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An elevator slid silently open allowing its three occupants to exit into the dark, musty sub-basement of the Chipago Central Public Library. Lights came on automatically as the trio walked towards the large, humming machine at the end of the cramped room, next to the mop and bucket, messily-stacked unmarked cardboard boxes, and a fuse box left ajar. Moe, Tricia, and Darklight took in the depressing atnosphere and readied their PETs to jack in. Moe examined the machine for ports and made sure to check the serial number on the side.

"Yep, Library Database Backup Server#2, unofficially known as Undernet Support Server NA-E-020. This should take us where we need to go." Moe confirmed with some apprehension in his voice.

Darklight scoffed at his surroundings. "Let's get this over with then. The sooner we're done here, the sooner you two can treat me to dinner at a fine Netopian restaurant."

Tricia sneered at the unwanted tagalong. "So, MacDonalds?"

"Do they serve wine there?" Darklight responded sarcastically.

"No, I think they ended that promotion last month." Moe said as he jacked in.

Samuel chuckled. "I have some locations picked out for us. There ought to be more culture than can be found here at least."

Once all three operators had jacked in, their navis found themselves on a dimly-lit platform with a single directional walkway leading away to a larger hub-platform where a handful of Heel Navis could be seen milling about. Before they could move out, the new addition their group landed in front of Overdrive, gently took her hand, and kissed it with a bow before introducing himself. "Charmed to meet you my dear, my name is Shademan.exe. My power is at your service this fine day."

Overdrive knew better than to be bought in by the charms of a character so obviously vampiric, but politely smiled at the cheesy display while Drillman just squinted bitterly. The touching moment lasted only a second before Shademan ruined it by ending his overture with a high-piched batlike shriek. "WH-WHEEEEEE!"

Both other navis winced and backed up a step. Shademan chuckled and excused himself, then tilted his head slightly towards the party member he had yet to address. With a blasé tone and disinterested look, he greeted him with one word. "Drillman."

"Back at ya, pal." Drillman replied in a similar voice.

"So you guys have already met?" Overdrive inquired.

"Briefly. Our teams had a little...conflict over business territory." Drillman explained.

"Well, we can put that aside now, yes?" Shademan smirked and rose back into the air, turning towards the exit. "Now then, it appears we have arrived at an UnderSquare. Perfect place to gather information, eeee!"

"We may need to install some BlackMind programs if we're going anywhere near them." Overdrive suggested.

"Now what would we have to hide from the likes of them?" Shademan dismissed. "Surely the dwellers of the Undernet would acknowledge our formidable stature?"

Drillman considered it for a moment. "If they recognize me, it may be as a WWW member. If they recognize you, it may be as a Nebula Darkloid. Neither is any more popular among this crowd than the Officials."

"I never said they had to like us. They only need to fear us. Wheeeee!" With an evil grin, Shademan sank into his shadow and disappeared, leaving Drillman and Overdrive with an uneasy feeling.

"Where did he go?" Drillman asked rhetorically.

Overdrive grit her teeth. "My guess, he went over there to interrogate the locals. We'd better catch up to him before he does something we'll regret."

The two navis hopped on the walkway, which quickly transported them to the Square's main platform. There was no sign of Shademan nearby, only a handful of seedy-looking navis looking back at them silently like they were deciding whether or not it was worth trying to mug them. Overdrive narrowed her eyes and wore an expression of absolute resolve, taking her blade in hand to make her point clear. Officials or not, denizens of the Undernet deferred to the strong. They didn't need to scope out the new arrivals any more. One look at Drillman's arsenal and Overdrive's sword was enough to get them moving off in the other direction.

Still wary, the duo explored the platform, taking note of the shop kiosks, the message board rooms, the link teleporters, and other CyberSquare staples it wouldn't hurt to hit up for the investigation. Then, a muffled cry from a large generator spire caught their attention. Overdrive was around the other side of the obstruction in the blink of an eye thanks to her enhanced speed, where she found an unfortunate black Heel squirming helplessly in the grasp of Shademan's wings.

"What are you doing!? Stop it!" The Official demanded sternly as Drillman turned the corner to join them.

"Please, do you really care what I do with this miscreant?" Shademan said dismissively.

"H-helllp meee!" The victim pleaded. His whimpering was cut off as Shademan sunk his fangs into the poor UnderDweller's throat. The others looked on with shock and horror, it was too late for them to do anything. The Heel squirmed for a second and then went limp. Shademan, his snack finished, dropped the navi uncerimoniously and wiped his mouth, looking somewhat disgusted. The Heel landed on its feet and slowly tottered back and forth with a slumped posture.

"Ptheh. Not very appetizing, but he should be cooperative." Shademan commented to his disturbed and wary allies. "Don't give me that look, he will be fine. Although I still don't understand why you would care. Wheeee!"

"It...would be nice if you ran your ideas past us beforehand." Drillman suggested with barely-contained anger.

"That would just prolong this tiresome experience more. Now then, my weak-willed minion, there has been a string of navi disappearances in this region of the Undernet over the past few days. Tell me everything you know about this."

The navi answered in a slow, monotonous voice. "St-stay...away...from the...dark..."

The others were intrigued by the cryptic response. "You know what's causing this? Who's responsible?" Overdrive pressed.

Shademan repeated her question, as the hypnotic spell apparently only made the Heel responsive to his orders. "I...don't know..."

Drillman grew more frustrated. "Whaddaya mean you don't know?"

Shademan was appearing disappointed as well. "Tell me everything, slave...I would prefer not to have to taste any more of the souls in this place. Give me the information I desire."

I-I don't...I don't know who...just...the only ones that disappear...they...gkkk-!" The Heel then slumped to his knees, holding his throat. Shademan looked confused.

"What happened to him?" asked Overdrive.

Shademan scratched his goatee in contemplation. "His speech synthesizer malfunctioned....Now how could that happen?"

"Gee, you think it might have something to do with you biting his neck?" Drillman suggested sarcastically.

"It is usually not an issue...hmph. The shock to his systems is freeing him from my spell. This one is worthless to us now." With a snap of his fingers, Shademan then summoned a Dark Hole out of which a massive black hand emerged. The hand grabbed the desperate, choking navi and instantly crushed him in its grip, scattering the misfortunate character's data and leaving small data crystals of the chips and zenny he was carrying.

"Was that really necessary?" Drillman asked with a very irritated tone.

"Not really, but this way I get my due spoils. Wh-wheee-eee!" Shademan casually explained while transferring the dropped data to his operator. "The navi went back to his PET, so it works out for everybody. Now, do you want to question the next one your way, or do you still have a problem with my method?"

"So now you value our input?" Overdrive rolled her eyes and hoisted her sword. "We're going to ask nicely. Don't say anything, just hover behind us and look intimidating. I have a feeling we'll get better results if we don't break the witnesses."

"Um..."

A soft, feminine voice drew the trio's attention behind them to a figure peeking around the corner of the spire. The intrusion was not sudden enough to make them react defensively, but they knew they had to keep their guard up in this place. The intense, dangerous looks on the three powerful navis made the girl draw back farther behind the corner before slowly venturing outward again.

"Um, y-you were asking about missing navis?" she asked timidly. They could only see part of her humanoid face and wide-brimmed, pointed hat. She didn't look like the type one would normally find in the Undernet.

"...You know something about it?" Drillman asked carefully.

"Wh-what do you want? I mean, why are you looking for...what are you going to..." She stammered and stumbled around what she was trying to say. She also ventured out a little further, allowing the others to see she had a slim, almost fragile figure, dressed in deep blue robes. Full, pink hair under her hat framed a fair, young, attractive, meek face.

Shademan licked his fangs. "Mmmm...now this is more like it. I can already taste this one..."

Overdrive pointed her blade at Shademan's chest. "Don't even think about it." After the quiet warning, she turned to the girl with a softer, more calming expression and tone. "We're Officials. We want to find out what happened to the victims, and rescue them and return them to their PETs if possible. Can you help us?"

"Yes! Thank goodness!" With a gleeful grin, the young woman ran forward and threw her arms around a very surprised Overdrive. This time the move was sudden enough that the others very nearly attacked, but after a split-second of tension, the navis could tell this new arrival was harmless. Drillman finally relaxed and allowed himself to be amused by his partner's uncomfortable expression, locked in the other girl's affectionate hug. That was until he noticed Shademan eyeing the pair, ponderously stroking his chin again. Now Drill felt discomfort of his own.

Overdrive pried herself free and continued. "Ahem. Could you explain what you know about the matter, Miss...?"

The girl hopped up and down giddily for a moment then stopped herself and took on a much more serious and cool demeanor. "I apologize. My name is Magister.exe. I came to the Undernet seeking the same information as you. My friend Ashe, a girl Navi with grey armor went missing a couple days ago. Last anybody heard from her, she was planning to hunt for a rare chip in Undernet412."

Drillman sighed. "...The Undernet is no place for civilian navis. You should have just left it to the Officials."

Magister snapped at the drill-laden navi with a look of pure, violent rage. "Do you think I'm stupid!? I already TRIED the Officials!" Shocked, Drillman raised his guard again, but before he could try to convince the woman to calm down, she was already turned away and looking sullenly downward.

"They said an investigation was already underway...They didn't give me any reassurance, and I couldn't stand around doing nothing, not knowing what happened to her. I...I'm just doing what I can...I want to help her..." She was practically sobbing by this point.

Drillman could understand the sentiment. Darklady could very well have been among the victims, but whereas Magister ventured bravely into the Undernet to save her friend, Drill and Moe took the safe approach and spent two days preparing. Drillman certainly wanted to get into action as soon as possible and secretly resented the Official procedure that delayed them. He felt like a tool for criticizing this woman when she was the one doing the right thing. He let out a deep sigh. "I'm sorry, you're right. Come with us, we can help each other and find your friend and the other navis that much faster."

Magister was once again gleeful and beaming with eagerness. Overdrive, not so much. "Drillman!" she whispered scoldingly. "We're not authorized to bring just anyone along. Shademan is here because he's on contract. We don't even know if she has a NetBattling license."

Drill shrugged and turned to Magister. "Do you have a NetBattling license?

Her giddiness abruptly turned to shiftless lethargy as she brought out her card and presented it with little enthusiasm. "Oh, y'know...just a D License...never got around to trying for anything higher." She then sprang into a ferocious, fist-clenched, wild-eyed grin that reminded Drill of Darklady at her most bloodthirsty. "But I'm totally strong, believe me! I don't need a license to fight it out with the best of them! You wanna go right now? I'll show you!"

The three others backed away nervously. At this point they were more concerned about the rapidity of her mood swings than any propensity for violence. Drillman cast Overdrive a sideways glance and she hesitantly gave in with a sigh and a wave-off. "Alright, alright, that won't be necessary. You made it through the Undernet this far on your own...I guess you're stronger than you look. You can tag along with us to Under412, but if anybody asks, you're a...witness under our protection. That's not far from the truth. There's probably more info we can learn from you anyway."

"Yes ma'am!" Magister nodded, once more smiling warmly.

"My name is Overdrive, by the way. This is Drillman and Shademan."

"It's nice to meet you! Don't worry...I won't let you down..." She said, bowing her head modestly. It wasn't clear whether her last words were meant for her new allies, or her lost friend. Shademan silently watched their new acquaintance with curious intent.

With a new destination settled upon, the four navis determined the quickest route to Undernet412 from the residents of the Square and set out. Between Shademan's unrepentant creepiness and Magister's fluctuating temprament, the two Officials had good reason to be on edge. They were quickly regretting their willingness to expand their party.

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