GT: Here's the next chapter, folks! Took me a while to write due to several reasons.
'Well…This is going better than the original attempt,' Vent thought, sitting on Lan's shoulder as the boy walked around the artificial island while blindfolded.
[What are you doing, Lan?] Model X asked.
"Training with FullSynchro," Lan replied, "I'm trusting Vent to be my eyes in case my cyber one doesn't help like it did with Match and Fireman. Why are you asking now, though?"
[He was sleeping in since I didn't want to wake him up] Zero replied.
Vent narrowed his eyes as Lan walked by the island's lighthouse, 'The schedule for our NetBattles was different this morning. Instead of working with Masa and Sharkman…we're working with Maylu and Roll in our first tag team battle, even doing the roulette given the three question marks. Even then…instead of Shiningman being with Protoman, the two are on opposite teams with both having question marks to them…'
[I still feel bad Jasmine and Dex didn't get to move on] Leviathan noted [Those two AutoNavis were impressive]
"Yeah, I gue…Wait. AutoNavis?" Lan pondered.
[You didn't notice that those two 'operators' in heavy cloaks they have are just robots they're operating?] Fafnir asked.
"Those were robots?!" Lan gawked.
[Yes, yes they were] Zero confirmed.
"...Is that al…?"
[There are no rules against Network Navigators being allowed to participate without a Network Operator] Phantom replied [Tree]
"Huh?" NetOp and NetNavi asked before Lan walked facefirst into a pair of palm trees.
"DOI~!" Lan groaned as he collapsed onto his back, twitching.
"Oh Lan…" Vent sighed before looking out to see Maylu doing the same thing…in parkour, "HAH?!"
"Ugh…" Lan groaned before tensing as his shared sight let him see Maylu doing a flip across two of the buildings in the shopping district, "Gah! M-Maylu?!"
[Whoo! Go, girls, go!] Axl cheered.
"What is she doing?!" Lan gawked, pulling up his bandana to skate after her.
[Likely the same thing you were] X replied [Training harder to get stronger and not have what happened that night repeat]
Lan grimaced, recalling that she hadn't really stayed near him since they came back to the island for the next round of the N1. It was kind of exciting for the boy what they were doing for the second round of it: Tag Team NetBattles. Yesterday had been the first batch of battles while today would be the one with the rest of the participants getting to partake in them. The EMail announcing the battles this morning had him excited since it meant he and Vent would be working together with Maylu and Ashe…before he frowned again at how she had avoided him all day yesterday.
"...Do you think…I messed up?" Lan asked.
"Hm?"
"Maylu…ignored me all day yesterday," Lan pointed out.
[I think she's feeling guilty for what happened to your mother, Lan] Leviathan noted.
"Huh? But…But she wasn't at fault! It was that weird green bird robot!" Lan argued.
[I'm aware it was Hivolt, dear] Leviathan assured [But she couldn't react fast enough to save her from being hit]
"..." Lan frowned before looking around and ran to an alley between two shops and began to jump along the walls to get up and began to go after Maylu.
[Lan, what are you…?!] Harpuia began to ask.
[Nobody really looks up at the current angle we're on] Phantom noted [If Ashe can get her to stop, it would be a good location for a private talk]
[Kid's got a burning passion in making sure his friends are all okay] Fafnir chuckled.
[That and she may be so focused on this training…she's forgotten that they need to report to the Beta Dome in an hour and a half] Phantom added [Our match is in the middle of the day followed by Chaud and Protoman's]
Lan narrowed his eyes as he picked up the pace. He jumped along the rooftops, following after the redhead. Up ahead, Maylu jumped and did a flip, landing on the railing of a fire escape. She breathed in before going down the stairs, Lan following moments later. Model A looked behind them and up to see Lan.
[Psst…Ashe] Model A 'whispered' to Ashe, managing to keep the link to her [Once we get offa this, think you can have Maylu turn around and hold her arms out?]
"Alright, not bad, not bad," Ashe commented as she nodded, "Say, uh…I think Model A picked up something. Mind stopping once we get off this fire escape and hold your arms out?"
"Huh? Well, alright," Maylu replied, doing a jump off the second-to-last stairway before running a little along the wall before jumping off it and to the other before landing in a tumble, "There we go. And…" she held her hands out and Lan landed before her, grasping them, "ACK!"
"Hi!" Lan greeted.
"L-Lan?!" Maylu gawked, Lan letting one hand go to let her pull her blindfold off, "U-Um, I need to…"
"Did I do something that made you upset with me?" Lan asked.
"H-Huh?"
"I mean…you've been avoiding me all day yesterday a-and this morning, too," Lan explained, "Did I do something that made you upset and I don't get what I did?"
"Wh-What? No! No, you never did anything!" Maylu shook her head, "It…I just…"
Ashe sighed, "She's feeling guilty she couldn't protect your mom."
"Oh," Lan blinked a few times before frowning and lightly chopping her head.
"Ah! L-Lan!?"
"You're not at fault for that," Lan spoke, "It was WWW who hurt Mama and nobody was expecting the giant green bird robot to attack. …Which is kinda weird that you've seen two robot birds now…" he shook his head, "Look, I don't blame you for what happened to Mama. She's gonna get better."
"...But I still should've acted sooner," Maylu grimaced.
"Maylu, you. Are. Kids! You're going to have moments of freezing up when scary things happen," Vent spoke, "There are times we all will lock up from something happening that we wouldn't expect. Kids, adults…we all feel fear in one way or another. You did everything you could do and Lan and I are grateful that you stopped Hivolt from taking any more lives that night."
Lan nodded in agreement at that, "Maylu, you know how I get when I'm mad. I'm not mad at you at all, I'm not upset or-or anything like that!" he smiled at her, "You're my best friend and you mean a whole lot to me and my parents. Of course we're not mad or anything like that with you. You saved a lot of people that night. Mama will be alright and Vent and me are gonna do our very best to win for her."
"She was a bit sad that you didn't come see her," Vent added.
"I…I thought she wouldn't want to see me…" Maylu admitted, earning a frown and another chop to her head, "Gah! Lan!"
"You're being a dummy," Lan huffed, "Of course Mama would wanna see ya! You're practically family!" he huffed, "After today, we're gonna go see her and you are gonna talk with her, okay?"
"...O-Okay," Maylu nodded.
"Great! Because we have an hour left to plan things out for tag team strategies!" Lan beamed.
"Huh?"
"Oh right, forgot they announced the battles today," Ashe recalled, "Yeah, we're working with Lan and Vent in this portion of the tournament."
"Why didn't you say something sooner?!"
"You wanted to clear your head with parkour," Ashe shrugged.
"Roll~!" Maylu whined as she pulled up the email, "...Huh? What's with the question marks?"
"Considering the odd number of competitors, they're likely going to have some people that lost be brought back in to make things equal again," Vent guessed.
"So we're gonna be in consolation matches?" Ashe questioned.
[Probably, Ashe] X replied.
[It better not be the sand guy again] Axl spoke [I hate that stuff. It used to get into everything and my joints would be all itchy and my taste sensors would have this gritty texture added to everything for weeks…]
[Do we know who'll be picked?] Zero asked.
"They're going to start the lottery in a few minutes," Vent replied as he turned on the TV app of the PeT, letting a popup screen show Higsby and Ribitta in the booth.
"Ladies and gentlemen~! Many of you must be wondering just why our next two battles in an hour from now have so many questions marks, right?" Ribitta asked as a screen displayed Ashe and Vent above three question marks while another showed Protoman beside two question marks above a green-skinned NetNavi in a white turban and sun ornaments with question marks on their side.
"You're all in for a treat! Four lucky contestants from the last round that lost will have the chance to come back in a consolation battle! Battles will be intense with the two who remain when two NetNavis are Logged out get to move on, huh!" he adjusted his glasses, "I did request to not be added to it since Numberman and I are enjoying this much more."
"And glad to have ya here!" Ribitta beamed, "And now, we let our roulette program will get to work! Anyone still has the chance to become the winner!"
"Oh, this is gonna be awesome! C'mon, Gutsman, Glyde, Iceman, Woodman, Skullman, Searchman, Meddy!" Lan cheered.
"Lan, you battle against Dex almost every other day…"
"Yeah, but this a tournament!" Lan beamed.
"I know, right? Maylu, for shame," Ashe scolded.
"...That's the best we're going to get, Maylu," Vent sighed, Maylu facepalming.
"There it goes!" Ashe beamed as the screen showed the four icons starting to rapidly spin, showcasing a myriad of NetNavi emblems.
"First up is the NetNavi fighting alongside Protoman!" Ribitta cheered as the icon slowed down to a halt, revealing Searchman's logo, "Welcome back, Searchman!"
"Hoo boy," Lan gulped, "He's a strong guy to fight."
"And really good at spotting and disarming traps," Vent added, "He was a major help with some traps in the Power Plant's Network WWW left in there to delay us."
"Now for Shiningman's partner!" Ribitta cheered as an emblem settled on Magicman's, "Magicman!"
All four tensed at that before Lan whispered, "WWW…"
"They musta rigged that somehow," Ashe scowled.
"And now for our tag partners facing off against Ashe and Vent!" Ribitta cheered.
"A rare BattleChip it's Torchy and Wacky," Ashe spoke as the images landed on Torchman and Coloredman's emblems, "Called it."
[Nobody agreed to the bet] Hapruia informed.
"Rats."
"That was weird," Lan frowned, "It looked like it was trying to land on Gutsman's and Iceman's and then Woodman's and Skullman's."
"WWW probably interfered somehow," Maylu noted with a grimace.
"They're really gunning for us, aren't they?" Lan questioned.
"Makes sense; we've been causing major upsets for their plans ever since you and I became NetOp and NetNavi, Lan," Vent pointed out.
"We've fought these two jerks before and we can handle them again!" Ashe declared, slamming her fist into her hand.
"With those Mettaur succeeding in rigging the battles…all that remains is readying ourselves for them," Match noted, standing beside Maddy and Yahoot.
"Defeating those kids…it's too soon to be confident," Maddy noted, "Especially with that Overdrive ability Megaman possesses."
"Indeed. His aura drastically rises with the certainty of defeating him eroding away at the same pace," Yahoot observed, rewatching Megaman LX and then Megaman HX using their Overdrives, "But there seems to be a period where he cannot use the form he triggered Overdrive with more than once at a time." he smiled, "But worry not. My part in your battle is now at work as Zap readies his own."
Higsby sighed as he zipped up his pants before heading for the bathroom sinks, "While I can't say that I'm not sad that we didn't get to go back into it, I do like what we're doing so far, huh."
"Likewise," Numberman agreed, "We had a rather surprising amount of customers at the shop when we opened it during the day off the N1 had."
Higsby nodded. He opened his mouth to keep talking before a pair of hands grabbed him from behind and pulled him into the broom closet.
"Ah! Higs…!" Numberman began before a ruby red orb slammed into the back of his cranium, knocking him out.
Slowly, the doors opened and Higsby stepped out. He held up his PeT and smirked, Numberman nodding at him.
"You two beat those guys before so you'll have just as easy a time, right?" Yai asked.
"You bet!" Maylu agreed.
"Are we going to see that Overdrive ability again?" Tory asked.
"Maybe. It's up to Vent and the Biometals," Lan replied.
"Oh, that's promising! Keep it up, you two!" Masa cheered.
"Both of you, do your best!" Ms. Mari encouraged.
"Right! Let's do our best, Lan!" Maylu encouraged.
"You betcha, Maylu!" Lan agreed.
"Ah, Lan got to team up with Maylu…I'm so jealous," Dex sighed.
"I don't know," Jasmine noted, "They seem quite close and their NetNavis seem to work really well together. I'm more upset that I didn't get another shot in after those two guys thrashed our NetNavis."
"Ugh…I never wanna see another RockCube…" Meddy groaned.
"You and me both, guts," Gutsman grunted.
"...Why do I feel like you were supposed to drag me by the ear past all of 'em?" Lan asked after they walked around a corner.
"I…don't know," Maylu replied, "Don't be a weird boy, Lan."
Neither of their NetNavis wanted to say 'That's because she did when you were too focused on mastering the LifeSword Program Advance, Lan.'
"Both of you guys are good…"
Lan and Maylu jumped and looked to see a rather depressed Higsby slumped beside them.
"Higsby?" Lan pondered.
"I'm sorry you had to be left out of the drawing," Maylu apologized.
"It's fine, it's fine," Higsby sighed, "I'm just glad that I found at least one of the people readying for the matches today."
"Huh?" Lan tilted his head.
"Maylu, would you be willing to use a BattleChip I developed for sale at my store as an advertisement for it?" Higsby asked.
"You made a BattleChip?" Maylu asked.
"Yes," Higsby replied as he pulled out a magenta-colored BattleChip and Lan gurgled in shock.
"G-GigaChip!" Lan choked out in shock.
"A GigaChip?!" Maylu gasped.
[What's a GigaChip?] Fafnir asked.
[One of the rarest kinds of BattleChip! They're so powerful that NetNavis can only handle the power of one per day!] Model A explained [They're stupid broken and can do almost anything! I've heard of one that can even refresh every single BattleChip you've used…including itself and let that NetNavi use it again without worry!]
"That's insanely broken!" Lan gawked.
"What's it called?" Maylu asked.
"No two exist in the whole wide world at the moment," Higsby informed, showing the image of it to be white angelic wings emerging from a blue diamond crystal, "The Divine White Angel GigaChip. It releases a powerful light that disperses all Invis-Element BattleChips, rendering those under its light unable to use them, grants flight, and heals all of the user's allies for five minutes."
"...I repeat my original statement: That's insanely broken!" Lan repeated himself.
"And since you made it and want it shown off, you came looking for me?" Maylu asked.
Higsby nodded, "WWW knows your playbook and will likely have a lot of Invis-Element BattleChips like the Invis series and Shadow series."
"Shadow?" Lan pondered.
"They come from a Virus Family called Dark Shadow," Higsby explained, "Shadow, RedDevil, BlueDemon, and ShadowΩ… These Viruses are found deep in the UnderNet and shapeshift into the forms of knives and axes. They're immune to all attacks unless you use a Sword-Element on them. The BattleChip they give is called Shadow, which turns you into a living shadow that is only harmed by Swords or my new GigaChip creation."
"...I don't know," Lan frowned.
"Hm?" Maylu pondered.
"It sounds…too convenient," Lan admitted.
"We could ask Ciel to double-check things," Vent offered.
"Yeah, yeah! Let's go do that real quick!" Ashe quickly agreed.
"I see, I see…" Higsby chuckled before holding up his PeT, Not to worry. Numberman used this earlier and I have footage of it right here."
"Hm?" both pondered as they looked at the screen before Numberman appeared on it…and a light shined out of it, causing their eyes to go dull, "Ah…"
"How quaint, how amusing. You're smarter than we were presuming," 'Numberman' rhymed, "Well, we'll need to fix that quite fast. Otherwise this plan will go up like a dynamite's blast." he swept an arm out, "You need not worry, you have no concern. You trust in our word, so onward to the battle around this turn!"
"You two are…!" Vent growled.
"Yahoot! Magicman!" Ashe barked.
'Higsby' smiled at that, "Quite perceptive, Ashe, Vent. There are many questions I have about just how you know that I am with WWW even if we have never met. But…now isn't the time." he lowered his PeT, "You won't win, you know."
"Try us! We know that's the Devil Chip that you'll have Zap use to control Roll!" Vent declared.
"You're even aware of this scheme?" Yahoot questioned, "It appears we truly do have a traitor in our ranks then."
"Good luck with that. He's craftier than you think she is," Ashe replied, "He'll expose y'all to us even with her last dying breath!"
'Switching between genders to try to throw off any leads…' Yahoot thought, "You two are quite dangerous. If not for the security in this place, I would likely deal with you both here and now, sparing the children."
[You insufferable asshole!] Fafnir snapped.
"How rude."
[Shut the front door! You can hear us?!] Axl gasped.
"In a way. I am not one of the 'Chosen,' but your aura is easy to read with how ancient they are," Yahoot replied, lowering his PeT, "You have three minutes to defeat Fireman and Coloredman before Maylu uses the Devil Chip. Don't bother warning them, either. They won't hear or see any warnings to not use it until after it gets downloaded into Roll A."
He walked off. He raised a hand and snapped his fingers the moment he went around a corner. Lan and Maylu blinked and shook their heads.
"Ah…I'm so jealous," Lan sighed, "Higsby only gave me a buncha MiniBombs, but you get to use a one-of-a-kind GigaChip."
"It's really surprising," Maylu agreed, "But Invis has always been the worst thing for Ashe, especially when she uses Giga Crush."
"True," Lan nodded, "Ah! We better get going to the stage!"
"Right!" Maylu agreed as they ran off, neither seeing Vent go into Maylu's PeT and run up to Ashe.
"Not again, not again, not again…" Ashe whispered, a faraway look in her eyes.
"Shit," Vent cursed under his breath before grasping her shoulders and kissed her.
"?!" Ashe blinked before melting into the kiss for a few moments until they ended, "M-Mega…He…He gave that to her…"
"Roll, we planned for this," Vent reminded, moving a lock of hair in her face away, "We would go all out immediately and go straight for Deletion."
"Megamerge before we Jack In," Ashe nodded.
"Yeah. Giga Burst and ZX Charge Shot and get them off before they can insert any BattleChips," Vent confirmed, "After that, we'll convince Maylu and Lan to see Higsby, the real Higsby, to ask about the 'Angel' Chip since you and I felt guilty they didn't get to see what it does."
"Right…Right," Ashe nodded before glancing at the screen, "..."
"We have three minutes to crush them," Vent sighed.
"If…If we can't…"
"Roll…"
"Hub, please. If it happens…keep Model A with you. I'll be weaker without him," Ashe spoke.
[Ashe…] Zero began.
[No, guys. This is a nightmare Ashe has been having for a few days now. I want her safe and that means she can't have me with her if she does have her body hijacked] Axl spoke, a determined tone in his voice [If we can't stop it, then use me to turn the tides, Vent]
"..." Vent nodded before holding Ashe close, causing her to blush.
"H-Hub…?"
"Just…want to assure you that no matter what happens, you're not at fault for what WWW has done or what that Chip is going to try to do," Vent assured.
"Really wish we could tell someo…" Ashe trailed off as her eyes went wide, "CIEL!"
[Gah! Why didn't we…?] Fafnir began before the EMail notification went off.
"..."
[I sent her the recording I made] Phantom informed.
Vent opened the EMail, "'Ashe, Vent, don't worry. I'm working on an anti-hack device as fast as I can. If all goes well, I'll be done before the time limit Yahoot gave you before Maylu uses the Devil Chip. As for getting Yahoot exposed, I'm unsure if we can. The man is shockingly good at his disguises. I think he was about to hypnotize us when Ribitta dragged him away to the broadcasting booth.'"
Ashe sighed in relief, "I hope whatever she's making works."
Ciel grumbled as she soldered and worked on a small box-shaped device on her lap in the audience, "Lousy rotten no-good…"
"Ciel, what are you doing?" Oda asked.
"I can't believe I didn't think they'd try something like hacking into our NetNavis with a Devil Chip…"
"D-Devil Chip?!" Oda gasped, "You really think the WWW will try to use that? Those things are banned in all but Nation Z due to the dangers of them being used by terrorist organizations!"
"Think that? No, they admitted it after Magicman's operator disguised as Higsby hypnotized the two and we can't stop the match because he's likely controlled everyone else that can stop it," Ciel replied, screwing a motherboard into place, "What I'm building right now is a Hacking Disruptor, designed to fight the signal that is released by hacking programs like the Devil Chip. It's a rush job, meaning that it'll need to be up to the NetNavi who it's used on to have a strong will to help fight off the hack." she narrowed her eyes, "They're messing with the people I care about here."
Oda nodded, scowling at the depths WWW would sink to in their goals. Down on the field, Match and Maddy stood across from Lan and Maylu. Match narrowed his eyes at Maylu as Maddy scowled at Lan.
'Maylu Sakurai…I'll repay you for the humiliation you've dealt to me and Fireman!'
'Little boy…I'll make sure this day is unforgettable for you,' Maddy thought before blowing a kiss at Lan, who tilted his head.
"What's that gesture mean?" Lan asked, looking at Maylu in confusion…before flinching as he swore Maylu was on fire again while growling and glaring at Maddy, "GH?!"
"Alright! Let's do this, folks! Please Jack In your NetNavis!" Ribitta declared.
"Jack-In! Vent/Ashe/Fireman/Coloredman!" all four shouted before their NetNavis materialized.
'Huh? They're already suited up?' Lan and Maylu pondered.
"I'm getting a real bad feeling here, Maddy," Match noted in concern.
"Same," Maddy tensed.
"Oh, Torchy~ Wakky~" Roll A spoke in a singsong tone that hid none of her desire to blow them to kingdom come.
"We'll do all we can to Delete you both in three minutes," Megaman ZX stated, his cold eyes glaring at the two NetNavis.
'Dammit…They must have figured out the plan,' Match thought.
Outside, Zap chuckled to himself as he pulled out his PeT and plugged it into his speaker, "Okay, we're all set up." he attached his PeT to a red and orange V-shaped guitar and began to play several notes, "Yes! Time for a real shocking twist to the battle! It's time to rock n' roll!"
In the stadium, a shiver went down Maylu's spine before she looked at Ashe…before her eyes went dull as she smirked, "Let's win this, Roll!"
"Ashe-Vent Team VS Fireman-Coloredman Team…START!" Ribitta declared.
"GIGA CRUSH!" Roll A roared, unleashing her ultimate attack on them first.
Both NetNavis screamed before their bodies turned transparent and then invisible. A flash went off and Megaman PX charged the moment the Giga Crush ended. The young man jumped and went over the hidden ball sent by Coloreman as another flash went off as A-Chronoforce's invulnerable shell bounced the ball off him. His body began to glow as PX landed behind the two as the Invis ran out. A-Chronoforce roared as he shot up into the air and his ice-made tail flipped up and spun like a clock while waves of icy blue energy washed over him. Maddy and Match inserted another BattleChip into their PeTs and the two started to turn transparent…before the NetOps' eyes widened as the Invis was slowly activating instead of the near-instant effect it should have. A flash went off and LX managed to sever Fireman's arms as an ice dragon's fang tore into Coloreman's side just before the Invis could trigger.
"What the heck?!" Match exclaimed.
"Chronoforce's ice is so cold that even time itself slows for him," A-Chronoforce replied, flashing back to Roll-A.
In the booth, the disguised Yahoot scowled, 'A power to slow down time that it even makes the effects of the BattleChips activate slow to a crawl…With the speed of Megaman's modes, they may be able to get done before three minutes have passed. Fortunately…we planned for this.'
"Say, HIgsby? What do you think of this match so far?" Ribitta asked.
"Eh, we-well that is…" Yahoot stumbled in his words, "Th-The stronger team will prevail!"
"Huh?" Ribitta tilted her head.
'This is bad…I have to get out of here and fast…'
"AquaTower, download!" Maylu declared.
"MiniBomb, download!" Lan added.
Roll A smirked as she slammed her hand down, "AquaTower!"
"This should be easy enough. Slowed down time means their Invis BattleChips shouldn't run out as fast as…" Maddy began before the Invis ended, "HAH?!"
"Gh! D-Don't tell me that it only affects the chips when they're being loaded but not how long they normally last!" Match gasped as Megaman LX threw the MiniBomb into the AquaTower as the bomb was glowing an aqua-blue color…before the tower swelled up to several times its original size.
"Oh craaaa…" both slowly spoke before time finally sped up to normal and let them be slammed by the attack, "AAAAAARGH!"
"Yes! That was the best combination!" Yai cheered.
"Weird, it was larger than normal for an AquaTower-MiniBomb combination," Tory noted.
"That's because Vent charged up the MiniBomb," Alouette giggled, sitting between Yai and Jasmine.
"Really?" Jasmine asked.
"Yep! Vent can charge Null Element BattleChips when he uses Double MegaMerge," Alouette explained before holding up Beep, "Meow! They're full-a surprises so watch out if ya make 'em mad, meow!"
"Gh…We can do that, too! AquaTower, download!" Maddy declared.
"FireTower, download!" Match declared.
"Oh boy~" Coloreman called as a smaller Coloredman in greens and reds appeared.
"Right here~! AquaTower!" the tiny copy cheered.
Fireman roared, slamming his arm down on the ground before it exploded as a FireTower ripped out of it and headed for them alongside the AquaTower. Both looked at one another before simply doing nothing. The two towers were almost upon them when they hit one another…and turned into a cloud of steam that hid the two from view.
'Higsby' facepalmed, "The conflicting elements of the two canceled one another out…"
Megaman ZX roared as he shot out of it…alongside a second ZX. Both screamed before their bodies went Invis once more, avoiding the slash and gun barrage.
"Ugh…Shouldn't have gone out of the plan…" Maddy grumbled.
"These brats…" Match growled before blinking, "Wait…what are they…?"
"Huh? Vent, what are you doing?" Lan asked, watching as both ZX continued to slash and shoot…at the ground around the invisible WWW duo.
"If we can't hit you…then we'll make you lose another way!" Megaman ZX declared.
"HAH!" A-ZX roared as he made a final slash before both stood across from one another and raised a fist high up.
With a unified roar, both slammed down on the ground…and the ground underneath the two shattered into a perfectly circular hole. Coloredman screamed as he barely grabbed onto Fireman as he used his arms as makeshift rockets, barely getting out of the fall and onto land as their bodies regained appearance.
"There's always more than one way to prevail over a seemingly impossible BattleChip," Megaman ZX declared.
"Oh! This is almost like when Vent outdid Glyde!" Yai gasped.
"Indeed. A well-needed lesson in humility upon my end," Glyde noted.
"So if they can't hit them with attacks…they can go for a ring out by destroying the field," Tory realized.
"GIGA CRUSH!" Roll A roared, unleashing her ultimate attack once more.
Both WWW NetNavis grunted before their bodies turned into shadows, letting the laser barrage phase through them…only to scream as Megaman ZX ripped into them with his ZX-Saber.
"What just happened?" Ribitta pondered, "The Giga Crush failed, yet Vent was able to inflict damage!"
"The Shadow BattleChips make one into a living shadow…but they leave you vulnerable to blades while all else fails to wound you," 'Higsby' explained.
"The combination of Vent and Ashe is proving to be the superior way!" Ribitta cheered.
"Lan, Maylu, give it your all!" Ms. Mari cheered.
"When ya win, I'll give this big bag of Niboshi away for free!" Masa declared.
"Three minutes are nearly there…" Zap grinned, looking at his timer before a notification went off, "Gh?! 'Do it now.'"
"Oh dear! It seems that Fireman and Coloredman will fall into the darkness of defeat without a shred of light to shine on them!" 'Higsby' noted.
"!?" Maylu tensed as her eyes went dull, "Light…"
[SHIT! Yahoot put a trigger command into Maylu!] Axl realized.
"Divine White Angel…GigaChip Download!" Maylu shouted as she inserted the GigaChip into her PeT…before black electricity crackled off it as the screen turned to static, "AH!"
"Maylu?!" Lan gasped as he looked over at her, her eyes going back to normal, "Wait…Why did you use that BattleChip?"
Smoke hissed off the GigaChip before its cover burned away, revealing a demonic pair of wings with a red crystal and crimson 'eyes' in the wings. The screen static cleared up, showing the same image on it.
"Oh no…" Ciel gasped, dropping her screwdriver, "I'm too late…"
"The way Maylu moved after Higsby said that…" Oda spoke before gritting his teeth, "She's been hypnotized."
"That means that isn't Higsby up there!" Ciel gasped before Oda ran off.
"Keep working on it, CIel!" Oda ordered, "I'll detain that imposter and find the real Higsby!"
"EEEEEEEEYAAAAAAAAARGGGGGH!" Roll A shrieked as purple lightning erupted off her body.
[AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGH!] Axl screamed before a flash went off and he shot over to Megaman ZX as he reverted to Vent [O-Ow…That…That hurt worse than any Maverick I've fought with electrical powers…]
"ROLL!?" Maylu gasped in shock.
[Vent!] X barked.
"Right!" Vent nodded, "Axl?"
[Let's do this, X, Vent! For Ashe!]
"Model X! Model A!" Vent shouted, grasping both Biometals and held them high above his head, "Double MegaMerge!"
[Biolink Established. MEGA System Online]
A pillar of light erupted around Vent. Within, data poured out of Model X and Model A like geysers. Armor began to appear on Vent as his eyes were shut and his hair floated high in the air. A pulse went off and the pillar of light slowly ebbed away. Megaman stood there, donned in armor that was shaped mostly like Model X and Model ZX, however his back sported a white armored pack on the back with two sharp 'wings' pointing downwards, resembling an upside-down 'V.' His helmet resembled Model A's, but the spikes on it stretched back a bit further with the screw replaced with a blue orb. Data lines appeared in the orb as Megaman AX opened his eyes.
"The Copy Megaman…Megaman Model AX," Megaman AX declared.
"Oh come on!" Coloredman snapped.
"He can even do it with that one!?" Fireman gasped.
Megaman AX looked over at Ashe, who was holding herself as she grit her teeth. He walked up to her and laid his hands on her shoulders.
"You've got this, Roll," he whispered into her ear, "I know you won't lose to this."
[Vent…You won't believe what I've got!] Axl exclaimed, excitement in his voice [These two are in for it for what they pulled!]
"W-Wait…What's going on?!" Lan asked.
[Yahoot was the Higsby you two encountered. He hypnotized you both to ignore any attempt to not use the Devil Chip he disguised as that fake one] Zero informed.
"Huh?!" Lan gawked, "Ah! Maylu, hurry! Get it out!"
"You need a Cyclone BattleChip," AX informed.
"C-Cyclone…?" Maylu gasped, "I…I gave my only one to Jasmine this morning for a trade for a RockCube BattleChip to use with Roll's Atlas form…"
'Shit!' Megaman AX thought.
[Focus, Vent] Axl spoke [I don't know how, but the boost that X gives to us Biometals seems to have unlocked my whole roster from before my body went kablooey]
"...Your whole roster?" AX pondered.
[The whole thing] Axl chuckled as an image appeared in AX's eyes [How's 'bout this one? Claws for Shadow and too tough for them to chip at while under Invis…and one technique that bypasses that stuff and directly attacks the 'soul' of the enemy]
AX nodded, "A-TRANS! MAGMA DRAGOON!"
Flames erupted off AX before a larger, clawed hand swung out of it, dispersing them. In AX's place was a tall figure based on a dragon, leaning towards the European depiction of dragons as winged, fire-breathing, reptilian creatures. He had a reptilian snout with sharp fangs, straight horns, and bushy eyebrows. His armor was red, black, and silver, featuring claws on his feet and shoulders. He had two appendages on his back that resembled wings. He had a ring of green beads around his neck similar to prayer beads, and the Japanese ten symbol "天" below his breastplate, meaning 'heaven' or 'sky.' He leaned his head back and let out a powerful roar that shook the arena.
"Wh-wh-wh-WHAT?!" Coloredman freaked.
"What…What is that?!" Fireman gasped, taking a step back.
"Your Deletion," AX-Magma Dragoon growled…from behind them.
"?!" both spun around before his flaming fists rammed into the underside of their jaws.
"SHO! RYU! KEN!" he roared, delivering a double uppercut as the flames took the shape of rising Western dragons that sent them flying into the air.
Ashe stumbled back, grasping her head as digital blood leaked from her mouth, 'H-Head…hurts…!'
Obey…
Obey…
'Wh-What's…?'
Roll…Become Count Zap's servant and do evil…
She blinked and found herself in a black void, "?!" she looked around, "What the…Who's there?!"
Black lightning hit the ground before her and she tensed when it took form. Standing before her was herself…before she became Ashe. Yet…This Roll sported high-heeled boots with her hair missing. Black eyeliner and purple lipstick were on her face, paler than normal with a far too sinister look on her face. Elecman's generators, albeit smaller, were attached to her back while her gloves ended in sharp claw-like fingernails.
"The hell…?"
"Welcome to our spiritual realm."
"Oh great…Guess because I'm not giving in as fast as before, you're doing this then," Ashe scowled before, with effort, a crack in the darkness gave way, illuminating it with a near oval-shaped 'mirror' showing AX-Magma Dragoon fighting both WWW NetNavis.
"Well, now this won't do. We cannot Delete that insufferable Megaman like this~"
"You won't win this time," Ashe growled.
"Oh? Why not?" the dark reflection of her past self questioned, walking up to her, "You don't have the Cyclone BattleChip. You never even noticed she traded it away, hm?"
"Gh…"
"Let's face it. You've always been destined to become me at this time," she smirked, lightly running a finger along her cheek and then the underside of her chin, "We're a naughty naughty girl~!"
"What did I do…?" Maylu whispered, on the verge of tears, as she looked at how Ashe was paralyzed by the black electricity and doing a mixture of screams and sobs at random intervals between moments of grunting and straining herself.
"Let's try together," Lan offered.
"But Lan, you…" Maylu began before a tiny cut form on his head from where a FireSword from Fireman grazed his partner in the same spot, "!"
"I can provide a boost to his abilities, but no BattleChips. Not until we help Ashe," Lan stated, "You pull and I'll hold onto your PeT."
Maylu nodded, "R-Right."
Lan held her PeT and Maylu managed to grip the bit of the Devil Chip in her PeT. With a unified grunt, both began to pull. After several moments, both yelped as the PeT went up into the air and the two fell onto their backs. Maylu groaned before the PeT landed on her chest, letting out a huff from the impact. She opened her eyes and looked down at it, seeing that troubling icon still flashing on it.
"I'm not quite sure what's going on," Ribitta noted in concern, "Ashe has locked up while Vent has taken on a new form that's letting him two-v-one Fireman and Coloredman with fervor." she looked over to 'Higsby,' "What BattleChip did Maylu use that caused this?"
"Er…I believe that…" he began before the screen turned off.
"Huh? What's…?" Ribitta began before Oda slammed the door open with several officers.
"Grab him!" Oda barked.
'Higsby' glanced at them, his glasses hiding his eyes, as the officers rushed at him. With surprising dexterity, he began to swiftly evade and strike at the officers, locking their bodies up or throwing them around and over his head. Ribitta yelped as she ducked down to avoid the fighting until the only ones left were her, 'Higsby,' and Oda.
"How did you…?"
"You stopped the kids from finding out, but didn't prevent the NetNavis from getting the word out," Oda explained.
"Unfortunate," 'Higsby' noted.
"Drop the disguise, Yahoot. We already have the real one free and making him head out to the arena floor," Oda informed.
"..." 'Higsby' chuckled as he pulled off his disguise, "So they told you that as well."
"K-Kero~!"
"Toadman!" Ribitta gasped, looking at the monitor where Magicman was holding Toadman by the throat.
"Allow us to leave and I will return Toadman to his operator once we have escaped," Yahoot warned, "You should be aware that she hasn't backed up his data because neither has had to deal with a threat like this before to him."
Oda scowled, yet moved to the side, "How low…" 'I should've asked Ciel for an upgrade to my PeT. Blasted cable…'
"Though…I should warn you of something," Yahoot spoke, walking by Oda, "The two called Ashe and Vent are more than they seem. They hold knowledge that not even a mole in our ranks should have access to…power that shouldn't be possible yet. And the aura of your daughters are old…far too old to be children."
Oda frowned at that. The moment Yahoot closed the door behind him, Oda spun around and opened it, revealing no sign of the man. He scowled as Toadman fell to the floor, panting.
"Oh Toadman…" Ribitta gasped, quickly logging him out to hold him to her chest in the PeT, sobs coming from the speakers of it.
"Okay, it's done," Ciel sighed in relief as she looked at the box with a small satellite dish on the top, "Please…Please work…"
She pushed the top and the dish began to spin. Maylu looked up at Ashe as the black lightning started to lessen in its ferocity as her screen started to turn to static in places once more.
"What the…?" Maylu pondered before looking back up at Ashe, "..." she closed her eyes and started to grunt as her hair began to softly float and drop back down.
"M-Maylu?" Lan gasped.
"F-FullSynchro…!" Maylu grunted, her hair repeating its process, "FullSynchro…FullSyncro…!"
'She's…trying to force it?' Lan pondered before looking at Ashe, 'Come on…Let her in!'
"Gh…What's going on?!" Zap growled, seeing an error on his PeT screen, "I'll just have to play harder, it seems!" he pulled out a BattleChip, "Signal Booster, download!"
Black electricity roared from Maylu's PeT and struck her, "AGH!"
"Maylu!?" Lan panicked, catching her as she collapsed into his arms, "Maylu!"
Maylu slowly cracked her eyes open, a strong pain throbbing in her head. She slowly sat up and looked around, seeing a black void of sorts almost all around her before wincing as her eye had to squint, seeing a light in the distance. She began to run towards it…and voices made their way to her ears.
"I'm not a monster! I won't hurt him again!"
'Roll!' Maylu thought in surprise before picking up the pace.
A sharp cackle came from a voice similar to Ashe's own, "Oh? Now we both know that's a lie. You've already broken him, Roll~ Just like Maylu. Broke. You."
Maylu stumbled in her run, 'What? I…broke Roll?' she shook her head before running, soon coming up on Ashe and the dark Roll, '?! What the…?'
"You shut up!" Ashe growled.
"Oh very well…Let's let the memories say otherwise!" the dark Roll replied, swinging her arm out.
The darkness bled away and Maylu blinked, realizing they were suddenly in her homepage.
"SHUT UP!" Maylu spun to the right as did Ashe before both tensed…for different reasons.
There, having slammed a fist into a NetNavi that oddly reminded Maylu of Lan if he wore a navy bodysuit with light blue armor and cobalt hair peeking out from under it…was a NetNavi that seemed like Ashe if she were Maylu's age with long blond hair and her outfit replaced with pinks and reds and seemingly constant in wearing the odd helmet Ashe would sometimes wear to help with situations that those antennae called for if her A-Trans couldn't do much.
"R…Roll…?" the Lan-like NetNavi asked, as if in stunned disbelief.
"I hate you," the pink NetNavi spat before ripping off a necklace, one Maylu recognized as the one Ashe had begun wearing before that attack at SciLab happened, and threw it to the floor before stomping and shattering it.
"Ah! R…" he began before the girl's right glove turned into a pink crossbow with the arrowhead shaped like a red heart and shot him with it, impaling him through the gut, "GURK!"
"LEAVE ME ALONE, YOU FREAK!" She then slammed a heel into his face, knocking him into the exit and forcing him out, before she made a screen pop up and insert a filter and changed the password, "You tried to let Maylu die…I'll never forgive you, Megaman."
'What the…M-Megaman? Wait…That looked like those photos Ashe sometimes looks at! Was that…Vent before he met Lan? But…But who was that pink NetNavi? Why does she look like the creepy one here?' Maylu pondered before her eyes widened, 'Wait…This moment…' she thought back to when she shared that 'dream' with Lan after the Vulturon incident, 'That was…'
"Oh, and let's not forget…" the dark Roll went on as it changed to the younger Roll wincing as a screen showed a slightly older Maylu glaring down at her.
"YOU JERK!" the older Maylu snapped, "They had a backup plan in case they couldn't get to me in time! You saw how the Dimensional Area was fading away! With how high up we were, of course it would've forced the CrossFusion to end!"
'Cross…Fusion?' Maylu pondered.
"B-But th…but that can't be! He stopped! He let you fall!"
"If you had looked down, you would've seen Rush calling out a herd of Moloko!"
"But that's…"
"They saved me…us! And what did you do?! You called Megaman a freak, a monster! Megaman and I spent weeks in private conversations on making that necklace!"
"Wh-What?"
"Yes! We both worked to make that as a gift to you because you were feeling upset over the lack of time you've had with him!" the older Maylu growled, "A-And you go and break it a-a-and then you nearly Deleted him with that RollArrow! It almost hit his CyberCore!" she took in a shaky breath, "You need to go and beg for his forgiveness."
"B-But he…"
"NO! You are going to apologize!" she demanded, slamming a fist on the table.
"B-But…"
The older Maylu growled, "Fine! Until you do, you're not Roll anymore! You're a fake! A dumb stupid AI trying to pretend to be her!"
"M-Maylu…"
"SHUT UP! You're not Roll! You don't get to call me anything but 'NetOp' from now on! Got it, NetNavi?"
"M-Maylu?!"
"You're not Roll, so stop calling me by my name," she growled before forcing her to log out and shut off the PeT, leaving them in darkness with a stunned Roll before she, too, vanished into the darkness.
"I must say…How stunning it is, hm? You say you love him, but you go and hurt him far worse than any other has managed. Not even his Deletion back at the first N1 was as painful," the dark Roll chuckled, Ashe stumbling back as tears fell down her cheeks.
'First N1?' Maylu tilted her head.
"You know it's true, right~? I am the real you, the one you showed that day," the dark Roll sneered, "I am what you really are: a girl who relishes doing evil! Who loves to hurt others as deeply as making them love me only to crush their hearts!"
"N-No…I…I don't!" Ashe argued, "That's a lie!"
"It's not a lie," she purred, moving closer…only to have Maylu run between them, spreading her arms out, "What?"
"M-Maylu…?" Ashe gasped.
"How dare you?!" Maylu growled, glaring at the dark Roll, "You shut up right now! You're saying you're Roll? No way!"
"And you think you know her?" the dark Roll asked with a sneer, "She's been lying to your face since the first day…she and Vent are liars, having a joke about leaving you and your boy toy in the dark."
Maylu scowled, "You don't know a thing about her!"
"And you think you do?"
"...She goes into panic attacks when the PeT is turned off or when rollercoasters are brought up. She worries when I skip a meal by accident or when I'm sick. If I wake up from a nightmare, she makes me forget them with all kinds of stories," Maylu spoke, "She does all she can to make sure my schedule is balanced between important things and things that let me be my age and not having to be an adult. …For the first two years, her smile was fake most of the time." Ashe flinched, "...It was the same smile I had for a long time. But…" she narrowed her eyes in determination, "She's amazing! She does so much and wanted so little from it for so long! I basically had to tell her several times over that it was okay to be selfish at times! I was the one who had to convince her to try out those NetBattle pits for crying out loud! I don't know what all that was…" she frowned sadly, "It looked like stuff was missing from it that would make it make sense, but…but don't hurt my big sister like that! Don't use stupid bad stuff that wouldn't happen with us like that!"
"And how would you know, huh?" the dark Roll demanded, "That stuff? It did happen!"
"And I don't care!" Maylu snapped, "That wasn't me! I am me! Not that mean fake you showed! Roll is my big sister! I love her with so much of my heart!" she looked over her shoulder at Ashe, "I…don't know what that was…but it doesn't matter right now. Can…Can we talk about that later?"
Ashe just nodded, not trusting her voice at the moment, as tears fell down her cheeks. Her eyes widened as she pulled Maylu back, barely avoiding a barbed whip the dark Roll was using.
"You little bitch!" she hissed, "I don't know how you got in here, but you won't interfere!"
"No, you're the one interfering! Ashe and I were excited for this and you and WWW are ruining our NetBattle!" Maylu fumed before hugging Ashe, "You're not a thing…You're Roll…You're my big sister and an awesome friend."
"M-Maylu…" Ashe choked out before returning the embrace.
"Ugh…Cry me a river," the dark Roll scoffed, "Now get out of the way! This body is mine!"
"...I'm…not giving up…"
"Hm?" the dark Roll raised a brow as Ashe glared at her.
"You're not hurting him or her or anyone else ever!" Ashe growled.
"Leave us alone, you imposter!" Maylu agreed, glaring at the dark reflection of her big sister.
The dark Roll swung her whip out before tensing as Ashe grabbed the whip without injury. She tried to pull it back only for Ashe's arm to not even budge. Maylu and Ashe glowed before the younger girl seemed to meld with the older one like FullSynchro. Her hair bled into golden locks as her eyes turned a strong sapphire, her clothing fading away. The dark Roll gasped, stumbling back as her whip burned away. The young woman before her calmly held a hand up.
"Begone."
Ashe roared as a shockwave came off her, dispersing the energy. Maylu's PeT sparked and crackled before the Devil Chip exploded out of the slot and Higsby screamed in fright as it embedded itself halfway into the concrete wall just as he was about to head out to talk to them.
"H-Huh?!" Higsby gawked.
"Good heavens! It…It exploded out of the PeT?!" Numberman gasped, 'Is it…from her origins?'
"Ugh…" Maylu groaned.
"Maylu!" Lan exclaimed, seeing the girl's eyes slowly opening back up.
"Ow…" Maylu groaned as Ashe collapsed to her knees, panting heavily.
Outside, Yahoot caught the collapsing Zap, his body littered in burns as his guitar's remains sparked and crackled in a pool of its melted metals along with the smoldering remains of the melted PeT and speaker. He frowned as he looked at his PeT, watching the feed showing what Ashe did.
"Curiouser and curiouser…" Yahoot whispered before picking up Zap and vanishing in a swirl of leaves.
"Roll!" AX-Magma Dragoon exclaimed as he quickly delivered a roundhouse kick engulfed in flames to knock the two away before running over to her, flashing back to Megaman AX to catch her.
"Ugh…" Ashe groaned before chuckling and looking up at him, "I…I didn't lose…"
[Oh my gosh!] Axl exclaimed, ending the Double MegaMerge to get over to her [Are you alright? Please don't be hurt…]
Ashe managed to get up to her feet with Megaman X's help, "I…I'll be alright, buddy." she glared at the two WWW NetNavis looking at her in stunned shock, "But they won't."
Axl let out a noise of agreement [Yeah. And good news, Ashe]
"What?"
[Remember the stories that I've been telling you and Maylu since my memories came back? Guess who has all their old saved A-Trans back~?]
"...No way," Ashe grinned deviously.
[Yes way~! I shoulda did a Double MegaMerge with Vent a long time ago!] Axl replied in giddy.
"Heck yeah!" Ashe pumped a fist before stumbling a bit, "U-Ugh…Probably best to try 'em all out later."
Megaman X nodded, "Yeah. We need to finish this fast and get you checked over by Famous."
Ashe nodded, "MegaMerge!" in a flash, Roll A readied herself, "Ready?"
"You bet," Megaman X replied as, in a flash, Megaman ZX stood, "Hey! Remember my job?"
"Oh no," Coloredman gulped.
"I'm a Carrier. And my delivery? Is your defeat!" Megaman ZX declared.
"Gah! He said the line!" Coloredman screamed in frustration.
"Let's go!" Lan declared, "They ran outta Shadow and Invis BattleChips trying to survive Vent's rampage!"
"Oh~? You rampaged?" Roll A teased as ZX glanced away with a blush.
"W-Well…They made me mad for doing that to you and Maylu," ZX mumbled before she pecked his cheek with a kiss.
"You are so sweet," Roll A giggled before both shot a charging Coloredman, knocking him away, "Shall we?"
"We shall," Megaman ZX winked.
"GIGA CRUSH!" Roll A roared, letting loose the plasma barrage.
"GYA!" both screamed as they prepared for the attack…only for it to completely miss them and strike all around them, engulfing the area in smoke, "Huh?"
"Wh…What's…?" Coloredman gawked before screaming as Megaman ZX was upon him, Life Sword tearing through his body, "GARGH!"
=COLOREDMAN: LOGGING OUT=
"Ah! No~! Coloredman is…!" Maddy panicked.
"Fireman, roast them!" Match roared.
"Lava Wave!" Fireman roared, unleashing a tidal wave of magma.
"Nice trick…" Megaman ZX smirked before turning into FX, "Here's mine. Overdrive…"
Flames erupted off his body before his slammed his fists down on the ground…before an even bigger wave of lava ripped out of it and engulfed Fireman's with ease. Fireman screamed as he used his arms to fly out of the path of the tidal wave of boiling lava before his eyes widened as Roll A was before him, a smirking FX lowering his throwing arm.
"Get sliced through along with the very edges of the universe with our righteous fury!" Roll A declared.
"HeroSword! Sword! WideSword! LongSword!" Maylu shouted.
"Impossible!" Fireman panicked.
Roll A roared as she first swung the HeroSword, cleaving through him for a rising diagonal to the left. She then swung the LifeSword, ripping through him with an overhead slash.
=FIREMAN: LOGGING OUT!=
"This…This can't…" Match gasped, slumping over the console in defeat.
"Match over~!" Ribitta cheered, managing to keep a facade going to hide her nerves from the situation that happened to her, "The winners are the team of Vent and Ashe!"
"Whoo! That's…that's great…" Roll A groaned, changing back to Ashe and caught by a concerned Vent, "Ugh…"
"Maylu, Lan, let's get Ashe over to Jasmine and Meddy," Vent advised.
"R-Right!" Maylu nodded.
"Alright! Maylu and Lan won!" Yai cheered.
"That's a relief," Tory sighed in relief, "Though…what happened with Ashe?"
"No clue. It looked really painful," Dex grimaced.
"Mmm…Jasmine?" Alouette looked up at the older girl from Choina.
"Yes?" Jasmine asked.
"Do you think Meddy can look over Ashe? It looked really painful whatever happened to her," Alouette asked.
"Only if Maylu and Ashe ask," Jasmine replied before her PeT went off.
"Speaking of, Maylu just sent an email asking just that," Meddy noted.
"You'll need some help from a programmer," the group looked to see Famous walking over, "That was an attempt at someone using a Devil Chip."
Ms. Mari gasped, "A D-Devil Chip?! But those are illegal in almost every country in the world!"
"Yes," Famous nodded.
"We were so close! So close! Why didn't the stupid Chip work?!" Maddy growled, slamming a foot repeatedly on the wall of the hallway the two were in.
"Aye. The lass is indeed strong-willed," Match frowned, "And Megaman showed off he can use Model A as well."
"We should've expected that! He can do it with all those others, so why not that one his girlfriend has!?" Maddy growled, "Those brats are gonna pay! We'll have our victory!"
"In all of recorded history, evil has never truly triumphed!"
"!?" the two turned to see Commander Beef standing before them, arms crossed over his torso with a stern glare behind his visitor, with Mysteriyu and Madam Rose at his sides.
"A cool man, Commander Beef!" he declared.
"A wise woman, Mysteriyu."
"A blossoming woman, Madam Rose."
"Gh…" Match grit his teeth before grabbing a trash can and throwing it at them.
"Useless," Commander Beef declared as he deployed his laser blades and chopped through it.
"Gah! They have laser weapons?!" Maddy gasped before screaming as a whip made of plasma skeleton bones wrapped around her, "GAH!"
"Maddy!" Match panicked before a plasma rose whip ensnared him, "NO!"
"Due to WWW's utilization of a Devil Chip in this officially sanctioned international tournament, your privileges as not being able to be arrested on this land have been forfeited," Commander Beef declared, presenting his badge, "You two are under arrest."
"Mmm…Well, it seems that the strain on her data isn't as bad as I expected after learning she got a Devil Chip forced on her," Meddy noted, looking over a sphere Ashe was floating inside of while sound asleep.
"It seems that whatever you two did to force it out of the PeT minimized the damage she should've taken," Famous observed, looking over Ashe's data on his PeT's screen, "She'll need to stay in a recovery cycle for the rest of tonight, but she'll be able to continue on tomorrow." he frowned at Maylu, "But we do have one thing to address: forcing FullSynchro is a dangerous thing to do. If something went wrong, you would've been rendered comatose or worse."
Maylu gulped, "I…I'm sorry, but I…I just couldn't let Roll…" Lan gently laid a hand on her shoulder, "?"
"It's alright, Maylu. I understand what you were trying to do and it worked out in the end. We just gotta be more careful, alright?"
"Right…" Maylu nodded.
"Everyone, an urgent announcement!" everyone looked at a screen showing Higsby and Ribitta, "Due to certain actions earlier today, our final match will need a redraw for one competitor." the screen changed to show Magicman being removed from his spot as the roulette spun before settling on an icon for a whale's tail poking out of the sea, "Whaleman is taking his place! Please make your way to the Beta Dome for the next match, folks!"
'Oh those poor…poor folks… This will be a curbstomp,' Vent thought, "Lan, is it alright if I stay here?"
"Huh? Mmm…I guess," Lan replied, "But you don't really have to ask me. You're your own person. Just let me know when you're back, alright?"
Vent chuckled, a soft smile on his face, "Thanks, Lan."
Eventually, the only ones left were Jasmine, Meddy, Vent, and Maylu in the room. Jasmine logged Meddy out and nodded to Maylu.
"We'll be right back with something to eat," Jasmine spoke, "You need something as well."
"Thanks," Maylu thanked before she left, leaving her, the Biometals, Vent, and Ashe, "...Vent?"
"Yes?"
"...I…I saw something when in FullSynchro with her," Maylu explained, grimacing, "She…She was arguing with this scary lady in pink and looked like she had bits of Elecman on her body a-and her helmet that she sometimes wears." She barely noticed the flinch, "You know what she looked like."
"Um…"
"Are…Are you and Ashe…from the future?"
Vent grimaced, "...Maylu, I…"
[Maylu, what you are asking is a dangerous question] X spoke gently [We…]
[It's up to Vent] Zero cut X off.
"...Maylu, if I answer that…I want you to stay silent from Lan about this. I want to be the one to tell him, like how Roll wants to tell you," Vent responded.
Maylu nodded, "O…Okay."
"...We're from a bad timeline. We died…but Ashe and I somehow woke up on the days we were given to you and Lan respectively," Vent confirmed, "We've prevented the worst things, but…" he sighed, "Some things seem to just want to happen."
"Like the Devil Chip?"
"Yeah…" Vent grimaced, "We tried so hard to end that fight before you'd use it only to not think that Magicman added a secret trigger sentence to your hypnotism."
Maylu nodded, "...Um…"
"Maylu, after the N1, I want to tell Lan the truth…No, I will tell him the truth," Vent explained, "Do you think you can be patient enough to wait until then for the full explanation?"
Maylu nodded before a moment passed and she had a look of guilt, "...I did something bad, didn't I?"
"You didn't. The other you did…as did I," Vent sighed, "But remember: after the N1. I won't answer anything major about the future until then…well…except two things."
"Huh?"
"One thing Ashe wanted to do so much…was get past this point of the N1 with you since…this is where she and that other Maylu were forced to drop out," Vent explained.
Maylu grimaced, understanding what likely happened, "And the other…?"
"She loves you from the bottom of her heart and really does cherish you as a sister. She's been terrified of what would happen between you both when you learned the truth and doesn't want you to think that she thinks you're something like a replacement when that's further from the truth than anything," Vent replied, "And, frankly? You are a wonderful young girl that is far better than that other one. You're more active, you have a clearer head…you…smile more honestly…"
Maylu nodded, gently laying a hand on the screen showing Ashe in the sphere, "Roll…" she thought to what little she saw that evil Roll showed, 'I don't want to be like her…' she blinked a few times, '...Come to think of it…that dumb me didn't look well…even with what Vent said, she…likely wasn't mentally well, either. Roll probably didn't have her try parkour and find out it's amazing. She probably never learned how Virus Busting and those Pits helped save up money for rougher times when Mama or Papa thought the other paid bills during extremely busy times at work and I had to use my allowance and what we earned from those to pay the bills and have good healthy food.'
[Maylu?] Axl asked in a private link to her [Please don't react outwardly to me, okay? Vent's right about Ashe and how much she cares for you. She sometimes wakes up from nightmares of that other you and whatever she did. I don't know the full story either, but she and Vent never had us with them back then. I don't want to cause trouble because I like you as family, too. You and Ashe are the best sisters I've known aside from the two I used to have before the Elf Wars]
'You had sisters before us?'
[Alia and Layer. They were the best big sisters and really liked my big brothers X and Zero. They don't like talking about them, though. We…lost them during the Elf Wars when Dr. Weil bombed the current HQ at the time] Model A sniffled [It wasn't fair. Alia and X were gonna marry a few days before the Elf Wars broke out and Layer was gonna go on a date with Zero. I wish I had a chance like you and Ashe have here, but…]
Maylu's eyes softened, 'It'll be alright, Axl. Your sisters are probably still watching out for you and the others from above and you have Roll and I here for you as well. I don't thi k things would be the same if you weren't there.' She mentally giggled, 'You've helped me find things that I really enjoy that Roll thought of and you're a really good tutor for school.'
[Ohh…You're the best lil' sis, Maylu] Axl preened.
'And you're a great big brother,' Maylu replied, "Vent?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you for telling me this. And…I promise, I will try to stay silent on this time travel stuff until the N1 is over and you're ready to tell Lan," Maylu spoke.
Vent blinked a few times before a gentle smile of relief formed on his face, "Thanks, Maylu."
Chaud and Raika walked alongside one another towards the field of Beta Dome before Raika spoke, "Searchman and I will stay to the back, taking the mid-to-long range if needed."
"You think you won't be needed?"
"With your abilities and Protoman's, the battle will be swiftly over," Raika replied.
Chaud shook his head, "As much as I'd enjoy a swift and easy victory over them, I have an agreement to 'give a show' for someone important."
"Contractual agreement in the IPC?" Raika guessed.
"No; a little sister of a friend of mine," Chaud replied, "This is also a chance to show what Sharo's methods of NetBattle are like when working alongside another nation's style."
"I see," Raika nodded, "They're quite important to you if that's how you are handling this."
"Of course," Chaud replied, "They're family."
The two entered the field of the arena and approached their podium for the NetBattle. Across from them, their opponents were slightly unnerved due to who they were fighting. Hovering by Lan in holographic form, Model F chuckled.
[Ohh…Those two are gonna be up the lava flow without a reinforced Lightanium-X alloy paddle] Fafnir noted.
'Yep. …What's Lightanium-X?' Lan asked, looking at the Biometal after a moment.
[It's the alloy our dad was made from] Fafnir replied [It was super durable and took so much to damage it]
'Huh…Neat,' Lan noted as all four sent in their NetNavis, the opponents to Searchman and Protoman being a massive humanoid orca whale and a humanoid NetNavi with green skin, solid red eyes, a white bodysuit with gloves and scarf with a turban sporting a gold sun emblem on the turban.
[X…is it just me or does that guy look like Duff McWhalen?] Zero asked.
[He does, but I thought he went by Tidal Whale] X noted.
[Oh right, I fought him while you were being repaired by Alia after fighting Slash Grizzly] Zero replied [He had changed his name a few weeks before he was infected]
[That colony drop incident left me so baffled on the names of those we had to fight to get the things we needed] X sighed.
[I'm recording this for Ashe when she wakes up] Axl spoke [Also, I like the names from the reports from that incident. All of them sounded like musicians or songs]
"The more I hear about the past…the more I'm left confused," Maylu sighed.
"Those two are in for it. Searchman and Protoman are a dangerous combination to fight," Vent commented before Chaud held up three fingers, "Oh? He's giving them three minutes before he stops holding back. Good time limit for them."
"Um…I…"
Vent chuckled, "Tell you what, Maylu. I'll tell you some things from the other timeline for the N1 since those events happened differently to here. In this case? Blastman and Whaleman were Protoman and Shiningman's opponents. Protoman…beat up all three of them in seconds."
"Wow," Maylu noted in surprise.
"Yep. Though…I don't get why Chaud and Protoman are going slower than the first matches they've had here."
"Oh, that's because Alouette asked them to so she can cheer them on more," Maylu replied.
[...That little girl is devious] Leviathan summed up what they were all thinking.
"Three minutes…sporting," Searchman noted.
"I'd rather do less, but…a teary-eyed Alouette is not something one can handle without being truly evil," Protoman admitted.
"Come now. That can't be…" Searchman began before Protoman held up a digital photo of Alouette, looking at the camera with big, teary eyes, a quivering lip, and hugging Beep close, "...Put it away. Put. It. Away."
"See? And Alouette had Chaud take a photo of it for good measure and challenged us to see if we can overcome it," Protoman sighed.
"...That little girl is devious."
"And begin!" Ribitta cheered.
"Shining Blinder!" Shiningman shouted, letting loose a brilliant flash of light.
"Blind Mode!" Protoman declared, his visor turning darker as Searchman had to hold up his sniper rifle to prevent the light from getting into his eyes again.
Whaleman bellowed, having been behind Shiningman, before jumping over and slamming his tail down…letting loose a massive tidal wave. Protoman heard the oncoming wave and Chaud inserted a BattleChip, creating a pair of Swords before he teleported behind the tidal wave and before Shiningman, delivering two diagonal slashes with his swords to form an 'X.' He spun around as his swords were replaced with a golden blade with a cosmic-colored middle that seemed to be randomly shifting. He swung the blade and a barrage of four different colored shockwaves shot out and sliced apart the tidal wave before it could hit Searchman.
"What were those?!" Ribitta asked.
"The first was a StepCross. It's rumored to be have created from the data of two Sword BattleChips and an AreaSteal, hence why he could teleport like that and deliver those two slashes. There's another called StepSword that uses a single WideSword instead of a pair of Swords, huh," Higsby explained, "As for the other one, that is a rare BattleChip known as VariableSword. It can become any kind of blade the user wishes with the strongest attack being the Elemental Shockwaves, a set of shockwaves in the four Elements that comprise most of the Network."
Whaleman inhaled deeply before firing a pressurized stream of water at the two, forcing them to jump out of the way. Shiningman's NetOp inserted a BattleChip and a pair of swords made of light formed in his hands as he charged at Searchman. The Sharo-made NetNavi pulled out his combat knife and began to swiftly block and parry the attack upon him. A series of clicks made Shiningman look down in their stalemate to see grenades all primed and ready to go off beneath them. He gulped as Searchman smirked before they went off. Whaleman fired a barrage of water-made bullets from his blowhole, Protoman slicing through them with his sword or making them bounce away with his shield.
"I'm amazed that they're holding back like this," Famous noted.
"Not me," Oda chuckled as they watched the battle on Famous's PeT as they were on a boat heading back to shore, Match and Maddy detained under the deck with Madam Rose and Mysteriyu keeping vigilance and Commander Beef piloting, "Chaud tends to be headstrong…but nobody, aside from me, has ever been able to say 'no' to a request from a teary-eyed Alouette." he let out a huff, "She knows why that doesn't work on me anymore. Goddamn freemium apps…"
"Right…" Famous spoke, looking away from him to focus on the timer he had in the corner, "Ten seconds left."
"Maylu, do not blink or it will be over before you can watch," Vent warned.
"Huh?"
[Three…two…] Zero counted down.
"One," Lan whispered as three minutes were up.
As if a switch was flipped, the NetNavi team of Protoman and Searchman narrowed their eyes. One moment, they were about to be hit by an AquaTower…then Protoman was behind the two NetNavis as the AquaTower collapsed from two holes in it. The two gagged and choked as holes went through their emblems as several red lines covered their bodies…before they began to slide apart on them and quickly logged out.
"What just happened? I blinked and it was over, huh."
"Wow! What amazing speed!" Ribitta cheered, "After an intense three minutes, the winners are the team of Protoman and Searchman! Welcome back into the N1, Searchman and Raika!"
"Anything to note on them?" Chaud questioned as they soon left the field.
"Neither was showing any signs of FullSynchro," Raika replied.
"Pity. Improve Shiningman's speed in his attacks and he could be a good initial contact with enemies, utilizing his light to temporarily blind the opponent for other NetNavis to attack and either Delete or detain a criminal," Chaud noted.
Raika nodded, "Their tactics were sound and were quick to adapt to one another despite the last minute exchange. They'd be offered training in the Sharo military if they had been from my country for sure in order to maximize their potential, but neither of their NetOps seem to have the right mentality to handle it."
"That's just the difference between us and them, I suppose," Chaud casually shrugged.
"Whoa," Maylu gulped.
"Nervous?"
"Yeah."
"You and me both. Especially since I know they will become even stronger."
"They get stronger?" Maylu gawked before the door opened.
"Sorry. I got stuck in a crowd on my way back because they were watching on the screens and their PeTs," Jasmine apologized, entering with some food.
"Any changes?" Meddy asked.
"No changes," Vent confirmed.
"You're quite the dedicated boyfriend, hm?" Meddy pondered.
"A bit, yes," Vent replied, "Just wish I could've stopped this. Lousy WWW…"
"So infuriating. I wish Sun Wukong wasn't just a myth so he could enact righteous justice on them for interfering in a fight like they did!" Jasmine growled.
"She'll be okay, right?" Maylu asked, wanting a change of subject.
"Ah…Yeah, she will, Maylu," Jasmine assured, "She somehow did something no other NetNavi has ever been recorded of doing: forcing the Devil Chip out."
"Huh?"
"Yes. In all other recorded cases, a NetNavi has always, and I mean always, succumbed to the Devil Chip and been taken over," Jasmine explained, "Ashe, however, not only prevented it from happening…she forced the Devil Chip out of the PeT as well! Who made her, anyway?"
"I…I don't know," Maylu admitted, "Mama and Papa said they got her from a shop selling her data disc and thought she'd be a good NetNavi for me to have."
"Seriously? Hey, Vent, has Ashe…?"
"She doesn't know, either," Vent replied.
"Unusual," Jasmine frowned, "Whoever built her is advanced…extremely advanced. I'd really like to meet the person who made her to figure out how they made a NetNavi that did that to a Devil Chip."
'You and me both,' Vent thought, glancing over at the recovering Ashe.
GT: Whew. This…took…a while. Either delays caused by real life stuff or from mental burnout. Yes, I skipped the Bombman and Stoneman stuff and Beef fighting alongside Lan in the N1. I chose to go with the English Dub's choice of making the BattleChip needed being exactly the Cyclone one instead of just any because I found it to be the more interesting idea. Needing a specific BattleChip to stop the Devil Chip-or Twisted Chip as it's called in the English Dub-esd good.
Originally, Maylu wasn't meant to do that FullSynchro thing and see those memories, but as I write this, I felt like this was needed for some growth in their bonds and a way to show just a bit of what went wrong in that first timeline. Also, I swear that most of the random things I write for this just come from outta nowhere. Like Alouette using her child self to be adorable and use a sad pouty puppy face to make people cave in.
I'll be skipping the next day's NetBattles to focus on the top 8 and then the Final Four. If all goes well, I'm gonna get them all done before 2025 starts. If not, ah well, at least I tried to get the N1 arc over by 2025. Until next time, please Read and Review.