GT: Glad that everyone seems to be enjoying things so far! Um, just to do some notes, if you don't see a certain scene, it means that the events of it happened like they did in the anime. Either that, or I'll be addressing several issues in the anime's run due to Ashe and Vent's life experiences.
"UP AND AT 'EM, LAN XAVIER HIKARI! RISE AND SHINE!"
"GYAHAHAHAHAHA~!"
Mrs. Hikari looked up from her cooking towards the upstairs as Reverie blared loudly. She shook her head in amusement at the method her elder was implementing on her younger. As she slid another pancake onto the growing stack and prepared the next batch, she started to have her mind wander. Her heart still ached to actually hold her eldest once more and not merely put a finger to a small screen over his hand pressed against it. But it filled with joy having them both together in the house. Her body went on auto as she drifted to her talk a few nights ago.
"Mama?" Mrs. Hikari paused in her walk from the kitchen to see Vent on the TV.
"Oh, is Lan still awake?" Haruka asked as she walked over.
"No. He's snoozing," Vent replied before frowning, "Mama…When…When do you think I should tell him?"
"...Honestly, I wanted to be fully honest with Lan the whole time, Hub," she admitted, putting her hand on the screen as Hub did the same, "But…your father had several convincing reasons to wait until he was old enough to understand."
"Yeah…" Hub sighed, rubbing a hand on the back of his head, "...But…when will be the right time?"
"Whenever you feel that he's ready for it, Hub," she replied before smiling, "Now do you mind explaining the long hair? The time I visited before your father took you with him on that trip you were still sporting shorter hair, no pants or jacket, and wearing a helmet."
"Oh! Um…w-well…I…I met this girl that snuck into the systems," Vent noted, "It…It was Roll now that I met her and Maylu."
"Oh that rascal," she giggled, "Because of course Ashe would do that."
"We talked and she kinda had this idea get stuck in my head. I didn't think I'd see her again, but I also wanted to have a physical reminder," Vent explained, "So I grew out my hair because I wanted to have a way to remember her and the fun I had showing her the public areas of SciLab's network…even if she tried to trick me once or twice into a more restricted area, but we laughed them off because it was just…fun."
"...Ohh! My baby boy has a crush!"
"Um…well…m-more than that," Vent blushed, "We actually agreed to go on a few dates and…"
"Dates?!" She gasped before putting her hands on her hips, "Well now! Not even two whole weeks and you're already dating her? I hope you take good care not to upset her, Hub."
"I won't, I won't!" He quickly assured, waving his hands in front of him frantically while sweating a little, "I was, well…hoping you could give advice on what to do."
"Well…try for the first ones to do activities she'd enjoy or go to places that she'll be comfortable with. Your father was easy enough to understand. We saw this movie involving robots fighting one another in a ring," she recalled, "I honestly enjoyed it and your father got a kick out of trying to figure out how the robots could actually function outside of the movie."
"You did?"
"Of course. I boxed in High School."
"M-Mama boxed?!" Vent gawked.
'I should really try on my old gloves for a bit…Maybe while Lan and Hub are out playing with their friends today,' she thought in amusement as a grumbling Lan walked downstairs.
"It's the weekend…why wake me up so early…?" Lan muttered.
"Because you are not sleeping in with me around without good reason," Vent smirked.
[We have military programming in us, so good luck trying to sleep in anymore] Z chuckled.
"Aw man~"
"Good morning, boys," their mom greeted.
"Hi, Mama(...)!" Lan and Vent greeted in a tired tone and happy tone respectively.
"I'm so glad you woke him up earlier than usual, Vent," she thanked as she put a plate before Lan with some syrup, berries, and peanut butter, "Pancakes are better fresh than cold."
"Oh wow! Pancakes!" Lan beamed, all signs of exhaustion gone as he started eating, "S'ho good~"
[What's a pancake?] F asked.
[They're fluffy edible circles humans make for breakfast] X explained [A key ingredient went extinct before you were made, so that explains why you don't know what they are]
[Aw man~Now you make me wanna try them, Pops~!] F complained.
"If we ever have pancakes in the Cyber World, I'll make sure to MegaMerge with you to let you share my tastebuds, Fafnir."
[You're the best, Vent!]
[Kissup]
[WHAT WAS THAT, LEVI?!]
Vent shook his head before the PeT buzzed, "Mail for you, Lan. It's from Gutsman."
"What's it say?" Lan asked.
"Looks like Dex ended up in the hospital. Gutsman is asking if you'll go see him with Maylu today," Vent summed up what he read, 'And hello Elecman, the robot mutt, and the speeding train.' he blinked a few times, "How did Gutsman know we were awake?"
[...] P floated away.
[Phantom…] L began.
[We'd best hurry to Ms. Sakurai's residence to escort her to the hospital to visit your companion's Network Operator, Vent]
[...Don't tell me you're an internet troll now, Phantom…] H groaned.
"You guys are the best, guts!" Gutsman thanked, tears in his eyes, as he looked at Ashe and Vent.
"Hey, it's no sweat, big guy!" Ashe assured, "So what happened? It's not something like his rat catcher bot suddenly jumped him and is clamping down hard on the leg, is it?"
"...Um…" Gutsman looked away, scratching the side of his face.
"He's got a warranty for it, right?" Vent asked.
"...Um…"
"Don't worry. I-I'm sure we can figure this out. Has anyone tried to plug you into the cat?" Vent asked.
There's no port directly on it, guts," Gutsman replied.
"Seriously?" Both deadpanned.
"It's meant to help avoid viruses, guts…"
"Darn you, Lan…D-Don't laugh!" Dex snapped.
"Dex is right, Lan!" Ashe called, "That cat's tearing right into his tibialis anterior. It's causing a lot of pain to his leg which is why it's being elevated!"
"Ah…" Lan squeaked before Ashe giggled.
"But I will admit that this cat bit off more than it could chew with the mouse it found~" Ashe joked, causing Lan to start laughing again.
"Et tu, guts?" Gutsman groaned.
"You too, Maylu~?"
"S-Sorry, but…but…Ahahaha! Ahahaha! Y-You were injured by your toy cat!"
"Not a cat! It's a pest control system shaped to resemble a cat to better intimidate rodents," Vent noted, rolling his eyes at the hijinks.
"What Vent said…And why are you so close to Maylu anyway, dang it?!"
"Because Gutsman sent the email to them both?" Ashe replied as she frowned, 'Ugh…Forgot about the gorilla boy's crush since he moved away for long enough to get over it. So annoying…'
"...Gutsman gonna hide behind Vent, guts," Gutsman admitted, doing just that, "Roll is scary when she's angry, guts."
"You said it," Vent nodded.
"What was that?!" Ashe snapped.
"Er…uh…Gutsman, get ready to record this for Dex later," Vent quickly spoke.
"Huh?" Gutsman pondered as he saw Lan walk over to Maylu.
"Oh? Well, we were planning on going out on the town today, maybe see a movie or something, right?" Lan asked, pulling Maylu close while giving a teasing expression to Dex.
Maylu simply smiled. Lan froze as a pain shot through his foot as more exploded from the elbow ramming hard into his solar plexus.
"In your dreams!" Maylu declared with a huff, leaving Lan to gag and collapse to the floor.
"Gahahahaha! Too bad for you!" Dex cackled before a snapping noise went off, "Gh…"
"He laughed so hard the vibration snapped the band holding his leg up," Ashe cringed.
"Oh not again, guts…" Gutsman groaned, facepalming.
"EEEEEYYYYOOOOOOWWWWW!-!-!-!"
"I can't believe you had him record it," Ashe snickered as she and Vent sat at a digital table, drinking tea.
"I also got a copy of it," Vent added, "I'll show it to Lan whenever he starts getting too cocky. He kinda needs it at times."
"Oh tell me about it," Ashe rolled her eyes, "No offense, but Lan has an easily buildable ego issue."
"I honestly worry for him with that at times. I mean, what if he does something that really pisses off a friend? Or worse, pisses off Maylu to do more than just delete his homework?" Vent pondered.
"I'm worried, too. I don't want things to get that bad. They're just adorable together and Maylu once showed me this secret place where they drew each other when they were preschoolers," Ashe noted.
"The important thing is to nip the problem in the bud before it becomes a problem," Vent noted.
[Indeed] Z agreed.
[I'm surprised you're not trying to defend your brother] H noted.
"I love Lan as only a brother can, but he does need a reality check more often than not," Vent sighed, "Especially as time went on. I swear, he became an idiot savant at some point and not just a boy with a ton of potential that he hid by being lazy."
[Maybe this 'CrossFusion' was the cause?] X asked.
"Maybe," Vent shrugged, "All I know is that I love my little brother and I just want him to have a good life."
"Same with Maylu. She's gonna get that life and no giant cosmic meteor-riding god NetNavi is gonna stop it this time," Ashe narrowed her eyes.
[You sure you should talking so loudly about future events?] Model A asked.
[There are no signs of any Network Navigators in the area] P informed [Still keeping a lookout]
[Ah…I miss having a body] L sighed [That tea looks really good]
"That's because it is," Ashe replied, "A nice lovely, rich rose tea." she then blinked a few times when Vent became Megaman LX, "Mega?"
"It's not much…but does this help any, Leviathan?" Megaman LX asked before taking a sip.
[Mmm~It helps, yes] L replied.
[It has been quite some time since I last enjoyed a cup of tea…and this exceeds my usual tastes] X noted.
[Aw~Now I'm curious!] A complained, [Ashe~MegaMerge please~!]
"Okay, okay," Ashe rolled her eyes before taking a sip as Roll A, "So?"
[Huh…This is kinda yummy! Thanks, Ashe!]
[...] H hovered.
[You want to taste it?] Z asked.
[A little, but maybe another time. For now, Levi should just enjoy it] H replied.
'Huh…I feel like I'm forgetting something…' Roll A pondered, enjoying the tea.
"The calcium is on the way!"
"Oh right…Masa…" Ashe deadpanned.
"He never changes," Vent chuckled.
"Hm? Isn't that Ms. Mari?" Maylu pondered.
"I think so," Lan replied.
"...Oh, this is when we meet Miu," Ashe recalled.
[Miu?] X pondered.
"A fortune teller and antique shop owner," Vent replied.
"What's she doing in this place, anyway?" Lan pondered, "Why are folks interested in this old junk, anyway?"
"Hey! It's not junk!" Ashe argued, making Lan jump and Maylu fumble with her PeT, "Antiques are a vital part of history! It's a way to connect to our past! A glimpse into what it was like back then for the people who made those objects that you call 'junk' today!" she growled as she rolled up a sleeve of her jacket, "I swear, Lan, you call this stuff 'junk' again and I swear that I will find a way to come to the Human World and clobber ya on the head for being such a…"
"Whoa now! Easy, Roll!" Vent yelped, quickly pulling her into a hug, "Cool it. You really like antiques, don't you?"
"...I do…" Ashe replied before hugging him and whispering into his ear, "I treasure them because they helped me remember them. An old boxing glove for Gutsman and his fondness of punching stuff…this china set reminded me of Glyde…a piano key for Maylu…Antiques helped me in the darker moments. They helped me keep going forward and never forget the friends I lost…of the moments that I treasure…"
"..."
"Funny enough…a book was what reminded me of you," Ashe went on, tears in her eyes now, "It was stupid, but…its story reminded me of you…of how to hope for another tomorrow…It…It's why I focused on Prometheus so much…it wasn't just what he did to the family I made in that era…he destroyed my treasures right before my eyes."
"Roll…" Maylu whispered, looking at her PeT to see the embrace alongside Lan, neither able to hear what she had been saying but able to tell she was crying.
"..." Lan grimaced, guilt forming in his gut as he realized his comment really hurt her, "...Um…A-Ashe?"
"W-What?" Ashe sniffled, refusing to look.
"D…Do you think you could help me understand better? Maybe help find one you think would be good for Maylu and me?"
"..." she sniffled while looking over her shoulder, "Y-You're not sayin' that just because, are ya?"
"No, no!" Lan shook his head, "I…I guess I just wanna get why since it seems really important to you."
"...A-Alright…but…let's wait for your teach to leave first," Ashe replied, "I don't want it ta be awkward, alright?"
"It would be rude to just pop in when it seems she wants to keep whatever she's doing quiet," Vent added.
Lan and Maylu nodded, now embarrassed because that was exactly what they were about to do. It took several minutes (which felt more like an hour to the two) before Ms. Mari left the building and allowed the two to head inside of the antique shop. Within, it felt a bit…unnerving…the way the lighting was set in the place added a sense of…mysticism to the place. Ashe snickered from Maylu's PeT.
"I like this lady's style. She wants to give people the 'story' of these antiques," Ashe noted as the two twelve-year-olds approached the counter to see a woman dressed in black with her long teal hair pulled into intricate braids on the sides of her face beneath a black hat.
[I believe this is Miyu] P noted, managing to spot a business card holder from the screen on the PeT [...When will we have a way to see more of the world without the screen? This form of intel gathering is rather tedious]
'A year from now,' Vent replied mentally.
"Um…Hi. We…" Lan began.
"Silence…" Miyu spoke, looking down at her crystal ball, "...Water."
"Water?" the two pondered.
"I see flowing water."
"Seriously?" Lan pondered before Miyu looked at him.
"Who might you be?"
"Huh? M-Me? I'm Lan, Lan Hikari."
"Your NetNavi…"
"Huh? Vent?" Lan pondered as he pulled his PeT out to show him.
"Hello, Miss. A pleasure," Vent greeted.
"..." she then looked to Maylu, "And you and your NetNavi?"
"Oh! I'm Maylu, Maylu Sakurai," Maylu replied as she showed her PeT, "This is Roll, but she prefers people to call her 'Ashe.'"
"Yo~!" she waved.
"...Your NetNavis…I cannot 'hear' them like others," Miyu noted.
"...Hear?" Lan tilted his head.
"Yes. Their 'voice' is more…of a human's than an object."
"Huh?" Maylu tilted her head.
'Can she tell we're reincarnations?' Ashe pondered in surprise, a bit worried now.
"Um…excuse me?" Vent spoke up, "I know this is out of nowhere and a bit of a surprise, but…Do you…do fortunes for NetNavis?"
"Vent?" Lan pondered.
"A fortune for a NetNavi?" Miyu asked before closing her eyes, "Hmm…This is surprising."
"Huh?"
"Normally, my clients are human," Miyu replied, waving her hands over the crystal ball, "But…" she gave a soft gasp, "What is this?"
"What's wrong?" Maylu asked.
"A Game of Destiny approaches," Miyu informed, making Vent and Ashe tense, "What comes will not be as you expect and try to avoid. The ripples you make will cause rivers that were meant to be blocked to open and flow. Rivers intermingle, powers cascade. Events unseen before now rise up and a new river flows. The awakening of the End will signify the start of the Game. But the buildup will form from the divergence of who one is and the awakening of a power neither had before."
[A…A Game of Destiny?] A softly gasped.
[Y-You can't be serious…] Z growled under his breath.
[...This is our fault…] X whispered as Vent clenched a fist tightly while Ashe trembled in a building rage.
'Elecman…You better get your shit started sooner than later…I need something to unleash hell on!' Ashe thought.
"OWOWOWOWOWOWIE-HEE-HEE~!"
'Thank you, Elecman!' Ashe thought as Lan and Maylu ran outside to see Dex on the ground…now with a robotic white dog bitting into his leg.
"Are robo-animals all hating you today, Dex?!" Lan gawked.
"OFF-OFF-OFF!" Dex screamed, rapidly kicking his leg until the dog let go and landed on its feet with a snarl.
'Huh…Come to think of it…now that we don't have Ms. Mari here…what is the dog supposed to take to make us…' Vent pondered before screaming as Lan's PeT was grabbed, "I'M BEING DOGNAPPED?!"
"VENT?!" Lan panicked as he skated after the dog, "You get back here, you metal menace of a mutt! I swear if you don't let go of Vent, I'm taking you to a mechanic and you don't wanna know what they'll do! ACK! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO STOP, NOT GO FASTER!"
"Lan, wait for Roll and me!" Maylu called, quickly getting on her scooter and following after him.
"YOU STUPID MUTT! GET BACK HERE! YOU LET GO OF MY BOYFRIEND RIGHT THIS INSTANT!" Ashe raged, "THAT'S IT! YOU BETTER NOT LET ME GET NEAR YA OR ELSE IT'S TIME TO SPAY AND NEUTER YA!"
"Ah! I gotta follow Maylu!" Dex grunted as he stood up and took a step with his cat-bitten leg, "Gh…EEEYOW!"
"Hey, c'mon now! Why not be a good doggo and let me go, huh?" Vent asked.
[I don't think it's going to listen to you, Vent] Zero noted.
[Days like this make me wish we could be out there so this won't happen] Fafnir complained.
[Fafnir, this is the first time we've been kidnapped by a dog] Levi ponted out.
[...]
[It's his fifth time in total and only the second time as a Biometal]
[PHANTOM!] Fafnir barked.
[We're approaching a subway station] X noted [Lan was so hoping for that new BattleChip…]
[Our Virus Busting escapades are sufficient enough that there won't be much of a dent in the account] Zero pointed out.
[I'm just enjoying this because we can finally see more ahead of us then watching as it passes by] Harpuia admitted.
[Did this happen last time, Vent?]
"Yes, but it was with Ms. Mari's purse, not me!" Vent replied before chuckling, "So…Who's operating you, big guy? WWW wants me deleted if you aimed it at me. Or were you aiming for Ashe in Maylu's PeT?" the dog ran into the subway train and sat on its hunches between the distance of the two ways to get off, "...Elecman." the dog dropped it as its red eyes glowing while looking at the screen, "Oh, so that's your name. I was just taking a random guess like Ashe did with Fireman. But good to hear your confirmation through action." he rubbed his chin in fake-thought, "You…You want to lure Lan down here, Maylu as well if able, then hack the train systems to have us on a collision course with either another train or a sealed off part of the tracks." he chuckled while cracking his knuckles, "Well…Just leave the door unlocked, alright? I'd rather enjoy fighting you if you went to all this trouble."
"Just who are you?" a voice came from the dog.
"The name's Vent. I'm just a courier," Vent replied with a thumbs up before giving a thumbs down, "And your delivery is defeat, Elecman of WWW."
"I'd like to see you try, Vent," Elecman chuckled as the red eyes turned green and the dog laid down with a paw on the PeT before a minute passed and Lan picked him up.
"Vent!"
"Hey there, Lan. Found out what was causing the trouble," Vent informed.
[It's WWW again] X added [The NetNavi hijacking it, Elecman, is now in the train's systems. By now, he may have already taken control and…]
"Lan! The train's speed!" Maylu's voice gasped.
"Vent…What did you do?" Lan groaned.
"Oh, I asked him to keep the door to the front of the train unlocked if he wanted to NetBattle," Vent replied.
[...This is why you're a battle junkie, isn't it? Y…You just like jumping into danger!] H groaned.
"We're NetNavis, H! Of course we're battle junkies!" Ashe argued before the PA rang.
=Attention, Attention. Lan Hikari and Maylu Sakurai to the control room. Lan Hikari and Maylu Sakurai to the control room. WWW is waiting for your NetNavis in the network for us to delete. I repeat, WWW is waiting for your NetNavis in the network for us to delete. Thank you=
"...Vent…" Maylu and Lan began.
"I accept full responsibility after we save everyone."
"Let's get going!" Ashe called.
"Excuse me! Pardon me!" Lan called as he led the way for the two, "Gang way!"
"Please excuse us!" Maylu warned as they arrived at the front of the train where a crowd was, "Ah! What's going on?"
"The conductor's knocked out cold!" one explained.
"It looked like he was shocked by something when he tried to mess with the controls!" another added.
"And this thing's locked up tight!" a third complained, slapping the door…before it slid open.
=You can take the conductor, but those two stay in here= Elecman's voice spoke from the PA system =Better hurry and get your Navis ready, you two. This battle will be electrifying and on a time limit=
"Time limit?" Lan asked as two men helped carry the unconscious conductor out and let the two preteens in.
=At the moment, I've locked the tunnel ahead from being able to switch tracks. Another train in approaching and has no time to start moving in reverse to avoid a high-speed collision= Elecman explained =Three minutes is all you have=
"Gh…Vent…" Lan growled in annoyance.
Ashe cracked up laughing, "Oh, this is hilarious! Ah well, time to get me some booty from this!"
"I'm so sorry…" Vent apologized, bowing repeatedly.
[We will discuss this later] Z warned.
[We haven't had to do this in years] X noted.
"I was bored, okay?!"
"NO EXCUSES!] all the Biometals, Lan, and Maylu snapped.
"I'm gonna enjoy this," Ashe giggled.
"So…What's the plan for us?" Ashe asked as she quickly donned Model A.
"We lure out Elecman then beat him up as fast as we can," Vent replied, "Model X! MegaMerge!" a blue flash went off before he was in a blue version of LX and HX's outfits with the helmet blue and white with a red gem in the forehead and his right arm/hand engulfed in a bulky blue and white buster, "The Blue Megaman! Megaman X!"
"No double this time?" Roll A pondered.
"Not yet," Megaman X replied as they looked around, spotting yellow orbs with black dots acting as faces with large eyes, tiny crooked horns on the back of their heads, tiny yellow feet, and needle-like 'arms' along with orange transmitters with orange and red drum-like viruses floating above them, "Billy and Twisty viruses this time."
"Oh goody! Been meaning to stock up on Elec Element BattleChips!" Roll A grinned as she whipped her guns out.
"Same. Especially if for any fishy situations," Megaman X noted before Roll A clonked him with the underside of her gun on his head.
"No, no spoiling," Roll A whispered.
"Right, right…" Megaman X muttered before quickly open firing on an oncoming Billy, "Let's just do our collecting then. A big delivery of BattleChips and Zenny to our sibs."
"You got that right!" Roll A whooped as she quickly fired homing shots at the Twisty viruses.
The two were quick and efficient, tearing apart the viruses that spawned within moments of them appearing. As they did that, the other Biometals peeked out of Megaman X's jacket.
[Behind Ashe!] P shouted.
Roll A and Megaman X jumped out of the way of a blast of lighting that barely missed hitting Roll A. They spun around and looked to see a NetNavi appear. He was taller than them with gray skin with lightning tattoos going down his cheeks from his red eyes. He was donned in black armor with only lightning bolt designs on the body and helmet breaking up the color. Copper covered his lower arms as four generators glowed on his back with electricity.
"Elecman, I presume," Roll A noted.
"That is correct. You two seem to have quite the habit of making good guesses on our names," the NetNavi noted, "But this matters not. You will be deleted here and now."
"I'd like to see ya try!" Roll A declared as she fired at him, only for Elecman to vanish, "Huh?!"
"Oh, I forgot about this," Megaman X whispered before Elecman appeared and he shot at the dark-armored NetNavi only to vanish once more, "He's fast!"
"Roll, behind you!"
"?!" Roll A tensed as she felt his hand on her shoulder.
"Fall," Elecman stated before a blast of electricity erupted from his hand and zapped Roll A.
"GYAH!" she cried out before Elecman dodged several shots from Megaman X.
"Elec Tower!" Elecman roared, slamming a hand down and letting out a series of towers made of lightning head towards Megaman X.
"Model X! Model H!" Megaman X called, "DOUBLE MEGAMERGE!"
Just as the lightning neared, a flash of green went off and something tore it asunder.
"What the…?!" Elecman gasped.
Megaman smirked, donned in a green attire similar to LX and FX. The helmet was the same with green coloration and the red arrow, but it sported a pair of green 'wings' with yellow undersides on the sides of it with two bulky green and white armored 'wings' on his back. He whipped out two white handles before they produced purple triangles in the form of short-swords.
"The Wind Megaman! Megaman Model HX!" Megaman declared before smirking, "This is where the real battle begins! Lan, you ready?"
"You bet! Battle Routine Set!"
"Execute!" Megaman HX declared.
"I'll blast you to ashes!" Elecman declared as he raised his hands up over his head, "Lightning Blast!"
The 'wings' on Megaman HX's helmet and back split open as a soft purple light shined from within. He vanished just moments before the large blast of lightning struck. Elecman's eyes widened as he looked around.
"Spreader! Download! Sword! Download!"
A rain of plasma shots slammed into Elecman, forcing him to make a barrier of electricity to block most of the shots. He dismissed it and his eyes widened. His left arm glowed before transforming into a gold guard with an electrified blade of plasma in it. He swung and barely parried Megaman HX's short swords, both now blue and slightly longer than before. But what caught Elecman's eyes were the magenta wings of plasma emerging from his open 'wings.'
[This is how using a BattleChip feels? It's fascinating] H noted.
"Fire Arm!"
Elecman screamed as he was struck in the back by a stream of intense flames. This gave Megaman HX time to slice off all four generators on his back and shoot off in the air. Elecman spun around to glare at whoever hit him…before his eyes widened. Megaman HX smirked as he stood beside Fireman, giving an amused wave to Elecman.
"Fireman, what are you…"
"HeatWave!" Fireman roared, slamming his arm down on the ground before a wave of lava erupted and came for Elecman.
"Gh! I won't forget this betrayal, Fireman! I will have my revenge on you and on Megaman!" Elecman screamed, quickly Logging Out before the wave could hit.
"Heh…" Fireman chuckled before, in a flash of light, he was replaced with Roll A, "Oh, I'm gonna be excited for that fallout~"
"Ashe?!" Lan gawked.
"Surprised? I don't use A-Trans often, but I love it when I surprise folks with it," Roll A winked.
"You are such a sneaky woman, my Hunter," Megaman HX chuckled, hugging her close.
"I do my best, my Guardian," Roll A winked before kissing his cheek, "Now one minute. Elecy left me a nice gift! Come here, you sweet, sweet booty!"
"Huh? What's she talking about, Maylu?" Lan asked as the spot Elecman had been now sported a floating orb of light.
"Just watch. This is always so fun to see when she fights a strong enough NetNavi!" Maylu giggled as the orb went into Roll A.
[Alright! Elecman is a pretty interesting guy! His normal attack is firing a bolt of lightning while his alt weapon is that ElecSword of his! And his charged shot is an area-wide lightning blast!] Model A examined [Oh! He even recovers health when you use an Elec-Element BattleChip while transformed, Ashe!]
"Yes! Big booty right there!" Roll A cheered.
"Speaking of…" Megaman HX noted before the two held their hands out to the data still in the air and let it quickly gather to them, making several BattleChips and a decent amount of Zenny.
[We are really putting a dent into the availability of blank BattleChips, aren't we?] Z asked.
"Probably," Lan replied.
"Um…The Train's not slowing down," Maylu noted.
"...Huh?" both looked at the screen of their NetOps, showing a troubled expression on Maylu.
"...Gah! Where's the NetNavi that controls the train?!" Megaman HX yelped, looking around.
"Ah…Um…Oh! There!" Roll A pointed at a figure slumped against a piece of programming, resembling a bulky, athletic NetNavi donned in white streamlined armor.
"Ah! Come on…" Megaman HX whispered before zipping over with a burst of his 'wings' and started to gently slap his face, "Wake up…Get up, man!"
"How come he gets the nice stuff but I get the horn?"
"Lan, you're a genius!" Megaman HX declared as he pulled his horn out and blasted Reverie on it.
"GAH!" the NetNavi yelped as he jumped up, looking around.
"Easy there!" Roll A called as she held her empty hands up, "We got the viruses cleared out and scared off the NetNavi that was leading them!"
"A-Ah…You have? O-Oh, you have! …Ah! I can't slow down in time!" the NetNavi panicked, checking the status of things, "Impact in thirteen seconds!"
"...Accelerate! Activate the emergency boosters!" Lan called as he grabbed the controls.
"What?! Are you serious, Lan?!" Roll A gawked.
"There are what in this thing?!" Megaman HX gawked.
"Affirmative! 7 seconds to impact!" the NetNavi confirmed.
The nose cone on the back end of the train fell off before a burst of the thruster in it went off, causing the train to go even faster. Maylu nearly fell if Lan hadn't grabbed her and pulled her into his lap.
"Switch to manual control!" Lan ordered.
"Lan, what are you…?" Maylu began.
"We're at 1G now!" Lan explained as the NetNavi kept counting down, "And we're in a rounded tunnel. If I do this right, then…"
He grunted as he pulled on the controls. The train shook as the oncoming train was almost upon them. The train they were in dodged it…by getting onto the wall and then spiraled completely over the train and onto the tracks behind it.
"We did it!" Lan cheered.
"Incredible piloting, Lan!" Megaman HX gawked.
"Holy cow! Props to you, Lan!" Roll A awed with a laugh, "Did you steal trains before and never tell us?!"
"We were able to perform a ceiling course thanks to our speed exceeding 1G," the train NetNavi noted, sighing in relief, "Th…That's a relief…"
"I don't believe it…" Maylu sighed in relief, her hold on Lan loosening as she laid on him, her body relaxing from all the tension of that near-collision before alarms went off, "WHAT NOW?!"
"Ah…Forgive me, but…I think those viruses damaged the fire protocols," the train NetNavi apologized…before Lan and Maylu screamed as the sprinkler systems went off.
"...Oh my god…That lady was right!" Ashe A gawked.
"Hm? Lady?"
"A fortune teller and antique saleswoman by the name of Miyu. She predicted these two would be dealing with running water in the near future and it happened!" Megaman HX noted, "That lady is amazing!"
"THIS ISN'T THE TIME FOR PRAISING!" the two snapped as they got their vests off and tried to use them to cover from the sprinklers.
-linebreak-
"Ugh…" Lan groaned as he and Maylu walked out of the subway exit, both still soaked from their surprise shower.
"Achoo!" Maylu sneezed, holding onto the dog robot.
"Any clue where we are?" Lan asked.
"Looks to be Elec Town," Vent guessed.
"Eh?! We're that far away?!" Lan gawked.
"We could call a cab," Ashe suggested.
"Or try a different metro."
"Absolutely not," the two preteens deadpanned.
Awoo= the robot dog whimpered in agreement.
"...Hey, Maylu, why do you have that robo dog, anyway?" Lan asked.
"Oh, well…it…it's kinda cute and…" Maylu blushed.
"Finders keepers! Losers weepers!" Ashe declared, "Welcome to the family, little guy! What's his name?"
"...I'm not sure," Maylu replied.
"Mmm…Why not Gow?" Lan suggested.
"Gow?"
"He looks like a 'Gow' to me," Lan shrugged, earning a happy bark, "See? He likes it!"
"..." Maylu giggled as she patted the top of the robo-dog's head, "Gow it is!"
'It's not my puppy, but this is still good,' Ashe thought, "Good thing we're in Elec Town then! Let's get some new things for Gow!" the two preteens sneezed again, "And a change of clothes and hot drinks for you both!"
"R-Right…" both mumbled.
"You say Fireman assisted Megaman in defeating you…and yet…I had Fireman and Match with me the entire day," an elderly man with jagged gray hair, liver spots, and one eye covered by a metal purple monocle-like object spoke.
"What?! But…But that can't be, Lord Wily…He was there! I know his FireArm well!" Elecman argued.
"It was most likely Roll A," Fireman noted.
"The one who defeated you when you tried to set fire to another oven," Wily spoke.
"Yes, Lord Wily. She has the ability to use a technique called 'A-Trans,' which allows her to transform. More than likely…she copied my appearance and abilities. And more than likely…she now has your looks and power."
"Megaman and his different forms…and Roll A and the A-Trans ability…" Wily noted, looking at a monitor showing Vent and Ashe in their transformations, "Just what are these two NetNavis?"
"Well…we warned them," Ashe sighed, the two hanging out in Lan's PC the next day.
"Sadly yes…" Vent nodded as he glanced out the screen to where Lan and Maylu were asleep, their faces flushed with a heavy sweat and Gow curled up at their feet, "Both of them caught a cold from getting distracted."
[I should not have pointed out that sale] Leviathan sighed.
[Their own fault for not doing the clothes first and then doing the sale] Zero argued [They're also kids, so of course they'd forget things like this]
[It was nice of Mrs. H to bring Maylu over] Model A noted.
"She does this every time," Ashe reminded.
[She does?] the other Biometals asked.
"With how often her parents are out of the country, Mama is basically her guardian if her grandparents can't be there," Vent explained, "They're doing some very difficult jobs to make sure she has a good future and are always doing their best to make time for video calls so she can talk with them."
[I noticed your mother is extra protective of children who are ill] Harpuia noted.
"She has experience with handling a kid who was constantly sick," Vent reminded, pointing at himself with a deadpan expression.
[...My apologies, Master Vent]
"Ah, no offense taken, Harpuia," Vent assured before feeling Ashe take his hand, "?"
"Hub…" Ashe whispered, "Miyu's fortune…the one she gave us…"
"You're worried about what will happen with it?"
"Yeah…especially with that first part…the Game of Destiny…" Ashe grimaced as Vent led her to his bed to sit on.
"We're going to have to train harder then," Vent noted, looking out at the sleeping duo, "Especially for our family and friends. We also need to find a way to train Lan and Maylu. They'll need to be ready for whatever comes and, hopefully, it's when we get CrossFusion and not sooner."
Ashe nodded, narrowing her eyes in determination to keep her home and her family safe this time, 'Whatever comes our way, they lay a hand on my sister and I'll rip them to pieces.'
GT: Day 10, folks! Day 10 on Mega May and we've got this update for ya! I really hope you guys are all enjoying this so far!