Shadows in the Mist

[Yue-chan]

Chapter One


Snow fell softly from the dark sky, forming a blanket of white over the frozen earth. The pale light of the moon cast shadows over the forest, and the slight wind formed patterns in the snow where it gathered in drifts. At the edge of the woods a small castle sat, its stones as cold as the land they stood on. The windows were all closed, the heavy shutters blocking the biting cold from entering.

Most of the castle was as cold as the outside, but the main council chamber, where the Prince of Darkland sat, it was quite warm. There was a large fire blazing in the three seperate fireplaces located around the room, chasing away the icy temperatures of the colder climate. Bright tapestries and rugs covered the walls and floors, further insulating the room from the cold. A large, beautifully crafted long table made of cherry wood was the main centerpiece of the room with chairs made in matching cherry wood, gilded with silver. At the head of the table was a more ornate chair made of walnut, ivory and gold, with the cushion of the seat made of a plush wine red velvet.

Sitting in the chair/throne was a young man in his early twenties. He was a tall, athletic-looking man, and the expensive tailored suit he wore showed off his well-toned muscles quite nicely. His hair was a dark brown, and fell to his shoulders, held back from his face in a ponytail. His amber eyes were bright and clever, showing a keen intelligence that could be considered fiersome. He looked like he could be a well-to-do businessman or diplomat, save for the thin band of gold circling his head, the gold band studded with various precious stones. The prince of Darkland, Caytoh was a very proud person, very much aware of the power he held, and the fact that he could use it to do anything he wanted to.

By contrast, the person sitting a few seats away from the prince was dressed rather shabbily. His suit was plain looking, clearly made to withstand the cold rather than made for style. He wasn't as muscular as Caytoh, being more thin and reedy than the prince, and paler in skin tone. There were streaks of grey running through his hair, and there were scars covering his face and hangs. His eyes, however, were just as fiery and clever as Caytoh's.

"So, tell me, just why has the Prince of Darkland called upon a humble man like myself?" the older man said softly, his eyes flickering around the room.

"I know for a fact that you are anything but humble," Caytoh replied with a faint smile. "I am, after all, paying quite a fortune for your services."

"Yes, yes," the man said, waving his hand airly. "And time is money. Just what is it you're hiring my...organization to do for you?"

"There is something in the kingdom of Creamland that I wish for you to aquire for me. Its a special jewel, a saphire to be exact. Its part of the crown jewels, and its held in a very high-security vault beneath the Palace. Here's a picture of what it looks like, as well as blue prints to the palace and vault."

"You want us to steal a piece of jewelry for you? Sounds like something for common sneak theives, not something like my organization. Are you trying to insult me?"

"Not at all, my good man. I wouldn't dream of it. Truth is, I figured you would like the challenge. This particular jewel is very important to the monarchy of Creamland, and is worth quite a bit. Not to mention the security system its being held under is one of the best in the world."

"Oh yeah? Why's it so valuable?"

"That is no one's business but my own. Remember, I'm the one paying you."

The man looked up at Caytoh with a calculating stare. "And what if the Princess tries to...interfere?"

"I care not. As long as I get that jewel, you can do whatever you wish to the Princess, or anyone else who gets in your way."

"Well then, sounds to me like you have a deal."

The man held out his hand to the Prince, who gave it a firm shake. The man smiled and left the castle, disappearing into the night. Caytoh stared at the dancing flames of the fire, an amuzed smirk on his face. Yes, once he had that jewel, the entire world was going to see just how powerful Darkland truly was.
_________________
"Life is like a video game; the final bosses always suck." -twinling

[Midnight]

Fascinating. A story that doesn't involve navis...just yet. I will admit it is a welcome change of pace from the other stories that I have read recently. There may be one or two spelling errors that I saw, but beyond that, it's a fair start.

There aren't many Pride stories out there. Make this one good.
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Today, these three players are after Big Bucks! But they'll have to avoid the Whammy, as they play the most exciting game of their lives! From Television City in Hollywood! It's time to 'Press Your Luck!'--Rod Roddy

The Kingdom of Loathing: An Adventurer is You! // I ♣ Seals

Avatar by Spork. I very much appreciate it! <3

[Neko]

I know what the jewel is for.... <sing song/>

Great job Yue! Glad this finally started :3
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[Yue-chan]

Well, since Neko continued to prod me until I wrote this, here is chapter two of this fic. Hope you all like it.

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Chapter Two


Pride stared out of the window of her private jet, watching the sun sparkle on the water. She was on her way to Japan to meet with some of the Sci-lab officials. They were working on a new security system with both Creamland and Sharro, and Pride was going to see how things were progressing. It was also an exuse to go and see her favorite net battler, Hikari Netto. She wondered idly if Laika would also be there, since he was Sharro's Net Savior, and would probably be working closely with his country's scientists on the secutiry system as well. But it was Netto that she really wanted to see.

If someone had ever asked her why she felt so close to the younger net battler she would have told them that it was because he was the first person who had ever seen her for something other than just "The Princess of Creamland". He treated her as a regular person, and didn't care one bit if she was a princess or not. On more than one occassion he had proven that such rank didn't matter to him. Whether she was a princess or the lowliest person in her kindom, it didn't matter to him. Netto liked her for who she was, not what she was. A nice change from all of those diplomats, heads of governments and other kindoms that she had to deal with every day.

"Pride-sama, we will be landing soon," one of Pride's aides told her, looking up from her computer screen. Pride nodded absently and continued to stare out the window. She wondered what Netto was up to at that very moment...


~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Netto-kun! If you don't hurry you'll be late!" Rockman shouted from his Pet. The blue navi tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for his opperator to finish dressing.

"I'm're going as fast as I can," Netto snapped back, straightening up his headband. He grabbed his Pet from the desk and ran down the stairs and with a quick, "Bye, Mom!" was out the door.

"We go through this every morning, Netto-kun," Rockman sighed. "Why can't you get up on time for a change?"

"Don't worry, Rockman," Netto replied, grinning. "Since when does anyone ever expect me to be on time to begin with. If I did show up on time, I think everyone would have a heart attack."

Rockman chuckled a bit weakly. "I guess.." was all the navi said.

A little time later Netto skated into the large building that was the Headquarters for the Net Saviors. Some of the workers there recognized the young Net Savior and waved, and Netto grinned and waved back as he headed for the elevator. Inside he was surprised to find Manabe also in the elevator, carrying a couple of folders and looking just a tad bit frazzled.

"I guess I'm not the only one who's late," Netto said with a smile. Manabe smiled back and the young NetSavior.

"Yes, but I don't make a habit of it," She replied, causing Netto to blush a little.

The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened up, allowing both Manabe and Netto to exit. Both of them headed to the main office, where Kifune was sitting behind his desk. There were two other people in the room, one being someone Netto recognized very well. Laika stood in front of Kifune's desk, his posture as rigid as always, his expression one of seriousness. The other was a person that Netto had never seen before, though he was wearing an identical uniform as Laika, marking him as coming from Sharro. He was a few inches shorter than Laika, with straight brown hair that fell to his shoulders. His eyes were blue, like Laika's, but, as Netto quickly noticed, both his eyes and his face held far more expression that Laika's did. He seemed to be far more open and, though he was also standing at attention as Laika was, he definitely looked far more relaxed.

"Ah, Manabe-kun, Netto-kun, welcome," Kifune said, rising from his seat.

Manabe nodded to Kifune and handed him the folders she'd been carrying, which he set on the desk. He then turned back to Netto, who was staring at the strange soldier with open curiousity. Kifune chuckled softly. Netto never really changed, no matter how old he got.

"As you can see, I have someone to introduce to you. I'd like you to meet Paval, Sharro's newest Net Savior. Paval, this is Hikari Netto, one of Japan's best Net Saviors."

"Nice to meet you, Paval," Netto said, holding out his hand in greeting.

"Likewise," Paval said, taking Netto's hand and giving it a firm shake. "I look forward to working with both you and Laika. I hope that someday I'll be able to become as good as the both of you."

Netto chuckled, and Laika just gave his companion a stony stare.

"Well, you'll have the chance to do so," Kifune said, taking one of the folders on his desk and opening it. "The reason Laika and Paval have come to Japan is because Sci-Labs is working on a new security program with both Sharro and Creamland. Princess Pride should be arriving rather shortly, and you shall be meeting her at the Sci-Labs."

Netto looked very happy at that information. He hadn't seen Pride in a long time, and he wanted to know how she was doing. And was he imagining it, or did Laika smile, just a bit? Well, he was friends with Pride too, so why shouldn't the Sharro Net Savior be happy about seeing her as well.

"And what is our mission, exactly?" Paval asked.

"The three of you, along with your navis, shall be guarding the Sci-Lab mainfrain while the scientists are working on the new program," Manabe answered. "Something this important is bound to attract attention from criminal syndicates, and we must not allow them to get this program. If they did so, they would be able to use it to manipulate other security programs around the world, and it could cause chaos of all sorts."

The three Net Saviors nodded. Laika and Netto knew just what kind of trouble this could cause, from past missions. Paval had no experience as of yet, but being trained as a soldier, he understood, in a sense, just how bad a situation could get for everyone concerned if some clever criminal got their hands on such a program.

"There's a car waiting to take the three of you to the Sci-Labs now. I wish you all the best of luck," Kifune said, dismissing them. The three nodded and left the office to head for Sci-Labs.

*~*~*~*~*~

Rockman and Searchman had both been plugged into the computer of the car their Operators were riding in, and the blue navi greeted the sniper-navi with a friendly smile.

"Its been awhile since we've worked together," Rockman said, happily. "I see Laika hasn't changed much."

"It has been awhile, Rockman, and no, Laika hasn't changed much. We were both surprised when our superiors told us that we were being partnered with a new Net Savior, and that he and his navi were to train with us. I don't think Laika was to happy about this."

Rockman sighed and nodded. "Laika does prefer to do things on his own, most of the time. Paval seems like a nice person, though. But...where is his navi?"

Rockman had looked around, but he hadn't seen any other navis other than himself and Searchman. Searchman looked a little exasperated and shook his head at that comment. He began to make a comment, but was interrupted when a hole opened up in the middle of the net floor. For a split second Rockman thought that Rush had found his way to the pair, but it wasn't the little dog that popped out of the hole.

The head and shoulders of a female navi appeared suddenly, her honey-gold eyes looking around, finally coming to rest on Rockman and Searchman. She smiled and hopped out of the hole, and it closed behind her. The navi, now that Rockman could see her clearly, looked similar to Searchman in that, like the other navi, her colors were black and camoflauge, but unlike Searchman she had neither a rifle or a helmet. She had dark blue hair that hung down her back in a braid, and the navi symbol on her chest was, oddly enough, a celtic triad that was gold, silver, and bronze in color.

"Hello," She said, walking up to Rockman and Searchman. She ignored the other Sharro navi, focusing all of her attention on Rockman. "I'm Jump, Paval's navi. Who're you?"

Rockman was a little taken aback by her straightforward, open manner. From what he had seen of Sharro's navis, they were as reserved as the soldiers they were paired with. Jump, on the other hand, seemed to be on the opposite side of that spectrum. Granted, Searchman wasn't as extremely reserved as his operator, but Jump seemed to be as open as Netto. It seemed odd to Rockman, but the change wasn't an unpleasant one.

"Hi, Jump. I'm Rockman. My operator is Netto-kun."

"Ah, the brown-haired boy talking to Paval. He seems nice enough. Is he as good a netbattler as I've heard? I've heard you two are among the best there is." Jump asked, sounding as if she didn't quite believe the rumors she'd heard.

"Netto-kun and I are a very good team," Rockman replied honestly, blushing a little. "We're very close, and we work very well together."

Jump nodded very quickly. "Perhaps we'll have a chance to battle each other later on. Paval and I are pretty good as well."

"I'm sure you are, if you both became Net Saviors," Rockman agreed.

Jump smiled at that comment, then suddenly shifted her attention to Searchman. She jumped at him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, much to the other navi's dismay.

"Oi, Searchman, lets play a game until we reach the Sci-Labs," Jump said with a grin.

"I'd rather not," Searchman replied, untangling Jump's arms from around his neck and pushing her away. "Try to concentrate on your mission."

"But we're not at the Sci-Labs yet, so our mission hasn't technically started yet," Jump said, shaking her finger at him. Then she grinned suddenly, and snapped her fingers. Rockman was confused for a moment, then suddenly a hole like the one Jump had come out of opened up beneath Searchman's feet, causing the other navi to fall. He didn't fall far, but deep enough that both Rockman and Jump had to walk to the edge of the hole to see their comrade. Searchman looked up at the pair, and he was not amused.

"Aww, did the poor navi fall down the hole?" Jump sing-songed. "Tsk, tsk, Searchman. I thought you Net Savior navis were always prepared."

"Jump! Get me out of this hole. Now!" Searchman shouted, attracting the attention of the three Operators. Laika looked as irritated as his navi, Paval had the grace to look embarrassed at his navi's joke, and Netto just began to laugh.

"Netto-kun, don't laugh," Rockman chided.

"S-s-sorry," Netto said, around his giggling fits. "But that was funny."

Laika glared at both Netto and Paval for the rest of the car ride, which was quiet the rest of the way.

~*~*~*~*~

Several minutes later the car pulled into the Sci-Lab parking lot. The three Net Saviors quickly went inside to find the area where the program was being worked on. Not surprisingly, Yuuichiro and Meijin were both there, with Yuuichiro supervising everything. There were serval other scientists there as well, both from Sharro, and Creamland as well as the ones that normally worked at Sci-Labs. And standing right next to Yuuichiro was none other than Princess Pride.

"Poipu!" Netto shouted, running over to the princess.

"Netto-kun!" Pride cried just as happily, hugging Netto tightly. "I'm so glad to see you!"

"Likewise," Netto said, blushing as he pulled away. Pride always made him feel warm and fuzzy inside, though he hadn't noticed it so much before as he did now. Yuuichiro smiled and winked at his son as Pride went to greet Laika and Paval.

"Its good to see you again, Pride-sama," Laika said, bowing politely.

"Just Pride," Pride admonished in a friendly tone. "There's no need to be so formal, Laika, especially among friends."

Laika flushed a little bit and nodded slightly. "This is Paval, a new Net Savior from Sharro. He's been assigned to work with Netto-kun and myself for the time being."

"Its an honor to meet you, Pride-sama," Paval said, bowing politely to Pride.

"Its nice to meet you too, Paval, and please, just call me Pride."

Paval nodded and smiled at Pride. She smiled back and returned to Netto's side. Netto was looking at the computer screen, where various bits of data were being compiled together.

"Papa, what is this new security system supposed to protect?" Netto asked curiously, looking up at Yuuichiro.

"We're creating it to replace the security system that's currently protecting a dangerous virus," Yuuichiro explained. "Since the old program has begun to wear down, we need to get this new one finished as soon as possible."

"Oh?" Paval asked. "Why not just use a new version on the current security program? Wouldn't that be easier?"

Pride shook her head. "If that were possible, we would. However, this virus somehow has the ability to learn the weaknesses in different programs, albeit very slowly, but because of this feature, its impossible to use the same security program twice. That's why we must continually update and change the program guarding the virus."

"Just what does the virus do?" Laika questioned. He liked to know just how big of a threat this thing could present if someone tried to break in and steal it.

"We still aren't sure about that," Meijin answered truthfully. "Sci-Labs is still in the process of studying this virus, but its best to have it in containment rather than letting it run loose."

The three Net Saviors nodded at that statement. None of them wanted to think of what could happen if an unknown virus suddenly managed to break free into the internet.

All of a sudden several alarms went off at once as a warning flashed across several of the computer screens!

"Alert! Alert!" An automated voice said over the intercomm. system. "Sci-Lab firewall is under attack."


*~*~*~*~*~
In a car parked a little ways down the street from Sci-Labs, a young man had a laptop resting on his lap, and he was punching away at the keys in rapid succession. The was a smirk dancing on his lips as his eyes followed the lines of information on the screen. He'd been ordered to take out the Sci-Lab mainframe by his current employer, and he'd been thrilled at the chance to do so.

"This ought to be challenging," the man said with an odd grin. "And I love a challenge. Are you ready, Snare?"

The red and gold navi that was resting in the corner of the laptop's screen snapped to attention immediately. "Of course," She said with the same smirk that her operator had.

"Then go to it."

"Back in a flash," she said, vanishing from the screen. The man continued to watch the data flying across the screen. The fun was going to begin very soon.
_________________
"Life is like a video game; the final bosses always suck." -twinling

[Neko]

AHHH! Jump is so awesome! I love her /o/

Okay, I love the new chappie Yue :3 Great job
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[Midnight]

Intriguing.

Jump is the type of navi that I would have NEVER seen coming into the story as one of the protagonists. I guess I have to blame all of the other fics that I have read that have conditioned me into thinking of the generic protagonist's navi. Don't get me wrong--I adore having such a navi in the works, as it will certainly lead to some interesting plot lines. I'd like to see how Jump will integrate into the future of the story.

One fairly glaring hole, though: