GT: Part 2 of the N1 Grand Prix is heading your way, folks!
[Okay, Skullman is pretty voodoo to me. He can detach his arms to make them into Skull Boomerangs while the charge attack can be either a Ghostly Breath that's more like a spooky flamethrower from the mouth or a Skull Shield which makes these little spooky fireballs appear and act as shields, protecting you from getting hit by attacks for a limited time, also burning anyone who tries a melee attack] Model A noted.
"Nice," Ashe grinned, "Kinda nice facing some new foes here in the N1. We're getting some pretty primo A-Trans Booty."
[Yep! I'm already making a new Playlist so we have easier access to things] Model A noted before chuckling [Kinda wish I still had my A-Trans when I was a Reploid]
"Hm?"
[Yeah, I had quite the large roster now that I can actually remember] Axl admitted [I even got data from deceased Reploids after enough spars in training simulations] he chuckled [I loved the ones that let me have the ability to make Mavericks experience the Spark Mandrill Syndrome]
"The what?"
[It's hilarious! You freeze 'em for a second while they're mid-talk, keep on doin' it, and then they're 'splodin'!]
Ashe snickered, "Oh that sounds hilarious, especially if you're playing a game and do it. Then ya can pretend you're voicing the big ol' baddy and have them get frustrated until they finally die and have 'em say 'And I'm 'splodin'.'"
Axl let out a laugh at that [Oh, we gotta do that!]
"Let's not and say we did," Maylu rolled her eyes as she looked through some of the souvenirs they were selling for the N1.
Ashe rolled her eyes, "At least we're doing great so far, eh?"
"Well…Yes, but still…" Meiru frowned.
"I have to admit that I enjoy this souvenir shopping stuff," Yai noted as she walked over.
"Same here," Maylu agreed, looking over a hat before putting it back.
"Excuse me."
Maylu and Yai looked to see a girl their age approaching them. She had a perma-blush on her cheeks with her long purple hair pulled into buns on the sides of the back of her head, a flower nestled on both buns. She wore a white long-sleeved dress with pink detailing and trim.
"Oh! I'm sorry," Maylu apologized, about to step back.
"Oh no. I'm not looking for souvenirs until I lose or win it all," she replied, "I was looking for you, Ms. Ayano."
"Huh? Yai?" Maylu asked.
"Why me?" Yai asked.
"Have you seen the roster for the next round of matches today?" she asked.
"Um…Not yet," Maylu replied.
"Glyde?" Yai asked her NetNavi.
"You requested I not share until you and Lady Maylu were done here," Glyde replied, "Our opponents will be one Jasmine Jūnyī and her NetNavi Medi."
"That's us," the girl replied, giving them a bow, "It is a pleasure to meet you both."
"Likewise from me," a voice from the purple PeT on her hip added, making Jasmine show her PeT to show a shapely female NetNavi in a bubbly white and black nurse-themed bodysuit and armor with elbow-length white gloves with rounded bits on the ends, white heeled boots with peach-colored lining on them and on the white of her outfit. Her helmet was mainly purple with two bangs on the sides on the front, a pink visor over her eyes, a nurse hat-themed piece atop her head, and a purple canister-like piece on the back meant to resemble a bun made of hair.
'Jasmine and Medi…' Ashe thought, narrowing her eyes at the NetNavi of the duo, 'Thought I'd have a year before we'd meet again until I saw their names on the list.'
[Hey, Ashe? If you haven't met them yet…doesn't that mean there really isn't any reason to be mean or cold to them?] Model A asked.
'...Shoot. You're right, Model A,' Ashe sighed in agreement, 'I keep forgetting that…'
"I wanted to greet you before the match and tell you that I hope that, win or lose, we both have a good NetBattle," Jasmine spoke, giving them a bow.
"Likewise," Yai replied, giving a wink at her, "I won't hold back and neither will Glyde, so don't you two hold back either. Otherwise, what's the point?"
"Oh, I like her. She's feisty," Medi giggled.
"Yai's great that way. And Glyde makes a good assistant and friend for her," Ashe shrugged, appearing on Maylu's shoulder.
"Huh?!" Jasmine gawked.
"Sup? Name's Ashe," Ashe greeted, "New tech to let us NetNavis see more 'bout th' world you humans live in."
"S-Seriously?" Medi gawked.
"Lan and Maylu are testing it out for a friend of ours," Yai explained, "Their old models broke recently and she made them new models to try this out."
"Yep. Feels pretty comfy in there, too," Ashe grinned, "Nice ta meetcha both!"
"Oh! It's nice to meet you as well, Ashe," Jasmine greeted.
'Huh…Yeah, just treating them as different folks should make things easier,' Ashe thought with a smile.
[Hey~ Ashe, Maylu~! What about me?!] Axl whined, making Jasmine jump and look around.
"Who said that?" Jasmine asked.
"Who said what?" Yai asked.
[Oh snap! Did you just hear me?] Axl asked, floating out from his spot on Ashe.
"Jasmine, I didn't hear anything," Medi noted.
[Over here. I'm floating beside Ashe] Axl instructed as Jasmine looked at the Biometal [Well…This is fun! You can hear Biometal like Ashe and Maylu can!]
"Bio…metal?" Jasmine repeated.
"Jasmine, Medi, this is Biometal Model A or 'Axl' for short," Maylu introduced, "Only a handful of people can hear him, but Yai's family has been working on making a program to let others hear him."
"Really?"
"Indeed, Lady Medi. At this moment, I can only make out a few words whenever Sir Axl speaks. We are still fine tuning the program," Glyde replied.
[First time a NetOp can hear me but the NetNavi can't] Axl noted.
"I…I see," Jasmine spoke, blinking a few times in surprise, before shaking it off and looking at the hats, "Oh, some of these are quite cute."
"I know, right?" Maylu giggled as she picked a teal one and tried it on, "Not bad, huh?"
"Looks pretty good!" Yai complimented.
"Indeed. It matches your clothes quite well," Jasmine agreed.
"Aw thanks! Now I'm curious about getting it," Maylu giggled before yelping as the hat was swiped from her head, making them spin around.
"My, my…kids trying to be adults," Maddy smirked, wearing it and smirking at them, "Ya know, things like these are only good on cool-looking adults."
"So why are you wearin' it then?" Ashe questioned with a smirk.
"Nobody asked you, ya shrimp," Maddy snorted.
"What's your problem?! We were looking at that first!" Yai demanded.
"Ah~! So bright!" Maddy mocked, moving her head away and holding a hand up, "I'm not afraid of some kid with such a huge forehead!"
"WHAT?!" Yai snapped, "I'll have you know that my forehead is the most charming part of my appearance!"
"And we're not afraid of a rude person such as yourself," Jasmine spoke up, putting her hands on her hips as she glared at the woman.
"Whatever," Maddy scoffed before smirking at Maylu, "So…you're my opponent, eh? Maylu Sakurai, right?"
"H-Huh?" Maylu pondered.
"Rumor has it that you're a pretty girl…seems those rumors are all a dirty bundle of lies," Maddy smirked.
"...What?" Maylu narrowed her eyes.
"So sad…" Maddy shrugged, "I was expecting such a great NetBattle for today, but all I got was a little brat as my opponent."
"Just who are you?" Jasmine demanded.
"Madoi 'Maddy' Iroaya," Ashe replied, earning Maddy's attention, "World Three operator of ColoredmanEXE. She tells people she's 23 years old, but her true age is closer to 30, perhaps even over 30."
"Now that's a lie! I am so 23!" Maddy snapped, "Though since ya know me and who I'm part of, you may wanna just quit now, got it?"
"Lady, my boyfriend whupped your clown's behind several times over already, one time with me lending a hand," Ashe snorted, "Gonna be nice and easy to win~"
"Tch," Maddy scowled, "Yet what does it say that he needed help to beat just one of us, hm?" she walked up to Maylu and smirked, "Anyway, your chest is so small. But your face is okay, I guess…" Maylu's eye twitched, "In total, I'd have to give you a…15 on a scale of 1-100."
"Rating a person is rude, you know," Maylu growled, "Old hag!"
"O-Old hag?! Wh-wh-what are you saying, ya little brat?! I'm only 23! You should be calling me a lady, not old hag!"
"Oh, she's quite accurate," Jasmine cooly noted, "Your exterior is pretty, but it can't make up for the old hag of a soul you hide in it."
[She's so old, her fart was the big bang!] Axl laughed, the girls that could hear him unable to hold in their laughter with Yai and Medi joining in, thinking it was Jasmine's jab that set them off.
"D'oh~! Why you little brats!" Maddy growled, "Shut up! Especially a girl rated at just 15!"
"Stop ranking me, you overdosing of makeup using old hag!" Maylu argued as the two butted heads.
"I won't listen to you any longer! Once I deal with you, I'll deal with that Hikari brat of yours and his stupid NetNavi!" Maddy growled, "Maybe I'll even make you my servant so he knows where you stand."
"Bring it on, old hag!" Maylu declared before Maddy stomped off, "Ohh…! The nerve of that…that…"
"That floozy?" Jasmine offered.
"Yes, that floozy!" Maylu agreed, "Thank you!"
Yai and Jasmine shared looks before nodding and then looked at Maylu with determined expressions, "Let's get you set then!"
"Aside from all the cursing, this is hilarious," Lan chuckled, a pair of headphones in his ears.
"Yeah. You can't beat a good classic with 18 seasons and a finale movie," Vent noted.
[Feels like our holograms are like the AI in this] Zero compared.
[I have to agree on the swearing. There's so much] X noted.
[At least you're cutting back on the over-scolding] Zero spoke.
[I was still overprotective about my kids. With them being taken and abused by those four…]
"You think we could use a BattleChip to mimic some of these scenes?" Lan speculated.
"Maybe. Just don't expect me to quote something from it," Vent advised.
[Match at two-thirty] Phantom warned, making Lan tense and look over his shoulder to see Match at a hot dog/takoyaki stall.
"He looks like his profile pic…" Lan noted, thinking of the dossiers Ciel had gathered up.
"Don't get suspicions placed on you, Lan," Vent advised.
[Lan…I believe you would do best to utilize my power for this reconnaissance] Model P advised.
Lan blinked a few times before quickly skating off to hide in an empty restroom, "Really?!"
[It would be the best idea. Phantom is a master of stealth and using his power would help us follow after him] L advised.
[Maybe he'll interact with another WWW member while we're spyin'] F added.
[Just remember to keep track of time. He is your opponent in the next round soon] X warned.
[X, you know we have to be the ones keeping track of it] Z pointed out.
"Oh this is gonna be so cool~" Lan noted in excitement, "Model P! MegaMerge!"
A purple flash went off and Lan stood, now donned in armor similar to Model PX, yet he had a white guard over the lower half of his face and rounded guards on his shoulders. His body flickered before vanishing. He reappeared in the shadows within a tree near the top, looking down upon Match as he walked about with his order of takoyaki and a hotdog.
'Huh…Why hasn't anyone noticed me?' Lan P pondered.
[I was built for stealth and reconnaissance] Phantom explained [Your whole armor acts as a sound absorber, keeping noises your body naturally makes while in movement silent. It's the lightest of the four of my siblings and means I take more damage from things my siblings could handle better. Your visor can record up to twenty-four hours of continuous footage at a time. But as for why no one can see you…it is the scarf. It creates an optical illusion when you are in the shadows, blending you into your surroundings]
'That's so cool!' Lan P awed as they soon came upon Match sitting down by a disguised Yahoot.
"I still can't believe I have to deal with the laddie and not that lassie," Match huffed, "Sure, he snuffed the fires in his oven, but he ain't th' lass who done snuff out my fires for a time."
"Patience is a virtue," Yahoot advised, "These battles will aide in the goal of your fellow partner when the time comes for a rematch." he took a bite of the curry on his plate and frowned, "How bland…"
'Of course it's bland. Even I can tell that they didn't add the right spices to improve the flavor,' Lan P thought, his eyes focusing on the curry.
[Lan, focus] Phantom sternly reminded him [They just implied that you and Vent are his opponents this round. Furthermore, it is likely Maddy is going to face Maylu and Ashe]
'Oh right. …The girls are gonna win.'
"Still ain't right takin' the fight from Maddy," Match snorted, "Lucky for me, the stadium has a lighting system that some of Zap's Viruses can amp up to blind the lad. I'll make it quick."
'WHAT?! QUICK?! Oh that jerk…!' Lan P mentally growled.
"Do not presume the seed you have been given will grow into what you wish it to be," Yahoot warned, "Should you lose, Magicman and I shall need to deal with him whilst Q and Desertman will need to Delete Ashe should Maddy falter as well."
Match chuckled, "Pretty swanky that we've got you and Q workin' in DNN to be makin' these matchups, Yahoot."
'YAHOOT?!'
[He either made himself fall into the hypnosis or was pretending to be hypnotized the entire time] Phantom realized [We must inform Ciel at once]
'Right!' Lan P agreed as he raced off.
[Lan, wait a…] Phantom began before sighing as he remembered that Lan was still a child.
The boy quickly found an empty alleyway and landed behind a dumpster, dropping the MegaMerge. He skated out moments later, focused on finding Ciel or Inspector Oda and telling them about what he just learned. He turned around a corner and skidded to a halt. At some railing overlooking the sea were Chaud and Ciel, the latter typing on a laptop with his PeT attached to it.
"Okay…You're all updated, Protoman," Ciel noted.
"Thank you, Ciel," Protoman thanked, giving a formal bow to her.
Ciel giggled, "It's no problem. You're like a little brother to me."
"What's going on?" Lan pondered under his breath.
"Careful, Lan," Vent softly advised, "This seems rather private."
Lan nodded and moved away and wait until Chaud left or Ciel did so he could talk to her away from the boy. Unaware to them, Model Z was no longer in the PeT.
"Thanks for this," Chaud thanked, "I'd do the update myself, but…"
"You're too occupied with some of your duties as the VP of your family's company, I get it," Ciel assured, "It's not the first time nor will it be the last time I do this and I keep telling you I'm not bothered by it."
"But you shouldn't have to do this. Protoman was…"
"He's a united effort between our moms. Of course I'm happy to do this," Ciel huffed.
[So that explains it]
"!?" Ciel nearly jumped as Chaud narrowed his eyes as he saw Model Z on the computer screen, floating over to Protoman, "Zero?"
[Was in the area and saw you two here] Zero explained himself, Protoman narrowed his eyes behind his visor at the red Biometal [Kid, I've had glares worse than yours aimed at me by omnicidal monsters far worse than you can imagine. Get better at it, rookie, then we'll talk]
"Why are you here?" Chaud demanded.
[Just curious what was going on and heard a little something I didn't expect] Zero replied [I knew you were close, but this does explain why you don't have a NetNavi of your own, Ciel]
"H-Hey, that's not…" Ciel began.
[Though I don't think your mothers would appreciate what's happened to their shared creation]
"Excuse you?" Protoman questioned.
"Says the device that needs a civilian to use any of his powers," Chaud scoffed.
[Says the boy who lost to said 'civilian'] Zero cooly countered, earning a growl and glare from Chaud.
"We just didn't ha…"
[He who fights monsters should see to it that he himself does not become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you] Chaud paused in his response […I should know…because it was the fate of so many of my precious comrades…my family…The ones who saved me from that fate]
"...What do you mean?" Protoman questioned.
[…We who are Biometals are the souls of past warriors from a Hyper Advanced Prehistoric Civilization] Zero informed [X and I…are the two oldest souls by several centuries compared to all the others]
"?!" Chaud tensed.
[A long time ago, there were two researchers…scientists…Both studying in the field of robotics. One wanted to focus more on the power of machines while the other believed in creating robots that could think and act on their own…to have their own soul. The latter swayed people more with his passion and reasoning. Infuriated with his denial of succeeding, the former held an immense grudge to the latter, but hid it. They were able to work together and create a prototype…only for the former's guidance system to malfunction. He believed the latter to be lying when it was revealed and left. That night…he stole the prototype robot to finish on his own. The latter, heartbroken, soon made more with his next two becoming his children, a son and daughter. The man loved them as if they were actual human children. A few years passed and he made more robots…only for his former friend to reappear and reprogram the robots except for his two children. The son of the two chose to modify himself to fight and restore his fellow robots. Many battles were waged, things constantly escalating. Years progressed and both scientists were getting old…far too old to keep going. The mad scientist wanted something he never realized he needed that the good scientist did: a Legacy. One to carry on his will to destroy everything made by the good scientist.]
"...He…" Protoman realized it first.
[Yes. He made me. However…there was a flaw inside of me…or…rather…something he felt was right with me. He made a hyper evolving computer virus that would not cease in its evolution and would cause any machine infected to become murderous and berserk] Zero spoke, a grim tone to his voice [I…lost these memories and it was through my death before I became Biometal Model Z that I remembered it all] he tilted himself, the angle making him look remorseful [...My first activation was the day death came for many. The virus had ensnared me, bending me to its whims. I almost ended his life before escaping into the wild, infecting machines through my presence alone. I laid waste to nine different areas, infecting the robots there and causing destruction in my wake until a signal made me return to where I had been created. I was surrounded by all the strongest robots the two scientists had built. The only one not there was the good scientist, who had grown weak to the point he couldn't leave his home for long periods of time. While they had managed to get me sealed away…it wasn't without consequence. I had scrapped almost every single one there or put them on the verge of being decommissioned due to the excessive damage. The 'daughter' had managed to avoid that fate, but…The one who managed to give the 'daughter' an opening to seal me away was that very prototype the mad scientist stole all those years ago, having been altered and improved by him. He used every single ounce of energy to damage me and let his 'sister' deal the blow that knocked me into the stasis chamber the mad scientist built. Even in my mental state, I could tell that the prototype was offline and burned out everything in him just to do that]
"Why tell us this?" Chaud questioned.
[Because your NetNavi carries the same name of that robot who was the origin of all the robots that would lead to my creation: Proto Man] Zero replied [He never used hatred and emotions correlated to it in that battle. He was the only one who damaged me because he used every single ounce of love for his 'siblings.'] he looked at Protoman [Don't become a monster, Protoman. Hatred can only get you so far. I should know. X surpassed me because he fought with love and the need to defend the innocent while I spent most of my time still using hatred as a source of strength when it's finite while the opposite is infinite]
Chaud narrowed his eyes at the Biometal before it left the laptop, "...What does that one know?" he clenched a fist at his side, "The power of Hatred is what's let Protoman and I get so far."
'Oh Chaud…' Ciel thought in concern.
"Protoman and I have to get ready for the next match," Chaud spoke, logging Protoman out.
"..." Protoman frowned in thought as Chaud left.
"..." Ciel watched the leaving boy with a worried look, 'Chaud…Please…Please don't end up like so many before you back in my old life…'
A moment passed and Lan walked up, "Um…Is everything okay, Ciel?"
"...Not fully," Ciel replied as she turned to him, "Is everything alright, Lan?"
"WWW has people working in DNN," Lan informed.
[I'm sending you the footage we recorded] Phantom informed before an email notification went off on her laptop, letting her check the footage.
Ciel grimaced, "So Yahoot was fooling us…"
"Yep! But who's this Q guy?"
"Unknown. All we know is he uses a green basic NetNavi," Ciel replied, bringing up images of the two.
"Huh? But they called his NetNavi Dessertman. Where's the ice cream or cake?" Lan asked.
"Desertman, Lan. Sand, not food," Vent corrected.
"Desertman?! That one really is dangerous! His amorphous body made of sand allows him to get into numerous cracks in security systems," Ciel noted in concern, "I'm going to have to check the files for DNN. Who was hired near the timeframe Yahoot was…check for any suspicious activity…"
"...I don't get it."
"Huh?" Ciel looked at Lan.
"Why do you like hanging out with that guy?" Lan asked.
"...Chaud?"
"Yeah."
"...He wasn't always like this," Ciel noted as she looked out to the sea once more, "He was a sweet kid when we were little. Bit of a crybaby when his dad wasn't around, actually." Lan raised a brow as he walked over, "His mom and mine were best friends and even coworkers in IPC. They made Protoman under the codename Project Blues."
"They did?" Vent pondered, 'Huh…Come to think of it, I never did learn what Protoman's origins were…'
"He was meant to be the first NetNavi with true emotions. However…" Ciel looked at Lan, "Your father beat them to it when you were a year old."
"...Vent?" Lan guessed, earning a nod from her in confirmation.
"My mom and his mom agreed to give Protoman to one of us if we were the first to ask for one. I'm not interested in one, but Chaud always was curious," Ciel went on before her look grew somber, "But…the week after he turned five, his mom died from a disease that hadn't been discovered until it was too late. A few years after and the accident that left Alouette and I comatose happened." A tear fell, "My mom died protecting us in it."
"! O-oh…I…"
"It's alright, Lan. You didn't know," Ciel assured, "When we woke up, it was terrifying. Mom was gone and Chaud…he and Protoman just…closed themselves. I'm not telling you this to justify their actions, just…" she sighed, shaking her head, "I just wish he'd open up again."
"..." Lan frowned before patting her shoulder and smiled, "Hey, don't give up on him. I don't like him, but you know him more than me. All I know of him is being a jerk and Deleting Roze the way he did."
'That explains why Chaud was the way he was while Protoman was a Darkloid…' Vent thought, 'He's the last piece of his mother he likely has.'
[Well I'm not gonna hold back. If we do, it'll be an insult to 'em both] Fafnir huffed.
"Never crossed my mind," Lan snorted, "...Wait. Vent?"
"Sorta…" Vent admitted.
"Aw come on! We can't win this if we hold back," Lan complained.
"Did you already forget WWW was here?" Ciel demanded in annoyance.
"No. Winning would just be a bonus."
"..." Ciel facepalmed, 'Wanting to capture WWW, but also wanting to win the N1 after that. Lan and Chaud are of the exact same mindset and they don't realize it…' she lowered her hand, "Well…Daddy can get the roster after this round. See who remains and who is fighting who."
"We can arr…"
"We can't make the arrest as long as they remain on the island," Ciel reminded him.
"Dang it!" Lan scowled, "...Who's fighting WWW this round?"
"Checking," Ciel replied, "..." she frowned, "You're fighting Match, Maylu is fighting Maddy, Chaud against Zap, Madam Rose against Yahoot, and…Dex is facing Q."
"...Shoot," Lan grimaced, "Well…at least things can't get worse."
[...You spo…] F began.
"I spoke too soon, yeah," Lan sighed, hiding behind a couch in a training room from the burning red aura erupting off Maylu.
"I won't lose! There's no way I'm going to lose to that pink-haired floozy!" Maylu declared.
[Um…Y-Yeah, I'm just gonna hide in here so she doesn't MegaMerge on accident from sheer rage] Axl gulped from Lan's PeT, managing to get past his fear long enough to make sure he kept Jasmine out of it.
[Whoo! Maylu's burning passion is visible to us all!] Fafnir exclaimed.
[Not the time, Fafnir!] Harpuia exclaimed.
[Can I jump into a lake? I feel like a lake would be the best place to hide from her lest she aim it at us] Zero advised.
"Maylu's terrifying!" Dex whimpered.
"Right, right!" Tory agreed.
"Maylu," Yai spoke before she and Jasmine offered her several BattleChips, "Take these."
"Make sure you use these to defeat that embarrassment for an adult," Jasmine advised.
"Thank you. I'll make sure to win for you girls, too!" Maylu assured as she accepted the BattleChips and the hands holding them…before they joined in the fiery aura.
"If we jump out the window, can we make it into the water?" Dex asked.
"Yes, but the water tension would injure us all to the point of hospitalization or worse depending on the order," Ciel grimly replied.
'What happened, Axl?' Lan asked.
[Jasmine showed up and did a better first impression with Ashe and Maylu. After that, Maddy showed up, took the hat Maylu was gonna get, called her a 15 out of 100, she got called an old hag, more barbs were traded, and now this] Axl replied.
'15 out of 100?' Lan asked.
[When you're older, Lan] X replied.
'Shoot. Why are most of the answers 'when you're older' when I ask?' Lan pouted as he looked at the PeT, 'Wait…Where's Model L?'
[Maylu] Leviathan spoke, making the redhead look at the hologram of Model L that appeared with her 'eyes' glowing in anger [How does one go about to create a BattleChip based on their own data? 15 out of 100…That's insulting! You're easily an 80!]
"Thank y-80?!"
[You'll get the remaining 20 when you're in your last two years of high school] Leviathan replied.
"...Right," Maylu nodded, Leviathan adding on to the burning aura coming off the three human girls and now one Biometal.
[Grant the souls they send your way final peace and rest at last] Phantom prayed, 'looking' skywards.
=May Jasmine Jūnyī and Yai Ayano please make their way to Beta Dome and Q and Dex Ooyama to Alpha Dome? I repeat, may Jasmine Jūnyī and Yai Ayano please make their way to Beta Dome and Q and Dex Ooyama to Alpha Dome?= an announcement went off, causing the aura to vanish from the girls.
"Oh shoot! We're supposed to fight!" Yai gawked.
"Win or lose, one of us three will either get victory or as close to it as we can so long as Madoi is taken down," Jasmine spoke.
"Right!" Maylu and Yai agreed, shaking her hands.
'A scary trio has been made…' all the boys thought, a drop of sweat going down the back of their heads.
"That ruffian! How dare she insult Lady Yai's forehead?! That is a vital feature of my beloved lady's appearance! And she would dare to make fun of it?!" Glyde calmly ranted, pacing in a circle before the NetNavis.
"It kinda is big, guts…" Gutsman muttered.
"What was that?"
"Nothing, Glyde!" Gutsman quickly replied, sweating a bit.
"Don't worry a thing about it, Glyde," Ashe assured, pumping a fist, "Maylu, Axl, and me will give Coloredman a thrashing for the honor of the girls she insulted!" she growled, '15…15 out of 100?! That's even worse than last time! Oh, they're so in for it this time around!' her anger was pierced by a soft, warm hand nestling into hers, making her look at Vent, "?"
"Easy there," Vent spoke, a gentle tone in his voice, "If you get too angry, you'll lose focus and not be able to fight right. You've got this, Roll."
"..." Ashe sighed before hugging him, "Thanks, Mega."
Medi giggled, "Oh you two look so precious together."
Vent chuckled, "I should hope so. We've been dating for a few months now."
"Good on you both," Medi smiled at that before bowing, "And a pleasure to meet you all. I'm Medi."
"I'm Gutsman!" Gutsman beamed, thumping his fist on his chest.
"Hello, Medi. My name's Iceman," Iceman greeted with a smile and a wave.
"A pleasure. I'm Vent," Vent greeted with a kind smile, "First time meeting Electopians?"
"No, just the first ones outside of a medical examination," Medi replied, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head.
"Ouch," Iceman grimaced.
"Eh, it's business," Medi shrugged before bowing to Glyde, "Here's to a good battle, Glyde."
"As to you, Lady Medi," Glyde responded in kind, a formal bow of his own to her.
"Huh…Those are the same places you two are fighting," Ciel noted, looking at the roster.
"Guess we won't get to watch again," Lan frowned.
"I barely made it in time to see the last minute of yours," Maylu noted.
"...Eh, I'll try to be fast so I can see the end of yours," Lan shrugged before smiling, "Go teach that old lady and her creepy clown a lesson, Maylu!"
"You bet! And you snuff out that hair-ruining jerk!" Maylu encouraged with a thumbs up.
Lan chuckled awkwardly, 'She's so gungho…' "I'm off to Alpha Dome then! Good luck, Maylu!"
"You, too," Maylu nodded as Lan ran out with Dex following right behind.
[Good heavens, she was gungho!] X exclaimed once they were out of there and down the hall.
[I swear I will never understand women…] Zero muttered.
'Maybe I should warn Dex about something a NetNavi like Desertman will probably have in his programming,' Lan thought, "Hey, Dex?"
"What's up, Lan?"
"Be careful of this guy's NetNavi, alright?" Lan warned, "Did some looking and I heard he has a SetSand program in his NetNavi."
"SetSand?! Aw shoot!" Dex grimaced, "Thanks for the warning, man. Gutsman's best attacks do squat on Sand terrain!"
"This is amazing! Just now in the Alpha Dome, a new record has just been made!" the two boys paused in their running to see Ribitta on the screen, "The battle time was seven seconds! Let's show an instant replay!"
"Mmm…" both boys watched, seeing Sharkman release a barrage of energy slashes from his head fin that swiftly made his opponent to Log Out, "Oh~!"
[Glad to see Sharkman is having fun] Fafnir noted.
"Same," Lan agreed.
"Huh?"
"Fafnir said he's glad Sharkman is having fun," Lan explained.
"Oh! Man, I keep forgetting you can hear those Biometal-things Vent and Ashe have," Dex sheepishly rubbed his head, "What do they sound like?"
"Mmm…like a bunch of big brothers," Lan replied, "Model L is more like a big sister that helps me understand girls better, F is the big brother that likes a good fight, H is the calm big brother who tends to look after everyone, P is the wise big brother and helped me a lot with trying to understand being subtle about stuff, but X and Z…"
"What about them?"
"...X honestly feels a bit like Papa to me," Lan replied, "And Zero feels like an uncle. You know, the cool uncle that's a lot wiser than you'd think?"
"Huh…That sounds cool," Dex spoke.
"As much as I'm enjoying this, you still have a NetBattle to get to, Dex," Vent reminded them.
"ACK!" Dex yelped as he quickly ran off with Lan right after him.
"Hurry, Dex, hurry!" the boy barked.
The hallway remained quiet for a few moments before Yahoot seemingly emerged from the wall, "So…it seems they figured something out." he pulled out his PeT, "Q, your opponent is aware of who your NetNavi truly is."
"Ah dang it! Who done left the script out for them t' read?!"
"I am unaware of who at this time," Yahoot replied, "But this does mean you will no longer be able to hold back."
"Shit. Was hoping t' wait fer fightin' someone in the Officials or the CID, but fine," Q sighed.
Ciel frowned as she looked at her laptop in a room with several other technicians working on the N1, glancing over at a feed on it that showed Medi moving swiftly, avoiding the barrage of meteors that rained down upon her. She tapped a few keys and the nearby television showed the fight feed zoom out as Glyde swiped at Medi with a FighterSword only to have her slide under it and deliver a series of jabs into his gut and then deliver a backflip kick into his chin, knocking him away. It then zoomed in on Gutsman and a basic green NetNavi appearing in the Network for the Alpha Dome. As if on command of the green NetNavi, the entire floor glowed and turned into a field of sands. She grimaced as everyone watched as the basic NetNavi began to twitch and spasm before its body collapsed, turning into more sand…before it rose up, becoming a demonic head made of sands that let out a fearsome roar that forced Gutsman to step back with his hands up to try to block the shockwaves and sands.
"Just as expected. They are World Three…but who would be their spy working with Yahoot in DNN?" Ciel pondered before sighing, 'I have to do this kind of thinking here…Honestly, it reminds me of the Resistance days and I didn't have a cozy blanket and bean bad chair and…cozy…coz…Cossack!' Her eyes widened as she ran the program in the background on her laptop and started to type rapidly, 'Only half a day and I already forgot what Mr. Famous told me! Come on…' she smiled as she got several results…before grimacing as she realized it was only her credentials that let her access them, 'Oh shoot…What is this that his information is buried this deep?' she began to access the files, 'Let's see…he was a former SciLab scientist from Sharo and was friends with Albert Wily and Tadashi Hikari…Wait…WHAT?!' She nearly jumped to her feet in shock before catching herself and went on, 'He worked with Dr. Hikari and helped create the first Network known as Project Proto or 'The Alpha.' Had a wife and a daughter. The wife is divorced for ten years and the daughter…deceased.' She gave a sad expression on reading that, feeling the all too familiar ache in her heart on receiving reports of the deceased on missions or in civilians due to Copy X's reign and then Weil's, 'Looks like he was involved with creating a NetNavi capable of using BattleChip data without a NetOp…but the information is above my credentials?'
She frowned and bit back a curse. As genius as she was, it was more aimed at programming, biology, and robotics since networking wasn't really a thing in Neo Arcadia. If this has been tech from there, it'd be easier than eating an MRE in the Resistance. But here… She shook her head and went back to reading about Cossack, multitasking with occasionally switching between the two battles going on and taking note of things. For one, Medi was quite skilled in close quarters, utilizing several different martial arts in her fighting style that was leaving Glyde looking worse for wear. However, Glyde was retaliating just as fiercely with the rare BattleChips Yai was delivering, managing to give Medi just as much in return. Ciel paused for a moment, seeing a cut appear on Jasmine's cheek where Medi had been cut by a FireBlade, a rarer version of the FireSword, before another hit later on showed no reflection on her.
'Will have to tell Father about her being a candidate,' Ciel noted.
She then focused on Gutsman and Desertman's battle. The field was a major advantage for the sand-based NetNavi, making it one with himself to create multiple hands, lion heads, and even blocks of sandstone bricks. While Gutsman was giving it his best, Ciel had a feeling he wouldn't succeed today. His fighting style was terrain control, isolating the opponent and then unleashing his punches upon them. But the sand on the ground was preventing him from destroying it. She sighed as she saw a sand lion get a blow in behind long enough for the sand to rise up, ensnare, and crush Gutsman until he logged out.
'I told him to add some BattleChips that alter the field…' Ciel thought before watching as Medi slid under Glyde's legs to avoid a barrage of plasma bullets from a golden vulcan replacing his glove, making Glyde spin around and be the recipient of an uppercut from a blocky container on her hand/arm that opened to deploy a green Yo-Yo with gold saw blades that tore into Glyde and forced him to Log Out, 'Oh Yai…I thought Vent got through to you that rare BattleChips alone will not guarantee victory…' she smiled when Yai was the one to offer Jasmine a congratulatory handshake, 'But you are still a humble loser. Good on you, Yai.' she narrowed her eyes as she started the sequence to start the commercials, 'Now it's Vent and Ashe's turn.'
"Yeesh…" Lan grimaced, "That Desertman really is dangerous."
"If we face him in the next round, we need to be careful," Vent advised.
"Maybe LX, HX, and FX would be best," Lan strategized.
[Oh?] Leviathan pondered.
"Yeah. LX can soak the sand and lock him in place, HX can whip up a tornado to blow it all away, and FX can make it all into glass," Lan noted.
[...He really is your brother, Vent] Zero noted, keeping his voice to Vent.
"Great ideas, Lan," Vent complimented, "But for now, focus on Match and Fireman."
[We know all WWW Agents now carry a variety of elemental BattleChips because of us and Ashe and Model A] Phantom reminded him [We will need to be ready with counters for each]
"Uh-huh," Lan nodded as he checked over his BattleChips before slowly stopping, "...Hey, X?"
[What is it, Lan?] X asked.
"What was it like? When you still had a body?" Lan asked.
[Hm? When I had a body?] X asked.
"Yeah. I've heard about Fafnir, Harpuia, Leviathan, and Phantom, but what about you and Zero?"
[Us, eh? What brought this on?] Zero asked.
"Well, like I said, I heard their story, but not yours."
[Hmm…Walk to the stage. We'll talk on the way] Zero replied.
"Right," Lan agreed.
[I suppose we should start in the past long before we were even a concept. There were two scientists, let's call them 'Tom' and 'Al.' They both focused on robotics, building and creating machinery to make things easier for everyone] X spoke [One day, both presented an idea to the government. Al presented a device that would enhance a robot to their beyond current known limits while Tom presented the concept of a robot with a 'soul' in them, letting them make their own decisions in emergency situations such as a cave-in or the like. The government chose Tom's idea over Al's, leaving a bitter resentment within Al]
[Tom, feeling sad for Al, asked for his help and they created a prototype for a robot with a 'soul.' However, Al's guidance system was flawed and caused the robot to destroy the table and then a wall before overloading and shutting down. Al grew angered, believing Tom messed with his guidance system on purpose and left. Days later, he returned and stole the prototype]
[Saddened, Tom continued his work and made two robots: Rock and Roll] X went on [They were his children and they loved one another as any family would. Soon, Tom made eight more robots dubbed the Robot Masters, all specialized in something unique to them. Al returned one night and reprogrammed all but Rock and Roll due to them having their own bedrooms in Tom's house and not the lab]
Lan frowned at that, "He stole Tom's work? What a jerk!"
[He was mentally unwell] X corrected [He had the Robot Masters attack humanity at the time, so Rock asked to be modified into a fighter. With reluctance, Tom agreed and made him into a powerful super fighting robot. Rock would, over the span of what felt like years, take on Al and his quest of global domination. But…years did go on and Tom and Al began to show their age…and their mortality as human beings]
[Tom began to have moments of forgetfulness if he wasn't focused on something he was passionate about and his body began to suffer from arthritis. Al was dealing with arthritis…but lung cancer]
"Oof…" Lan grimaced.
[So…Al made a robot to be his legacy, one to surpass everything he's ever built or whatever Tom built…and that's true] Zero went on [Because the robot that would equal and even surpass Al's wasn't made by Tom…but by his children]
X chuckled [What Tom didn't realize is how robots perceive one another. Though many Robot Masters were built after them, they were cousins and uncles to the two. While they…felt more than siblings to one another. To them…they were deeper than that]
"Huh?" Lan tilted his head.
[They were not siblings; they became lovers] Zero summed up.
"Wh-What?!" Lan gawked.
[It is complicated for a human to understand] Phantom spoke [Lan, they may have been made to be siblings, but they were never siblings]
[Indeed. Think of them like…adopted siblings] Leviathan compared.
"O-oh…"
[Thank you, kids] X thanked [Now then…Rock and Roll saw how Tom had become. They wanted to give him a wonderful legacy to carry on…and they wanted a child of their own. So…the two worked in secret. Tom would catch them at times, but his developing Dementia would make him forget and Rock and Roll would use it to make him think he was having them help make 'his' greatest creation: a robot who didn't need the Three Laws of Robotics]
"Whoa~"
[Yes. Roll spent nine months developing the robot's AI, carefully crafting each and every bit of it. Rock, meanwhile, would craft his body, making it beyond any other robot's frame. By the end of the nine months, they completed the robot and sealed him away under a thirty year timer to make sure he would be safe for humanity. Then…they had to stop the robot Al had made…and perished in the process of sealing it away]
"What happened to Tom?" Lan asked.
[He passed away, believing the robot was his own legacy and never realizing his son and daughter were husband and wife] Zero calmly replied [Al…fell to his own creation's hands in its berserk state from the virus he put into it]
Lan grimaced, "Even their deaths are vastly different…" he frowned, "...You're the robots, weren't you?"
[Yes. I am X Light, son of the late Rock and Roll Light and grandson of the late Tom]
[And I am Zero, son of the Al…but also brother to X Light and the late Alia Light and uncle to Fighting Fafnir Light, Hidden Phantom Light, Fairy Leviathan Light, and Sage Harpuia Light]
"That's amazing~! So you were asleep for thirty years?
Both chuckled at that before X spoke [We can talk more another day. We've arrived]
"Ladies and gentlemen~! For those tuning in, welcome to the First International NetBattle Tournament: The N1 Grand Prix!" Ribitta cheered, sharing a split screen with Toadman, "The crowds are excited as we await the next matches in the Alpha and Beta Domes!"
"Indeed, kero! In the Alpha Dome, we have the upcoming hotshot schoolboy of ACDC Elementary's Class 1-A, Lan Hikari, and his NetNavi Vent facing the devious hotheaded fire-wielding fireball, Mr. Match, and his NetNavi Fireman!" Toadman declared.
"And over here in the Beta Dome, we have the fighting beauty of ACDC Element's Class 1-A, Maylu Sakurai, and her NetNavi Ashe facing off against the well-experienced lady, Maddy, and her NetNavi Coloredman!"
Lan grinned, 'Maylu and Ashe have got this in the bag.'
[Focus on our fight and not theirs, Lan] Harpuia scolded as Lan and Match got to their places.
"Hooray! The match is about to begin over here in Alpha Dome, kero! Lan Hikari and Mr. Match are in position and are just waiting for the signal to begin!" Toadman cheered as everything activated to project the viewing sphere for the audience.
"It seems this part of the river is flowing as it should," Miyu noted, standing near Chaud who was watching while leaning against a wall.
"River?" Chaud repeated.
"Miyu did a few fortunes for them," Sal explained, grimacing, "Basically…not all things good."
"The existence of those who should not be here is a sign of rivers overflowing and spilling into the original stream we were upon," Miyu spoke calmly as Match and Lan sent their NetNavis in, "Incidents that have happened are not as they were meant to be, rivalries switched, formed when they should not, or nonexistent when they should exist." she looked down at her crystal ball, "Fates have been altered on levels untold. An innocent will be harmed by the raptor on the night beneath the waves and above the generating storm."
Chaud raised a brow at that before focusing on Lan once more. In the Network, Vent stood across from Fireman. He brought up Model X and Model L before flashing into Megaman Model LX. He swung his polearm out before aiming it at the WWW NetNavi.
"I hope you're ready to be snuffed out again, Fireman," Megaman LX warned.
"We'll see, Megaman," Fireman replied, narrowing his eyes.
"Okay~! Let's get ready here in Alpha Dome! Fireman VS Megaman! Battle Routine Set, kero!"
"EXECUTE!" both NetNavi declared.
As Toadman began to narrate, Megaman LX was already upon Fireman, unleashing a barrage of jabs with his spear. Fireman grunted as he used the bulky armaments that covered the lower halves of his arms to block the strikes before managing to deliver a jab to Megaman LX's face, stunning him long enough for Fireman to deliver a strong kick that knocked him away from the Fire-Element NetNavi.
"FireTower!" Fireman roared, slamming his arm onto the ground and unleashing a pillar of flames that rushed at Megaman LX.
[Oh, how cute] L 'smirked' [What a pretty little tower. Vent…let's crush it.]
Megaman LX nodded. He tapped the spear on the ground as the FireTower engulfed him…before a massive dragon of ice dispersed it, letting out a chilling roar as its red eyes glared down upon Fireman.
"Sic 'em," Megaman LX ordered and the dragon lunged.
Roll A walked through the arena, shaped to resemble a wasteland. She smirked before she looked up and fired a barrage of shots, hitting Colordedman and sending him crashing to the ground while she jumped out of the way. A moment passed and the ball smacked him on the head.
"Doi!" The clown NetNavi groaned before slowly pushing himself back up and onto his ball, "How?!"
"Do you have any idea how often I've had an attack come from above?" Roll A questioned with a smirk, "Gotta be more creative, Wacky." In a flash, A-Coloredman sent his ball at Coloredman, "Like this!"
Coloredman panicked, quickly sending his own at his copy's attack, causing both to bounce off and go back to their owner…before the original screamed as A-Coloredman fired off the ball once more followed up with a Cannon hitting it for an extra boost, forcing the original to barely roll out of the way, only getting grazed on the shoulder as it shot past him. He gulped as he saw the ball shatter one of the 'rock' structures around them before bouncing back over to his copy.
"Amazing! It's become a mirror match between NetNavis as Roll A has taken on Coloredman's form!" Ribitta gawked, "The crowd is getting whipped up into a frenzy of excitement!"
"Coloredman, don't get distracted by her tricks! We won't let a 15-point girl's NetNavi trump us!" Maddy snapped, making Maylu growl in annoyance.
"You've got this, Maylu!" Yai cheered in the crowd.
"Teach that old lady some manners!" Jasmine added.
"I've never seen a NetNavi capable of doing what she can before," Medi noted in surprise, watching as the two Coloredman race about, sending out tiny copies of themselves that let loose towers of fire and water upon the other.
"Ashe has always been a bit of a wild card in Virus Busting Class," Ms. Mari noted, "When she's wearing that armor of hers, she can become all sorts of NetNavis that I've never seen before." she smiled fondly, "I remember when she fought this one Wood-Element Virus we had for class and she took on the form of a plant-based robotic one that had two forms that she could shift between that would let out paralytic attacks that could even make a triangular energy field to ensnare the opponent to let her vines take them down either electrified or not. I believe the name she used was Rosespark for it."
"We all do agree that there's one Virus she isn't allowed to fight for class: Ratty," Yai grimaced.
"Why's that?"
"She goes for an overkill and often damages the entire classroom's Network," Ms. Mari groaned, "If not for Vent being such a polite young NetNavi and bringing more Viruses and repair data for the classroom on his first day there with Lan, thing may have been worse for Maylu and Ashe than a simple failing grade for that day's Virus Busting class and a before-school detention."
"Really?" Jasmine pondered as she looked back in time for Coloredman to go for a spot on his copy's side only for a flash to go off and him to scream as Bifrost's frozen fangs to clamp down hard on the arm, "By the Jade Emperor's throne!"
A-Bifrost thrashed 'his' head wildly about, throwing the clown-based NetNavi with it until he let go and let him crash through several 'rock' formations. He slowly got up and looked up…only to scream and roll out of the way of a barrage of plasma spikes rained down upon him by a magenta and yellow bee/wasp-like Pseudoroid. Maddy growled as she inserted several BattleChips, causing a rain of cubes made of stone to rain down upon the Pseudoroid Roll A had become. In a flash, A-Aeolus raced about, dodging and weaving around the rain of RockCubes before swinging a sword at Coloredman, unleashing an electrified tornado at him. Coloredman screamed as it engulfed him…and shredded apart the doll of him that been sucked into it. A-Aeolus grunted as 'he' swung 'his' blades about, parrying and cutting through the shuriken that came at 'him.' A flash went off and Roll A landed on the ground as Coloredman stood across from her, panting heavily.
"You are…really…really…annoying!" Coloredman complained.
"Can't even pull your schtick off on me, eh?" Roll A smirked.
Maddy scowled before pulling out a pocket mirror and opened it. She took out the fabric in it and lightly powdered it before doing the same to her cheeks…angling the mirror to reflect the light of the sun to hit Maylu in the face.
"Gh!" Maylu grunted, trying to block the light until her robotic eye darkened in color and caused her to blink a few times as the light hitting that eye…didn't bother her, 'Huh? Wait…did…did my new eye become sunglasses?' she closed her organic eye and pulled out a set of BattleChips, "Here's something from Jasmine. Lance, Download!"
'Huh?! Why isn't it working?!' Maddy thought in shock before a scream from Coloredman made her refocus on the battle to see him being sent flying into the air by several razor sharp-ended bamboo poles shooting out of the ground.
"And this is from Yai to you! Thanks for all the rubble you made with those RockCubes! Poltergeist, Download!"
Roll A smirked as she swung her hands up to the air. The rubble all over glowed before rising up into the air. With a roar, she swung her hands at Coloredman and the debris rocketed at him, causing the WWW NetNavi to scream but unable to stop the attack in midair as he proceeded to be pelted by all of them at once.
-Coloredman: Logging Out-
"AND IT'S OVER! The winner of this NetBattle and moving on is our very own Maylu Sakurai and her NetNavi Ashe!" Ribitta cheered as the crowd hooted and hollered and applauded the red-head.
Ashe sighed in relief as she as Logged Out, 'That went way better than the old timeline…'
[Why? What happened?]
'...You don't wanna know…'
[...Now I wanna]
"No way~! How does a little pipsqueak like you have such rare BattleChips?!" Maddy demanded.
"Oh, they were gifts from my friend Yai and my new friend Jasmine," Maylu replied, her eye changing back to normal before winking at her and sticking her tongue out at the older woman, "You really helped us bond over a mutual dislike of you, old lady."
"Grrr…! I won't forget this…!" Maddy snarled as she turned around and stomped away from the field while Ms. Mari and the others met Maylu on her way out.
"You did great, Maylu!" Yai cheered, giving her a thumbs up.
"You both gave me the two BattleChips that won it for us," Maylu noted, smiling at her and Jasmine.
"I'm just glad that rude woman is out of this now," Jasmine noted before bowing to Maylu, "If we face one another in the next match, we'll give it our best to win."
"Hope ya do! It's not fun if we're both not giving it our all," Ashe grinned, rubbing the bridge of her nose with a finger.
Maylu giggled as she bowed to Jasmine in return, "I can't wait!"
"Lan should still be in his battle," Ms. Mari noted, "Should we make our way over there?"
"Not bad," Fireman noted in honest surprise as he and FX stood back to back as flames engulfed the both of them, "I wonder how it would've been if you had been the one to snuff out the flames within Match and I instead of Maylu Sakurai and Roll A."
"Probably a bit like this, but your burning passion of revenge aimed towards me instead," FX replied with a smirk, "Lan and I don't make merry after our victories. We tend to keep on wanting to improve and get stronger."
"That's right! ElecSword, Download!" Lan declared as HX spun around swiftly, crackling blades of plasma aimed to cut deep into the Fire-Element NetNavi only to be parried by a pair of green plasma blades resembling bamboo in shape.
As the two began to perform a deadly dance of blades, Match smirked, 'That's it…Keep goin', laddies. You have no idea the hell that awaits ye both.'
Fireman was the first to break the stalemate the two got into and aimed his gauntlets at Megaman HX, unleashing their flames. At the same time, Lan inserted a BattleChip and a faint white barrier formed, shielding HX from the flames as he switch to FX. With a roar, FX slammed a Charge Shot-infused punch into Fireman, sending him several kilometers away. He got up and let loose a barrage of shots at the charging LX, who swung his polearm and another ice dragon tore its way through the barrage and sheared off Fireman's right arm, making him scream and stumble away.
"Why did I have to face the stupid 15-point brat and her NetNavi?" Maddy complained, sitting near the back of the seating with Yahoot-in his disguise-and Zap.
"Patience is a virtue. We have a way to bring you back in and have your rematch against both children whom you've lost to should Desertman and Magicman fail to defeat them," Yahoot replied.
"Don't you mean 'if'?" Maddy asked with a raised brow.
"I would rather not allow my mind to be clouded with disbelief. Megaman is a formidable opponent," Yahoot replied, watching the battle as Megaman LX's dragon was melted by a wave of lava, "His multiple forms and the power behind each one…and then the young Lan Hikari and his unique precision in NetBattling, able to find things most would miss." he frowned, "He may likely already have a counter strategy should he encounter Desertman instead of myself."
"Seriously?" Maddy asked in surprise.
"In all honesty…the personalities of the four seem to be a reflection of the other," Yahoot compared, "Where the personality of the NetNavi matches the other's NetOp."
"Really now?" Zap pondered as he watched as LX unleashed a barrage of stabs at the one-armed Fireman before sweeping his legs out from under him, letting him deliver a strong kick to send him tumbling away.
"He's quite strong, isn't he?" Haruka asked, smiling at the battle.
"I'm still a bit troubled by how much he's changed from how I last saw him," Yuichiro admitted, "He went from an eleven-year-old t-to eighteen for goodness sake."
"Well, he did say he worked on himself because he met Ashe while out on delivery for SciLab once," Haruka replied before giggling, "Oh, honey, they are just so adorable together! And they have such cute names for each other in 'Mega' and 'Roll.' Though, I do admit that 'Rock' might've been better for him, but they seem unbothered."
"That may be my fault," Ciel noted as she walked over.
"You?" Yuichiro questioned.
"Yes. Those devices Vent and Ashe have? The Biometals? I made them a few years back and made them to optimize those they decide to be wielded by," Ciel explained, "Vent and Ashe found them all and…" she gestured to FX delivering an uppercut to Fireman, "...That."
"Truly now?" Yuichiro pondered.
"Yes. It was quite difficult to make them. I'm not the best at programming digital sentience," Ciel admitted, "My expertise lies more in physical things like robotics and the like…such as keeping the Network from being inside of important things I need that would be messed up by having it integrated into it."
Yuichiro grimaced, "S-Sorry again for that…"
Ciel sighed, "I get why you did it since it's just second nature to people by now and we've already gone over why I didn't want it in them for their own safety. All that could be done was keeping it disconnected from everything and having Vent and Ashe put antivirus software into it."
"Dear," Haruka frowned at Yuichiro, having not heard of this.
"Er…" Yuichiro gulped.
"So, Ciel, you make more than just designing what saved Lan and Maylu?" Haruka asked.
"Oh, yes, yes I do, Mrs. Hikari," Ciel replied as she pulled out her tablet and pulled up a diagram, "I've been building a new energy source to replace all the current nonrenewable resources that are currently in play."
"A…A new energy source?" Yuichiro asked in surprise.
"Yes," Ciel replied, "I call it the Convergent Ignition by Energen Linkage System."
"The CIEL System?" Haruka compressed it.
"How does it work?" Yuichiro asked.
"Well…" Ciel began before the roof began to close up, "Hm?"
"What's wrong?"
"This shouldn't be closing. The weather is supposed to be good all day," Ciel frowned, tapping quickly on her tablet.
"You kids are pretty good. It almost feels like when the lassies snuffed out our flames," Match admitted, "Nice weather today, eh Laddie?"
"Weather?" Lan pondered before noticing the ceiling closing up, "Huh? What's…"
Match smirked as he inserted a chip into his PeT. Outside, the multiple solar arrays set up moved as one, forcing themselves to face the direct sunlight. In the control room, several alarms went off at once.
"The solar arrays have been taken over!"
"Shit! All power in Beta Dome has gone out!"
"It's being rerouted! Someone get Inspector Oda from the audience!"
"No need. I had a feeling when the dome began to close up," the workers looked to see Oda entering the room, "We'll get this checked on immediately."
"We, sir?"
"Yes," Commander Beef replied as he, Mysteriyu, Madam Rose, and Chaud stepped around him, "We."
"What's going on?" Maylu pondered, the first to arrive at the dome…before the sphere projecting the battle became a miniature sun in terms of brightness, "EEP!" she closed her real eye as the cybernetic one turned dark once more.
"Ghh…" Lan grimaced, his own cybernetic eye darkening and the boy managing to note a popup reading 'DARK MODE ONLINE' appear for a few moments in his fake eye's vision, 'Dark Mode?' his eye widened as he saw the brightness of the light fading to let him see the field had become volcanic in nature, 'Okay…So it wasn't that Fistleo guy who reshaped the whole recycling center's Network…'
"Heh. Good luck getting any help from your NetOp now," Fireman noted, his body healing up to full health, before slamming a gauntlet down on the ground, "FIREWAVE!"
The ground bubbled and rumbled before becoming a massive tidal wave of magma. It rushed at LX, who narrowed his eyes…before smirking as his gem glowed. The tidal wave came down and Fireman chuckled, seeing no trace of the NetNavi. He turned away…only to cry out as ZX sliced off his right arm.
"WH-WHAT?!" Fireman exclaimed in shock, stumbling back.
"What was that about Lan not 'seeing' the battle?" ZX questioned before shifting to LX once more.
"I can see the fight perfectly fine," Lan noted in amusement, "You had me for a few seconds, but I got past it fast enough."
[Lan, be ready, because we have a little surprise] Leviathan noted [The time for fun and games is over, Vent. It's time to go into…Overdrive.]
"Yeah," Megaman LX nodded before glaring at Fireman, "Overdrive Invoke System…" he crouched down and laid a hand on the ground…before it flash froze and shattered the magma field in time with an aura erupting off his body, "Activate."
Fireman stepped back as Match tensed, a pair of sunglasses over his eyes, "What is this…?"
"W-Whoa! It…It feels like a blizzard…" Lan shivered.
[This is my power fully unleashed, little one] Leviathan spoke [The only drawback is a time limit before I overload and have to sleep for a day]
"Won't take long," Megaman LX assured before glaring at Fireman, "Now…" he tapped the ground with the butt of his staff…and several ice dragons roared into existence, glaring down upon him, "Sic 'em."
"WoodTower!"
"Fin Cutter!"
"Bonemerang!"
As pillars of sharpened logs, blades of pressurized water, and ethereal flame-engulfed bones flew about and ripped apart the myriad of Fire Viruses about, Protoman and Japanman stood back-to-back with one another. Japanman unleashed a barrage of polearm stabs before bending over, allowing Protoman to roll over him and let loose a barrage of shockwave slashes. He produced a red and silver oval shield, tanking several blasts of flames, before Japanman jumped over it with a roar, slamming his spear into the ground and letting loose a tidal wave of water in return, wiping out the Viruses.
"That's the last of them," Japanman noted.
"Good work. Now give control back to the operators," Oda ordered.
"Yes, sir," Japanman replied.
The dome shook for a moment before opening up, causing the 'sunlight' to dissipate and allow everyone to see the battle once more.
"Gh…" Match grit his teeth as Fireman struggled to stay standing, most of his body littered in frostbite and missing both arms now, "Recover 300, Download."
Fireman growled as his injuries faded and his arms regenerated, "I won't lose to you!"
"Sword, WideSword, LongSword. Download!" Lan declared as Fireman charged at him, ElecSwords emerging from his gauntlets.
"Program Advance," Megaman LX invoked as his polearm transformed into the LifeSword.
"LIFESWORD!" the two roared in unison as LX charged at Fireman.
The two raced by the other, swinging their blades. Both landed, their backs to the other. A small cut appeared on Lan and LX's left cheek. Meanwhile, Fireman choked as the upper half of his body began to slide down ahead as his lower half remained in place.
-FIREMAN: LOGGING OUT-
"Like I say, Match. I'm a deliveryman and what I've brought for you…is defeat," Megaman LX declared before he dropped Double MegaMerge and caught the dimmed Model L.
[Mayhaps Ciel can be a darling and figure out how to extend the time limit…] Leviathan yawned before her 'eyes' dimmed and the Biometal turned dull in coloration [Good night, boys…]
"Great work, guys!" Lan cheered as he Logged Out Vent.
"IT'S OVER~! The winners are Lan and Vent, kero~!" Toadman cheered.
"Blast it! I…I was so close…" Match growled, slamming a fist on the console, "What was that power they used to counter my plan?!"
"You alright, Lan? That was pretty bright," Vent noted.
"It's alright. My cool eye acted like sunglasses so I could see with that. Plus, we were in FullSynchro, so I could see through yours instead if I didn't have it," Lan noted with a smile.
"Lan!" Lan looked up to see Maylu running up and giving him a hug, "That was amazing!"
"Y-You saw it?" Lan asked.
"You bet we did! That was amazing!"
"What was that aura on Vent?" Maylu asked.
[Overdrive. It's a power that lets Vent access the true potential of the Biometals he uses] X explained [It only works when I'm with him, however, because they're using my power as well to tap into it]
"Aw phooey," Ashe pouted.
[Agreed. I betcha Overdrive would've let us do a whole lotta stuff] Axl grumbled.
"We'll have a ten minute break for technicians to look over the battlefield. In the meantime, will Chaud Blaze and Count Zap please make their way to Alpha Dome and Higsby and Madam Rose report to Beta Dome, please? I repeat, will Chaud Blaze and Count Zap please make their way to Alpha Dome and Higsby and Madam Rose report to Beta Dome, please, kero?"
Lan tensed on that and looked back at the arena, "..."
"Lan, let's go sit with the others, alright?" Maylu suggested.
"...Yeah," Lan nodded.
"What a relief. I was worried for a minute there, huh," Higsby noted.
"Aw shoot. Guess it's all said and done," Higsby looked to see Masa walking over.
"Where were you?" Higsby asked.
"Stomach troubles," Masa sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, "Was stuck on the other side of the island for a good bit from some bad noodles they were selling."
"A pity," Wily shook his head, rewatching Fireman's defeat, "But now we know of a new power Megaman has."
"He's a crafty guy, alright," a voice spoke from the computer, "Him and the Biometals he has in his possession can unleash a power called Overdrive."
"And why didn't you speak of it before?"
"Honestly thought you'd be able to handle him before he could use it," the voice replied, "But I do have good news: I've got you a little surprise for when Zap needs to do what he does at that event tomorrow after the last few singles before it goes into the first round of Doubles."
"Hoh?"
"Yeah. It's gonna bring all kinds of terror and despair to those idiots."
"Wonderful," Wily smirked as the television screen showed Chaud approaching the console.
"Alright! It's the last match of the day in the Alpha Dome!" Ribitta declared as Protoman and Elecman stood before one another, "Time to see who wins and who loses! Elecman VS Protoman! Battle Routine Set!"
"Execute," both NetNavis declared.
Elecman quickly unleashed a barrage of lightning bolts upon Protoman, who blocked the first with his shield before he shot off, running between the strikes of lightning. He raced past Elecman…who grunted as his generators were sliced off. He turned around and his head kept turning as he tumbled to the ground, logging out in pieces.
"ACK! In just three seconds, Protoman has defeated another opponent, kero!"
"The winners are Chaud Blaze and Protoman! Can anyone handle these two?" Ribitta pondered in amazement.
"Yay~! Go, Chaud!" Alouette happily cheered before holding up her doll, "Meow! He's so fast!"
'She's just so precious,' Haruka thought.
"Now if only the eggshell head would make fights last longer, meow."
"A-Alouette!" Ciel gawked as Lan, Dex, and Yai cracked up in laughter.
"Huh…No celebration tonight," Vent noted, sharing Maylu's PeT with Ashe as they sat on a couch in it to watch a movie together.
"Yeah. Seems so weird, huh?"
"Guess it's just another change that happened," Vent guessed, "Well…aside from Higsby's defeat by Sal."
Ashe giggled, "Oh his face when that happens never quits making me be amused."
[It was hilarious!] Axl laughed.
[I took a screenshot to show Sis later when she wakes up] Fafnir chuckled.
"What do you think we should throw out of the books then?" Ashe asked, pulling up their list of events.
"Not sure," Vent replied, "But…I do get the feeling we'll be fighting Coloredman and Fireman in the doubles round just like last time. They're after both of us now since we beat them both."
Ashe nodded as she looked at a part of it and grew worried. In big, red, bold lettering was 'PHARAOHMAN DELETED MEGAMAN AT THE END OF THE N1GP.' Vent gently laid a hand on Ashe's shoulder.
"I'll do all I can to avoid that fate this time," Vent assured before grunting as Ashe turned around and hugged him, swearing if he had actual bones they'd be fractured from the pressure.
"I'm terrified of it happening," Ashe whispered, "It…It was horrible. You were just…gone." an ache went through her core, a grimace forming on her face at unwanted memories, 'And it got worse when you started to ignore all my attempts to tell you how I felt, even with you saying you accepted my apology…'
"We're stronger now, Roll," Vent assured, returning the embrace, "I can avoid his beams anytime. Heck, if I was as strong as I was at the end of our original lives, I'd still handle him easily. And I know I'm faster than ever." 'I made sure that I focused on my speed this time around if that event doesn't change. I won't let Maylu nearly die because I was too slow to reach her in time.'
[We'll do what we can to help keep him safe, Ashe] X assured.
[And who knows? Maybe it'll be you both in the finals instead of Protoman!] Axl beamed.
"...It would be kinda nice to be in the finals…" Ashe mumbled after a few moments.
"True. If the prizes are the same, win or lose, we'd both have a world tour," Vent chuckled, "If things don't really change on it, there's so much we'd be able to enjoy along with Lan and Maylu."
As the two started to talk about all the places and even started to pull up information on everything, Phantom floated a bit away from them {What happened in your first lives that made you both love one another…but also feel such guilt when you're around the other?}
"It feels so nice staying at a fancy place like this," Lan noted as he and Maylu walked along a hallway.
"It reminds me of the hotel chain my Papa likes to use when I go visit him in Ameropa at times," Maylu compared, carrying a bucket filled with ice, "Even ice machines at the end of the hallways where vending machines are as well."
Lan nodded before chuckling, "I watched the replay they're sharing about your NetBattle today. You and Ashe did a great job teaching them a lesson."
"I arrived to yours just as the system got all bright," Maylu spoke, smiling, "I'm glad you were able to help Vent even with the bright lights."
"Yeah," Lan nodded as he pointed at his cybernetic eye, "This thing was so cool! It filtered the light out to let me see. Add in FullSynchro letting me 'see' through Vent's eyes and we got past that trick of his no sweat!"
"I swear I keep finding new things from the operation," Maylu sighed, "Clearer sight with it, this light filter, jumping higher than I used to…" she shook her head, "I'm really glad we're seeing Dr. Saiko due to it all."
Lan nodded, "Yeah. I've only had two sessions with her so far and it's been really good for me." he smiled, "You ready for tomorrow?"
"I hope so," Maylu replied, "You?"
"A bit," Lan replied, "If I get Desertman, we're planning on using HX to whip him up into a tornado then swap to FX and use all the fire we've got to smelt him into Glassman. But if it's Magicman…we don't know all he can do, so we're going to go all out from the start." Maylu nodded at that before he asked her, "What about you?"
"I'm hoping to not fight either you or my new friend Jasmine," Maylu noted, "It'd be better if I could fight either of you near the finals."
"Same here with you," Lan grinned before slowly, methodical clapping made them look ahead to see Chaud doing it, leaning against a wall with his eyes closed.
"You two must give dentists a lot of business with how sweet you two are with one another," Chaud commented.
"H-Hey!" Lan scowled, both blushing.
"As a show, your battle was great, Hikari," Chaud noted, "I had fun watching what I missed due to dealing with the viruses deployed by Match to control the systems to cause that lightshow. But…"
"...But…?" Lan gestured for him to go on.
"It was the worst match I've ever seen; even Sakurai performed better than you."
"WHAT?!" Lan growled as Maylu grabbed his shoulder.
"Lan…" Maylu whispered before looking at Chaud, "I could say the same to you because yours was even worse to me."
"Excuse you?"
"You defeated him so fast that it was boring," Maylu huffed, "And what you said to Lan just now about his being a 'great show' means that yours was a 'horrible show.'"
"..." Chaud narrowed his eyes at her.
"Even Alouette said you're boring with how fast you do things," Maylu huffed, "People came to be entertained by us showing our efforts to train hard for this thanks to the restrictions on NetBattling being lifted somewhat. Ashe and I want people to enjoy our NetBattles, but we also take them seriously and let our opponents have the opportunity to show off as well."
"Sure it may leave us vulnerable, but Vent and me want to see just what people we fight have got," Lan added in, "I want to give people who are here watching it a chance to have fun and be excited by seeing who'll win and lose by letting both our NetNavis show everything we've got for them all."
"...Tch," Chaud scowled as he walked off.
"What a jerk," Lan scowled, "Even if he's childhood friends with Ciel, he's still a jerk."
"She sees something that we're not seeing," Maylu guessed, "All we can do is trust her."
Lan nodded, "Yeah…Let's get going. Still gotta get that ice back, right?"
"Right," Maylu nodded as they walked off in the opposite direction Chaud had gone, who walked around a corner to see Alouette and Ciel.
"Hoh~? You shared the idea of the CIEL System?" Alouette asked.
"Yeah. I thought it'd be a good idea if I can't get this fake ElecCode or the tracker working right," Ciel replied.
"Ciel, Alouette," Chaud spoke up as he walked up to them.
"Oh! Hi~!" Alouette beamed with a happy wave.
"Hey there," Ciel greeted.
"What's the CIEL System?" Chaud asked.
"Oh! Well…it's a new energy source I've figured out," Ciel explained as she showed her tablet to him and Protoman, "See? NetNavis give off a unique energy field, even while in PeTs. By taking a small bit of this shed energy and storing it into a creation I call the Energy Crystal, it will create a chain reaction that produced a strong amount of energy from the crystal that can be harnessed to power even entire cities as large as Den Tech for decades or even centuries depending on the amount! But it will only work on that shed energy of the NetNavis. If someone tries to use the entire energy inside of a NetNavi, the crystal will explode and take out entire blocks."
"Truly now? I knew you were a genius from how you created the Biometals and then the surgery that Hikari and Sakurai needed, but this is a whole other level," Chaud noted, honestly amazed by her invention.
"Aw shucks…You're making me blush, Chaud," Ciel mumbled, a tint of pink to her cheeks.
Alouette giggled, "Big Sis is sheepish~"
Chaud looked at her, "Hey, Alouette?"
"Hm?"
Chaud knelt down to her, "What do you think about how I've been NetBattling in the N1?"
"Mmm…It's okay, I guess…" Alouette mumbled as she glanced away from him.
"Uh-huh…" Chaud managed to hide the frown on his face, "And your 'kitty?'"
"Mm…I don't think you wanna hear what he has to say," Alouette replied.
"It would be nice to hear. Please?"
"Um…Okay, but I warned you…" Alouette replied as she held up her plush, cleared 'his' throat, and spoke, "Meow! You're more boring than watching paint dry and Big Sis Ciel made Alouette do that once when she made a mess of the pie Big Sis Ciel was making, meow! You go so fast that nobody gets to have any fun seeing the other guy and what he might be able to do! Stop making the N1 so boring, you eggshell head, meow!" she put down her doll, "Sorry…"
"It…It's fine," Chaud replied, clearing his throat a little while a drop of sweat went down the side of his head as he patted her head, "I did ask."
Alouette giggled, "You're welcome!"
"We were about to go get some dinner from one of the Ameropan vendors here. Would you like to come with us?" Ciel invited.
"It'd be nice," Chaud replied, "I'll split the bill with you."
"Oh how kind of you, good sir," Ciel giggled.
"She li~kes you," Alouette teased.
"A-Alouette!" Ciel squeaked.
"P-Please don't say thing like that," Chaud tried to scold.
"He li~kes you."
"ALOUETTE!" both barked, completely red in the face.
GT: Would you believe me if I said that I only had bits and pieces for this chapter and I just couldn't think of how to bridge everything together? Or that I originally didn't have Jasmine and Meddy show up and have Yai get her game canon defeat from Q and Desertman instead of giving it to Gutsman and Dex while they got whooped by Jasmine and Medi? Yeah…no big surprise. Still, I am working hard to do this fic and the others I've got. Real world stuff tends to do stuff to my noggin, so yeah… Still, I hope you're all enjoying this fic so far. Please Read and Review so that I know you guys want more!
Oh, and please, when you finish reading this, take a look at Mega Man Genesis: Rock 'N Roll Blues by Player_Blue over on A03. They're doing an amazing job on their take on an AU of this and expanding it with more things across the Mega Man franchise!