#Jack In

[soapdispensersalesman]

[brownhairedbookworm]

Jack In!! Ch3 - Sword of the Witch

Okay... just breathe. Yuri tightly grips her PET in her hand. The break is still in effect. She doesn't need to be in position, yet, but she also needs to be in position. Yuri takes a lock of her violet hair into her free hand and rolls her thumb over it. Breathe. Relax. Everything will be fine...

"Lady Sakuraba? Do you need my assistance?" A sharp, dignified voice calls to her from the purple PET in her deathgrip. BladeMan...

"Ah... P-please, BladeMan. I..." Yuri curls in on herself, looking down at the screen.

"Worry not. Simply look toward me. Breathe in time with the size of the circle." Blade Man loads a simple black and white animation. He keeps an eye on Yuri's motions as her position rises and falls with the slow, guided breathing. "All will be well, as I'm sure you've been telling yourself. There are no high stakes in today's activity. We are out with our friends, and they will protect us if it's needed."

"In...hhhhhh... out... hoooo..." Yuri repeats the breathing exercise with closed eyes. She knows the timing like the sight of her own hands at this point.

"There. Your heart rate has decreased. Do you need to proceed with a sensory evaluation?"

"No... Thank you, BladeMan."

"It is my absolute pleasure, Lady Sakuraba." BladeMan bows at Yuri from his screen. His knife-shaped head could nearly cut its way through, if he weren't a virtual being.

"Simply 'Yuri', today, BladeMan. After all, we're partners in battle. Not a knight and his master." Yuri smiles down at him.

"As you wish, Lady Yuri."

"Thank you, again, BladeMan. I always know I can count on you." Yuri takes another deep breath. Now that her nerves are better under control, she has time to take a look at her surroundings and Dr. Hikari's presentation.

She isn't surprised to see her passive synchronization with BladeMan is just about as high as Lan and MegaMan's. Though they've left the room for now, they're still connected to the readers and the SciLab network.

The pairs have a similar amount of history between them. Even among those who aren't privy to Dr. Hikari's experimental designs, everyone knows of "The Hikari Brothers" and their exceptional friendship and cooperation that they love showing off. Slightly less believed by the public are the claims that the pair of them are largely responsible for the dissolution of the infamous cyberterrorist group, the WWW.

Nearly as long as those two have worked together, BladeMan has been helping Yuri manage her anxiety and now-only-occasional compulsions. His sharp design is a darkly comedic reminder of her previous mental state, but now? She trusts him as not only a guardian and assistant, but a friend.

Yuri takes another deep breath. She smiles as she looks over at her friends.

Natsuki is grumbling about her loss and pouting into her arms. The poor girl did her best in the fight against MegaMan. The bruise to her ego will fade with time, but she's welcome to be upset about it.

Sayori's rubbing Natsuki's back in circles. Her gentle smile is chipping away at Natsuki's stony sadness. She's infectious, like that. Yuri can't help but recall Sayori's efforts in keeping Yuri with her club. Smiling, gentle, and understanding, and oh so patient.

Monika is fidgeting with her hair and clearly doing her best to encourage Natsuki, but she's out of her element. The President of the Literature Club is organized, thoughtful, and has the best of intentions. However, navigating volatile emotions is a skill she hasn't had any chances to train.

Yuri looks back to the Netbattle terminal. She hopes she can put on a good show for the girls. While she's not the worst in the world, Yuri lacks confidence in her Netbattling skills. She just happens to have a strong bond with her Navi.

She starts spreading her chips out on the machine. Plenty of swords and melee attacks fill her library. BladeMan works best with those. Yuri holds up her final choice, examining it closely.

Muramasa... Tactically, it's a revenge device. Do she and BladeMan have enough stamina to make good use of it...?

"BladeMan, what do you think our strongest plan is, for this battle?" She sets her PET down on the terminal for BladeMan to look over their chip folder.

"Hm... Sirs Lan and MegaMan are fast opponents, to be sure, and their teamwork is outstanding. Their raw strength isn't to be underestimated, either." BladeMan hums, holding the tip of an arm-blade to where his chin might be. "... We will most likely not need the elemental swords, Lady Yuri. Against Lady Natsuki and Siren, I would recommend keeping our ElecSwords, but our battle with MegaMan will not be one of the classical elements, but of the element of surprise!"

"Ahh... You recommend Invis chips to replace them, then."

"Quite correct, Lady Yuri." The Navi nods. "In addition to those, perhaps some trap chips? AntiSword will likely be quite valuable."

"Ah, as well as the others. A BodyGuard wouldn't go amiss, certainly~" Yuri giggles as she swaps out yet more chips.

"Clever, Lady Yuri. I would also like to address Dr. Hikari with a question, if you don't mind?"

Yuri shakes her head. "Not at all, BladeMan. Ask him whatever you wish."

"Thank you, Lady Yuri." BladeMan jacks himself into the Netbattle terminal and shortly begins accessing the projectors. His imposing violet form appears above the machine, red eyes and sharp edges looking out into the room.

"Pardon me, Dr. Hikari? May I make a request?"

The scientist looks toward the projected Navi. "I'll have to make a judgement, once I know what it is, but I can hear you out!"

"To confirm my understanding of this experiment, the battles between MegaMan, Siren, and myself are to be considered part of your 'control' group, yes?"

Dr, Hikari nods in response. "Correct, BladeMan."

"And to that aim, the results of the battles themselves are not as important to your research as our ability to synchronize with our operators?"

"Once again, correct." Yuichiro adjusts his glasses.

"Thank you. I don't believe my request will cause any trouble, in such a case. May I alter the environment of our arena to suit our tactics? While it is clearly not fair to our absent opponents, I don't expect there will be any problems with the experiment if I am to do so."

Dr. Hikari leans back and strokes his chin. "Lan might complain, but you're definitely right. An advantage for an opponent doesn't actually cause issues with my experiment. Lan will probably be back from the break late, as well, so you have plenty of time."

"Thank you, sir." BladeMan raises his arm to his chest and bows. "I'll get right to work." The projector turns off, and the pair of purple people at the machine begin to put together their full plan.

---

"We're back. Sorry for the hold-up! I swear I need a new map for this place every few months..." Lan skates into the room, sliding to a stop at the Netbattle terminal.

Yuri nods and adjusts her position on the seat she's brought over to the machine. "It's no trouble for me. I can always use a few extra moments to prepare." She certainly won't complain about some extra seconds of peace. Keeping herself collected before the fight properly begins is important.

"I even predicted your late return, son." Dr. Hikari chuckles from his desk. "The penalty will be something you quickly discover, when you jack in."

"Awww, come on! Doesn't that make the experiment less viable?" Lan grumbles.

"Not in the slightest. We're only measuring Synchronization Rates." Yuichiro clears his throat. "In any case, if you're ready, Yuri and BladeMan are also ready."

The scientist stands up properly to do his limited duties as a tournament announcer. "NetOps, Jack in."

Yuri stands up from her chair. She nods, BladeMan is already in the machine, and they're both ready to battle.

"Jack in!! MegaMan, Execute!"

~ Vs. BladeMan.EXE ~

BladeMan stands in the forested arena with his eyes turned to the sky. He follows MegaMan's entry into the machine and stands at the ready to receive his "guest" in the shadows of the facade of his manor. "Are you prepared, Lady Yuri?"

"Yes, I am. I am focused and prepared for our battle."

BladeMan nods. He hears the slightest tingle of Yuri's voice inside his head, rather than coming to his ears. She's ready, and they'll be as much of a challenge as they can. His charge's nerves are only from the coming clash, now, and they'll quickly synchronize to the point where speech is unneeded.

MegaMan steps casually into the clearing at the center of the forested arena, standing before BladeMan. "Giving us an uphill battle, huh?"

"It could be said." BladeMan chuckles. "I hope you don't take too much offense. I simply made the request for Lady Yuri's sake, as we ended up having extra time for preparations."

"You have a good sense of doom built into it." The blue Navi nods with a friendly smirk. "Good luck backing that up!"

"Worry not, Sir MegaMan. I may have certain mannerisms, but I assure you," BladeMan raises his arm blades and swipes them along each other, "My name is not SwordMan or KnightMan. Fitting my designation, I am one of my Lady's many blades in the dark."

BladeMan grins as Dr. Hikari's voice booms in the sky. "Synchronization Experiments, Observational Battle Number 2, BladeMan.EXE versus MegaMan.EXE. Battle routine, Set."

MegaMan's face mask appears on his face and he draws his buster. "Execute!"

"Best of luck, Sirs Lan and MegaMan. Here's to a grand clash." BladeMan silently steps backward into the thick of the trees. He all but disappears from view.

Lady Yuri. I recommend a strong opener. Are you prepared with Bodyguard?

Yes. AntiNavi, AntiSword, AntiDmg, all in. Program Advance: Bodyguard. Yuri silently slides the chips into her PET.

BladeMan sighs softly as he feels the trap trigger load itself into his body. Perfect. Shall I begin the feint assault, Lady Yuri?

Proceed, BladeMan. Yuri can't help but chuckle to herself as she imagines this ploy going off almost perfectly. After all, every new tactic will earn a strategist at least one free hit.

BladeMan twists one of his arm blades around backward. He skulks behind MegaMan, ready to strike down at his spine. A slash upward after a stab in this position will cause plenty of damage, if he can pull it off.

MegaMan is swinging his buster around in a calculated motion. Good, he's being careful. But it won't be enough. "This place is giving me the creeps, Lan... I know it's not h-haunted, but the atmosphere is making my spine tingle..."

With his blade aimed for MegaMan's back, BladeMan slinks up to his opponent. "Perhaps I can be of assistance with that sensation?" He thrusts his blade downward toward the short, blue Navi's neck.

"Holy-?!" MegaMan twists around. A glowing blade materializes from his arm and he takes a swing at BladeMan even as the violet steel of the sneak attack slashes across his arm.

"Boo." BladeMan vanishes with a cackle as the sword flies right through him. Massive shurikens fly at MegaMan from the shadows of the forest.

BladeMan watches MegaMan dance around the shurikens. Even with the speed he's shown, he can't dodge forever.

"Gah!" MegaMan clutches at his side. Two of the shurikens managed to cut into him. He might be swift and powerful, but BladeMan knows he can't take too many big hits.

Of course, BladeMan doesn't expect the fight to end so early. Their stealthy tactics have been exposed, so their opponents will be properly on guard. It wouldn't surprise him if they got a bit trigger-happy, either.

Initial strikes successful, Lady Yuri. We have them at a disadvantage, for now.

The game is afoot. Yuri nods, focused on her chips and BladeMan's positioning. Not quite in range for a proper sneak attack, plus MegaMan is on guard for one, now. Her Navi remains still in the treetops as they both keep an eye on MegaMan for a proper opening to strike again.

The blue boy winces and shuffles backward. His buster is still held up high, a defensive position that won't be of any use. His jerky, panicked motions won't serve him, either.

Hm. Perhaps another of our easy hitters? AssassinSword should work on this field. Yuri holds the chip in her fingers. And you won't even have to do anything but drop onto the ground to make use of it.

I recommend using one of our Invis chips, first, Lady Yuri. After all, MegaMan is sure to look much less predictably through the trees after yet another surprise strike. BladeMan silently climbs down his chosen tree. He looks over to their opponent.

MegaMan is scanning much more erratically. He steps slowly along the grass-covered ground with a 360 degree spin of his buster with every cautious, fearful motion. His eyes dart about wildly.

In his panic, he’s become the perfect target for an invisible strike. If MegaMan doesn't think he can trust his eyes, he'll surely be even more shaken and begin leaving more openings. BladeMan crouches down and watches his prey cautiously move along.

Yuri inserts the Invis chip, and then AssassinSword. Chips all in. Make your move.

BladeMan fades from view and raises his bladed arm. Even without being able to see it, he feels the sword sharpen and change to a more razor-like shape. He swipes downward into the grass.

Like a properly cast spell, the blade appears behind MegaMan and takes a hard swing across his legs.

MegaMan yells in pain and drops to the ground. He keeps his buster up, sweeping around to try and catch BladeMan's motions. "Lan, I think we need to bust out an old trick, for this one..."

Lady Yuri, shall we attempt to bring an end to this? The fewer "tricks" they pull off, the better. BladeMan runs forth. His invisible form certainly isn't silent, but he should survive so long as MegaMan can't see him.

NeoVari in! SuperSonic blade mode! Yuri inserts the battlechip and taps out a code on her PET. Fire!

BladeMan's arms glow with a mystic energy. He makes a big swipe with both of his arms to launch a wave of the energy toward his target. "Goodbye, Sir MegaMan."

"DoubleSoul, SearchSoul!" MegaMan lays flat on the ground to dodge the shockwave. A flashing image of another Navi seems to superimpose over MegaMan. His form changes to mimic the image, sprouting bulky green armor along his limbs and torso.

The final change, and the newest danger to BladeMan, is a sniper rifle that forms over his Buster arm. A viewfinder pops down over MegaMan's left eye. "...Gotcha." He lowers his rifle and begins aiming for BladeMan with ease that shocks the sharper Navi and his partner.

"Ah, I see that invisibility has lost its advantage. Drat." BladeMan ducks behind a tree as a heavy bullet flies past his ear.

Lady Yuri, we may need a new plan. The stealth approach to this battle has become unusable. BladeMan ducks down. It won't be long until the next shot, and he had better not stay still.

Shit. Shit shit shit. Yuri drags her fingers along her chips, running through her mental index. Invisibility is out. What other blades do they have that can stand up to a sniper's aim? They got rid of the elemental swords for the invisibility and BodyGuard. Basic swords won't do anything to get them closer, even with a Program Advance!

Her finger strikes the solution. Yuri lets out a weak sigh of relief. StepSword, thank fuck... It's only one hit, but it might just be enough to get in and reach past the inner range of MegaMan's gun.

StepSword in. Get ready to rush him, BladeMan! Yuri slams the chip into her PET. It's do or die, now.

BladeMan waits just a second for the next shot to fly over his head. The top half of his cover tree has been obliterated. He leaps over the shredded wood and begins running for MegaMan. The warp takes him over into slicing range for a solid hit.

A blade parries his own, knocking his arm aside. MegaMan's rifle is lifted up into the air, and his left arm now sports a sword. The Navi smiles back at BladeMan. "We came ready for a sword fight! Just has to be off-handed, now!"

The dance of blades begins.

BladeMan has the numbers advantage in offense. Two blades against one would ordinarily lead to an easy advantage. Unfortunately, MegaMan can still block with his rifle. He can't use it to strike back meaningfully, but it's a barrier to BladeMan's progress. Every forward swing is easily redirected away from vital areas or completely absorbed by the rifle. The proper-mannered Navi swears under his breath as MegaMan continues to push him back and chip away at his blades.

As BladeMan blocks MegaMan's sword strikes with his arms, his synchronized NetOp twitches. Her arms are starting to... Oh no. Every "blocked" strike sends a spark along her nerves. The scars on her flesh feel like they're burning. They need to wrap this up, before she has an episode. Damn it, damn it, this started out so promising! Yuri grits her teeth and clamps down a scream of primal frustration.

Lady Yuri, calm yourself. Focus on the battle, not your physical body. BladeMan ducks into the foliage and begins retreating. He knows he can't lose MegaMan's sights at any range. But he also doesn't know how many more blocked sword strikes Yuri can handle.

Not an option. Fuck, we need to end the fight, right now! Then I can take care of... this. Muramasa in! Yuri quickly grabs her PET and stuffs the intimidating chip in. Finish this, Muramasa should have plenty of energy!

BladeMan's arm begins shimmering with dark energy. As you command, Lady Yuri. He'll have to rely on his natural speed against MegaMan's sniper aim. Their defense is half gone with only one normal arm. He holds his arm in front of his body for his best chance at guarding.

BladeMan leaps out of the brush and starts to zig-zag toward MegaMan. Maybe adding more motion can thwart the eagle eye of his opponent? His synchronization with Yuri is higher than ever. Even if it isn't quite up to Lan and MegaMan's level, it must be worth something. BladeMan raises the Muramasa and takes a swing with the evil blade as he barely enters melee range-

Kapow!

The shot slams through BladeMan's arm and chest and he falls to the ground. The dark shine of the Muramasa disappears after he tumbles forth a few meters past MegaMan. He digs an arm blade into the ground to lift himself up and face the other Navi. "Well-fought, Sir MegaMan. I have no regrets with this defeat."

Yuri clutches her chest with a massive shudder and wince. She leans onto the terminal and has to stiffly hold herself up with her free arm. The connection between Navi and Operator is intense when it reaches the heights that she and Lan have with their respective partners. As she pants and groans, she watches her Synchro Rating with BladeMan plummet. "Nn- B-BladeMan, jack out... We concede."

MegaMan gives BladeMan a playful salute as his green armor and rifle fade away. "Good fight, BladeMan. I'd love to take you on, another time."

BladeMan nods as he begins to fade away. "Another battle, some other day, would be splendid, Sir MegaMan. If you'll excuse me, I need to repair myself." He jacks out, disappearing from the field.

MegaMan follows BladeMan's example and exits the arena. The darkened forest and dimly lit manor backdrop disappear as the reset process leaves no evidence of the battle.

Dr. Hikari claps for the end of the match. "BladeMan.EXE defeated, MegaMan.EXE is the winner. Impressive tactical displays, all of you."

Yuri leans against the wall. She looks over at Monika with a tightened jaw and near-crazed eyes. "Monika. Stress balls. Please!"

Monika wastes no time grabbing them out of Yuri's school bag and handing them over.

"Thank you." Yuri squeezes the foam spheres in her hands. Her black nails dig in and nearly pierce their outer layers. She repeats the motion of squeezing and digging her fingers into the balls. Her arms feel so cold and itchy. But she can't give in, not here.

Yuri stares at her bag. She can swear she sees the ceramic knife glowing in its pocket. It's right there, she can just take her bag to the bathroom and-

A sudden warmth and weight press into her. Yuri gasps softly as the ringing in her ears fades away. How long has she been staring into space? What's holding her? She turns her purple eyes downward, to see...

"Sayori?" Why is her voice so hoarse? How hard has she been breathing?

"Yurrrrri~" The shorter girl smiles from her uncomfortable position of "chin against breasts". "I'm here to ground you! Is it working?"

"Y-yes, actually, um. Thank you. W-wow, your 'hug energy' is really something..." Yuri's posture sags a bit, and she returns the tight squeeze to Sayori. The urges have melted away, somehow, and Yuri is forever going to be grateful to her friend.

"You know it!" Sayori laughs, patting Yuri's back. "Let's go sit down. I'll get you some extra water and we'll all just sit together for a while, yeah?"

Yuri nods. "Sounds divine... I wish I'd brought my heating thermos, I would make everyone some tea."

"I could go find a kettle for you." Dr. Hikari calls from his desk. "It's the least I can do, during our second break in the experiment. To say nothing of whatever you might be currently dealing with, you took a shot to the chest at over 180% synchronization." He gestures at the experiment's data display.

Indeed, those are the numbers. MegaMan and Lan managed to reach 220%, the naturals that they are. Seems they didn't fully synchronize, like the last match, but they got very close. Lan is clearly also in need of a break, rubbing at his arm where BladeMan cut across MegaMan's.

"If you would, Dr. Hikari, I would greatly appreciate it." Yuri smiles as Sayori nudges her into a seat next to the other two girls. "I'm... Well, now that I have a moment, I can tell how exhausted I am. I can't do any brewing myself, but I'll be happy to contribute my own tea. I brought some bags of orange blossom tea today!"

"That sounds wonderful, Yuri! I'll go get the kettle. For now, you kids just rest. We'll take a lengthily extended break to recharge, and then we'll get down to business again." Dr. Hikari exits the room.

Yuri deflates into the back of her seat. "Oough... Someone wake me, when he returns. I need to," A yawn loudly interrupts her sentence, "Ohhh... I need a nap.."

"Sleep good, Yuri! We'll get you back up, when we need you." Sayori strokes Yuri's shoulder. Monika and Natsuki pipe in with some quiet sounds of agreement.

And so Yuri falls into a deep slumber. At least, as deep as she can get in a government lab's office chair.

Monika and Sayori smile at her as her body melts into the chair.

"Guess this means we're next, right Moni?" Sayori grins, excited to take part in her little section of scientific history.

"That we are. Are you ready to do this?" Monika smiles back at her.

"Always, with you!"

"Oh, get a room, you two." Natsuki snickers from behind them.

The two girls can't help but laugh along with her.

[snowpounder]

A bit silly

[rolandkaros]

i need to start making lists of all the good things that happen each round because i'm starting to think i am too pessimistic

[girlfoxcock]

[jetra4ivor]

lol. I am living for the comments under the official trailer video.

[animusrox]

"You Missed the Point by Idolizing Them" Starter Pack

[ankle-beez]

this specific frame of jack black from the minecraft movie trailer looks like he just realized he threw his best friend under the bus because of a cheeky political joke just so he could keep getting booked for shitty kids movies for the rest of his life

[mostly-funnytwittertweets]

[trashy-greyjoy]

really love dynamics that are like 'it honestly doesn't matter if you view them as romantic or platonic, the point is that they love each other. the type of love is inconsequential, all that matters is that it's there'. gotta be one of my favorite genders.

[soracities]

happy "everyone forgets that icarus also flew" monday. i want to throw up !

[soapdispensersalesman]

[brownhairedbookworm]

Jack In!!, Ch2 - Release the Kraken

"Ah! Lan, MegaMan, welcome." Dr. Yuichiro Hikari greets his sons casually as they come into the Netbattle Lab. A cabinet of the man's various accolades and achievements sits off to the side of his desk, gathering dust. Electopia's top scientist is still in shape to do science, rather than rest on his laurels.

"Hey, Dad." Lan looks over the lab. As expected, there's a single Netbattle terminal in the center of the room. What's unexpected is the four women standing around it. And specifically that one of them is familiar. Lan looks at the coral-pink hair on the woman closest to the door. That bow seems so familiar.

"...Sayori?"

The peach-ish haired woman turns around to look at Lan, squinting for just a moment. He can practically see the red bow on the side of her head wiggling in tune with her brain trying to remember if she's met him."Lan? Lan..." She looks him over for a few moments before opening her mouth in a shocked gasp. "OH, OH, you're MC's cousin, yeah?"

Lan raises an eyebrow. "MC? Did Manuel stop using his full name at some point?"

"Mhm, a little into middle school. He started thinking his given name sounded goofy with his last name. I don't blame him, ehehe!" Sayori puts her hand to her mouth as she giggles.

"How's he doing, by the way? It's been a while since I've seen him. I think my mom's mad at my uncle, for some reason?"

Sayori shrugs. "We're... Kinda distant right now? He fell in with a different crowd and doesn't have time for me, these days." Her face morphs into a pout. "Meanie..."

"Well, that sucks. You two were really close when we were kids." Lan nods. Sayori hanging out with his cousin all the time back when they were all very young is the only reason he recognizes her. His mom has definitely used the phrase "peas in a pod", talking about the two other kids before. "But, hey, seems like you might have some more friends than just him, these days. Who are the rest of these girls?"

The short, pink one perks up and crosses her arms as she gives Lan a smug look. "I'm Natsuki. Don't expect any of us to go easy on you for these Netbattles! We're bringing our A-game to meet with the 'legendary Lan Hikari'." She smirks, a fang-like snaggletooth peeking past her lips.

"Oh, now we're talking!" Lan grins at her, pulling his PET up from his belt. He leaps over to one side of the Netbattle machine. "Jack in!! MegaMan, Execu-"

"Lan, you still have two more people in this room that you ought to speak to."

Lan trips over himself as his father calls over to him. The younger Hikari chuckles nervously and turns to face the man. "Right. I'm Netbattling all of them. Knowing your opponent is only fair."

Sayori walks past him, drawing attention to the tallest, purple-haired girl. "This is Yuri! She's a little shy, but she knows her way around Netbattling!"

Yuri is fidgeting with her sleeves, unable to properly face Lan. She turns her eyes off to the side and quietly speaks. "I-it's nice to meet you, M-Mr. Hikari."

"Ahhh, Lan's fine, Yuri. Don't worry about being so formal. Natsuki calling me 'legendary' is... I dunno, it's intimidating to hear, even when I'm apparently the legend." He extends a hand for a calmer handshake, now that he's got his excitement for the coming Netbattles under control.

Yuri can't manage to meet his eyes, but she does accept the handshake. "I, erm, look forward to our match, L-Lan."

"Me, too, Yuri. Nice meeting you."

Lan nods to Yuri and finally turns to face the final woman in the room, a brunette with her hair tied into a ponytail by a white ribbon.

Something seems familiar about her. Not like Sayori's familiar. Sayori is someone he used to know. With this woman, it's more that she seems familiar in that maybe he's met a family member of hers, or someone with a strong resemblance. Those green eyes...

"Ahaha, is something on my face, Lan?" The brunette moves her arms behind herself in a parade rest. Her eyes sparkle with mischief, even as she keeps her posture formal and on the stiff side.

"My name is Monika."

She smiles brightly at the young man. Something about her seems... restrained, maybe? Lan can't read her mind, of course, but her motions all seem too deliberate.

Monika... Lan's going to have to keep an eye on her during their battle. "Well, you know I'm Lan, so there's no need to repeat it. Nice to meet all of you."

"Alright!" Yuichiro claps. Everyone turns to look at the man as he calls out to the group from his desk. "Now that everybody is introduced, I would like to discuss the experiment!"

A screen appears out of the wall at Dr. Hikari's side. The green background on the display slowly fills with text data. Data on Lan and MegaMan appears on the left side. Among various basic details about them, the point of focus today is their astonishing 250% Synchro Rating. Lan can't help but feel a little smug about it.

Dr. Hikari taps a voice recorder on his desk before he begins speaking. "As you all have been informed, today's experiment is specifically regarding a new type of NetNavi that can more easily synchronize with its operator. For the sake of scientific rigor and thorough documentation, Synchronization is the process by which a NetOp and a NetNavi begin to operate as a single unit, rather than two members of a team. Lan and MegaMan are a pair that show the great potential in both battle and human-Navi relations that being synchronized provides."

Information on Natsuki and her Navi, named Siren.EXE, is shown on the right side. A Synchro Rating of 90% has been their peak, so far. It doesn't reach the heights of Lan and MegaMan, but a 90% rating is hardly the worst level of synchronization Lan has seen!

Yuichiro continues. "In addition to the experimental Navi itself, we will also be testing the ability of synchronization between normal NetNavis and their operators. Our initial Netbattle plans will be to observe differences between the currently known peak of performance," the doctor gestures at Lan, "and, pardon me Natsuki, more average NetOp-Navi pairs."

Natsuki grumbles and huffs, looking away from him. She mutters, "Still better than most of our high school..."

"Noting these differences will potentially lead everyone here, today, to knowing how to better synchronize with their partners. The key to not only better Netbattling, but better relations between humans and Navis is understanding how we connect to each other."

He brings a case up from underneath his desk. With swift fingers, he opens the latches and reveals a lineup of wristbands and PET accessories. "There should be plenty of these to go around. Before the Netbattling begins, I would like you all to put on these wristbands and install the other readers into your PET expansion ports."

Lan grabs a wristband and clasps it to himself. Picking up the second piece, he recognizes which PET port the new gadget goes in and installs it. "And... we're plugged in! MegaMan, is everything running smooth on your end?"

"Ready to rock, Lan. It's taking a reading of our Synchro Rating, and I didn't need to install anything extra." MegaMan gives Lan a thumbs up from the screen. "I think we'll be in fighting shape by the time Dad finishes his presentation and gets the battle terminal ready."

Right on cue, Yuichiro puts the case away and begins altering the screen's display. "Team MegaMan" and "Team Siren" appear on the screen, with their Sync percentages displayed beneath their names and Navi Marks.

Lan reads the screen. Natsuki and Siren are around 20%, without any outside influence or active fighting. He and MegaMan are hovering around 60%. Lan nods and approaches the Netbattle machine.

This may be somewhat easy, but at least Natsuki CAN synchronize with her Navi. So many times, he and MegaMan have fought Navis and NetOps who could absolutely not trust or cooperate with each other.

The room dims slightly as the machine's projectors warm up for the battle's observers. Lan holds his PET at the ready and sets his chips down on the Netbattle console in front of him. All in a specific order, all arranged so he knows where to move his hand without even thinking in order to grab them.

Natsuki does much the same, with a slightly smaller selection of chips. Her placement seems mostly deliberate, but she has many of them facing her so she can read them before putting them in.

So her Navi's name is Siren, huh? Lan bets that they'll be dealing with a sound-based set of attacks.

"Ready to take a pounding, golden boy?" Natsuki casually tosses her PET between her hands, eyeing Lan excitedly.

"In your dreams, Pinky. Bring it on!"

Yuichiro clears his throat, standing taller. "NetOps, Jack in."

"Jack in!! MegaMan, Execute!"

"Jack in!! Siren, Execute!"

The pink and blue PETs ping at the same time and the NetNavis are released into the Cyberworld. The projectors in the Netbattle terminal fully activate, showing the operators and observers a spherical projection of the arena inside the machine.

~ Vs. Siren.EXE ~

MegaMan materializes onto the battle platform. He stretches his limbs out, loosening up for the fight. His green eyes scan the field. Nothing is unusual about the arena, today. It's as simple as ever, white floor panels from wall to wall. Siren hasn't appeared, yet... they jacked in at the same time, shouldn't they be here?

MegaMan's question is answered quickly. A spout of water bursts through the ground barely a yard away from his feet, flooding one half of the arena. Another blue-colored Navi, a tall and graceful woman with seafoam-green hair, a trident, and scale-covered legs rises from the water and stands atop it. That must be Siren.

"MegaMan..." She looks over the shorter Navi, her blue eyes thoughtfully peering down at him. "I'm looking forward to a good fight against such a famous opponent." A helmet with a ruby-like crystal forms upon her head in a wave of energy. With a flash of the gem, her mouth is covered by a metal guard and Siren is ready for the battle.

Dr. Hikari's voice echoes over the arena. "Synchronization Experiments, Observational Battle Number 1, MegaMan.EXE versus Siren.EXE. Battle routine, Set."

MegaMan feels Lan's voice ringing in his own mind, joining him in shouting, "Execute!" His face guard materializes, and he holds his Buster at the ready. Time to feel this out and get in the fight.

"Prepare to embrace the chilling depths." Siren sinks into the water up to her torso, holding her trident at the ready.

Lan's thoughts cross over to MegaMan, as their synchronization increases. Oh, "Siren" like mermaids! But where's her tail?

"Why do I feel like you just tempted fate, Lan?" MegaMan rolls his eyes.

The water around Siren begins to ripple wildly as a shadow rises from the flood. A metallic cable rises from the water behind Siren and connects to her back. It raises her up from the water as a massive virtual anglerfish appears from the depths. The blue monstrosity is covered in the same scales as Siren's legs. It roars as Siren flourishes with her weapon. That must be a part of her battle form.

"...Yeah, that's on me, MegaMan. Let's play it safe, for now." Lan sighs at himself, shaking his head.

MegaMan wastes no time firing at the fish's body, eyeing his shot impacts. The shots bounce harmlessly off of the metallic scales. No good! He dashes off to the side. "Big body's got armor!"

"Laser Trident!" Siren swings the haft of her weapon forward and begins peppering MegaMan with pink beams.

MegaMan leaps about, dodging the lasers that crash into the arena and crack the ground. A pink beam whizzes in front of his face and forces him to leap backward. "I'm betting we don't have any chips that can give us any cover, do we? What do we have?"

"I have something in mind. Get your throwing arm ready." Lan slides three chips into the PET. "YoYo, triple input. Program Advance-"

"Great YoYo!" MegaMan juggles the small red pods that materialize in his hands before tossing one directly at Siren, and the other two at the anglerfish. The pods expand into huge red discs, and energy blades appear in their centers. The YoYos fly off toward their targets.

The synchro rating display on the laboratory wall shows the boys breaking 100% Sync. Lan is starting to feel MegaMan's senses combine with his own. Their sight is shared, now.

Eyes on Siren. Lan's guiding thought signals MegaMan to turn his eyes toward Siren's smaller body. We'll check the damage on the fish-half later, but the one YoYo might give us an opening on her! The Navi raises his buster, charging a shot to test any upcoming openings.

Siren swings out of the path of the YoYo, keeping the cable between her bodies well out of harm's way. In the motion to dodge, she has to turn away from MegaMan and drop her attack stance. There! Trident's down!

MegaMan fires his charged shot right at Siren's center, sending her reeling back several meters. Good hit, but I'm betting she has durability to spare.

"Lucky shot, blue boy." Siren fires on MegaMan as she recovers and swings herself back into the battle. The projectiles cause even more damage to the floor, letting water fill more and more space. MegaMan keeps twisting and jumping around. Siren's keeping him on the back foot, with all of these attacks.

MegaMan looks at Siren's fish body ...Man, not even a scratch. Siren's fish body looks pristine, in the aftermath of the YoYo strike, like it never even happened. We're losing ground fast, Lan. Please tell me we have some AreaGrabs or a Repair.

Two 'Grabs and one Repair, the only tools you need to build a road to victory! Lan grins and takes a chip into his fingers. "AreaGrab, slot-in!"

MegaMan glows a bright blue before he rushes forward, running on the water to reach Siren's body. Gonna need another, the range isn't quite enough.

Get ready to jump, we're aiming for her back! Lan picks up another chip. "AreaGrab number two!"

MegaMan leaps upward just as the speed boost from the first AreaGrab dies off. He zooms ahead as the second boost kicks in.

The smaller blue Navi lands atop Siren's back and rushes for the cable connecting her two bodies.

"StepSword, go!" Lan closes his eyes. Their Synchro rating is still going up, now past 150%. It's time trust his muscle memory to grab the right chips as he and MegaMan begin to mentally merge.

MegaMan's arm morphs into a blade. He levels the blade for a strike. In the blink of an eye he vanishes and prepares to cut the cable.

"Oh, no you don't!" Siren retracts herself down toward the base of the cable connection and thrusts her trident forth. MegaMan's sword is caught between the prongs as his warp ends. Siren twists his arm and uses the leverage to throw him up into the air, toward the rest of the arena.

Siren grabs the bottom of her trident, swinging it around like a wand. "Poseidon Needles!" A sphere of water begins collecting around the weapon, and a series of water projectiles launch forth.

MegaMan twists about in the air, trying to get into a defensive stance. What I wouldn't give to have wings, right now...!

Reflector3!

A blue shield appears on MegaMan's arm. He quickly pulls it off and tosses it into the swarm of liquid projectiles. The sound of water coalescing and launching back toward Siren, as well as her subsequent wordless sputtering, are all that he and Lan need to hear to start focusing on landing safely.

Barrier? No, too high up, it'd break and we'd still take a heavy hit.

Auras? Those won't protect us from a landing.

The pair wrack their connected brains as the ground approaches.

...Got it! NorthWind!

As MegaMan nearly strikes the ground, a wind blows him off course and redirects his momentum sideways. His boots dig into the ground and he bends down to grab it with his hands.

And he sticks the landing! Lan laughs as MegaMan stands back up, looking over at Siren.

The reflector shield disappears, and a thoroughly soaked Siren glares daggers back at MegaMan. "Rrrrrr, you little punk!" She swipes her face with her free hand, getting the remaining drops away from her eyes.

Siren re-engages her weapon and fires on MegaMan with her Laser Trident blasts. The pink projectiles pepper the arena's panels and cause even more damage. The ground cracks and holes begin forming all over. She begins zipping downward toward her fish-body, which is starting to rise up higher from the water.

I think I know what she's about to do, Lan. MegaMan dives and dodges between the lasers, eyeing the water that Siren is starting to sink into.

I might be getting ahead of you. ElecCross, go!

MegaMan's body shines as it begins taking on the electrical elements of an old foe-turned-ally. His colors change from blue and gold to black and yellow as armor forms around his chest and a cross of lightning arrestors sprout from his back. His hands are the final alteration, gray gloves appearing over them as his forearms reform to resemble lightbulb contacts. "ElecCross ready."

Siren attaches herself to the enormous fish-body, torso sticking out of the cable's source. Her entire mass rears back, creating more water around herself as she swims away from MegaMan. Waves begin to rise in the flooded portion of the arena as she sinks beneath the sea.

LifeAura, slot-in! Lan calls out in their mental link.

MegaMan begins to radiate a defensive yellow energy.

DoublePoint, in!

MegaMan feels his legs become heavier as his arms glow with even more power. The water level is slowly encroaching upon his space. If this plan doesn't work, MegaMan's going to have to hope he can swim faster than a giant fish.

DollThunder3, in! Attack+30, double in!

One of MegaMan's hands takes the shape of a scarecrow. He holds it up, feeling the incredible, buzzing amount of power charged up in this attack. He grins beneath his faceguard.

Siren's entire body crashes out of the waves, spraying water everywhere as the anglerfish's needly-toothed maw opens to try and chomp at MegaMan.

"We're calling down the thunder!" Lan yells.

"So it's time for you to ride the lightning!" MegaMan cries.

"Full Synchro!"

The screen on the laboratory wall shows MegaMan and Lan's Synchro Rate jump from 190% to 250%.

Time seems to slow as MegaMan fires directly into Siren's giant mouth. A gigantic, explosive bolt of lightning flies from the arm-mounted scarecrow's mouth, putting a hole right through the back of Siren's fish-throat.

The massive anglerfish dissolves, and Siren's humanoid body slams into MegaMan's portion of the arena with a loud grunt of pain. Her form starts to shimmer. Siren stabs her trident into the ground and forces herself to her feet. She yanks it from the ground and aims it at MegaMan in an attempt to continue the fight, but... she's completely spent after taking that much damage. The woman falls to her knee. "Ugh... Natsuki... Sorry... I'm jacking out."

"Goddam-!" Natsuki pauses and catches herself. She puts a tense hand over one side of her face. "Good effort, Siren. I shouldn't have expected anything less than a hit like that from the great Lan Hikari." She lets out a heated sigh, clenching her fingers around her PET. "Jack out."

Siren's body fades into a white silhouette and disappears upward into the skybox.

Dr. Hikari's voice echoes around the arena once more. "Siren.EXE defeated, MegaMan.EXE is the winner." He makes a few keystrokes, and the flooded arena begins to dry.

"And that's our cue, too, MegaMan. Jack out."

"Roger." MegaMan disappears in a column of light, and returns to his PET.

Back in the physical world, Lan shakes his head. After pulling a Full Synchro, he always needs a couple of seconds to adjust back to normal human sensation.

"Good match, Natsuki. Siren's really powerful. If we didn't get that last shot off, we might've had a lot of trouble handling Siren's armor." Lan walks around the side of the NetBattle terminal and offers Natsuki a fist bump.

Natsuki looks up at him, ignoring the offered fist. "Yeah, yeah..." She shoves her chips off of the terminal and back into her bag. "Good fight, I guess." The words are almost hissed out.

Yuichiro calls over to her. "I have good news, Natsuki. You improved your Synchro Rating. You hit a new high of 95%." He loads a replay onto the data screen.

"Hm, no kidding?" Natsuki looks over at the screen on the wall, now playing some of the battle from a view just behind Siren's shoulder.

Right before Siren's trident collided with MegaMan's StepSword, Natsuki's Synchro Rating rose from 80% to 95%. Natsuki nods. "I did kinda feel something, around that point! Like I could see where MegaMan was going to be, and I pushed Siren's arms to the right spot."

"Nice, you're getting there!" Lan gives Natsuki a thumbs-up, getting an eye roll in response.

"We'll kick your ass, someday, Hikari." She flips Lan the bird. From anyone else it might almost be a playful gesture, but Natsuki's glowering at him.

"Looking forward to it...?" Lan decides to let her be. Natsuki can't let loose in a government lab, and she was probably told so. It's a warning Lan has both received and ignored, many times over.

"Shall we take a short break, before we continue, everyone?" Dr. Hikari sets some bottles of water on his desk. "These tests are pretty strenuous, just by virtue of the nature of Synchronization."

Natsuki wordlessly takes a bottle and tosses one at Lan. She goes to take a seat. Her contributions are done, but she can still sit by and chat with Sayori and Monika to try and cool herself off.

Lan catches the bottle and cracks it open. "About ten minutes for a break, like usual, Dad?"

"Knowing you, you couldn't wait any longer." MegaMan snarks from his PET.

Their father chuckles. "Indeed. I'll finish resetting the arena, in the meantime. I got the water cleaned up, but the panels need a lot of repairs."

"Mhm. I can wait. Who are we battling, next?"

Yuri finally breaks her silence, having snuck over to take a seat at the opposite end of the Netbattle machine. "That would be myself, a-and my Navi. BladeMan."

The battle result screen updates, showing that to be the truth. MegaMan and Lan's 250% Synchro Rating is now paired against Yuri and BladeMan at 170%.

"Good luck, then, Yuri!" Lan nods at her. He won't be going back to the machine, yet, but there's no reason to not offer some encouragement.

"You can totally do it, Yuri!" Sayori yells, much to Yuri's discomfort. Monika pats Sayori's back, tugging her back down into the observation row's chairs.

Lan takes another look at the screen. BladeMan, huh? Hopefully it's a little different from fighting Jiyuu and ProtoMan. He should probably spend the break looking over what BladeMan can do...

Even if they did pull out the victory, he knows that he jumped into the fight with Siren with no strategy and a lucky break with Siren's last attack having a massive opening. Maybe he should take the time to shuffle his folder around...

A more direct swordfight could be fun.

[beardedmrbean]

[omnybus]

making shitposts, making shitposts is so fine

[olivashko]

mlp cool

So in an ask one duder mentioned mlp cast as mobians so I thought it'be funny to try

Mind: I'm not much of an mlp fan, so i'm sorry if like uhhhh I didn't get it all that right

Btw, luvs, I have a twitter where I usually Sonic-unrelated stuff, would be gratetful if you checked it <33