The streets of Crescent City remained quiet.

Except for the mini van that was driving down the streets at high speeds. Packed inside were the Net Guardians, the Acid Hackers, and the Cossacks. The Kalinka drove, fully intent on getting everyone to the City Centre as quickly as possible. Dr. Cossack, still muttering to himself in his temporary insanity, sat shotgun. And the 11 members of both teams that were there were crammed into seats designed to seat 5 people at best.

"Stop touching me!"

"He's on my side of the seat!"

"Stop leaning on me!"

"ALL OF YOU SHUT UP, OR GOD FORBID, I WILL DRIVE THIS VAN OFF THE FIRST CLIFF I COME TO!" Kalinka suddenly yelled.

They rode in silence for the rest of the trip.

______________________________________________

Nijubu had just returned to Gonuts Donuts to find the place empty.

"Where is everyone!?" he panicked, looking for any shred of the teams.

He than noticed a hastily scrawled sticky note stuck to the TV.

"Gone to the City Centre - Kalinka"

"Ah man...." Nijubu uttered before sprinting out the door.

________________________________

Sam sat in the antique store, connecting the PETs to the PET that King Man downloaded the files to.

He worked fast, and efficiently.

And he prayed to every deity he could think of that his plan would work.

________________________________

Serenade walked lightly through the Secret Area, the viruses moving out of the way when he came, as if afraid, or perhaps understanding why he was here.

___________________________________

SCREEECH!!!

The van stopped in front of the City Centre, and everyone was more than happy to remove themselves from its cramped quarters.

The place would have seemed empty, if it were not for the lone individual that waited for them

"Thank god you guys are here" said Trisha as the NG and AH approached. "Follow me."

The main server room that they were led to was, by all accounts, impressive. 10 foot tal computer servers covered the walls of the room, with many jack in ports for all of them.

"Alright, it's time to get out there and fight!" Jeremy yelled, pointing dramatically. Everyone else gave a "Rah" in agreement, joining in the pointing.

Everyone, that is, except Bubbleman, sitting in his laptop which sat upon the floor after Johnny dropped it while "Rah"ing

"And the blub is the great, fearless leader? We just gonna go in there guns blazing, or are you gonna use your blubbin' head for once?"

"uh.....I'm not paid to think about that stuff!" Jeremy looked around the room. "When the hell's Chessmaster gonna get here? I thought he was the one that was gonna do this! I'm just in charge of badassness!"

"Oy..." Jon and Carlos said at the same time.

Than, as if on cue, Nijubu busted through the door, looking as if he had run the boston marathon in 3 minutes.

"You....guys....could...have....WAITED!" he yelled, before collapsing on the floor.

"You could have called us. We would have gone back for you" said Moe.

".......crap" was all Nijubu said.

* * *

Serenade stood at the top of the Secret Area. His uneventful quest seemed to come to an abrupt end. Just what did he expect to find here? There was a pristine, barren platform, abandoned by its former sentry, as that same sentry had just arrived searching for something. There was a time when he felt like the master of all he surveyed when he stood in that very spot, but now he felt like a trespasser on someone else's throne.

The reality of Serenade's situation swept over him. His legs buckled and he found himself on his hands and knees, staring desperately at his faint reflection in the pearly polished tile beneath him. He needed the Giga Freeze program or this entire trip was a waste. His friends could be facing deletion at that very moment! He took this risk hoping that the outcome would be for the better, but this was where his plan fell apart. There was no more Giga Freeze here, it had already been used during the second Alpha Rebellion. What now?

He watched his panicked reflection gradually stiffen up. Soon he was staring down at a much more serious and determined expression. This wasn't right. He knew about what happened before he came here, but he still felt like Giga Freeze was here. What did he know? He could not remember for the life of him, but he knew there was something there.

"Get up. You are pathetic."

Serenade was surprised at the sound of his own voice. He felt it was true, but did he really say that? Using his levitation power, he gracefully lifted back to his feet, only to find himself still staring back at a faint reflection. This one seemed to hang in the air itself, right in front of him. David's navi was expressing shock and confusion, but the reflection showed none of this. It was the same stern, judgemental face he had seen in the floor a moment ago. Was it an hallucination?

"You are not Serenade." The same voice said. This time Serenade could recognize that he wasn't exactly saying this himself.

"You again." He responded, calling back to the time in the Beach Area when his subconscious treated him to a similar schizophrenic episode. This time the 'true' Serenade sounded much more dire, not in the lighthearted joking mood it was last time.

"Serenade was a ruler. A guardian. He was tasked with watching over this realm and protecting the Forbidden Program. You have some nerve coming back to the land you abandoned."

Serenade felt insulted by this reflection. He tried to collect himself. "I followed your advice, I've shown love for my enemies...Punk, not so much, but I gotta take it one step at a time. You know I have to be with my team, not here. I don't know what else you want from me."

"Serenade is not part of anyone's team. Serenade is its own alignment, a true neutral force at the center of a society in discord. You came here seeking Giga Freeze. I never harbored thoughts of using that program on my own. It was not my place to decide the fate of the Cyberworld, only to determine the Chosen Ones that could."

It was true. Serenade's memories from his previous life were there, but as an encrypted mess without the frame of mind to understand them. In his eagerness to be the savior, he forgot that the real Serenade would never feel that way.

Serenade stood silently for a moment, deep in thought. Did he completely fail to live up to his identity? He was ashamed and despairing, but the urgency of the situation still weighed over him. Then, his head perked up in a moment of realization. He grinned at his counterpart. "Okay, so I'm not Serenade. I don't care. I'm myself, and I only need to be a Chosen One."

The reflection smiled and nodded in acknowledgement. "Very well. That will be determined if you pass your test..."

"So wait, Giga Freeze is actually here? I thought it was lost months ago!"

"Megaman tried to use it on Bass, but Bass captured it for himself and used his Get Ability to absorb it. After Bass was consumed by Alpha, he was revived by the bugfrags in this area. The Forbidden Program had found its way back home, and it was liberated from Bass before his new form was complete."

"That's great!" Serenade beamed. "It's weird that I didn't know that, but if Giga Freeze is here anywhere, let me see it!"

"It's not quite that simple. Bass still absorbed it. It couldn't be completely separated from him..." The reflection suddenly became much darker, as did the air around it. Serenade sensed a terrifying power emanating from the figure and took a step back.

"David, you'd better get my chips ready, I think my test is about to start."

David's voice came through the line. "What in tarnation, you didn't tell me you'd have to do any fighting here!"

"I honestly had no idea what I was going to have to do..."

A new figure emerged where the reflection stood a moment ago. It was a distinctive floating navi, wrapped in a cloak, and glaring malevolently beneath a finned helmet. The only thing distinguishing this form from the real Bass was the ghostly cool blue glow surrounding its body.

The true Serenade's voice sounded out once more. "Before the battle of fates resumes, I should warn you that this Bass's attacks are infused with the power of Giga Freeze. One hit will be all it takes to lock your systems...forever."

Serenade was nervous as soon as he saw who he was facing, but the added condition was downright impossible. David was strangely optimistic, however. "Don't let him psyche you out. We can S-Rank this apparition no sweat. You just worry about dodging, and I'll attack."

Serenade grit his teeth and locked eyes with his opponent. He could not afford any mistakes this time. He shoved his fears aside and kept in mind the importance of his task, his friends were waiting for him. He needed to be at his best.

He needed to be a Chosen One.

* * *

Crescent Area 277. For such an unassuming number, the Netbattlers that arrived on the scene found it to have a unique and awe-inspiring atmosphere to it. This particular network node was evidently a primary tranfer point between the eastern and western hemispheres. The area was immense, with interconnecting blue platforms densely overlapping on the eastern boundary under a soft green and blue sky ceiling that was hanging higher above their heads than any of them were used to. The wallpaper took on the appearance of beams of light and icons representing Electopia and Netopia flying east and west to represent the area's significance in connecting the two nations. The platforms became more sparse as they stretched out to the west, eventually ending over a wide, empty, digital ocean with teleporters and floating freight transporters hanging over the edge, looking out to the distant land to the west, and the orange glow on the horizon creating a sunset-like gradient over the sky as it stretched back to the blue and green on the Ameropean side.

It seemed like a nice place for a navi to hang out to the assembled Net Guardians and Acid Hackers as they made their way upwards from the entrance. Some of them (like Dark Lady and Flameman) promised themselves they would remember the address and come back to visit in more comfortable times. Others (like Flashman and Drillman) were more pessimistic and regretted that they hadn't discovered this place sooner, as it would certainly be in ruins by the end of the day...or worse. Whether this hidden gem of an area was never well-known, or if the threat of Gamma had frightened everyone away, the allied navis noticed how unnaturally empty the district was. There were abandoned netmerchant booths everywhere, and what might have been regular heavy transfer traffic was at a standstill with the cargo ships hanging lifelessly at the docks.

The group finally arrived at the apex of the system, where their unobstructed view allowed them to see just how empty the area was in all directions. At that point there was nothing to do but look around nervously and uncomfortably. They could all feel the moment of truth approaching, but just when would it?

Punk was first to speak up about these concerns. "Alright, we're here. Now what? What are we supposed to do?"

"Sam must have had a good reason for suggesting this location." Bowlman gave the best answer he could think of. "Does he know something we don't?"

Kingman decided to speak up for his operator, only guessing his intentions himself. "It seems this would be the optimum battleground for our encounter with Gamma. Crescent 277 is the most direct route to the Netopia Main Servers, and also has a specific design to it, making it better for giant monster battling. Fate will most certainly come through here once he's finished with Electopia. We have to be ready for him when he does."

"So how long is that gonna take?" Darklady asked impatiently. "What are we supposed to do until then?"

"Could be hours, could be more than a day..." Kingman answered ambiguously. "The sooner we get started positioning ourselves and manipulating the environment in our favor, the better."

"Hold on, we might hafta wait around in here for over a day?!" Punk slammed his fist through the ground in anger. "And what if you're wrong?! What if Gamma doesn't even come through this way?"

Kingman felt a little insulted. "I trust in Sam's plans. He told us to engage Gamma here, so we will!"

"It's not like we'll have anything to lose staying jacked in for as long as it takes." Metalman suggested. "There aren't even any viruses around to bother us."

"Hey yeah, that's weird." Flameman noticed. "Normally a place like this left unmaintained would be overrun with the critters by now."

"Maybe the viruses are afraid of Gamma too." Flashman theorized, only half-joking. "So where should we start?"

"Well, the melee fighters should head to the docks and wait on one of the fringe islands." Kingman pointed out to the west. "That's the fastest way to hit Gamma head-on. The rest of us should spread out so we can lead them into a pincer attack..."

"Hmph, forget yer dumb strategy, we don' have time for it." Punk growled ominously.

"We just went over this, we have plenty of time." Kingman reminded him.

"Not any more we don't. Why don't you take a good look at the 'sunset', if yer crusty old eyes can handle it." Punk rasped, pointing towards Electopia.

None of them could see much, except the orange glow from the west had started to become an unnerving blood-red. Eventually, three moving specks could be seen heading fast towards them. They tensed up and armed their weapons. Was this it? Was their moment of reckoning coming ahead of schedule?

The figures flying in from the west became clearer. It wasn't Gamma. Not exactly. It was a trio of its Gamma Units, and they were looking quite fat from their cyberworld devouring. Still they flew like missiles, claws-first. Before the navis were even sure what was happening, the GUs shot through the cargo ships hovering at the docks, punching firey holes in the hulls, causing the vessels to collapse and sink to deletion in the sea below. The Gamma Units only kept moving as if they hadn't hit anything, and eventually stuck themselves into various platforms spread throughout the area, and resumed their feast. The rich blues of the surrounding terrain were rapidly desaturated as data and energy drained into the parasitic creatures. They didn't even seem to notice the NG and AH.

"It appears the battle begins now!" The golden Yamatoman announced, pointing his spear at the nearest GU and flying forward.

"Are everybody's Gammasks and EarthBuster programs functioning properly!?" Kingman asked with a panicked tone as the others were already running ahead of him in different directions.

"Only one way to find out!" Beastman roared, pouncing at the GU in the north with Darklady, Metalman, and Bubbleman following close behind. Punk led Flashman, Plantman, and Flameman against the GU parked in the south, while Bowlman and Drillman followed NaomiSoul Yamatoman straight ahead. Kingman stayed behind and watched aprehensively. He certainly would have appreciated more preparation time. The best he could do now was work on their battlefield strategy before Gamma really appeared, and hope his allies could handle what they were diving into.

Beast Man, being the fastest navi, easily reached the GU before the others.

"Time to see if this works" Beast Man growled under his breath as he pounced upon the GU and scratched with his claws, almost expecting it to have no effect.

The claws created a very nasty mark upon the GU's armor.

And then the GU dug its claws out of the ground and turned them towards Beast Man.

"Uh-oh" was all Beast Man had the chance to utter before the GU flew at him. Beast Man barely managed to escape.

Stuart took a sigh then grabbeed his chip bag.

"Okay then, here we go."

He took out a Boomerang3 chip and slotted in.

The Boomerang formed in Plantman's right hand and he tossed it long and hard at the Gamma Unit, dealing a decent amount of damage while Stuart slotted in a Vine 3 chip. Plantman charged that one up and unleashed it everywhere, entangling everything.

Yamatoman rushed towards the Gamma Unit and stabbed it in its back with his spear. The GU, like the others, rose out of the ground to face it's opponents.

Away from the battle, Kingman scanned the action.

"Hmm...interesting."

"What?" asked Nijubu, the only one of the netbattlers not furiously operating at the moment.

"The GUs are responding to our attacks."

"What?"

"They consider us a threat."

"....oh" Nijubu answered, not completely sure what was so impressive.

Though Kingman quickly caught on. "Think about it friend: Monsters created by the apocalypse incarnate, and we're the rag tag group of adventurers that are a danger to it."

"...what is this, a videogame?"

"No. By the way, I could use some sort of defense right about now, since the battle's coming this way.

"Damnit Plant, watch your friggin' aim!" Yelled a very annoyed Punk, who was hacking at the roots that kept him from moving.

"Suck it up and fight!" was all Plant Man had to say before launching another Boomerang at the GU, who despite all of the scratches that littered its surface, was showing no signs of falling.

Over on the other side of the system Darklady took advantage of the Gamma Unit's attempts to crush Beatman to get up close and hopefully chop off the creature's little head with one swing of her Axe. Beastman was doing an admirable job of dodging the repeated slams from the heavy metallic thing, which was surprisingly fast itself. It didn't seem to notice her however, so she flew up behind it just as it was landing and reared her weapon back for a mighty swing...

Just then the GU's head spun around, its single glowing red eye staring brightly at the shocked demoness. Before she could react, a powerful laser from the burning red eye punched her across the platform. She landed roughly on the ground and struggled to catch her breath as the piece of Gamma even now loomed over her to finish her off.

Her only thoughts as she clutched her wound were "Eye beams? Who said they had eye beams? Someone's gonna pay for this..." She was waiting for a defensive chip from Adrienne, but there was an unexpected delay. Then she remembered the delay wasn't so unexpected. Her Dark Chips were more greatly affected by the Earthbuster problem due to their immense power.

Before she could be crushed, a Geyser burst up from underneath the GU, knocking it off course and farther away. At the same time, a BubbleWrap formed around her. She looked over and noticed Bubbleman giving her a smirk and thumbs-up before air-swimming off towards the sprawling enemy. Getting back into the air herself, she noticed Metalman lifting Beastman into the air and carrying him over the GU to drop in for a higher Jumping Claw attack.

As she readied her Axe again, she smiled and lightly cackled to herself. Fighting alongside the Acid Hackers would take some getting used to, but it looked like it was working just fine.

Moe sent a Meteor3 chip into his PET. As Drillman fired it, it sent blasts of cosmic rock onto the Gamma Units. Metal and Plantman worked together on using another Vine3 chip to sending a GU down in the same style of a taking down a monument of dictator.

"Do any of you guys have a plan to push forward?" Stuart asked.

"Not sure yet," Jeremy replied, "I say we keep wrecking stuff!"

"... Or Drillman could lead an advancing party while a back up party holds off the Gamma Units." Moe replied after rolling his eyes.

"Ok that could work too."

"Well who's going and stay?" Bubbleman asked.

Just then a thunderous death beam blasted the ground and made its judgement. Drillman, Punk, Flashman, Plantman, Flameman, and Kingman were on one side with the remaining Navis on the other.

"I guess that settles that." Yamatoman said.

On one side of the great fissure stood Drillman, Kingman, Flameman, Flashman, Plantman, and Punk. Upon the other side stood Bubbleman, Bowlman, Beastman, Dark Lady, Metalman, and Yamatoman.

Both teams stood with their backs to the fissure, with a Gamma Unit facing them down. Both teams were quite effectively cornered.

Upon one side, orders were immediately given.

"Drillman, Punk, I want both of you to rush him. While the GUs are kept busy, Plantman and Flashman will hit it from behind. Move out!"

On the other side, orders were also given.

"Let's DO THIS!!!"

* * *

The old and decrepit panels of the antique store's homepage creaked and moaned in protest as yet another navi teleported onto the platform and added additional weight to the system's outdated and insufficient RAM. Gamma's widespread effects did not make the situation any better, and Sam could only hope the PC would not crash before he could finish assembling his army.

Each navi bore an identical design. It was a simplistic, old-type Normal Navi body with no apparent facial features. What few uninspired details their armor had were obscured further by the flat black color scheme. Each one was armed with a simple metal broadsword and nothing else. Essentially, they all resembled Kingman's regular Pawns, only taller and with legs. Anyone on either of the two teams could immediately identify the crowd as some kind of fodder army designed by Sam to conform to the whole chess motif. They would act as backup for the battle to come; a way to bolster their numbers and bring them closer to evening the odds against such a seemingly insurmountable opposing force. As soon as the legion of pawns arrived on the battlefield, the Net Guardians, Acid Hackers, and even Fate would instantly understand this to be his plan.

At least Sam hoped they would. It was the kind of obvious move that would hopefully distract them from his true intentions.

Ever since Samuel Jeffries took control of Kingman, he had been forced to re-evaluate his perception of battle tactics. Netbattling had always been a one-on-one sport, and virus-busting a job for a one-navi army. However Kingman wasn't built to be a lone wolf. He was a leader and his strength was in his followers. Not many operators specialized in field command tactics and those that did tended to stand out. Sam had become well known by allies and enemies alike for his specializing on armies and the Art of War. He was the strategist of the Net Guardians.

That was exactly why he was counting on no one predicting the insane and suicidal move he was about to make.

Last PET. The download felt as agonizingly slow as all the others. The hundred navis were enough to overflow the board. They stood at attention in the unstable system showing no signs of emotion, the perfect disposable soldiers.

Sam nodded and spoke into the mic. "Execute mobilization procedure. Destination: Crescent Area 277. Formation: High C, E-N-S. Target: Gamma. Engage at 2120 hours." His orders given, the mass raised their swords in unison in salute and turned to the teleporters to begin their march. Sam almost felt sorry for them. What he was about to do violated far too many tenets of Net Society ethics. The Official Netbattlers would certainly disapprove. Even his teammates would be sure to question it. Though after all the hot water he had landed himself in already, he figured one more moral sacrifice couldn't hurt. In fact, it could very well end up saving the world.

* * *

Serenade twisted between every Air Burst shot by the Bass doppelganger on the Secret Area's highest platform. He had to push his speed and agility to the limit. One hit and it was all over. His opponent certainly wasn't making it easy though. Bass only stayed still long enough to unleash a storm of energy bullets and then moved out of the way of Serenade's counter-attack at lightning speed. Despite David's earlier confidence, they were finding it difficult to slow the manifestation down with anything from their folder. An Aura protected Serenade for the past several minutes, at least in theory. Serenade was not too sure if the Aura would hold, or if the freezing would take effect whether the attack itself were nullified or not. He felt it was best not to chance it, and dodged as if there were nothing defending him. His large amount of Recov chips and his coupling Holy Protection were ironically useless in this battle, as there would be no opportunity to heal if he took any damage. The legendary invincibility of S was never more faulty. Of course the real S would never have to face this challenge, so the legend wasn't necessarily threatened on this account.

Bass stopped moving about for a moment and began charging up what Serenade anticipated as an Earth Breaker. Deciding he wasn't going to get a better chance, he quickly activated his Bamboo Lance, stabbing the dark navi straight through and holding him still right where they wanted him. David noticed the signal and immediately sent his navi a StepCross and the chips for a LifeSword2. Serenade flash-stepped behind his stunned opponent and unleashed the two blades in a triple-slash combo. Bright glowing lines cut through Bass' body as it fell forward. The cloak fell off in pieces, evaporating as they hit the ground. Serenade exhaled a deep breath, was it over?

The segmented body suddenly stopped falling forward and hung still in the air. The lines tracing the cuts grew dimmer and broken until they disappeared entirely. Bass turned around in the air to face Serenade with an unchanged expression. Aside from the lack of cloak, he showed no signs of serious damage.

"Damnit." Serenade cursed, and started to back off before Bass' attack could resume. "It's got more hit points than one good attack is going to take care of."

David examined his cache and shook his head. "The only attack chip you have left is the Hammer...I think we'll have to switch over to Slot-In mode."

"Alright, send me the Hammer first, and hurry with the transition. I don't know if I can hold out very long..."

A Break Hammer materialized in Serenade's hands and began to glow with the light of divine wrath. Bass seemed to be moving faster without the cloak, so he wasn't about to get too close this time. Fortunately, S's Hammer didn't need to be too close to its target. With one mighty blow to the ground, the finely polished tiles heaved upwards in a rippling effect, first intercepting the current round of Airbursts and then smacking the unsuspecting Bass from beneath.

Losing his footing to his own attack, Serenade hopped and glided towards one of the pillars stretching up from the digital waters. He balanced on the pillar for a moment and waited for Bass to fly towards him. At the last moment he dropped backwards over the edge of the pillar and swung the hammer like a bat, shattering the pillar and sending the debris into his pursuer's face, only barely slowing him down as Serenade glided to the next pillar.

This time Bass was a little faster and met the horrified Serenade in mid-air, hand glowing white with destructive power. S tried to change direction while spinning, but he was too late. He felt an intense, shattering blow to his back. The Earth Breaker attack worked just as well in mid-air, and the explosive force sent Serenade screeching downwards. He felt his body stiffen up, he could not move a muscle. He could faintly hear David crying out to him in terror past the rushing air as he plummeted to the base of the system. This was it, it was all over.

Then, he hit the ground. Hard. He put his despair on hold to wonder why he still had to feel pain if he was completely frozen. His stiff body bounced several times, breaking the tile along the way as the force of the initial impact drove him forward across the platform. As Serenade finally skidded to a halt, he coughed out the settling dust and reflexively rolled onto his stomach to ease the pain on his back. At that point he noticed he wasn't as frozen as he felt a few seconds ago. His dazed vision gradually came into focus and revealed a strange substance underneath him in the ditch his landing had created. It looked like shards of broken pink glass with curved surfaces. The shards looked like they were composed of light or energy rather than solid material. As Serenade struggled to his feet, he picked one of them up. The brittle shard crumbled to sparkling dust in his fingers. That's when he realized his Aura was gone. Bass' attack froze the aura, turning it into a movement-restricting glass casket that shattered when he hit the ground. It was a lucky break.

"Serenade! You're...alright?" David asked, dumbfounded.

"Yeah...looks like it." Serenade responded, relieved. Remembering the situation, his head snapped around and upwards to see Bass flying towards him. It was certainly a determined manifestation.

"Well don't spook me like that again. The good news is we can start slotting in, right...about..."

Serenade watched Bass intently, ready to try his best to move as soon as he saw another attack. He didn't have the Aura to take the freeze for him any more. It felt like an eternity before he heard the chime.

"Now! Vulcan3, Slot In!"

Serenade jumped backwards, firing off the Vulcan while dodging Bass' second Earth Breaker. He grinned in satisfaction. "Yeah, that's more like it. Remember to work more long-range attacks into the folder next time we have the chance. I suddenly have newfound appreciation for them."

"Gauge is warming up. Keep him on his toes, bud!" David advised. Serenade complied with a few handfuls of Saint Lights. Bass was fast enough to avoid them, but after blowing two massive attacks his own offensive capabilities were still recharging. One of the Saint Lights finally managed to hit home, knocking the dark navi backwards.

Serenade took note of his opponent's behaviour in the battle up until then. "This version isn't using any of its more advanced abilities. I've only seen it use variations of Air Burst and Earth Breaker so far."

David understood where his navi was getting at. "So you'll have no problem predicting his moves from now on..."

"Yeah, line up the right chips. Here he comes."

Without words, the netbattling duo began to execute their strategy. Bass held up his arm, charging up another attack. Serenade held his breath, counted two beats in his head, and then activated his chip. An invisible fist struck Bass in the jaw just as he was about to fire. Counter3. He hanged in the air paralyzed for a second. That was all it took for Serenade to charge up a Holy Shocker, which he unleashed at point-blank range, sending the manifestation sprawling amidst the multiple explosions. He recovered before the attack finished and moved in for an Earth Breaker as soon as the light cleared. Unexpectedly, he ran straight into a Stone Cube, apparently summoned before the Holy Shocker began. The Breaker shattered the Cube, but now Serenade was behind him with an AirSword. Swiping it sent Bass tumbling forward into the same ditch Serenade had been laying in a moment ago.

"Okay, we need some more recharge time." David warned. "Is he going down?"

Serenade felt exhausted. He was giving everything he had, but the fake Bass was still just getting right back up. "Not yet...it's a stretch, but do you have any Voodoo Dolls?"

"Huh? Um...I think so. Never thought of using that thing. Damn, hope I got it in my bag, just a sec."

Bass came back at Serenade fiercer than ever. S was already tired from dodging, he charged up another Holy Shocker burst just to push Bass back a bit.

"Found one!" David called back, excitedly. "Just one though, I hope you know what you're doin' with this thing."

"I don't, but send it anyway!"

A small straw figure materialized in Serenade's hand. He carefully waited for Bass to start charging up another AirBurst, and then quickly backed up and tossed it into the line of fire. Energy bullets began to swarm over. Serenade desperately weaved between two and ducked under a third...and then there were none.

Nervous, S opened one eye and carefully stood up. Bass was there, still pointing his busters directly at him. The Voodoo Doll was not, its former position marked only by the Dark Hole left in its wake. Serenade cracked a smile and began to giggle a bit before breaking out in hysterical laughter.

David was mystified. "Wha-what? What happened? Why isn't he attacking any more?"

Serenade continued laughing as he slowly approached the still form of Bass, never taking his eyes off of it, just in case it was really faking everything. "It shouldn't have worked...but it did! Somehow it did! The attack it the Doll, the Doll transferred it back to Bass, and then it froze him! Bass just froze himself!"

"Whaat? No way, Voodoo Doll just transfers raw damage, it shouldn't carry special effects...well, I guess this isn't exactly a normal case. Geez man, that was quite a gamble."

"Eh, we woulda found some other way to finish him if it didn't work, right?" Serenade warily made his way around the side of the Bass statue, out of the way of its busters which were still aimed at the spot he used to be standing. He still fully expected it to suddenly twist around and shoot him in the face. This was the gamble. "Alright...I wanna poke him with a stick...got any chips that'll serve that purpose?"

"Oh come on." David shook his head in exasperation. "How about an Airshot? Gotta use them for something, right?"

Serenade backed off a bit and pointed the small cannon at Bass. A burst of air blew the statue over, causing it to shatter into countless pieces as it hit the ground.

"Well I guess that settles that." David shrugged. "Unless you think the dust is going to jump out at you."

"Oh, shut up." Serenade said light-heartedly. He was still laughing a bit from the rush of winning. The dust at his feet began to evaporate and a blue light began to emerge in the center of it. The light slowly rose up and took the form of an irregular blue crystal hovering before Serenade's eyes.

"Good work." congratulated the voice of the real Serenade, seeming to emanate from everywhere. "The Forbidden Program is yours, assuming you are a chosen one."

The other Serenade's mood sank a little upon hearing this. "Assuming? I thought I passed my test."

"You passed your test, but there is a test that everyone who seeks to wield the Forbidden Program must pass. You must take it. If you are meant to wield it, it will ignite with blue flame. If you are not Chosen, then you will be frozen for all eternity."

Serenade clicked his tongue in frustration. It figures that after putting so much effort into avoiding that fate he would have to willingly subject himself to the same threat one more time. He closed his eyes and thought about everything he had been through. From his and David's exemplary performance back in school and their first encounters with the kids that would go on to form the Acid Hackers, to how he had obtained Serenade's form and joined the Net Guardians, to how he had led the team through thick and thin while clashing with friend and foe alike, to the catastrophic failure of a mission resulting in Gamma's awakening, to his most recent trial at the behest of his own mirror image, it was like his life flashing before his eyes.

"If I'm not a Chosen One after all of that...then...damnit, I'd better damn well be a Chosen One after all of that!"

With no more hesitation, keeping Gamma and his friends in mind the whole time, Serenade reached out and grasped the blue crystal.

The world stood still...

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