GT: This one…I've always planned to have. I always liked the idea, but wished they expanded on it instead of just a single scenario in Operation Shooting Star. If they ever try to do this again, I hope it will be a bigger thing, like its own game that takes place after BN6 and maybe include other parts of the franchise in it like how XDiVE was originally X characters but expanded to all others…with only three representatives from Star Force…ugh…yeah, we need some more stuff with the Star Force era of Megaman. I warn you in advance: minor torture near the end of the chapter.
Ashe yawned as she did some morning stretches, doing a morning workout video with Maylu in their house. With how close DenTech was to the artificial island, it was honestly easier for them to just take a boat there and back than just staying at the hotels. The exercise soon ended and Maylu grunted, rubbing one of her legs. Gow walked over, giving a mechanized bark while bringing over a sweat towel for the redhead. She accepted it, giving Gow a pat on the head as thanks.
"I'll get a shower real quick, Roll," Maylu spoke, "After that, we have a few bills to pay."
"Gotcha, Maylu," Ashe replied before, as Maylu went to wash up, she pulled up the news.
"Everyone~! Thank you so much for the last few days of the second half of the N1 Grand Prix!" Ribitta thanked on the screen, sitting in the empty Alpha Dome once more with Higsby on a lower level, "Yesterday's battles were really intense!"
"Indeed. After a minor scare the day before with one of our competitors and the forced usage of an illegal BattleChip, the NetNavi and NetOp were well enough to continue competing and showed a lot of potential, huh," Higsby agreed as several screens popped up at their sides, showing Searchman and Protoman taking down a pair of red and green NetNavis looking like they wore rounded armor resembling bricks and throwing pick axes at them on one, A-Atlas and Megaman FX delivering an uppercut of flames to force a duo of NetNavis to log out, Sharkman erupting from under the ground two NetNavis were on before Punk's arms slammed into them from the sides, and then a rain of rocks to fall upon two more with several round cartoon bombs before the latter exploded, "We've come down to the Final 8 NetNavis!" the screen changed to show a headshot of Vent, Ashe, Punk, Protoman, Sharkman, Searchman, and two other NetNavis, "Meaning that tomorrow will be showcasing not only the battles of two-v-two, but also the semifinals between the two teams that made it through the doubles round."
"We'd be having it today, but…" Ribitta sheepishly scratched the back of her head as the camera moved up to show Toadman and Numberman running by on the giant monitor…with a Virus swarm chasing them and other NetNavis, "A Virus Outbreak triggered, so we're spending the day working on purging the systems for tomorrow!"
"Ugh…We have to wait a few days before the next round because of the system damage from a Virus Outbreak…" Lan groaned, lying flat on his back.
"Sometimes we all need a day off, Lan," Vent noted, lying on his back on the desk while four of his Biometal partners were in the computer.
[WHAT IS THIS GAME, DUDE?! ARE YOU SERIOUS?! GIVE ME A GREEN CARD! WHAT! ARE! YOU! DOING?! HOLY SHIT!] Fafnir screeched as Leviathan couldn't stop laughing [OH FINALLY! Green 3!]
[...] Phantom played a green Reverse.
[I DON'T HAVE A GREEN!] Fafnir shrieked as Harpuia joined Leviathan in mad cackles of amusement.
[The…The best thing…about being a Biometal…!] Leviathan cackled [Faffy can't f-flip the table~!]
[SONUVABITCH!]
[Vent's right, Lan. With all that happened so far, you need a day to relax and unwind] Zero advised, chuckling at the sight of the ongoing game of UNO between the four younger Biometals.
Lan sighed, "But it still sucks…" his PeT began to go off, "Huh?"
"EMail from Inspector Oda," Vent informed, "Oh nice! We have the location of the WWW base!"
"Yes!" Lan whooped.
"It's in a deep part of the forests in a part that shouldn't be possible to get to as fast as the WWW have managed to get around," Vent replied.
"That far?" Lan gawked, "Mmm…Maybe they use a secret metroline?"
[Excellent suggestion] X noted [Several times when Zero and I were Reploids, Mavericks would use secret tunnels to perform covert operations to make their largest schemes go off]
[Only question is where the metroline would be] Zero spoke.
Lan nodded, "Guess we'll have to let everyone know?"
[Indeed] X agreed before the PeT rang [Phone call, Lan]
"Who's calling now?" Lan pondered as he answered it, "Hello?"
"LAN!"
"Maylu?" Lan pondered as he saw tears in her eyes.
"It's awful! It's…!"
"Maylu, deep breaths. You're panicking and not making sense!" Lan spoke, "Take a few deep breaths and tell us what's going on."
"It's Ashe! She…She's been…kidnapped!"
"What!?" Vent gasped, "What happened!?"
"That…That's the thing. One minute, everything was fine. We were out Virus Busting, having fun after paying some house bills, and…and all of a sudden…a NetNavi appeared, and…and then…" she shook her head, "I'm sorry, it's no good! I just don't understand what happened! What do I do…!?"
"Where are you?"
"Near the base."
"Okay. Head on in there and, if she's not there, call Ciel to come to the base. I'll be over there as fast as I can."
"O-Okay! I'll wait for you and the others, Lan!" Maylu promised before hanging up.
"Andale, Lan! Get there pronto!"
"Pronto? Is…that even a…?"
"LAN!"
"I'm going! I'm going!"
The secret entrance to the base slid open and Lan ran inside. He looked around before sighing in relief upon seeing Maylu sitting near the big monitor with a concerned Ciel and Sal. Nearby, Masa was focused on his PeT while Miyu was looking at her crystal ball with a troubled expression. He caught sight of Chaud watching the girls with a neutral expression before ignoring the boy to focus on Maylu.
"Maylu, are you alright?" Lan asked, "What happened?"
"She was waiting for you before telling any of us," Ciel replied.
Maylu nodded, "I'm fine, but…but Ashe was…"
[Maylu, honey, remember. Deep breaths] Leviathan spoke.
"U-Um…" Maylu took in a few deep breaths, "Th-Thanks, Leviathan…"
[No problem. Now just tell us what happened before whatever happened to her] Leviathan spoke.
"R-Right. We were on the Net, taking care of some things for the house," Maylu recalled, "But then…a NetNavi barged right into me!"
"Huh? A…A NetNavi barged right into you?" Sal gawked.
"Is that possible?" Masa asked in disbelief.
"Hmm…I heard of a city a day's drive from here working on a project to let NetNavis walk about on Earth, but they're still in the concept stages," Ciel recalled.
"And you know this because…?" Sal asked.
"More than likely, it requires robotics and Ciel has a few awards in it," Chaud replied, earning a nod from Ciel.
"I couldn't believe it, either," Maylu replied, "He went right into the PeT and appeared right beside Ashe! Then Ashe was…was…"
"Oh geez…Don't cry," Lan spoke, "It'll be alright, Maylu. Whoever kidnapped her is still on the Network, right?"
[Did you see where the kidnapper was taking her?] X asked.
"It…It looked like he was heading to the metroline's Network before I lost communication with Ashe," Maylu replied.
Ciel nodded, "Miyu?"
"...It…It's clouded."
"Huh?" Sal pondered.
"We can't get a fortune goin'," Skullman explained, grimacing, "Somethin' is jammin' our abilities and we can't see anythin'."
"Guess we'll have to do this the normal way and not the fun way," Masa noted, "Sharkman, get going to the Metroline's Network."
"Woodman, you go there, too," Sal commanded.
"Skullman…"
"Of course, Miyu."
Vent slammed his fist into his palm, a determined look on his face, "I can't forgive anyone who kidnaps Ashe. They're in for a world of hurt!"
"V-Vent? You look more fired up than usual," Lan gawked.
[Why shouldn't he be? Ashe is his girlfriend and a person he loves deeply] Zero noted.
"Hurry, all of you," Ciel ordered, "Whoever did this messed with one of our teammates. They should know that it means they messed with all of us."
"I suppose," Chaud acquiesced, "Protoman."
"Understood," Protoman replied.
[I'm surprised yer goin' along with this] F noted as Megaman Model X and Protoman ran along the Network towards the Metroline Network.
"Ciel was the one who requested me," Protoman replied.
[Good to hear] Z noted.
They ran up a pathway before skidding to a halt. Megaman Model X blinked a few times and he took in the sight before him. Before the two with his back to them was a NetNavi that looked to resemble a human boy of sixteen years of age. His purple hair was pulled up into a hairstyle meant to resemble the tailend of a shooting star in a navy blue bodysuit with gold data lines going up the body to armor in various shades of blue and silver.
[Vent, doesn't he look like that NetNavi who had been on the other side of that sphere of EM waves?] X pondered.
"Who are you?" Protoman demanded before Megaman ZX could answer.
The NetNavi turned around, his eyes hidden behind a magenta-tinted visor. He raised his left arm, showing a stylized piece of armor on it that resembled an angular blue dragon-like head on it with a crystal green piece on the back that seemed to resemble a slot to fit a card into. His fist glowed before changing into a blaster that he proceeded to fire several shots at them with, forcing Protoman to deploy his shield to block them as Megaman X switched to HX to rapidly cut through the attack.
"Hey! What are you doing?!" Megaman HX demanded.
"..." the NetNavi spun around and dashed off, resembling a beam of neon green light.
"F-Fast!" Megaman HX gasped.
"He's going to the Metroline Network," Protoman noted, "After him!"
"Right!" Megaman HX agreed before they raced after him.
"You said you recognize this one, Model X?" Protoman asked.
[Yes. Despite some added detailing to his armor and his left hand no longer being some sort of dragon-dog's head, I believe it is the same person who got the missing data back from those strange thieves] X affirmed [He seems older as well, which may suggest…he's a time traveler]
"Time travel? You think he came through a Past Tunnel?" Megaman HX questioned.
"Past Tunnel? What's that, Vent?" Lan asked.
"It's a phenomenon that creates a sort of 'tunnel' between two time periods, allowing communication to go through them," Megaman HX replied.
[So if it only allows communication, how is he here?] Harpuia questioned.
"We're made of data, a type of communication that can be sent," Megaman HX replied.
"So a Past Tunnel could let a NetNavi go back in time to record an event that's unclear to us…" Protoman noted before frowning, "...or allow them to alter events without our realization until it was too late."
"Yeah…" Megaman HX confirmed, hiding a grimace as, for a brief moment, he saw visions of an army of NetNavis with ominous red eyes and demonic expressions, a large clawed hand ripping out their own Emblem, and of a dark reflection laughing.
"Then it's best to cut him off. AreaSteal, download," Chaud ordered, causing Protoman to vanish.
"Hold it right there!" Protoman shouted, appearing ahead of the blue NetNavi and forcing him to skid to a halt.
"We have some questions you need to answer," Megaman HX spoke as he displayed a photo of Ashe, "Have you seen this NetNavi?"
"…" the NetNavi grimaced as he looked between the two before he charged at Protoman while glowing.
Protoman swung his sword…only for the NetNavi to phase through him, causing the red NetNavi to grunt. He turned around in time to see the NetNavi escape.
"Okay, if he wasn't already suspicious, then this just confirms it," Megaman HX scowled, "After him!"
"Sharkman, Woodman, Skullman, be on the lookout for a blue NetNavi with purple hair and a magenta visor! Top suspect in the kidnapping of Ashe!" Ciel informed.
"You got it," Sharkman replied, the trio standing ready at the entrance to the Metroline's Network.
"Someone's coming this way," Woodman spoke, causing the two others to look to see the blue NetNavi running their way.
'?! Oh shit…' Skullman thought as his eyes widened comically.
"Dat him?" Sharkman asked.
"Affirmative. Proceed with detainment," Ciel ordered.
"Gotcha! Fin Cutter!" Sharkman shouted, releasing a barrage of blue energy fins at the NetNavi, who swung his right arm up in a defensive manner and produced an emerald-green hexagonal barrier, "Gh?!"
"WoodTower!" Woodman shouted, slamming a foot down and sending out the pillars of sharpened logs at the boy only for his body to glow and phase through them all.
"Ah! It's just like Protoman said," Ciel gasped, "Is he…changing his frequency to prevent him from being harmed by it?"
"Bonemerang!" Skullman roared, throwing his arms at the male who phased through them and then the trio before continuing on.
"Gh…Blast it! After him!" Sharkman growled as he jumped up and 'dove' into the ground, racing after the NetNavi with just his fin poking out of the floor.
The blue NetNavi ran along a path before skidding to a halt. Before him laid a large digital clock-like gate shaped like an old time clock face. He took a step forward, only to be forced to jump out of the way of an ice dragon. He spun around to see the five NetNavis glaring at him.
"Now we have you," Protoman spoke.
"Where is Ashe!?" Megaman LX demanded.
"..." the male grimaced as he shifted into a fighting stance, "I can't let you pass!"
"What?"
"Tch…He must be guardin' what's behind that link," Sharkman guessed.
"That must be where Ashe is," Woodman guessed.
"Well, if he's wanting us to stay out of there, then we'll just have to force our way through!" Megaman LX declared, switching to ZX.
The blue NetNavi seemed to cringe as he readied himself. Skullman quickly threw his bones at the male only for the shield to form and block them. He did a backflip, soaring over ZX and Protoman's blades aimed for his back before unleashing a barrage of shots from his buster that forced Protoman to dodge as ZX rapidly swung his blade, the plasma shots being absorbed into the ZX-Saber. The male landed and was entrapped in a circle of WoodTowers. He started to glow again only for it to be stopped by Sharkman erupting from the ground with a WaterTower that sent him flying into the air and right into a barrage of slashes from Protoman until a demonic creature of green flames erupted from the boy's body and delivered a harsh slash to Protoman, sending him crashing down onto the ground.
"Vent, you get on through there. We'll keep 'im distracted," Sharkman whispered.
"Thanks," ZX nodded before rushing into the portal.
"NO!" the male shouted before throwing his shield up and blocking a slash from Protoman, "Gh!"
"Ugh…This ain't good…" a voice growled from the piece on the male's arm, the two red crystals on it flashing in time with the voice, "This is gonna alter history big time, ain't it?"
"Seems that way," the male whispered, "But…" he grimaced as he readied himself for another round of fighting, "..." he jumped back right into the portal.
"Gah!" Sharkman shouted, "We gotta go after 'em!"
"Ah! Wait! Don't go in there!" Ciel panicked.
"Why not!?" Sharkman demanded.
"Lan's collapsed and his PeT isn't registering Vent at all!"
"WHAT?!"
Megaman ZX materialized on a panel with an 'I' on it. He looked around and his eyes widened, seeing a vast void with only a large circular pathway upon it. In the center of the pathway was a large digital face of an old time clock, the hands slowly moving.
"Ah! Vent, over there!" Lan shouted, making Vent turn to see on a platform resembling a grandfather clock's face…was Ashe.
"Roll!" Megaman ZX shouted, earning no response from her, "...Roll?"
[Axl! Axl, respond!] X ordered, earning nothing.
[What's going on here?] Zero pondered.
"I don't know," Lan replied before letting out a confused noise, "Uh…"
"What's wrong, Lan?" Megaman ZX asked.
"I…can't feel my body."
"Huh?" ZX blinked twice in confusion.
[Odd…It does feel more cramped in here than usual] Zero observed.
"...Should we keep moving ahead then?" Megaman ZX pondered.
"I…um…" Lan tried to think before huffing, "Yeah! We have friends to recover!"
"Right," Megaman ZX nodded before taking a step forward…only for his body to tense and flicker, "!?"
"U-Ugh…" Lan groaned.
[What is it…?] Zero pondered before Lan seemed to fall out of Megaman ZX.
"Lan?!" Vent gasped, catching the boy.
"Ugh…" Lan groaned, his eyes fluttering open, "V…Vent?"
"I'm right here. But…you're here, too?" Megaman ZX pondered.
[This place must have messed with FullSynchro and pulled Lan's consciousness all the way in here] X guessed.
[Tch…Of course] Zero groaned before splitting off from Megaman Model X and MegaMerged with Lan [I'll give you some protection while we're here]
"Th-Thanks, Zero," Lan thanked before looking up at Megaman X, "Let's get going then."
"Oh no. You are going back," Megaman X argued.
"Mmm…AH!" Lan pointed to the right.
"Wha…?" Megaman X began as he turned to see nothing, "...He ran past us, didn't he?"
[Yes, yes he did]
"...Dang it," Megaman X groaned as he dashed after him, neither seeing the other boy appear.
"This must be…" the male began before seeing the two, "!? Two of him?"
"Must be his NetOp's consciousness, Geo," the voice observed, "Didn't those files Granny gave us say that some NetOps and NetNavis could fuse their minds together for a thing called FullSynchro or something?"
"This place must have disrupted the connection," the male…Geo…replied before running after them.
"LAN!" Megaman X shouted, quickly dashing ahead of the boy and got before him on top of a platform resembling a smaller version of the one Ashe was on.
"Gh!" Lan jumped back, "S-Sorry, Vent."
"Ugh…Lan, please be careful. I…don't…want…to…" Megaman X's voice slowed down as his body froze.
"Vent?" Lan pondered before jumping back as a red energy barrier surrounded the platform, "ACK!"
[Shit! It's a trap!] Z exclaimed.
"Vent! Vent! VEEEEENNNT!" Lan screamed, attacking the barrier with the Z-Saber only to bounce off it each time, "Gh! Let him go!"
"Shoot! We're too late!" Lan spun around, glaring at Geo.
"You!" Lan snapped, "You did this, didn't you?!"
"Hey, hey, whoa now! We ain't done nothin'!" the voice from his arm snapped before the creature appeared beside Geo, donned in armor matching in color to Geo's with an angular head.
[Lan, I recognize that creature's head, it was on the arm of a boy NetNavi that looked to be your age] Zero recognized.
"Huh? The one who helped get back Papa's data?" Lan questioned.
"Oh yeah…We did do that, didn't we, Geo?" the creature asked.
"Omega-Xis…" Geo sighed before looking at the boy and the trapped NetNavi, "Oh man…We were told to not involve people from the past in this to prevent time from being altered…"
"Huh? Past? Alter?" Lan questioned.
"Well there's no helping it," Omega-Xis huffed as he floated over to them, "Look, we need to get outta this place, okay? We can talk wherever your body's at."
"Hey now…!" Geo began.
"Kid, it's too late. They're involved now," Omega-Xis argued, "Time to stop sneaking around and time to go buck wild like usual!"
"N-No! And aren't you the one who always goes buck wild!?"
[Okay, I'm getting annoyed. Lan, can I borrow your head for a moment?]
"Huh? My head?" Lan pondered, "Uh…sure." his mouth twitched as his eyes flashed for a moment, "ATTEN-HUT!" almost instantly, Geo tensed up and stood at attention on pure reflex from the sharp tone in Zero's voice that came out of Lan's mouth all of a sudden, "Understand this…Our friends are in danger…our partners are right there, frozen like statues…You are going to tell us everything that's happening or so help me…" Zero tilted Lan's head, shadowing his face as his eyes seemed to glow ominously with his cybernetic eye turning a deep azure, "You won't like what we do to you brats."
Geo gulped, sweating heavily now.
Lan groaned as he opened his eyes, wincing a bit at the ceiling lights. He blinked a few times before going beet red as he realized his head was on Maylu's lap…before seeing her worried face.
"Sorry," Lan apologized as he managed to sit up.
"What happened?" Maylu asked.
"Wherever that leads to, it made me fall outta FullSynchro with Vent and dragged my mind in there," Lan explained, "Zero let me MegaMerge with him, but Vent and Model X…"
Everyone jumped back as Geo materialized before them, "H-Hello."
"What the…?!" Masa gawked.
"A NetNavi really did materialize on Earth!" Sal gawked.
"I'm not a NetNavi," Geo corrected.
"...Say what?" Ciel pondered.
"He is the one who inherited the title of 'Megaman' two centuries from now," Miyu informed.
"Huh?! H-How did you…?!" Geo gawked.
"Fortune teller," Sal replied, "So…you're from the future?"
"Nobody ask about the future!" Ciel barked, making them jump, "What's your name?"
"Um…It's Geo, miss," Geo replied as he held up his arm, "This is my partner, Omega-Xis."
"Howdy. You've got a pretty strange frequency to ya, Blondie."
"Omega-Xis," Geo hissed out in a scolding tone before speaking aloud, "I fuse with him to become Shooting Star Megaman."
"Fuse? Like a MegaMerge?" Lan compared.
"Never heard of that," Geo replied.
"So…Omega-Xis is your NetNavi?" Maylu asked.
"No. We use Wizards in my time. They're like NetNavis but are made from Electromagnetic Waves. We switched from the Network to using EM Wave about 150 years from now. We still have NetNavis…just…specialized."
"Specialized?" Chaud repeated.
"Like one for teaching homeschool, another to pilot RC helicopters…that kind of stuff. Basic things," Geo explained before shaking his head, "The reason I'm here is because of a NetNavi made in our time meant to just keep track of the time. An incident I was involved with caused some condensed EM Waves to be infused into him and evolve him into Clockman." He scowled, "He kidnapped my closest friend and then came back to this time and kidnapped your friend Ashe."
"How did you come back to this time?" Ciel asked.
"A friend of mine, Kazuma, worked with a scientist we know to make a working time portal, but…"
"One way only?" Ciel guessed, earning a nod.
"Only way we're getting back is by going buck wild on Clockman and getting those girls back," Omega-Xis huffed.
"What happened to Vent and X?" Lan asked.
"A Time Trap," Geo explained, "Clockman had temporal manipulation on his side, so we need data from clocks to break the traps."
"Wait…Why clocks?" Masa asked.
"He may control time, but time doesn't stop. By introducing 'time' to the traps, they'll come undone," Geo explained.
"Only reason we know this is because Kaz had to get us free from the one the kidnapper put us in when he kidnapped Geo's girlfriend."
"Not my girlfriend!"
"We had the red bean rice!"
"Ugh…!" Geo facepalmed.
"...I see seven children in the future," Miyu informed, causing Geo to start sputtering with a beet red face.
"She kids, she kids. This Clockman seems to be messing with our skills, so we can't do any fortunes at the moment," Skullman chuckled, "We have a few clocks at the shop."
"I have one back home!" Masa noted.
"My mom gave me our family's old grandfather clock for my shop," Sal added.
"Bring them all," Ciel ordered, "We need this clock data to help deal with the threat."
"So…guess we're stuck here until they get back," Lan spoke.
[I'd feel better if we were able to go there now] Zero spoke.
"Who said that?" Geo asked, looking around.
"Add another to the list, Ciel," Chaud said as Zero formed on Lan's shoulder.
[I did. Seems you have the potential to MegaMerge then] Zero noted.
"All he needs is a surgery," Lan nodded.
"Wait, what surgery?" Geo tilted his head, "Do you mean the Reploid Operation?"
"...The what?" Maylu blinked a few times.
"An operation that extends a human's life by replacing several internal organs and bones with techno-organic replacements. The process is pretty simple and beneficial for folks. Normally you have to be fifteen or older to get one, but there can be exceptions like being an actress or actor and need it in order to do certain scenes or like me when an accident when I was eleven made me have to go through it. It's simply a few hours in surgery followed by three days to recover," Geo explained, "Weren't you two the original Patients Zero?"
"Oh! That!" Lan realized.
"Do ya have to remind me of that, kid? It was freaky seein' ya all opened up and things gettin' swapped…Lousy statue landin' on ya after that last blow…" Omega-Xis grumbled
"So…what I introduced is still a thing in the future?" Ciel asked.
"Yes," Geo confirmed, "It's saved a lot of lives due to the enhanced durability it gives along with it saving people from dying of organ failure." He shook his head, "But we're getting sidetracked."
[True. We can't do anything until we get that clock data] Zero huffed [How's the Data Vent give you doing?]
"Huh? You met Vent?" Lan asked as Geo looked at Model Z in surprise.
"You recognized me?"
[Of course I did. You can change the look and the experience, but one always has something they just can't change in them that people can always use to recognize them] Zero explained [For you…it's the kindness in your eyes. It's stronger now than when I first met you, no longer held back by trauma]
"O-Oh…Well…"
"That Buster is insane! That thing is stupid fast in speed with all kinds of side-effects on the enemies we hit it with. Even with it being so long since we got it, there's still nothing we can compare it to! Even that Granny hasn't been able to make a Buster capable of that sorta speed!"
"Omega-Xis!"
"Even you have to admit that the Buster is nuts! Especially that upgrade we got when we found all those journal entries! Seriously, this red head looks like the ice sculpture we found one entry in, even…."
"Shush!" Geo and Ciel shushed, Maylu tilting her head in confusion.
"Oh great. It's in stereo now. Betcha she's yer ancestor."
"I am so sorry for him," Geo apologized with a groan.
"It's relatable," Ciel assured, "...And I refuse to do a DNA test just to spite him for the joke."
"Rats."
"Hmm…How peculiar," a voice noted before an orange-colored finger in a lime and neon yellow fingerless glove traced Ashe's jawline, "You…are not of this timeline. And yet…you are as well. You are…ah, I see!" the fingers snapped in realization and pointed at Ashe, "You are on your latest life." the hand waved to the side and a large clock spun its arms in reverse, giving way to a vision of a large, menacing figure glaring down upon a group as a screen within the vision showed the remains of the world, "A failure when there should not have been one. Whatever was the cause?" the image went rapidly in reverse until showing Maylu in a ripped up sundress falling from a broken roller coaster onto a pile of Moloko Viruses before it split in two and the second showed her being caught by what looked like Vent when he was Megaman with brown hair and eyes catching her mid-fall on a Condor Virus, "Oh, I see, I see…A change in the course of actions. Events shifted drastically from where they were meant to be and then…" the image changed to show Ashe in her last life as a Hunter and the events that followed her finding Model A, "How…intriguing. You and Vent…" the owner of the hand looked out to where Megaman Model X was frozen, "...you have contaminated this timeline, altered it on a level it was not meant to go through. Even before you came into being in this life, your mere coming had already altered events." the image changed, showing a bewildered and confused Masa and Sharkman walking away after a tournament only to come upon Oda and Famous, a frightened Sal watching as a male her age in a red hoodie and black and yellow baseball hat with glasses shoved into the back of a police cruiser by Oda as Masa in a red helmet with visor and fish fins glued to it approached with Famous, a man in shadows creating a NetNavi not meant to have existed yet before an internet system not supposed to exist now exists… "You have conjoined the split between game, animation, and two books of timelines as one unified one. This was meant to be just the animation, yet your existences has overlaid the others onto it, restructuring things to allow others to make sense and either removed or replaced events." a second hand joined the first, "Even I and these events should not have occurred were it not for you two…" he chuckled, "Oh, this is too rich! My plans are able to go as they please because I exist in this version thanks to you two existing!" he waved both hands and a larger one formed, showing a reflection from above, the other owner of the hands grinning a grin of excitement on their orange face donned in more lime green and neon yellow armor with bits of clocks on them as he had a third girl as well, one sporting spikey blond hair in reds, "And you've created one other as well! One of the exact same events, yet also altered with more reincarnated souls in not just our part of the split, but also on the very end! How many more are blossoming because you two Destined Lovers have come back to life in this new form?" another laugh came from them, "It seems no matter what happens, you two Destined Lovers have created an era of pure excitement that we would not have had! I must thank you so…" he looked over at the frozen Megaman X as his reflected counterpart gazed upon a frozen Megaman X…and Protoman, "As such, I may let you live as statues for gazing upon when my harem recovers or must take time for my children to be born." he ran a finger along Ashe's jawline, his counterpart doing the same to his Ashe and the blonde in red before the reflected image vanished above, "And you shall be my first to bed."
"Okay…What's with the chair?" Lan asked, looking at the bulky white device with a navy blue seat in it that Ciel was assembling.
"Your PeT won't function properly with that link," Ciel pointed out, "What this does is allow your mind to go into the Network and make a stronger connection with the PeT. Normally, this is ill-advised since it leaves you vulnerable. But you have Zero with you and can MegaMerge with him, so you'll be safe."
"What do you mean 'ill-advised,' Ciel?" Maylu asked in concern.
"Humans don't have combat programs like NetNavis do," Ciel explained, "And if a human's mind is Deleted…"
[The human is rendered brain dead until their mind's deleted fragments are reassembled] Zero finished for her.
"WHAT?!" Maylu gasped.
"But Lan will be safe," Ciel quickly assured, "I would trust Zero with my life and he'll have the others escorting him and Geo back to the link."
"...If it can help save Vent and Ashe, then I'm up for it," Lan declared, clenching a fist in determination.
"Lan…" Maylu grimaced in concern.
"He'll be safe with us," Geo assured as the three adults returned.
"We got the data from every single clock we could find," Masa informed.
"Splendid! And I'm done working on the Pulse Transmission system," Ciel smiled before looking at Lan, "Just sit in this and you'll be sent into the Network."
"I hope you're ready then, Zero," Lan spoke.
[With everything I've dealt with, this is just a typical Tuesday for myself] Zero replied as Lan sat down in the chair.
"Just plug your PeT into there and slot thirty of your BattleChips into here," Ciel explained, "After that, you start the system up by pressing this button right here. Once you do, it will run until you Log Out by returning to the exact spot you logged out of or I press the override button."
"So what? He's just gonna nap in there?" Omega-Xis asked, not really getting it.
"No, Omega-Xis, he's going to use that system to let his mind go into the Network," Geo explained.
"So why can't I just turn him into an EM Being like I did with…?"
"Omega-Xis, no! We are not doing that! That would alter history far too much than it already is!" Geo scolded in a panic.
"Huh…Converting a human being into electromagnetic waves?" Ciel pondered, "..." she shook her head, "No. I'd rather not touch that subject at this time."
'Zero, did…' Maylu thought.
[I try to respect the two and not ask about every little thing that happened] Zero replied to Maylu alone [Pretty sure this is all new to them as well]
"Okay! I'm all good to go!" Lan declared, "TIme to save Vent, Ashe, and Geo's friend!" he pushed the button and a helmet flipped over and onto his head, hiding his face before his body went slack in the seat.
"Lan…" Maylu whispered before looking at the large monitor with the others before a digital version of Lan appeared on them before Zero MegaMerged with the boy.
Lan Z opened his eyes, "Did…Did it work?"
"Yep!" Sharkman replied as the NetNavis logged in with Geo.
"Wow! You're taller than I thought, Sharkman!" Lan Z awed.
"Let's focus on the mission," Protoman ordered, "We'll escort you all, but it may be best if just you two go into there. If this Clockman is a threat, all of us going in at once would just make him more dangerous and take on risks that we can't afford with hostages involved."
"Protoman's right. Please rescue everyone from this Clockman," Ciel pleaded.
Lan Z and Geo entered the clock-themed Network and Lan Z sighed in relief, holding the spheres containing the Clock Data in them, "Oh thank goodness…"
"Pretty wild, right?" Omega-Xis smirked.
[And Vent has to deal with this stuff almost daily] Zero added.
"Yeah," Lan Z nodded before they walked up to the trap Megaman X was in, "Time to save you, guys."
He held up one of the spheres and it entered the trap. The clock glowed before the hands began to move once more. Megaman X stumbled and blinked.
"Huh? …What just…?" he pondered before Lan Z hugged him, "Ah!"
"Vent! I'm sorry!" Lan Z apologized.
"H-Hey now! Lan, what's gotten into you?" Megaman X asked.
"You've missed a lot, sir," Geo replied.
"Oh! Vent, this is Geo and his buddy Omega-Xis! They're from the future!" Lan Z explained.
"The future? …Wait…We went into the future through that sphere of EM Waves?!" Megaman X asked in shock.
[Not my first foray into time travel] X noted.
[May not be our last, either] Zero added, separating from Lan to let him go into FullSynchro with Megaman X before they became Megaman ZX [Long story short: a NetNavi named Clockman went Maverick, kidnapped Geo's friend that's standing beside Ashe, and he has power over time itself. We need to use this ClockData to counter his traps as we get closer]
Megaman ZX nodded, "I see…So you came to the past to save someone special to you."
"That's right. I'm sorry for attacking you before. I was trying to not get anyone else involved in this situation and alter the past," Geo apologized.
"Hey, it's alright, Geo," Megaman ZX assured, "Time travel is tricky that way. For all anyone here knows? You doing this may have been predetermined and had to happen."
"Ugh…Time travel sucks!" Omega-Xis complained, "Less stop yappin' and start going Buck Wild on that kidnapping creepazoid!"
"Right," Geo and Megaman ZX nodded before they proceeded on ahead.
"Heads up! Incoming Viruses!" Lan warned.
"I've never seen ones like those," Geo noted, seeing a few resembling skeletons missing their lower halves and wielding clubs made of bones, ones in miniature biplanes, and octopi blowing yellow bubbles.
"I have." 'What the…? Some of these Viruses shouldn't exist yet,' Megaman ZX thought before seeing Mettaur with an antenna on their helmets, living red and black one-wheeled motorcycles with a single fire-made wheel and demonic faces, and-oddly-random colored, blank-eyed Omega-Xis-like Viruses, "...Your partner is a Virus?"
"NO! I AM AN ALIEN!" Omega-Xis snapped, "GRAAAAH! Geo, it's those goddamn copies of me again!"
"This place must be filled with Viruses from different eras," Geo guessed as he began to shoot at the Viruses as ZX opened fire as well before using his saber to cut through any that got too close.
"Because of course things just can't be easy for once," Lan grumbled as a Spreader replaced Megaman LX's glove and fired off a barrage of shots that froze several Viruses that he swiftly shattered with his polearm.
"It doesn't matter to me," Megaman LX scowled before HX swept past several Viruses, deleting them and collecting their data for later, "I'll do everything I can to save Ashe and Axl!"
"Same here!" Geo agreed as his arms turned into a pair of pink plasma swords surrounded by teal plasma forming a drill-blade of sorts before racing in and tearing into the Viruses, "Sonia and Lyra are counting on us!"
{Interesting blade} Phantom thought as PX swiftly threw a shuriken with some Clock Data attached to it ahead, disabling another trap, [That appears to be the last one]
"Good," ZX nodded as he cut down the last Virus and collected its data, "Let's get going!"
"Right!" Geo nodded.
The two continued on, at times having to delete more Viruses that would appear from the floating digital clock-like gates. Eventually, they arrived to the largest platform where a frozen Ashe stood alongside a young woman Geo's age with shoulder-length blond hair in red and white armor resembling a short dress with a heart-shaped armor over her chest, headphone-like pieces on her helmet with a blue-tinted visor, a long white scarf, and an orphan blue guitar with a small face on the head of it with a mic that it seemed to 'hold.'
"That your friend?" ZX asked.
"Yeah, that's Sonia and Lyra," Geo confirmed, "That's Ashe?"
"Yes," ZX confirmed as he ran up to her and looked her over, "...Do we still have any Clock Data?"
"Yeah. Last two," Geo replied as he handed one to ZX as he had the other before they put them against the girls and let the data be used…before ZX grunted as Ashe slammed a fist into his face as Geo yelped as Sonia tied him up in guitar strings.
"YOU-Ack!" Ashe yelped as she looked at Megaman ZX with wide eyes, "Mega?!"
"What?" Omega-Xis asked.
"Not you," Geo grunted, struggling to get out of the strings.
"Huh? G-Geo?!" Sonia yelped before playing her guitar, causing the strings to let him go and return back to her guitar, "Oh my goodness! I'm sorry! I…wait…" she looked around, "Um…Where are we? Last thing I remember was going to attack that freaky guy that froze you with a touch."
"Orange skin? Lots of green and yellow? Too many clocks on him for anyone's liking?" Ashe asked.
"Yeah!" Sonia nodded.
"I was going for a brawl one moment then I'm here, too," Ashe noted.
[All I remember was you about to MegaMerge then he reached for us] Axl added, popping out of her pocket.
"Huh? Who said that?" the guitar asked.
"Was it coming from the tiny metal thing?" Sonia pondered.
[Huh…Good to know that there's two Chosen in the future if there's an emergency they can't handle on their own] Fafnir noted.
"Huh? Who said that?!" Sonia asked.
"Our Biometals," ZX replied, "My name is Vent, or Megaman when I'm suited up."
"I'm Ashe, but call me Roll A when I'm working with Axl," Ashe added.
"It's nice to meet you, Ashe, Axl," Geo greeted, "I'm Geo and my partner is Omega-Xis. These are our friends, Sonia and Lyra."
"I go by Harp Note while suited up!" Sonia beamed before blinking a few times, "Wait…Isn't Megaman your name, Geo?"
"It's time travel, Sonia," Geo replied, "We're technically in a temporal pocket space bridging the years 22XX and 20XX together."
"Ohh…It's much more than that, Shooting Star Megaman…"
All four tensed as, in a flash, Roll A had her guns out, Geo readied his Buster, Megaman ZX prepped his sword and buster, and Lyra Note had Lyra ready to play with Megaman ZX speaking up, "Clockman, I presume."
"Indeed I am!" Clockman's voice laughed, "Oh…You…You boys are several seconds behind schedule but also several minutes ahead of time with freeing those girls than the original timeline held!"
"Huh? Original timeline?" Lan pondered, earning a chuckle from Clockman.
"Time's gone all wibbly-wobbly, Lan Hikari. Nobody truly knows what comes next due to these altered times from existences not meant to be and loss of existences meant to be," Clockman went on, "I should not even exist nor the connections made between these two eras…and yet…here we are! Connected and existing!"
'Shit…Another issue from us…' Roll A thought with a grimace.
"You touched the Deep Dive, you who should and shouldn't exist in this timeline," he continued, "You touched it and linked it to this line in a way it was not meant to. Things have flooded in from the others connected and even this realm has branched off with more!" the clock appeared above them, looking to see all of them looking upwards, but also the blonde in red, a boy in blue armor so much like Geo and Vent's as Megaman X's own, and Protoman before it flickered, showing a frozen Sonia and Roll nearby but also Vent in his original life with Geo and Zero in a physical body (much to the stunned surprise of the Biometals, Vent, and Ashe); another flicker and it began showing several other variations before settling back on the first before vanishing, "You have created worlds unlike any other! You've caused quite the schism to things and the Deep Dive has embraced this unknown! However…it matters not to me! All I want…is what I want." a clock gate appeared before them on Geo and Megaman ZX's end, allowing the tall, lanky form of Clockman to be fully exposed, "Hoo-hoo-hoo~!"
"This guy's Clockman?" Megaman ZX asked.
"Yeah! A real piece of work, ain't he?" Omega-Xis huffed.
"My goodness, this is quite the upset, hm? Events happening, events not happening, choices originally made changed leading to what happens here," Clockman chuckled.
"Uh…Any idea what he's talking about?" Lyra Note asked.
"Long story short? Sounds like all this wasn't meant to happen, but something went wrong and made it happen," Omega-Xis guessed.
"Indeed~! We were not meant to exist, nor were the events of 200 years from now meant to connect to the events of now in this timeline of the Network Era," Clockman noted, "A simple choice of using a Moloko swarm to be a backup plan instead of using a Condor allowed a deep-seated mental break finally trigger instead of ending up naturally vanishing. A failure came from it because the results of a broken heart leading another to seal up their heart and the mental break to fully shatter and turn the heart to darkness and all three lead to a failure from the Divine. Two lives initially reborn in the Robot Era and then it spread and created near-similar and gave way to one of the playable Eras of the Robot Era and two of the viewable Network Era to be connected to the soul from the failed timeline to appear as the core trinity of the Robot Era and be reborn upon death in an inverse for the far end of the Network Era to be the playable and the viewable Network Era be this one, but also more with all three connected to the era the broken hearted Fated Lovers were reborn within after the serpent eating its tail was obliterated with all remnants of the madness now gone and in the blended present Network Era."
"Aaaand I am completely lost," Roll A muttered.
"Things didn't go as planned, some couple died when they shouldn't, and then shit happened and we're dealing with multiple timelines all doing this event in different ways with different folks."
"How are you understanding him?!" Roll A and Sonia gawked.
"Spend enough time dealing with psychos, you learn to understand the stuff they spout. Don't give a damn about it. He's getting whupped!"
"Let's see if you can. Even with these delays, I can still accomplish my goals within 32 hours, 8 minutes, and 12 seconds!" Clockman declared.
[Oh boy…This guy's one nutty psycho] Axl groaned.
"Goals?" Megaman ZX repeated.
"Of course! To collect all the beautiful NetNavis of this era and bring them to the future, freezing them in time to do with as I wish whenever I want to," Clockman replied.
"What?! Oh you are sick, buddy, y'know that?!" Roll A snarled.
"You…" Megaman ZX narrowed his eyes, gripping his weapons tighter, "You kidnapped our friends for such a sick and selfish reason!?"
"Hmph, as expected from those without any true beauty such as yourselves," Clockman huffed, "Unable to understand the thoughts of one such as I."
"Heh! I don't wanna even understand 'em in the first place!" Omega-Xiss huffed.
"Taking away people's time just for your own purposes…Unforgivable!" Geo declared.
"Hmph. Very well then…" Clockman held an arm out and a sword resembling an hour hand snapped into place in the palm of it, "...Three minutes…" he held the other out and a minute hand-like sword snapped into the palm of that hand, "...In three minutes exactly, I will end all of you."
"I can't get in contact with Maylu…" Roll A grimaced.
[Looks like we're the power duo again and not the awesome trinity] Axl noted.
"The only reason I can do anything is because I used something called Pulse Transmission to keep a connection to Vent," Lan spoke, "Sorry I don't think I can send you any BattleChips, Ashe."
"It's fine, Lan," Roll A assured, "Axl and I are good enough for now."
"Here he comes," Lyra warned.
"Let's kick his butt and teach him not to mess with us ever again!" Sonia declared.
"Right! Wave Battle…"
"Battle Routine, set!"
"Ride On/Execute!" Geo and Megaman ZX declared, the first upon Clockman and swinging down with the drill-like sword for Geo and the ZX-Saber from ZX, making the time traveler swing his Clock Slicers up to block their blades only to grunt as several plasma-made music notes and bullets to slam into him, knocking him away from them.
"Tch…Calling Rogue!" Clockman declared as a clock appeared before them, showing '22:XX' on it before it opened…forcing ZX to grunt as he parried two large swords held by a boy around their age in a black bodysuit with red designs and a left arm engulfed in purple electromagnetic radiation.
"Solo?!" Geo gasped.
"Calling Protoman!"
Geo cried out as a green hexagonal barrier materialized, blocking Protoman's sword from slicing into the future Megaman. A-Magma Dragoon's fist rammed into Rogue's side as Protoman was wrapped up in guitar strings and thrown at Rogue, slamming their backs into one another before A-Atlas and Sonia with her right fist engulfed in a massive red-armored gauntlet slammed their charged up buster/fist into the two, creating a fiery explosion. Clockman did a moonwalk, avoiding the blasts from Geo and ZX.
"Clock Laser!" Clockman declared, swinging his hands up and firing green beams from his Clock Slicers at the two boys, making them dodge and let a nearby Mettaur pair get it…turning onto into dust and the other into what appeared to be a tiny baby Mettaur with a pacifier and plush pickaxe.
"...Right…Do not be hit by that laser," ZX advised, earning a nod from a wide-eyed Geo.
"Hah! Let's see you try! Clock Laser Rain!" Clockman declared as dozens of clock gates appeared overhead and began to rain down lasers on the two.
In a flash, HX and Geo raced about, dodging the assault. HX's hands turned into Spreaders and began to fire at Clockman, making the orange-skinned NetNavi grin and began to dodge the onslaught before crying out as a purple rain came down upon him where the gaps between Spreader shots were, sticking him to the ground and be assaulted with shots from HX.
"Wh-What is this?!" Clockman gasped, struggling to get out of the slime.
"StickyRain," Geo replied as steam hissed off Clockman, "It immobilizes and damages."
"Gh…" Clockman hissed before glaring at them, "Calling Copy X!"
[?!] the Biometals minus A tensed as a clock gate appeared and deposited what looked like a thinner Megaman Model X with red eyes, a white bodysuit, and white and gold angelic-based armor with tiny 'wings' coming out of his blue helmet and two on his back.
"Copy X?" Geo repeated before he was gone, "?!" he screamed as the claws on Copy X's hands ripped into his back, "GYAAAARGH!"
"Geo! Quick Strings!" Sonia shouted before her guitar strings were caught by Copy X and pulled on hard, "YIPE!" she was spun around before slammed down hard onto Geo, "GAH!"
"URK!" Geo grunted.
"Giga Crush!" Roll A shouted, unleashing her strongest attack…only for Copy X to swiftly evade each and every shot before delivering several strikes with his claws and then a kick to her stomach, "GH!"
[This is bad…They can't fight Copy X] X noted in worry.
[I really wish I had my body back to deal with him again] Zero growled.
"...Body?" Lan repeated as he looked over at the toddler Mettaur, babbling as it waddled off, before looking over at Clockman as he was using his Clock Lasers to age the gunk to dust, "...That's it!"
"What's it?" ZX asked.
"Everyone, trust me on this, alright? Drop the MegaMerge and make him mad," Lan ordered.
[What?! Dude, that's…] Fafnir began.
[Brilliant] Phantom stated.
[Huh?] Leviathan and Fafnir pondered.
[I think I understand what he's planning. Vent, it would be best to do what Lan says. Rile him up and make him use one of his strongest Clock Lasers] Harpuia advised.
"Well…A-Alright," ZX sighed before changing back to Vent, "Hey, Clockman! What's wrong? Are we messing with your schedule?"
"I still have two minutes and seven seconds remaining before my perfect three minutes ends," Clockman scoffed.
"Oh please…You won't win," Vent shrugged, "You need to summon others to tucker us out. You're just an incompetent, lazy wuss."
"Gh…"
"Oh, and what's with all the old clock motifs here, huh? Guess you're not as advanced as you think if you're using something so antiquated," Vent went on.
"A-Anti…"
"Though, I guess you need all these to compensate."
"C-Compensate?! For what?!"
"How little you have compared to even a regular-sized clock's second hand," Vent replied.
"!?" Clockman's eyes turned into pinpoints.
[There it goes] Fafnir chuckled.
"Huh? What did you mean by that, Vent?" Lan innocently asked.
"I'll tel…"
"MEGA CLOCK LASER!" Clockman bellowed as a massive green beam ripped out of the gate behind him.
Vent smirked…before throwing all his Biometals at it. Clockman's eyes dilated in horror as the beam hit and created an explosion. For a few moments…it was still. Then Clockman yelped, barely dodging a rain of plasma shuriken before he was sliced multiple times by a green blur before an ice dragon's fangs buried into his side and a burning explosion of flames rammed into his face. Copy X stood over Geo, about to impale him with a thrust of his right hand, before a Charged Shot ripped through him before a green plasma saber finished him off. A white gloved hand was offered to Geo, making him look up…to see X's face giving an encouraging smile.
"On your feet now," X advised, helping Geo up.
"Th-Thanks," Geo thanked, his eyes wide in surprise.
"No problem," X assured.
"That was reckless, insane, and might have just killed us all," Zero scolded before chuckling, "I've rubbed off on you a bit too much, Vent."
"My, my~" a shapely young woman wearing armor similar to Model LX spoke in Leviathan's sultry tones as she stretched a little, "It feels wonderful to have my lithe frame back."
"Even if it's just for a small window of time, it is nice to be able to soar on my own," a lithe male with pale skin in HX-like armor noted in Harpuia's voice, hovering in air on his plasma wings.
A strong-looking male with tan skin slammed his fists together, flames coming off his FX-like armor, "WHOO! Don't care how long I've got! I'm gonna show this asshole not to mess with us!"
"Wh-Why you…you…you tricked me!" Clockman snapped before crying out as several plasma bo shuriken stabbed into him from behind as another male in PX-like armor landed beside Leviathan.
"Your own pride caused this," Phantom stated calmly.
"Grrrr…!" Clockman snarled, "CALLING CRIMSON DRAGON! CALLING GREGAR!"
Two massive gates appeared at his sides. Geo tensed as the one to Clockman's left called upon a massive dragon made of magenta and crimson armor and a strange crimson static-like substance. The other caused Roll A and Vent to gasp as a massive green wolf with bits of red and gold emerged from it, donning a spiked mane of sorts and a long, slim tail ending in spines. Both titanic beasts let out roars that shook the entire Area, cracking hundreds of the digital clocks around them.
"Oh…I goofed up," Lan gulped.
"W-We can still do this, Lan," Vent assured.
"..." Harpuia smirked before patting Vent's shoulder, "Focus on Clockman."
"Huh?" Vent pondered as Zero walked up to stand beside him as X stood with Geo.
"The four of us will fight Clockman," X stated, "Everyone else, pick either the dragon or the wolf and keep them away from us."
"Huh?" Sonia gasped.
"Wait, I need to fight that dragon. It's made of Crimson, a…"
"Massive collection of broken down electromagnetic wave radiation," Phantom filled in, making him do a double-take, "We had to deal with that during the first few years of Neo Arcadia when we came online. The best scientists created a filter unit inside of all machinery in it along with all Reploids to handle even a planet-sized mass of them to protect everyone in the city."
"Fafnir, Phantom, and I will fight the dragon," Harpuia spoke, "Leviathan, would you work with Sonia, Ashe, and Axl to fight the wolf?"
"But of course," Leviathan replied, "Who knows? Maybe we'll have a cute big puppy in the family after this."
"...I am not taking it out for walks," Fafnir huffed before charging at the Crimson Dragon, "BRING IT ON, YA BIG OVERGROWN SALAMANDER! FIGHTING~ FAFNIR~!"
"And he just ran in," Phantom sighed.
"Damn it, Fafnir!" Harpuia snapped, "Wait for us!"
"Shall we teach this naughty dog what girl power can do, ladies?" Leviathan asked.
"You betcha!" Roll A smirked.
"Right!" Sonia and Lyra cheered before all three jumped out of the way of Gregar's lunge.
Leviathan swung her polearm and several frozen dragons formed from the air's moisture and charged at the wolf. Gregar snarled as it swung its claws, ripping through the first, before unleashing a blast of flames from its jaws to melt the second as a barrage of bone-made bullets ripped out of the tip of its tail to shred and shatter the last one. The wolf jumped back, avoiding the barrage of lasers from Roll A and electrified notes of Sonia before firing another barrage of bones that made the three move out of the way. Nearby, Fafnir swung a punch as the Crimson Dragon swung a claw, creating a shockwave from the impact as neither budged from trying to overpower the other. An electrified tornado filled with plasma kunai and shuriken slammed into the Crimson Dragon's back, making it cry out and lose the stalemate with Fafnir, letting him send its claw back into its face, knocking it backwards.
"Looks like you have a limit to these things," Zero noted, Z-Saber parrying Clockman's hour hand sword as Vent's ElecSword parried the minute hand sword, "You can't summon more unless you dismiss one or the other or even both, can you?"
"Wh-Why you…!" Clockman snarled, "Clock Laser Blitz!"
A rapid fire of various Clock Lasers shot out at the four in rapid, erratic succession from a multitude of angles. All four became blurs, either shooting down or cutting apart the beams. Zero's Z-Saber glowed before it became a plasma cat-o-nine that he began to rapidly lash out with, allowing the beams to be overcome. X used Zero's shoulder as a jumping point to get over the barrage and deliver a Charge Shot to Clockman, knocking him away and ending the assault. A loud bang made Geo glance over at the Crimson Dragon and gawk, seeing several meteor-sized fireballs rain down upon the titanic lizard before electrified vortexes and oversized chakrams of plasma tore into it.
"These guys are on a whole other level…" Geo whispered with wide eyes.
"I wanna fight 'em."
"Please don't~" Geo pleaded, tears going down his cheeks with his eyes closed shut.
A-Bifrost roared as his frozen fangs dug into the back leg of Gregar, making the beast howl in anger, before unleashing a pulse of electricity from his mane, knocking the younger girls back and forcing Roll A back to her normal state. Leviathan gently brushed it off.
"Cute…You think I have that as a weakness," Leviathan noted, her gaze turning as cold as her ice as she tapped her polearm on the ground, "Let me show you what you get for that mistake."
As if on cue, the ground around Gregar erupted as massive frozen dragons erupted from the ground, all aimed to take a bite off of the behemoth wolf's form. Yet…Gregar did not budge. Instead, he began to growl. Leviathan tensed as the air seemed to change before seeing her father, his brother, Vent, and Geo fleeing over to Roll A and Sonia.
"ASHE!" Harpuia shouted as he dragged his brothers over to the girls, "Chronoforce, now! Leviathan, Wall of Eternal Frost!"
"H-Huh?" Roll A asked, shaking off her daze from the blow.
"Change to Chronoforce! Hurry!" Harpuia barked.
"Huh? What are they…?" Clockman pondered as A-Chronoforce was picked up by Fafnir and held up towards Gregar as Leviathan slammed her polearm into the ground and made a thick wall of ice before them as they huddled behind A-Chronosforce and Fafnir.
Gregar let loose a roar. Yet, nothing could be heard. The concussive shockwaves of the powerful bellow deafened the very air itself. The entire Area's landscape bent, twisted, and crumbled beneath the immense power behind it. The Crimson Dragon's wails of agony were snuffed out as it was torn asunder. After several long, agonizing seconds…all fell silent as Gregar vanished. The mound of shattered ice shook before the chunks flew away with a swing of Leviathan's staff. Roll A hissed, her Recov Element going into overdrive to heal her back.
"Wh…What the hell was that?" Vent asked with wide, shaken eyes.
[Whatever it was…I'm glad I don't have a body or I'd need a change of pants…] Axl gulped.
"G…Gurk…" everyone looked to see Clockman stumbling to stand up, his body mangled, "R…Rewind…" his body glowed before it changed back to just a few second ago, "GH!" He gagged as he coughed up blood-like data, 'Dammit! I…I grabbed the Gregar of that timeline…' running footsteps made him look up and his eyes widened as he saw Geo, Vent, X, and Zero charging at him, "N-No! MEGA CLOCK LA…"
Zero and Vent roared as they swung their blades, slicing through Clockman's swords mid-sentence. Clockman screamed in fright before X and Geo fired their charge shots and tore through his torso. Clockman gagged as he stumbled back before choking as Zero's blade on a rod pierced his CyberCore and shattered it.
"Three minutes on the dot," Zero smirked, pulling it back.
Clockman gagged as his body began to break up, "Y-You…U-Unbelievable…! This…This…!" he began to weakly laugh, "Fascinating…"
"Fascinating?" Zero repeated.
"This new timeline you've created…these branches that have grown…I feel each one where I die as they are…but each build up different…" he raised his now sole arm up, his dissolving pointer finger aimed at Vent and Roll A, "You two…keep the path you tread…it leads…to…" his body collapsed, shattering into data, "...this moment."
=CLOCKMAN: DELETED=
"..." Phantom let out a small sigh as he dismissed his weapons.
"Is it over?" Leviathan asked, looking around in concern.
"It's over," Zero affirmed before the bodies of the Reploids glowed before reverting back into Biometals.
[Dammit! I wanted to keep my body!] Fafnir complained [I wanted to fight Vent to see how he could handle me at my best!]
[Always another time] Harpuia replied, earning groans from the other Biometals.
"You came to save me," Sonia noted, walking up to Geo with a sad expression on her face, "Thank you. I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble…"
"That's not true…" Geo shook his head and he held her hands, a warm assuring smile on his face, "I'm just glad you're safe."
"G-Geo…" Sonia mumbled, a blush forming on her cheeks.
"Oh they are just so precious," Ashe whispered before kissing Vent's cheek, "Thanks for rescuing me and Axl, Vent."
"It wasn't much," Vent bashfully replied, rubbing the back of his head.
"You're our friend, Ashe! Of course we'd help you, Maylu, and Axl when you're in trouble!" Lan added.
[Aw shucks, guys…] Axl mumbled bashfully.
"Ugh…So much lovey-dovey crap…" Omega-Xis groaned, "Hey! We got the girls, so it's time to amscray before you panic on changing the timeline any further, remember?"
"Gh…" Geo grimaced before looking at Vent and Ashe, "Right…"
"We were so busy fighting that clock jerk that I never introduced myself," Sonia noted before smiling at them, "I'm Sonia and this…" she gestured to her guitar, "...is my best female friend and partner, Lyra."
"A pleasure," Lyra greeted.
"I'm Ashe," Ashe replied, "My goober of a boyfriend is Vent here."
Sonia giggled, "And my goober is Geo right here."
"G-Goober?" both boys asked in confusion before shaking it off.
"Thank you, both of you. I don't think we would've been this far if not for you two, Lan, Vent," Geo thanked.
"It was nothing, but it wasn't just us," Vent reminded him, "The Biometals, Ciel, Chaud, and everyone else at NetSaver HQ were important to handle the situation we just had."
"You helped save everyone here but Model Z, so we're even!" Lan added.
Ashe giggled, wrapping an arm over Vent, "Well, I'm just glad you two rescued us and I'm really glad this guy saved his special gal, too."
"Huh? Special?" Sonia pondered as Geo began to blush heavily.
Ashe giggled, "Well, we were princesses stolen by the dastardly fiend. So what better way to give thanks than a little 'thank you' kiss to our handsome knights in shining blue armor, hm?" Ashe asked with a wink.
"R-Roll…" Vent mumbled before Ashe kissed him.
"O-Oh my…" Sonia gulped, blushing heavily now.
"Y-You don't need to d-d-d-do that, S-Sonia…" Geo assured before freezing up at the quick peck on the cheek the beet red Sonia gave him.
[Aw~ How adorable] Axl cooed.
[They're their modern day's version of you two] Leviathan giggled.
[...Lan and Maylu could take a few notes from these two] Phantom pointed out.
"Wh-wh-wh-what's that supposed ta mean, Phantom?!" Lan squeaked.
"Well…It's about time for us to head back to our time two hundred years from now," Geo noted.
"Hey…You didn't tell them anything about what happens, did you?" Sonia asked.
"No. I don't want to mess with history any further than we already have," Geo replied, "Like admitting the operation Lan and Maylu went through is common in our time."
"You said that?" Sonia asked in disbelief.
"It just happened after he heard those floating pieces of metal jabber!" Omega-Xis replied.
[They can hear us?!] Axl gawked.
"Geo's a Chosen," Vent replied.
"Huh? Why does Geo hearing that little guy's voice mean by being a 'Chosen?'" Sonia asked.
"Focus, Sonia. The boys goofed up with exposing something brand new is common two hundred years from now," Lyra reminded her.
"Oh right!" Sonia recalled before pouting at Geo, "Geo, why~? Wait, you didn't expose that I had one a few weeks before you and I met, did you?"
"Huh? No, no, not at all," Geo assured.
"But you did," Omega-Xis chuckled, making Sonia blush.
"Eh, this sorta nonsense happens," Ashe assured, "Love the hair, BTW. Was a blonde myself before I changed my hair silver."
"Oh, this isn't my natural hair color," Sonia replied before a swirl of magenta radiation covered her head and dispersed, revealing her hair had turned a rich dark red/magenta in color, exposing her light fair skin, bright jade green eyes, and a pair of white pieces on the sides of her head where her ears should've been reminiscent to Ashe and Vent's, "See?"
'Huh…She has almost the same shade of red as Maylu's hair…' Ashe thought.
"Huh?! You got the same things on Vent and Ashe!" Lan gawked.
"I was feeling extra rebellious at the time with my stupid manager and secretly paid for the best and most expensive one. He was sooo pissed with me for doing it," Sonia sheepishly rubbed the back of her head, "The funniest thing is that my fanbase exploded exponentially in size when I debuted after my surgery."
"And they lost the plot again," Omega-Xis huffed.
[What I'm curious about is how you two intend on getting back] Zero spoke up.
"..." Geo pointed to a nearby digital gate, "Clockman's portal was made from a phenomenon called a Past Tunnel. We just need to keep going to the other side and we'll get back to our time. Meaning you two have to go back the way we came in here in your present to get to your time."
"You sure you guys will be okay?" Lan asked.
"Hah! Despite his demeanor and personality, the kid's actually pretty reckless!"
"Mostly because of you, Omega-Xis," Geo huffed before several beeps went off from the arm device, "?!"
=HEEEEY!= a male's voice shouted on the line =Can you hear me?! Granny Goodall and me built a booster for communications! Please answer!=
"Kazuma?" Geo asked.
=Oh thank god! Glad to hear you, man! What's the sitch?=
"Clockman's Deleted and we were starting to head home," Geo replied.
"Hi, cousin Kazy!" Sonia greeted.
=Good to hear= Kazuma replied, relief in his tone =Now hurry! Prez is getting upset and you know how she gets when she reaches her breaking point=
"Ack!" Geo and Sonia yelped, breaking out into a sweat as Sonia quickly made her helmet and hair return.
"Okay! Let's get going back to our time before we get scolded!" Sonia gulped.
"...Just a moment, Sonia," Geo spoke.
"Huh?" Sonia pondered before Geo walked up to Vent.
"Vent, Lan, could I make a final request before we leave?"
"Sure thing," Vent replied.
"What'cha need?" Lan asked.
"Would you be willing to become Brothers with me?"
"Brothers?" Vent asked.
"It's a term we use in the future for close friends," Geo explained.
"Well that's silly. We're already close friends, ain't we?" Lan asked as Vent nodded.
"Of course," Vent agreed, offering a hand.
"Lan…Vent…" Geo whispered before smiling and accepting the handshake, "Thanks! Since our devices are vastly different, we can't form a BrotherBand, sadly, but…like your BN Buster you gave Omega-Xis and me, take this as proof of us being Brothers!" the eyes on his arm glowed before data entered Vent.
"Huh? What's this…?" Vent pondered, looking at the data.
"It's a copy of my data," Geo replied, "I remember in my homeschooling that using someone's copied data in a blank BattleChip makes either a MegaChip or GigaChip. But I also included a program called Star Force. You'll be able to produce a protective barrier that only a Breaking effect can pierce and recharges in seconds."
"Really?! That's amazing!" Vent beamed.
"Thanks, Geo!" Lan beamed.
"No problem!" Geo assured before he backed away to beside Sonia, "Well…I guess it's time to go."
"Oh hold on now," Ashe spoke before making a sphere of data and giving it to Sonia, "Here. I hope it helps you stand beside Geo better like you want to."
"Huh?" Sonia pondered as she accepted it…before yelping as Lyra transformed into a strong-looking harp-themed bow with a magenta radiation arrow, "Whoa! Lyra, that's amazing!"
"It's a copy of my RollArrow. Anyone that you hit with that will scramble their battle programs," Ashe explained.
[I included some of my data in it, too! It's got multi-elemental power so just think of whatever Element you need the arrow to be and it'll become that!] Axl added as Lyra shifted back into a guitar.
"Oh, that is epic!" Sonia beamed before hugging Ashe, "Thanks!"
"No prob!" Ashe beamed before feeling the faint transfer of data along with Axl.
[Huh? Hey, what's…]
"Hope you enjoy my present for you!" Sonia beamed as she grabbed Geo's hand and started making their way to the portal to their time, "Bye~!"
"Bye, you two! Don't be strangers now, ya hear?" Vent called out.
"Don't forget us!" Lan called.
"So long as you don't forget us, either!" Geo replied before they jumped through the portal.
"...They're gone now, huh?" Ashe asked.
[Yep! But no way forgotten! That cheeky girl gave us both enough data that we can make either a MegaChip or GigaChip of her and enough that I can A-Trans into her now! Lyra Note is a music queen! Lithe and flexible, she's got all the grace and dexterity to dodge in ways I never saw before!] Axl noted [Her main attack is the Quick Strings that can let us use them for all sorts of purposes and the charged shot is Shock Note, letting loose a barrage of electrified notes that'll leave the crowd electrified!]
[Don't want Clockman's data?] Fafnir asked.
[Hell no! I don't touch time traveler data!]
"...Geo sure is amazing," Lan noted
"Hm? What's up, Lan?" Vent asked.
"Well, he came all the way from the future to save that girl," Lan explained, "He didn't even think about how he'd get home. That must have been really tough."
"Sounds a bit like you with Maylu," Ashe compared.
"I'm not gonna be outdone by him," Lan mumbled, "Hey, Vent?"
"What is it, Lan?" Vent asked.
"Do you think if Maylu and me worked with the Biometals, we could get an ambush on the WWW?"
"Huh?!" Vent gawked.
"Well, just like Geo saving his friend, and you saving Ashe, I wanna save everyone from those jerks in the WWW! I can't just leave things unfinished!"
"Lan…" Vent whispered.
"Plus, we can't leave it all to that jerk Chaud!"
"Oh that's awful, Lan," Vent frowned, a hint of amusement in his eyes, "I may just have to tell him you said that when we leave." he looked at the Biometals, "But…you're right. We can't just wait for things to be done with. If we can get our battle done tomorrow quickly, we'll see if we can't do just that."
"Great!"
"But you'll have to bring the others in the team along," Vent added, "Chaud included."
"Huh?!"
"You really think Vent and I are just gonna let you and Maylu go off on your own with just us? Heck no!" Ashe explained.
"Aww…"
"We care too much for you two to let you go alone in this dangerous situation," Vent spoke, "I want you safe above all else, Lan. Just like Roll does with Maylu."
"Mmm…Alright," Lan sighed, "I just hate waiting."
[...Tonight, give me ten minutes in control of your body, Lan] Phantom spoke.
"Hm?"
[We have Match and Maddy in custody. I know how to get information] Phantom explained [If you can, try to go to sleep while I'm controlling it]
"Phantom, what are you…?" Vent began.
"Sure thing! If you can help us get to their location sooner, the better!" Lan beamed.
"Dang it, Lan…Phantom…" Vent groaned.
"I think that's the best you'll get, Mega," Ashe noted, a drop of sweat going down the back of her head, before grabbing his hand, "We can talk about this later, okay? Right now…I want to go home and be with Maylu."
Vent nodded, "Okay."
"Roll~!" Maylu cried, hugging her PeT, "Axl~!"
"I'm so sorry for making you so worried, Maylu," Ashe apologized, tears in her own eyes as she gave a digital hug with her hologram.
[Lousy stupid clock guy's fault] Axl huffed [But I'm sorry, too]
"I've never seen BattleChips like these before," Ciel noted, looking over the pile of BattleChips made from the data Vent obtained, "I guess you obtained them from Viruses in that Past Tunnel while making your way to Clockman."
"Yeah," Lan nodded, "Pulse Transmission was kinda fun, but also a bit scary since Vent wasn't there."
"Mmm…I'll keep it installed in here and work a bit on it," Ciel noted, "It would be interesting to see the world as a NetNavi does, but I want it to be safer than anything else."
"You gonna copy them for everyone?" Lan asked, gesturing to the BattleChips.
"...No," Ciel shook her head and giving them to Lan, "It's better for you to have the only copies of these in this time. I don't want them getting out there when they shouldn't yet, so they're safest with you." she held up a GigaChip, depicting the Crimson Dragon blasting its flames, "Especially ones like this that the Four Guardians collected while you, Geo, X, and Zero Deleted Clockman."
"We have a GigaChip~!" Lan awed, stars in his eyes, before quickly grabbing it and ran over to Maylu, "Maylu, look!"
"Huh?" Maylu looked and gasped, "Oh! A GigaChip!"
"Yep!" Lan replied…before giving it to her, "It's yours!"
"...HUH?!" Maylu gawked.
"It's to make up for that jerk Yahoot doing that stupid stuff with that Devil Chip thing," Lan frowned before smirking, "And it'd be awesome if we fought him and you pulled this out on him as payback! Using a real GigaChip on the guy who gave you that fake one!"
"Oh Lan…" Maylu whispered before hugging him, "Thank you…for everything today."
"Ah! Uh…It…It's not much, Maylu," Lan sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.
[Lan and Maylu, sittin' in a tree!]
[K-I-S-S-I-N-G!]
[Axl! Fafnir!] X barked as the two kids went beet red and blushed heavily.
"I'm guessing Axl and…I wanna say Fafnir…done teased 'em?" Masa whispered to Ciel, who nodded with a giggle.
The full moon shined down through the bars of the jail cell Maddy was lying down in, scowling, 'It's not fair! It's not fair! We actually got arrested! Those stupid assholes! Why did we have to use a Devil Chip?!' a soft tap made her look to see Lan emerging from the shadows, donned in Model P's armor, "Wh-What the…?"
"How do you access the WWW base?" Lan P spoke in Phantom's voice.
"...Oh great…They're going with scare tactics now?" Maddy huffed, "What? Gonna try and 'rough me up,' huh? Oh please…I know you good two-shoes aren't allowed to…" Lan P's arm up to the elbow slammed through the wall to the left of her head, "!?"
"...You seem to be mistaken, Madoi Iroaya," Hidden Phantom spoke, Lan's cybernetic eye changing from chocolate brown to deep abyss black, "I am not a policeman. I hold no mercy for those who threaten the peace of this world. I ask you, how do you get to the WWW base hidden deep in the mountains?"
"?! H-How did you know that?"
"I head an organization that makes it their goal to know," Hidden Phantom replied, "Now…I ask you one. last. time. How do I gain access to the WWW base hidden deep in the mountains?"
"I…I won't tell. Lord Wily would Delete me if I did," Maddy replied, fear in her eyes…before Hidden Phantom chuckled.
"Oh…Poor, poor Madoi," Hidden Phantom noted, far too calm for Maddy's nerves…before he pulled out a satchel, "I asked you nicely. Now…" Maddy grunted as he ripped his arm out of the wall, grabbed her by the front of her shirt, and slammed her against another wall, "...I force it out."
"...G…GUARDS!" Maddy screamed, "GUARDS! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?! HELP!"
Hidden Phantom shook his borrowed head, "Oh Madoi…Nobody will save you. They've been dealt with. Both human and NetNavi."
Maddy's breath caught in her throat, her eyes darting up to the camera to see it was offline. All over the station, officers were all knocked out as PeTs were shut off. In the cell, Hidden Phantom stabbed a pair of giant shuriken to pin Maddy into place on the wall before opening the satchel and pulled out a box of needles, a strange black string, and…a lighter. He carefully wrapped a bit of string around one of the tiny needles before flicking it and Maddy gasped out in a small stab of pain from the needle going into her outer right soleus. Hidden Phantom lit the string and Maddy was confused at first, seeing it wasn't burning as fast as she expected. Only a moment passed as she realized the heat was conducting in the metal of the needle and couldn't hold back the scream that came out of her mouth. Another hit her internus oblique and the pain of the heat of the burning thread soon followed along with another scream. Biceps brachii short head…Biceps brachii long head…the outer left soleus…Pectoralis minor…Arcuate line… Within a matter of thirty minutes, Hidden Phantom was leaping along rooftops as an unconcious Maddy laid upon her cot, foaming and twitching with her injuries from burns and the needles tended to with care.
[Did you have to go that far?] Fafnir asked, sounding unnerved.
"I was far more lenient with her than I was with the rebellion when Neo Arcadia was our home," Hidden Phantom replied.
[I can't believe you used to do that!] Zero exclaimed [No offense, X, but I'm kinda glad he blew himself up after I fought him if this is just a little of what he used to do…]
[Zero, we've seen worse] X pointed out.
[Yeah…but this is one of your kids]
[Wait…Father, did you watch him when he'd do things like this?] Harpuia asked.
[Yes, if only to give comfort to whomever was interrogated in their sleep, to try and help with their mental states] X replied.
"My apologies if I went too far."
[No, no, Phantom. I'm just saying that I understand why you did what you had to back then] X spoke.
"And tonight?"
[...It's better we stop them sooner than later] X replied.
"I already sent word to Ciel," Vent finally spoke up, "And you're sure Lan is sleeping?"
"Yes," Hidden Phantom replied, "He will never be aware of what actions I took. He deserves to try to keep what little innocence remains within him."
"Good. That…That's good, Phantom," Vent nodded, "Just…remind me to not make you mad, alright?"
"A wise action, Vent," Hidden Phantom replied, a ghost of a smirk on his lips as he continued his rooftop running, "Still…it will take time to gather what is needed for the raid. Even then…"
[Indeed. Initial plans may not even work out] Hapruia agreed to the trailed off sentence [All we can do now is just…deal with the tournament until it is time to partake in the raid]
[Aw yeah! Can't wait! I wanna smack that smug look offa Protoman's face!]
[Fighting Fafnir Light]
[Aw c'mon, Pops! You know you wanna also smack the guy who's using our late uncle's name!]
[Blue's name was Proto Man. This is Protoman. No spacing between the words]
[That's the best you're gonna get from him, Fafnir] Zero pointed out.
[Aw nuts]
"Still…it's a shock to think their way to it was underneath those two places, the second made so recently at that," Vent frowned.
"Indeed. For now…" Hidden Phantom landed on the balcony of the Hikari household and entered Lan's bedroom, "...Let us give Lan and yourself some time to rest, Vent." he placed the PeT on its charger before lying down on the bed, "Rest well, Vent."
In a flash, Lan snoozed on his bed, unaware of what acts Phantom performed to get the information they needed. Vent lied down on his bed, looking up at the digital sky.
'We have WWW's plot to foil…and then three more battles in this tournament…' Vent thought, 'This is getting intense…The stakes feel so much higher than they had last time. All because Roll and I exist…even before then if Miyu is right…Is it because of our experiences? Why?' he narrowed his eyes before looking over at where Lan was, 'I'll make sure you get a good future, Lan.'
GT: Whew! This took a bit for me! Not just from real life stuff, but also working on other things, too. Not much can he said about this…aside from the T and I Phantom did. That…was something I didn't plan on doing. But when I was reaching the end, I felt I just had to write it. Even if they've good guys, it doesn't mean they don't have skeletons in their closets from their time of having actual bodies.