Battle Network: Sidestory, Chaps 1-4, details inside

[HeatShadow]

Hoo-rah, my first entry into the fanfic-writing world! If the paranoia of rejection subsides, I might even be able to enjoy it.

If you don't want to sit through all my nervous ranting, feel free to skip ahead to the story itself. If the story doesn't make sense, hopefully it will eventually. I'm really, REALLY trying to make a good first impression here, so if the sheer amount of text here surprises you, please keep that in mind.

-------Beginning of long-winded introduction---------------
This here is a story I've been toying around with for YEARS now. It just started as your average fic built around some fan characters that I wrote around the time between the releases of BN2 and 3. The premise of the story was to take the BN universe (that is, the game storyline) and inject new characters and events into it that were of my own creation, but at the same time didn't interfere with the canon. The resulting fanfic centers around a mercenary navi, Mirage.Exe, and the things that happen in his life.
It is supposed to "show you" the stuff that went on in the Battle Network world that Capcom didn't care to show us, primarily because nothing in it focuses on their main characters. That's right, almost none of the regular characters make an appearance, and the ones that do have an honest reason to be there. Good example: ProtoMan is a high-ranking Official in the games, so if the internet cops are around, he won't be too far behind. In terms of the world of the story itself, I wrote it is as what I thought the anime should've been like; closely mirroring the games, but with some artistic liberties taken. As such, there will be some noticeable similarities with the anime, as well as some anime-ish expressions. (mostly sweatdrops. What, I like em, I think they're expressive.) It also centers primarily on the navis of the story, sinc I usually find them to be more...intresting. I've always figured that navis weren't bound to their operators, that they had a mind and free-will of their own, to go and do as they please, so I try to express that here.
Unfortunately, spelling and grammer mistake are abound because I write the same way I speak, using commas as pauses. Yes, I know it's incorrect grammer, but that's how I do things instinctively. As for the spelling mistakes, it's usually only because I forget a letter or two. I try though, I do try. Oh yes, and I use mostly English names/terms because that's what I'm most familiar with, but some Japanese names/terms may show up either because the English name is unusual enough that I don't like it, or in the case of the suffixes, just because I want them there.
Probably the biggest thing I wanted people to read here is the fact that I will be accepting submissions of people's fan characters for inclusion in the fic. No, this isn't some desperate cry for attention or lots of new friends. Thing is, since I joined the fan community, I've always eagerly looked for some form of media that combined all the fan characters into one world, whether it's art or animation or writing, I've always wanted to see everyone's fan characters get together and take part in the same story. So far, aside from a few poorly done RPs, I have yet to see such an undertaking. So I figure, why not do it myself?
Understand that no one is under any sort of obligation to submit anything. At all. I'm doing this purely for fun. If you're intrested, feel free to PM me with a bio of any character(s) you want to submit, along with either a description of their appearance or (preferably) a picture of them. Be sure to include a description of the character's personality. Do that, and I'll try to find some way of fitting the character into the story, anything ranging from short and simple cameos to full-out supporting roles. I'll also be sure to mention when your character shows up in the story so you know when to look for them.
Oh, I also have a question to anyone with extensive knowledge of japanese; two characters repeatedly refer to each other as teacher and student through-out the story. I easily know that teacher is "sensei" and that it is often used a suffix, but I didn't know if student had a suffix. I finally found "gakusei" in a japanses-english dictionary. Is that correct? Is it also fine that I use it as a suffix?
Whew, you read all this? As a final note, I would like to announce that fellow forumer SamBarry has graciously agreed to do art from the fic. SamBarry's art does not dissapoint, so why not drop by his thread in the Fanart Gallery and give his works a gander?
---------End of long-winded introduction----------

Comments, criticisms and questions are welcome, but if you have any question, please read the intro first, because I tried to answer as many questions as I thought would be asked. I don't already have a reputation as many other authors here do, so I need to establish myself first.

Ok, *deep breath* here goes:
Battle Network: Sidestory
written and edited HeatShadow. Original Characters by HeatShadow.
AA, OC, 3PP, PG-13 for mild cursing and violence. Like decapitations and dismemberments. Not gory decapitations and dismemberments, but hey, better safe than sorry, right? Follows game continuity, and is written to take place between BN2 and 3. Also includes healthy amounts of Humor, Drama, and mild Angst. Very, very mild angst.

~Chapter 1: Unfamiliar Faces in a Familiar World

Somewhere in Densan City's Downtown Network. Voltage.Exe, an electric navi of noble dress and bearing, falls backward onto the floor. He looks up to see a steely katana pointed at his face. Voltage growls as he glances up at the katana's owner, a black and red fire navi dressed in ninja garb by the name of Mirage.Exe. Mirage smirks behind the cloth mask which hides the lower half of his face. "Come on, Voltage, you're slipping. I thought you were supposed to be my rival?"

Voltage grits his teeth in anger. "Don't get ahead of yourself, my friend. I'm just getting started." As he says that, he swings a hand toward Mirage, electricity crackling from his fingertips. The fiery ninja jumps backward to avoid the blow, giving Voltage room to jump to his feet. "Kanjo!" he shouts "Send me another chip!"

The voice of Voltage's Operator, Kanjo, rings out across the field "M-Cannon, Slot-In!" The powerful blaster forms itself on Voltage's arm and he aims the Cannon at Mirage. Mirage merely narrows his eyes and fades from sight, activating his Invisible ability. Voltage glances around, his weapon at the ready, looking for his opponent to reappear. "Kanjo, I need something to help me find him!" Kanjo nods and pulls another battlechip from his pack. "Sensor, Slot-In!" With that, a SensorEye virus materializes in front of Voltage and begins to scan the area with its large eye.

Voltage carefully watches the SensorEye for signs it had found its target. The virus' eye soon glows, and it fires a beam of electricity at the sighted target, but it strikes only air. Damn, he was too fast for it. Voltage thought, as he returned to watching the SensorEye. Again it locked a target and fired, and this time Voltage could see the air shimmer, as if the invisible Mirage had been forced to take quick evasive action to avoid the virus' attack. Almost got him... Voltage smiles as he looks eagerly for his rival to appear again. The virus squeals and fires, this time striking something. Voltage takes aim and smiles to himself, Too fast for you this time. and fires the M-Cannon. As the energy from the attacks dissipates, Voltage searches for any sign of his target, but he is dismayed to find only a small, severely ravaged plushie lying on the floor. He doesn't have long to dwell on this sight, however, as he immediately feels cold steel pressing against his throat.

Instead of being shocked, Voltage merely lowers his eyes and smiles. "Hah, that was clever Mirage. How'd you move fast enough to both drop the decoy and escape the SensorEye's attack?"

"I didn't. After your little virus friend nearly hit me, I planted the decoy in the virus' sight path, then slipped behind you. I knew you'd jump at the chance to attack if your little friend found 'me.'"

Voltage calmly nods to himself, then rolls away from his enemy's sword and jumps up several feet away, facing Mirage. "Dynawave, Slot-In!" His Operator calls out, and the Dynawave pickaxe forms in Voltage's hand. Mirage moves into a defensive position, but shows no signs of attempting to dodge the attack.

"Kanjo," Voltage whispers to his partner "he's going to try and use an AntiDamage. Get another chip ready for our counterattack." Kanjo nods and pulls another M-Cannon from his pack. The electric navi twirls the pickaxe in his hand, then stabs it into the ground, triggering the powerful energy wave of the Dynawave. Still, Mirage stands immobile, and the sound of a battlechip being slotted-in is heard from his Operator's, Sonkei's, window. The impending AntiDamage. Voltage watches as the attack draws closer and closer to his rival, and as the Dynawave nears him, Mirage takes a step forward and vaults over the attack, his sword in a striking position.

Not an AntiDamage attack, he and his Operator were trying to fake me out so he could go for a frontal assault. "Kanjo, send it now!" The M-Cannon forms and Voltage quickly takes aim squarely at Mirage, hurtling towards him, and fires. The attack strikes its target, but Mirage is replaced by a puff of smoke and yet another decoy plushie. The electric navi's eyes widen in surprise and realization right before several large shuriken fly down and strike his arms and legs, causing him to lose his balance and fall onto his back. Voltage shakes the shuriken off and sits up, only to be presented with the familiar sword of Mirage.

Voltage growls, his good humor gone. "You tricked me! You made it seem like you'd counter my Dynawave with an AntiDamage, so I'd waste my attack on your charge instead!"

Mirage chuckles "Yeah, and you fell for it. I'm hurt, Voltage, you're making this too easy for-"

"HOLD IT!"

Both combatants look in surprise at the girl navi running towards them, ribbons streaming from her light blue armor. She marches straight up to Mirage and stares angrily in his face.

"YOU. You're in big trouble, you jerk!"

Mirage glances back and forth, as if expecting help from someone. "Uh, do I know you?"

"I was watching your battle, and you sir, are despicable!"

".....I am?"

"You ENJOYED toying with this poor navi out there, you sick freak! I've never seen anyone fight so dirty before!"

Mirage, now realizing what the girl was talking about, narrows his eyes angrily. "Look lady, I don't know what YOU know about Net Battles, but what I did was perfectly-"

The girl shook her head in a huff. "Don't think you can get off the hook that easy, I've never been so sickened in all my life! You have to be the lowest of the low!"

Finally, Sonkei, spoke up, "Now, hey, wait a second-"

The girl turned and glared at his window, catching him in mind sentence. "And YOU! As this navi's Operator, you should have more integrity than to allow your navi to go around torturing innocent people! You should be ASHAMED of yourself!"

Sonkei pauses in a wordless confusion.

Finally, the girl turns back to Mirage and shouts, "You are REVOLTING!" And with that she smacks him clean across the face. Mirage's eyes widen in shock, more surprised than hurt, and he raises a hand to his cheek where the girl struck him.

"What the-?!...... Who the hell do you think you-?!..... Ahh, forget this!" And he teleports away, too infuriated to form a complete sentence. For a moment, there is silence, before the girl turns to the dumb-struck Voltage and says "Are you OK? Did he hurt you?" The electric navi shakes himself from his stupor and replies, "No no, I'm fine. But...who are you, exactly?"

The girl brushes a lock of her light brown hair from her eyes and smiles. "My name is Cosmos.Exe." And she points to the crescent moon symbol on her helmet and the star patterns placed on her armor, elaborating on her name. "And you are?"

Voltage picks himself up off the floor and brushes himself off, then answers with pride "Why, I am Voltage.Exe, a Net Battling navi of no small fame."

Cosmos looks off in thought. "Voltage, Voltage.....No, I'm sorry, I've never heard of you."

Voltage sweatdrops in disappointment, but quickly shakes it off and bows before the ribboned girl. "Cosmos, I am in your debt."

She smiles to him. "Oh, that's alright, you don't need to thank me. I always hate seeing such a nice guy as yourself getting bullied around by a jerk like that guy."

"Er, well, that's not....entirely true. You see, he's my, well, he's my rival. We have regular Net Battles like that every month."

Cosmos stops in shock, her face turning red. "....W-What?"

---------------------------------------------------------

A HomePage in the lower areas of Densan's Downtown Network, near the border of the UnderNet. The HomePage is mostly empty, save for a navi in long blue robes. From an open window, she looks over the HomePage's status and applies maintenance while trying to keep the long black hair that drapes over her shoulders and down her back from getting into her eyes. The entrance to the HomePage opens, and in walks Mirage, his face red with barely contained fury. The blue navi girl, an Aqua navi by the name of Oasis.Exe, turns to look, then runs over to Mirage and stands before him happily. "Welcome home, Mirage-sama! How was your day to-"

"Hi Oasis. Listen, do we have any junk programs lying around, anything we don't need any more?" he answers, without even lifting his narrowed eyes to greet her.

"What? Uh, I, well, there is one of the training dummy programs leftover from when I was using them the other day..."

"Perfect. I'm sorry, but could you excuse me for a moment? I'm in the mood to destroy something." And he quickly exists to another room. Oasis looks after him, standing motionless, before looking up at the window showing Mirage's Operator. "Sonkei-sama, what's wrong? Why is he so upset?"

Sonkei scratches his head, mildly embarrassed "Eheh, well, you see...."


~Chapter 2: It's a Man's Life being a Mercenary

About an hour later, Mirage walks back out into the HomePage's main room, his katana formed on his right hand, while his left brushes sweat from his face. He walks over to the table where Oasis sits, reading the daily news display, and sits down in a chair next to her. Oasis glances over at him, a look of concern on her face. "Mirage-sama, about what happened earlier..."

Mirage's fist clenches. "What's there to talk about? I was having one of my regular Net Battles with Voltage, some whacked-out chick shows up out of nowhere and accuses me of being some low-class bully, and then she slapped me. She, a complete stranger, slapped me. End of story. Now, what's happening in the world today?"

The water navi knew how much her friend valued his pride, and the insult he had had to endure was likely more than he could tolerate. It was obviously taking a great deal of effort to keep his anger, something fire navis were naturally infamous for, in check. "Mirage-sama...."

"Oasis, PLEASE, I don't want to talk about it."

Oasis averts her eyes from him, withheld tears welling up in them. Mirage notices and stops, a pang of guilt running through him. "Oasis, I'm sorry. I've no right getting mad at you, you did nothing wrong. It's just, I.....I don't know, I just get so worked up sometimes..."

His blue-clad companion turns back and smiles at him. "It's alright, Mirage-sama, it's your nature to get all fired up when you're angry. It's why I'm here, to cool you down when that happens."

The ninja navi smirks beneath his mask. "I see someone's been working on her puns."

Oasis laughs, then leans over and hugs Mirage around his neck. "Don't worry, Mirage-sama, I won't tell anybody what happened. And I'm sure Voltage won't be eager to go around telling people he was saved from a humiliating defeat when a perfect stranger came along and slapped his opponent!"

Mirage pats her on the shoulder and laughs. "You know, you were right about you calming me down when I get angry, even if you did use a bad pun to do it."

Oasis laughs again, then gets up from the table. "Well, there are some errands I need to run, so I'd better get going. See you later, Mirage-sama."

"See you Oasis."

Mirage watches her leave, then looks up at his Operator. Sonkei grins at him "Feeling better?"

"Much better."

"Great, because we've got a job to do."

Mirage stand ups and straightens out his apparel. "Indeed? And who's this one for?"

Sonkei types a bit on his computer, and a text file appears in front of Mirage. "It's the Officials this time. And check it out, they're offering a good 20,000 zenny! That'll cover expenses for a good couple of months, at least!"

--------------------------------------------------------------------


Minutes later, Mirage is at the DowntownNet Square's Chip Shop, browsing the shelves. He seeks out a stack of Catcher chips and grabs them with both hands. "Ahh, these'll do nicely." he thinks out loud.

A female voice behind him replies "Well, first a rotten jerk, now it looks like you're a thief too." Mirage turns to see the light blue colored navi girl from earlier. "Oh," he says, a slight tinge of his earlier anger on his tone "it's you again. And did you just call me a thief?"

Cosmos nods, her hands on her hips and a defiant expression on her face. "I was planning on paying for these, in case you were wondering. I don't appreciate you going around calling me things I'm not. And..." Mirage gestures around at the store. "what exactly are you doing here? I'd imagine a frilly girl like you being in a doll store or something, not a battlechip shop."

The girl crosses her arms. "Hmph. Your own words speak more of your vileness then mine ever could. Besides, I'll have you know Tanoshii and I are a great Net Battling team."

Mirage is obviously not convinced. "Whatever you want to believe. And as much as I'd love to continue this....DELIGHTFUL conversation, I've got places to be and things to do." he says as he walks off, leaving Cosmos standing in the chip aisles alone. Her Operator's window, a girl named Tanoshii, appears near her.

"Uh, I thought you were coming over here to apologize to him?"

Cosmos jumps in surprise. "T-Tanoshii! You were, uh, listening?"

Tanoshii nods "I was, and I thought you wanted to tell him what you did earlier was a misunderstanding?"

Cosmos looks away, embarrassed. "I-I know, but as soon as I came over here and saw him acting suspicious, I...I just couldn't control myself."

Tanoshii places a hand to her forehead. "Cosmos, you really have to learn not to jump to conclusions...."

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Mirage appears in Sonkei's PET, and holds up the stack of Catcher chips he'd bought. "I have them. Let's go."

Sonkei nods and unplugs his PET from its connection to his computer, throws on a light coat, and walks out of his apartment. He hurries downstairs, but before he can run out the door, the landlady, an older, heavyset woman, stops him. "Hey! Boy! Where are you going at this time of the afternoon?"

Sonkei stops and slowly turns to face her, a look of anxiety on his face. "Eheh, well, I was just on my way to go see some friends of mine." Which wasn't TOO far from the truth. The landlady crosses her arms and looks at him from the corner of her eye. "Sonkei, boy, you're a nice kid. You're always on time with your rent, even though I don't like the idea of a kid your age living by your lonesome. You get along well with me and the other tenants. But for Pete's sake, boy, I wish I knew why you act so suspicious all the time! You spend most of your time in your room with that computer of yours and barely leave it, let alone the boarding house. And when you do leave, it's always to go meet up with your 'friends', despite the fact that you never have any guests over."

Sonkei moves a step back and sweatdrops, Wow, she's sharper than she looks...."

The landlady notices his apprehension and leans towards him, eyeing him suspiciously. "Boy, you're not getting mixed up with that Net Crime I hear so much about, are you? They just recently had some nasty trouble with some Gospel music group causing trouble...you weren't involved with any of that mess, were you? Look me in the eye and tell me you weren't involved in any Net Crime, boy."

While Sonkei reassured his landlady that he was certainly not involved with Net Crime, Mirage looked away and thought silently .....I wish I had been, though.....

The landlady settled back, reasonably convinced that there was no wrong-doing involved with his daily life, and gestured to the door and said "Then be on your way, boy. And listen, you take good care of yourself, you hear? Don't go getting mixed up with anything bad, alright?"

Sonkei bows "Yes Ma'am." and hurries out the door.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Minutes later, the boy arrives at a seemingly average corner diner. A tall sign declares the diner's namesake "Lenny's" and the sides are lined with many, many windows. Through those windows, many people can be seen enjoying Lenny's specially prepared food, which he proclaims to be "fast food without the fast"; classic fast-food dishes like burgers, but made without the prepackaged ingredients. Sonkei steps inside and glances around the restaurant. A waitress spots him and calls out "Hey, Sonkei! How have you been, kid?"

"Good, good, is Lenny busy?"

The waitress gestures to the back of the diner. "Nah, he just finished his shift a few minutes ago. He's doing his 'accounting' right now."

Sonkei thanks the waitress and walks over to the farthest back of the place, where many of the tables are empty, save for one in the corner. A man in his earlier forties relaxes and counts a stack of money. When he sees Sonkei approach, he grins and shoves the money off to the side of the table. "Well well well, if it isn't my young mercenary friend. What brings you to my humble establishment?"

Sonkei smiles knowingly and seats himself across from Lenny. "Same as usual. Mirage and I need information about our next job, and you're the most reliable source around."

"Ha hah ha! You praise me too much. So tell me, what is it you need to know?"

"Well, it's like this. A couple months back, the Officials had a few nasty run-ins with that Net Mafia, Gospel. During one of their battles, the security system protecting Electopia's Mother Computer got trashed. They were so busy dealing with Gospel, they never got around to installing a new one. Now they're feeling insecure with their Mother Computer unprotected and it seems that the Officials are currently lacking any programmers skilled in designing the kind of complicated security system that they need. So, they come to me and ask me to.....procure a new one for them, and recommended someone named Vargas. We were hoping you could give us any information about this Vargas."

Lenny leans back in his chair, scratching his chin. "Hm, let's see.....ah, it's on the tip of my tongue, if only I had something to jog my memory...."

Sonkei smirks and places the stack of Catcher chips on the table, then slides them over to his informant. The diner man glances down at the battlechips and smiles. "Oh, yes, that'll do nicely."

"Vargas, eh? The Officials sure know how to pick their programmers. The guy's top-of-the-line, one of the best in the business. He's unaffiliated, works for anyone who's willing to pay his high prices." Lenny winks. "I'm sure you two could relate."

"Anyway, you've probably seen his handiwork before. When the LifeVirus was destroyed, he was one of the first to get at its remains and start making those Scuttler viruses. And those Numbers that were protecting that top-secret World 3 site were made by Vargas too. I'd heard he had a hand in some of Gospel's projects, but that's only a rumor so far. If you're looking for a security system that would suit the Officials' needs, he's sure to have it."

"Sounds good. So how do I find him?"

"His factory is located on his own private server, but there's an active link deep in the UnderNet, probably area 11 or 12. He uses that to receive materials for projects, and to make deals with his customers. Vargas tries to maintain a low profile, so it's lightly guarded. Now, the factory itself is a different story. He uses his own security systems to protect it from intruders, and he maintains his own cadre of navis for defending his work. Knowing Mirage, however, you should be able to sneak around them if you don't raise suspicion."

Sonkei nods as he looks off in thought, formulating a plan. "So, stealth over combat, eh? Doesn't sound too difficult."

"Just make sure you don't get overconfident, Vargas might try and pull a surprise on you." Lenny glances down at the table as he scoops up the Catcher chips. "Oo hoo hoo, boy, you sure know what I like. Chips such as these sell like hotcakes on the black market."

"Glad to hear it." Sonkei replies, standing up and turning to leave.

"Oh, hey, wait a sec, kid. I've got something for you."

"Hm?"

Lenny reaches into his pants pocket and pulls out a HeroSword battlechip and hands it to Sonkei. Sonkei glances down at the chip and asks "What's this for?" Lenny waves his hand, gesturing for Sonkei to accept the gift. "Hey, you're such a good customer, I thought I'd give you a little something to....show my appreciation for your good patronage. I'm sure you don't have a problem with that, do you?"

Sonkei glances at the chip again, then smiles and pockets it. "Of course I don't. See you later, Lenny."

Lenny pulls his money back over, then puts the Catcher chips with them. "See you, kid, and good luck."


~Chapter 3: The Best-Laid Plans...

The UnderNet, Area 12. A link gateway is positioned on a dead-end platform in the higher part of the area, and a pair of UnderNavis stand guard outside of it. Several feet away, and hidden under a ramp, Mirage crouches down to allow the shadows to shroud him from view as he watches the gateway. A small window showing Sonkei appears next to him.

"So what does the situation look like, pal?"

Mirage takes another glance at the link gateway. "Doesn't look too difficult. We won't be able to bust the door down without blowing our cover, so we're going to have to wait for them to open the door for us."

"Alright" Sonkei nods "I'll close down the visual connection until you're safely inside, let me know when it's all clear."

"Got it."

The window disappears, and Mirage charges up his Invisible power. Before long, the gateway opens and two more UnderNavis exit the factory. One says "You're shift's over, we're here to relieve you." and Mirage knows his time has come. Running as fast as he can without making noise, he dashes up to the gateway and slips through before it closes. Once inside, the fiery ninja navi searches around for the file storage room, and locates a display that directs him to the highest level of the factory. Stopping periodically to hide and let his power recharge, Mirage makes his way up to a room high above the main assembly area, labeled "Record Storage".

He slips inside, deactivates his Invisible power to make himself visible again, and whispers to his Operator. Immediately, Sonkei's window reappears. "Any problems getting in?"

"None. The UnderNavis on duty are more concerned with doing their work than on watching out for invisible spies."

Mirage glances around the room. It's small, but the walls are covered with file cabinets and shelves filled with folders. "It's like a goldmine of information in here. One would think this was Vargas' true fortune."

Before he can start looking, however, a loud alarm goes off, and a red light flashes.

"INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT! CODE RED! INTRUDER ALERT!"

Mirage looks around for any security cameras or devices, anything that could've given his presence away. "What?! How did they find me?!"

Sonkei was listening to the voice on the loud speaker, however.

"-UNITS REPORT TO THE MAIN LOBBEY! REPEAT! ALL UNITS REPORT TO THE MAIN LOBBEY!"

"I....don't think it's you they're after, Mirage."

The red and black navi stops, mildly confused. He glances over at his Operator. "Want to go see what's going on?"

Sonkei shrugs. "As long as we stay out of sight, it couldn't hurt." and Mirage slips out of the room.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mirage's eye twitches. "I...do not...believe it..."

Several feet below the catwalk Mirage stands on is the light blue navi from earlier, and she is surrounded by UnderNavis from Vargas' security force. The navis are all armed by battlechip weapons.

"What, has she been stalking me or something??"

"You'd better get down there and help her, Mirage." Sonkei said, a hint of concern on his voice, despite this being the navi who insulted him earlier.

Mirage, however, doesn't answer.

"Uh, Mirage? You listening?"

The mercenary navi remembers how much the navi girl had so defiantly proclaimed her netbattling abilities. "Wait, I want to see this."

Below them, Cosmos is surrounded, but she shows no signs of fear. Instead she covertly whispers to her Operator through their link. "Tanoshii, are you ready?"

"Ready, Comos."

"Great. Then let's get started!"

"Cyclone, Slot-In!"

Cosmos forms a Cyclone fan on her hand and blasts the UnderNavis in front of her with its powerful winds. Behind her, her other opponents charge forward with their weapons at the ready.

"WoodAura, Slot-In!"

Before the attacks hit, a green energy shield forms around Cosmos, safely protecting her from harm. The stellar navi spins around and presses her hands together. "Cosmic Flash!" she shouts as a burst of sparkling energy erupts from her palms and detonates on the UnderNavis, deleting a few of them. The survivors are blown off their feet.

"AquaTower, Slot-In!"

Cosmos presses her hand to the ground, and a pillar of water erupts from the floor and speeds towards the surviving UnderNavis, swallowing them in water. When the attack dissipates, all that can be seen is quickly pixelating data, the remains of the UnderNavis. By now, the security navis who had been hit by the Cyclone have recovered from the attack.

"Spreader, Slot-In!"

The Spreader gun forms on Cosmos' hand, and a shot from it peppers her opponents with its fire. Not a single navi survives its assault, and they all pixelate into data, down to the last one. Cosmos stands tall, marveling over her victory. Up above, Mirage and Sonkei watch her intently.

"Well?"

Mirage sweatdrops. "I can't tell if that was her being really good, or them being really predictable....."

All three are interrupted by a new navi entering view. This one looks similar to its UnderNavi brethren, but is much larger, and has a powerful cannon mounted on its shoulder. The decorations on its navi suit indicate that it is a Security Captain. It stops and takes aim at Cosmos, who seems too surprised by the new arrival to act. The cannon fires, and Cosmos is knocked several feet backward, her WoodAura obliterated. The light blue navi slides across the floor and bumps to a stop at a machine, mildly stunned by the cannon's impact. Quickly the Security Captain takes aim again.

Sonkei looks worried. "Mirage-!"

The security navi fires again, and as the energy dissipates, Mirage can be seen just to the side of the attack's target, with Cosmos in his arms. She recovers her senses and realizes who it is who saved her, and she turns red in embarrassment and surprise. "You?!"

Without a word, Mirage puts her down on the floor and tosses a handful of shuriken at the Security Captain. The navi flips forward an IronShield to block the throwing stars, as well as the fire shots Mirage quickly follows up with.

"Sonkei, regular attacks seem ineffective. And there is bound to be more security on the way."

"Let's not waste time on him, then. Let's try that new Program Advance we worked out."

"Sounds good."

Sonkei rifles through his pack and pulls out the three chips he needs.

"StepSword, Slot-In!" A StepSword forms on Mirage's right arm.

"HeroSword, Slot-In!" The HeroSword forms on Mirage's left arm. The chip Lenny gave us. crosses Mirage's mind.

"StepCross, Slot-In!" Finally, Mirage moved his right arm in front of his left, and he began to glow with a dark purple energy. The Security Captain peeks its head around the IronShield, as if just now realizing the impending destruction.

"Program Advance: EvilCut!" Both navi and Operator proclaim, as Mirage rockets toward his target. He makes a horizontal slash with the StepSword, a vertical one with the HeroSword, then finishes the attack with an X-shaped strike from both swords. A cross-shaped cut imprints itself on the IronShield, which crumbles, revealing the star-shaped cut on the unfortunate Security Captain. His body falls literally to pieces, and the pieces dissipate into data, signaling the navi's deletion. The swords dissipate, and Mirage turns to face the light blue navi, who seems unimpressed by his performance.

"Show-off..." she mutters loudly enough for him to hear.

"Do you always have an insult ready for whatever I do? And what are you DOING here, anyway?! This place is supposed to be high-security, how did you even get inside?!"

Cosmos looks off in thought. "Oh, that? Well, I was just kinda exploring the UnderNet, and I found this gateway some UnderNavis were guarding! I figured there had to be some cool SECRET in here, so I beat them and came inside. Er, then that alarm went off and all those guys showed up. Eheh." She suddenly realizes something. "Hey, you were probably watching me there, weren't you? I TOLD you I was a good NetBattler! What did you think of my skills?"

Mirage narrows his eyes and smirks. "I think maybe someone needs to hire a better security force."

The girl's eyebrow twitches. "Oh, YOU'RE funny. What are you doing here, anyway?"

"I'm SUPPOSED to be here, I was hired to steal something from the guy who owns this place."

"Hired?"

Mirage hesitates. "Uh, I'm a mercenary. You know, people pay me money to fight or steal for them."

"...Oh. Um, since I'm here, do you think I could come with you?"

"I guess I have little choice. Reinforcements are likely to show up any minute, and I can't just leave you here. Just...promise not to slow me down too much, ok?"

"Hmph."

The fiery ninja isn't too thrilled to have this new companion. "Listen do you have any-? Wait, I don't even know your name, do I."

"Cosmos."

"Mirage."

She looks away casually. "It's a, ahem, pleasure."

Mirage narrows his eyes. I'm sure it is. "Do you have any way to turn invisible? I'm going for stealth here."

"Uh, no."

"Then I'll just have to share my power with you. It's not gonna be easy, but you don't exactly look like you have too much experience with being sneaky."

Mirage then places his hand on Cosmos' chest and concentrates. Cosmos' eyes widen and she turns bright red, then they disappear. A moment later there is a loud SMACK! and the two reappear, Mirage clutching his face and Cosmos covering her chest with her hands.

"Ugh!! It's bad enough you're a creep, I didn't know you were a PERVERT too!!"

"Pervert?! What are you talking about?! I was just linking our navi cores, it makes it easier for me to share my invisibility power with you!"

The light blue navi is furious, but she seems to believe him.

"Alright, you ready to try this again?"

Cosmos nods, still upset, and Mirage reaches out to link with her again, hesitates, then wisely puts his hand on her arm instead, and the two vanish.

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Minutes later, Mirage returns to the file room, this time with Cosmos.

"So what are you looking for?" she asks curiously.

"I was hired by the Officials to steal the design for a security system. Vargas supposedly stores the designs for his all his projects here, among other things."

"Why would they hire you to steal them one instead of making one themselves?"

"I don't know. Maybe they're just lazy. Why not try asking them?"

"Whatever. So can I help you look?"

Mirage walks over to a cabinet and starts pulling drawers open. "Do as you please. Just...don't trip any more alarms, alright?"

Cosmos, too, selects a large shelf and starts searching through the files contained within. After a few minutes of searching, Mirage is pleased to find a stack of files marked "Security Systems", selects a recently created one with a high version number, then removes it from the stack and places them in a data crystal.

"Bingo. Alright, I've got what we came for, let's-"

But Cosmos interrupts him, "Hey, come look at this!" and gestures toward the open drawer she's looking in.

"It's Vargas' business records!"

Mirage narrows his eyes in annoyance. "And why would that interest me?"

"There seem to be ALOT of things made for somebody named 'P' recently."

Mirage takes a look at the files Cosmos has opened, and scans them with his eyes. She was right, there had been numerous Vargas-made programs that had been sold to an employer who was referred to only as "P" in the records. Whoever "P" was seemed either to be obsessed with protecting themselves, or was preparing for a war. Everything from custom battlechips and viruses to high-power security measures, military programs, even an entire website had been designed and programmed by Vargas and sold to this cryptic employer. The two sat and stared at the document for a few moments as their minds processed this information.

Finally, Cosmos says "You think maybe this "P" guy is holding a battle tournament or something?"

Mirage sweatdrops. "All this, and you think all he's doing is holding a tournament? You really have no experience dealing with the UnderNet, do you?"

Cosmos scowls at him, but the fiery ninja navi ignores her. "Regardless, I've got what I came for. Sonkei?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you let Oasis know that I've retrieved the program and have her notify the Officials? I want this job over and done with as soon as possible."

"Can do. You want they should meet you in the same place as always?"

"It would be convenient. I just hope they don't send ProtoMan again."

The name of the Official NetBattler catches Cosmos' attention. "ProtoMan?! As in, THE ProtoMan?!"

"Yeah, that ProtoMan. What of it?" Mirage replies, unsure of why his begrudging companion is suddenly so excited.

"Oh, I've always wanted to meet him! He's sooooo dreamy..." she answers, with a faraway look in her eye.

Finally understanding her enthusiasm, Mirage looks away and huffs. "Figures."

~Chapter 4: One Day's End is the Beginning of Another

After slipping out of Vargas' factory and back into the UnderNet, Mirage makes his way to the place where he meets his employers, the UnderSquare, with a suddenly giddy Cosmos in tow. Her seemingly spontaneous transformation into a rabid fan girl is beginning to creep even Mirage out. The two enter the UnderSquare, where all seems to be business as usual for a thriving community of criminals and scoundrels.

Cosmos mutters to herself with a slight grin on her face "You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy."

Mirage glances over to her. "Did you say something?"

"Hm? Oh, no, of course not." she answers with a larger grin.

With the UnderSquare lacking any sort of public area where one could find seating, Mirage decides to sit and wait at the large staircase in the back of the Square. Cosmos glances up the stairs to the large doors at the top. "I've heard those doors lead to the sanctum of the ruler of the UnderNet."

Without even looking, Mirage replies "You've heard correct. Though I'm sure Serenade isn't too eager to spread the news."

"You're awfully calm, being so close to your monarch."

"Oh, should I be excited, like you seem to be over ProtoMan? I guess the awe she inspires kind of wears off after you've met her a few times."

This causes the stellar navi to jump. "You've met Serenade?!"

Again, the cause of Cosmos' surprise is lost on the red and black mercenary. "Sure, a few times. Mind you, it's not something every resident of the UnderNet can claim to have done, but there were a couple of times when she hired me to do some assassinations for her, gang leaders who were getting too powerful for their own good, that sort of thing. And then there were a few times when I met her waaay back, when I was still under the instruction of my master."

"Your master?"

"Yeah, my teacher, the guy who taught me how to fight, how to be stealthy, the ways of the ninja and all."
"Oh." Why am I telling her all this? Mirage thinks to himself, rather surprised by his actions. I don't usually talk about this stuff, even with Oasis.

After a few moments of silence, Cosmos leans closer to him and asks curiously "You mentioned somebody named Oasis earlier, who's that?"

"Oasis? Uh, well, she's my partner, in a sense. I found her abandoned a year back and took her in. She was really timid back then, still is kind of, and she was terrified to leave me. So Sonkei agreed to...adopt her, and she's been acting as my secretary ever since, keeping track of job requests and maintaining the HomePage while I'm gone."

Cosmos rests her head on her hands and smiles broadly at him. "Wow, that was really sweet of you to help her out and take her in like that. I guess maybe I was wrong about you."

Mirage's eyes widen in surprise, and he can feel himself getting uncomfortably warm under his navi suit, much to his increased surprise. What the hell?

"Am I catching you at a bad time?"

The two navis look up to see a crimson helmet framing a black visor, and nearby UnderNavis giving the arrival nervous side glances. ProtoMan carries a data crystal and looks impatient. Cosmos immediately springs to her feet with a large grin and starry eyes on her face.

"PROTOMAN! EEEEEEEEEEEE!" she shrieks before fainting away, still with a big grin on her face. The mercenary and the Official stare at her for a moment and sweatdrop.

"Uh, she a friend of yours?"

Mirage slowly stands up. "Never met her before in my life."

"I see. Do you have the designs for the security system?"

Mirage opens a window, pulls out a data crystal, and presents it proudly before the Official navi. "As promised."

The two exchange data. "20,000 zenny, also as promised." ProtoMan replies.

Mirage eyes the zenny data with glee, mirroring a look Cosmos had on her face a moment ago. ProtoMan sweatdrops again. "Well, it seems everything is in order. But did you really have to make the meeting place the UnderSquare again?"

His eyes still on the money, Mirage replies. "It's more convenient for me. Is that a problem?"

"It's a problem because none of the other Officials have the guts to come here alone, so I keep getting stuck with the job."

"Gee, that's too bad. Pleasure doing business with you."

The crimson Official huffs with frustration and leaves. Mirage places the zenny data in his inventory window, as Cosmos comes to a moment later. She looks around for the object of her excitement. "Aww, where'd he go?"

"He left. What, you thought he'd hang around and wait for you to wake up just so you could faint all over again?"

Cosmos looks serious. "Well, yeah."

The ninja navi's eyes narrow. "You're such a fan girl, you know that?"

"Maaan, I was hoping to get ProtoMan to escort me back to the regular Net."

"Wait, didn't you get here by yourself?"

"He doesn't know that. Well, will you at least escort me home?"

"Pfft, you can take care of yourself. Me, I'm leaving my own way."

Before Cosmos can protest, Mirage takes a flying leap to the UnderSquare's entrance and exits the portal. She scoffs and mutters to herself "Jerk."

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Back in the Data Room of Vargas' factory, a group of UnderNavis search the files. One turns to a window showing a dark room and salutes to a barely visible person. "Report." the person commands.

"Sir, our search has turned up only one file missing, the designs for the latest version of your commercial security system."

"Nothing else has been taken?"

"Nothing, sir."

"Anything else to report?"

"Yes, whoever was here read our business records, including the logs concerning our special customer."

There was a long, contemplative silence. Then the person replies "I see. They'll want to be informed of the situation."

The UnderNavi nods. "Yes sir." He leaves, and returns a few minutes later. "Their liaison is on the line."

"Put her through."

Another window appears on the computer screen, and a female voice says "Greetings Vargas. I was told you wanted me for something?"

Vargas leans back in his chair and places his hands together. "We may have a problem. My factory was broken into by a pair of navis recently, and the business records of your purchases have been read. My sources have reason to believe the two navis are working with the Officials."

"The Officials? This is bad. We can't afford to let the Officials know about my organization until we're ready to confront them."

"So what do you want done about it?"

"We'll need to silence them before they can feed their information to the Officials. I doubt they have already, our presence hasn't raised any alarms at Official HQ yet. But once we do begin our activities, your thieves could report what they found to the Officials, who would be able to put two and two together, and that would be trouble for us."

Vargas smiles. "Surely you don't mean that you're afraid of the Officials?"

The face in the window shifts into an angry position. "Of course not, do you mean to insult us? The Officials have numbers on us though; we don't yet have enough troops to face them in a full-scale confrontation. And if they found out about the weapons you sold us, they could get a hold of those files and use them to track us to our base! How then could we operate, with the Electopia Officials on our very doorstep! Our leader himself would be threatened! We might lose the weapons we worked so hard to acquire!"

"Alright, alright, I get your point, letting the Officials get information on you would be bad, and you want my visitors taken out. Will you be sending agents to deal with them yourself?"

"No, it's too risky. And you can't use any of your security force, they could be traced back to you too easily. We'll have to hire the services of some mercenaries to do the job for us."

"A wise plan. I may, in fact, have some such assassins in mind..."


Something I need to make note of before anyone asks because I feel it's unclear: the title of chapter 2 ("It's a Man's Life Being a Mercenary") is NOT me being sexist. It is meant as a joke. A Monty Python joke, in fact. You see, one episode of Monty Python had a running gag where they would make fun of the british militray's slogan "It's a man's life in the British armed forces" with things like "It's a man's life in the British Dental Association." At a loss for a title for chapter 2, I recalled the gag and decided to use it. Really silly and obscure? I know. But I was desperate, and desperation can spawn some strange things.
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Stuck In The Middle With You; a Metroid and Halo crossover
Devil May Cry: Renegades