bass from his fight.
Combined with the data he took from the Life Virus, Wily was sure he'll be able to create a special virus that'll get rid of Bass for good.
Wily then turned to another screen as it appeared and showed one of his subordinates, Mr. Match.
Mr. Match is an adult man with fair skin, long fiery red hair that went down to the middle of his back and resembled a flame, dark-colored eyes, and a small fiery red goatee on his chin. With his attire consisting of a long-sleeved maroon shirt, a black, high-collared vest with a blue triangle near the collar and his flame emblem on the left side, black pants held up by a brown belt and tucked into brown boots with tanned soles.
"What can I do for ya, Mr. Wily?" Mr. Match said with a smirk while Wily narrowed his eyes.
"Mr. Match, I'm having you and TorchMan go to DenTech City and begin spreading as much chaos as you can. Do you think you can manage that." Said Wily, with Match laughing loudly.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh aye! We'll make sure the entire city will be feeling the burn soon enough!" Said Mr. Match, eager for the chance to start spreading chaos and fear.
"Good, see to that it gets done and let no one stop you." Wily ordered as the screen turned off.
The mad scientist sighed in annoyance as he went to get to work on the virus that'll destroy Bass, knowing even with him gone, World Three is back to square one.
'I can only hope no more obstacles get in our way, let alone one that would be as unruly as Bass.' Wily thought as he got to work.
*DenTech City-ACDC Town*
Meanwhile, within DenTech City was ACDC Town, one of the towns/districts within DenTech City with it being home to DenTech Academy. At the moment class was in session, being taught by Mariko Ozono or Ms. Mari as she's commonly referred to as.
Ms. Mari is a young woman with fair skin, brown hair that was curled up to above her shoulders and shaped like cinnamon buns, and brown eyes. With her wearing a dark cyan dress that was light purple around her chest and with a white hem, purple tights and dark cyan boots with brighter cyan soles.
Currently Ms. Mari was giving a lecture, only to soon stop when she heard the sound of someone snoring. Feeling some annoyance that one of her students had fallen asleep, Mari looked for who it was only to gain a dry look and sigh before the teacher went over to the sleeping student. Closing the book she had, Mari brought it down on the students head, causing them to jolt awake and flail around.
"I wasn't sleeping!" Said the student, looking around rapidly only to see Mari standing over them, with the brunette simply looking at them pointedly.
"You're not fooling anyone, Naruto." Mari stated, making Naruto glance around the classroom to see the rest of the students snickering lightly or sighing that he fell asleep, again.
With Mari sighing and placing the book against her forehead while shaking her head in exasperation.
"Naruto, perhaps you can answer a question we'd all like an answer to. Seriously, how is it you're somehow one of my best students, despite never paying attention in class?" Questioned Mari, with the whiskered blonde smiling sheepishly and scratching the back of his head.
*Later*
After school got out, Naruto had quickly left class and got on a skateboard, being joined by two of his friends.
The first was another boy his age with fair skin, untidy brown hair which was kept out of his face with a blue bandana and their family emblem on it, and brown eyes. With him wearing a white long-sleeved shirt with black squares on the elbows under an orange vest, black shorts with yellow stripes on the sides, black ankle-socks, and orange shoes with black stripes, with him also having detachable roller skates. Along with having a black and green backpack on his back.
And the second is a girl of the same age with fair, pale skin, red-hot pink hair that went down just past her shoulders with a pink and yellow circular hairclip on the left side of her head, and brown eyes. With her attire consisting of an aqua green button-up shirt, a blue vest, a pink skirt, black thigh high socks, and dark red shoes. With the girl also riding on a scooter.
These were Lan Hikari and Mayl Sakurai, two of Naruto's friends from DenTech Academy.
"You know Ms. Mari has a point Naruto, even with all the times you fall asleep in class or don't even pay attention, you still somehow have good grades." Mayl said while looking at the Uzumaki in exasperation, having gotten used to him not paying attention in class.
"Yeah, it's actually pretty awesome that you can get away with sleeping in class and still get good grades. Please tell me your secret!" Said Lan with a hopeful expression, knowing he could really use something like that.
"I don't know what to tell you both, it's not really some great secret or anything. I just don't like studying in a school setting. I prefer working and studying things that actually interest me on my own time, rather than work that's just assigned to me." Naruto replied with a shrug, having always done better at working and studying things that interest him.
"So sorry Lan, you'll just have to keep doing things the old-fashion way, that is if you can ever remember to arrive on time." Added Naruto while smirking at the brunette, much to his annoyance.
"It's not my fault they had to make alarm clocks so annoying! Maybe if it made a better sound than a constant ringing, I wouldn't mind hearing it every morning." Lan said before he turned on his skates.
"Anyway I actually need to head to the arcade, I've got a Net Battle against Dex and GutsMan today." Said Lan, making Naruto and Mayl look at him with raised brows.
"Are you sure you want to keep battling Dex, Lan?" Mayl asked, knowing Lan didn't have the best luck in battling Dex.
"Yeah, aren't you on a losing streak against him?" Said Naruto, causing Lan to trip on his skates and faceplant before quickly getting up and giving them an annoyed looked.
"S-so what?! While Dex and GutsMan have me beat in raw power, I'm better overall as an Operator!" Lan said in his defense, something the whiskered blonde and redhead had to concede.
"We won't deny that you're a very skilled NetOp, Lan. But not good enough to defeat a custom NetNavi of GutsMan's level with a standard NetNavi." Naruto stated with Mayl nodding in agreement, only for Lan to wave it off.
"Hey, you know what they say, if at first you don't succeed then try, try again. See ya!" Said Lan before he began skating off in the direction of the arcade.
"…How much you wanna bet he's gonna lose again?" Naruto asked while looking at Mayl, with her rolling her eyes.
"I know better than to bet against you, Naruto." Mayl said, having learned anyone that bet against the Uzumaki was more than likely going to lose.
"Still, Lan should really hold off on Net Battling until he gets a custom NetNavi or at least manages to upgrade the one he currently has." Added Mayl since while Lan was skilled, more and more people were getting custom NetNavis, ones that were far stronger than the standard ones.
"Probably. But I'll give Lan this, he's nothing if not determined." Stated Naruto with Mayl nodded in agreement.
Both of them knowing once Lan sets his mind to something, it's impossible to try talking him out of it. Something that Naruto could relate to, remembering the last conversation with his grandfather and the promise he made.
'Just where are you, Bass?' Naruto thought, having been searching for Bass for the past five years, but so far hasn't had any luck.
Believing that Bass was still in CyberWorld somewhere, given how he survived ten years on his own after escaping SciLab. Naruto didn't doubt he's only gotten stronger, making it unlikely that any virus or NetNavi was able to delete him.
The Uzumaki was pulled from his thoughts when Mayl's PET began beeping, making them come to a stop as Mayl pulled it out and showing her own custom NetNavi, Roll.
Roll had the appearance of a teenage girl with fair skin, bright green eyes, and long blonde hair that went down her back and backside, and held together in a ponytail by a green ribbon. With her wearing lightweight bodysuit-style armor, with it being pink over her torso, pinkish-red on her hips, crotch, and backside resembling underwear, along with a yellow button on her backside, black on her arms and upper thighs before turning pinkish-red down to below her knees, matching pinkish-red gloves with pale yellow rings at the end, and pink boots with pale yellow rings at the top and black soles, while the toes and heels were pinkish-red. While in the center of her chest was her Navi Emblem, with a pinkish-red triangle below it making it look like a heart. And on her head was a pink helmet with two yellow buttons on the front and a heart between them, along with her Navi Emblem on the sides, with two long, transparent ribbon-like antennae wrapping around her head, while her hair came out the back.
"Mayl, your piano lessons will be starting soon." Roll said, reminding Mayl of her lessons.
"Thanks Roll, I'll be home shortly for them." Replied Mayl with a smile, while Naruto smiled at the blonde NetNavi as well.
"Mayl's really lucky to have a great NetNavi like you, Roll. I hope I'll be able to get a reliable NetNavi like you, soon." Said Naruto, always liking how Roll made sure to remind Mayl of anything important and help her with any problem, no matter what it was.
"Thank you Naruto, I'm always happy to help whenever Mayl needs me." Roll said, smiling at the whiskered blonde with her NetOp looking at Naruto curiously.
"Now that you brought it up, Naruto, why don't you have a NetNavi already? I mean outside of Masa, you're the only one in town without one, not even a standard NetNavi, despite having your own PET." Said Mayl, having always been confused as to why Naruto didn't get his own NetNavi, even after getting a PET.
Refusing to even get a standard NetNavi that usually comes with a PET, with him never revealing why he hasn't gotten one yet.
"I just want my NetNavi to be the right one, ya know. Since you only ever have one NetNavi, you don't want to end up with one you have trouble with or can't work alongside. I am going to get a NetNavi, it's just taking a while." Naruto replied, making Mayl and Roll look at him curiously.
"What kind of NetNavi do you have in mind exactly?" Roll asked only for her and Mayl to be confused when Naruto smiled solemnly.
"Just one." Said Naruto, with the girls only being more curious at the kind of NetNavi he has in mind.
*With Bass*
Meanwhile, after dealing with the Life Virus, Bass continued wandering the Net, searching for any information on worthwhile opponents to face or any interesting abilities to add to his arsenal.
Only for him to come to stop after a few hours when suddenly dozens of NetPolice and government NetNavis began appearing around him. Until soon Bass found himself staring at a small army of NetNavis, much to his annoyance.
"…I take it none of you know who I am." Bass stated after a few moments, knowing any Navi that knew him would run in the opposite direction.
"We know who you are, Bass, also known as the Black Shadow! You have an order for immediate deletion on your head!" Said one of the Navis, with Bass merely narrowing his eyes.
"So you do know me. Then you should also know, none of you will be leaving here alive." Bass said lowly, intending to delete every last one of these weaklings to see if that'll show he's not to be messed with.
Though before he could begin tearing through the NetNavis, he stopped when four more Navis appeared in front of the army.
The first resembled a traditional Ninja, wearing a dark purple outfit that left only his green eyes exposed with a red and silver shuriken on his forehead spiked elbow pads, a long red scarf, silver socks, and black sandals, along with a katana strapped to his back. While his Navi Emblem was a black three-pointed shuriken on a yellow background.
The second Navi resembled a grey alien, with his face and the lower half of his body being light gray, while the upper part of his body is dark blue, and opaque black eyes. His feet had on what looked like gold boots that went up past his knees, on top of his head was a large crown-shaped object with six points resembling a star, as well as what looked like dark blue headphones with red spikes that extended over his cheeks, along with a yellow scarf around his neck that turned orange and ended in a large star. And on his forehead was his Navi Emblem, with the circle being half-red on top and half-blue on the bottom, with the emblem being a yellow star on a black background.
The third Navi had a humanoid build, but had his entire body covered in dark colored clothing, leaving no visible features. With his attire consisting of a dark black bodysuit, armored black and purple gloves, matching colored boots with small black spikes coming out the back and blue jewels around the top, and a long flowing dark purple cape with a high collar and divided into segments with lighter purple lining, along with large black spikes emerging from his shoulders. With his head resembling a helmet, with the top being a black glass dome showing only his narrow yellow eyes, a silver mouthguard where his nose and mouth would be, and light purple at the bottom. His Navi Emblem was in the center of his chest, acting as a clasp for his cloak, and resembled a blue bat on a black background.
And the fourth NetNavi was also humanoid, having a slim body that looked to be made out of grey flames, matching hair that looked to be made of grey fire, a red face, black eyes with black markings underneath them, and red horns, along with having a malicious grin. With him wearing black and purple armor on his torso with purple scythe-like blades on his shoulders, a green eye in the center of his chest with red lining, purple rings around his arms and legs, and purple scythe-like feet. Along with carrying a large scythe with a red blade, a chain attached to it, with his Navi Emblem at the top being a green eye on a black background surrounded by purple.
Narrowing his eyes at the sight of the four NetNavis, being able to tell they were far stronger than the rest of the peons they were with.
"Okay, since it seems like you four might actually give me a challenge, how about you tell me your names before I delete you." Said Bass, figuring they'll be the only ones that'll make him try.
"I am known as ShadowMan and we know who you are, Bass. You've caused quite a lot of trouble with how much we were offered to delete you." Said ShadowMan, crossing his arms.
"The name's StarMan, and that's all you'll be seeing in a few moments." StarMan said with a smirk.
"I am DarkMan. It seems you and I share a reputation within the Undernet, all those within know to fear us. I admit I've waited for a moment like this, Black Shadow." Said DarkMan, having hoped to get a chance to fight Bass.
"Hehehehe! Call me EraseMan! After I heard what you can do, I've been wanting to see which of us will end up cut into pieces!" EraseMan said, eager to get such a challenge.
"ShadowMan, StarMan, DarkMan, and EraseMan. I see." Bass said, closing his eyes before he smirked and began chuckling lowly.
Before his eyes snapped open and he threw his cloak open and transformed his hands into cannons, which he aimed at the Navis.
"Just remember, you've brought this upon yourselves! Buster Rake!" Said Bass as he began unleashing a massive volley of high-speed energy blasts at the NetNavis.
Seeing the volley coming at them, ShadowMan and StarMan instantly moved out of the way while DarkMan sunk down into the ground. And EraseMan laughed as he rushed straight through the blasts, cutting apart any that'd hit him with his scythe. While the NetPolice and government NetNavis began running to avoid the volley of blasts. Only for there to be too many and moving too fast to dodge all of them, with several Navis immediately being logged out or deleted on impact.
"Misty Demon!" Said EraseMan, spinning his scythe around as flames from his body were pulled off, transforming into phantoms as they were launched towards Bass.
"Fire Tower!" DarkMan said from behind Bass, slamming his hand into the ground, creating a pillar of flames that rushed at the Black Shadow.
Seeing the attacks coming out at him, Bass quickly jumped out of the way only to see StarMan appear above him.
"Try dodging this! Star Arrow!" Said StarMan shooting multiple Star Arrows down at Bass, only to be shocked when Bass suddenly teleported away.
"You were saying? Dark Arm Blade!" Said Bass while turning his hand into a blade of darkness, before slashing at StarMan with it.
The star-themed Navi gritted his teeth, only to cry out as Bass began rapidly slashing him with his sword before flipping through the air and slamming his foot into StarMan's chin, knocking him away.
Landing on the ground, Bass then quickly turned and blocked an overhead strike from ShadowMan's sword before his other hand turned into his Heat Blade and stabbed it through ShadowMan. Though the Black Shadow was surprised when ShadowMan simply disappeared from sight.
"You aren't the only one that can disappear. But unlike you, there can always be more than one of me! Bunshin!" Said ShadowMan as he and two clones appeared around Bass with their swords drawn, charging towards the NetNavi.
"That just makes it more fun for me! Hell's Rolling!" Bass said, creating to wheels of dark energy in his hands before throwing them at two of the ShadowMan.
Smirking as one of them jumped away while the other was cut in half, showing which one was the real ShadowMan.
"Air Burst!" Said Bass as he fired a powerful, green energy blast at the first ShadowMan, though was surprised when he was destroyed again.
'That was a clone too?!' Bass thought before quickly turning and bending back to avoid ShadowMan's slice.
"Never forget, deception is a Ninja's greatest tool." ShadowMan said before he suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke.
"Ninja Star!" Said ShadowMan right above Bass, throwing a hail of shuriken down at him.
Rolling out of the way of the shuriken, Bass created a Cyber Sword blocking EraseMan's scythe from cutting into him. Only for EraseMan to just as quickly jump back with his scythe pulled back.
"Hex Sickle!" EraseMan said, swinging his scythe and unleashing a wave of energy towards Bass.
"Black Wing!" Said DarkMan, opening three holes around Bass, causing a swarm of bats to fly out around the Black Shadow.
Grunting in annoyance as the bats flew around him until Bass quickly jumped into the air and held his hands up.
"Big Bomb!" Bass said, creating a large red bomb before throwing it at the ground with the bomb detonating on impact, triggering an explosion that destroyed the bats and EraseMan's attack.
"Meteor!" Said StarMan, summoning six star-shaped meteors that rained down on top of Bass with Bass aiming his hands at them as his arms glowed yellow.
"Explosion!" Said Bass, firing multiple powerful and fasting blasts that crashed into the meteors destroying them before they could reach him.
"Moon Dance!" StarMan said, creating a crescent moon-shaped objects and launched it at Bass the moment he was on the ground.
Creating his Heat Blade, Bass sliced the projectile in half once it was close enough, only to sense DarkMan appear right behind him. Making the Black Shadow quickly turn, swinging his blade to delete the NetNavi.
"Dark Shadow!" DarkMan said, summoning an axe that blocked Bass's sword before the lining on his body suddenly turned yellow.
"Killer's Beam!" Said DarkMan, firing a blast from his eyes with Bass's eyes widening in shock when he found himself paralyzed.
'I can't move!' Bass thought gritting his teeth as the attack paralyzed him before he saw the NetPolice quickly moving in and surrounding him.
"Quick, while he's paralyzed! Open fire and delete him!" Said a Navi as all them transformed their arms into blasters and began rapidly firing on Bass.
"Shame it has to end so soon! Erase Delete Beam!" EraseMan said, firing a blast from the eye on his scythe at Bass.
"Fire Tower!" DarkMan said, slamming his hand on the ground, creating a pillar of flames right underneath Bass.
"Star Arrow!" Said StarMan, shooting several Star Arrows towards Bass.
"Bakuen!" ShadowMan said, shooting a fiery explosion at Bass.
With all the attacks engulfing Bass in a large explosion while none of the NetPolice let up as they kept firing on the Black Shadow. Only stopping after a few moments, looking through the cloud of smoke to see if they succeeded in deleting Bass.
'Hmm, perhaps he isn't as strong as we were lead to believe. I didn't even need to use that surprise.' ShadowMan thought, feeling some disappointment that Bass seemed less of a challenge than they were informed.
Only to tense when he saw something start glowing within the smoke and feeling a large buildup of power.
"You're all…so weak." Bass stated, much to their shock and surprise that he's still alive, before the smoke started clearing showing Bass surrounded by a dark aura.
"Open fire again!" Said a Navi as they prepared to begin firing, only for the aura to condense itself within Bass as he held his fist up.
"Darkness…Overload!" Yelled Bass, smashing his fist into the ground before any of the Navi could attack or fire on him again.
With none of them having time to react or dodge as Bass unleashed a massive, violet blast of pure destruction that either threw the Navis back or deleted them on contact. Several of the Navi were forced to quickly log out before they were deleted, while those that didn't could barely move or get up. With only ShadowMan, StarMan, DarkMan, and EraseMan still being able to move. But even they had pieces of data floating off of them from the explosion.
"Such…such strength. This is the true power of the Black Shadow." DarkMan said in disbelief and amazement.
"Now this…this is the challenge I've been waiting for!" Said EraseMan with a mad, malicious grin, knowing he'll either delete Bass or be deleted himself while trying.
'I see…it seems I will need to use the surprise after all.' ShadowMan thought, seeing that Bass truly was more powerful than they could've imagined.
Their shock, and fear for the NetPolice, growing as Bass soon emerged from the smoke, looking completely fine as his Life Aura regenerated his injuries from their attacks.
"You all wanted a battle so badly, yet none of you seem to realize that battle…is my forte." Bass stated as he created his Dark Sword before launching himself at the Navis.
*Real World*
"Well I hope you find this special NetNavi soon, Naruto. But I need to get going, see you tomorrow!" Mayl said, waving at the Uzumaki as she made her way home.
"See you, Mayl!" Replied Naruto, returning the wave as he began making his way home as well.
It didn't take long before Naruto arrived back at his home, picking up his skateboard and running inside, going past his mother Kushina in the kitchen.
"Hey mom, I'm home!" Said Naruto, making Kushina look at her son.
"What did I say about running inside! And dinner will be ready soon, so make sure you're down here soon!" Kushina said.
"Okay!" Said Naruto as he went upstairs to his room.
Once inside, Naruto connected his PET to his computer before logging in to the Net to see if he's managed to locate Bass with his Killer Eye Viruses.
'Here's hoping one of them managed to pick up a trace of where Bass could be.' Naruto thought, scrolling through the different Killer Eyes to see what they've found.
Only for the whiskered blonde to quickly stop on one in shock when he saw a fight happening between large amount of the NetPolice and what looked like four Custom NetNavis. But what was shocking was that they were only fighting one NetNavi. Or a better way to put it is they were trying to fight one NetNavi that was tearing through them, with only the four Custom Navis seeming to be fighting.
Though what really had Naruto's attention was just who they were fighting.
'That's…Bass?! It's actually him!' Thought Naruto in shock, not believing that he's finally found Bass after all this time.
Before Naruto snapped out of his shock and quickly got to work, readying the Jack Out Program to grab Bass. Given how he doubts Bass would willingly jack out to his PET, Naruto knew he'd need to grab him with it when he had a chance.
'I could do it now, but if I did then the rest of those NetNavis would see someone jack Bass out, which would be really bad if it was traced back here. I need to wait for a good moment to initiate the program.' Naruto thought, sitting back once the program was ready.
While feeling amazed at seeing Bass battle, how easily he was fighting off so many different opponents along with how it seems he had a barrier that blocked any attacks thrown at him.
'Bass really is strong, and he's had fifteen years to grow even stronger since leaving SciLab. Seeing this now, it's something else seeing it rather than just hearing about it.' Naruto thought, only to soon notice the NetPolice were all gathering together.
'What're they…' Thought Naruto before his eyes widened at seeing what they were doing.
*CyberWorld*
"Together everyone, now!" Said a Navi as they all gathered together, with their Operators giving them the same Battle Chip.
"North Wind!" The NetPolice said, unleashing a powerful combined blast of wind towards Bass.
Bass's eyes widened as the wind impacted him but rather than injure the Black Shadow, it blew away his Life Aura, leaving him defenseless.
"Killer's Beam!" Said DarkMan, firing the paralyzing blast at Bass, paralyzing him before he could dodge.
"We have you now! Meteor!" StarMan said, calling down six meteors that crashed down right onto Bass.
The Solo NetNavi gritted his teeth as the meteors crashed into him, sending him flying through the air before skidding across the ground as he shakily got back up.
"If you think…you can beat me…just because my Life Aura is gone…I'll show you what a foolish mistake that is! Hell's Rolling!" Said Bass, gathering dark energy in his hands before releasing multiple dark wheels at the Navis.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Yes! Keep fighting, keep struggling! Your will to live will make it all the more fun! Hex Sickle!" EraseMan said, charging towards Bass while swinging his scythe and cutting through the dark wheels.
"The more fun when I delete you! Dark Arm Blade! Heat Blade!" Bass said, turning his hand into his Dark Sword and his other hand into his Heat Blade before rushing at EraseMan.
With their weapons colliding together as they tried forcing the other back, only for Bass's eyes to widen when ShadowMan appeared behind him. The Ninja-themed NetNavi holding a program within his hand before slamming it into Bass's back. Causing Bass to scream in pain as he began feeling his data being destroyed from the inside out.
"Wh-wh-wha-what…d-di-di-di-did y-yo-yo-you…d-d-d-do-do-do?!" Demanded Bass through gritted teeth, falling to his knees as he tried stopping whatever was destroying his data.
"A special Bug we were given by the same person that hired us and provided your location to the authorities to ensure you deletion. And it's special because it was made just for you, Bass. After all, you might be able to defend against attacks from the outside, but you have no such defense on the inside, do you. Muramasa!" ShadowMan said, drawing his sword and slashing Bass across his chest.
"Flame Tower!" Said DarkMan, slamming his hand onto the ground and launching a pillar of fire that smashed right into Bass.
"Hex Sickle!" Said EraseMan, swinging his scythe, releasing a wave of energy that threw Bass through the air.
"Star Arrow!" StarMan said, shooting several arrows that shot right through Bass.
"Now's the time! Finish him off!" Yelled a NetNavi as they all began firing at the Black Shadow.
While Bass gritted his teeth at each attack, trying to force his body to keep moving only to soon collapse to the ground as all the NetNavis began relentlessly attacking him.
*Real World*
'Bass!' Naruto thought in shock and horror seeing Bass lose his barrier along with him then being infected with a Bug that's destroying his data from the inside.
Even more so when all the NetNavis began attacking him, knowing if he didn't do something than Bass would be deleted.
"Mega Cannon and H-Cannon! Battle Chips in, download! And Sensor! Battle Chip in, download!" Naruto said putting several Mega Cannon and H-Cannon Battle Chips into his PET, along with a Sensor Battle Chip to recall all his Killer Eye Viruses scattered around the Net.
*CyberWorld*
Back in CyberWorld, the Navis began closing in on Bass as they fired, wanting to make sure to keep him suppressed and surrounded just in case he tried pulling any other tricks. Only for them to be surprised when the Mega Cannons and H-Cannons suddenly appeared around Bass and began firing on them, logging out or deleting the more injured Navis.
"What?! Where did these cannons come from?!" StarMan said as he quickly began moving to avoid their fire.
"I don't know! These are Battle Chips and he's not supposed to have a NetOp!" Said ShadowMan in surprise at the unexpected development.
"That doesn't mean there isn't a NetOp helping him!" DarkMan said before grunting when he was suddenly shot in the back, turning to see a swarm of Killer Eye Viruses descending onto them.
"These keeps getting better and better! Misty Demon!" Said EraseMan with a mad grin, sending out multiple phantoms to attack the Killer Eyes.
*Real World*
'Okay, that's keeping them off him, but I can't stop now!' Thought Naruto, knowing those won't hold the Navis off for long.
"Let's see how they like this! Howitzer! Battle Chips in, download! And with some special ammunition! Lil Bombs, Cross Bombs, Crack Bombs, Paralyze Bombs! Battle Chips in, download!" Naruto said, sending in some Howitzers and Beetanks with several different bombs.
*CyberWorld*
As the Navis started regaining control of the fight against the Killer Eyes and Cannons, multiple Howitzers and Beetanks soon appeared alongside them and began firing different bombs.
"Are you serious?! Who's helping Bass right now?! Meteo-" Said StarMan in annoyance and frustration before he prepared to unleash a bombardment of meteors to end this.
Only for the star-themed Navi to be paralyzed when a Paralyzed Bomb was fired at him, much to his growing frustration.
"You know what, no payment's worth dealing with this! I'm out of here!" StarMan said, no longer caring about getting paid and simply refusing to end up being deleted.
"StarMan logging out."
"I believe I must agree with StarMan. This contract has exceeded the original parameters." Said DarkMan, seeing Bass was stronger than they anticipated and now he has a NetOp helping him, it would be better to leave now and live to fight another day.
"DarkMan logging out."
"You can run, I'm not leaving until I'm deleted or Bass is! Erase Delete Beam!" EraseMan said, firing a beam that cut through the Killer Eyes.
"I don't leave a contract unfulfilled regardless of danger! Shadow Sword!" Said ShadowMan, creating several clones that rushed forward and began cutting through the bombs to destroy the Cannons and Howitzers.
While the remaining NetPolice were growing less and less, with many of them having already been deleted or logged out by Bass. With more being logged out by the surprise attack, but were slowly regaining ground.
*Real World*
'This is my chance!' Naruto thought upon seeing that the NetNavis were focused on his attacks, giving him the chance to grab Bass.
Going to his computer, Naruto quickly deployed the Jack Out Program to grab Basse, before grabbing some Battle Chips that'll cover his disappearance.
"Cyclone and Blower! Battle Chips in, download!" Said Naruto inserting the Battle Chips into his PET.
*CyberWorld*
Back in CyberWorld, the NetNavis had managed to wipe out the last of the Killer Eyes, allowing them to focus on destroying the Cannons and Howitzers. With them slowly making their back towards Bass to hopefully finish him before any other surprise attacks happen.
Only for them to be forced back when a giant tornado formed around the Black Shadow. With it soon being joined by a tornado of fire as the two merged into a massive fiery vortex, forcing the NetNavis back to avoid being deleted.
"Bass logging out."
Once Bass was gone, the vortex soon died with the Navis immediately moving in only stop when they didn't see Bass anywhere, much to their shock. Before they soon realized what happened, much to their anger.
"We were tricked! That NetOp was able to jack Bass out!" A Navi shouted, not believing that they lost their chance to delete Bass and likely won't be able to find him as they had no idea who helped him.
"Hmhmhmhmhm, oh well. It just means I'll have more chances to see which of us will end up deleted." Said EraseMan, not caring that Bass managed to escape, instead feeling excitement they'll be able to fight again one day.
"EraseMan logging out."
"No matter, he won't be able to escape for long. And with that Bug, it's only a matter of time before Bass is deleted anyway." Said ShadowMan, knowing while Bass might've escaped, his deletion was already assured.
"ShadowMan logging out."
The remaining NetPolice Navis still didn't like that Bass escaped, but could accept that ShadowMan's Bug would finish him still, before they all began logging out to recover from the battle and ambush.
*Real World*
Naruto sighed in relief that he was able to jack out Bass in time and cover his tracks, before he watched Bass appear on his PET.
'I'm not done yet.' Naruto thought, grabbing his PET and some Battle Chips.
"Bug Fix. Battle Chip in, download. Recovery. Battle Chip in, download." Said Naruto putting a Bug Fix Chip through to help remove the Bug from Bass, along with numerous Recovery Chips to help heal him from all the damage.
Once he was sure Bass was no longer in danger, the Uzumaki turned his attention to the Bug that ShadowMan said was designed specifically for Bass.
'If this was made just for Bass, then whoever made it will probably try making more should they find out he's still alive. I'll need to make sure no more Bugs like that can infect Bass.' Thought Naruto as he began typing away, decoding and reprogramming the Bug into a Navi Customizer Program, Bug Stop.
After he finished with it, Naruto uploaded the program into Bass, watching in amazement as it was completely assimilated into Bass thanks to his Get Ability Program.
Leaning back in his chair, Naruto let out a sigh before he looked at the clock only to be surprised to see how late it was, along with seeing how the sun was already setting and getting dark out. Much to Naruto's surprise, not expecting to have been up that long.
'Guess I missed dinner again, too.' Thought Naruto, getting up and going downstairs.
Heading to the kitchen, Naruto found his mother put his dinner away in the fridge before taking it out and microwaving it. Before he headed back up to his bedroom, knowing he still had his homework to do.
'Looks like it's going to be another all-nighter.' Thought Naruto, having gotten used to such things with how long he'd spend on the Net.
Starting on his homework, Naruto sighed tiredly as he got to work only to stop for a brief moment and look at his PET with Bass inside it. The whiskered blonde smiled softly at the sight of the NetNavi as he recovered.
"Welcome home, Bass." Naruto said, glad that he was finally able to find and get Bass back after so many years.
Though he knew that was the easy part and the rest would be much more difficult, knowing it'll take a while for him to get Bass to trust, let alone like, him. But Naruto didn't care how long it'll take to earn Bass's trust, he'll do it.
Before the Uzumaki got back to work, knowing tomorrow will be a very hectic day once the Black Shadow wakes up and sees where he now is.
So, what did you think, good. Yep we see five years have passed since Bass's encounter with Serenade and he's been busy growing stronger and gaining new abilities. While unknowingly ruining Wily's plan to use the Life Virus to destroy the Net along with taking its Life Aura for himself, much to Wily's anger. Before he uses the data gathered from Bass's fight and from the Life Virus to create something special to use against Bass, while sending Mr. Match and TorchMan to DenTech City to begin spreading chaos.
Then we go to DenTech Academy where Naruto's fallen asleep during Ms. Mari's class before being woken up. With it then going to after school as Naruto heads home, being joined by Lan and Mayl, with Lan soon heading to the arcade for a Net Battle against Dex, leaving Naruto and Mayl alone. While seeing that despite having a PET, Naruto doesn't have a NetNavi, much to Mayl's and Roll's confusion and curiosity as to why, which only grows when he reveals he already has one NetNavi in mind.
Before we see Bass confronted by a small army of NetPolice as well as ShadowMan, StarMan, DarkMan, and EraseMan, who were hired to ensure his deletion. With them seemingly gaining an advantage against Bass, only for him to show what he can really do as he begins wiping them out. Then it goes back to Naruto as he and Mayl trade farewells, with Naruto arriving home and greets his mother, before logging into the Net where one of his Killer Eye Viruses has finally located Bass.
Only to be shocked and horrified when the NetPolice use North Wind Battle Chips, taking away his Life Aura, allowing them begin attacking Bass. With being even worse when ShadowMan infects him with a special Bug that their anonymous employer provided them, made just for Bass. Leading to Bass being overwhelmed, until Naruto gives him some support with Battle Chips, pushing the NetNavis.
Finally we see Naruto getting an opening to jack out Bass to his PET, covering his disappearance, much to the NetNavis annoyance at being played. While Naruto extracts the Bug from Bass and uses some Recovery Chips to help heal him, creating a Program from the Bug to make sure another can't be used against Bass.
Before Naruto begins doing his homework, happy to have succeeded in finding Bass and jacking him out, but knows it'll be a while before he earns Bass's trust, but is determined to see it through. So, for those that like the story, thanks for your support. For those that don't or at least don't like the direction taken, you're more than welcomed to drop the story. But thanks for giving the story a chance anyway.
Storm out