GT: BEHOLD~! Day 1 of Mega May 2024! And here we are at last! The N1 Grand Prix!
"Alright, thank you all for coming," Ciel thanked as she stood at the head of the table of the gathered NetSavers of DenTech in their base, "I know that you're all eager for the N1 happening at noon today, but we also have our duties as NetSavers. There is a high chance of WWW activity occurring during the tournament, so if you are not in a NetBattle during this, I need you to be looking into things."
"What do you need us to look into?" Commander Beef questioned.
"Any signs of WWW activity. The wording for the official rules ended up putting us at a severe disadvantage of simply arresting them the moment they show up," Ciel explained, bringing up the N1GP's rules and bylaws, "It doesn't help that the location is an artificial island that is considered neutral territory for all nations, making it so these could also be considered a foreign country's laws. Until the WWW does something illegal there, we cannot arrest them nor pursue them."
"All nations?" Maylu repeated.
"Yes. We're going to have international participants from different parts of the world for this," Ciel explained, tapping on her tablet and showed a list of participants with several sporting green highlights to their names, "This is one of the other things I want you all to watch out for. The names of the contestants here? The ones highlighted in green? They are potential NetOps and NetNavis that can obtain FullSynchro. The UN has taken notice of our nation's CID's Special Forces Unit which is who we are due to recent events that our people have been involved with and solved."
'What the…? They weren't in the N1 last time! We never even met them for a few months when Nebula was on the rise!' Vent thought in surprise.
'Oh god…She's one of the participants?! Fuuuu….!' Ashe mentally screamed in building fury before pausing, 'Wait…I've got Mega…Hah! Suck it!'
"..." Chaud raised a brow, "Am I reading this correctly, Ciel?"
"What do you mean, Agent Blaze?"
"Several of these participants are military from other nations," Chaud informed.
"Again…blame the wording of the rules of the tournament," Ciel sighed, "We've got civilians, military, government, and terrorists in the list of participants. If we were in Netopia, this would be a great Ameropian melting pot in terms of diversity, especially if one counts the audience who is there to watch the battles and events being held there."
[Is this as massive as back then?] Phantom asked, keeping the link to Vent and Ashe.
'No. It's way bigger! And the place it was held at wasn't large enough to be its own nation!' Ashe replied.
Vent pinched the bridge of his nose, 'We've lost nearly any and all control of events ahead of us that I'm going to throw out everything I know involving the dangerous participants of those events.'
"You okay, Vent?" Lan whispered, spotting Vent's movement on his shoulder.
"I'm alright. Just going to be difficult even for us," Vent replied before speaking aloud, "Ciel, the reason for us looking out for these FullSynchro potentials…is it for trying to expand this unit to be more than isolated to just Electopia?"
"Yes. If possible, our unit will be elevated to its own special unit employed and funded by the UN itself as a part of the Officials," Ciel replied.
"You may not be aware, you four, but Chaud is actually a representative of the Officials that was assigned to us because of what we are capable of with our NetNavis," Madam Rose explained.
"Really?" Lan gawked, "Him?"
"Is that really a surprise?" Chaud questioned nonchalantly.
"Given your attitude, yeah," Lan bluntly replied, earning a sharp look from the dual-haired boy.
"Hold it!" Ciel barked, slamming her hands on the table, "No NetBattling unless you end up fighting the other in the tournament! You are all ordered to not NetBattle or get into a physical fight with anyone else in this room until you either face one another in the N1 or are kicked out of it! Understood?"
"Yes, ma'am!" everyone replied, Lan's response more annoyed than anything.
"Good. Masa, Sal, Miyu, while you are not participating, I want you to assume civilian identities and resume normal inactive duties on the island," Ciel ordered, "With how young Lan, Chaud, and Maylu are, they can be themselves while not participating, but you three need to keep your covers due to the fact you've been doing such for years now."
The two women in disguise gave side-eye glares towards the fish-themed male of the trio of adults there. It had been his idea to do this to keep things safe for themselves and others.
"And yourself?" Chaud asked.
"I'm part of the technical support to make sure everything on the island is running smoothly," Ciel replied, "It will also allow me access to areas all of you will be unable to. This includes a detailed map of the entire island both inside and out." she tapped her tablet and all their PeTs buzzed, "You all have patrol routes for when you are available to do so. Dismissed! Chaud, a moment of your time before you leave?"
Chaud nodded as the others began to leave to go over everything and final preparations for the N1. Once they were left to just Chaud and Ciel…the blond sighed as she went slack in her seat.
"Roze didn't have details on the humans of the WWW, but the extensive list of NetNavis he's provided is a relief to have," Ciel informed, "The memory data alone wouldn't have been as extensive as what he's provided."
"Is that all?" Chaud questioned, hiding any annoyance in his tone.
"No," Ciel shook her head, "I was able to get permission from the two with coaxing from the Biometals aside from Model A."
Chaud raised a brow, "?"
"It wasn't Magicman who did that to Lan and Maylu," Ciel admitted, "What attacked them…was a Pseudoroid."
"! I thought you said…"
"I thought that they were just stuck in the Network as well, but someone managed to build Vulturon with all his powers when our tech shouldn't be at that level yet," Ciel grimaced.
"You think Dr. Wily hasn't just been working on this Endgame of his all these years, but also pushing past the limits of his robotics despite the abject failure of Blues," Chaud noted, earning a nod.
'And something far worse…' Ciel thought before speaking aloud, "They…also Megamerged with Models F and A to destroy Vulturon. The feedback is…"
Chaud nodded, "What they did was completely reckless and foolish, but…they didn't have a choice other than dying, did they?"
"No, they didn't," Ciel shook her head, "It was either Megamerge or die. They…needed the operation."
Chaud nodded, "And now it's known by the medical and scientific community."
Ciel nodded, grimacing, "I didn't want it out there, but…"
"It's too late to turn back the clock," Chaud stated, giving her a sympathetic look, "That kind of procedure can save numerous lives."
"Yeah…if the scientists don't be idiots and put Network tech into them like I said to not do to Lan and Maylu," Ciel sighed, earning a confused look from Chaud, "...Dr. Hikari put it into their replacement eyes. The only benefit? It let Models X and Z readjust them since there was too much information being displayed."
"Ah," Chaud nodded.
Ciel groaned, facepalming, "Seriously, I've never understood just…just why everything needs to be connected to the Network! Even the toilets are! Do you know how disturbing that is?! And what about when we move past the Network onto something else, huh?! What will happen to all that tech?!"
"Ciel…Ciel! You're working yourself up again!" Chaud shouted, making her stumble in her seat and sheepishly rub the back of her head, "Honestly…Only you would think too much about this subject. Even as valid as it is, we can't just change the minds of people." a moment passed, "...But, yes, I do agree that the toilets having Network compatibility is highly unusual and disturbing."
"Thank you…" Ciel sighed in exasperation, "Also…the fake ElecCode and the replacement for the real one are complete. We can make the switch the night before the big dinner."
Chaud nodded, "And how will we proceed with that?"
"You'll be assigned to watch the 'real' ElecCode that night," Ciel replied, "I'll explain to Lan about it since his father is one of the scientists there and he'll likely invite his family."
"Great…again…" Chaud sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation, "I swear, that kid has been nothing but trouble since we met."
Ciel sighed, "Like you're one to talk. You and him just seem to rub one another the wrong way." she stood up, "Still…this was the important stuff I wanted to talk to you about. Now I need to go pick up Alouette so we can watch the matches together."
"Do you two need a ride?" Chaud offered.
"...Honestly? It would be nice. You know how Alouette adores you," Ciel noted with a small giggle.
"Please remind her my hair is not an eggshell…" Chaud sighed.
Fireworks exploded high in the air, taking the shape of a PeT, basic NetNavis, and even a few of the cuter looking Viruses. Down below laid a massive artificial island, shaped like a video game controller. On the handles of it, a pair of domes laid in either red or blue that opened up, exposing well over thousands of seats with massive green devices in the center of their arenas. In the middle of the island, a lush field of greens laid, decorated in an abundance of trees and flowers to form a nature walk/park of sorts. The directional pad on the left was a massive food court/shopping center while the buttons on the right side were all hotels of various themes. Its 'cable' was a massive road leading to the mainland of Electopia far in the distance. On the upper left side, an oval tower stood, several broadcast dishes on it. Inside of a booth set up on one of the higher floors, a young woman adjusted a massive green hat atop her head resembling a cartoon frog with tufts of her light brown hair peeking out. She had a permanent blush on her cheeks while she wore a frilly, pale yellow, sleeveless shirt and a green skirt reaching just past her knees that hugged her curves. She smiled as she plugged her PeT onto a stand beside it and the screen at her side turned on, showing an adorable green NetNavi made to resemble a frog of sorts with yellow detailing.
"Ready, Toadman?"
"Always, Ribitta, kero!"
Ribitta nodded as she nodded to a cameraman sitting before them. He nodded and pushed a button, causing a red light to turn on on the camera. Ribitta and Toadman smiled.
"Welcome, Ladies and Gentlemen, to the first ever N1 Grand Prix! A three day International competition where the NetOps and NetNavis that signed up all over the world have assembled to find out who is the best of the best!" Ribitta declared.
"We're your roving global reporters, Ribitta Kero Midorikawa and Toadman, here to do our wonderful duty of being your intrepid announcers for this, kero~!"
"We'll be joined later on with a BattleChip Specialist so you folks at home who've never heard of some of these will be able to learn some great new facts about them!" Ribitta winked at the camera.
"The reason we don't have him here now is because he's a contender at the moment!"
Dr. Wily turned off the screen, standing in a rather comfortable business room. He turned to see his four known WWW agents along with a figure dressed in a black cloak with a red pointed hood, devil wing props, and a pure white Noh mask. After a moment, the monitor turned on and showed Fireman, Coloredman, Elecman, Magicman, a green and yellow Basic NetNavi, and two others hidden in the shadows.
"Excellent. Everything so far is falling into place," Wily noted with a smirk, "With the rules established thanks to you two…" he looked at Yahoot and the cloaked figure, "...Officials are unable to make any arrests while we are on this island. And if they try catching us leaving, well…it's quite difficult when they have no idea of the underwater monorail we connected to this place to our normal track." he turned to the humans and NetNavis, "This tournament shall be our chance to instill fear and panic through WWW's new world order to connect with the final touches of Project Endgame!" he turned to the basic NetNavi and the cloaked figure, "When you encounter one of the NetSavers, do not hold back." the figure nodded.
"Understood, Lord Wily," the NetNavi saluted.
"That goes for all of you as well," Wily went on, "Even if you cannot defeat them, you are to get as much data as you can for those still in the Tournament to use!" he held up a sheet of paper, "I have the papers for who is NetBattling who in the two battles today."
"Huh? Only two? Boy, that third day is going to be nuts," Zap noted before grunting as Maddy elbowed him in the ribs.
"Idiot. He means that the winners of their first battles are going to battle again today," Maddy scolded.
"Indeed," Wily replied as he held up the paper, showing the humans their opponents.
"Tch. Why are you getting that lassie?" Match demanded, glaring at Maddy.
"Hey, I was hoping to get Megaman myself," Maddy replied.
"Seems Elecman and I will be facing Protoman in the next round of the day," Zap noted as Q nodded, seeing they weren't going to face anyone from the NetSavers.
"It seems I'll be facing young Lan and Vent should Match and Fireman fail," Yahoot noted.
"Good luck with that," Match smirked as Fireman narrowed his eyes in determination, "I just completed Fireman's latest upgrade."
"Elecman's been fine tuned as well!" Zap grinned as Elecman smirked, lightning crackling off his back parts.
"Colorman will present to you the championship," Maddy declared as said NetNavi laughed jovially.
"I will be going in disguise, but Magicman and I shall be ready," Yahoot informed, Magicman nodding in agreement.
"Good. All of you, send terror and confusion throughout these NetBattles!" Wily ordered, "The WWW shall be triumphant!"
"Delete!" all of them declared.
"Oh! It's quite lovely," Haruka noted, walking with her husband, Lan, and Maylu through the park of the island.
"I'll say. So much dedication was put into this whole artificial island," Yuichiro agreed.
"I'm really happy you get to be here to watch us, Papa," Lan noted, turning around to walk backwards to smile at him.
"Same here," Yuichiro nodded.
"Where were you going again?"
"A mountain range in Holland," Yuichiro replied, "We were working on an expedition for new materials that lay in it for a new upgrade to the PeT."
"What kind?" Lan asked.
"Infrared," Yuichiro replied, "We've been trying for months now, almost a year even, to make it work."
"...Huh? But…that was easy to do," Lan noted in confusion.
"Eh?"
"Lan and Ciel made us new PeTs," Vent explained as Lan and Maylu held them up, "Lan was the one who made the infrared for them with compatibility with the current Jack In ports."
"What?!" Yuichiro gawked.
"She's helping me learn how to patent and copyright it," Lan added.
"Oh my," Haruka giggled, covering her mouth in amusement, as Yuichiro kept gawking and looking at Lan in stunned surprise, "Though…why did you need to upgrade your PeTs, you two?"
"Oh, that's our fault, Mrs. H," Ashe quickly responded, appearing on Maylu's shoulder, "Mega and I had a bit of a power breakthrough and it caused their older models to short out."
"E-Even holographic tech?!" Yuichiro gurgled out in stunned shock.
"This part was Ciel's doing," Vent noted, appearing on Lan's shoulder, "...Mama, please catch Papa. I think he's about to faint from shock."
"Oh not again," Haruka sighed, holding on to Yuichiro, "You know, your father did this when you were seven and you made that attachment to the older PeT you used to have. The one with the battery in the handle and the tiny keyboard?"
"What attachment?" Maylu asked.
"My hand kept getting really hot from the battery in the handle so I just made a new one on the side of the PeT. Funny enough, our last model before these had it just the way I made mine," Lan recalled, "...Wait. Was my little makeshift handle…?"
"Yes and I made darn sure you received the credit for the idea of the battery not being in the handle," Yuichiro assured, managing to recover, "Still…you kids keep one-upping all the scientists in SciLab. Next thing I know, one of you will probably…oh, I don't know…make a renewable energy source that would knock out all the power companies in one blow."
The Biometals all struggled to not speak a word about Ciel at that statement. Especially Zero since he had been with Ciel when she had finished creating the CIEL System that was still being used to the day they attacked Ouroboros.
"Oh!" the four turned to see Ciel, Oda, and Alouette walking over with Ciel speaking up, "Hello there!"
"Ciel and Alouette!" Maylu beamed.
"Hi~!" Alouette waved as she held up her kitty doll, "Meow, hello!"
"Oh that's adorable," Haruka giggled before bowing to Oda, "A pleasure as always, Inspector Oda."
"Likewise, Mrs. Hikari," Oda assured before nodding to Yuichiro, "Yuichiro."
"Takamisaki," Yuichiro nodded back, "Here to watch as well?"
"But of course," Oda chuckled, patting Ciel's head, "My daughter here is helping with the background stuff, making sure things are running smoothly."
"I'm rooting for everyone in our class that's in this," Ciel informed, pumping a fist.
"This is going to be fun!" Alouette giggled as she held up several flags with childishly drawn faces of Lan, Maylu, Dex, Yai, Tory, and Chaud on one side and their respective NetNavi on the other, "Lookie! I made all these for everyone!"
"Gosh dang it, she's too cute!" Ashe exclaimed.
'You don't know her like I do…' Ciel, Vent, and the Biometals minus Model A all thought.
"How are you doing, Roze?"
"Eh, can't complain. The PeT is going to be unlocked next week so I'm happy for that. The few bits of time Ciel's let me out have really made me antsy to do more with Alouette," Roze replied.
"Mmm…" said little girl pouted as she held up her plush, "Meow, Big Sis is being stingy on the keys."
Haruka tried hard to not laugh at that or the flat, exasperated expression Ciel had, 'Oh this is just adorable.'
=Ladies~ and~ Gentlemen~!= Ribitta called out on the speakers as screens on the posts turned on =It's time for the first battles! Please make your way to the Red Dome and Blue Dome for who you want to see first! In the red is Protoman vs Speedman and in the blue is Greenman vs Gutsman!=
"Well I'm off to the blue dome!" Lan cheered, quickly skating off.
Ciel facepalmed, "Lan…"
"Hm?"
"Let's just say that he and Protoman's NetOp are rivals," Ciel summed up, still keeping her hand to her face.
"Come on, Dex! Y'all got this!" Masa cheered, sitting near Tory, Yai, and Ms. Mari.
In the Network, Sharkman did his best to pretend he wasn't Masa's NetNavi. He looked at the stands set up in the Network, almost perfectly mirroring the one in the human world's dome with various exceptions from some seats far bigger and some far smaller…and the fact they were split up into four sections that floated high above the combat arena where Gutsman and a green-armored humanoid NetNavi were ready to fight. Outside of the Network, four orange projectors rose up from the floor near the stands. Each one lit up as a projector on the machine Dex and his opponent stood turned on as well. All the lights intersected with one another in the center and a sphere formed showing a view of the battlefield in the Network just as Lan, Maylu, and Lan's parents arrived.
"Whoa~! It's like the clubhouse but bigger!" Lan awed.
"And it doesn't need a wall to project on, either," Maylu noted before looking to Yuichiro, "Sir, how is that possible?"
"That's because of the different projectors that are set up all over," Yuichiro explained, pointing at one, "Each one is set up in a spot that was precisely calculated and, when all the lights from them intersect, create a three dimensional visual of the Network of the device connected to the primary projector that shines beneath where the other projectors intersect. Speakers in the arena will let us hear what they do in the Network. While SciLab is working on making a better version of this kind of technology…Ciel and Lan have already beaten us to it with this new model of PeT you two have."
"Hey, I just made the wireless transmission," Lan held his hands up, "Ciel made the hologram projector part."
[I am in an eternal debt to her] Phantom stated, the Biometal having yet to shut off his projection from atop Lan's head, keeping vigilance.
"NetOps, ready?" Ribitta asked, seeing the two nod, "NetNavis, ready?" her smile widened as she saw the two nod while keeping a glare at the other, "Then let's go! Gutsman vs Greenman! Battle Routine Set!"
"EXECUTE!" both roared.
Both charged at one another. The NetOp inserted a BattleChip and Greenman's right arm swelled up with bronze plating engulfing it. With a roar, he swung a punch at Gutsman in an overhead strike. Gutsman narrowed his eyes before swiftly moving to the side while keeping his fists raised up. Before Greenman could turn, Gutsman was upon him with a jab, hook, and finally an uppercut that sent Greenman sailing overhead to crash down on the other side of the arena. Gutsman brought his fists together and formed his piledriver-like weapon. With a mighty slam, Gutsman brought it down and unleashing a trailing shockwave along the ground that slammed into Greenman before he could get up, forcing him to Log Out and sirens to go off, signifying the end of the fight.
"Amazing! In just under thirty seconds, Gutsman has taken out Greenman with only four hits!" Ribitta exclaimed.
Haruka nodded, an arm under her bust with the hand holding the other's elbow as she rubbed her chin with it, "Hmm…yes, good. He remembered to keep a light footing and not a single movement was wasted. I'm so glad he's been doing well."
"...Huh?" Lan looked up at Haruka.
"Wait…Mama…You're Gutsman's teacher?!" Vent gawked.
"He's quite the diligent student. I may have to think of doing a Sunday School for NetNavis who want to learn the sweet science of boxing," Haruka noted.
"That's my wife," Yuichiro chuckled.
"AH! Th-This just in, kero!" Toadman yelped, earning everyone's attention to one of the larger screens, "W-We have a new record in Deletion Time! In the Beta Dome, the NetNavi Protoman…has earned the time of three seconds, kero!"
"Th-Three seconds?!" Maylu gasped.
'Holy shit…I think that was faster than the other N1…' Ashe thought with wide eyes as they watched as Protoman was across from his opponent…then behind them as their body was cleaved in two and forced to Log Out.
'In our old life, Protoman took twelve seconds to win…' Vent thought, narrowing his eyes, 'Guess his defeat made him all the more determined to become stronger…'
"In just three seconds…" Lan whispered before narrowing his eyes at the screen showing Chaud looking directly at the feed, "Chaud…"
"Don't disappoint Protoman and I…Lan Hikari," Chaud declared calmly before logging Protoman out and walking away from the machine.
"Rrrrr…! Okay!" Lan shouted, pumping his fists as he grabbed the railing, "Just you wait, Chaud! We'll fight you in this and win!" a groaning sound made him blink and look, seeing he had gripped a bit too hard and left dents shaped like his fingers in the railing, "Ah! S-Sorry…"
"Easy there, Lan," Yuichiro warned as Maylu looked at Lan in concern.
"Y-Yeah…" Lan nodded, looking at his hands and then to the railing with a worried look.
[It's fine to be concerned, but don't let it consume you] Zero advised [If you become afraid of your own strength, you won't be able to control it. It's better to remain calm and work through it naturally] Lan and Maylu gave subtle nods, the latter realizing Zero was talking to her as well [Good. Now go find a seat with Dr. Hikari and Mrs. Hikari]
[I've spotted your teacher and classmates near the top to the left of us] Phantom informed [...That is honestly an optimal location. Far enough to be unseen by others, yet able to observe the entirety of the arena]
[Only you and Harpuia would care for that, Phantom…] Leviathan sighed.
[Hey, it's a good position] Axl chirped out [...What? I used to have a lot of forms that were long-range fighters]
"Chaud…" Ceil groaned, facepalming in the red dome arena's stands between her father and sister.
"While I am impressed with his efficiency and speed…kinda have to admit he went a little too fast," Oda muttered, a drop of sweat going down the back of his head as the next participants entered.
"Mmm…" Alouette frowned before holding her plush up, "Meow, that was super boring. He needs to slow down, meow."
"Sadly, true," Ciel nodded as the next battle in the preliminaries started before her eyes widened on seeing Famous there, "M-Mr. Famous!?"
"Surprised? He came back from Netopia a few days ago to participate," Oda explained, "He wanted it to be a secret, so asked me not to tell."
"Ah! D-Daddy~!" Ciel whined, "He's one of my agents…"
"Part-time, yes," Oda reminded her, "Most of the time, he's a freelance scientist." he tipped his fedora a bit, hiding his eyes, "He's impressed with your medical procedure that saved Lan and Maylu's lives."
"! H-He is…?"
"Yeah," Oda nodded, "...Ciel…what do you know of Ashe's creation?"
"Hm? Ashe?" Ciel pondered, "I…don't know to be honest. She and Maylu likely have no clue and it's possible she was just a NetNavi her parents bought and paid to be customized for her." she frowned after a moment, "...Sir. Is there something that Agent Famous noticed when looking through her data file?"
Oda nodded, his shadowed eyes focused on Famous as he plugged his PeT into the terminal and the hologram showed a bulky red NetNavi with an orange 'mohawk' and red gauntlets at the ends of metal cables appear, "When you have time later…look up a man named Mikhail Cossack."
'Mikhail? Like one of the Sage Trinity?' Ciel pondered while nodding at her father, her thoughts going to her former life just a few months before her death of a jovial shorter human that, despite being several decades younger than her, acted more like a grandfather to everyone who looked younger than him.
"Ohh~" Alouette awed, holding her PeT up for Roze to watch as the red NetNavi blocked a barrage of blasts with one of his circular spike-ridden shoulderguards before his arm on the opposite end snaked around and slammed hard into the back of the enemy NetNavi, "He's new!"
"I'll say. A-And kinda scary…" Roze gulped.
"It's one of three he developed on his trip," Oda informed, "That one he calls Punk."
"Punkman?" Alouette tilted her head.
"No, just Punk. Not every male NetNavi needs to have 'man' at the end of their name, sweetie."
"But you have Japanman, Dex has Gutsman, Tory has Iceman, Chaud has Protoman…"
"And Lan has Vent and you Roze, remember?" Ciel pointed out.
"...But aren't they girls?" Alouette innocently asked.
"G-Girl?! Me?!" Roze squeaked out as Oda had to shove his fedora over his face to hide his face as he trembled in struggling to not break out in mad cackles, "Ciel, am…am I girl?!"
"No, Roze," Ciel sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, "Alouette is being a little stinker is all."
"Bleh~" Alouette stuck her tongue out at her older sister while Punk delivered an uppercut that forced his opponent to Log Out.
"So, Mariko, how is Lan doing in his classes?" Haruka asked, sitting opposite of Masa's side of Ms. Mari.
"I tell you, Haruka, your son's grades are better than ever! It started ever since Lan showed off Vent in his classes," she explained, "Ever since Vent came into the picture, Lan's grades outside of Gym and Virus Busting have him easily earning top marks!"
"Vent's always been looking out for my husband, so I shouldn't be surprised he's doing the same for Lan," Haruka noted before looking around, "Speaking of…where did he go?"
"He went to get some snacks from the stands," Maylu explained, sitting a row ahead of them with the other kids of the group aside from Tory, who was getting ready for his NetBattle
"EMail from Vent. They're on their way back but may not be able to get to the seats in time," Ashe informed.
"Hurry, Lan, hurry!" Vent encouraged as Lan dashed along the ground to get to the stands.
"Ugh…Lousy no skating rule!" Lan complained, keeping the tray with snacks loaded on it balanced in his hands, "We didn't forget anything, did we?"
"No, that's everything," Vent confirmed, looking at the list he compiled from the EMails the other kids had sent.
Cheers made Lan skid to a halt and look at one of the larger monitors in the arena, showing a large, imposing NetNavi that looked like a massive yellow missile launcher with orange-tipped missiles in it, a jet's cockpit and cone for a head beneath it, skinny pale yellow legs ending in orange and black-tipped feet, and two bulky jet engine-like arms, "That must be Tory's opponent."
[It says here his name is Breakman] Phantom noted, looking at the list of competitors, [He's from the DenTech Battle Academy on the other side of the city]
"Ya mean near where Miyu and Sal work?" Lan asked.
[Indeed] Phantom confirmed.
[I swear, I don't get NetNavis most days. The design is horrible and how can he even stand or move?] Harpuia questioned.
[If I still had my body and troop and he got ordered to join it…I'd send him back with a demand that they redo his frame] Fafnir huffed [He needs a third leg at least in order to make it work or replace the legs with a propulsion system or something…]
"Vent…They're doing it again," Lan whispered.
"I know, I know…" Vent sighed, "Still…interesting opponent that Iceman and Tory are going up against."
"I wonder how tough it'll be," Lan pondered.
"The battle will be over in one minute," Lan looked to see Miyu approach, crystal ball in hand, "That is what the future holds."
"I guess you're not allowed to bet, huh?" Vent asked.
"Vent," Lan shushed as the lights dimmed to let people see the massive holographic sphere to showcase the arena, "So just a minute?"
"Yes. Iceman will prevail. Or, at least, he should," Miyu responded.
"Huh? Should?" Lan pondered.
"The 'rivers' that I normally look into have had recent 'floods' in them, muddying the waters on a scale unheard of," Miyu explained, "People, locations, and objects that should not exist do while those that should may not. A life was brought here long ago that caused the first river to flow into ours before more appeared with the tipping point being two who should and shouldn't exist."
"Huh? A pair of people that are a paradox?" Lan questioned before the starting buzzer went off, "Ah! There they go."
"Starting the timer," Vent informed before Skullman appeared in the PeT and Vent turned off the speakers, "She means Ashe and I." Skullman nodded, "...She knows what we are, doesn't she?"
"Same," Skullman replied with a casual shrug.
"Not even going to try to deny?" Vent raised a brow.
"Why should I? Miyu's the cryptic one," Skullman replied as they kept watching, "...I shouldn't even be able to do what I can, ya know? It's like…one day I just…had new powers I was sure I didn't have." he shrugged, "I don't get it, but I don't mind these changes to our river's flow. The excitement and dangers of the unknown is kinda fun to have. Scary, but still fun."
"So…you can see into the future now?"
"Yep. Up for a prediction that doesn't involve that 'Game of Destiny?'"
"...A little, yeah."
Skullman nodded before pulling out a pile of bones and offered them to Vent, "Choose one."
"..." Vent looked before picking up a femur.
"Good. Now how I do fortunes is that I read the cracks in the bones after burning them," Skullman explained before taking the bone and dismissing the others…and then unleashing a blast of blue flames on the bone until it had become charred and littered in cracks, "...I see you…but a hole is in place of your core. A secret you've kept from Lan will be exposed to him at last. A past grudge will collapse the skull and a grave will rise up, headed by one who didn't exist before who lives in turmoil that will be brought out by forging bonds." the bone turned to ashes in his hand, "...Oh, and you'll have as many kids as Lan and Maylu do. Possibly one more than them."
"Gh?! W-What?" Vent squeaked.
"Makes sense. Every NetOp's gotta have a NetNavi, just like every NetNavi's gotta have a NetOp," Skullman winked before cheers went off and they looked to see Iceman standing as his foe was logging out, "And one minute on the dot."
"Impressive on Miyu's end."
Outside, Lan cheered, "Alright! That's Tory and Iceman for ya!" he looked over at Miyu, who was looking at him, "...Something on my face? …I didn't drop any of the snacks, did I?"
"A rainfall will come today," Miyu warned, "...The overflow heads for you and I, Lan. Our battle will not happen here as intended."
"Huh?" Lan pondered as Miu walked away, "What was that about?"
"I guess whatever this river stuff is about changed a prediction of us NetBattling them," Vent guessed.
"Mmmm~!" Alouette mewled, her mouth filled with curry and rice.
"Delicious, Mrs. Hikari," Ciel complimented, the whole group of friends, agents, and the Hikari parents gathered in a clearing in the park area.
"Oh, it was just a quick meal," Haruka waved it off, "It was just a coincidence that Masa had the tuna I needed for the recipe."
"The cooking stations are a bit of a surprise," Maylu noted, looking at the black pole with a wood-burning grill atop it, "I've only seen these in some parks in Ameropa when Dad or Mom gets time off and wants me to go there."
"Those are pretty fun trips!" Ashe grinned, "So many new sights and sounds, neat new parkour areas to test, and the Booty from Viruses is unlike anything here in Electopia."
"Well, it was an international effort to build this place," Sal noted, refilling her cup with some of her homemade tea and then refilling Yuichiro's, "The park utilizes concepts based upon several different countries. A filtration system turns the salt water into fresh water with the impurities extracted from the process being recycled for other uses."
"This tournament is meant to showcase how the island can be used for a myriad of events held between nations for the promotion of further peace between them," Ciel added, "It's nice to be a part of history in the making, no?"
"It's rather exciting," Vent admitted.
"Gutsman ain't gonna be no footnote! Gutsman gonna win!" Gutsman declared.
"There's some stiff competition here, Gutsy," Ashe reminded, "Gonna be a ton of fun and if you get to the Finals, you'll have to face me and all the Booty I'll collect here~"
"Oh that's right! You and Lan are the only ones left in our group who still need to do the preliminaries," Yai realized.
"Any idea who you're fighting?" Tory asked.
"Not Mysteriyu," Lan replied, eating another serving.
"Why do you think that?" Dex asked.
"Because Miyu's really good at her predictions and that's one she saw," Lan replied.
"That Miyu gal is a skilled fortune teller. Got curious once and asked where I could fish up the best fish for the day and the place she pointed me to gave me one major haul! Got more than enough to have a carefree time for a few days after setting aside the usual for bills and restocking supplies," Masa recalled before thunder rumbled, "Hah?"
"Didn't the weatherman say it was gonna be sunny all day?" Yai asked as everyone looked up to see storm clouds starting to roll in.
"Miyu said it was going to rain," Vent noted.
"Uh-oh…" Alouette squeaked.
"To cover!" Masa called.
"It's almost time for the last two qualifier rounds," Lan noted, looking out at the rain with Maylu, "Yours and mine."
"And I need to get over to the other dome for it," Maylu grimaced.
[Did you forget you have me?] Leviathan questioned.
"Huh? But…won't Vent need you?" Maylu asked.
"It's alright with me," Vent assured, "It's better for you to be safe. Plus, I don't own the Biometals. They do as they want."
[You're darn right we do!] Fafnir laughed as Leviathan moved from Lan's PeT to Maylu's.
"Good luck, Maylu," Lan encouraged.
"You, too, Lan," Maylu replied, moving to leave…before turning around and giving him a hug.
"Ah!" Lan gawked as his face lit up in a blush, "Wh-What?"
"A hug for good luck," Maylu explained with a giggle before running out, a flash of light going off as she began to make the rain avoid her as she went out into it.
"Wh-What's with that?" Lan stammered.
"You liked it, don't deny it," Vent chuckled.
"W-well…y-yeah…" Lan mumbled.
[Remember to just be yourself] Zero reminded him [Now hurry on to the stage]
"Right," Lan nodded as he turned to head for the stage.
"Hey~! Lan, huh!" Lan looked up to see Higsby walking down the stairs.
"Hey, Higsby!" Lan greeted, "I saw your preliminary round! Numberman's gotten stronger, hasn't he?"
"Yep! I spent a few days straight working on upgrading him," Higsby replied, "I was wanting to thank you and Maylu for a while now."
"Huh? For what?"
"Helping catch me while I was under WWW," Higsby replied, "I haven't had time to fully do that, so here." he offered Lan a handful of BattleChips.
"Whoa! That's a ton!" Lan gawked as he accepted them.
"Thank you very much, Higsby," Vent noted, "We often only have enough to purchase one BattleChip at a time, but you doing this will help a lot."
"No problem!" Higsby laughed as he walked off, "Well, I'm off to find Maylu, huh!"
"Okay, let's see what we…" Lan began, putting them on a nearby counter, before blinking a few times at the first one he grabbed, "...Minibomb?" he picked another, "Minibomb?" a third, "Minibomb?!" he began to look at all of them, "They're all Minibombs!"
[Not all of them] Phantom noted as Lan paused [Those three near the bottom]
"Huh?" Lan picked up the three, "Anti-Navi? Anti-Sword? Anti-Damage?"
"Huh…That sounds like the three needed for another Program Advance," Vent noted.
[You know this one?] Zero asked.
"I've heard of it from some BBS boards," Vent replied, "I don't know what it does, though."
"Who cares? This is great! We've got a new Program Advance!" Lan pumped a fist.
[You have to figure out the order first, Lan. Keep the MiniBomb BattleChips as well. They'll likely be useful even if not for their intended use] Phantom noted.
"Hah? …mmm…Fine," Lan muttered as he put them all into his pockets and made his way to the arena.
As Maylu ran, she couldn't help but glance around her, seeing the raindrops just move away from her. The path she had taken was on the furthest part of the island out of sight of anyone, letting her not be seen but also see just what she was capable of. She pulled out her glaive as she kept her pace. She breathed in before making a swipe. The rain before her twitched in mid-air before combining into a thick half oval before flash freezing. She jumped onto it and began to slide swiftly ahead.
[You're doing well working with my power, Maylu] Leviathan noted.
"Thank you, Leviathan," Maylu thanked, "Did you use to do this?"
[Not often, especially near the end of my life as a Reploid] the Biometal replied, sighing wistfully [Maylu…Phantom told you of our past, yes?]
"Yeah."
[A hundred years before we were born, our father and Zero were part of a war with Weil. It was a horrific event known as the Elf Wars. It laid waste to much of the world, costing countless lives and species] Leviathan spoke [Father made the four of us to help restore the world. Fafnir would let loose flames, burning away the bad parts of the lands and use the ashes as nutrients to let plantlife regrow. Harpuia controlled the air and would use it to pull clouds together to make storms on the land to feed the seeds below. Phantom delved into the caverns below, gathering that which was down there to return to the surface to grow above. And me? I was made to heal the oceans, to restore the currents below and remove the toxins that fell into it. Harpuia and I worked together and reformed the ice caps of the planet, making them as thick and strong as we could] she nudged Maylu's muscles enough to make her swipe her glaive, forming a curving piece of ice that let her turn the makeshift ice board [Fafnir and I would make steam, heating up places that were meant to never be cold while I'd help Phantom in his spelunking by traversing through the water-filled places, pulling the pollutants from it and making it safer for those who could be harmed by that I was made to be immune to. It was…truly a wonderful time. Seeing the world be revived from death, aiding in that revival. But…we never got to truly enjoy that time. For after fifty years…father…changed. In truth, he had finally discovered a thing that Weil had twisted that was meant to be salvation and made it damnation. Father…chose to seal it within his body, but told none of us because he had to make a split second choice. You know what happened next?]
"The scientist's attempt to make another X," Maylu recalled the story Phantom told the two.
[Yes. Copy X. When he came, he focused on the fact that energy storage was not…optimal. And with how well he had been built, we…we truly couldn't tell the difference…] Leviathan sighed [He…decided that Reploids were the reason and began to cull them to try to get more power back to the energy storage. I'm ashamed to admit that my brothers and I helped in more than one operation. A resistance formed, led by that very scientist. They were able to find Zero and awaken him. In truth…I was glad that he slayed Copy X. It ached, because I thought he was my father, but also relieved for I felt it had ended a madness he had succumbed to. Later on, we learned the truth and then he came.]
"He?" Maylu repeated, making another curving wall of ice to slide along.
[The one Vent has. Did Phantom tell you of Dr. Weil?]
"Yes. He told us he became a Biometal known as W."
[The madman was charged with heinous crimes against the world itself…and those in charge at the time of his sentence believed it better to cannibalize his body with cybernetics, essentially turning him immortal with his head within a jar. He stole Zero's original body and created him…his strongest enforcer in the Elf War. Father and Zero in a new body barely weakened him enough to seal him within a rocket and sent it away from the planet. But…Weil got it to return…and let him loose once more. Fafnir, Harpuia, and I tried to fight him, but…we stood no chance…All we could do was shield Zero from his body exploding]
"Leviathan…" Maylu softly gasped.
[It…It's alright. Zero destroyed him…even if he ended up coming back after a long time passed as we had already become Vent's partners. Vent…I just don't get him. He defeated him…but spared him from destruction, instead taking what was the Biometal that formed inside of him and…considers him a friend…] Leviathan grunted in disgust.
"...Sounds like something Lan would do," Maylu sighed.
[How so?]
"Up until last year, a boy named Akira lived in DenTech. He was a class clown, pulling all sorts of annoying pranks on everyone. But…Lan wasn't bothered at all," Maylu explained, "He actually went out of his way to get to know Akira. He was a terrible influence on Lan! They'd do all sorts of things like shove hot sauce into meat buns, o-or use holograms of terrifying monsters and ketchup to make it look like they had been attacked by an actual one! I swear I was going to maim them with a broom if they messed with the music room's piano a second time!" she sighed, "But…at the same time, the pranks were a lot less harsh and mean than when it was just Akira. He even started to apologize to everyone for some of the meaner ones he used to do. He moved last year, but Lan and him still send emails at times, talking about random stuff." she shook her head, "People saw a lost cause…but Lan saw something underneath that…something none of us saw or even wanted to due to being victims of Akira."
[I swear, I will never understand boys] Leviathan sighed as they approached the other arena and Maylu, in a flash of light, walked inside in her normal outfit with Model L hovering by Ashe and Model A in her PeT.
"None of us do, Levi," Ashe agreed, "But we girls do know how to make 'em do what we want at times."
[Oh, that is so very true] Leviathan giggled.
[Mmm…] the sole male there whimpered.
"We'd better hurry. We need to get to the arena for our match, Roll," Maylu noted as she began to make her way.
=Welcome back to the final qualifier match in the Alpha Dome! Coming out first is from DenTech City's DenTech Elementary School! It's Class 5-A's very own Lan Hikari and his NetNavi Megaman!= Ribitta declared as Lan entered the arena, waving excitedly at the cheering crowd.
Up in the stands, Yahoot in the disguise of a Mardi Grais orange and dark yellow jester costume with a mask over his face sat beside Maddy and Zap before commenting, "I have been waiting to see what they have in store."
"Finally it's the male brat's turn," Zap noted.
"He might very well lose in his first match," Maddy smirked.
"Do not underestimate him," Yahoot warned.
=And his opponent, all the way from Sharo!=
'Sharo?! Could it be…?' Vent thought as, on the other side, an older teen emerged, his short teal hair beneath a red beret and donned in a pale blue button shirt, white gloves, and a pair of camo pants and thick green jacket, 'It is!'
=Representing the Sharo Military, it is Petty Officer Raika and his NetNavi Searchman!=
"Sharo?" Lan pondered.
"The nation above Choina," Vent explained, "More of a militaristic nation than others and often are in a constant winter due to how close to the northernmost part of the planet they are."
=Please Jack In your NetNavis!=
"Let's do this! Jack In, Vent! Power Up!" Lan declared, sending his NetNavi into the Network.
"Searchman, standby," Raika ordered.
In the Network, Vent appeared first. A green bolt of lightning struck down before him, reforming into a taller NetNavi in a black bodysuit much like Vent's. His body was covered in semi-bulky camouflage-patterned green militaristic armor that covered his legs and feet with silver flat ovals on his knees, a combat vest of sorts, rounded shoulder guards with silver insides, and fingerless gloves. His helmet was militaristic with a black interior broken by a line of camouflage with an antenna sticking up from the left side of the back of it. On the back of his glove and the sides of his helmet was his emblem resembling a red target reticule in a black space. His sharp amber eyes focused on Vent as he readied his large camouflage-print sniper rifle with a red pointed cone where the trigger should've been, his shoulder-length orange hair shifting a bit as he did so.
Vent saluted him, "A pleasure to have you as an opponent, sir."
"At ease," Searchman replied, managing to hide his surprise at how crisp and proper the salute was without a single fault to it.
"Hn…you are a part of your country's military? Or was it just your NetNavi before he became yours?" Raika questioned.
"He lived at SciLab as a courrier before I got him just about three months ago," Lan replied, "I don't get where he gets this stuff from at times."
'A SciLab courrier? It's likely his NetNavi has met military officers before then and received instructions on how to properly act before an officer,' Raika thought.
'Even with his relaxed posture, he has no openings,' Searchman observed, 'He's keeping focus on his surroundings and at least one eye is always on my person. Who is this NetNavi that was a former courrier?'
"Coming in from the left side is ACDC Elementary's Maylu Sakurai and her NetNavi Roll, kero~!" Toadman cheered as Maylu entered the arena, blushing as she gave a wave to the cheering crowd.
'It's so odd…we were the eighth to NetBattle, yet here we are one of the last two this time…' Ashe thought.
"And her opponent, a member of the CID, Mysteriyu and Skullman, kero~!" Toadman went on as Miyu in her disguise entered from the right side of the stadium, "NetOps, please Jack In your NetNavis~!"
"Jack In, Ashe!" Maylu cheered, sending in her NetNavi.
"Plug In, Skullman," Mysteriyu calmly ordered as she aimed her wrist-mounted PeT at the machine and a cable shot out of it, plugging into the port to allow Skullman to enter.
Roll A stretched, making a few pops go off in her spine, before grinning as she offered a handshake to Skullman, "Here's to a good match, Skullman!"
"A pleasure to do battle with you both, Ashe, Model A," Skullman agreed, accepting the handshake, "Here's to one of us moving ahead and the other to their duties."
"Gonna make a fortune on the results?" Roll A asked.
"..." Mysteriyu closed her eyes, "The battle will last five minutes while Lan and Raika's will last ten."
"Huh? Who's…?" Maylu began to ask.
"NetOps, ready?" Toadman interrupted.
"Yes," Mysteriyu stated.
"R-Ready," Maylu conceded.
"NetNavis, are you ready?"
"Ready!"
"Then let's go! Battle Routine SET!"
"EXECUTE!" the two shouted.
In a flash, Model PX was swiftly evading the opening shot from Searchman, throwing several kunai shaped like plasma at the military NetNavi. His lens glowed before he fired a single shot and it knocked all the kunai away from their intended target. Something rolling made him look down to see a Minibomb that lit up and exploded the moment it stopped, obscuring the area in smoke.
'Okay…just as dangerous as I remember,' Megaman PX thought from behind one of the various digital rocks that had formed in the digital arena, his left eye being covered by a black lens as a red dot shined behind it, 'Wait…Why is he aiming at…?'
*BA-BA-BA-BANG! BA-BANG! BA-BA-BANG!*
"?!" Megaman PX's eyes widened as a cold sweat broke out…as the rock crumbled into a perfect cutout of him, "O-Okay…You are a lot scarier than expected. Infrared?" he made an oversized shuriken that blocked the shot fired at him, "Okay, so don't tell me…" he threw another Minibomb only for it to be sniped from midair by a camo-colored satellite in the air, "And he has a satellite that can snipe me as well…" a flash went off and HX zipped away, avoiding several shots sent at him, 'Scan for weak points…that aren't the emblem…'
[I do that one time and you refuse to not bring it up…] Model H muttered.
[To be fair…you pointed at those on one of his good friends] Model X pointed out.
[Got it. He's using a scope to aim] Model H informed [Lan, we need light!]
"GAGH!" Megaman HX screamed as his left wing exploded from a round, sending him crashing down into the ground.
[And a Recovery BattleChip] Model X added.
Several shots went off and phased through Megaman HX as he turned transparent and then invisible. Searchman's lens turned purple before grunting as he was sliced in several spots by Megaman HX's blades. His sniper rifle was dismissed as he blocked the twin sabers with a combat knife that replaced it. A flash and Searchman and Megaman PX looked less as if they were in deadly combat and more of an intricate dance, small spark flying from the collision of kunai and combat knife. The crowd went into an uproar of cheers as the two kept their deadly dance going. The two swung a roundhouse at the other only for the other's to parry, making a small burst of air go off.
'Sending a Blind!' Lan spoke to the Biometals.
PX's body lit up brightly in an instant, causing Searchman to grunt and stumble back as he held a hand up to the light. His rifle was deployed in an instant and was on HX's neck as his blades were on Searchman's neck. Both looked at one another with a small smirks.
"Not bad," HX complimented.
"You're better than I expected of a civilian. Were you given combat from military NetNavis?" Searchman questioned.
"A little. Most of it was self-taught, really," HX replied, "But we're both far from done."
"Indeed," Searchman replied as the grenade under them beeped rapidly and went off.
A-Gutsman slammed his piledriver down on the ground, unleashing a shockwave at Skullman. The skeletal NetNavi chuckled before a stone statue of a Buddist monk appeared in the way of it. The shockwave was soaked into the statue before it opened its eyes…and A-Gutsman screamed as multiple bolts of lightning slammed down onto him, making him change back into Roll A.
"What was that?" Maylu asked.
"It was originally known as Ojizou-san, but folks today call it Guardian," Skullman explained, "When attacked, the one who hits it is struck by its righteous vengeance." he winked, "Got them at an antique store in DenTech from a nice fortune teller at a bargain."
"Seriously?" Roll A asked in a flat tone.
"Folks gotta eat," Skullman shrugged before throwing his arms out, causing them to pop off and shoot off as spinning orange discs at her, forcing the armored NetNavi to jump out of the way only to be struck with a fireball made of blue fire he shot out of his mouth.
"Roll!"
"I'm alright!" Roll A grunted before shooting off several homing shots at Skullman.
"Time to try a little…voodoo," Skullman chuckled as a voodoo doll appeared in his hand that he tossed at the shots, letting them be soaked up…and fired right back at Roll A.
"A-Trans!" Roll A yelped, switching to Chronoforce to block the shots before screaming as several pillars of sharpened logs shot out of the ground below her and forced her back into Roll A, 'Fuck! He knew where I was gonna change and to who?!'
[We gotta think of a new plan! Or a lot of them and pick randomly!] Model A panicked [No wait…Gah! I hate fighting fortune tellers!]
"...Or…We drop it," Roll A noted.
[Excuse you?]
"No more A-Trans. Or we use our Ace in the hole here and now," she explained.
[Mmm…I really wanted to use it later on, but…]
Roll A nodded, "Same here, buddy. Maylu, ready?"
"Always."
Skullman tensed, his eyes rapidly darting before he let loose a barrage of his bones and ghostly flames upon Roll A. A flash went off…and Megaman ZX sliced the onslaught apart. 'He' tensed before rushing at Skullman. Skullman began to move to the right before his right arm was cleaved in two from elbow down to the tip of his middle finger. R-ZX stood behind him, glaring at Skullman as the Guardian appeared where Skullman had been standing at.
"You can see the future…but I'm too fast for you to fully counter," R-ZX declared, ZX-Saber glowing ominously in hand.
'And we're at the four minute, thirty second mark…' Skullman thought, now sweating.
R-ZX fired a Charged Shot at Skullman, who quickly retaliated with the Voodoo doll…only for R-ZX to outrun the shot to snatch the doll midair and throw it out of the way while 'he' slid under the shot. Skullman threw a bone arm, taking the blast for him. A LongSword replaced his regrown limb and parried the ZX-Saber. R-ZX smirked as a LifeSword channeled through the ZX-Saber and cleaved through the LongSword and Skullman at the five minute mark. Skullman quickly logged out and Roll-A changed back, letting her absorb the Copy Data that Skullman had left behind.
"And it's over, kero! The winners are Maylu Sakurai and Roll, kero!" Toadman cheered.
"Five minutes on the dot," Maylu whispered before looking at Mysteriyu.
"Be careful, Maylu. A tragedy comes when there is meant to be celebrations," she warned before walking away.
"A tragedy where there is meant to be celebrations?" Maylu repeated, a bad feeling forming in her stomach.
"Let's hurry, Maylu! We can watch the boys win if we're fast enough!" Ashe encouraged.
[Allons-y!] Leviathan cheered.
"This battle is getting intense! Almost eight minutes now and neither one has been able to gain the advantage!" Ribitta commentated as the Network's battlefield looked more like the surface of the moon.
Megaman PX panted under his breath, his back against a bit of rubble, thankful for several fires going on at the moment to obscure Searchman's thermal vision.
'Options?' Megaman PX asked.
[Hit him from a distance with fire?] F offered.
[We tried that and he sniped them all down] H pointed out [Evasion to get in close again for CQC?]
[His skills in it are equal to our own and he can deploy a grenade at any moment or snipe us with his satellite] P replies.
'...We have that new Program Advance,' Lan offered.
[A Program Advance, Lan?] X pondered.
'It could work. But…'
[We don't know the order] H reminded Lan.
'Well what do we have to lose?'
[Heh. Lan makes a good point. This is do or Deletion time] F spoke.
'...Send them. Anti-Navi, Anti-Sword, and then Anti-Damage,' Megaman PX thought, X relaying the order to Lan.
'Why that order?'
[Anti-Navi to counter his unique abilities, Anti-Sword to counter his knife, and Anti-Damage for a sneak attack] P responded for Megaman PX.
'Gotcha,' Lan agreed.
'Let's go,' both males thought as Lan inserted the three BattleChips…before both felt the familiar rush, "?!"
[Well how about that?] F chuckled as the information went through Megaman PX's mind…before he switched to HX.
He shot up into the air and Searchman fired. The bullet grazed him…before a poorly made doll fell from where he had been. Searchman's eyes widened briefly before shooting a bullet and it began to rapidly knock away the rain of oversized shuriken raining upon him. A glint of green made him turn in time to see his satellite being destroyed by one of the shuriken. He grunted as another stabbed his rifle. His eyes widened as he realized Megaman HX was rapidly moving about, grabbing and throwing the shuriken right back at him. He pulled his knife out while dismissing his ruined rifle to try and keep up with the deflection only for Megaman HX to quickly grab and throw them right back at the military NetNavi. Maylu arrived to see the sight of a green streak going about, grabbing and throwing the knocked away shuriken.
"Well that's new!" Ashe gawked.
"What is that?" Maylu asked.
"BodyGuard," she looked to see Chaud watching the match as he leaned against the railing, "It's a rare Program Advance that leaves the user unharmed from a single hit while unleashing a literal rain of throwing stars. It's the first time someone's used it in a manner like this."
"Well that's Lan and Vent for you," Maylu noted, "They like using techniques in ways you don't expect."
"You should've seen them with a Cannon and a Ratton1," Ashe grinned before whooping, making the two look to see Searchman had mistimed a strike and got stabbed in the lower arm with one shuriken, allowing the rest of the PA to finally make home on Searchman, forcing Raika to Log Out the NetNavi.
"And at the longest match so far of ten minutes on the dot, our winners are Lan Hikari and Vent!" Ribitta declared.
The crowd cheered as Megaman HX returned to his PeT, changing back to Vent, "That was intense."
"That was really intense," Lan noted before moving around and offered a hand to Raika, "That was a great NetBattle! You and Searchman are really strong, Raika!"
"..." Raika nodded, accepting the handshake, "You and your NetNavi are unexpected. Your NetNavi fights like that of a man trained in the military and your own methods with BattleChips add in a dangerous factor into a battle. I would prefer to have you as an ally next we meet than an enemy."
"Hopefully we are," Lan spoke, "It'd be an interesting mission for the CID working with Sharo's military."
"You're with the CID? Well, I suppose this was productive for my assignment."
"Oh that's…wait, what?" Lan tilted his head.
"I was to look into the potential of the members of the CID," Raika explained, "If you're one of them, it may be favorable to work with your organization."
With that, he walked away, leaving a stunned Lan. Vent appeared on his shoulder, sharing a similar expression. In the crowd, Model L giggled at them.
[Boys…]
"And with that, Day 1 of the N1 Grand Prix has come to a close! Tune in tomorrow, folks, for Day 2 as we enter with new surprises and twists!" Ribitta declared, "This is Ribitta and Toadman, signing out!"
GT: *lying facedown with steam coming off of my head* Was not expecting this to be as difficult as it was…I always intended on Vent facing someone other than Skullman, but didn't have a clue until I decided to make this N1 much bigger than what it had once been.