GT: Welcome to Day 20! Here's an update to Biometal in Network! And don't worry! I'll be working on all of these even after Mega May passes!
"What's with all this, Vent?" Lan asked.
"Hm?" Vent looked up from his stretching and at Lan in his PJs, "Oh, I'm just building something to train myself up."
"Huh? But you're already so strong."
"One can always reach a new pinnacle of power so long as they train hard and remember to be humble about their accomplishments," Vent replied.
Lan raised a brow as he looked out at what Vent had built. A moderately-sized maze was the start of it all, made of high walls to prevent him from looking over them for the exit. Past that was a series of statues that Lan couldn't help but do a double take on at times. They all looked like humanoid robots that were based on animals and even insects! The one that looked like a buff dragon looked so cool with how strong it looked and, to Lan's admittance, was kinda what he hoped his dad was gonna give him until Vent showed what he was capable of. Those fed into a grassy patch with several trees that seemed to have nothing to them at all and Lan thought they were just meant to be a place to rest before leading to a large wall.
'Nice touch on those statues, X, Zero,' Vent thought.
"This is meant to help you get stronger?" Lan asked.
"Yep," Vent replied.
"But…where are the weights or enemies? Do the statues come to life or something?"
Vent chuckled, "Lan, becoming stronger isn't always about fighting or using weights. There are all kinds of ways to become stronger in different ways."
"Huh?"
"If you study, you become stronger mentally," Vent pointed out, "If you started adding small weights in your vest and shoes, you'll become stronger in terms of speed and jumping."
"I could?"
"Yes, but I'd suggest going with fifteen pounds at first then add a little more to each once you start to get used to them," Vent replied.
[Vent's right, Lan. His outfit may not look it, but his vest alone weighs over fifty tons] X noted.
"HAH?! F-Fifty tons?! No wonder you could catch Gutsman's punch so easily…" Lan awed.
"Get your facts right, X. I just upped it last week."
"Vent is so cool~!" Lan beamed, Vent swearing he saw stars in his brother's eyes.
"Maybe, Lan," Vent chuckled as he finished his stretches, "Alright, I'm gonna be doing this now. If it interests you, I can get a regime compiled so you can get just as cool as me."
"Huh? Why?"
"Because by training, you also get stronger and making me stronger."
"Huh? But…How does that work?"
"It helps you get into a good mindset that works with me, better improving our coordination," Vent replied.
[Meaning you get to be even closer to being the best of the best] F added.
"Oh! W…Well, I guess I could do some stuff…" Lan muttered.
[Give us a day or two to think of one] Z advised.
[Hello, Ms. Sakurai] P greeted.
"Huh? Ms. Sa-BWAH!" Lan yelped after turning to the left to see Maylu in his room and fell out of his chair, letting Gow swipe it.
"Hi, boys and Levi!" Ashe greeted after Jacking In.
"How the…when the…hah?!"
"Your mom let me in," Maylu explained, "What's this about training?"
"Ooh~! An obstacle course?" Ashe asked.
"Yeah. Using it for a light exercise outside of Virus Busting."
"When are you taking me to that Ratty hideout so I can slaughter the little hellspawns again?"
"Um…"
[It looks more like a garden than an obstacle course] A noted.
"Never judge a book by its cover," Vent spoke quickly, grateful for Model A, "And as for training, Lan is interested in doing some to better work with me."
"Oh? Maybe I can help. Ashe has been having me do parkour on Saturdays and Wednesday afternoons for years now," Maylu offered.
"Wait…is that why you wear shorts instead of a skirt those days?" Lan asked.
"Yep! She's pretty good at it!" Ashe beamed as she hugged Vent, "It's a ton of fun to do!" she then whispered into Vent's ear, "And good for when the doc gets those SynchroChips setup. We are so gonna do CrossFusion without needing Rush for that extra boost this time around."
"Right," Vent chuckled, kissing her forehead, "Care to try out my little course?"
"Aw~That's so sweet of ya, Mega," Ashe grinned, "Sure thing! So how's it work?"
"We start at the maze, go through the statues, then through the forest. At the end is a small flag I set up," Vent explained.
"...This is Yai's security system, isn't it?" Ashe whispered.
"A one-to-one recreation, yes," Vent replied softly, "I love being a NetNavi again. So much easier to recall things by bringing them up as Memory Data."
"...You're prepping Lan by remembering this setup," Ashe stated.
"Guilty," Vent nodded, "Any day now."
"Sweet~" Ashe grinned, "Rare BattleChip booty for Maylu and me once she shows up~"
"..." Vent gave her a deadpan look.
"...Loser pays for the date tonight?" Ashe suggested.
"Sure. Was thinking on taking you to the movies," Vent replied.
"Ooh~nice! Hey, wait a minute. You ain't gonna lose on purpose now, are ya?"
"Not at all. Fafnir would kill me."
[You're damn right I would!]
[Fighting Fafnir, language!]
[Sorry, Pops…]
"Alright! Then let's get to it!" Ashe cheered before spinning to the screen, "Hope you two pay attention now! You especially, baby sis!"
"Pfft…"
"Lan Xavier HIkari…Do I have to show the video again?" Vent warned.
"Ack! N-No, Vent!" Lan yelped, not wanting to watch his foot getting stomped on and him nearly losing his curry breakfast in the hospital again.
"Then focus and don't laugh," Vent ordered.
He turned to Ashe, about to ask if she was ready, before his thoughts halted. Ashe was currently doing some warmup stretches to get ready for the race. Her bodysuit did little to hide how snug it was on her shapely figure, the rose-red lines going down the sides of her body acting as an outline for it all. While she wore her utility belt and her orange long-sleeved tiny jacket, she also had her old little 'tail' from being just a normal custom NetNavi. It seemed smaller, but that may be for the fact Roll had been designed to look like a twelve-year-old but Ashe was eighteen and her figure all but showed her as the woman she had aged into. She had her old gloves and boots, but she had recolored them to be the same oranges and whites as her jacket. She paused in her stretches and glanced over at him with a teasing smirk, currently bent over in touching her toes and letting her behind stay up and aimed at Vent.
"Ain't ya needing ta focus?" she asked, giving a small flirtatious wiggle, "Or are you focusing on something else?"
"Ah! Er…um…" Vent scratched his cheek while blushing.
'Oh I love getting him all flustered,' Ashe thought in amusement as she finished up her stretches, "Ready~!"
"Okay. Oh, and before I forget…the rules," Vent informed, "No shooting the setup or the obstacles. No MegaMerge. Oh, and no early starts."
"Shoot," Ashe mock-pouted as she and Vent walked over to a starting line before whispering, "Ooh…Even down to the point where the fence is?"
"Of course," Vent replied softly before Model F floated between them.
[Alright! On your marks…Get set…AND GO!] F shouted.
With that, the two shot off into the hedge maze. A buzzing noise caught Ashe's attention and she looked over her shoulder before paling, seeing what looked like a bulky blue lawnmower with a demonic theme to it, leaving destroyed panels in its path.
"Wow! Look at them go!" Lan awed as Gow barked.
"Vent really worked hard on this, huh?" Maylu asked as they watched Ashe barely outrunning the lawnmower as Vent got out of the maze first.
[Why do you think Vent would stay behind some days when you needed to attend school?] Zero asked [He wanted to make sure everything would work to give him a decent workout]
[Vent may be a NetNavi, but he likes to consider himself more as a human when it comes to training] X noted.
"Sounds like Roll," Maylu giggled as Ashe finally got out and entered a large field that deployed several towers with Cannon BattleChips activating on them, "Ah! Are those Cannons?!"
[He went with live rounds to add a sense of urgency in achieving victory] Harpuia informed.
"EYAHAHAHAHAHA~!" Vent screamed as his smoking body sailed over to the start of the current leg of the obstacle course, "Ow…"
"Thank you petit yet sexy body!" Ashe laughed as she got out of it and into the field of statues, "Wow~! Not too shabby! Who made the statue designs?"
[That would be me] X replied
"Not too shabby, Model X. May need to ask you to be a home decorator for our Homepage," Ashe complimented before paling as many of the statues opened to expose high-pressure hoses, "...Uh…"
[Levi and I dabbled on the coding for this part] Fafnir chuckled before Ashe screamed and barely avoided gouts of flames and high-pressure blasted water.
"YOU JERKS!" Ashe screamed in abject horror, "THAT NEARLY SINGED MY HAIR!"
"That's what I said!" Vent agreed as he jumped over a gout of flames and slid under another.
"Hey, hey, hey! I'm not outta this yet!" Ashe declared, "That booty is gonna be mine, ya hear!"
"...Why does she always say things about butts?" Lan asked.
"Lan, 'booty' is a term for 'treasure,'" Maylu sighed, "She likes to use a lot of 'pirate' terms, so I had to study up to understand her."
"EEK!"
"Roll?!" Maylu looked at the screen followed by Lan.
"Aw come on~!" Ashe whined, stuck in a cage in the middle of the tiny forest part.
"You should've kept running," Vent noted, leaning against it with a red flag pinched between his pointer and middle fingers of his right hand, "And shall we say this Thursday for the movies? I found a great old time movie that seems like it'd be a ton of fun."
"Aw man~" Ashe whined as Maylu started to giggle, "Maylu, why~?!"
"I-I'm sorry, b-b-but you in that cage…" Maylu's giggle went into laughter that Lan joined in on.
[This is so humiliating…] Model A whined.
"That was so cool!" Lan noted once the two preteens had calmed down.
"Glad you liked it," Vent winked as he helped Ashe out of the cage, "I hope we can find a way you can do something like this, Lan."
"Eh, if we do, I'll stick to whatever training plan you lay down on me," Lan replied, 'Like that'll happen…'
"You swear on Mama?" Vent asked.
"Yeah, I'll swear of Mama and her cooking," Lan replied.
"Great! In the meantime, you're more than welcome to do parkour with Maylu!" Ashe grinned.
"It honestly is fun to do," Maylu noted, picking up Gow.
"Mmm…Well…Alright," Lan replied.
"Great! We can do a warmup tomorrow for ya then! Show ya what we'll be expecting in the first few weeks!" Ashe grinned.
Lan groaned as he stretched an arm over his head, skating alongside Maylu as she walked her scooter along the sidewalk to school. That parkour stuff was insane the day before. Who'd have thunk it to make that kinda exercise? His whole body was still sore, yet Maylu looked like she hadn't broken a sweat at all during it. Then again, she had been doing it for years from what she and Ashe had said.
"Did you hear that we're getting a new transfer student today?" Maylu asked.
"Huh?" Lan pondered, snapping out of his tired thoughts.
"The new transfer student. I overheard the faculty talking about it Friday. She's apparently the heiress to a big time company!" Maylu explained.
"We would've gathered more, but Model A wanted to buy some BattleChips," Ashe noted.
[Hey! You're the one who's been getting all that BattleChip data from viruses and needing us to stockpile blank ones to fill them up!] Model A argued.
"Good morning, Maylu!" Dex cheered, riding up between the duo.
[Aw great…It's the gorilla and his big metal gorilla] Model A complained.
"Model A, quit being so rude," Maylu whispered before saying aloud, "Good morning."
"Hello, Dex, Gutsman," Vent greeted.
"Vent! Gutsman thinks I have a hit, guts!" Gutsman beamed, "Someone answered my question on the board, guts!"
"Good to hear, Gutsman. I can't wait to see how far you'll go with this development. Who answered it, by the way?"
"Someone named 'Haruka,' guts," Gutsman replied.
'Isn't that Mama's name?' Vent thought.
A limo passed by them, making the trio of humans stop talking and watch it enter school grounds. After a moment of it stopping, a red carpet ejected from the underside of the back door facing the school, unraveling to a surprising length that easily reached the school entrance. The driver door opened and a young-looking, shapely maid emerged, her silver hair neatly tied into a bun with a driver's cap and white gloves on. She walked around the limo before gently opening the door of the red carpet, being utmost careful to not step upon the fabric.
'And there she is…' Ashe thought as a short figure emerged from the limo.
They were short, roughly up to Maylu's waist in height. They were donned in a, at first glance, plain red dress with pink diamond-pattern detailing along the skirt with puffy shoulders and a pink collar. On her back was a slim black backpack and a designer purse was nestled across her top and settled on her hip. The two biggest things people noticed were her long golden-blond hair pulled into braided ponytails…and her large forehead that reflected a bit of sunlight.
'Yai Ayano,' Vent thought, 'And with her…an old friend.'
[So that is Yai Ayano? The girl who has a family so rich that they can have a mansion that becomes a giant robot?] X asked.
[Ah! Guys, be quiet! Lan and Maylu…] A panicked.
[Calm down, Axl. We've long learned how to make things private between us and Chosen ones] Zero noted.
[...Axl?] A pondered.
"Shh," Maylu softly quieted the Biometal.
[Zero…] X began.
[What? You know as well as I do that 'Model Albert' was probably just a buncha bullshit and he used Axl to make Model A] Zero argued.
[Is now even the time?] X demanded.
"Ms. Ayano here transferred all the way from England to our very own ACDC Elementary," Ms. Mari introduced.
'And here she'll introduce herself as heiress to AyanoTech…' Vent thought.
"I'm also the heiress to GABCOM," Yai added, "But don't expect any freebies or insider hints on upcoming games and gaming products."
'...GABCOM?' Vent thought, his eyes slowly widening in shock as the class erupted in talk, "Lan…C-Can you jack me in real quick? I kinda wanna go bust some viruses, alright?"
"Huh? Uh…sure," Lan whispered.
"Maylu, I need to go Virus Bust a little. Getting a little antsy," Ashe whispered.
"Okay, Roll," Maylu quietly replied before the two were logged in and quickly booked it as far away from the place as they could.
"What the hell was that?! It was AyanoTech. AyanoTech!" Roll A stressed as she and Megaman X dealt with various viruses, "Oh god, what if we got other things wrong?! What if Maddy doesn't attack the WaterWorks? What if we don't have the N1 Grand Prix? …Is Masa even Commander Beef?!"
"He was Commander Beef?" Megaman X asked, firing off a charge shot that wiped out several mole-like Viruses.
"...Vent…I am already freaking out here. Don't make me come over there and not be nice!"
"Sorry, sorry," Megaman X apologized as Roll A deleted the last of the viruses, "...Maybe…it's not the same timeline we came from."
"Hm?"
"Think about it, Roll," Megaman X noted as he walked over to her, the duo dropping MegaMerge, "We somehow not only reincarnated from one timeline to another, but also time traveled to that first timeline in the past as our reincarnations. It may follow some events we know, but there may be major differences, like names of places or businesses or companies, like AyanoTech, a multibillion technology company, being GABCOM, a multibillion gaming company, here."
"...Did you confirm you were…"
"Yeah. I'm still Hub Hikari," Vent replied, "And you already confirmed I was a courier for SciLab still."
"...You think Chaud is gonna be different?" Ashe asked.
"If his name is changed to something like 'Eugene,' I'm going to laugh," Vent admitted.
"Ditto," Ashe agreed.
[How did you never notice anything was different?] L asked.
"...I was more focused on spying on little Mega and doing more with Maylu," Ashe admitted before sighing, "Well…let's get back. Hopefully by now, Ms. Mari's shut that presentation off and we can 'meet' Glyde. I missed that guy."
"Same. I can't tell you how much I owed his lessons on manners he gave us. Saved my bacon more than once on deliveries and meetings," Vent noted, a fond smile on his face.
"So…let's show him we 'know' some manners then," Ashe grinned.
"But of course," Vent replied, offering his arm to her.
"Oh, why thank you, good sir," Ashe giggled, accepting it and resting her head against his shoulder as they walked off…
*BANG!*
…while holstering their guns and getting the Zenny and BattleChip data from the Spiky virus they just shot in the head.
"...Seriously, you didn't know Masa was Commander Beef?"
"They look so different."
"It's just a cape and a helmet!"
"I learned Mama used to box."
"Don't go cha…Wait. She boxed?!"
"Lady Yai is supposed to be in third grade, but she has done so well that she has been allowed to advance up to the fifth grade."
Vent and Ashe couldn't help the smiles on their faces. Before them, standing taller than Gutsman, was a gentleman of a NetNavi. His body was donned in an assortment of brown armor that complimented the rich charcoal-black bodysuit he adorned, further complimented by the rich gold detailing on most of the armor upon him. Sharp blade-like wings emerged from his back, standing upwards at angles, while his head was adorned into a blocky brown helmet of sorts with a golden front and extended down to halfway down his neck at the sides. His face seemed blockier than normal human-looking NetNavis with lines going down from the bottom of his eyes to the underside of his head. Resting upon his chest and the sides of his head were the symbol of three golden triangles forming a large one standing upon an auburn land with a red upside-down triangle in the center of the three.
"Oh, where have my manners gone?" the tall NetNavi pondered before giving a formal bow, showing the back of his hands to be adorned with a small gem on them, "I am Lady Yai's most faithful NetNavi…Glyde."
"A pleasure to meet you, Glyde," Ashe replied, giving a curtsy in return, "My name is Ashe, but those I consider as friends are allowed to call me 'Roll.'"
"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Glyde. While my name is Megaman, I prefer people to address me as 'Vent' outside of the exception of Roll who may call me 'Mega.'"
"...Why are you two sounding funny, guts?" Gutsman asked, scratching his head, "Gutsman confused."
Ashe giggled, "We're wanting to have Glyde feel comfortable and ease him into things here, Gutsman. That 'virus busting' we did was just so we could do some quick study to try to help get him comfortable here."
"You two are quite thoughtful of others."
"We try our best," Vent replied, "And we do mean it, Glyde. It's a pleasure to meet you and we really hope to become friends with you."
"And not because of your NetOp, no. Honestly, could care less about that reason," Ashe shrugged, "We want to be friends with you because you seem like a good guy."
"Truly now?" Glyde blinked a few times in surprise.
"Yep!" Ashe grinned, "Oh! And now we're the rude ones!" the Biometals floated out of their jackets, "This is Model A."
"And these are Models X, Z, H, L, P, and F," Vent added, Gutsman giving Model F a look.
"Careful of that orange one, guts," Gutsman warned Glyde, "It's a real hot head."
[OH SCREW YOU, YA BIG METAL GORILLA THAT SUCKS AT PUNCHING!] F snapped, spinning to face him with his 'eyes' glowing in anger.
"These are extra special programs just Vent and I can use. They're called Biometals," Ashe explained, "They have their own unique AI to them and can 'talk' to us with a unique frequency. Sure was a shocker when we learned that Lan and Maylu, our NetOps, could understand the frequency when no one else we've met can."
[I'm just relieved at least two girls can hear me] Leviathan sighed.
"There is one more but everytime I try to say his name, these guys…" Vent began before F, L, and Z were up in his face, their 'eyes' glowing.
[SHUT UP!] the trio barked.
[I wanna know~] A whined.
[Sadly, you do not want to know, Axl] X sighed, resigning to using the nickname Zero gave the youngest Biometal [While I am unsure if you can hear us, Glyde…] he tilted himself to mimic a bow, Phantom and Harpuia following his lead [It is a pleasure to meet you.]
"Oh, how polite," Glyde complimented, giving a bow to them in return.
As the day progressed, Vent and Aile were more than relieved to see things going like they had before. Lunch soon rolled around and, upon the ringing of the bell, Ashe grinned and held a hand out, forming a modestly large table, much to Glyde's confusion.
"Excuse me, Ms. Ashe…"
"Glyde, you're more than welcome to call me 'Roll,'" Ashe assured.
"Ah, then Ms. Roll, what are you doing?" Glyde asked.
"Preparing lunch," Ashe replied as she waved her hand out at the table and had a light-brown China set appear on it.
[A tea set? …Is that…?] X began to ask.
[Yeah. From what I've asked, this tea set is the one she lost when Prometheus destroyed her personal 'booty'] A replied softly.
"Would you prefer Earl Gray or would you prefer to try a different flavor, Glyde?" Ashe asked as Vent made a stove, sink, and kitchen counter form while tying on an apron.
"Gutsman, gonna need you to knead," Vent spoke, making several ingredients from data.
"You got it, guts!" Gutsman beamed.
"My goodness. I do apologize, but…how are you two performing this?" Glyde asked.
"Hm?" Ashe looked at Glyde as she was looking for a flavor of tea to brew.
"This level of data manipulation," Glyde explained, "It has not been heard of before."
"...It hasn't?" Ashe asked.
"No, it has not," Glyde replied, "You are creating material at a level unheard of outside of the utilization of BattleChips."
[So this isn't normal?] A asked, looking at Ashe in confusion.
"Huh…That's news to me," Ashe admitted, 'Ah shoot…I forgot that this kinda technique wasn't mainstream until the Link PeT came out…' "Well, if you want, we could spend the afternoon classes doing some lessons on it."
"Truly? I would be delighted to learn this technique. It would do wonders in assisting Lady Yai in being her faithful NetNavi," Glyde agreed.
"Great! …But seriously, do you have a preference or would you prefer to try a new blend?" Ashe asked.
"I have heard of a blend called Jasmine. I am unsure of what it is, but I will admit to my curiosity," Glyde replied.
"Perfect," Ashe smiled, 'If I remember right…Glyde liked Jasmine tea with two teaspoons of sugar and stirred clockwise for one teaspoon then counterclockwise with the other.'
"Whatcha makin' anyways, guts?" Gutsman asked, kneading the dough.
"Was thinking scones."
"Stones?"
"No, scones. Though maybe some crepes as well with different fillings," Vent replied.
"No idea what those are."
"Oh, pastries with filling like chocolate or jam."
"...How much dough you need?" Gutsman asked, sold on the idea now.
An elderly man calmly approached a large monitor, using a sturdy cane with a skull-shaped handle to keep steady. He was donned in a variety of darker creams and browns in the form of a robe of sorts, his large collar's inside being a rich crimson. His sole visible eye gazed upon the screen as his right eye's intricate purple jagged monocle glowed and flickered before the screen turned on.
"Maddy, it is your turn to instigate chaos in the world of these internet lovers," the elder ordered, his deep voice echoing in the darkened chambers.
The screen finally settled and he frowned, seeing the screen showing nothing but a well-manicured hand, the long fingernails sharped into claws and painted a rich pale fuchsia. It moved away to show the bust shot of a shapely, youthful-looking woman with her long pink hair pulled into large 'puffballs' on the backsides of her head, pale fuchsia eyeshadow complimenting her olive-green eyes, silver-hooped earrings, and a hint of the white shirt with orange sleeves she wore.
"What do you think? Are they pretty?"
'I should pick my agents better. Or build robots that could do a better job,' the elder thought, keeping his neutral expression, "About the plan…"
"It's alright, sir. I've got a good one to spread a little fear and terror to these idiots," Maddy assured, moving back to reveal a studio-like bedroom and showing off the long maroon sleeves of the shirt beneath her orange and white shirt, jean short-shorts, and the green and blue striped stockings on her, "Don't put me into the same position as Match and Zap now."
"Just be cautious when you do. There may be a chance you will encounter these two," he warned as two popups appeared on the screen, showing Vent and Ashe in their MegaMerged states with Vent in X, LX, and HX and Ashe as Model A and Bifrost, "The male has a variety of armors with unique abilities while the female can transform into creatures and even other NetNavis…including our own NetNavis."
"Oh? Not to worry, Lord Wily. If they do show up, I'll make sure to be ready for them, be it to defeat them or needing to retreat," Maddy assured, filing her other hand's nails.
"Retreat?"
"I'm not overly confident that I can win. We only know of a few forms that girl takes and we have no clue how many armors that boy even has," Maddy explained, "If anything, I'll try to get new information for you to gather if I do encounter them at worst or Delete them at best." she waved to the screen as it began to turn off, "See ya. Delete…"
Wily sighed, shaking his head, "She never changes. But…she is one of the best agents because she gets things done."
"Roll…What is going on here?" Vent whispered, glancing out Lan's PeT at Maylu standing with Dex and Lan before the iron fence of a massive mansion.
"This isn't like last time where Maylu had her lessons every other day," Ashe reminded, "Remember the schedule I showed ya? I'm the one who arranged it that way so she could have more time with Lan and get some extra exercise."
Vent nodded, "We'll have to be careful. …You think Dex is going to get stuck in the cage?"
"Most likely," Ashe nodded.
"Oh! Look over here! There's a hole in the gate!" Lan exclaimed.
"So this is how they got in last time?" Ashe asked.
"Yep. Turns out that hole in it is on purpose so they can test the security system," Vent replied.
"...Yeah, no. I'm gonna play it smart here," Ashe deadpanned before kissing Vent, "Have fun with the boys, Mega."
"Good luck on your end, Roll," Vent replied, blushing a little as she left.
"Guys, I don't think this is a good idea," Maylu noted.
"She's right, you two," Vent agreed, "You really should go find the entrance and do this properly."
"Aw come on. It's cool, it's cool. We're her classmates, after all!" Lan beamed.
"That's right, we're classmates!" Dex agreed.
"Do what you want, I'm going to go find the entrance," Maylu huffed as the two went through the open bars.
"Good luck, boys~!" Ashe called out.
Yai calmly took a sip of her tea, sitting in her room, 'Hmm…Jasmine isn't that bad at all. I'll need to compliment Glyde for this suggestion later.' a beep from her PeT went off, "What is it, Glyde?"
"A message from the home security office," Glyde replied, "Please have a look."
Yai looked up to a portrait of swans mid-flight in an afternoon sky. It moved back before sliding down, exposing a screen. It turned on to show a split feed of Dex and Lan walking through the garden on one feed while the other was that of Maylu before the entrance. Yai couldn't help but smile at the sight of the red-haired girl. She had been one of the rare few that didn't seem overwhelmed by her and her habits.
"They are your current classmates, so I felt it would be best to inform you first," Glyde explained, "Lan Hikari, age 12, Dex Oyama, Age 12, and Maylu Sakurai, Age 13."
"So two intruders who probably went through the fake opening in the fence line and another at the gates," Yai observed, "Let her in while the boys…let's try out our house's security system. They're in the garden so…let's surprise them with our lawnmower!"
'I was really hoping that having Maylu there would change their minds…' Vent groaned as Lan and Dex screamed while running away from a monstrous-looking green lawnmower.
[WHY IS IT ALWAYS A LAWNMOWER?!] H panicked.
[I'm lost here] Z noted.
[Lawnmowers and Harpuia have an interesting history…with him often having to be repaired when one hits him]
[SHUT UP, LEVIATHAN!] H snapped.
[...Lan, a tennis field is up ahead] Model P observed.
"Great thinking!" Lan whispered before shouting, "Dex, let's hide in the tennis court!"
"Good thinking!" Dex agreed as they ran into it and closed the metal gate door behind them, "Phew…safe…"
[Not exactly] P replied as several holes in the court opened, deploying tennis ball cannons that open fired.
"RUN!" Gutsman panicked as they began to book it once more, Lan and Dex getting hit several times by the tennis balls in the process of getting out and towards several statues with them laying underneath one of Athena.
[...Lan, the statues are equipped with pressure hoses] P informed [As you come upon them, start running in a zig zag pattern starting from your left to the right]
"Huh? Pressure hoses?" Lan pondered.
"Hah?!" Dex gawked before the parts of statues moved, exposing hoses that fired pressurized water at them, "YIKES!"
"Model P, how did you…?" Lan whispered as he pulled Dex along in a zigzag pattern that avoided each and every shot.
[This is a near exact setup for the training course Vent made] P replied [When you get out of this, do not stop running. There will be a cage set up with a trap hole at the bottom. If you do not wish to exit through that manner, keep listening to my orders]
"Okay," Lan softly agreed before saying aloud, "Keep running, Dex!"
"C-Can't we…take a moment…to breathe?!" Dex panted.
"No way! They probably have traps in the trees!"
"Gh?!" Dex panicked.
"Eh? You have that hole there on purpose?" Maylu asked.
"Yep. It was Papa's idea," Yai replied, "It's a good way to see how our security system can handle intruders." she looked up at the screen, "That brunette is pretty good at avoiding them while your other friend…" Maylu cringed at seeing Dex get caught in a cage that popped out, "Yeah…"
"We told them not to go in there, but boys will be stubborn boys," Ashe sighed.
"But look at that brunette go! He managed to get out on his own while the other…" Yai giggled as she watched Dex yelp as he fell into the tunnel that produced a pipe at where Lan got out of and dropped him on Lan, "Got to try out the slide!"
"Huh…That kinda looks like my boyfriend's obstacle course," Ashe noted as Maylu giggled, "But replace the water with flamethrowers and the lawnmower with a machine that destroys the ground."
"Your boyfriend?"
"She means Vent," Maylu explained.
"Sir Vent and Ms. Roll were the two who aided in welcoming me to the other NetNavis of your classmates, Lady Yai," Glyde noted.
"Talk about coincidences," Maylu noted, blinking a few times.
[Phantom must be pointing out all the flaws by now] Model A noted.
"It's not that bad, Model A," Maylu noted.
"Huh?" Yai pondered.
"Oh. Sorry," Maylu apologized, "Model A 'talks' in a unique frequency that Roll and I can understand. He's saying that one of Vent's Biometals, Model P, is more than likely going over any flaws in it."
"Flaws?" Yai repeated, her eyes widening in surprise, "And a frequency?"
"I don't fully understand it myself, but that's the best guess as to why I can hear Model A," Maylu replied, sheepishly scratching her cheek, "Apparently, it's extremely rare to have the natural ability to hear a Biometal."
"Hmm…So people could hear these Biometal if we figure out the frequency?" Yai asked.
[It'd be nice to have more people hear me] Model A noted.
"Model A is up for volunteering his time if you want to figure it out," Ashe noted.
"Really now?" Yai asked, "Well thank you, Model A."
[You're welcome, Lady Baldy!]
"Model A says you're welcome," Maylu omitted the last part, 'At least this way others will have to deal with Model A's ramblings…'
[Hey, Ashe. What's the plan for this afternoon?] Model A asked.
"It's Tuesday, so that means piano lessons," Ashe replied, "Did you really forget that?"
[Sorry. Still a bit excited to see if they really can get a program made to let people hear me] Model A noted [I mean, it's nice to talk to you, Maylu, Vent, Lan, and the others, but…]
"I get it, Model A," Maylu noted, washing her hands, "Mmm…Maybe you two can go with Yai and Glyde to her house while I'm doing my lessons."
[No way! I'm not missing those for the world!] Model A argued.
Ashe giggled, 'Oh Model A…He really cares a lot for Maylu. I'm so glad they get along like they do.'
"Hm? Oh, hello, Yai. Heading for the restroom?"
"U-u-um…n-no! Girls like me d-don't do such things!" Yai denied.
"Huh? …What was that about?" Maylu pondered.
"You may have started to become friends, but I don't think Yai is willing to admit to needing to use the public restrooms," Ashe noted, quickly sending a message to Glyde that there are major traffic jams, "Luckily, we were the last ones in there so she may turn around and come back."
"I hope she'll be alright if she doesn't," Maylu noted.
[She's just a shy bathroom person, I guess] Model A noted [Oh! Maylu, what are you going to play today?]
"I was thinking on practicing Beethoven."
[Oh~I like that guy!]
"That's because you heard he threw a person out the window once."
[Well yeah. What's your point, Ashe?] Model A asked innocently, causing the two 'sisters' to giggle.
"This sure is a lotta traffic," Lan noted, looking around at the large jam.
"True," Vent agreed, "Probably the WWW causing trouble again."
"Couldn't it just be a virus outbreak?" Lan asked.
"It could, but on this scale? It doesn't seem likely," Vent replied before the PeT rang, "Oh! Email…from Glyde?"
"Glyde? That's Yai's NetNavi, right?"
"Let me check it. 'Sir Vent, Lady Yai has requested me to check the Global Line to resolve the ongoing issue here. If you are able to, may I request your assistance in this matter?'" Vent read.
"That is one polite NetNavi," Lan noted, blinking a few times.
"He's a pretty good guy who just wants to do his best for his NetOp," Vent chuckled, "What do ya say, Lan? Mind if I help out?"
"You go for it, Vent!" Lan beamed as he ran over to a traffic pole, "Jack in! Vent! Power up!"
Vent landed in the Network a few moments before Glyde appeared, his hands on his hips and his eyes closed.
"Excuse me, but I must speak with the one in charge of the systems at this moment," Glyde spoke.
"Um…Glyde? I think they've been deleted," Vent noted.
"Hm?" Glyde opened his eyes and gasped, seeing the numerous Mettaur in the area, "Viruses!"
"Glyde, what's happening?" Yai asked.
"Viruses have overtaken the traffic controls. There are so many of them that this will take some time to resolve," Glyde informed.
"Oh no…" Yai whimpered.
"Where is she right now, Glyde?" Vent asked.
"Fifth street in the limo," Glyde replied.
"Gotcha. Lan, you head on over there to check on Yai," Vent ordered.
"You got it, Vent!"
"But do you not need him to Operate?" Glyde asked.
"Not with simple guys like these," Vent replied, "And since we're in a rush, better go with the heavy hitter. Model X! Model F! Double MegaMerge!"
"Double MegaMerge?" Glyde repeated before gasping as Megaman FX formed in a burst of flames.
"Let's get going, Glyde. Sooner we clear these out, sooner Yai will be safe," Megaman FX noted, whipping out his busters and began to open fire with rapid shots.
Glyde's right arm and hand glowed before transforming into a gold and black Cannon-shaped Buster that he proceeded to open fire with, keeping it steady with his other hand. Several Mettaur jumped at them only to be quickly wiped out by the duo.
"I swear, we are going to get so much data from these little guys," Megaman FX noted.
"Data?" Glyde pondered.
"Have you never tried collecting their data before?" Megaman FX asked.
"No, I have not," Glyde replied.
"When you do, they leave behind Zenny and data to be used for BattleChips," Megaman FX explained, "Roll and I tend to stockpile them for those Chip Traders all over for Lan and Maylu to use. We've managed to get some good trades from those machines."
"Interesting," Glyde admitted before seeing something coming from behind Megaman FX, "Watch out!"
"Huh?!" Megaman FX asked before Glyde pushed him out of the way and was struck by a large white sphere with blue polka dots that sent the gentleman NetNavi crashing into a digital pillar and ended up embedded in it, "Glyde!" he charged up and swung a fist at the oncoming sphere, destroying it with his fire-engulfed punch, "GRAH!" he ran over to Glyde and pulled him out, "Hey, are you alright? Glyde?!"
"U-Ugh…Are you…unharmed, Sir Vent?" Glyde asked.
"I am," Megaman FX replied, "Yai! Yai, can you Log Out Glyde?" he grimaced, "She must have removed her PeT connection."
"D-Don't fret…about me…Sir Vent…" Glyde assured as Megaman FX leaned him against the pillar.
Megaman FX's eyes widened by a small fraction. For a brief moment, Glyde and the Network were gone. In their place laid a burning highway in the afternoon lights, the fumes of smoke, burning gasoline, and the corpses of human and Reploid abundant. The one weakly leaning against the side of the rest stop along it was a young man in his early twenties, his visor cracked in two to expose a weak, gentle eye. His black bodysuit torn and burned off in several spots from harsh battles moved along with the open red and black jacket as he let out ragged breaths of air. Megaman FX blinked before seeing Glyde and the Network once more. His eyes slowly settled into a determined expression before holding a hand out and catching another thrown sphere, steam hissing off it from the friction.
"So you're the guy who's behind all this," Megaman FX noted, keeping focused on Glyde, "Coloredman…and his NetOp Ms. Madd or Maddy for short, right?"
"Hah?! Wh-Where are you getting all this intel from?!"
He stood up slowly and turned his head to look at his opponent. The figure was lanky with a round yellow head with a tiny red ball on the very top and massive silver tufts of hair on the sides of its head. They were engulfed in a red dress-like outfit trimmed in silver on the collar and bottom, letting thin black legs bleed into bulky rounded feet. His arms were longer than his body, interchanging between yellow and silver bands of color settling into bulky red hands with yellow fingers. His red eyes with yellow pupils were wide with shock, framed in blue makeup resembling eyelashes while his mouth was wide open.
"I'm a courier. Knowledge is something we're pretty good at gathering," Megaman FX replied, strangely calm.
"A…A courier? Elecman talked about that…" Coloredman blinked a few times in surprise.
"Yeah…And you have a delivery," Megaman FX informed, grasping the sphere in both his hands.
"?!" Coloredman tensed as Megaman FX easily crushed the sphere, breaking it into data.
"Your defeat."
"What in the world…?" Maddy whispered, "Coloredman, you alright?"
"I-I'm kinda scared now…" Coloredman admitted, sweating a bit, "He's not joking or looking all that casual like Fireman and Elecman said he acts."
"Could his armor change his attitude?" Maddy pondered.
"YIKES!" Coloredman screamed, barely throwing himself out of the way of a fireball as big as his body.
"He seems to be the Fire-Element right now, so…" Maddy inserted a BattleChip, "WaterTower, Slot In."
"WaterTower!" Coloredman shouted, slapping a hand down and unleashing a barrage of thick pillars of water at Megaman FX and Glyde.
"Double MegaMerge!" Megaman FX declared while holding a hand out.
The towers halted in their tracks before they began to freeze over. Megaman LX kept his focused eyes on Coloredman before swinging his staff and shattered the pillars. Another flash and Megaman HX was upon him, the shadows cast by his back towards the natural lights shadowed his visage, leaving his pale green eyes glowing ominously at the clown-based NetNavi.
"M-Mini Colors!" Coloredman shouted as a barrage of child-sized Coloredman copies appeared and swarmed Megaman HX.
"BLOW AWAY!" Megaman HX roared as he swung his dual blades, unleashing two small tornadoes that sucked in and electrocuted the copies.
'Elec-Element and Wind-Element?!' Coloredman thought, 'A-And he was a Water-Element when he countered my WaterTower!' "FIRETOWER!"
Another flash went off before the tower of flames engulfed Megaman HX. A roar bellowed from the flames before the ground shook and the tower was dispersed, revealing Megaman FX once more, his buster-engulfed his slammed into the ground. The red gem on his helmet shined and, for once in the fight, he smiled.
"Lan…" Megaman FX noted.
"I got Yai to the bathroom in time!" Lan beamed, "Gyah! D-Did someone try to make one of those creepy clowns from that weird movie about space clowns that turn people into cotton candy?"
"HEY!" Coloredman snapped.
Megaman FX chuckled at that, "You could say that, yes."
"NO~!" Coloredman denied, "Y-You're so cruel! You monsters!"
"..."
"..."
Megaman FX's buster glowed before transforming into a bulky blue and light-blue cannon that he aimed at Coloredman while a glowing red light shined within it as they shouted in unison, "BAD GUYS DON'T GET TO TALK LIKE THAT!"
With that, Megaman FX pulled the mental trigger. From the HiCannon, a massive blast of plasma engulfed in the added flames of Model F rocketed at Coloredman. He screamed before being quickly Logged Out, barely avoiding a fiery end. Megaman FX huffed before dismissing his armor. As he ran to Glyde, he kept a hand held out behind him and gathered the data of the viruses and what Coloredman left behind.
"Glyde!" Vent shouted, quickly getting over to the taller NetNavi, "You alright?"
"I…I will be…" Glyde assured as the area grew lighter due to the retreat of WWW and its viruses, "Thank you, Sir Vent."
"Hey, it's no trouble," Vent assured, sitting down beside Glyde and looking at what he had collected, "Here." he split it in two and offered half to the gentleman NetNavi, "This is your part of the rewards here."
"I…I cannot accept this, Sir Vent. You were the one who…"
"Nonsense. I wouldn't have been here if you hadn't sent that email asking for help," Vent replied, "So you are taking this because it's only fair. And you did your fair share of Virus Busting, too."
"..." Glyde couldn't stop the small smile, "I am glad…Lady Yai came here…" he accepted the data of Zenny and BattleChips, one being that of Coloredman, "It has been…truly a blessing…to have friends…"
"You just rest up, Glyde," Vent spoke, giving a smile in return.
"Lan?"
"Hm?" Lan turned from the phone he had Jacked into to see Yai walk up, her gaze on the floor with her hands over the front of her skirt.
"...Th-Thank you," Yai thanked.
"Heh. It wasn't a problem," Lan assured, "Oh, but um…you may wanna Log Out Glyde."
"Glyde?!" Yai gasped, quickly pulling out her PeT, "Glyde!"
"I'm…alright, Lady Yai. Are you…well now?"
"Yes. It's thanks to Lan," Yai replied, "Um…I'm sorry about yesterday, too."
"It's fine, it's fine. Dex and I shoulda listened to Maylu and kept trying ta find the doors," Lan assured as they logged out their NetNavis.
"Glyde and I owe you both a lot for today! If it's possible for my family to do, then ask away this one time!" Yai informed.
"Huh? …Okay," Lan nodded, "Can we be friends then? Like Vent and Glyde are?"
"J-Just that?" Yai asked in surprise.
"Yep," Lan smiled, "I'm happy with what I have right now, so being friends sounds just right."
"..." Yai giggled as she smiled, "Okay! And you, Vent?"
"Hmm…Honestly, I'm not sure," Vent replied.
[Vent, may I offer something?] P asked before whispering to the triple-reincarnated NetNavi.
"Oh…Good thinking, Model P. There is one thing that I'd like to request and it shouldn't cost much," Vent spoke as Lan got a bad feeling.
"EYAHAHAHAHAHA~!" Lan screamed, running away from the mower once more with Maylu, her skirt replaced with black track shorts with a pink line going up the sides, "I KNEW I HAD A BAD FEELING!"
"EEK!" Maylu squealed in fright, "LAN, WHAT DID YOU DO YESTERDAY?!"
"IT WAS VENT! IT WAS VENT!"
"DON'T YOU BLAME JUST HIM, YOU-GAH! ARE THOSE CANNONS FIRING TENNIS BALLS?!"
"Wow. You, sir, are a slave driver," Yai noted, blinking several times at the PeTs set up on their stands at the table she and Dex were sitting at and watching.
"More like someone who wants his NetOp to be fit and healthy…and also have a way to burst his ego before it gets too big," Vent replied.
"And I just want mine to be able to do more stuff with her boyfriend to be," Ashe giggled, "Thanks for including Maylu in this, Mega."
"No problem. Oh, Gutsman, any new correspondence with your new friend?" Vent asked.
"She gave Gutsman lots of good boxing advice! Gutsman is gonna work hard to figure out how to punch for a big rematch against you, Vent, guts!" Gutsman declared, banging a fist on his chest before an explosion of water went off and Ashe cackled.
"VENT!" Maylu and Lan shrieked.
'This…This is quite nice…' Glyde thought with a smile.
GT: Ah, this was nice to do. Hope Mega May is going well with everyone. Just to let everyone know…a big big change is happening to things next chapter, so be on the lookout~! And please READ AND REVIEW~!
