Head faint and body screaming, Momoko ran blindly into the night. Everywhere around her darkness pressed down, the only light being a faint series of dimmly glowing points outlining her pursuer. The darkness was too think for her to see it's full form, but she could feel it's presence. It were there, right behind her, not making a sound, but it was there. It always was.
Suddenly pressed to a wall, Momoko leapt to the left, a harsh screech of tearing metal behind her as a mighty claw ripped it to shreds, narrowly missing Momoko herself. She backpedaled away as fast as her arms and legs would allow, scrambling back to her feet just in time to avoid another claw. She sprinted away, lungs screaming, when she felt something slam against her chest and knock her winded to the ground.
"You can't run." Momoko looked up to find a distorted, glitching copy of her self smile. "I won't let you run."
"Why...why..." Momoko's mind mumbled. "Why is it me?"
The air surged with a sudden angry roar from behind Momoko. Twin glowing eyes peeked out of the darkness, before it was obscured by the growing light from a tooth filled-maw.
"WHY?!" Momoko screamed.
***
"WHY?!" Momoko leapt up, throwing the covers off of her bed. She stared blankly around her for a few moments, suddenly aware of the change in her surroundings. She heaved a heavy sigh and fell back against the covers.
"Did you have a dream?" Serenade asked Momoko, looking over from the nearby desk, puzzled.
"Yeah." Momoko mumbled.
"Was it because of what I told you?" Serenade looked down at the floor apologetically. "I'm sorry for stressing you."
"Thanks, I guess." Momoko replied, looking over to meet Serenade's gaze. "Is Yssane around?"
"No, she had to leave for work." Serenade replied, finally tearing her gaze away from the floor and back to her papers. "I'm helping her with some of her finances."
"Why? I mean...why do Navis obey Users at all?"
Serenade smiled. "Most have to. Self-control simply isn't written into thier programming. Those that have some form of self-governing are programmed with loyaly to thier owner anyway. It's really kind of sad, sometimes."
"What about you? Are you programmed for loyalty?"
"No...I'm one of the lucky few Navis that get to chose the User based on merit. I follow Yssane because I trust her and her purpose, she has always been fair to me, and because with her, I can do more good than I could elsewhere."
"I see...Do you ever wish you were human?"
"I am human to Yssane. As long as I have her, I don't mind my life here. There are times where I wonder what it would be like...when you woke up from the dream, for example. Navis do not sleep, nor do we dream...it's a great mystery to me."
"Well, I can definitely tell you it's a mixed bag." Momoko said, a small smile on her lips. "Dreams, that is."
"Mixed bag?"
"Sometimes they're good and happy, sometimes they're scary...and sometimes, there seem more real than reality itself."
"More real than reality..."
"Yeah...." Momoko suddenly frowned, a far off look in her eyes. "More real than reality..." She repeated.
"I think...I've had that dream before...." Momoko suddenly realized. "Not exactly, I mean. But something about it seems oddly familiar...I think I had those dreams back when I was home..."
"Do you know why?" Serenade asked, pushing the pile of paper towards the wall, where it faded away.
"No...but I bet it has something to do with how I got here." Momoko said, pushing herself off of the bed. "I've made up my mind. I'm not going to worry about whatever I *am* right now. I need to find my friend and find my way home. That's all that should matter, right?"
"Yes...I promise I'll help you find your way home as much as I can." Serenade smiled. "For now, however, there isn't much I can do. I can't go anywhere for a while because I need to stay here and guard the Server. Yssane was most insistent about it."
"Why do you need to guard the server?" Momoko stretched, yawning. "Is this some sort of lighthouse for danger or something?"
"Close."
"Eh??" Momoko gasped as Serenade walked up to her and placed a hand on her head. In a flash, the two of them, had vanished, and re-appeared atop of an enormous pyramidal building.
"WOW!" Momoko couldn't hold back her surprise. They were at the center of an single enourmous maze of enchanting platforms, floating on the clearest blue water Momoko had ever seen. Pillars of crystal shot out of the ground at indeterminate points, breaking up the soft light of the world into a spectrum of colors at every gleaming facet. Even farther away, the platforms and water seemed to bend almost perfectly upward, changing from a flat panel to a round, vertical wall of flowing water and land. Momoko craned her head up - far up - and saw the ceiling was a near-mirror image of the floor she and Serenade stood on.
"This is the most secure and dangerous location ever to be connected to the net. Yssane's family created it to isolate and guard programs and viruses simply too powerful for the overworld to control. Few people ever hear of this place, and only a few suspect. This is the heart of the undernet itself... Arucard, the Quarantined World." Serenade began explaining.
"The entire place is designed to keep intruders out. To reach this place, invaders would have to travel through the entire internet underworld, break the security locks, fight past the most powerful viruses ever designed, find thier way through all three sections of the maze, defeat both of the other guardians that guard the walls and cieling above us, and lastly, defeat me. No where else will you find so much security."
Momoko nodded, not entire sure of how serious Serenade was. "You mean that the purpose that you were talking about...is to guard this place?"
"Yes." Serenade said, a far-off look in her eyes and a bittersweet smile on her lips. "Thanks to Yssane, I have found my purpose here. I wouldn't have it any other way."
"How many times have...have you needed to fight?"
"Once." Serenade said, suddenly frowning. "That was long in the past, against a foe so unlike most Navis. The world that you see now around us - this pristine world - is actually the second version. We had to reform it...because the first model had been so thoroughly damaged in the final fight that the server in the real-world nearly had been ruined due to overheating. The more powerful the Navi, you see, the greater the strain it puts on the server that it currently inhabits...and with both the demon and I locked in battle for days...the server began to overheat from the stress.
By the end, there was nothing left of the original programming to protect us. After a battle lasting ten days, and all of my efforts, I finally forced the Demon Navi to leave, but not before the demon managed to find one of the Forbidden programs and install it into himself. I managed to damage his memory enough that he no longer knows about this place...but if the day were ever to come that the demon Navi would return, I have little hope for our survival." Serenade frowned. "I pray that the day never comes."
"Who is the Demon Navi?"
"I do not remember his name. He simply appeared one day, like a cloaked hurricane, at the security door. When we battled, he said nothing...only near the end, when he finally found the forbidden program, a powerful creation called the 'Void Aura', did he speak. "This should sate the human," The Navi said, just before I attacked once more and banished him from here."
"Cloaked..." Momoko supressed a shudder, suddenly very scared.
Sate the human?
Sounds just like it.
Cloaked?
Yep.
Something called a 'Void Aura'?
Well, he DID have that weird black field around him sometimes...
The more Momoko thought about it, the more the answer seemed obvious. The image of Forte, under orders from his User, locked in battle against Serenade and of the destruction that followed flashed through Momoko's mind. Yes, that sounded just like him...
"I REALLY hope that Demon Navi doesn't decide to drop in on us." Momoko agreed, nervously glancing at Serenade, whom nodded. 'Otherwise, the resulting clash may well kill them both...'
"Yeah...well, enough of that. I think we've both had enough trouble for now." Serenade grinned. "Say, would you like to check out the Breeder?"
***
Cloak whirling about him as he traveled, Forte frowned as yet another virus erupted into bit data in front of him, uselessly destroyed. The Aegis Founder had been right...these viruses did seem more powerful than usual. They were harder to kill, at least, with most of the Viruses actually surviving the shock of sudden contact with Forte's void aura. This pleased Forte greatly, because now travel wouldn't be so boring, at least not down here in the lower levels of the Undernet. He blinked as one of his attacks simply vanished on contact with one of the viruses, it's partner shielding the blow. This elicited a evil grin from Forte, whom seemed suddenly delighted.
Even if there was nothing of interest at the true bottom of the Undernet, Forte thought to himself, the challenge these strange new viruses posed made the job almost worth it alone. It had so long since he had actually had so much FUN!
***
Momoko, not exactly sure *what* the Breeder was, but not in any mood to complain about a change in subject, readily agreed. That was, until Serenade explained further.
"Keep me away from those things!" Momoko screamed, back to the wall. "I don't want to have anything to do with Viruses!"
"Miss Momoko, it's alright! There is no way that they can hurt you while I am around." Serenade tried to calm Momoko. "I've been raising them for several years. As long as I am here, they cannot touch you."
"But...the last time I saw a Virus..."
"I saved you and brought you here. There is no need to be afraid." Serenade pointed out.
"A-All right...just this once."
The two walked into a large chamber, someplace deep in the pyramidal structure that Serenade called home.
Momoko gasped again, this time barely containing a sudden onrush of fear. Hovering over thier heads in little bubbles were hundreds upon hundreds of Viruses.
"Don't worry. They're all in stasis right now..." Serenade explained. "We have a copy of every known virus in here, including several that have 'gone extinct' back on the normal Internet. "
"Why did you want me to see these th-things?" Momoko asked nervously, eyeing a group of hornet-like viruses that seemed sheathed in electricity.
"We may be here a while, trying to figure out how to get you home," Serenade replied. "So I thought you should learn to protect yourself...in case I am not around."
"But I don't want..."
Again, Serenade reached out a hand and placed it on Momoko's head. Seconds later, Momoko felt a srange force flow through her body. A wispy yellow glow began to highlight Momoko's figure, before it grew outward until it was a full sphere, completely surrounding Momoko.
"While you have that Aura program protecting you, most viruses simply cannot harm you. Only the most powerful are capable of peircing it, and we won't use them. All I want you to try for not is to learn to dodge." Serenade said seriously.
"You're nuts." Momoko angrily muttered, though she couldn't deny the logic of her request. "Fine."
"Alright." Serenade nodded, and summoned up a small control panel in front of her. Typing in a few commands, three viruses floated down from the sky, and landed on the ground near Momoko. One looked immobile, like some form of artillery tower, another floated around like a ghost, smoke trailing from it as it moved, and lastly was a small, hard-hat with feet. All of them seemed to virbrate slightly, as if a strange force was restraining them, holding them back.
Momoko gave an involuntary shudder at the hat as it peeked out at her, remembering her close encounter with a group of them when she first appeared online. When Forte had appeared, simultaneously saving and crippling her...
"Are you ready?" Serenade asked. "Remember, just try to dodge them. They can't hurt you, but treat them as if they could."
"That's easy enough," Momoko muttered. "I'm ready."
A press of a key later, and the strange force that had held the viruses back was gone. The hard-hat like virus (a "Metool", Serenade explained) rapidly moved to face Momoko, lifting a previously unseen pick into the air and slamming it down into the ground, firing a small shockwave across the ground towards Momoko. Heart in her throat, Momoko jumped to the side, easily sidestepping the attack, just in time to notice the tower lock onto her with a laser-red cross-hair.
Momoko felt the impact of the Cannon's attack surge over the shield. "Be careful where you move to!" Serenade called. "Cannons can only harm you if you appear in thier line of sight, which is limited. Keep that in mind as you move."
Momoko nodded, only to feel the sudden push of a strike from behind. She whirled around, zipping away from the Cannon, just in time to notice the Ghosty vanish before her. It re-appeared near the Met, seemingly mocking her.
"Nice try." Momoko growled at the ghost. "You won't get me again!" Jumping over another shockwave, she kept her eyes on the Ghosty, this time sliding to the side just after the Ghosty vanished.
Serenade watched appreciatively as the practice progressed. True to her word, Momoko hadn't been hit since the Ghosty's sneak attack. Not bad at all, she thought, watching Momoko's reaction time drop with every attack.
For the next hour, Serenade consistently increased the difficulty of the scenarios, placing Momoko into every situation she could safely fail within the limits of the Aura. Slowly at first, but rapidly accelerating, the session ended with a surprise, all-sides sneak attack from six different virus types, at which point Momoko finally lost control and the session ended. Momoko's total hit count was a mere 12.
"Wow." Serenade resisted the urge to gape. Momoko sat on the floor, panting in exaustion, the Aura still encompasing her. Dismissing the Viruses back into thier respective bubbles, Serenade dropped Momoko's aura.
"How did you do that?" Serenade asked, though she was pretty sure she already knew, even if Momoko would never admit to it.
"Do what?" momoko asked in return. "I just moved, that's all."
"You moved really fast for a human." Serenade said with a smile. 'Too fast.' She thought.
"Did I? I thought the other viruses were slowing down for me." Momoko said with an embarrased smile. "Crazy, huh?"
"I guess." Serenade replied, also smiling. Inside though, she was furiously trying to peice together the puzzle that Momoko was.
***
"So, Trevor of the Overnet. What brings you and you Navi here into our home?" Genji Founder asked of the boy as he strode into the Founder's meeting chamber. Only three of the Five Founders were present, Chrono, Genji, and Aegis.
"Forte has been here. I am searching for him." Trevor replied simply.
"Forte is not here anymore. He came searching for information and as a customer, I gave it to him." Aegis replied, staring at the loud-mouthed teen boy. "If you want to find him, I suggest you look elsewhere or expect to pay the same price that Forte did."
"I am not here to pay criminals." Trevor frowned. "Tell me where he is."
"You will get nothing from us." Genji Founder declared, "As long as you keep up that attitude." To make a point, Genji and Chrono's Navis moved forward slightly, not-so-subtly placing themselves next to thier respective Users. "Do not make us use force."
"What force?" Trevor asked, looking confused. "I don't see anything in here threatening..."
Genji's eye twitched. "Leave now. We will give you no further warning."
"Good. I won't give you a warning at all." Trevor smiled, as Fenrir suddenly blurred into motion, a stroke of blue lightning between both Chrono and Genji's Navi. He stopped, tiny pieces of crystal ice scattering to the floor, in front of Aegis, light gleaming from his eyes.
"Runderjaht! Stop that Navi!" Chrono yelled. The intended reciepient of that message didn't stir, however. "What on earth?! I said to-"
Chrono's Navi split in three, whirling in the air like shredded paper as the shockwave from Fenrir's charge tore through him. Genji's navi suffered a similar fate, collapsing to the ground even as thier forms burst into light and vanished. Chrono and Genji paniced, thier bodies rapidly vanishing as they Logged Out of the system.
"Fenrir, Dimension Lock!" Trevor yelled as Aegis prepared to do the same, hopefully with his own Navi intact. Fenrir's crystal body gleamed once again, light flashing in all directions until the entire server around them seemed warped and distorted.
Aegis paniced. He tried to Log-Out...tried again...and again...but nothing worked!
"What did you-OOOMPH!" Aegis's outburst was cut short as Fenrir back-handed him into the wall. It didn't actually hurt the man, who despite being stuck in the server as he was, but the force of the blow gave his computer a great deal of stress trying to keep up.
"Now, Founder...you said you gave Forte some information. I think I'd like to know everything about that little conversation now...please?
Five minutes later, and Trevor was charging through the undernet, hot on the Outcast's trail...
***
"...I'm on the trail again. Forte heading towards the Heart of the Undernet server - he's investigating it as payment to the Founders for Marduk's Real-World location. He doesn't actually have it, though," Trevor's message read. "A pity...I'd almost like to see what Forte'd do to that bastard. I expect to find him before long."
Mr Bates grinned. "Bastard, eh? That's funny. But this is surprising. Forte heading towards the heart of the Undernet itself? I wonder...has he remembered what lies down there, or is he truly going blind?"
"If that Guardian is still there, conflict will inevitably break out between the two, and possibly with Trevor as well, if he can catch up. Hehehe....This is way better than I could have dreamed..."
On a nearby screen, a small wire-frame of a program appeared, appearing no more than a simple shard of ice.
"The Guardian, Forte, and even the Internet itself may fall at the conclusion of this new battle." Bates grinned. "And it will, if the program I gave Trevor does it's job..."
"It will be beautiful...once it finds the GigaFreeze program...the 'Ice-9'..."
***
"No..." Serenade gasped, as if a unheard voice was speaking into her mind. "It's back." Momoko looked at her, confused, before Serenade quickly teleported the two of them back to the bedroom where Momoko had first awoken. "Stay here! The Demon Navi has been detected at the main gate!" Serenade turned, winking out of existence as she teleported away.
"NO! Stop!" Momoko yelled as Serenade vanished. "Serenade! The Demon...Forte...he's not our enemy anymore! He's my friend! Forte! Please....come back! Oh, Why din't I tell her when I had the chance...SERENADE, COME BACK!"
And Forte, oblivious to the danger awaiting him, prepared to blast through the security locks, the locks that would open Arucard to all the world...
Suddenly pressed to a wall, Momoko leapt to the left, a harsh screech of tearing metal behind her as a mighty claw ripped it to shreds, narrowly missing Momoko herself. She backpedaled away as fast as her arms and legs would allow, scrambling back to her feet just in time to avoid another claw. She sprinted away, lungs screaming, when she felt something slam against her chest and knock her winded to the ground.
"You can't run." Momoko looked up to find a distorted, glitching copy of her self smile. "I won't let you run."
"Why...why..." Momoko's mind mumbled. "Why is it me?"
The air surged with a sudden angry roar from behind Momoko. Twin glowing eyes peeked out of the darkness, before it was obscured by the growing light from a tooth filled-maw.
"WHY?!" Momoko screamed.
***
"WHY?!" Momoko leapt up, throwing the covers off of her bed. She stared blankly around her for a few moments, suddenly aware of the change in her surroundings. She heaved a heavy sigh and fell back against the covers.
"Did you have a dream?" Serenade asked Momoko, looking over from the nearby desk, puzzled.
"Yeah." Momoko mumbled.
"Was it because of what I told you?" Serenade looked down at the floor apologetically. "I'm sorry for stressing you."
"Thanks, I guess." Momoko replied, looking over to meet Serenade's gaze. "Is Yssane around?"
"No, she had to leave for work." Serenade replied, finally tearing her gaze away from the floor and back to her papers. "I'm helping her with some of her finances."
"Why? I mean...why do Navis obey Users at all?"
Serenade smiled. "Most have to. Self-control simply isn't written into thier programming. Those that have some form of self-governing are programmed with loyaly to thier owner anyway. It's really kind of sad, sometimes."
"What about you? Are you programmed for loyalty?"
"No...I'm one of the lucky few Navis that get to chose the User based on merit. I follow Yssane because I trust her and her purpose, she has always been fair to me, and because with her, I can do more good than I could elsewhere."
"I see...Do you ever wish you were human?"
"I am human to Yssane. As long as I have her, I don't mind my life here. There are times where I wonder what it would be like...when you woke up from the dream, for example. Navis do not sleep, nor do we dream...it's a great mystery to me."
"Well, I can definitely tell you it's a mixed bag." Momoko said, a small smile on her lips. "Dreams, that is."
"Mixed bag?"
"Sometimes they're good and happy, sometimes they're scary...and sometimes, there seem more real than reality itself."
"More real than reality..."
"Yeah...." Momoko suddenly frowned, a far off look in her eyes. "More real than reality..." She repeated.
"I think...I've had that dream before...." Momoko suddenly realized. "Not exactly, I mean. But something about it seems oddly familiar...I think I had those dreams back when I was home..."
"Do you know why?" Serenade asked, pushing the pile of paper towards the wall, where it faded away.
"No...but I bet it has something to do with how I got here." Momoko said, pushing herself off of the bed. "I've made up my mind. I'm not going to worry about whatever I *am* right now. I need to find my friend and find my way home. That's all that should matter, right?"
"Yes...I promise I'll help you find your way home as much as I can." Serenade smiled. "For now, however, there isn't much I can do. I can't go anywhere for a while because I need to stay here and guard the Server. Yssane was most insistent about it."
"Why do you need to guard the server?" Momoko stretched, yawning. "Is this some sort of lighthouse for danger or something?"
"Close."
"Eh??" Momoko gasped as Serenade walked up to her and placed a hand on her head. In a flash, the two of them, had vanished, and re-appeared atop of an enormous pyramidal building.
"WOW!" Momoko couldn't hold back her surprise. They were at the center of an single enourmous maze of enchanting platforms, floating on the clearest blue water Momoko had ever seen. Pillars of crystal shot out of the ground at indeterminate points, breaking up the soft light of the world into a spectrum of colors at every gleaming facet. Even farther away, the platforms and water seemed to bend almost perfectly upward, changing from a flat panel to a round, vertical wall of flowing water and land. Momoko craned her head up - far up - and saw the ceiling was a near-mirror image of the floor she and Serenade stood on.
"This is the most secure and dangerous location ever to be connected to the net. Yssane's family created it to isolate and guard programs and viruses simply too powerful for the overworld to control. Few people ever hear of this place, and only a few suspect. This is the heart of the undernet itself... Arucard, the Quarantined World." Serenade began explaining.
"The entire place is designed to keep intruders out. To reach this place, invaders would have to travel through the entire internet underworld, break the security locks, fight past the most powerful viruses ever designed, find thier way through all three sections of the maze, defeat both of the other guardians that guard the walls and cieling above us, and lastly, defeat me. No where else will you find so much security."
Momoko nodded, not entire sure of how serious Serenade was. "You mean that the purpose that you were talking about...is to guard this place?"
"Yes." Serenade said, a far-off look in her eyes and a bittersweet smile on her lips. "Thanks to Yssane, I have found my purpose here. I wouldn't have it any other way."
"How many times have...have you needed to fight?"
"Once." Serenade said, suddenly frowning. "That was long in the past, against a foe so unlike most Navis. The world that you see now around us - this pristine world - is actually the second version. We had to reform it...because the first model had been so thoroughly damaged in the final fight that the server in the real-world nearly had been ruined due to overheating. The more powerful the Navi, you see, the greater the strain it puts on the server that it currently inhabits...and with both the demon and I locked in battle for days...the server began to overheat from the stress.
By the end, there was nothing left of the original programming to protect us. After a battle lasting ten days, and all of my efforts, I finally forced the Demon Navi to leave, but not before the demon managed to find one of the Forbidden programs and install it into himself. I managed to damage his memory enough that he no longer knows about this place...but if the day were ever to come that the demon Navi would return, I have little hope for our survival." Serenade frowned. "I pray that the day never comes."
"Who is the Demon Navi?"
"I do not remember his name. He simply appeared one day, like a cloaked hurricane, at the security door. When we battled, he said nothing...only near the end, when he finally found the forbidden program, a powerful creation called the 'Void Aura', did he speak. "This should sate the human," The Navi said, just before I attacked once more and banished him from here."
"Cloaked..." Momoko supressed a shudder, suddenly very scared.
Sate the human?
Sounds just like it.
Cloaked?
Yep.
Something called a 'Void Aura'?
Well, he DID have that weird black field around him sometimes...
The more Momoko thought about it, the more the answer seemed obvious. The image of Forte, under orders from his User, locked in battle against Serenade and of the destruction that followed flashed through Momoko's mind. Yes, that sounded just like him...
"I REALLY hope that Demon Navi doesn't decide to drop in on us." Momoko agreed, nervously glancing at Serenade, whom nodded. 'Otherwise, the resulting clash may well kill them both...'
"Yeah...well, enough of that. I think we've both had enough trouble for now." Serenade grinned. "Say, would you like to check out the Breeder?"
***
Cloak whirling about him as he traveled, Forte frowned as yet another virus erupted into bit data in front of him, uselessly destroyed. The Aegis Founder had been right...these viruses did seem more powerful than usual. They were harder to kill, at least, with most of the Viruses actually surviving the shock of sudden contact with Forte's void aura. This pleased Forte greatly, because now travel wouldn't be so boring, at least not down here in the lower levels of the Undernet. He blinked as one of his attacks simply vanished on contact with one of the viruses, it's partner shielding the blow. This elicited a evil grin from Forte, whom seemed suddenly delighted.
Even if there was nothing of interest at the true bottom of the Undernet, Forte thought to himself, the challenge these strange new viruses posed made the job almost worth it alone. It had so long since he had actually had so much FUN!
***
Momoko, not exactly sure *what* the Breeder was, but not in any mood to complain about a change in subject, readily agreed. That was, until Serenade explained further.
"Keep me away from those things!" Momoko screamed, back to the wall. "I don't want to have anything to do with Viruses!"
"Miss Momoko, it's alright! There is no way that they can hurt you while I am around." Serenade tried to calm Momoko. "I've been raising them for several years. As long as I am here, they cannot touch you."
"But...the last time I saw a Virus..."
"I saved you and brought you here. There is no need to be afraid." Serenade pointed out.
"A-All right...just this once."
The two walked into a large chamber, someplace deep in the pyramidal structure that Serenade called home.
Momoko gasped again, this time barely containing a sudden onrush of fear. Hovering over thier heads in little bubbles were hundreds upon hundreds of Viruses.
"Don't worry. They're all in stasis right now..." Serenade explained. "We have a copy of every known virus in here, including several that have 'gone extinct' back on the normal Internet. "
"Why did you want me to see these th-things?" Momoko asked nervously, eyeing a group of hornet-like viruses that seemed sheathed in electricity.
"We may be here a while, trying to figure out how to get you home," Serenade replied. "So I thought you should learn to protect yourself...in case I am not around."
"But I don't want..."
Again, Serenade reached out a hand and placed it on Momoko's head. Seconds later, Momoko felt a srange force flow through her body. A wispy yellow glow began to highlight Momoko's figure, before it grew outward until it was a full sphere, completely surrounding Momoko.
"While you have that Aura program protecting you, most viruses simply cannot harm you. Only the most powerful are capable of peircing it, and we won't use them. All I want you to try for not is to learn to dodge." Serenade said seriously.
"You're nuts." Momoko angrily muttered, though she couldn't deny the logic of her request. "Fine."
"Alright." Serenade nodded, and summoned up a small control panel in front of her. Typing in a few commands, three viruses floated down from the sky, and landed on the ground near Momoko. One looked immobile, like some form of artillery tower, another floated around like a ghost, smoke trailing from it as it moved, and lastly was a small, hard-hat with feet. All of them seemed to virbrate slightly, as if a strange force was restraining them, holding them back.
Momoko gave an involuntary shudder at the hat as it peeked out at her, remembering her close encounter with a group of them when she first appeared online. When Forte had appeared, simultaneously saving and crippling her...
"Are you ready?" Serenade asked. "Remember, just try to dodge them. They can't hurt you, but treat them as if they could."
"That's easy enough," Momoko muttered. "I'm ready."
A press of a key later, and the strange force that had held the viruses back was gone. The hard-hat like virus (a "Metool", Serenade explained) rapidly moved to face Momoko, lifting a previously unseen pick into the air and slamming it down into the ground, firing a small shockwave across the ground towards Momoko. Heart in her throat, Momoko jumped to the side, easily sidestepping the attack, just in time to notice the tower lock onto her with a laser-red cross-hair.
Momoko felt the impact of the Cannon's attack surge over the shield. "Be careful where you move to!" Serenade called. "Cannons can only harm you if you appear in thier line of sight, which is limited. Keep that in mind as you move."
Momoko nodded, only to feel the sudden push of a strike from behind. She whirled around, zipping away from the Cannon, just in time to notice the Ghosty vanish before her. It re-appeared near the Met, seemingly mocking her.
"Nice try." Momoko growled at the ghost. "You won't get me again!" Jumping over another shockwave, she kept her eyes on the Ghosty, this time sliding to the side just after the Ghosty vanished.
Serenade watched appreciatively as the practice progressed. True to her word, Momoko hadn't been hit since the Ghosty's sneak attack. Not bad at all, she thought, watching Momoko's reaction time drop with every attack.
For the next hour, Serenade consistently increased the difficulty of the scenarios, placing Momoko into every situation she could safely fail within the limits of the Aura. Slowly at first, but rapidly accelerating, the session ended with a surprise, all-sides sneak attack from six different virus types, at which point Momoko finally lost control and the session ended. Momoko's total hit count was a mere 12.
"Wow." Serenade resisted the urge to gape. Momoko sat on the floor, panting in exaustion, the Aura still encompasing her. Dismissing the Viruses back into thier respective bubbles, Serenade dropped Momoko's aura.
"How did you do that?" Serenade asked, though she was pretty sure she already knew, even if Momoko would never admit to it.
"Do what?" momoko asked in return. "I just moved, that's all."
"You moved really fast for a human." Serenade said with a smile. 'Too fast.' She thought.
"Did I? I thought the other viruses were slowing down for me." Momoko said with an embarrased smile. "Crazy, huh?"
"I guess." Serenade replied, also smiling. Inside though, she was furiously trying to peice together the puzzle that Momoko was.
***
"So, Trevor of the Overnet. What brings you and you Navi here into our home?" Genji Founder asked of the boy as he strode into the Founder's meeting chamber. Only three of the Five Founders were present, Chrono, Genji, and Aegis.
"Forte has been here. I am searching for him." Trevor replied simply.
"Forte is not here anymore. He came searching for information and as a customer, I gave it to him." Aegis replied, staring at the loud-mouthed teen boy. "If you want to find him, I suggest you look elsewhere or expect to pay the same price that Forte did."
"I am not here to pay criminals." Trevor frowned. "Tell me where he is."
"You will get nothing from us." Genji Founder declared, "As long as you keep up that attitude." To make a point, Genji and Chrono's Navis moved forward slightly, not-so-subtly placing themselves next to thier respective Users. "Do not make us use force."
"What force?" Trevor asked, looking confused. "I don't see anything in here threatening..."
Genji's eye twitched. "Leave now. We will give you no further warning."
"Good. I won't give you a warning at all." Trevor smiled, as Fenrir suddenly blurred into motion, a stroke of blue lightning between both Chrono and Genji's Navi. He stopped, tiny pieces of crystal ice scattering to the floor, in front of Aegis, light gleaming from his eyes.
"Runderjaht! Stop that Navi!" Chrono yelled. The intended reciepient of that message didn't stir, however. "What on earth?! I said to-"
Chrono's Navi split in three, whirling in the air like shredded paper as the shockwave from Fenrir's charge tore through him. Genji's navi suffered a similar fate, collapsing to the ground even as thier forms burst into light and vanished. Chrono and Genji paniced, thier bodies rapidly vanishing as they Logged Out of the system.
"Fenrir, Dimension Lock!" Trevor yelled as Aegis prepared to do the same, hopefully with his own Navi intact. Fenrir's crystal body gleamed once again, light flashing in all directions until the entire server around them seemed warped and distorted.
Aegis paniced. He tried to Log-Out...tried again...and again...but nothing worked!
"What did you-OOOMPH!" Aegis's outburst was cut short as Fenrir back-handed him into the wall. It didn't actually hurt the man, who despite being stuck in the server as he was, but the force of the blow gave his computer a great deal of stress trying to keep up.
"Now, Founder...you said you gave Forte some information. I think I'd like to know everything about that little conversation now...please?
Five minutes later, and Trevor was charging through the undernet, hot on the Outcast's trail...
***
"...I'm on the trail again. Forte heading towards the Heart of the Undernet server - he's investigating it as payment to the Founders for Marduk's Real-World location. He doesn't actually have it, though," Trevor's message read. "A pity...I'd almost like to see what Forte'd do to that bastard. I expect to find him before long."
Mr Bates grinned. "Bastard, eh? That's funny. But this is surprising. Forte heading towards the heart of the Undernet itself? I wonder...has he remembered what lies down there, or is he truly going blind?"
"If that Guardian is still there, conflict will inevitably break out between the two, and possibly with Trevor as well, if he can catch up. Hehehe....This is way better than I could have dreamed..."
On a nearby screen, a small wire-frame of a program appeared, appearing no more than a simple shard of ice.
"The Guardian, Forte, and even the Internet itself may fall at the conclusion of this new battle." Bates grinned. "And it will, if the program I gave Trevor does it's job..."
"It will be beautiful...once it finds the GigaFreeze program...the 'Ice-9'..."
***
"No..." Serenade gasped, as if a unheard voice was speaking into her mind. "It's back." Momoko looked at her, confused, before Serenade quickly teleported the two of them back to the bedroom where Momoko had first awoken. "Stay here! The Demon Navi has been detected at the main gate!" Serenade turned, winking out of existence as she teleported away.
"NO! Stop!" Momoko yelled as Serenade vanished. "Serenade! The Demon...Forte...he's not our enemy anymore! He's my friend! Forte! Please....come back! Oh, Why din't I tell her when I had the chance...SERENADE, COME BACK!"
And Forte, oblivious to the danger awaiting him, prepared to blast through the security locks, the locks that would open Arucard to all the world...