Several weeks ago, in the PETcetera store in Crescent City, Amerope, all was quiet and dark as it should have been hours before opening time. Then the alarm system and security cameras mysteriously shut down and the electronic lock on the side door made a solitary beep, allowing the door to open for a single visitor. The young man cut the signal on his wireless PET but kept his agent in the store's system in case the security tried to start up again. He then walked inside carrying a hefty bag of old PETs and PET casings.

It was time to trade in for some newer models. With any luck, the incompetent employees there wouldn't notice the difference in their merchandise until the unlucky customers took them back to complain. He planned to be out of town by the morning though, so he wasn't very concerned either way. He moved quickly and quietly to the back room where he proceeded to swap out his old, used-up hardware for the newer state-of-the-art PETs. He didn't need the casings, just the interiors, so he could leave the new casings behind with old parts stuffed in them.

After filling his small bag with the switched merchandise, he began to make his way out. On his way through, he passed the area where used PETs with existing navis were on display. One of the navis was active and noticed the unexpected visitor. "Hmph. The store hours are 9 to 8 today. You wouldn't happen to be attempting a robbery, would you?"

The man would have ignored the attempt at sarcasm and kept going, but instead stopped and turned to the slightly familiar voice. The navi and the burglar recognized each other's faces through the darkness.

"You?" They spoke in unison.

The man thought for a moment, and then smirked with a sinister idea.

* * *

Hoshiko's legs were numb, carrying her up the stairs automatically. She never liked coming here. It was always so intimidating. After all she'd been through, this was just a cruel reminder of who she once was. Outside her mind was the usual bustle of the Official Netbattler HQ in Rom. Nobody cared, they just did what they always lived for.

It had been two days since the "snowball" fiasco, and her relatively standard report of the strange events to her superiors afterwards. She was surprised when they responded the next day, asking her to report to the nearest HQ for a mission briefing. It sounded like something larger than herself was at happening, and she would have to become part of it. Half-excited at the time, she agreed, only to be burdened with afterthoughts.

A vibration rang out from her pocket. She retrieved her PET, smiling at the cheerful face displayed on its screen. "So, are you excited to be here as well?" IceChan inquired. Grinning, she was straining herself to put her operator at ease.

"Yeah, I'll be okay." Hoshiko lied through her teeth. "This is kind of what I wanted, anyhow. It's kind of as if we're finally raising through the ranks." She smirked halfheartedly. "Before we know it, we'll be at Enzan-san's level!"

IceChan shot a look that played her lack of conviction to these claims, but she relented and allowed the PET to be sheathed. Hoshiko was left to wipe sweat from her forehead, having lied so profusely and so very well in the moment.

She haphazardly approached the desk to the far left, and was directed to the conference room, and was greeted by a couple of older faces that she had never seen before. She took a seat somewhere in the middle, yet actively isolated from strangers. Down at the end of the desk, a monitor flickered on, and a blurred shadow was gathering as it adjusted to the proper resolution.

"Gentlemen." It began in a vague, distorting static. "Thank you so very much for gathering here today. My name is Smith. I am one of the investigators in the Officials' world campaign to uncover and cease the Dark Chip trade. I am also involved in the search for the criminal Acid Hackers. I am meeting with you as recent information has uncovered a possible link between these areas." Although confused, Hoshiko watched the man's silhouette with a strange intrigue.

"It has been brought to our attention that a certain sector of the Undernet has been host to an unusual string of crimes. My own investigation has revealed evidence that the Acid Hackers are connected, but the Acid Hackers' primary opposition, the Net Guardians now seem to be involved in some capacity as well. Metalman, one of the former Net Guardians thought lost in the Gamma incident has apparently resurfaced as a Darkloid. His actions were described as extremely hostile, nearly crushing our witnesses into scrap data. Our main witness is the navi belonging to a special guest of ours today. Hoshiko Yahari, please stand." With a jerk, Hoshiko erected herself in nervous fashion, trying not to notice the fascinated eyes following her every detail.

"Take a gander at her... alright, you can sit back down." She nodded, and bashfully replaced her buttocks in the seat behind her. "This girl was going through a license exam at the time. She wandered into the Undernet to find a data fragment. God knows what that had to do with anything. We're all well aware that those exams are fairly ridiculous by nature." Everybody laughed nostalgically, leaving Hoshiko feeling embarrassed, but the joy was quickly broken up.

"Although Miss Yahari lost contact, she trusts her navi's testimony, which we can only assume to be true under these circumstances. Her navi IceChan reported being attacked by a large Darkloid at the point of signal loss and two more apparently Darkness-tainted navis soon appeared on the battlefield but showed no hostility towards her. One was an uncustomized Normal Navi that claimed they were beset by the same loss of transmission, and the other was a custom female Darkloid that fought against the larger aggressor. The large one seemed primarily interested in her and she was heard to call it 'Metalman' in response to the key word 'Net Guardian'. Yet another unidentified party rescued them from the large Darkloid, but IceChan lost track of them all during her escape. There was also a DarkChip-possessing navi in a trench coat with odd defensive properties that Hoshiko and her navi encountered earlier, triggering the search that led to these events."

Smith's voice fell silent for a few seconds, but buzzed back to life.

"We believe that the Darkloid Metalman may be a red herring, a completely useless distraction. However, the appearance of this many Darkloids in close proximity is a troubling affair. We are not ruling out the possibility of inaccurate testimony from IceChan, but neither she nor her operator has had any previous experience with Metalman or the Net Guardians, so the presence of both terms suggests they or the Acid Hackers were actually involved. This is not meant to be a high profile case, but handle it with care. You will be investigating the alleged dead zone with guidance from Hoshiko and IceChan. Although they are not your superiors, they are pivotal to your mission, so do treat them with the same respect."

Organic voices had arisen from underneath Smith's dictation, muttering between one another in pairs. Hoshiko sank in her chair further, decidedly embarrassed and anxious.

"You can Jack in using the computers in the desk you are sitting at. You have an hour to adhere to a given recess and properly prepare yourselves before jacking in. Once you have done so, orientate yourselves and begin the mission. This is where we part ways until you report back with final results. Good luck."

As the screen faded off, the static hiss along with it, Hoshiko was low enough in her seat to see gum under the desk. IceChan chimed in as the voices left the room in marching formation.

"Hoshiko, are you alright?"

She nodded, lying to both herself and IceChan.

"This might be harder than I thought..."

* * *

Tricia unplugged her PET from the old machine in the basement archives of the Official HQ in Chipago, where her and Moe's investiagtion over the last two days had led them. She walked over to Moe who was sorting the data they found in a laptop sitting on a dusty desk. She handed him a datachip with a sigh. "Got one more location. Amazonian bunker, southern Colonbia. It's under the control of druglords at the moment though, so we can probably keep it off our list of spots to visit."

Moe winced. The idea of trudging through the jungle didn't appeal to him, even without the threat of facing down an army of South Netopian guerillas. He slotted in the datachip containing the coordinates she gathered and added another point to the grid on his laptop. "I'm still not seeing any pattern here. Maybe we should just work with what we've got. Navis are still disappearing while we're doing this...research." The word tasted bitter as he said it. He was always more of a man of action. He wanted to change into someone better, more responsible as an Official, but somehow this boring and pointless data sorting was not what he had in mind.

Tricia gave the screen a look over. "Well, we have enough now to know there are Undernet servers all over the world, at least one on every continent. Most locations are government protected and 'Off the Record' due to the controversial nature of SciLab's support of the main haven of world net-crime, and most of the locations that are declassified are already overrun with real-world criminals."

Moe shook his head with some disillusionment. "Why do I get the feeling there's an even bigger case in solving the mystery of why our own bosses and sworn protectors don't pull the plug on this madness?"

"That's not our concern!" Tricia responded with a serious tone. "The purpose is classified as 'containment', and other Officials greater than you have already looked into it many times over. If they want to keep the Undernet going like this, they obviously have a good reason."

"Right, okay, geez." Moe rubbed his neck awkwardly. He had to remember how to deal with this job professionally, and that meant no rhetorical morality questions to his superiors. "Well, we got the Electopian Officials looking into the base server in Yoka Valley. Where do we go from here?"

"I guess we have nothing left to do but go to the nearest possible jack-in point and start searching the Undernet ourselves." Tricia concluded.

There was nothing more to be said. Moe closed the laptop and the two officers made their way upstairs. Moe was anticipating this move with dread ever since he heard what happened to Darklady. It wasn't that he was afraid to lose Drillman the same way. He did want to go in, but he lacked confidence that he could succeed. He started to realize his life was a long line of challenges like that and his record of successes versus failures happened to support his feelings.

At least it always helped to have teammates to count on when he couldn't always count on himself. It was too bad he cast his last team aside so easily. The Officials for some reason preferred to employ smaller units, and having Tricia didn't alleviate his doubt as much when he considered she had to count on him just as much as he counted on her. It was moments like this he started to miss David, Carlos, Jon, Jon, Adrienne, and for some strange reason even Sam.

Tricia and Moe reached the lobby of the center and were going to continue outside to Tricia's car when the receptionist recognized them and called them over. "Excuse me, Mister Fortis? There's a man here to see you."

They stopped and glanced toward the desk. There was a man in a long dark coat standing there facing the receptionist. Learning the person he came to see was there, he turned around to meet him face-to-face, and that face instantly brought the blood of the two Officials to a boil.

Moe clenched his fist and charged the raven-haired man in rage, accusingly barking the name of the object of his ire. "Blackbelt!"

* * *

Within the heavy darkness of the Undernet, one navi dared to shine with golden light as he strode across the decaying streets. Flashman.exe was not concerned about the myriad of powerful viruses eyeing him hungrily from the shadows. He knew that those he could not hypnotize into obedience, he could paralyze long enough to make his escape. He knew it would be preferable to conserve his energy on a mission like this, but he wouldn't find his prey by moving stealthily. It was made quite clear that he had to wait for it to find him. All he had to do was be in the right place.

"Matt, how much farther do I have to go?" He inquired his operator.

The indifferent young man's voice responded. "You could already be there. This is as specific as his clue was, you know how it is with him."

Flashman grumbled under his breath. "I wish he'd get on with the pathetically obvious trap, if that's what it is. I would be much more annoyed if I were brought here just to stand around waiting for nothing to come."

"Just keep quiet. He could be watching." Matt had reason to be paranoid. It was bad enough they had been found by one of their greatest threats, now their one chance to strike back at him involved playing right into his hands. They had to play this carefully.

Matt returned to his computer for a moment to check over the values returned by his hacking tool while Flashman continued to wander. Little did the tall blue navi realize, but he was already being followed by another navi close by, very close by. The navi was actually one panel behind Flashman. A short, silent, and quick navi dressed in a colorful jester's outfit and sporting a wide grin as he stared up at the oblivious former Acid Hacker. Every time Flashman turned his head to survey the area, the little clown moved with a twisting slide around the taller navi's body, always remaining in his blind spot.

Flashman sighed. "Well I think you're right about being watched. I can feel some eyes on me, just can't tell from where."

"Hello!"

Out of panic and reflex, Flashman wildly teleported around the platform while the colorful navi stood still and smiled. Finally, he stopped just behind the Jester with a Spark Arm charged and ready to strike, but he regained enough composure to hold and find out what he was dealing with. "W-Who are you?"

The Jester pivoted on his foot so he was facing Flashman's white, crackling, twitching hand directly. Oddly enough, he continued to smile even with the loaded weapon pointed at his head. Then suddenly his features became very stern. "What are you, dense? Are you fucking retarded or something?"

Flashman rolled his eyes and waited for the interloper's introduction in the inevitable punchline, but the little clown just kept scowling at him with his chin jutting out. "Well?" Flash pressed.

The Jester's face softened into a more puzzled look. "'Well' what? I'm the one asking you! I guess I'll take that as a 'yes'."

Flashman's eyes went wide and then squinted in anger. Without any more warning, he released his electrical attack, heavily zapping the obnoxious clown and sending him hopping away in pain. "OWOWOW! Geez buddy, you need to lighten up! Oh, look who I'm talking to. Hah!"

The navi of light teleported behind the retreating joker and grabbed him by the neck. "HE sent you, didn't he? This isn't the best way to assure me of his intentions."

The Jester chuckled. "Well I thought it was funny. My boss thought it was funny. You know if you're the only one that doesn't get the joke, that usually means there's something wrong with you."

Flashman leaned in close to the painted, grinning face and squeezed harder on his neck and glaring coldly into his wide-open eyes. "I'm here to see your boss. Now where is he?"

The face didn't flinch, it just kept grinning back vapidly, prompting Flashman to shake him in his stranglehold a bit for emphasis. It was at that point Flash looked down and noticed his captive's body had been replaced by a short wooden rod. A second later, the face fell off as a mask, revealing to Flashman that he had been throttling a plunger.

"What th-How did he-!?" The blue navi sputtered.

Matt's voice returned to spell it out for him. "Looks like Kawarimi to me, but maybe you should concentrate on the fact he's getting away."

Flashman spun around and spotted the real Jester tip-toeing off in the direction he was hopping a moment ago. Then the prankster stopped, slowly turned his head to see he'd been spotted, and broke into a mad dash, whooping like Daffy. With his target already out of range of his flash-teleportation, Flashman had no choice but to pursue his annoying opponent on foot. Even with the occasional warp to catch up, the Jester was faster than he looked and managed to keep his distance. As Matt watched the chase unfold, he wondered with a hint of depression if this was the trap they hoped to avoid.

* * *

Within her dimly lit home lab, Alia hunkered over her computer screen searching for answers among the decompiled code of every cohesive and uncorrupted segment she could access of the Darkloid that had found its way into her possession. She could feel her eyes crusting over from the constant, unblinking skimming of black text in white windows. She felt like she needed to stop, to rest, but her insatiable curiosity just wouldn't let her.

Dark. Darklady. These were two separate navis the last she had seen them, but during the time she lost contact the two had evidently merged together. The entity that returned to her PET proved to have the unaltered appearance and physical properties of the mysterious female Darkloid, yet appeared to have none of her memories or personality. Those areas were occupied by data from her own navi. Many of the nodes she examined were a mixture of familiar and unfamiliar functions, it was practically impossible to tell the extent of the fusion and the proportions of code overwritten or supplanted.

Identifying and isolating the new code would be a key step in achieving Alia's goal to understand and document the full extent of the taboo Cyberworld phenomenon known as "Dark Power". Having a specimen of Darklady's calibre in her possession seemed too good to be true, and that was proving to be the case. The remnants of her throwaway navi were impurities she would like to purge, but with no clue how to restore the parts of Darklady those impurities were replacing, she was stuck.

She had to look at the bright side though. She had cooperation. If it wasn't for her navi's mind being in control of that body, she wouldn't even be performing this vivisection. If she ever did restore Darklady's memories and personality, she would also need to ensure she could keep her under control without damaging her further. For now at least, it seemed to be wise to take advantage of the composite navi's obedience.

Finally deciding she'd learned all she could from this incredibly boring chore, she closed all the files and recompiled Darklady's program. The violet-clad, black-horned figure materialized on her PET screen, shivering and rubbing her arms anxiously. Her bright green eyes stared ahead blankly.

Alia regarded the navi's expression with annoyance. "Oh get it together. It's not like I rewrote anything while I was in there. You didn't even feel anything."

Darklady shut her eyes, shook her head, and tried to ignore the unsettling feeling she was left with. She was barely back from her adventure five minutes before her operator shut her down and began prodding through her code. Even though nothing was rewritten, all the intrusive access still made her feel somehow violated.

Alia paid no heed to the navi's feelings and proceeded to outline her next plans. "Alright, whatever happened to you might have something to do with where it happened, so I'm sending you back to the Undernet to retrace your steps. How much do you remember about the trip?"

Darklady blinked and gradually regained her focus. "Uhh...hmm...Well I remember everything up to losing contact with you and then finding the big Darkloid fighting the little navi. Darklady fought the big guy and lost. Then while we were getting away, Darklady did something to me...and the next thing I knew I was returning to the PET and I looked like this. I'm afraid I don't remember where I was between losing contact with you and returning to the PET."

"Well then you'll go back to the point you lost contact and maybe it'll come back to you. And I don't want to hear any whining about the possibility of encountering that big scary Darkloid again, because that's what we want to happen."

The navi nodded with a serious expression. "Yeah, no problem. I'm actually looking forward to showing that oversized pile of scrap what I can do."

Alia was slightly taken aback. "YOU are looking forward to that?"

"Uh, yeah?" Darklady affirmed, tilting her head. "I mean, I have all these new customized powers now, I should be able to take it head on."

"...I see." Not that Alia was complaining, but this was the first she heard her navi express any kind of enthusiasm for being placed in harm's way. Was it just the confidence boost that came with her new body's capabilities, or was there something to be salvaged from that body's old mind after all?

"Well, no sense waiting then. Jack in, Darklady, get to work!"

* * *

The moment passed in slow motion for Moe as he rushed his opponent. As his name suggested, Blackbelt was well trained and so the Official could not afford to go easy on him. Moe focused on the fugitive's eyes in attempt to anticipate how he would counter, but rather than the calculating confidence he expected, he was met with a puzzled and perturbed expression. Calling the bluff, Moe aimed his left fist at Blackbelt's jaw while readying his right arm to block. Once the punch connected he was already following up with a kick to the midsection and was about to continue with another series of punches when his brain finished analyzing the situation and sent a message to the body to stop. His formidable opponent was already on the ground bleeding from his lip and clutching his stomach.

"Okay...that was waaay too easy." Moe finally said, his rage replaced by cautious suspicion.

As Tricia and the other Officials in the lobby began to gather around the suspect, he struggled back to his feet with a groan and held his arms up in the air. "Urgh, I guess someone should have warned this guy first...I'm NOT Blackbelt." The man stated with as indignant a tone he could muster with his lungs attempting to breathe in spite of the pain.

"You honestly expect us to fall for that just because you changed your outfit?" Tricia scoffed.

With an irritated sigh, he slowly reached into his long black coat, prompting the Officials to tense up and prepare to put him down for good. However instead of a weapon, all he pulled out was a purple Advance Model PET with his identification displayed on the screen, which he made sure everyone got a chance to see.

"My name is Samuel Darklight. I came here from Yumland to work on the 'Blackbelt' case. The Officials hired me due to my previous experience with the man you just mistook me for. I am in no way connected to him." Darklight explained bitterly.

Moe finally backed off, looking somewhat embarrassed. "...Darklight? I remember now, you're part of Bernhard's mercenary organization.

"It's not just his organization, but yes. In fact I believe your navi has already encountered my navi Shademan on aprevious occasion."

"Greetings." A voice with a deep Romanian accent spoke from Darklight's PET.

"Yeah, I remember something like that." Drillman pointed out.

Tricia shook her head. "I'm still not buying this. This guy claims to have previous experience with Blackbelt, but is NOT connected to him, yet looks just like him?"

Wiping the blood from his mouth, Darklight was getting more and more irritated. He felt he shouldn't have to take this from a bunch of Officials, but surrounded by them he was hardly in a position to fight back. "I have had about enough. We don't even look that much alike. His brow ridge and skin tone clearly indicate his west-Netopian heritage whereas mine are obvious traits of the Creamish settlers of Nation Z. Furthermore, I am at least four centimetres taller than Samuel Jeffries."

Tricia continued to stare at him dubiously. "...and the fact you both have the same first name?"

Darklight rolled his eyes. "Are you remotely aware of how many people in the world share the name "Samuel"?

"Alright, alright. Sorry for the misunderstanding." Moe apologized and gestured for the other Officials to move along. "Uh, are you okay?"

"Just fine." Darklight said curtly and felt around his jaw. "All my teeth are accounted for at least."

"So what's your business here exactly?" Tricia asked with a shrug.

"A while back I had a publicized NetBattle with Blackbelt as part of a tournament in Yumland. In a short time I became well acquainted with his strategic methods."

"Oh yeah." Moe exclaimed. "I remember hearing about Sam...Blackbelt's encounter with his 'evil twin'. We all missed the TV broadcast though. I thought he was exaggerating."

Darklight glared at Moe for a second and continued. "Anyway, when he went rogue a few months ago the Officials hired me to be on call for when it came time to apprehend him. After this much time and no further information, I decided to come here and look for the main Official involved in the search. That would be you."

"Why the initiative?" Moe questioned.

"Do you think I want that face showing up on wanted posters? Maybe I have personal reasons for capturing this guy as soon as possible. It seems I can't quite leave it up to you if you can't even properly identify him."

Moe knew he deserved that, but couldn't help feeling a little irritated by this character. The idea of having to work with him didn't sit well either. "...Well then...I guess we can discuss it later. Today I have another mission to attend to. Sorry."

Darklight chuckled. "Perhaps we can discuss it along the way then. I will be accompanying you on this mission."

Moe was perplexed. "I don't think you understand. This mission has nothing to do with Blackbelt."

"I will be going along anyway. You can check your inbox for clarification."

"Uh, Moe?" Drillman chimed in. "You got mail from the chief."

With a bad feeling, Moe read the message. Evidently, just before meeting him there, Darklight had contacted Moe's and Tricia's boss about revising his DLM contract, and was now unofficially committed to any mission they took on until the Blackbelt case was closed.

"I'm on your team now. You should be grateful." Darklight said dryly. "I'm free to come and go as I please, but I get paid more for each additional mission. Don't confuse me for some lazy contractor though. I'm only pursuing this route to ensure there are no more distractions keeping us from finishing the Blackbelt case."

"You've gotta be kidding." Tricia exclaimed, then turned to Moe. "Tell me he's kidding."

Moe re-read the e-mail and shook his head nervously. "He's not kidding."

"I'm no more pleased about this than you, so let's get this over with." Darklight stated as he led the way outside. Moe could sense that the business with the Undernet was going to start to seem like the least of his problems.

* * *

"Yyyeah. This is definitely the spot alright."

IceChan and four other Official navis stood at the edge of a shattered walkway in the Undernet, near the same entrance she had wandered through days earlier. The entire bridge was gone after Metalman's missile had struck it from below.

"So the Darkloid was found directly below this spot, IceChan?" Asked one of the Official navis, the standard issue blue-grey and orange variety.

"I-I guess so." IceChan stammered. "Sorry, I'm not sure how to get down there though...y'know, without falling."

"I will recquisition a hover-lift to lower us down." stated one of the others, a newer model orange and blue type.

"The ping readings indicate no signal disruption below." A light-blue uniformed humanoid navi explained while examining the pit.

IceChan looked at her bland, humorless companions curiously. "Um...is there some kind of rule that Official navis have to talk in fifteen-syllable statements?"

The fourth, a red and black Normal Navi only shook his head while continuing to focus on his analysis of the residual energy signatures. "No, you are imagining it, there is no such ordinance."

"...But you just...nevermind." IceChan sighed and tried to stay out of the way. The other Officials seemed to know what they were doing.

Swiftly, efficiently, the navis completed their analysis of the surroundings and within minutes the five were descending into the pit on a small elevator-like platform, just large enough for them all to cram onto. The downwards trip was certainly more enjoyable to IceChan than her previous one, even uncomfortably sandwiched between four other taller navis. The vulnerability of the position became apparent halfway down the abyss, as unseen viruses gathered around them from the shadows across the gap. The Official navis could hear hungry growls and feel the eyes of predators following their movements. With trained resolve, the officers stood back-to-back with their weapons ready to repel any threat that made a move for their exposed position.

"Operators, viral activity detected, chips please." The red navi stated succinctly.

Within the operation room of the ONB facility where Hoshiko and the other operators worked, frantic tapping of keys marked the folder preparation their navis requested. A bad feeling of déjà vu made the younger member especially wary. "Um...is it possible to get more backup if things get bad?"

"If things 'get bad', we'll have to just jack out." One of the older operators explained.

Another officer nodded. "Yes, Officials are unwelcome in the Undernet as it is, we can't bring too many of us in lest it attract unwanted attention. If the UnderDwellers thought we were invading their turf, they would gang up and put the entire operation in jeopardy."

"They can get away with that?" Hoshiko asked, puzzled. "I mean, we're the law, they're the criminals, right?"

The first man frowned. "Remember, in the Undernet, there is no law save 'survival of the fittest'. This region is not affiliated with any government or nation. It's out of our jurisdiction."

Hoshiko sank into her chair. "Then...then why are we even here?"

"Because if your navi's Darkloid sightings mean what they appear to mean, then we can't wait for this part of the Undernet to come to us." A third Official clarified. "We still need to be discreet about it."

"They may already be onto us. This many viruses could be from the UnderDwellers' virus bombs." The fourth Official hypothesized while tranferring battlechips to his navi.

Gunfire from a Cirkiller was raining down on the group from a nearby platform. The light-blue navi tried to block the shots with a MetGuard but was having trouble keeping up. The old model Official was firing on a HellCondor that quickly flew around their lift, but couldn't connect a hit. IceChan couldn't even move her arms enough to throw a snowball, but she could complain. "We're like sitting Canodumbs here!"

Hoshiko didn't know what to suggest. "Well...maybe you could...jump? You survived the fall last time, and this time you're closer to the bottom."

"I'd rather not!" IceChan protested. She wouldn't get to make the choice though, as first a PulseBulb appeared nearby and stunned them with an electric jolt, then the Condor dove in for the kill, slicing right through the hover-lift, deleting it and sending the five nais plummeting into the darkness.

Hoshiko's heart skipped a beat, but luckily the navis were closer to the bottom than they thought. They landed roughly and scattered, but intact. IceChan groaned as she got to her feet, rubbing her backside after falling on it. "I'm getting tired of this already."

"Navis, report!" The new-model's operator commanded.

"Damage minimal, we have reached base level, analyzing." His navi responded with no difficulty.

"Warning: energy spike detected, thermal increase, northwest." The light-blue navi announced, pointing in the direction of a faint orange light in the distance.

"Tell me it's just more viruses." Hoshiko pleaded.

IceChan stared wide-eyed at the distant glow and could feel her body stiffening from uncertain fear. "No...I don't think viruses can do that."

One of the older operators scoffed. "Stop whining. We came here to investigate the Darkloid sightings. This could be exactly what we're looking for."

"Y-you don't understand." IceChan stammered. "None of the navis I encountered could...they didn't...glow or anything like that."

"Before jumping to conclusions, we should actually go investigate whatever it is." The blue navi's op suggested. "C'mon navis, head northwest, full stealth protocols. We'll prep some Invis chips."

The four male Officials marched off in the direction of the anomaly without hesitation. IceChan stood transfixed for a moment before finally forcing herself to follow. She had a deathly ominous feeling about what was coming. She couldn't back out though, this was her mission, and she had to do her best.

Nearby, hidden eyes watched the Officials closely, well aware of the certain doom the foolish surface-dwellers were heedlessly approaching. Would they need to interfere? More importantly, whose side were they on?

* * *

Green skies ahead, blue streets far below, other navis like ants looking up at the her, Darklady soared through the digital skies with exhilerating pleasure. She hadn't lost control and crashed once since arriving in the area. She was getting used to her new body, and she was loving it. Within moments she would reach the link to the Undernet, and she could not feel more ready to return to that haunted hellscape. Up that high and free she felt like nothing could harm her. She was beginning to understand why the previous Darklady seemed so upbeat.

Although it wasn't quite enough to fly across the net like that. She soon spotted some BomBeetle viruses crawling along the walkway below and swooped in to test her powers. Responding to her violent impulse, a translucent black axe materialized in her hands. The weapon's appearance surprised her a bit, but she didn't need to figure out what to do with it. With a fearless dive she ran the blade clean through one of the viruses before any of them even noticed her.

The BomBeetles certainly noticed her at that point though, and now small explosives were raining down on the new Darkloid who took to dodging while trying to figure out her other abilities. It didn't take long then for her operator to notice and spoil her fun.

"What the hell are you doing? You're supposed to be en route to the Undernet!" Alia's voice barked through the comm line.

"I just...thought I should warm up first?" Darklady explained nervously. The interjection distracted her enough for a Double Bomb to strike her dead-on. The blast sent her tumbling backwards.

"You're just wasting time and HP! Now finish them off and get back to work!"

To make sure the navi would execute the command, Alia sent a DarkBomb chip. As Darklady returned upright, she found herself holding the pulsating sphere of evil and felt compelled to throw it without hesitation. When the ball landed in the midst of the large robotic insects, the black explosion that resulted made their puny viral ordinance look like cherry bombs. A purple mushroom cloud rose into the emerald skies and the charred platform below it was swept clear, the viruses obliterated. Darklady trembled ecstatically.

"What are you waiting for? Move it!"

Alia's sharp order snapped Dark out of her pleasant thoughts and back to the task at hand. Regaining her focus, she took to the skies, her gaze locked on the delapidated warp platform that would transport her to the Undernet. She didn't get far though, before something else stole her attention. She noticed she was somehow in the shade, prompting her to twist around and crane her neck upwards. There, just a few megapixels overhead, blotting out the system's light source, soared a silhouette with a long tail and large wings. The shadow was gliding on a flight path parallel to her own, and she could feel it watching her intently.

"Another virus?" Darklady wondered aloud. She kept Alia's orders in mind, but figured she was still permitted to take care of enemies chasing her. She summoned her axe once again and rotated her flight axis so she was facing upwards, only to have lost track of the flying creature. Movement out of the corner of her eye alerted her that the target was still there, but now circling her. She turned again to try to match it, but it dipped and rolled underneath her, winding up behind her again. She whipped around trying to keep the winged monster in her sights but it was too fast and maneuverable, zipping around her in all directions like an annoying housefly.

Still not completely accustomed to flight herself, Darklady soon became dizzy, lost control, and wound up plummeting to the platform below, unable to right herself. She regretfully braced for another crash landing, but to her surprise the falling stopped, and something was holding her. She opened her eyes and looked up to see she was now in the arms of the very winged creature that was evading her. It grinned slyly with its surprisingly humanoid face. "Are you alright? Heh, well of course, you're fine."

"Y-you're a navi!?" Darklady exclaimed.

The man smirked. "And you're a navi. It must be fate that brought us together. Y'know, if it weren't for me, you could have had quite a nasty fall..."

"Um...thanks..." she responded softly. Then she remembered what happened, shook her head, and struggled out of his grip. "Wait a minute, if it wasn't for you, there wouldn't be a fall! What the hell were you doing?"

The mystery navi graciously released her so they were both floating shortly over the platform with the Under link. She could now see the full extent of his dragon-like features. Fiery orange armor, reptillian green limbs, spiky red hair, and large claws to go along with the demonic wings and serpentine tail she'd noticed earlier. Though overall, his body was in the form of a young man. "I just saw how you dealt with those viruses. I mean, with a blast like that, who didn't see it? Anyway, I liked the way you moved, so I thought I'd say 'hello'. I just like to say 'hello' with aerial maneuvers. I'm guessing you like to say 'hello' with your axe."

Darklady noticed she was once again brandishing her main weapon at the other navi. With a blush, she mentally commanded it to disappear. "Sorry...you shouldn't have snuck up on me like that!...I have to get moving."

She began to float down to the warp, but the man blocked her way. "Heey what's your rush, babe? I haven't even introduced myself yet. You can call me Dragoon. Now what may I call you, besides an angel?"

Darklady grew more uncomfortable every time the Dragoon opened his mouth. She deftly slipped by him. "I'm hardly 'an angel'...a 'babe' maybe, but not that you can call me that either."

Without any more of an answer, she dove into the sparking light of the teleporter and after a split second of a disoriented rushing sensation, she rematerialized in the dark space of the Undernet. She took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the new lack of light. Unfortunately, the voice from behind alerted her that the strange Dragoon character had followed her.

"I guess you already noticed, but you took a bit of a wrong turn. I could lead you to somewhere safe. Just stay close to me, cutie."

This time she barely even turned her head to acknowledge him. She muttered "Definitely not 'cutie'." then took off into the night as fast as she could fly.

The Dragoon scratched his head with one of his talons as he watched her disappear into the fog. She seemed to know what she was doing, but he wondered if she could really handle what the undernet could throw at her. Still, she could always jack out. With a shrug, he turned back through the warp and flew away. He chuckled to himself as he reflected on the encounter. "Heh. Yeahh, she totally digs me."

* * *

"I've lost him again!" Flashman shouted in frustration while warping around a maze of decayed pillars far from where he first set out in pusuit of the annoying Jester.

"He's got to be leading you somewhere. Keep an eye out." Matt advised.

"Bah, I know. He could just offer to lead me to his boss without this stupid chase, but let's face it...this kind of obfuscation is just that bastard's style."

"Well you could have just ASKED." The voice of Jester suggested as he dropped down in front of a startled and irritated Flashman.

"I DID ASK!"

"Try asking nicer."

Flashman warped behind the Jester and attempted to hit him with a Neon Light attack. Matt tried to warn his navi against getting carried away, that they had a mission, but the proud electric warrior was not used to such indignation. To his credit, the clown was relishing how easily he was getting under his new friend's skin. He dodged the Neon Light and ducked behind another pillar. Flashman teleported behind the pillar after him, but found a cardboard cutout instead.

Jester whistled from behind, and Flashman turned to find the little annoyance mooning him. He continued the chase between the pillars, flash teleporting as fast as he could. He tried to blind and paralyze his quarry with his light-based attacks, but the stone towers everywhere always provided cover. Flash had no choice but to keep following, blinking in and out of existence, pushing his teleporter to the limit. Flash, slip on a banana peel, flash, there he is doing a Sharoan dance, flash, look out for the banana cream pie, flash, flash, flash-

"Wait...where am I?"

There was no more sign of the Jseter, and Flashman was feeling quite lost. In all the excitement, he didn't even notice when the chase had left the maze of pillars, and landed in some kind of dense field of tall...grass? A sense of alarm sprang up in the blue navi's thoughts. If there was one kind of environment that made an electric-elemental navi nervous, it was the dreaded Grass Stage, and this one looked like it had been growing for a long time. He had somehow found himself in the thick underbrush of the Undernet.

"Yes, I would say this is definitely a trap." Matt surmised. "I think we've been led around by the nose enough. Jack out before things get any worse."

Flashman shook his head maliciously. "No, let him try something. We'll show him what happens when they mess with the Acid Hackers. Send me IceStage and Shadow!"

"...Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you."

Flashman received the battlechip downloads. Matt sent a few more powerful attacks for good measure, but before he could activate the chip that would completely freeze over all of that grass, a pulse of abnormal energy hit the battlefield, causing the PET screen and Flashman's vision to show nothing but static for a split second, and when it had cleared and he regained his bearings, all five of the chips he had on hand were gone.

"What was that!?" Flash screamed.

Matt was shocked as well. "Uh, ah, Interrupt, or Jealousy, or something..."

"Quick! Send me another IceStage!"

"We don't have another IceStage! Jack out!"

"Then, um, PanelReturn!"

"It's not up yet, there's no time! Just jack out, we're not prepared for this!"

"Agh, fine! Jacking...out?" Flashman was upset to find escape was impossible. Someone had set in place a navi transmission lock.

"It's too late for you to run. Now take your medicine." A voice from above taunted as the grass everywhere began to shake, spreading pollen into the air. The BadSpice attack hit Flashman hard, eating away at his elemental weakness.

"Gahh! We have to fight back! Send me Repair, a fire attack, anything!" Flashman cried desperately, starting to realize he was in over his head.

"Damnit, if you would have just listened to me sooner...I'm afraid this is all I can do for now!" Matt then loaded two ElecSwords, a ZapRing3, and a Shake1. "Just stay alive for a minute and I'll hack the blocker."

As the swords formed on Flashman's arms, he looked around in all directions for his enemy. "Fat lot of help these chips are going to to if I can't see who to attack."

The other voice responded again. "Then allow me to step in." At that point, a navi appeared above Flashman as his Invis wore off. "FootStomp F!" The navi's heel fell like a ton of bricks, but Flashman deftly teleported out of the way before he could be crushed. Amidst the dust that was kicked up after the FootStomp's impact, Flashman warped into position behind his attacker and swung his ElecSword, but a strong feeling of stinging pain prevented him from landing the blade. Besides the dust, the navi was surrounded by an orbiting shield of BadSpice.

The navi stood up, turned around, and pointed a VariableSword at the reeling Flashman. It was some kind of green customized Heel navi. "For the crime of navi abduction, you will be deleted." The voice came not from the navi, but from his operator through the comm link. "WoodAura J!"

"Don't know what you're talking about, but you'll have to do better than that!" Flashman then charged the Heel with his other ElecSword, parrying it against the VarSword and narrowly avoiding a SonicBoom attack with his teleport. "So that Jester was just the bait and you're the trap, huh? Send as many flunkies as you want, asshole. We'll still find you!"

"I don't know what you're talking about, but you will not escape your fate!"

"Heh, yeah, that's what I thought you'd say."

Flashman eventually wore down the less-sophisticated navi's reflexes and had him in a position where his blade couldn't miss. The mysterious operator had more surprises up his sleeve, however. "AuraHead3 F!" Before the ElecSword could destroy the WoodAura, a Megalian head formed in the Heel's arm, absorbed the aura's energy, and launched into Flashman with intense force. The Heel was now unprotected, but Flashman was still at a disadvantage with all the damage he had taken already. "SideBamboo3 F!" Bamboo shoots stabbed at Flashman from the tal grass. He was reaching the end of his rope.

"Agh! Matt, any help now would be appreciated!"

I'm almost through the blocker, until then I got some more chips ready for you. PanelReturn, to get rid of the grass, finally." Matt reported.

"Before that, I want him to regret the next wood chip he sends my way."

"...Understood."

Flashman received the next batch of chips, and the first thing he did was activate the LostForest trap that would immediately punish his opponent for the next wood-elemental attack he tried to use. The other operator received the warning that a trap had been set. Though the trap was unnamed on his end, it didn't take a genius to narrow down the likely suspects. Anticipating the AntiWood, he switched to the final part of the plan. He disappeared with another Invis and then ran to an earlier-placed BlackBomb hidden among the grass. Then it was just a matter of lighting a match, sparking the fuse, and...

KABOOM!

...enjoying the fireworks.

Flashman didn't get a chance to use another chip. The explosion, enhanced by all the burnable grass was enough to finish off his dwindled HP and delete him. Matt breathed a sigh of relief as the blocker went down a split second before the detonation. At least Flashman would return to his PET ready to fight another day.

...So where was he?

Matt quickly checked the transmission logs, Flashman's remains had indeed followed the emergency jack-out procedure, but something was wrong, the target ip for the transfer had been altered by another hacking program that had been put in place while the blocker was being taken down. Whoever but the blocker up in the first place only meant it as a distraction. Their real goal...

"Wh-Where am I? This isn't my PET!"

...was to abduct Flashman.

"Maybe you see the irony in this, after what you did to those other navis..." The same voice that had been taunting him during the battle spoke coldly to Flashman as he looked around his dark void of a prison desperately for signs of escape.

"What are you talking about? That 'crime of navi abduction' crap? You've got the wrong guy!"

"Hm. Maybe so. Unfortunately for you that was just an excuse. Now take this and go say goodbye to your old operator."

"What!? Wait, what are you...aaarrghhh!"

Matt frantically searched for a way to find where Flashman went. The trail was there, he only needed to follow it. He had all the hacking skills necessary. The jerk that entrapped them may have prepared for every move he could make, but he wasn't going to give up while he could still type.

Much to his surprise, his search eventually led him right back to the scorched battleground where he started. Flashman had been transported back there in the Heel navi's place, and the remaining link to his original PET ensured Matt could see his own navi there clearly, but something was wrong. The navi of electric light was looking particularly dim. A dark aura surrounded him and Matt had to take off his ever-present signature sunglasses to get a better look at him.

That's when Flashman looked up towards the screen with a demented and sorrowful look in his eyes. "M-Matt, I...I can't...help...HYPNOFLASH!"

Matthew Gemini would wake up the next morning remembering nothing of the last 24 hours. The message that led him to the Undernet, the encounter with the Jester and that custom Heel navi, and Flashman's defeat were all lost to him. He only had an inoperable PET, unanswered questions, and the lingering sense that he had just been royally screwed over.

* * *

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...conflit 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.

* * *

IceChan couldn't move, couldn't think. She shut her eyes tightly and held her head close to the ground as her only escape from the deadly terror all around her. Sounds bombarded her from all angles despite her attempts to shut them out. In her ear, the frantic voice of her operator pleaded for her to do something, but she couldn't understand what. Wooshing noises passed by above her and on both sides accompanied by flashes of ambiatic heat and light, each followed immediately by a violent explosion behind her. Voices of the Official navis shouting orders and screaming in pain were drowned out by a larger voice before them, a raspy, inhuman bellow that spoke only a single unending syllable of hatred and craving.

"WRRAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH..."

She wanted to cry, she wanted to run, but she couldn't do anything. It all happened so fast. One moment her team was treading carefully towards the anomaly they detected, then the anomaly began moving towards them, and the next thing she knew fire rained from the sky and the ground burst with magma, and nobody could see where it was coming from, they could only hear its bloodthirsty wail.

Something inside IceChan struggled to break free of her paralysis. She couldn't tell how long it had been since everything started, but the moment of certain deletion had passed and she couldn't help but notice she was still there. Thoughts formed, actions followed. She wanted to jack out, but nothing happened. It felt like the same interference that trapped her with the giant Darkloid before, but something was different this time. Hoshiko was there, trying to say something to her. The PET connection was intact even if the jack-out functionality was disabled.

She opened her eyes, there was a refreshing blue glow around her she hadn't expected to see. AquaAura, Hoshiko must have sent it at just the right time. It wouldn't stop the blasts directly, but it was enough to keep the creeping flames from reaching her. It was her own bubble of cool air within an inferno. Confidence returning, but not yet her full motor-control, she stood up and watched the blazing meteors fly past her. She could swear each one had a face, and they did not look happy.

Just as she was starting to realize how lucky she had been so far, she spotted one fireball heading straight for her. Her legs chose the right time to start working again as she dashed in a direction that looked relatively safe. She ignored the wall of fire as her Aura parted them easily. She would not clear the explosion from the incoming shot completely though. She needed a better defense. Now she could finally hear Hoshiko's words. "CrystalShield! Download!"

With practiced timing IceChan turned towards the shot and activated the aqua-elemental shield of ice. The fireball hit the ground, generating an intense explosion that threw her backwards with concussive force. She skidded against the terrain but was otherwise undamaged as the guard had absorbed and refracted the energy of the blast.

As she struggled to her feet while holding the shield to the flames, she could hear the agonized, dying screams of her red and black companion.

"AAH ARGH AHH EEE OOH OHH AHH ARGH OWW YAGHH AGH YEE OW AH AAAGHHH!!"

Ice couldn't see him, but she could tell he was finished. Not wanting to end up the same way, she turned to Hoshiko for help. "What's going on? Where are the others?"

Her operator responded, not sounding very sure herself. "Two...wait...three of the Officials were deleted! Back up, the orange guy is behind you, he needs help!"

The little navi moved quickly. After a few steps she could see another shape behind the flames. The new-model Official navi was kneeling there within a barrier on the verge of collapse. He looked up at her with a frustrated face hidden behind his scorched visor.

Hoshiko looked around. Two of the defeated operators were shouting into their phones requesting backups and analysis, the third was frantically typing at the room's main workstation trying to get the transmission fully functional again, the other remaining operator angrily shouted orders to the others, struggling to stay organized in the chaos. To the newest and youngest operator, it didn't feel much different to her out there than it did to the navis roasting in the Cyberworld.

The op giving orders turned to Hoshiko. "You! You never mentioned a massive fire-elemental attack!"

"Wha-There wasn't...but..." Hoshiko stammered, unprepared for his accusation.

"No time for explanations! We'll discuss it afterwards. Quickly, use your Recov chips on my navi. There's still a chance we can get the assailant under control!"

"Um...right! Okay!" The girl punched the buttons on her PET to organize her chips and prepared to download some healing to her navi and her ailing companion.

"Stop. You will need those chips for yourself. The other navi will be of no help." A voice from Hoshiko's PET advised.

The orange's operator was taken aback. "What!? Your navi's got a discipline problem, kid! Get her in line!"

Hoshiko was alarmed as well. "That wasn't IceChan's voice, sir. I don't know who..."

Both active PETs beeped to indicate a proximity warning. The warning was too slow because by the time anyone looked again, there was another navi standing beside the two Officials. It was a tall male humanoid type in a suit and sunglasses. He held a shining sword defensively in front of him and kept his eyes upwards where the fireballs continued to rain down from. IceChan looked up at the visitor with a sense of déjà vu, the other Official beheld him with a sense of alarm. In his weakened, delirious state and nothing else to go on, he assumed this was the one behind the current assault, and raised his buster in attempt to make an arrest.

The new arrival barely turned his head to acknowledge this threat; the direction of his gaze was hidden by reflective lenses. With one quick swipe of his sword, the Official's barrier collapsed and his body fell into two clean pieces before both of them disappeared in deletion. The man then simply turned his head back to the fireballs and brought his blade back up into position.

IceChan backed away and raised her own IceSword defensively. For a moment she thought they had backup. Whose side was this guy on? The operators were wondering the same thing. The man who had just lost his navi took his anger out on a confused Hoshiko.

"Where did that navi come from!? Are you responsible for this? You set us up didn't you! I knew the Officials should screen their recruits better!"

"N-no! I don't know anything about this! Look, Ice is afraid of him too! Don't blame me!" Hoshiko pleaded, while secretly thinking 'and don't look any deeper into my past because you might find you were right' as well. She began to wonder if this character was a WWW agent sent to ruin her life as payback for her desertion.

Opening his mouth for the first time, the mysterious navi had another explanation. "That Official had no resources to combat this threat. I did him a favor by deleting him quickly, and I did us a favor by getting him out of the way. We can do this ourselves."

IceChan lowered her sword a bit. "We? Um...do you mean you and...me?"

Before giving an answer, he quickly scooped the bewildered girl up and made a long jump to the side to avoid another exploding meteor. He dropped her gently at the landing point and went back to watching for incoming shots. Back on her feet, Ice was embarrassed she didn't even get the chance to move the sword she was brandishing. "What...what can I do?" She lamented.

The other navi answered directly. "We're up against a powerful Fire-elemental. You are a cold Aqua type. You don't need to be fast, just use your powers. I will be fast enough for both of us."

The head guy outside listened to all this through Hoshiko's PET with growing ire. "Hold on! Who do you think you are taking over an Official operation like this? Nobody is doing anything until I get some kind of explanation!" He then pointed at Hoshiko accusingly. "You may try to look all innocent, but this doesn't add up. Your navi led us straight into the ambush and now it has teamed up with the perpetrator to...I don't know what, but I intend to find out!"

"You've got it all wrong!" Hoshiko protested. "We didn't ask for any of this, we were just following your orders!"

"You sure made it look like that, didn't you? We're getting to the bottom of this, so-" a ringtone from his own PET momentarily diverted the man's attention. "Bah! Don't have time for this!" He answered the phone call irately. "What? I'm busy here. Important mission...Now? I can't...but I'm onto something with this...You can't do this, you don't know what's happening here!...Ulp...Alright, alright, yes sir."

The man stopped the call and let out a dejected sigh. The others in the room stopped what they were doing for a moment to find out what was happening. He took a deep breath and explained. "I have new orders and...this operation is to continue as it is." He started to head for the door but broke his rush long enough to shoot Hoshiko a threatening glare. Then he was gone, along with a lot of the distracting noise in the room.

Hoshiko looked nervously at the other three Officials, but they just shrugged and went back about their business. She let out a relieved sigh and turned back to her own PET. "Wonder who I have to thank for that lucky break."

"Wonder later. We still got a fire to put out." IceChan proclaimed, her confidence miraculously returning. "This guy's got a point. Send me OceanSeed!"

"Oh, right!"

A projectile materialized in IceChan's hand. She tossed it into the flames and in a flash of blue, the fires in a ten-panel radius disappeared and a small lake took their place. Fireballs continued to rain down into the water but rather than explode and spread, they splashed and fizzled out. IceChan and the swordsman made their way into the water, with parts of it freezing under IceChan's footsteps.

"Okay, now what...um...mister?" IceChan looked up to her mystery helper for suggestions.

He looked around the now clearer skies and hissed. "We still need to reveal the target. CommonRain. Also...you can call me Spider"

The water on the ground turned to water in the air. Gradually the inferno that had consumed the area died down, and an angry roar from its unseen source protested in pain. The navis scanned the area again as smoke and steam rapidly diminished. With the blaze gone, everyone's attention was soon drawn to the one remaining source of red and orange light, still burning brightly despite the rain attempting to douse it. Visible within the flame was an unmoving black round object, the source of all the fire.

Spider nodded and crouched down. "It's up to you now. Try not to get too close to it."

"You mean me?" IceChan asked, but received no answer because as soon as she turned her head he was gone. "Huh!? Did he just teleport out? So much for my knight in shining armor!"

The source's flame began to glow bright yellow and more fireballs formed around it. IceChan could now clearly see a pair of triangular markings on each orb like eyes glaring right at her. The fireballs moved around in the air like they had minds of their own, and they began to fly towards her. She figured there would be no lucky dodging this time, she had to fight back.

Hoshiko relayed some advice. "One of the Official guys said those fireballs are giving off viral readings, and the database apparently recognizes them as 'Changkeys', fire-type things that don't do anything but run themselves into their target, in this case you. They're not very strong, so your IceSword should take them out ."

"Riiight, 'long as I don't miss..."

The Changkeys closed in on her. She tensed. She raised her sword. She let instinct take over and let her blade fly. One, two, three...the living balls of flame split in two, turned black, and burst into charcoal dust one-by-one. IceChan could barely believe she made it through that. There were more coming. She watched their movements closely and ran towards them, leaping past with a wide slash that took them all out at once. Now she was closer to her attacker and it had yet to prepare another barrage. It growled in irritation. IceChan began to smile, she was getting the upper hand.

"Let's take out the big guns, Hoshiko!"

"This should wrap it up, the rarest chip we got!" Hoshiko announced.

"Gotcha!" IceChan slid into position and pulled back her arm before the projectile even materialized in it. "Have a taste of your own medicine! FreezeBomb!"

She threw the mighty explosive high into the air and the burning boulder didn't even move as it began to fall right on top of it. Instead it let out a hiss and the flame shifted from yellow to green. Hoshiko and IceChan then watched as their most powerful attack bounced off some unseen barrier, tumbled to the ground beside the beast and burst into a flowering crystal of solid ice. Having grown to its full size, the spiky cluster shimmered for a second and then shattered into countless fragments that littered the ground. In the center of it all was the green flame and the dark sphere inside of it, completely unaffected by the frozen shock.

IceChan gaped in disbelief. "No...No way, that's not fair!"

Hoshiko sank into despair. "It's...invincible. Not even our best chip could hurt it, I...don't know what we can do."

Just then a cyan-colored flash in the distance out of the corner of IceChan's eye coincided with a gasp of pain from the burning creature. Another flash in the other direction brought out an angrier noise and a flare of flickering light from the beast. The green fire danced wildly like a candle flame about to be extinguished, and then sure enough it was gone. IceChan was taken aback by what she saw revealed once the flames were gone. The black ball had a head and arms. It was some kind of large navi curled up into a crouching sphere. Its face consisted of a round mask with two angry eyeholes from which the light of an inner flame glowed through like a jack-o'-lantern. It wasn't until she spotted the Navi Mark on its forehead with its signature curled tongue of flame symbol that she recognized the poor creature.

"Flameman?...Hinoken's navi?"

"Eh? I don't remember Flameman being that big or dark looking..." Hoshiko commented before she remembered she was surrounded by Officials that did not know she was a former WWW member. "...on the news...where I saw him...from that one time...and also in notable criminal dossiers which I have been dilligently studying since becoming an Official, yeah, that's it." She glanced around to notice her covering apparently wasn't necessary, since her comrades were more interested by what was going on onscreen than what she was saying.

"I don't know what this means but if this is Flameman...he's really giving me the creeps..." IceChan said with a shiver.

"Whrraaarrrllll..." The extinguished Dark Flameman gutterally vocalized as new wisps of orange fire began to extend and dance from his eyes and the other vents around his body. The body itself remained completely still while the flames returned. IceChan ran towards him with a Blizzard gun, hoping to blast it before its defenses returned, but once again found herself being quickly pulled in another direction. She could see the ground where she was standing ignite in a pillar of fire and several more FireTowers springing up in a line extending from Flameman. She landed a few panels away with a familiar tall suited navi standing beside her again.

"Told you not to get too close." Spider chided.

IceChan was annoyed. "You? I thought you ran away."

"No. Just needed to scope out its pattern and...set things up a bit."

"Wait...was it you that made his fire disappear for a second?"

"Yeah. Candles stationed in protected locations. They won't be as much of a problem now."

"Well I wish you took down his barrier before I wasted my best chip."

Spider raised his hand in the air and sparks of electricity surrounded it. "The ice hasn't melted yet. It won't go to waste."

A blinding flash illuminated the battleground. Thick arcs of cyan lightning shot through the immobile Flameman from multiple angles. His roars took on an agonized stutter as electricity enhanced by the conductive ice painfully fried his body. While this was going on, Spider pointed his sword at the beast and bright blue bullets of plasma shot out and slammed explosively into the burning navi. IceChan initially shielded her eyes from the dazzling display but once she could adjust and look at Spider again, the sight of his silhouette framed in the cyan lightning storm called upon her memories of that fateful encounter with the Darkloid earlier that week. Spider was the same mystery hero that rescued them from that hulking metal monster. What was he doing there? What was his purpose? Did she have a guardian angel? Or did she just happen to step into another bad example of Undernet business?

"We can defeat the Darkloid if we combine our strengths." Spider advised. "You supply the water and ice to weaken it, and I'll use electricity to work off of the water and ice."

So it was another Darkloid after all. IceChan realized their mission might be more successful than their early losses led them to expect. It also seemed this character was more interested in taking down Darkloids than helping the Officials. Was he some kind of Darkloid hunter? If the Officials wanted to capture Flameman's remains to study it, Spider might prove to be more of a hinderance than a help in the end. IceChan couldn't worry about that now though, Flameman was still attacking with FlameTowers and fireballs even through the pain of the electricity attacks. She had to fight to stay alive. She slid to one side to avoid a tower chain, Spider having pulled another sudden disappearing act already. She then summoned an IceCube and shot it at her opponent with an IcePunch. The block of ice slammed into Flameman, who responded with another cry of pain and rage. The flames surrounding his body had now returned, but were still only the default orange color. Every time the color began to shift to something that provided him with special abilities, a flash of Spider's electricity in the distance would make the fire revert again. Spider could evidently move extremely fast, as no sooner than a distant was extinguished, that the lightning navi himself would appear nearby Flameman at a different angle and zap him with another bolt of plasma. The Darkloid was still perfectly still, but his omnipresent voice wavered in a way that suggested he was on the ropes.

"Ready to finish this, IceChan?" Hoshiko asked while sending IceStage and ElemIce.

"Guess we are!" The ground everywhere flashed white and transformed into a glassy skating rink. IceChan aimed the ElemIce weapon which crackled with elemental power. Flameman was in her sights. The Darkloid was going down.

Yet before she could fire, another deep rage-filled voice roared from behind her and a sudden explosive quake knocked her off her feet and shattered the IceStage she had just put down. She scrambled back up and spun around in alarm. There, a dozen panels away stood a towering navi in spiked black armor. His axe-like weapon was embedded in the ground, but he was in the process of pulling it back out. Once his blade was up and at his side, he stood up straight, appearing even more massive compared to the little parka-wearing girl and even her tall dreadlocked companion.

With a hateful rasp, the new arrival stated his intentions. "I will execute you both for your offense."

Spider reappeared near IceChan and defensively held his sword in front of them both. IceChan groaned. "Is that another Darkloid?"

"It would seem so..." Spider answered hesitantly.

"And now it's two-on-two? Not fair...well I guess technically it's fair, but these things are too tough to fight like that. Have any strategies?"

"I haven't seen this one before...so no, not yet."

"Uh oh."

* * *

"It's been 5 months since HE..."

A conversation was going on inside a dark, stone temple of an ancient South Netopian civilization. The dark figure on the obsidian throne, dressed like an emperor of the ancient world, had his fist clutched into the armrest pretty hard, showing strong rage. In contrast, the informant he was talking to looked like came out of Vice City.

"Por favor, relax señor Cortela, you told the generals to be on the lookout for him and..."

"And did they find him yet?"

"N...No."

"Then there is a problem here, isn't it?"

"He's just a fugitive sir..."

Right now, Cortela just pulled out a shotgun from beside the throne, with part of then barrel sawn off and chiseled tipped.

"We never had any fugitives..." After saying that, He pumped his shotgun, "We've killed everyone that had tried to trespass here. Do you at least have an idea where he went?

"*gulp* No sir."

It was then that the informant's chest practically exploded and sent his blood and guts splattering behind the now dead body. Cortela discarded the empty shell.

"Guards! Get rid of the corpse, and tell the next one in line don't come to me unless he's dead!"

* * *

For the unlikely team of Officials Drillman and Overdrive, Darkloid mercenary Shademan, and the enterprising civillian navi Magister, the trek through the maze-like Undernet was unexpectedly smooth-going. Magister proved her fighting abilities against the viruses along the way, using a versatile array of attack and defense techniques patterned after elemental magical spells. Everyone was capable of defending themselves, which was fortunate as they were keeping some distance between each other. Shademan's sinister tactics and devious personality kept everyone from venturing close to his screech-filled feeding frenzies. Magister, while apparently trustworthy, came across as unstable. She hadn't done anything to endanger the others yet, but while she was casting fireballs, summoning meteors, and manipulating the terrain to swallow up the viruses in their path, no one wanted to run the risk of a mood swing redirecting that chaos their way.

Thus they arrived at their destination safely, albeit exhausted and unnerved. With their perilous journey at an end, the grim quartet was not too surprised with what they found; nothing. Undernet412 was mostly indistinguishable from its neighboring sectors. Cracked grey platforms, lurking overgrown viruses, and lower reaches that descended into thick, dark clouds. While this place could have been hiding any number of secrets, the same could be said about any corner of the Undernet. There was no unusual navi activity in sight. Things did not bode well for the Officials' investigation.

"Well, our best bet now is to try and re-trace Ashe's steps." Drillman suggested. "Which chip was she hunting for again?"

Magister scrunched her face, apparently struggling to remember. "Hmm...some kind of sword, I'm sure. AssassinBlade? Or was it SamuraiSword? Maybe SamuraiSword3..."

"We'll split up and look for sword-user viruses. Make sure we stay close enough in case we need backup." Overdrive instructed. It didn't seem to make much sense, but so far they had nothing else to go on. They already knew the disappearances couldn't be due to a simple virus attack, that wouldn't explain how the navis didn't return to their PETs. There was always a chance the real culprit was targeting the navis engaging in these regular virus-busting activities. It could be that the predator would avoid them if it could tell they were trying to lure it into a trap, but the inclusion of Darklady and other reputedly strong navis on the victims list indicated their perp probably wouldn't fear them either way.

They explored the area thoroughly for several minutes. They fought a variety of viruses including Gaiants, Daijans, Dominerds, Cirkillers, and Pulsebulbs, but no sword-types in sight. Something wasn't adding up, but Magister remained optimistic when she wasn't being recklessly violent or fearsomely stoic. Eventually, the flying Drillman grew tired of the search and landed on a small platform to think of a new approach. That's when he got an idea.

"Hey Moe, think you could run the auto-targeting check?" He asked his operator.

"Why? Plan on firing a Drill Missile barrage? That's not really necessary against forces like this." Moe answered

"No. I thought it might...well, it points out all targets in range and identifies friendly units to ensure they can be avoided, right?"

Moe shrugged. "Yeah, but if the enemy is hidden it's no more effective than your own eyes."

"The enemies can hide...but what about the allies?" Drillman nodded as he became increasingly confident in the idea. "Anyone registered as a friendly gives off a signal that the auto-targetter can pick up even when they're invisible or in subspace."

Moe thought for a moment, and then he saw where his partner was going with this. "So if the victims are anywhere nearby...we could detect Darklady! It's worth a shot, I guess." Moe keyed in the command on his PET to access the scanning engine. After a few seconds, a map of the area showed up on screen. A green dot in the center indicated Drillman. Several red dots in all directions indicated active viruses, and a solitary blue dot off to the side indicated Overdrive.

"Hmm, we should probably get Shade and Magister to synch up if we plan to fight alongside them for a while." Moe said with a bit of disappointment in his voice.

Drill already had his answer but started to ask anyway. "So, no sign of..."

"No Darklady or anything else. Sorry." Moe finished his navi's sentence and sighed.

"Tch...Well so much for..." Drillman started in despair, but then he decided not to give up just yet. "Can you increase the range?"

"This thing isn't really designed to have longer range than your own weapons, but I figure so. Just gotta open up the program editor..."

Drillman tapped his foot impatiently. He noticed his teammates not far away were looking at him with annoyance like he was just slacking off. He waved at them sarcastically. After a minute of modifications, Moe restarted the scanner.

"I patched it through your subspace link so it could sniff out targets in adjacent Undernet areas." Moe explained while they were waiting. The scan was taking longer than usual. "Uh, there are a lot of adjacent areas thanks to the Undernet's odd link structure. There's a good chance the whole thing will just crash."

"Huh. Well, I didn't need any fancy auto-aiming tech anyway." Drillman joked.

"Hey, it didn't blow up." Moe remarked once the scan was complete. He examined the results and his heart skipped a beat. "Woah, it can't be."

"What? Did you find her?" Drillman pressed.

"Um...yeah." Moe answered disbelievingly. "But this can't be right, I'm also picking up two other NG signatures. The scan is having trouble identifying them."

"Where are they!?" Drill demanded.

"They're in different locations...but we should focus on Darklady first. She's on the move in Undernet400. Hurry!"

Drillman leapt off the platform and transformed to flying mode, his jets firing at maximum, following Moe's navigational commands to the exit to Undernet400. Shademan and Overdrive observed the sudden movement with concern. "Where's he headed now?" Overdrive asked her operator.

"Sounds like Moe and Drill found our victims. Better follow him." Tricia advised, making sure Darklight got the message as well.

Magister was the only one left confused by the Officials' scramble. "Hey, w-where are you going? You're not going to leave me-?" she pleaded with a panicked voice until Shademan surprised her by snatching her up in his talons to fly her along on the chase. Her demeanor then turned to fury. "HEY! What do you think you're doing!? Get your dirty feet off of me!"

"We have a new target. You don't want to be left behind, do you?" Shademan casually explained to his squirming passenger.

"What!? No! We have to search this area! We need to find my friend!" She screamed defiantly.

"I suspect you will thank me later. Perhaps when a more rational mood strikes you." The vampire mused wryly and flew through the teleporter to the next area after Drillman and Overdrive.

Drillman arrived in Undernet400 ready for anything. A gigantic ravenous virus-beast with a stomach full of navis? A powerful UnderDweller with the victims in chains? A horde of zombies? He had plenty of time to imagine wild, insane scenarios while he and his team were coming up empty with the investigation. If anything, he was relieved to find nothing of the sort in the predictably barren Undernet system. The only thing that stood out with this area was the larger, more intact main road that bridged two other larger Undernet hubs. He could even spot a few ordinary UnderDwellers and dealers hanging around down by the road, making it clear this was a place with heavier traffic. It seemed ironically unlikely that the missing navis could be found in such an open environment. Maybe they were moving through some sort of subspace? Had he already missed his chance?

"Drill! Above you! Over there!" Overdrive called out from the walkway below. Drillman looked to where she was pointing and couldn't believe his eyes. It was Darklady, flying fast and free. She seemed perfectly safe. This was definitely not what he was expecting.

He flew after the errant former Net Guardian and his mind went back to when they first asked Kalinka to send Darklady to the Undernet to help with their investigation. Everyone thought there was a danger that the unpredictable dark navi would try to rebel. Was that what happened all along? Among all the worry about the missing navis case, they entirely forgot this possibility. How would she pull it off though? Kalinka had safeguards in place.

Something about the situation didn't feel right, but right now Drillman had no other approach in mind but the direct search for answers. When he got close enough he called out to her. "Darklady!"

She slowed her flight path and turned to look at Drillman, faltering a bit in the process. She regarded him with cautious curiosity, not recognizing the drill-tipped, missile-like creature that was catching up to her.

Drillman normally didn't transform in mid-flight, but he had to see her face-to-face. He carefully converted to his normal mode and aligned his jets to enable him to hover near his lost friend high in the air. "Dark! What happened to you? We were really worried!"

Darklady glanced around nervously. This navi was clearly addressing the former owner of her body and she didn't know how to tell him that Darklady was, for all intents and purposes, dead. "Uh...I'm not...Sorry, you have me confused with someone else."

"What? I'm not going to fall for that, Dark. Come on, this is important! We thought your disappearance was related to the others you were supposed to investigate. Don't tell me you've just been running around AWOL the whole time."

"Really, I'm...Look, I'm sorry, but you've got the wrong navi. I don't know what you're talking about." Darklady awkwardly tried to dismiss the dangerous-looking inquisitor. She had a feeling this encounter would turn into another "Dragoon" if she couldn't get away quickly.

Alia had no patience whatsoever for such distractions. "Darklady, ignore that tool and proceed to the next area. Move it!"

She started to fly away but Drillman cut her off. "Wait! I know you're not some coincidental lookalike, the sensors don't lie. I don't know if you're playing a game or if you lost your memories or what, but I can't let you just run off again! We need to get you back to Kalinka, now follow me!"

Darklady was now very worried. "Um...A-Alia?"

Alia checked her own scans and came to some unfortunate conclusions. "Hmph, that's an Official, and he's got friends nearby. You can't fight back or run. Bah! Just jack out!"

Darklady sighed and gave one last guilty look to Drillman. "Sorry." She then teleported out of the cyberworld. Drillman stared incredulously into space for what felt like an eternity before letting himself fall to the ground where he collapsed to his knees in frustration. He found her, but somehow he just let her slip away. How could it end like this?

Moe felt the same way, but tried to stay focused. He repeated the auto-targeting trick from before, but all three Net Guardian signatures had disappeared. They were back to square one. Tricia and Overdrive consoled their partners with empty platitudes, Darklight and Shademan were uninterested in the display and moved to call it a day, and Magister mewled nervously off to the side where Shademan had set her down.

"So...can we go back to 412? Can we find my friend?" Magister requested meekly.

"I think...this case is a little more complicated than we gave it credit for." Tricia said contemplatively. "We'll jack out, recover, and figure out what to make of this development. Magister, you should give us information to contact you or your operator."

"Oh, really?" The sorceress thought for a moment, then cheerfully nodded. "Alright, I'll send you my number. Thank you everyone, I hope we can meet again soon!" She seemed strangely comfortable with the aborted mission.

"Rrright...Drill? You okay?" Overdrive asked, putting her hand on the despondent navi's shoulder.

Two seconds of silence, then he slowly lifted his head again. "...It's fine. She's right, we should rest up. We'll find out what happened to Darklady and the others...and we will get them back."

* * *

IceChan's battle had gone from the frying pan to the fire. Both she and her erstwhile ally Spider now had to contend with the black knight and his scythe-like axe swinging for their necks at every opportunity. On top of that, projectiles were periodically raining down from out of nowhere. The new Darkloid could apparently attack wherever it wanted, long or short range. IceChan had to use her ElemIce on the armored fiend, unfortunately depowered since his arrival broke her ice panels. Spider in the meantime used his lightning-fast movements to dodge and observe. The Executioner was getting especially frustrated by Spider's propensity to seem like an easy target until a split second before his blade connects, and then disappearing and reappearing several panels away in a flash. How could he move so fast?

"That's the big metal Darkloid you fought a few days ago?" Hoshiko asked her navi, curious as the transmission block at the time made her miss all that action.

"No, it's an entirely different one. I hope there aren't many more like it..." IceChan replied while running to put some distance between her and the rampaging warrior.

Spider fired a plasma shot to get the Executioner's attention, and the massive navi obliged, charging headlong at the haughty mystery man. He didn't get halfway towards his target when a spherical field of electrical energy exploded from beneath him, locking the black knight in paralyzed agony. Spider was satisfied for a moment, but continued shots from above alerted him that his job was not yet complete. He tried to dodge, but momentarily letting his guard down to watch Executioner step into his trap cost him a hit to the shoulder. Another couple steps back and he flashed to another location, escaping continued hits. It was after that point he painfully pulled the projectile from his arm and examined the rapidly disintegrating ordinance.

"An arrow?"

A simple, slender green-colored missile with a sharp head and aerodynamic fletching for long-range flight. Spider had assumed the shots were coming from the Executioner since they started at the same time he appeared, but they continued coming even when he was incapacitated, and there was no apparent thematic connection. That's when Spider realized the new Darkloid had some kind of accomplice.

Far, far away, at the opposite end of the system, that accomplice watched the action through his non-existent eyes. A small, cloaked, and blindfolded navi holding possibly the most powerful bow in the Cyberworld and loading it with more arrows like the one he had just shot into Spider's shoulder. Despite his apparent blindness, he had no problems aiming his shots from such a great distance, and had observed a few things that even his ally there in the field had not. In particular, he quietly contemplated why the electric navi seemed to short-range teleport at certain times, yet otherwise moved at a normal speed. If he could flash out whenever he wanted, why would he be slow enough to take that one hit? He didn't pull that move until a few steps after the arrow landed. It almost seemed like he needed a running start back there, or was it that he needed to be standing in a certain spot?

His cohort was recovering from the last attack, so the Archer took the moment to contact him through their secure comm channel. "Does anything look odd about the spot where that guy disappeared?"

"What? I did not see him disappear. I could not see much of anything besides sparks for a moment."

"Well watch carefully if he pulls a vanishing act again. Also, he might be onto us now."

The Executioner became worried. "Eh? No! The Master said if they discover the truth..."

The Archer remained calm. "Don't worry about it. Delete them and it won't matter what they think."

Shaking his head in frustration, the knight charged again. He struck the ground with his axe as he moved, creating more quakes and further damaging the terrain, making it harder for Ice and Spider to dodge.

Spider reconvened with IceChan to help get her to safety. He relayed the information about the arrow while he was at it along with his suspicion about the invisible sniper. Ice did not like the sound of that. "Three on one now? This is too much."

"If we're quick with these guys, we won't have to worry about the fiery one. It hasn't been moving..."

"That's because he's healing! See the red flame? He's been recovering ever since this guy showed up!"

Suddenly, Flameman came alive once more. With an intense roar, his aura grew to twice its size. The flames took on a blue hue as if they were hotter, but they were not any brighter. Instead they somehow seemed to absorb the light around him. The others turned to behold this sight, not sure what was going to happen. At first the Executioner was pleased. He figured he could leave with his mission accomplished, but then the beast shot a large bullet of flame directly at the armored warrior.

Executioner staggered back and barely got a chance to take stock of the damage before Flameman was unleashing a hot blaze at his feet, melting the ground and forcing him to retreat. As he ran, he contacted his partner in the distance. "What is going on? I thought this Darkloid was weakened! It's deadlier than before!"

The Archer's voice responded impassively to his plight. "It seems to have unleashed its DarkTech. Our earlier surveillance has caught moves like this against stronger netbattlers. It's an ability that has the same power differential as a Dark Chip."

"THIS is a Dark Chip!?"

"It's like one anyway. The boss has dubbed this one 'Hellfire'. It's an enhancement type. Think Fire+40, only it's more like Fire+400...and it's continuous. The flames don't die out as fast either...if at all."

The Executioner barely avoided a rapid stream of fireballs. He could feel his armor melting to slag from the residual heat. There were definitely more fires burning all over the battlefield where the attacks had hit. "Why didn't you mention this before!?"

"It didn't look like it would get the chance to use it. It was already near dead by the time we stepped in. I thought if anything it was going to use this against those other two navis." The Archer shrugged as he explained.

"I will have your head for this! I swear it!" As the Executioner made this threat, a superheated column of fire erupted beneath him. The mighty warrior made an agonized scream and collapsed on the verge of deletion, surrounded by undying flames.

"Dang. I should probably rescue him anyway." Archer grumbled, but kept his bow trained on the interlopers, and paid attention to Flameman, who was now turning his attention to them. "Well, I doubt they could do anything to hurt it any more, should be safe to pull out."

Spider and IceChan once again found themselves in the middle of a relentless blaze. The explosions were so far only grazing them, but it was enough to do some heavy damage. It was time for IceChan to use those Recov chips she had been saving, and Spider was grateful she was willing to share; he just didn't show it very well with his stoic demeanor. IceChan called upon a BubbleWrap to replace her lost AquaAura, but with the heat growing it was of little help. "Can we still take on three of these at a time!?" she challenged angrily.

"Hnf! I think we only have one to worry about now. Didn't you see it attack the knight? They're not all on the same side after all." Spider summarized while raising a barrier of his own. "Don't know if it will work any more, but you'll need to use whatever you got in your arsenal to cool it down!"

"Sure, no pressure or anything! Hoshiko?"

"Gotta clear some ground. Good a time as any for this!" The operator announced while sending more chips.

The fire was spreading towards them but IceChan threw her hands to the ground and a blue Wave fanned out from that spot, mowing down the flames and continuing towards Flameman himself. He would have taken heavy damage from the attack, but switched to his green aura at the last moment.

Spider didn't like what he was seeing. "His candles are working again...what happened to my anchors?"

"Your what?" IceChan asked curiously.

"Never mind. I have to take care of the candles again. Just don't die for a few seconds." Spider then took a flying leap into the wall of flames and disappeared again.

"I'm getting tired of that." IceChan mumbled and turned her attention back to Flameman. A pair of FlameTowers was heading her way and dodging would be nearly impossible. She had to counter them. "Hey, anchors, huh? SideBubble!" Using Spider's cryptic words as inspiration, she called upon a pair of water-encased ship anchor viruses at a carefully timed moment just as the Towers were approaching. Earlier she might not have believed she had the reflexes for it, but just as she defeated the Changkeys, her timing was spot-on. The bubbles burst simultaneously upon meeting the fire, defeating the heat-elemental and releasing the anchor-shaped missiles inside. They shot forward, slamming into Flameman just as his green aura disappeared again, bringing a much-enraged howl from the Darkloid.

Hoshiko cheered. "Right on! Now try this IceChan. We usually can't land a hit with this thing, but this guy isn't one for dodging."

"IceTower!"

A chain of cold white spires erupted from IceChan's position and headed towards Flameman. The dark fire navi would have taken heavy damage from the frozen spikes, but before they could reach them he enacted an unexpected defense.

He moved.

For the first time since the encounter began, Flameman's arms and legs unfurled from beneath his round body. Standing up on all fours he towered over the battlefield like a giant harvestman arachnid. He easily stepped out of the way of the IceTower attack.

"Oh COME ON!" IceChan screamed in protest.

"RAAHH!!" Flameman's aura again shifted to dark blue. He then temporarily crouched down, opened his mouth, and released a stream of his signature Fire Breath. IceChan was shocked from the turnaround, but forced herself to slide out of the way. The Hellfire blazed by and into the ground where a new plume of dark flames planted themselves.

IceChan hit the ground and rolled back onto her feet. She kept her eyes on Flameman ready for another attack, but the Darkloid just rose back up and stared down at her, apparently satisfied.

"IceChan, y-your arm!" Hoshiko warned.

That's when IceChan noticed the burning pain in her forearm. Enough of the Fire Breath had grazed her to ignite the sleeve of her parka. The blue flame slowly began to spread. She blew on it with her ice-cold breath, but it continued to burn. She shot a Bubbler into it, but it continued to burn and she only ended up hurting herself and wasting the battlechip. She tore off the parka along with her gloves and threw it away but she was too late, the flame was stuck to her arm and there was no stopping it.

It was only a matter of time before she was consumed.

"IceChan, you have to run for it! If you can get somewhere you can jack out..." Hoshiko pleaded.

IceChan bit her lip and tried to ignore the pain. "Hng...no! Have to defeat him! It's the only way to stop it. Only way this will mean anything! He's looking at me like I'm finished, I have to show him it's not that easy!" Surprising both Hoshiko and the Darkloid, IceChan leapt high in the air and boosted even higher with a DoubleJump chip. Her tiny form was now level with Flameman's face and before she could fall back down she unleashed a razor-sharp IceWave3 into his eyes. Reeling from the large snowflake embedded in his mask, he flailed his long limbs around the platform, but IceChan avoided the rampage and struck a WideShot into his underside, then leapt back and summoned a trio of AquaNeedles from the sky, piercing into his hide from above.

Flameman managed to knock the livid little girl a few panels away with his arm and his aura shifted to yellow. A pair of Changkeys appeared and began to chase her down. IceChan was ready for them and trapped one within a bubble with a BubbleStar chip. Before she could contend with the other, something else already stopped it in its tracks, a sparking web of electricity. Spider had returned.

"Your arm is on fire..." the professional commented, almost sounding concerned.

IceChan grunted. "It's okay...are those wires?"

Spider glanced at the sparks running from his hands to the entangled fireball. "Most don't notice too quickly."

"That's great, can you tug the little guy to the right a little?"

"Hm, like this?" Spider pulled on his nearly invisible line, moving the Changkey until it was in line with the other and Flameman's left leg.

"Perfect! AquaPower! BlizzardBall!"

With the first chip activated, IceChan seemed to become twice as strong, a bright blue glow emanating from her body. Then a snowball materialized in her hand and absorbed all of that power. Faster than any of the enemies could react, she rolled the ball through the two Changkeys, catching them, absorbing them, turning the snowball into a massive, blue, rolling boulder. The enhanced BlizzardBall plowed right through Flameman's leg, destroying it on impact. Flameman roared in pain and rage as its unbalanced body fell to the ground.

Before he toppled over completely, IceChan tossed another projectile to the ground underneath him, an IceSeed. Once more the fiery Darkloid was vulnerable on a field of ice. Spider quickly took advantage of the setup by laying his lightning web over the fallen opponent's limbs and striking hard with a charged CustomBolt.

IceChan wasn't letting up either. The Hellfire had spread to her whole arm, rendering it useless and was beginning to eat away at her torso. She could feel death pulling at her, enveloping her, and her strongest instincts forced her to fight with everything she had. An IceSword formed on her remaining arm. She charged onto the ice sheet and slid down at top speed. Flameman's head was pressed against the cold ground. He was struggling to withstand the pain from Spider's electric attacks and turned his eyes in her direction just in time to see her streak up and thrust her frozen blade directly through his mask, where it stuck.

"WRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHH!!" In death throes, Flameman ripped free of the web, sending Spider flying to the sidelines. His head shot back and up, carrying the burning IceChan and her sword along with it. His entire body swung violently back and forth but IceChan held on with every fiber of her being and dug the blade in deeper.

"Just...die...you...jerk! Ahhhhhh!!" IceChan choked out, the pain from the Hellfire and Flameman's own ever-present heat finally becoming too much for her. She had to cry out in agony.

"IceChan! You have to get out of there!" Hoshiko shouted over the screaming. "You've done enough, you won! Please, you're hurt!"

"I'm...Ah! I'm okay, Hoshiko! Agh! We'll-ngh! show them we have what it takes! Aaaah!"

"WRRR...WRRRRR...WRRAAGGHHHLLLHHAHHHLLLRRLLLGLRL!" With a sickening gurgling roar, Flameman's mask shattered, revealing only a dark emptiness gaping from within his body. A dying flame could be seen deep inside, surrounded by black smoke, quickly being overcome by white steam. The aura of flame had disappeared, and from his many vents, more of the white steam began to pour out. IceChan began to fall without the mask to anchor her sword in. She could feel the last of her HP slipping away, but to her relief, the Hellfire was dissipating as well.

She smiled. "We...we did it?"

"...lllrrglRRGGLLAARRRHHH!!" Just then, a plume of black smoke erupted from Flameman's headless neck and wrapped around the smaller navi, stopping her descent and pulling her into the Darkloid's dying body.

"No! Let me go! N-no! NOOO! HOSHI-" Her last screams were cut off as the smoke swallowed her.

"IceChan!? COME IN! ICECHAAAN!"

Flameman's body dropped heavily to the ground. Silent, smouldering, crumbling like burnt-out charcoal.

Spider, back on his feet, and now the sole surviving navi in the system, slowly approached the Darkloid's corpse. He stared at it curiously for quite some time, then using his sword, chopped off its other arm and activated a command to lock onto it and teleport it somewhere else. "The navi transfer lock has been deactivated. It's possible to jack out now."

Hoshiko watched through the PET monitor, mortified. "You...you bastard! All you cared about was getting your trophy! Because of you, IceChan is...why did she have to...ohh." The young operator began to break into tears.

Spider sighed. "You are much too irrational. I could point out at least three things wrong with your assumption, but I think it will suffice to point out your PET connection is still active."

Hoshiko was so busy sobbing, she could barely comprehend. "Wh-wha? What does that have to do with...wait, my PET connection IS still active! IceChan! Are you there? Do you read me?"

There was no answer, but a faint purple light filtered through Flameman's disintegrating torso was enough to tell them she was still in there. It was enough to start to calm Hoshiko down. Then as Spider continued to dissect the corpse and transfer the pieces, he noticed something odd about that light as it began to shift from pink...to red.

"That...probably isn't good." Spider rushed up to the torso and began to pick away at the blackened husk, digging through the ash and soot until he found the living matter buried beneath it. When a small plume of fire burst out, he was taken aback, but the flame quickly died down and he went in for a closer look. He did not expect what he saw.

"What is this?...Who is that?" Hoshiko asked when she saw what Spider had uncovered.

A girl navi was lying there unconscious, but it wasn't IceChan. It was a more matured body type, wearing a thin black bodysuit with sheer golden harem pants. A deep-red ponytail extended from the back of her head, and her face was covered in a blank red mask, just like Flameman's.

"This doesn't make any sense, where's IceChan?" Hoshiko asked confused.

Spider shook his head. "There's no one else here...I don't know how to explain it, but..." Spider used the tip of his blade to tap on the girl's navi mark in the center of her mask's forehead, forcing a logout. She disappeared from the system...and reappeared inside Hoshiko's PET.

Hoshiko shook her head. "No...it can't be..."

Spider, now completely alone, took one more look around the battlefield. The spot where the Executioner's body fell was empty, and there were no more signs of his accomplice either. He entered the battle that day with straightforward expectations, and with the black knight's interference, and IceChan's mysterious transformation, he was starting to realize there was more to these rampaging Darkloids than originally suspected, and he no longer felt like he could handle the problem on his own.

* * *

"My report is in your inbox, chief. I've CCed it to Mr.Fortis as requested. To sum up, my navi encountered the former Acid Hacker Flashman in the Undernet as suspected based on Fortis'...hunch. I engaged the suspect with a standard transmission blocker in effect and attempted to apprehend him for questioning, but due to the intense circumstances of the battle, Flashman was unfortunatley deleted and unrecoverable. We will have to wait and see if the abductions stop and/or the original victims start to pop up again. Either way, at least that's one more NetCriminal off the information highway."

"Hmm...Good work agent Smith."

Smith hung up his PET phone and smirked. "Yes, Flashman is gone forever. Not entirely untrue either, since you won't be quite how anyone remembers you once I'm through."

Flashman seethed from within his new PET, glaring angrily at his self-proclaimed 'new operator' through the PET's camera, a young man with brown hair, fairly unassuming on his own, but his plain looks betrayed his sinister and calculating persona. "What did you do to me? What are you going to do to me?"

"You'll find out soon enough. I'm making some additions to your NaviCust and Chip Folder that will ensure you obey my orders. Yes, it's not the most ethical way to operate a navi, but you shouldn't be one to complain with hypnosis being one of your own malicious talents."

"I told you, I had nothing to do with any navi abductions! I never even heard of them!"

"Understandable. There's more than one way to make a navi walk around in a trance without your HypnoFlash. Mind telling me what you were doing in the Undernet then?"

"YOU...you're not working for him are you?"

"Officially, I work for the Officials. Just because I'm not entirely up-front with them doesn't mean I'm working for anyone else. Who's 'him'?"

"Earlier today Matt and I got a message from our old boss...a guy calling himself Fate. He betrayed us a while back and we had been looking for ways to settle the score. From the message, it sounded like he was weak from what happened the last time we saw him and he wanted the Acid Hackers to work for him again to help him rebuild his empire. He was promising even greater riches and power if we put aside our differences and join the winning team. All we had to do was go meet him in the Undernet."

"Huh, and you were ready to fall for that?"

"Of course not! Trap or no trap, we just wanted our chance to finish the old bastard off! When that Jester showed up and led me right into your field of grass, I figured YOU were the trap Fate had set for us!"

L Smith was silent. Without explanation to his new navi servant he put the PET into sleep mode so he could be alone with his thoughts. He found something about Flashman's story unsettling. If it was true, then he had spent much of the day laying out a trap for Flashman when there was no reason for Flashman to be there until this "Fate" conveniently led him into that trap. Could that have been a coincidence? Smith had only planned to encounter Flashman in the Undernet based on his earlier phone conversation with Moe. If it were all someone's plot, they would have to know how to contact Matt and be within the small group of Officials that had access to the information from that phone call.

L Smith was a man that liked to pull the strings. He now experienced the unpleasant feeling that his own strings were being pulled. He had a brand new navi and was itching to find a way to put it to work. If anything, a good place to start would be cracking the mystery and finding the fool that dared to try and manipulate him.

* * *

"Motor Mouth to Big Hat: the Lite-Brite was positioned, and the feds called the bomb squad. The saurkraut is in the toaster and the subway car has yet to leave the jungle. Do you copy, Big Hat?"

"Jester, We do not recognize that gibberish code and even if We did, it would make no sense to use it within Our inner chamber, speaking to Us directly. Now We highly suggest you give your report in a straightforward manner if you do not wish to spend a fortnight with the torture program."

"Ah-heh. Ahem. Well, er...Mission Successful, Ma'am...Please don't delete me."

"Take your leave before We consider it further."

Jester quickly teleported out of the room, leaving the regally adorned woman alone, inspecting the monitors along the walls that fed her footage of various points in the Undernet. She chuckled and spoke out loud. "The campaign proceeds as designed, does it not?"

A disembodied male voice responded. "Unfortunately, there seem to be more variables in effect here. While we were misdirecting one set of prying eyes, two more made it past us and are closer to unveiling the truth."

The woman frowned. "The Children will handle those...hmph, officials. We will not allow anything else to come between Us and Our grand ascension."

"With our scapegoat used up, you may well have to sacrifice the Children just to keep the Officials off the trail." the male voice suggested uneasily.

The woman unsheathed an elegant ceremonial sword and began to run her finger along the razor-sharp edge. She smirked. "One way or another...that will not be a problem."

* * *