GammaTron: Warning! Warning! This chapter contains some pretty freaky stuff at first! Please be advised!
"Huh?" Lan blinked a few times, "What is…?"
He couldn't figure out what to say. The last thing he remembered was being outside the door to his classroom. But now…he gagged as the scent of burning metal, wood, and fabrics filled his nostrils…along with that of burning corpses. Screams of fear and agony echoed amongst the sounds of buster shots and destruction. He ran around, looking at the burning wreckage that he could only correlate to an amusement park…if it were under attack by something!
"Vent!-!-! VEEEENT!"
"?!" Lan skidded to a halt to see a woman running around, 'She…She looks like…' "Mama?"
The woman running around indeed looked like his mother, but there were several differences he could make out. Her hair was much longer, reaching the middle of her back, and was messed up…which made sense given what was happening. She was wearing a white jacket with the collar zipped up and the rest left open, exposing a black bodysuit on her with a knee-length white skirt. The biggest thing about her was the strange metal things over where her ears should have been. They kinda reminded Lan of the ones on Vent. She yelped as she tripped on a piece of rubble.
"Ah!" Lan yelped, about to run over before halting, "?!"
Approaching and surrounding the woman were three humanoid figures. He…He couldn't call them human because while they had a human-shaped body…they weren't. All of them were donned in shades of purple and red from the bodysuits to the clothing-like armored jackets like on Vent when he donned his armors, and the actual armor pieces. Their heads were completely engulfed in rounded helmets with only a red horizontal bar that glowed ominously. The three machine-like humanoids raised their left arms, revealing them to be busters like Vent's when he used just Model X.
"Mama! Where are you?!"
Lan looked past the machines to see…he blinked a few times. It was a little toddler Vent! He didn't look any older than four, even! And his hair was so short, too! …Wait…baby Vent…a NotMama…what was going on here?!
"?!" the toddler gasped as he spotted the woman.
"Vent…" the woman gasped, "I…!"
Lan choked as burning flesh filled his nose as blaster shots filled his ears while he looked away. And yet…the shots did nothing…
"MAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!-!-!-!-!"
…to hide the agonized wails of a child witnessing the death of their mother by monsters…
"GAH!" Lan screamed, shooting up and knocking the covers off him, "Haaa…haaaa…" sweat poured off him as his eyes tried to focus, his ears still filled with the wail of a child losing his mother, 'What the…What the heck was that?! A…A little kid Vent…a lookalike to Mama…What were those things?! Why was…how the…oh-oh no…' he couldn't hold it in and barely managed to get out of the bed he was in and emptied his last meal into the toilet.
[Lan!] X called.
"?!" Lan looked up from the porcelain 'throne' and looked at the bed, seeing his PeT, "G-Guys…"
[Oh honey, what happened?] Leviathan asked, concern heavy in her voice.
[It could be from the head injury] Harpuia noted.
[Then why didn't he puke while knocked out?] Fafnir asked as Lan grabbed it.
"Lan…What's wrong? Are you alright?" Vent asked, worry evident in his tone and his face.
"V-Vent…I…I saw something freaky…y-you were a little kid a-and there was someone who looked like Mama…an-an-and then these…these things! These purple things that were trying to look human and-and they were…" Lan rambled, not seeing Vent's face turn to one of horror.
'He…He saw that day…When…When I lost my Mama…' Vent thought, tears starting to well in his eyes, 'H-How is he…?'
[As much as I enjoy this…] Zero sarcastically noted [I suggest you look at where you are, Lan]
"H-huh?" Lan snapped out of it and looked around, "Uh…two beds…a toilet…lots of metal walls…cell bars…" he paused, looking behind him at the cell bars and door, "...WE'RE IN JAIL?!"
"Mmmnnm…"
"?!" Lan spun his head to see another bed in the cell, Maylu lying on it and slowly waking up.
"Ow…" she mumbled as she slowly sat up, letting the sheets fall and…
"GH?!" Lan quickly focused on the wall outside of the cell, his cheek bright red.
"Ah! Maylu, sheets! Sheets!" Ashe panicked.
"H-Huh…?" Maylu mumbled, opening her eyes to see Lan looking away from her, "L-Lan?"
"MAYLU EUPHEMIA SAKURAI, COVER YOUR HOOTERS THIS INSTANT!" Ashe roared.
"EEP!" Maylu yelped, "A-Ashe?!"
"YES! NOW COVER YOUR SWEATER MELONS UP!" Ashe snapped, 'I really should've looked into those diet plans I put her on with the workouts…'
"?!" Maylu blushed as she looked down at her bandaged chest before quickly covering it with the sheets.
[My, my…That's quite the reveal…] Leviathan noted.
[Isn't she…] Fafnir began to ask.
[Puberty can trigger earlier in girls than boys] Phantom informed, earning looks from the Biometals [...What? I study biology to better assist Lan in case of an emergency such as him injuring himself or he needs to do emergency medical assistant for someone else]
"H-Huh?" Maylu blinked before noticing their location, "Wait…Where are we?"
"It's safe to look, Lan!" Ashe called.
"As for where? Not sure. Last thing I remember are Official NetNavis and passing out from exhaustion," Vent added as Lan turned back to look at Maylu.
[We know] Zero informed.
[We're actually in Seaside Town Hospital, specifically the Fifth Floor meant for the police to house injured people of interest] Leviathan explained.
"Police?!" the preteens gawked.
[Yes. They brought you here and had you examined by some doctors. You both had injuries in the same places that were on Vent and Ashe] X informed [Which is rather…unusual]
[Yeah! For some reason when you guys got serious, it felt like there was someone else in the MegaMerge!] A added.
"Someone else in the MegaMerge?" Ashe repeated.
"We can think about it later. Right now we have something more important!" Vent replied before looking at Lan in concern, "How are you feeling, Lan, Maylu?"
"Huh? O-Oh, right…You and Roll got in that explosion while fighting Numberman, you getting a bad head wound like Roll but she also got some damage on her chest and arm," Lan recalled, "Then this pain hit my head and it felt like it was gonna split in two, so I blacked out and…" 'And then I dreamed of a kid you watching his Mama get killed…'
"The same thing happened with me," Maylu noted, "It was like…I was feeling Roll's injuries on me." she looked around, "Still…why did they put us in a jail cell?"
"A good question with a valid answer," a voice noted as the door on the other end of the room opened, allowing in an older man in a black business suit with fedora covering his head entered, "Hello, kids. How're you two feeling?"
"Confused on where my shirt and vest are," Maylu replied, still covering herself with the blanket.
"Our apologies, we couldn't get the blood stains out of them," the man apologized as he passed a black T-Shirt to Lan to give to her, "You two gave your friends and teacher quite the scare."
[Hm? That's the man who tried to have you go home in front of the school] Leviathan noted.
"Huh? You're the guy who tried to get me to go home and not go to school," Lan spoke.
"Glad you recognize me," the man noted before holding up an intricate police badge and removing his fedora to show his black hair contrasting with his grayed mustache and sideburns, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lan Hikari, Maylu Sakurai. I'm Inspector Oda of the Cyber Investigation Division." he gave an amused grin, "Some even call me 'Inspector Slick Daddy.'"
"...Pfft…" Ashe snorted back a laugh, "Classic, Inspector."
"And someone finally gets it," Oda sighed with a smile.
"Hold on! Why are the police locking us up like this?!" Lan demanded as Maylu got out of bed, now wearing the shirt.
"What happened to that jerk Higsby?" Ashe demanded.
"...Detox," Oda replied, "The man was actually hypnotized if you can believe it. We were fortunate that GABCOM was actually doing study into signal frequencies and the heiress was willing to lend a hand. He'll be right as rain in a few days, be fined majorly for what he did while under it, and then let go." he looked at the two preteens, "As for you two, this is our tidiest, safest place to keep you safe from the enemy."
"The WWW?" Lan guessed, earning a nod and a smirk.
"You could say it's a tidy ol' hidey hole."
Ashe laughed at that, "I like this guy's humor!"
"Roll…!" The two whined.
[Hey! Why did they take you in here, anyway?] Model A pondered.
"Um…A-Are we under arrest?" Maylu asked.
"No," Oda replied, shaking his head, "You're both in here because we're trying to figure something out about you two."
"Huh? Something about us?"
"Those nasty wounds you got…" Oda gestured to the bandages on their heads and on Maylu's upper body, "...Did this ever happen to you before?"
"Huh?"
"What I mean to say is…when you two NetBattled the WWW before or even viruses or, perhaps, participating in a secret Pit…" Oda noted, taking note of the flinch Lan gave and the very subtle cringe Maylu delivered and tried to hide as her feeling pain from her injuries, "...When your NetNavis sustained damage, you were ever hurt in the same way?"
"...I…I'd sometimes get bruises when Roll was hit," Maylu admitted, "And when Elecman attacked that train and shocked her, the shoulder he used to zap her with hurt."
"And I've been feeling a lot of stinging whenever Vent got hurt ever since I got him," Lan added.
"Bingo," Oda whispered with a smirk, "Okay, you two. We'll let ya out so you can take a test for us."
"A test?" Maylu repeated.
[I'm not worried about Maylu passing, but Lan…] Model A trailed off.
[Actually, Lan gets perfect scores on the tests because the sooner he's done with them, the sooner he can leave class] X noted.
[SERIOUSLY!?] A exclaimed in shock.
[We learned a few days ago he's just lazy and bored in school, hence his attitude on waking up and doing homework] Zero noted.
"Forget it!" Lan snorted as he turned to look at the wall, "I get enough of those at school!"
"Even if this test means you two will get to become Licensed NetBattlers?" Oda offered, making Lan freeze.
"A…An actual License?!" Vent asked.
"WE'RE IN!" Ashe declared.
"Ashe…" Vent and Maylu began.
"You're not joking again, are you?!" Lan asked, spinning around to look at him in excitement while reaching for the bars…not seeing a spark coming off them.
[?! LAN, PULL BACK NOW!] Phantom shouted.
"STAY AWAY FROM THE BARS!" Oda shouted at the same time.
"Huh…?" Lan pondered before Maylu barely grabbed the back of his vest and pulling him back as the bars lit up with electricity, "YIKES!"
"What the hell?! Did we just get shoved into an oversized bug zapper?!" Ashe panicked.
[Vent, did this…?]
'NO! THIS IS NEW ENTIRELY!' Vent snapped as a red alert began to blare.
"Inspector!" an officer called as he ran in, "We're under attack! A rogue NetNavi has taken over the hospital network!"
"And nearly fried bandana boy here to a crisp," Oda calmly noted.
"'Tidy ol' hidey hole,' huh?! It's an overcranked bug zapper!" Lan complained.
"System Malfunctions are cascading! If this keeps up, even patients in the middle of surgery or on life support are…" the officer spoke.
"Well what are you waiting for?! Get a NetNavi team deployed already!" Oda snapped.
"Yes, sir!"
"You kids stay here!" Oda ordered as he ran for the door.
"Hey, wait a minute!" Lan snapped.
"Don't fuss! Just leave it to us!"
"Pffft! Good one!" Ashe snorted a laugh.
"YOU'RE NOT FUNNY!" both of them snapped as the door closed.
[Lan, could you rotate the PeT around slowly?] Phantom asked.
"Huh? Um…Okay?" Lan replied, holding the PeT over his head and spun it around three times, "Why did you need me to do that?"
[...There is a pair of Jack-In ports on that intercom in our cell] Phantom informed [Furthermore, there is nothing on them to prevent Jack-In]
"Oh, great! Let's head on in then!" Ashe beamed.
"That's right! We can help out with the situation!" Vent beamed.
"Hell no!" Ashe snapped.
"R-Roll!" Maylu exclaimed.
"I'm with Ashe! Let's go show up those guys for locking us up!" Lan declared, pumping a fist.
"...You get the feeling we got the wrong person for each of us, Maylu?" Vent deadpanned.
"Some days," Maylu sighed.
"There's too many of them!" a police NetNavi shouted.
"INCOMING!" another screamed as they barely avoided a massive silver milk container-like Virus slamming down hard on the ground they had been on, "They have Quakey!"
"HANDY!" another screamed as a grey and orange glove-like virus dropped off a bulky bomb with a timer on it.
"SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! DESTROY THE BOMB BEFORE IT GOES OFF!"
A group of officer NetNavis were surrounded, keeping their backs to one another as they had busters ready to fire. One moment, the viruses were coming at them. The next…their eyes widened as the viruses were all sliced to pieces.
"You guys alright?"
"We're here to help!"
The officers looked up to see Megaman HX land before them. Beside him was a male NetNavi that looked almost identical to him. His armor was a darker-green with a small red triangle instead of the wrap-around arrow on HX. His helmet's 'wings' were tinier and looked like jet wings. His wings were also less bulky and looked more like jet wings with a green bulky pack when the wings weren't deployed. He also had sharp red eyes. He smirked before, in a flash of light, he was replaced with Roll A.
"You boys doing alright?" Roll A asked.
"Don't let your guard down!" one advised as they shot at another virus.
"These Viruses were deployed by the WWW!" another added.
"Because of course it's those assholes!" Roll A complained.
"Roll, lang-ah forget it. It's been a long day," Megaman HX sighed, stabbing a Handy virus while the two collected the data of the viruses they were deleting, earning Zenny and new BattleChip data for later, 'Huh…One of these is a LongSword BattleChip. Now I can show you guys a Program Advance later.' "Which one is it this time? Fireman? Elecman? Coloredman?"
"If it's Torchy or Wacky, I call dibs!" Roll A declared.
"...Wacky?"
"What? It's a good name for Coloredman. He's Wackoman to me!" Roll A beamed.
"She's got a good point," Lan noted.
"None of those! It's a strange-looking one we haven't seen before!" an officer replied.
"You guys have a lot of experience with directly battling these guys, right?" a second questioned, "We'll hold off these Viruses! You two deal with the agent! They're at the Control Area!"
"WHOO!" Roll A cheered as she ran off, "Control Area and valuable Booty, here I come~! A-Trans! Aeolus!"
"Roll, wait!" Megaman HX called as he ran after the girl, now transformed back into the green-wearing male.
[This doesn't make sense…The timing…the exposed Jack-In Ports on important technology…] P noted to himself.
[Something on your mind?] Z asked.
[...This must be their test] P stated.
'Really?' Vent asked as Megaman HX sliced through a Swordy and Handy while A-Aeolus cut down several Mettaur, 'Guess that means our 'WWW Navi' is actually someone in the police force. Probably Inspector Oda's partner.'
"I think I see the big bad!" A-Aeolus called as she was ahead of Megaman HX before both landed with Roll A changing back to her standard form.
The two looked and noticed he was as tall as Glyde. The NetNavi was donned in the guise of a shogun with a white rope wrapped around his waist and over his shoulders and down the back to the belt. His armor was a deep navy-blue with purple and gold detailing. The left arm sported a long, thin shield while a gold spear was grasped in their right.
"Well, well…Megaman Model HX and Roll Model A," the NetNavi noted, "You're a little too late. I, Japanman, have already taken over the Control Area."
'Japanman?!' Megaman HX thought, 'Isn't that the name of Electopia in the other world? Why does he have that name?!'
"Well, we'll just have to blow ya up then!" Roll A smirked.
"Perhaps…but let's deal with those little tricks you two have first, shall we?"
"Huh?" the two pondered as Japanman held up a remote and pushed a button, causing Megaman HX to freeze.
"G-GYAAAAAH!" Megaman HX screamed, sparks coming off his armor.
"Vent!? Vent, what's happening?!" Lan panicked before, in a flash, Megaman X collapsed to a knee as H was barely caught by him, "HAH?!"
"Model H!" Megaman X gasped, quickly picking him up.
[I…I can't move…] Harpuia spoke.
[None of…us…can…] Leviathan added.
"Like it? We've studied enough on you to figure out a 'counter frequency' for your Double MegaMerge," Japanman chuckled.
'Okay…This isn't good…' Megaman X thought, putting H back into his jacket with the others.
"This also prevents your A-Trans from working, Roll Model A," he went on.
"Seriously?!" Roll A gawked.
[He's right! I've been trying to access our forms and they're not activating!] Model A panicked.
"Aw crud…" Roll A cringed.
"Guess we're doing this without any tricks," Megaman X noted.
"Shoot…Well, tricks that our NetOps don't have ready for us to use," Roll A shrugged.
"Heh. Big talk for little kids like you two," Japanman chuckled.
"LITTLE?!" Roll A snapped, "I'll have you know I drank a ton of milk growing up and I am an F-Cup thanks to it, thank you very much!"
"..." Megaman X facepalmed.
"What does a cup have to do with size? And what's go big about an 'F'? I thought XXL was the biggest a drink could get," Lan pondered before yelping after a smacking sound went off, "Ah! Maylu, what the hey?!"
Megaman X shook his head, "You may have prevented me from doing the Double MegaMerge, but I still have Model X. And more importantly, I have Lan with me."
"Same with me and Model A with Maylu!" Roll A stated, "It's deletion time for you and we'll collect our sweet, sweet Booty!"
"Heh. Big talk from little kids."
"STOP CALLING ME LITTLE!" Roll A snapped as she and Megaman X jumped at him, HeroSword and normal Sword replacing their right hands/lower arms.
A small eyepiece slid over Japanman's left eye, "Beginning Combat Compatibility Scan." he raised his shield up and both blades hit…leaving not even the slightest scratch, "Battle Points: 580 and 620. Synchronization Levels: 63.2 and 66.3 percent."
"Battle Points?" Roll A asked.
"Synchronization Levels?" Megaman X pondered before both were forced away with Japanman swinging his shield out.
"Not a pair of bad scores…" Japanman noted before he vanished just as they shot at him…only to appear behind the two, "...But nothing I need to worry about."
"S-So fast…!" Roll A gasped.
"Wrong," Japanman stated, suddenly in her face, "You're slow!-!"
With that, he slammed his fist into her gut, causing Roll A to gag and shoot over at Megaman X. He tried to catch Roll A only for Japanman to grab him by the face and throw him at Roll A, letting the two slam their backs into the other and crumple to the floor. Lan and Maylu quickly inserted AreaSteals and the two barely teleported out of the way of his fist coming at them.
"This guy's nuts!" Roll A whispered to Megaman X as the two hid behind a block.
"We may need to use your Giga Crush," Megaman X noted.
"If I can break his weapons, you finish him off with a big ol' Charge Shot," Roll A replied.
"You got it, Roll," Megaman X nodded.
"I'll buy you some extra rest time with an Invis, Roll," Maylu noted.
"And let's add in a Cannon to the mix, too, Vent," Lan noted.
Megaman X nodded, "Okay. We've got a plan, so let's do it."
"Then let's go!" Roll A declared as she ran out from behind and shot at Japanman, who blocked with his shield, "You think you can withstand my attacks, big guy? Then take this! GIGA CRUSH!"
As Roll A unleashed her massive AOE assault, Megaman X's Buster glowed before transforming into the green and yellow Cannon. He focused the Charge Shot through the BattleChip, causing the cannon to start flashing rapidly as a white light shined inside of the barrel. Roll A panted as smoke hid Japanman from view.
"H-How…do ya…like them apples…ya…ya jerk?" Roll A panted.
Slowly, Megaman X looked around the corner. The two NetNavis tensed as they saw Japanman slowly emerge…without a scratch.
"How the…B-But that's…that's not…" Roll A gawked.
"Invis BattleChip," Japanman informed, "Your attack was quite the powerhouse. Would've done some real nasty work on me if I didn't keep one on standby for times like this."
"But…But that's not fair…" Roll A whined.
"FIRE!" Megaman X roared, firing a massive white blast of plasma at Japanman, who simply vanished to dodge the attack.
"Another fine attack. Shame it was too slow," Japanman noted behind Megaman X.
"Ah…" he spun around only to get kick into the face, knocking him into Roll A and forced them out of MegaMerge.
"HAH!" Japanman roared as he stabbed down at them, his spear tip transforming into a five-pronged trident that pinned the two by their necks with Vent's right wrist.
"GACK!" both gagged.
"VENT/ROLL!"
"Gotcha pinned, kids," Japanman chuckled, using both hands to pin them down and slowly dig the trident down lower into the ground, "This it? This all you've got?"
"L…Like hell!" Ashe coughed.
"We're…not giving up…" Vent added, glaring up at him in defiance.
"No way are we gonna quit!" Lan added, a hand going to his neck as he felt it throbbing.
"Roll isn't giving up…so neither will I!" Maylu added, winching at the throbbing in her own neck.
"Very well! Then say goodbye to your heads!-!" Japanman declared, increasing the pressure and digging his trident even deeper.
"G-Gah!" Vent gagged, the sharp edges of the weapon slicing into the sides of his neck and wrist.
"VENT!" Lan gagged, cuts opening on his neck and sides of his wrist.
"GH!" Ashe grit her teeth as her own neck was getting cut into.
"Roll…" Maylu coughed, blood seeping out of the new cuts on her neck.
"We…won't…" Vent began.
"...give in…" Ashe continued, the eyes of both NetNavis starting to glow with their emblems.
"...not to…you!" Lan and Maylu finished in unison, their hair starting to float in some unseen force.
"Huh!?" Japanman pondered as his eyepiece slid back down, "Synchronization Levels have linked rates?! 72.5…75.4…83.7! You kids are…" light began to shine off the two as their free hands grabbed the trident's blades tightly, "Not possible!-! To manifest a change this quickly…" his eyes widened as his trident shattered and the two vanished, "What…?! Where…Where'd they go?!" he looked around before spotting the two in crouched positions several meters away, their backs to him.
"...R-Roll…" Vent whispered.
"Mega…" Ashe gulped as the two slowly stood up, their NetOps briefly superimposed over them and looking at their hands like they were.
"What's happened to us?!" all four asked in perfect unison.
"Well I'll be…" Japanman whispered before charging at them, "You kids just redefined what's possible!-!-!"
"MEGAMERGE!" all four shouted before Megaman X and Roll A were swiftly dodging the stabs.
[It's happening again?!] Model A freaked.
[Vent…This feeling…Lan…are you…sharing Vent's body?] Model X pondered.
'I'm…I'm at a loss…' Lan admitted.
'These stabs…they're so slow…' Roll A thought.
'...No! You're…No, we're faster!' Maylu countered.
"Let's try breaking that shield again!" MEgaman X noted, "Lan, three Cannons at once!"
"You got it, Vent!" Lan replied.
"Maylu, you too!"
"Okay, Roll!"
"Kid, this shield can tank a LifeSword! No way you can break it! Even with two ZetaCannons!"
"ZetaCannon?" Lan and Maylu repeated.
A Cannon appeared on both hands/arms of the two NetNavis before they shined and merged into a massive over-the-shoulder green and yellow cannon.
"PROGRAM ADVANCE! ZETACANNON 1!" both roared as they fired in unison.
Japanman swung his shield up and the blasts hit. He grunted as he was dragged back a little before regaining his footing. He struggled with the blasts before his eyes widened as cracks formed.
"N-No way…" Japanman whispered in shock before hearing a hum.
"CHARGE SHOT!" both roared as they fired massive blue spheres of plasma with a green pair of rings around Megaman X's and two orange ones on Roll A's.
The two Program Advances ended, leaving the shield littered in cracks. The two charged shots struck and it shattered. A unified roar made Japanman look up from his shattered shield to see the two charge and fire again, piercing his spear-holding arm.
"GYAAAARGH!" Japanman screamed, grabbing the two holes in his lower left arm, "Gh…" he fell to a knee and the two slammed their feet into his chest, knocking him onto his back and aimed their guns at him, charging up once more.
"Okay! Talk!" Megaman X growled, "What the hell is with this test, Inspector Oda?!"
"Inspector Oda?" Roll A repeated.
"...Heh…Not bad, young fella," Japanman chuckled weakly, "You saw right through this 'attack' for the test it was."
"This was the test?!" Roll A demanded.
"What the hell is wrong with you people?!" Maylu snapped, finally fed up with everything.
"M-Maylu?!" Lan gawked.
"Today's 'attack' was the test, one meant to test your abilities," Japanman informed.
"You call it a test, but I call it a lowdown dirty trick!" Ashe complained as the cell bars slid up behind Lan and Maylu as they fell to their knees as exhaustion suddenly struck now that the fighting was over.
"M-Maylu…" Lan whispered.
"Lan…d-did you…"
"...feel like Vent and I were one person? Yeah," Lan replied, "...You and Roll were…"
"...feeling the same way just now? Yes," Maylu finished.
"That's FullSynchro in a nutshell, you two," a voice spoke, making the two turn to see Oda.
"FullSynchro?" Lan repeated before his eyes widened, seeing Oda's arm in a sling…the same arm that Japanman was currently missing large pieces of.
"The normal NetOp may control and monitor the NetNavi, but only from an external point of access," Oda explained, "This creates delays from 'order' to 'action.' Even the tiniest delay can mean the difference between life and death. However…in FullSynchro…the barrier between the 'Real World' and 'Cyber World' drops away, fusing the consciousness of NetOp and NetNavi as one."
[That's why you two felt different! Lan and Maylu were fused with you two!] X realized.
"The delay between 'order' and 'action' is eliminated and the full potential of the NetOp/NetNavi combination is unleashed!"
"Fused consciousnesses…Whoa~" Lan awed.
"Yes, but there's a downside!" Oda warned, "What once happened to one, now happens to both!"
"...Our injuries!" Maylu realized.
"Exactly, little lady," Oda replied, "For such a dramatic increase in combat capabilities…a NetOp becomes exposed to a great deal of real danger!" he motioned to his sling, "Case in point, I now have a broken bone from those shots Japanman got. Lucky for me…it wasn't the funny bone."
"...Pfft…!" Ashe snorted a laugh before giggling.
"You've earned your Licenses, you two! And not just for regular NetBattling! As of now, you're now official members of the Cyber Investigation Division - Net Saviors Unit!" Oda declared, pointing at the two.
"W…We are?!" Lan gawked.
"Net Saviors Unit?" Maylu pondered.
"Ah! W-Wait a second! Hold on! How did you know how to counter our Biometals?" Vent asked.
"Well…that's because of the leader of the CID - NSU," Oda replied, "She is the one who made them, after all. Same with my NetNavi, Japanman."
"Funny man say what now?" Ashe asked.
The door behind Oda opened and a figure entered. The girl was roughly Maylu's age in appearance. She had pale skin almost on par with Maylu's with deep cobalt blue eyes that seemed to hold so much within, long thick blonde hair pulled into a ponytail with three angular bangs at the top of her head. She was wearing a pink outfit consisting of a sleeveless dress, a pink vest reminiscent of Vent's, high heels, and white gloves. She sported a pair of black stockings that went up into the skirt and shoulder-length black gloves under the white ones.
[?! C…Ciel…] Zero gasped.
"Zero…" the blonde smiled, looking at Lan's PeT.
"Hm?" Oda looked at her before looking at the two, "Lan, Maylu, this is my daughter and your leader, Ciel Oda."
"So you're the two who have the Biometals I made," Ciel noted.
"Huh? Bio…Wait, you made X and the others?" Lan asked.
"Yes. Years ago, I sent them out in the cyber world to find someone to work with. Imagine my surprise to see them all together with you," Ciel noted.
"X was the one who found me. Zero was…a gift from an old friend. The others I had to reclaim from Viruses that became monsters called Pseudoroids," Vent explained.
"Model A has always been with me," Ashe grinned.
"Model A?! I thought you were stolen!" Ciel gasped, "Is he alright?"
"Yeah. He's been the best little partner," Ashe replied, "He loves listening to Maylu's piano practices."
[Of course I do! They're really nice and fun to listen to!] A replied.
[We were worried about you as well, Ciel] X noted [We thought a snake got you]
"Oh don't worry. That issue slithered away."
"I still can't hear them," Oda sighed, shaking his head, "Guess there's more to it than just achieving FullSynchro."
"There is a lot more to it," Ciel confirmed before bowing to the two, "If it's okay with you two, I need to examine your NetNavis and the Biometals for a few minutes. Troubleshooting and checking for errors."
"Huh? Um…S-Sure," Lan replied, offering his PeT.
"Is there something wrong?"
"No. I'm just wanting to be cautious. Papa can explain what your duties will be until I come back," Ciel assured as she accepted the two PeTs and walked out of the room, "...I thought I was the only one…"
"It's nice to meet you at last, Ciel," Vent greeted.
[We were surprised to appear in this world] Zero noted [But…how did you end up here?]
"...I was killed by Master Thomas after barely avoiding being killed by Albert and Serpent."
"MASTER THOMAS KILLED YOU?!" Vent and Ashe gasped in shock and horror.
"Shh!" Ciel quieted, glancing at the door, "Quiet voices, please. But yes, Thomas did. I woke up as a little girl around three that had been in a coma after a lightning bolt hit her…er…me. I've been here for ten years now. Alouette is here, too."
"Prairie's here, too?" Vent asked.
"Yes. She's abusing the fact she's a little kid again, though," Ciel huffed, "Honestly, even as an adult, she never grew up, did she?"
"She actually made dolls of the Pseudoroids I destroyed," Vent admitted.
"Hey! Vent, your confused girlfriend over here on who this is!" Ashe called.
"Oh! My apologies. My name is Ciel. I'm the one who made all the Biometals after discovering Model W," Ciel explained, "In this life, I am Ciel Oda, daughter of the Inspector in there talking with your NetOps, college graduate at the age of nine, older sister of Alouette Oda…and creator of the Biometal programs that I sent out into the Network."
[Shut the front door! But…But I was made by Master Albert…]
"No. You are Biometal Model A…short for 'Axl.' The Reploid that made the Hunter Trinity, the three greatest Maverick Hunters including X and Zero," Ciel informed, frowning, "Albert must have messed with your memories. If you'll let me, I can try to restore them."
[Y…You would?] A asked.
"Of course," she assured with a smile before it became somber and she hugged the two PeTs, "...I missed you…all of you."
[We missed you as well, Ciel] Phantom assured.
[Still as flat as ever]
"H-hey…!" Ciel pouted, pouting, "I'm only thirteen. A-And I've been drinking milk!"
"Have you been doin' parkour?" Ashe asked, "Or doing training by running through a rich girl's mansion security system and helping upgrade it to catch any intruders?"
"...Huh?"
"Moving on," Vent noted, "Listen…there's something you should know. Ashe and I came from this world. We died a year from now because of a cosmic NetNavi God called Duo and his servant Slur. We reincarnated into Ashe and Vent and then we died after defeating Master Albert and destroyed Model W's final form: Ouroboros."
"That sounds complicated," Ciel noted.
"Yep. Mega has it worse, though."
"Yeah. You know Dr. Yuichiro Hikari, right?"
"Dr. Hikar?! He's my role model in this life!" Ciel replied, stars in her eyes, "I've always wanted to meet him!"
"He's my dad. And Lan is my brother…my twin brother," Vent informed.
"...Huh?"
"Mama gave birth to twins. Their names were Hub Eisenhardt Hikari and Lan Xavier Hikari. When they were one, Hub died from the disease HDB. But Papa…turned him into a NetNavi," Vent explained.
"...You?" Ciel gasped, her eyes wide in surprise.
"Yes. Me. Please don't tell Lan. I want to be the one to tell him," Vent informed.
"He doesn't know?!" Ciel gawked.
"Nope! Hub told me, though," Ashe replied, "We thought we were going to die, so he didn't want any secrets between us."
[Ciel…Did you really make us in this world?] X asked.
"I did. Imagine my surprise to find out that the next time I'd see you after sending you out…you'd be the real deals," Ciel noted, a somber smile on her lips.
"I just blame the stupid meteor god in space," Ashe shrugged.
"Still…This is good to know. Ciel, we have a lot of intel for this world," Vent explained, "The only troubling thing is…we're not sure how accurate it all is now due to these new changes."
"Especially with Higsby and Numberman," Ashe frowned.
"Huh?"
"This timeline…it's different, but the same at the same time," Vent explained, "Mr. Match, Ms. Madd, Count Zap, Yahoot…these four are members of WWW with their leader being Dr. Wily."
"Yahoot?! B-But…He's WWW?!" Ciel gawked, "B-But how? He's my favorite yoga instructor on TV!"
"There's also something else…Dr. Regal is going to form a criminal syndicate known as Nebula…and distribute horrific BattleChips known as 'DarkChips,'" Ashe explained before Ciel tensed and slumped.
"Dr. Regal, too?" Ciel asked, "...Is…Is Mr. Famous…"
"He's a good man. He was a lot of help," Vent assured, earning a sigh of relief from Ciel.
"That…That's a relief…Alouette and I are big fans of Mr. Famous," Ciel noted.
[Probably more than 'big fan' on your end] L teased.
"H-Huh?! N-No way!" Ciel argued, shaking her head.
[Oh, true…I think you're more into red-wearing long-haired blondes that die a lot]
[...]
[...I'm in trouble, aren't I?] L asked.
[What do you think, Fairy Leviathan?] Z questioned.
[...Oh dear…]
"I can't believe it…We're Licensed NetBattlers!" Lan grinned excitedly, skating beside Maylu on her scooter towards school the next Monday, "Actual honest to goodness Licensed NetBattlers!"
"No more Pits! No more dirty tricks! We can even enter tournaments now! Oh, think of the glorious Booty we'll reap!" Ashe drooled.
"Just remember that we're not allowed to talk about our 'after-school activities' if we need to go to them," Maylu reminded.
"Right, right, right," Lan waved it off.
"Lan, I've got more material from the hospital that I will use if you get too big of a head," Vent warned, making Lan nearly trip in his skating as he sweated heavily, "Should I do the one when the doctor had to give you a shot you were missing?"
"H-Hey! I've been good!" Lan argued as Maylu started laughing as she remembered that.
"And yet, you're starting to get that ego built up again. I may have to share one of the videos with some of your classmates."
"Vent, please! Don't!" Lan begged as Maylu giggled at how fast Lan was to react.
"We're gonna be epic BAMFs!" Ashe cheered.
"What a Bamf?" Maylu frowned.
"...Mistakes were made," Ashe gulped.
"You're not getting any sympathy from me, Roll," Vent stated.
"...Shit."
"Roll Ashe Sakurai, Language!] Maylu, Vent, and X scolded as they entered the campus.
"GUYS!" Lan and Maylu looked up in time to see Yai and Dex run up to them.
"You're alright!" Dex beamed.
"Hey, guys!" Lan waved.
"You two are okay…right?" Yai asked.
"We are. It turns out those injuries are because of something a rare few NetOps and NetNavis can achieve," Maylu explained.
"Yep! Achieving it and demonstrating to the CID gets you Special Sanctions!" Lan grinned before holding up an ID, "See?"
"That's a NetBattle License!" Yai gawked.
"Oh, we are gonna collect so much Booty~!" Ashe squealed.
"Still in trouble, Roll," Maylu frowned.
"Aw crud…" Ashe groaned.
"So that means…you have one, too?" Dex asked, looking at Maylu.
"Yes," Maylu admitted, showing hers, "The technique is called FullSynchro. If you train hard with your NetNavi, doing lots of battles, there's a chance you'll achieve it."
"Speaking of…" Lan frowned as he looked at Dex, "...Is…Is Gutsman…?"
"I was glad that I made a backup before school," Dex admitted as he held up his PeT to show Gutsman on it.
"GUTSMAN!" Vent and Ashe cheered, joy and relief in their tones and expressions.
"Hi guys, guts!" Gutsman waved.
"Oh! Yai, I nearly forgot," Maylu noted as she pulled out the HeroSword, "I need to give this back to you."
"No way," Yai shook her head, "You keep it, Maylu. Think of it as a 'congratulations' gift on getting that license!" she pulled out her LifeAura BattleChip and gave it to Lan, "And this is for you, Lan."
"Huh? But…"
"You guys, all three of you, saved Glyde that day," Yai stated, "Dex is getting boxing lessons from one of my maids and Gutsman was given the latest NaviCust system as thanks for Gutsman taking that explosion." she pulled out two discs, "And these are for you two! They're the latest NaviCust and some programs to go with it!"
"NaviCust?" Vent repeated.
"Oh sweet! I've heard of these! They're special customization programs that can help make NetNavis stronger!" Lan beamed.
"So the reason Sir Lan and Lady Maylu were grievously wounded was through this 'FullSynchro' you underwent with them?"
"Yeah. It's so awesome!" Ashe beamed.
"Not awesome," Vent corrected with a frown, "When it's used, Lan and Maylu are going to get hurt when we do. We've spent the entire week going through drills with it and learning to dodge better…"
"But we get so much stronger!" Ashe pointed out, "And I don't get as exhausted from Giga Crush as I used to when it's used!"
"...So Gutsman can learn it if Dex and Gutsman get stronger?"
"Yep," Ashe nodded.
"But just remember that if you get hurt, Dex will get hurt if you use it," Vent warned, "This is a dangerous ability to learn. I'm honestly worried for Lan now more than ever thanks to this."
"Gutsman will, Vent!" Gutsman promised, "Gutsman don't want Dex hurt by accident, guts!"
"I will try to avoid that technique myself," Glyde noted, holding his hands up with a worried expression, "I would never wish for Lady Yai to be harmed, even with the power boost it gives."
"I trust Maylu to take care of herself," Ashe stated, putting her hands behind her head, "We've been having a lot of nightly talks about the drawbacks, "So we've been upping dodge training."
"Dodge training?" the trio repeated.
"Yep," Ashe grinned, "We also tested a little and turns out my natural healing ability can be feedbacked, so healing myself heals her when we're in it." she looked at Vent, "Don't worry, Mega, I'll heal you and Lan up if you're worried."
"..." Vent couldn't help the small smile form on his lips as he held her hand, "Thanks, Roll."
"No prob! Oh, anything juicy I've missed in the gossip mills, Glyde, Gutsy?" Ashe asked.
"Gutsman heard teachers talking about transfer student for our class, guts!" Gutsman replied.
"Oh? Transfer student?" Ashe grinned, "I wonder who we're getting now."
"I wonder what NetNavi they'll have," Vent noted.
"Looking to add another member to our group, Sir Vent?" Glyde asked.
"It's always nice to have friends," Vent replied with another smile.
"Huh? You dreamt of a little kid version of Vent?" Maylu pondered, the four friends in their classroom waiting for Ms. Mari to show up.
"Yeah. It…It was kinda disturbing," Lan admitted, "These weird humanoid monsters attack an amusement park. There were people panicking and running and they all had these weird metal things covering their ears and sometimes had an upside down triangle on their foreheads." he grimaced, "I…It ended when what I think was Vent's mom…she was…gunned down by three of them…with Vent there."
"?!" the three looked at him in shock.
"Dude…what the heck?" Dex gawked.
"That…That's insane…"
"The scary part is…I…I can't help but think…it was something that really happened."
"Huh?!" the three gawked before the bell rang and they went to their seats.
"Good morning, everyone! Now I know it's barely been a month since we last did this, but we have a new transfer student," Ms. Mari informed, causing whispers to erupt in the classroom, "Okay, okay. Settle down now, settle down!" she looked at the door, "You can come in now!"
As Ms. Mari began to write on the board, the door slid open. Lan and Maylu's eyes widened as the new student walked into the classroom. Ms. Mari finished writing before turning to the class…standing beside Ciel with the girl's name written on the board.
"Hello, everyone. My name is Ciel Oda. Please…take care of me while I'm your classmate," Ciel greeted with bow.
"Ciel?" Lan and Maylu pondered in surprise.
"Oh! Hello, you two!" Ciel greeted.
"You know them?"
"Oh yes. We met at the hospital they were at last week," Ciel replied.
"Good. Once introductions are complete, they'll be the ones who will show you around the school during the next break," Ms. Mari informed.
[Well…This is a surprise] Zero noted.
[...You knew about this, didn't you?] Harpuia glowered.
[I may have been the one to suggest this to her, yes] Zero admitted.
[You just want to be around her] Leviathan teased.
[...]
[I'm in trouble again, aren't I?]
[Start flying] Zero growled.
[EEK!]
'Well…Life isn't going to be as simple as I was hoping…' Vent thought with a sigh as he scratched the back of his head with a worried look, 'FullSynchro…The creator of the Biometals…Are there others from our pasts here?' he looked up at the sky, 'Is this...your doing?'
GT: And with that, I end Day 29 of Mega May with another update from Biometal in Network with one of the biggest changes! To those of you who are unaware of this, the power of FullSynchro is something used often in the 4th games and up with only being shown in the last portion of the third game. In the manga, it's been established since the first volume, which is what shows off this power and its drawbacks and benefits the most. The anime…only had it appear when fighting CrossFusion Laserman in the finale of Axcess, so I'll be using the manga version of it here. And how many people were expecting Ciel to appear in this, huh?
