(Big Battle Theme 2 - Top-Rank Tussle) ♫ Mega Man X Corrupted - Vs. Strike (Remix) ♫
As Medicine and BlizzardMan try to dodge stone fists flying from the edges of the field, BlizzardMan closes in and hits Pranara with a BlzdBrth1100...
...but with his Super Armor, Pranara shrugs off the blow and begins flying across each row, slamming the panel at the end of each to crack it, until he's caught in a BioStrm120, BlizzardMan following up with a rolling snowball charge shot!

---

BlzdBrth (1 = 100, 2 = 160, 3 = 200): (Aqua, Terrain) BlizzardMan.EXE's Special Chip. The user breathes an icy wind 2 panels in front of them, turning the panels to Ice.
BioStrm (1 = 20): (Wood, Wind/Terrain) Medicine.EXE's Special Chip. The user summons 3 5-hit leaf tornadoes (1 straight in front of them, and 1 on each panel diagonally in front of the first tornado) that turn the panels they're over (assuming they're not Broken or Empty) into Grass panels. Any tornado that initially appears over a Sand panel will deal double damage.

As the trail of loose data begins to dwindle, Yamame and Medicine notice a cornered Navi - half-deleted - being approached by a bulkier one.
No! Why are you doing this?! Stop ignoring me!
Pranara.EXE: What would it matter to you? It's a being of darkness without the darkness we were looking for.
But he wasn't ever mean! He wasn't like that!
Pranara.EXE: Not like this, he wasn't. That was our failure, and I'm apparently the only one to care enough about our failures needing to be disposed of.
Energy begins to envelop one of Pranara's arms as he winds up a powerful punch.
Pranara.EXE: Maybe if you just sit still and let this happen, you'll still be safe sleeping with two eyes closed with what you know.
...

---

No Navi created solely for criminal ends has ever been reformed.
...Delete her.
Yes ma'am.
Goodbye....Yamame....
Suuuueee!!*

---

Pranara.EXE: ....!?
(Event Theme) ♫ Shanghai.EXE - Encounter ♫
To everyone's surprise, Pranara's punch is blocked by a leaf-filled tornado, Medicine placing herself between him and BlizzardMan!
Wh...?
Who are...?
...it doesn't matter what he says you used to be. You've become something else - something more - and he doesn't see it.
Wait, Medicine, get out of there! Those insane things he was talking about...
I'm sorry, Yamame. MP4 or not, I can't let another Navi face the same fate I almost did.
W-wait!
?
I-I couldn't face him alone...neither...can you...!
Medicine heals BlizzardMan with a spare FullEnrg SubChip.
...are you sure you can face this?
Hey, I never said I was gonna do it alone, either!
Pranara slowly approaches Medicine and BlizzardMan.
Pranara.EXE: ...fine then. I'll make your demise seem like just as much of an accident as his.
Battle Routine! Set!
Execute!

---

GrasGale15: (Wood, Wind) Summons a tornado 2 panels ahead, hitting up to 8 times.

---

*The dialogue here is quoted word-for-word from Shanghai.EXE, in a scene where Medicine - having formed her friendship with Yamame at this point under the name of "Sue" after being fired from her earlygame position as a ROM Navi - is nearly deleted by Yorihime before Shanghai intervenes. While dialogue from unclaimed characters is used, I don't have current plans to reserve them.

You know, before we go out there, something's been bugging me...
Fine, spit it out before we waste our time.

So, we're all beings of darkness, but we weren't before.
Not that I have a problem with that, darkness is just fine, but if there was anyone who was a being of darkness before, what does that make them now?
...I think it's more of a "good and evil" thing, really. There are light things that are still evil like us. Why do you think we answer to Cozy Glow and Magic Rainbow?
Works the same with dark things; pretty sure that Rumia gal who got offed before we were ready had to be turned into one of us.
Gotcha. Makes sense.

---

...then again, what does that mean if being dark really was why you were evil?

...should probably tell Rika that whatever she was talking about was gone.
How long have I been just waiting here, any*-
As Dangan Man looks around, he stops himself when he notices a strange figure walking towards him, dressed in red and purple...
Uh...can I help-
Dangan Man, right?
Wh-yes, but how did you...?
Hey, I should be the one asking why you're still around in this world, too.
Look, I'll skip the boring parts. The you I knew is part of Zalgo's army now like the other gnats trying to use darkness to drop people into evil.
But I'm not an idiot. I can tell from a glance that this you has been blinding the world with light.

Hold on, you worded that like there were two sides to this, but you made fun of both.
Vanitas DS suddenly flings a Dark Crescent at Dangan!
Cut the naive nonsense.

---

Dark Crescent: (Shadow/Cutter) The user swings their weapon 3 times, each time creating a crescent projectile with a glow to it, but still formed from darkness. The third crescent rotates as it flies forward.

---

*RECAP: I haven't posted anything here in 2 months.
†RECAP (Beta Diablo Arc): It's been all but said since Demyx's debut that none of how Kingdom Hearts uses light or darkness as concepts applies in the Chaos Zone (universes outside the Chaos Zone, yes, but not the Chaos Zone itself).

BlizzardMan's skiing along the paths as usual, though his curiosity of the area seems to be dwindling...
Y'know, it's fun here in Eien, but d'you think we can look around in the nearby areas? Please?
Hm...I, uh...I dunno if I've actually seen the other areas before. I think there's a City Area nearby?
Whoosh! That sounds-
Suddenly, a giant stone fist slams down in front of BlizzardMan...atop it, a hulking figure with heavy arms.
Pranara.EXE: Like another escape route, BlizzardMan?
(Event Theme - A Threat) ♫ Mega Man Battle Network 6 - Distortion! ♫
Huh?!
Wait, what are you doing-
BlizzardMan quickly backs up as Pranara slams the ground in front of him!
Pranara.EXE: Don't act dumb. If you're not willing to live your life of a Darkloid - the life we wanted from you - you serve no purpose.
What are you talking about?! We just found each oth-
Pranara nearly hits BlizzardMan with a hook, stalagmites knocking him back into a narrow dead end!!
Pranara.EXE: You have no say in this, child. This frostbitten zombie was our mistake, and so it's my responsibility to get rid of him.
Still baffled, but not ready to lose BlizzardMan, Narumi grips her PET tightly.
B-Battle Routine! Set!

SonicMan's tensity fades. Slightly.
...Hm.
So, when's the pitch?

---

Just as SurfWave tries to fight through his Melt, striking the dragon beast with a DiveMan130 and a SurfRde100, a giant orb suddenly appears overhead...and the beast vanishes?

---

Wh-dude, what just...?!
Darren Selache: I don't know, that wasn't me, I still don't know what that-
SurfWave notices a Navi - hiding their head under a simple hood, but also having their face surrounded by a "scarf" - walking up to them.
???.EXE: Just you? Man, usually I have to explain this to like 8 different people.
???.EXE: Well, anyway, if they ask about paying for the damages, jsut give them half of this.
The scarfed Navi casually hands SurfWave 100000z, and lifts the glowing orb.
???.EXE: All right, M-FF, you've caused enough trouble for today, let's get you home.
Wait, you can't just-
The scarfed Navi warps out, leaving SurfWave and Darren dumbfounded.

---

A pale Navi with a flower-like "dress" is calmly exploring the area, her NetOp letting out an exhausted sigh as she watches from a Central City apartment.
It's nice to have some time just the two of us. I'm sorry I haven't been able to do this more often!
Don't worry, I'm not upset. I know your job can get busy, but if it means we at least have a place to call home, I'll give you the time you need.
...thanks, Medicine. I just hope we can find a job that lets us use our pharmacy research more than the time I spent in the Tech...Depart..ment...
Yamame's voice fades as she notices Medicine having stopped in her tracks...noticing loose objects - the kinds one'd collect from Mystery Data - just laying on the ground.
This...this wasn't here before. I don't think I've even seen data just...scattered like that.
Yeeeah, that's not normal. Who the heck did that?
As a confused Medicine picks up a Battle Chip off the ground with the name JudgeMnV2, she and Yamame look ahead and realize the trail of Zenny and Frags leads to Eien Area...

---

(Event Theme - Hmm) ♫ Mega Man Battle Network 2 - Suspicious Mood ♫
A tall, bulky figure is fristratedly trying to pick up a signal...well, two signals.
???.EXE: Rgh...those homunculi of Navi can't possibly be so far under the radar...
???.EXE: ...fine. I'm here to clean up what DisasterOil neglected, and if I'm going to make any progress, I'm going to search for someone I know I can find.
The figure successfully picks up a different signal...in the middle of Eien Area 2.
???.EXE: That boy might be able to run from his darkness...but he can't run from me.
The figure warps out.

---

(Battle Network 6) DiveMan130: (Aqua) DiveMan.EXE's Navi Chip. DiveMan appears and attacks with a 2x3 wave of water.
SurfRde100: (Aqua, Break) SurfWave.EXE's Special Chip. SurfWave assembles various parts of his body into a C-Slider-like board and surfs down the row on a wave of water. If the attack is stopped prematurely by a Broken/Empty panel, the last panel moved over turns into a Sea panel.

SurfWave hurriedly removes the remaining Grass panels with a HotBody3150, making up for some of the dragon beast's regained damage in the process...only to leave himself open for a frigid, lustrous beam that halves his attack with the Melt status!

---

Momoyo's still sitting at her PC, slumped in her chair not out of boredom from inaction, but because...
Ms. Himemushi, there are experts who specialize in dealing with Cybeasts. You don't have that expertise, and had it not fled, CentipedeWoman very likely would have been deleted.
Hey, I ain't afraid to die once or twice. Momoyo's got backups, it's almost happened a few times before...
It should be happening much less. Irresponsibility between a NetOp and their Navi is one thing, but when they throw themselves into a crisis that even many NetAgents were injured in, we need to remind them that not everyone can just jump in and be a "hero".
We ain't tryin' to be heroes, we're tryin' to be fighters.
...well, I'm not here to discuss your specific intentions. Regardless of who you see yourself as, you and CentipedeWoman have your limits, even if you don't know it. If you want to risk yourselves or others going past them, then I'm sorry, but we need to step in.
Please don't do something like that again.
As the call ends, Momoyo and CentipedeWoman find themselves stewing in their thoughts...

---

SonicMan just blinks twice in reaction to the new Slider nearly hitting him, DynaMan and VoltMan both watching in awe.
Holy smokes, that's what those thingies were called*! I kept tryin' to ask around back then, but...well, y'know, that was when that tournament was†, and nobody'd shut their mouth 'bout that...
And you could ride it anywhere?! Whoah...
SonicMan turns to PlugMan, looking rather displeased.
"Anywhere" means "the Data Sea". That's a problem.

---

(Event Theme) ♫ Mega Man Battle Network 4 - The Quiet Darkness ♫
???.EXE: ...wait, we're usin' that one? Ya can't be serious, mate, the test'd be perfect for the Gospel fella or what we could get of the Sharo Navi‡, or...any of the other Aqua data, really.
???.EXE: Those Navis had skills in their own right. The point of the test is to improve on our more...incompetent finds. Which, of course, you'd agree this is the perfect example of.
???.EXE: I trust that you two will let Tackione see this through without hassle. In the meantime, I'm afraid I need to do some personal investigation regarding one of our more...impulsive colleagues.

---

(Battle Network 5) HotBody3(1 = 110, 2 = 130, 3 = 150): surrounds the user with a 3x3 radius of fire, and will ignite anything in that radius with its own 3x3 radius of fire. Only the user's fire radius can spread.

AurorBm: (Aqua) Fires a bright, cold beam forward that stops on contact with an opponent, dealing damage and inflicting them with the Melt status.

---

*It took a surprising amount of time for Mighty or I to find any proper online documentation on the C-Slider; maybe a day or two before we even knew its name.
†Reference: Mega Man Battle Network 4, the one game the original C-Slider appeared in.
‡References: FreezeMan.EXE, ColdMan.EXE

With the GiantWav200 having turned a row into Sand Panels, SurfWave brings out a newly-equipped Static20 followed by a SuprVulc20!!
As he charges his buster, the dragon beast begins moving again, teleports along its side of the field well above the ground, when suddenly, SurfWave's field becomes filled with Grass panels...Grass panels that the beast absorbs one-by-one, striking SurfWave a couple times along the way and healing twice as much each time it happens!

---

The battle coming to a premature end, CentipedeWoman watches the beast fly away with dissatisfaction...turning around and remembering that several NetPolice saw her run in headfirst.

---

SonicMan doesn't say a word, but raises a BblWrap3 as he slowly steps up to the panel.

---

Static20: (Null, Wind) Summons a tornado 2 panels forward, hitting up to 8 times. The number of tornadoes increases the more Bugs the player has*, up to 6 in a 2x3 area (with the back column of the area still 2 panels ahead of the user). Deals double damage on Sand panels, turning them back into Normal panels afterwards.
SuprVulc20: (Null) Fires 10 hitscan shots in a row, hitting the nearest opponent/tangible object on the row as well as the panel behind them.
BblWrap: (Aqua, Guard) Surrounds the user with a bubble that protects them from 1 attack, respawning after a short period of time (the speed at which it respawns depending on the Chip number). Elec-type attacks will both pierce the bubble and prevent it from respawning.

W-Absrb50: (Wood, Terrain) The user creates a ball of energy 3 panels forward. If the ball appears over an opponent, they will take damage, the user being healed by the same amount. If it appears over a Grass panel, it will turn back into a Normal panel and the user will be healed by 50 HP. The effects will stack if the ball appears over an opponent on a Grass panel.

---

*Bugs can be inflicted on the user in various ways, usually through certain criteria when customizing a Navi with the Navi Customizer (exclusive to BN; Shanghai.EXE's AddOn Manager functions in a way that prevents "bugs" from happening the same way). SurfWave has no Bugs; the only reason he has Static over a simpler Tornado/Storm variant is because it's the only variant to come in V-code (the same code as SuprVulc).

...the "thing"...?
I dunno what that means, but it sounds great!
VoltMan begins to rev up his gear... before SonicMan catches him and slowly walks him to the warp, DynaMan still hugging his new DrgnFlm2180 as he steps in last.

---

As much as she tried to avoid it, the chops absolutely assault CentipedeWoman - helped in no part by her PopUp wearing off - leaving her down to a mere 100 HP!
Stupid...thing...I can't...lose...
Momoyo begins weighing her options...until she looks down at CentipedeWoman's Custom Screen.
Sensor3160
RosBloom80
BeetleMV3150
Hang in there, because you're darn right.
Momoyo gives CentipedeWoman the above Battle Chips in that order, with CentipedeWoman quickly catching on, placing the Sensor2, summoning the 4 roses of RosBloom as the beam locks onto Baldrez, then bringing out the BeetleMV3 chip, its power boosted by another 150 points from absorbing the KillerEye and roses!!

---

As SurfWave activates his FstGauge, the dragon beast starts firing small fireballs, SurfWave dodging with ease as he Counter Hits with a GiantWav200!

---

(Battle Network 3, Battle Network 6) Sensor(1 = 100, 2 = 130, 3 = 160): (Elec, Object/Cursor) Summons a KillerEye (or one of its stronger variants depending on the chip number) that uses a beam to detect opponents in front or diagonally, firing an electric laser a split second after finding something. Paralyzes opponents.
(Shanghai.EXE) BeetleM(1 = 90, 2 = 120, 3 = 150): (Ground) BeetleMan.EXE's Navi Chip. BeetleMan appears, absorbs any Objects on the field, then fires a ball of gravity energy straight forward, inflicting Heavy on contact. 30 damage is added to the attack for every object absorbed.
(All Battle Network games except WS and The Medal Operation; Shanghai.EXE) FstGauge: (Null) Doubles the speed at which the Custom Gague fills, allowing the user to restock Battle Chips faster.
(Shanghai.EXE) GiantWav200: (Ground, Terrain) The strongest known variant of the ShotWav chip. Summons a shockwave that quickly travels along the ground, passing through enemies and Objects, and turning any panels it touches into Sand panels. Will stop if it hits a Broken or Empty panel.

CentipedeWoman tries to activate a PopUp before Baldrez's chop can land, falling just short as she cycles around the field launching charged tail clamps and a CentiTrl170!

---

As SurfWave warps into the area, he and Darren are taken aback as they find just what kind of program they stand before: A giant, winged, dragon-like beast with a flaming tail, a bright glowing mouth...and near pitch-black skin with specks of green all over its body, almost like the whole thing was one giant BugFrag.
Darren Selache: Wait...hold on, no, this is just a Cybeast or something, I don't know the last time something even looked like-
The beast lets out a violent hiss, snapping Darren back to the present in a panic.
Darren Selache: Gah! BattleRoutine!Set!
Execute!(Big Battle Theme 1 - Elite Encounter) ♫ Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal - Vs. Champion Lance/Red (Remix) ♫

---

(Battle Network 1-2, Battle Network 4) PopUp: (Null, Guard) Temporarily turns the user invisible and intangible, the effect briefly stopping when an attack is used.
CentiTrl (1 = 70): (Ground) Summons a serpentine 4x1 projectile that slithers up and down, effectively being a trail of 4 1-panel projectiles that zig-zag between two rows. Only the "tail" inflicts proper i-frames, allowing a non-moving opponent to be hit twice.

A man - about 20, with a strange haircut spiking out only at the top and right above each ear like three fins - stands next to an open window, trying to feel some ocean breeze as he talks with someone on the outdated-looking PC across the room.
Darren Selache: Found any requests over 60K Zenny?
Sorry, man, nothing rad's been showing up besides a couple of ReftileSP requests...
Darren Selache: Ugh...is it seriously that hard to just pick the Battle Chips that won't hit those thing's barriers? If people weren't so addicted to breaking and piercing I'd probably be doing some actual hunting right now...
You sure you don't wanna check out Yoka? Heard some wicked stuff's going on and the SP Virus hunters around there have their hands full-
Darren Selache: If I wanted to cave in and fight one of the wimpy Den City SPs*, I'd have done it a year-
An alarm suddenly goes on on Darren's computer and PET.

Darren Selache: ...me and my big mouth.
Darren closes the window (not that the neighbors didn't already hear the alarm blaring) and runs to the PC, picking up his PET off the desk.

---

*SP Viruses in the Battle Network series and in Shanghai.EXE are quite different; while they both tend to have some of the most difficult patterns of their Virus type, Battle Network still treats them closer to regular enemies (The most HP any such Virus has in Battle Network 6 is 300), while Shanghai.EXE treats them almost like mini-bosses, rarely having less than 1000 HP. (OOC: The reason why I treated the CloudySP Virus like the latter is because there is no pre-existing CloudySP Virus in Battle Network.)
†Reference: Pokémon Red/Green/Blue - Certain encounters are only possible in a glitched version of Route 1, which is north of Pallet Town.

Henchie turns to Byakuren.
Byakuren, I won't make him do this if you don't want him to, but...

---

CentipedeWoman steps to the top-left corner of the breath, trying to get some hits in with a couple of SandWrm3170 Chips and a MagMine170!

---

(Battle Network 6) SandWrm(1 = 130, 2 = 150, 3 = 170): (Ground) Summons a SnakeArm virus behind the opponent, facing the user's field, that bites the panel in front of them.
MagMine(1 = 70): (Ground, Cursor/Object) One of CentipedeWoman.EXE's own Battle Chips. Summons a bomb that moves fast and homes in on the user's row. If it reaches their column without hitting, it lingers for a few seconds before exploding in a 3x3 pattern unless destroyed by opponent attacks. The explosion happens immediately if the bomb makes contact.

CentipedeWoman's Customizations:
-SPECIAL: Charged buster shots are now a 2-panel-long tail clamp.
-SPECIAL CHIP*: CentiTrl

---

*See the bottom of this document for an explanation of what a "Special Chip" is

(Event Theme) ♫ Shanghai.EXE - Emergency ♫
Hold fire until we an acquire a professional hunter*, redirect focus on evacuating injured Navis!
As the NetPolice try to handle the Cybeast best to their abilities, they notice an out-of-place Navi running past them...
Sorry, not passing this up!
Ma'am! Cybeasts are serious threats, jack out right now or we can't guarantee your safety!
Just try us.
CentipedeWoman and Momoyo focus on the draconian program...
Wait!!
Battle Routine! Set!
Execute!

---

*Recap to explain why the NetPolice is basically saying "We need Superman" here: Mighty's .txt says that Cybeast incidents are often handled by Cybeast/SP Virus Hunters, so I imagine that however that works, some level of special expertise would be expected. I'm not denying the possibility that NetPolice or NetAgents could also be Cybeast Hunters, just saying that these Navis aren't.

Thanks, you too.
Sara hangs up, takes a deep breath, and heads upstairs to help guide Rumia through the Cross System installation.

---

Just as Henchie curls his other hand into a fist, a lingering thought reenters his mind...
...what if she gets, oh I don't know, deleted like this?
...and he steps back, his arms relaxing at his sides.
...what kind of "examples"?

---

Momoyo's sitting at her PC, tapping het foot impatiently. CentipedeWoman is doing the same in the PET next to the PC.
Man, they held a whole tournament when Central City got a Game Center, and what do we get when we head to Den? A dumb kid who loses to a baby.
And I'm sick of heading to Tamako for a fight every time we're ready to scratch that itch...
Don't have to tell me twice. Let alone ten-
An alarm begins blaring from Momoyo's PET, nearly sending her toppling over in her chair!

Momoyo and CentipedeWoman turn to each other, giving each other a knowing look as a grin spreads across Momoyo's face...
Jackpot.
Momoyo jacks CentipedeWoman into the PC, and she heads straight for the Yoka Area!

Okay, sure. Again, sorry for the hassle.

---

Kaguya notices the cosmic humming too, and turns the PET to her again.
Celesteela, wanna say thank you too?
An echoed cooing sound can be heard, and Kaguya turns her PET to Yoshi again. Alongside LeafMan on the screen is a huge plated creature, almost shaped like a giant bamboo shoot.
My greatest priorities are in keeping Ms. Kaguya and this program safe. In fact, I was made for the latter.
Dad says she's a Cyber...uh, Cyby...something like that, and she's special!
Yoshi awkwardly waves to Celesteela.
Well, I'm glad we got you home. Have a good day!
Once Yoshi's out of Kaguya's view, he and SuperDragon begin sharing a look of confusion.
Why'd that kid's dad give her...that??
To tell the truth, I was almost thinking of asking her that. I didn't even know you could contain a Cybeast like that, closest I can think of was that incident last year where a Virus Hunter had to deal with a Cybeast born from a Virus.
Y'know, where he accidentally used...a...Virus Ball*...
The duo remains silent as they head for the metro back to DenTown.

---

Henchie storms up to Buyer, one fist clenched and the other pointing right at him.
Hey. I don't care what you have to say about her motives, we have never called Byakuren trash like that and we are not about to start now.

---

Magma walks up to a Green Mystery Data...and punts it. Just as she suspected, it was actually three PunkNavis in disguise†.
Ugh...y'know, yer a real idiot for not thinkin' how you might've wasted something useful like-
Shut.
Magma catches two of the Navis in a FireBrn3150!
Your mouth.
She proceeds to finish them with a VolcBomb70, taking out the last with her charged shot, a 2-panel line of flaming explosions!

---

*

---

(Battle Network 6) FireBrn: (Heat, Terrain) A line of Battle Chips that release a 3-panel-long burst of fire forward, cracking each panel it's over. Power is, in order from 1 to 3: 70, 110, 150
VolcBomb70: (Heat, Terrain) Magma's own Battle Chip. Throws a lava bomb 3 panels forward that explodes into a + shape of lava panels, with a +-shaped formation of smaller lava balls erupting from each lava panel. Power is based on a single hit, as opposed to being hit by all parts of the attack.

---

*Reference: Shanghai.EXE - Virus Balls allow the user to catch Viruses sort of like Pokemon. Chat Board messages imply Cybeasts, if included in-game, couldn't be caught the same way; I'm taking creative liberties based on Mighty's .txt from Page 12.
†PunkNavis hiding in GMD is an actual thing that can happen in Shanghai.EXE.

Well...that's the thing. I - I'm Sara, by the way - I have two installs prepared now in case this is any dangerous, but I never set my daughter's Navi up with the...Cross System, it's called? And from what she told me about the autonomous Navi, the same goes for her.
That's part of why I asked about the CloudySP. I've mostly only been able to ask my daughter and the Solo Navi about this, but they seem to agree the Cross happened when the area glitched for a second, possibly from the CloudySP.
I'm really sorry for the hassle; do you have someone who specializes in documenting Viruses?

---

The next metro to Yoka wasn't too long away, so Yoshi has already reached a couple of small households in Yoka, Kaguya following close behind. Kaguya quietly points to one.
There it is, right over there. Thank you!
Kaguya begins to walk up to her house, then stops and decides to whisper something right up to her PET. She then turns the PET's screen to Yoshi.
Ms. Kaguya and I are forever in your debt, sir.
Oh, uh...I just wanted to see you home safely, do we need a-
A faint cosmic hum can be heard from the PET.
...?

---

Henchie warps in.
Sorry, had a bit of a nasty run-in, but I've handed out all the flyers you-
Henchie realizes how deep into their argument Buyer and Byakuren are.
Oh, uh...oh dear.

It only takes a second for someone on the other end to respond.

---

Hi, I have a question about NetNavis.
I have a 7-year-old daughter; recently her NetNavi and an autonomous NetNavi she's acquainted with - the same one that caused the brief mist outbreak in the ACDC Area a few days back, actually - were involved in an incident. They weren't hurt, but when they face a Virus, sometimes their customizations are...swapped, I think?
The autonomous Navi's stable, she and my daughter's Navi have been rather close ever since the mist outbreak was resolved. My daughter says this began when they were fighting a Virus in ACDC Area 2 not usually there; I've checked her battle history, and apparently it's internal name is "CloudySP".
Do you know anything about close Navis gaining each other's abilities?

---

Y'know, if you say you wanna stay active with these strolls, it'd probably be a good idea to stop buying the fatty stuff from the bakery each time.
What's the problem? I work it off with the rest of my walk, no bigg-
Yoshi slows down as he notices a tiny child - only six - looking up at him, hugging a long sideways PET* tightly.
Uh...hello, mister. My name's...um...my name's...Kaguya, an' I dunno how to get home...could you help, please?
Oh! Uh...sure. You know where it is?
The child points to Block 3.
Down that thing, when you ride it and the big voice says you're almost at Yoka...
If I didn't know any better I'd be asking her how the heck she got from Yoka to here by herself.
Well, right now what's important is making sure she gets home safe. Uh...it shouldn't be too long of a wait to get to Yoka from the Metroline. C'mon.
Yoshi gently offers Kaguya his hand as he leads her to the Metroline.

---

*It's less weird to say as a footnote: More accurately, it's shaped like a Game Boy Advance.

DynaMan feels a weird ting, and after some looking around in confusion, he finds the DrgnFlm2 in his chip storage.
...
Just as DynaMan is about to let out a scream of excitement, a ringing sound can be heard next to PlugMan.

---

As Henchie manages to time a couple of his charge shots better, DanganMan floats up out of reach for a desperation attack!
Locked and loaded!
His bullet arms transform into miniguns, a 4-panel trail of rapid bullet shots chasing Henchie down like a dot-eating snake!
Hah! How's that for a-
As Dangan warps back down, he realizes Henchie has combined his last 3 chips - 3 codes of RayGun - for a Program Advance.
Hi-RCannon*
DanganMan gets caught right in the middle of the surprise blast!

---

*huff*...was that really...*cough*...your best?
Uh, that was my whole library, so...yes, I guess?
I still won, though.
Well, don't get used to it, Henchie! This is war!
DanganMan flies off, Henchie finally getting the chance to warp back to Alice's PC.

---

(Shanghai.EXE) RayGun40: (Null) Turns the user's arm into a cannon, letting them fire a hitscan shot across the row to deal light damage. The Cannon chip is functionally identical, and which one is preferred mainly depends on one's region (though both are registered in the global chip library).
(Shanghai.EXE) HiRCannon*250: (Null) A Program Advance that fires a powerful 3x3 burst of energy (with only the furthest top and bottom corners being empty).

---

*Known simply as HiCannon in Shanghai.EXE; have renamed it on the fly to help distinguish from the common Battle Network series Chip.

The Navi duo their focus back on the CloudySP as it creates a new set of clouds to replace the 3 that recently dissipated, each of them finishing with a charge shot!
To their surprise, DuskWoman unleashes a ShadMist-like burst of mist, and Daiyousei a 4-panel beam of moonlight!

---

As the battle ends, DuskWoman and Daiyousei return to normal, still puzzled about what just happened. Rumia says nothing, as she's already rushing downstairs to tell her mom.

---

BurstMan has set up an improptu drink stand for a few hours, with a large-armed figure with burning hair slumped on the one seat, slamming down her mug of a cyber-beverage that...probably didn't inflict her with a status effect.
Stupid edgy Greek W...
BurstMan.EXE: Hey, it's the UnderNet, that kinda attitude's a daily thing. You should know, Magma!
Magma grabs BurstMan by the shoulders and puts their eyes mere inches away from each other.
Don't you (CYBERSQUAWK)ing tell me what I should and shouldn't know.
You know what I used to be, before the whole Gospel thing? Rank 9. It wasn't much of a name, but it was a name. And I got it using nothing but broken panels and boiling lava.
Then clone boy and his other gimmicky friends come in, and next thing I know there's terabytes worth of dumb tricks I gotta learn if I wanna be more than Rank 35. If they even had Ranks under 10.
Magma does a double-take noticing BurstMan almost tiredly leaning his arm on the desk.
What, you're sick of hearing what I gotta deal with?! Been dealing with it for years, just wanna nap on your park bench?!?!
BurstMan.EXE: Hey, hey, easy there, friend. I just know I'm in for a tale, and I'm gettin' comfortable so I'm not strainin' my-
Magma releases BurstMan from her point-blank grasp and flings the half-empty glass at him as she walks away. At which point BurstMan remembers that the only reason the drink didn't give Magma the Melt status was because she's Heat-type.
BurstMan.EXE: Look, I'm gonna give it to ya straight. That fella took out at least three JammingMen. It ain't gonna matter how Plumeria fares, you cross that guy an' you ain't even gonna have ghost data left.
Doesn't have to be him. If they don't look like they could put out FlameMan's candles, I'll be there to turn their heads a fine gray smoke.
Magma warps out of the Square.

The clouds begin moving along the field, creating a heavy, high-damage downpour that shreds off dozens of HP from Daiyousei just from grazing it, taking off hundreds from DuskWoman as an attempted ShadStrk against one cloud sends her stepping back right into another!
No, nononononono-
As the ShadStrk nonetheless hits, the CloudySP's twitching turns to mangling itself as a wave of static flies past it and the two Navis!!
!!

---

As DanganMan tries to repeat his 3-hit punch, Henchie Counter Hits him last-second with a SlvKnife, getting in a couple of 1-damage buster shots and another SlvKnife of the same code in before Dangan begins moving again!
Missiles begin flying in from the top and bottom of the field, leaving Henchie panicked as he swerves around them and the holes left behind by the falling missiles, being struck by one after trying to squeeze in a basic charge shot!

---

The wave vanishes, the area unaffected, and even the CloudySP...slightly less glitched in its movements. As DuskWoman and Daiyousei quickly look to each other, they - much like Rumia outside - are puzzled looking at each other.
Wh...?
What happened to...?!