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All of the gloomy wonder of the Undernet is home to few. It attracted many and destroyed almost every last one of them from the inside out. The psychological molestation alone was glorified with the pity and fear of pedestrian gossip. Others who came back alive, finding themselves in the abyss, had learned all the things that they don't teach in school. At the expense of their souls, they had succumbed to the darkness of humanity and its hideous tortures.

Sometimes there would be one of a rare breed isolated far and in between the filth; people that reveled in the misery and nihilism. Lawlessness beckoned these people and twisted their minds to saturate the world's knowledge...all to use it to their advantage. But it's not often that one can exist within this world and follow a thin understanding of right and wrong. Blackmind Navis are produced with the purpose of having a malicious persona. It is a natural trait, oozing a body of terror. They possess a dark aura, but not necessarily reside within the all-consuming darkness.

The spy existed there as a rumor. He was the eyes and ears of the Undernet, hidden away like a phantasm and crushing those that defied him. Rumors of a sacred world within the darkness of the Undernet existed since the genesis of the Cyberworld as it is known to this day. The fabled "Shadow of the Wind" and the "Ear in the Wall" weren't taken seriously, but the idea of the divine world lashing out and punishing the hell that had surrounded it was a sensational concept to what few outsiders could be close enough to believe it, to think that one could make it so that the devil cried.

It wasn't intelligent to attribute it such fantastic notions. Spiders crawled the web, and in the dark they lay in wait. Assassinations were common to the Under dwellers. Nothing was different about a routine extermination. It was always the desired outcome: felt but never seen nor heard to those nonexistant souls intended to survive. Nobody was much informed on the indetity or existence of this killer. His orders came from above, where the lawmakers reside, tucked away in their executive mansions of operation.

The spy had none of the supernatural, warm aura of Valkyrie. He took orders and did freelance work for the Officials, most of whom didn't even know he existed. He was much unlike Shadowman, the notorious assassin with an impossible reputation. This spy was without a shred of that notoriety. The fears and legends referred to a phenomenon for which he made no acknowledgement. It kept things simple to stay detached, there were no others coming after him like there were for those Ranked navis. He was just a hitman and a recon expert away from sight where he had nothing to fear...but for the first time in his career, he was uneasy.

Metalman stood with his hands held high, the now comparably frail Darklady trembling within his fists. Apprehension of impending death overcame her as her structure was slowly crushed by the trash compactor grip. IceChan had returned to help her unlikely ally despite what she said moments ago. The smaller, ineffectual navi hacked and slashed away at the monolith in vain. The standard navi in the distance stood frozen with nothing to do but watch.

The spy had left earlier to search for these very same victims, and did not suspect they would all end up in the worst possible position so quickly. Sensing the unexpected development, he quickly returned only to find it may have already been too late. He knew what was going to happen next. If he stuck to his directives, then all these innocent bystanders would be deleted without recovery. The Darkloid Metalman had proven itself to be every bit as dangerous as he appeared. A split second and one of the former Net Guardians would be eliminated. Never to operate without expert opinion, the spy remained stationary. The interference did not wear off. At this rate, it was obvious that it never would.

Anger found the beholder grinding his teeth in frustration. This was only supposed to be an information gathering mission. He knew that any intervention on his part could jeopardize everything he had worked for. What was he to do? Save the pretty little girls and give up critical secrets to his enemies, or let them die and never get over the feeling he was just as reponsible for their deaths as the giant? It aggravated his short temper without much, if any provocation.

The decision came to him as Darklady let out a final, horrible scream. Her voice piercing time, it was within a split second that he acted. To the spy, it was an hour of deliberation that had just processed itself within his head, cut off prematurely by instinct. Although he had his orders, he had no confidant at his disposal. Wasn't it obvious, that which he must do?

The behemoth suddenly growled, its fists loosening just barely enough to allow the damaged, unfortunate Darklady to slip free. Engulfed in what appeared to be cyan-colored electricity, he flailed his arms about wildly, clutching at his head. Momentarily regaining focus, he saw his prey squirm free and reached out again, his arms knocked asunder by repeated blows of searing, origin-defying plasma. It was without hesitation that IceChan took advantage of the situation to save the battered Darklady.

From under the giant's shadow, the monster now howling in more annoyance than pain, she noticed small bolts of electricity making their way down an unseen wire. Staring in awe of the spectacle, she was reawakened to reality and its dangers by a gravelly voice shouting down from space, "Run away, NOW!"

Questioning the miracle was a fool's choice. Darklady was now grasping at Dark by the shoulder, leaning and coughing as they escaped. The three girls vanished in an undetermined direction and immediately, the reluctant hero had come to regret his reckless, albeit lifesaving decision. He knew what they were in for, and with the large frame of his adversary, he would have to use his wits to make this fight quick. Time was of the essence, he knew that they didn't stand a chance against it.

* * *

Without an irate metal monster trying to crush her every two seconds, IceChan found the nearest stairway leading upwards rather quickly. She led the way while the pair of Darks followed slowly behind. "Come on! I doubt these walkways could support that guy, but he could just shoot missiles at us so we fall back down to him!. Trust me."

Darklady was dragging limp on Dark's shoulder. Dark wondered why she was even doing this. This was hardly part of her mission aside from Alia's last command to "stay close to that one!" She ignored IceChan's insistence of hurrying as long as IceChan was ignoring the option to help carry.

"Uhn...Dark...stop f'r a sec..." Darklady struggled to say. Her frame was becoming pixellated as her structural integrity broke down.

"What? We have to get out of here, fast!" Dark protested, but stopped anyway, letting her lightweight load lower slowly to the ground at the foot of the stairs.

"No time...'sides, I don' wanna go back wi'h K'linka...after this...she'd nev'r let free again...I wanna go wi'h you...Yer op und'rstan'...Yer just...like me..."

"You're not making any sense...I mean yeah, my operator would like you...but as a test subject, not the way you...it doesn't matter! I'm sorry, but if you can't last until we're back in signal range, there's nothing I can do."

Darklady smiled weakly. "But there's somethin' I c'n do...I said I'd help ya find what yer lookin' for...well this'll help us both..." With that she closed her eyes and her shadow began to grow into a circular shape around them. She was using up the last of her energy to generate a Dark Hole.

"Hey, w-what are you doing?" Dark asked nervously, looking beneath them as a strange energy poured out of the ground and surrounded them.

"Th' doc's program...with our dark power...shoul' be th' perfect match. Thanks..fer setting...me free..."

The two navis glowed briefly and sank into the Dark Hole. IceChan turned around to see what was happening in time to watch as they both vanished from sight. "What in-hey! Where did you go!?" She received no answer. She looked around in vain for a few moments until the nearby roar of Metalman reminded her she was better off making a break for it. "...I don't know what was up with those two, but wherever they are, I hope they're okay..." Wasting no more time, she climbed upwards as fast as she could.

* * *

The revealed spy was already having more trouble than he ever should have encountered. Once Metalman noticed the energized wires entangling him, he made short work of them with the same Metal Blade barrage he used to fell Darklady. With the web eliminated, the spy could only barely hold the juggernaut at bay with bolts of plasma. The Darkloid seemed determined to lumber right past - or through the minor obstruction to reach Darklady again.

Then it stopped. They spy's gunfire continued, but Metalman ignored it and only stod still, looking off into space, as if listening to a sound only he could hear. Taking the opportunity to line up a good shot, the smaller navi fired a strong bolt of plasma directly into the monster's face. Metalman's head lit up in bright fire for an instant and when it cleared, he had turned to glare directly at the spy with a look of pure hatred.

At least that got his attention. He thought. Unfaltering, he prepared to fire again, but the Darkloid had other ideas. A single punch to the ground with his disproportionately large fist shook the foundations of the system like an earthquake and kicked up a thick cloud of dust and debris. The other navi moved quickly, using the cloud for cover and grappling a higher platform as to not lose footing. However much to his surprise, Metalman's footsteps could be heard growing more distant in the opposite direction. He was just leaving...as if there were no more reason to be there.

As the dust settled and the spy found himself alone, he decided to follow the example and leave for a more hospitable location. He was concerned about what he had just given up, and for what reason? He would probably never see those women again, and Metalman had both gotten a good look at him and left alive with that. He wasn't even sure he could delete that monstrosity before it could do any more damage, but it was now his greatest responsibility to do just that. It seemed his simple life was about to become much more difficult.

* * *

Hoshiko was pacing in her room for what felt like an eternity trying to figure out what to do about her missing partner. The Official guidelines and operation handbooks on her desk were worthless - the only solution they offered was to not go into the Undernet in the first place. She felt so stupid for letting this happen.

Then the PET made a beep. Her heart jumped. The screen displayed a brief message reading "Transmission Acquired" then the text box disappeared to make room for the view window showing IceChan back in the snowy network just outside the Undernet.

"Um...Hey, Hoshiko! Guess I'm ready to jack out now." She said, trying to sound nonchalant.

The operator was not amused. "Are you alright? You had me worried sick!"

"It's cool, I just fell out of transmission range. It uh...took me a while to find my way back, but I'm fine." After all that happened, she thought it was best not to add to Hoshiko's worries, especially since it was her own fault in the first place. "Oh by the way, look." IceChan held up a small data block. "It's the snowball data. It was right around the entrance here. Looks like we finished the mission."

"Oh." Hoshiko sighed, quite relieved. She had forgotten all about the stupid mission though. "Well, there's no time limit on the test, so we'll report in tomorrow. I've had enough Official stuff for one day."

"Y-yeah, me too." IceChan nodded uneasily and jacked out.

* * *

"Gone!? What happened?" A petrified Moe asked through his PET phone. He was sitting in the passenger seat of Tricia's car as they drove out of town.

Kalinka's voice was weary and despondent. "I don't know...One second she was fine, there was no danger anywhere. Then I just lost the signal and couldn't find her no matter what I tried. I lost her...I'm so sorry."

"No...this is my fault. I shouldn't have asked you to..." Moe could barely even formulate his profession of guilt with his mind focused on the implications here. He figured Darklady was the safest one to send to the Undernet to investigate the disappearances, and she disappeared herself. Now it fell to Drillman, Overdrive, and possibly Smith's agents to look into the same phenomenon, and if Darklady didn't come back, what chance did they have?

"Kalinka, don't worry. I will do whatever it takes to find her. She's too tough to die, so I know she's still out there somewhere. This was my responsibility to begin with."

"Moe, I...just be careful. I mean, even more careful than I was...and I was pretty careful. This could be something that gets you no matter how careful you are, but still...be careful." Kalinka was babbling with confusion, regret, and sleep deprivation. She had never sounded more like her father.

"I have the Officials backing me, we'll figure this out, it's what we do. Just don't worry about me...and get some sleep, please."

As the call ended, Moe just hoped he could back up his own talk this time. The truth was he didn't have the luxury of turning down this task. Even without the Officials hanging overhead, he had friends involved because of him, and he couldn't let them down now. He had to remember though, Drillman was the one he would be risking, and this wasn't Drillman's guilt, it was his own.

"Well, what's the word?"

Moe snapped out of his thoughts and turned to Tricia, who was waiting expectantly for some explanation of the half of the drama she had to overhear while driving. "Oh, there's...been another victim of this Undernet disappearances thing. The operator couldn't keep the signal."

"Hm...maybe we need to jack in directly to the server." She suggested in a calm manner.

"...Where IS the Undernet server?"

"Maybe we should start our investigation by looking into that."

* * *

Alia sat hunched over in front of the computer monitor, her elbow propped on the desk with her hand holding up her listless tilted head by the cheek while her other hand moved and clicked the mouse as the sole sign of life in her otherwise motionless body. Her eyes were fixed in a grim furrow of frustration as she scanned the same online discount navi catalogue she had numerous times before. She really thought she was onto something with the last one, but she was growing accustomed to the thought of just trying to find some place that sold these things in bulk.

beep!

"Alia...Alia! I'm jacking out."

Alia didn't move right away. Instead she just stopped moving the mouse and shifted her look into a raised eyebrow of utter disbelief. "No...#@$%ing...way."

She slowly turned to the previously useless PET she was surprised she didn't bother to unplug and/or throw out the window yet. It was now back online and her navi and indeed returned to it...or had she?

"What the f-...Where's my navi?"

"Alia, I'm...I'm right here." The navi on the screen professed.

Alia leaned in closer to scrutinize the unexpected sight. "...Dark?"

"Yes, Dark." She nodded, and then looked down at herself once more. The Normal Navi armor she was used to was gone and replaced with a more human-like feminine form dressed in a demonic purple outfit, the same appearance she recognized from its previous owner. "Well, I guess it's Darklady now."

Her bright green eyes glinted with hidden madness. In one fatal move, three women had gotten more than they bargained for.