Part 76: Rush to the Undernet.

I feel like I'm rewarding bad behavior, but the best way to get the thread back on track is to update.



Ito just kind of feels empty inside after his precious plan was foiled.



To the point where he cooperates with the actual agents of justice, the NetPolice.



Fortunately, however, it only took a few days to repair. And once it was?



"Guilty!"



And the game is fully aware of this situation, of course. Ito's the one responsible for the JudgeTree being created in the first place, remember?



Speaking of punishment, there's one last person who needs to be dealt with.



That's a wrap for this chapter, time to cut to the other villains!



For those wondering if Baryl is still Colonel's operator after last update, here's your answer. The guy speaking is introduced as Vic.



Despite the setbacks of Ito messing up, MegaMan getting one of the Cybeasts, and pretty much everything else we've done to screw with the organization, their plan is on track.



Remember, who was it Baryl was talking to at the end of MMBN5? Our organization finally reveals its name: WWW has returned! Incidentally, that's apparently pronounced "The World Three", so referring to it as "The WWW" would be redundant.



Cut back to Lan, innocently watching the weather report from Sky Town.



Oh for the love of god, not the Environmental Control System again! At least this time it's on a much smaller scale than computer-controlled ozone layers and sea levels.



Right after that, we get an email about round 2 of the Expo Pavilion Operator Navi Selection Test. Yeah, it kind of doesn't roll off the tongue like "N1" does, eh?



Speaking of Sky Town, that's where the next part of the test takes place, so off we go!



Well, after we do a bit of shopping, I mean.



No, that isn't the aquarium Director, just an identical NPC.



Yeah, Sky Town is up in the air. How high up? Well, an NPC will tell us, so wait for the screenshot.



Even if Baryl and Colonel left us, Team Colonel isn't out of the park yet.



Guess what our next Cross is going to be!



It isn't available yet, but once it becomes available, you can bet we'll be snagging TomahawkCross.



That's...taller than Mt. Everest by a good 1000 feet.



This is what we have to call a spectacularly bad idea. Jesus CHRIST, there aren't even handrails! Don't winds up that high get freakishly strong and blow at like, hurricane speeds?



And then there's the fact that ascending via elevator gives the body no time to acclimate to the reduced air pressure, lack of oxygen...What the heck.



Nearby objects contain a new virus.

FighterPlane: After a second of staying still, they'll fly forward down their row twice. Following that, one of them (if there are multiples of them on the field) will open fire and blast each of MegaMan's panels in sequence slowly, moving in an N-shape up and down each column.



There's an air conditioner, a fan, a heater, and a shower. You can jack into each of them and grab some decent swag for the time being.



Why do I mention this? In the Air Conditioner, there's a PunkNavi who sells RushFood for 3000z a pop. I shell out for three units. These can be used to open pathways and shortcuts.



Heading into Sky Town's central building, I note the oxygen tanks and recall them being used for something. Investigating them yields an HP Memory, but that's not it.



It's kind of amusing how the game cheerfully acknowledges everything wrong with the way Sky Town is set up. But another program in this system mentions finding a document with the number "729" written on it. That was what I remembered, that's a password we'll be using later.



Anyway, let the second round of the Operator Navi test begin! Battle means this will be easy and fun.



Eh, stuff it you.



We'll be talking to Mr. Weather to register, AKA Cyber City's weatherbot.



He's also the control system for the Sky Town mainframe. So since Mr. Weather is what controls and reports the weather, he's never wrong.




On the way, we meet these two rather goofy-looking NPCs. These guys are actually the last two crosses in the game, after TomahawkCross, so we'll be seeing them again later.



Mr. Weather gives us a free Umbrella made of a super-strong material just for participating. How nice!



Anyway, here's the format of the next test. Sky Town has two areas, and in each area, there are two Navis who will administer the tests via multi-round virus battles. When you win, they'll give you a WinCard, and you need to collect all 4 and show them to the organizer Navi.



She even remarks that it could be used as a parachute in an emergency. And considering that that's hamfisted foreshadowing if I've ever seen it, that doesn't bode well for the future.



Once again, Sky Town is ridiculous. I can't help but imagine a safety inspector just taking one look at the place and foaming at the mouth.

I mean, look at the background, the whole place is supported by rockets! It's just impossible not to laugh at how absurd Sky Town is!



Nope, sorry. No Number Trader, and no Chip Traders until after I've beaten the game. MMBN6 gets its dignity.



Cooooooffeeeeeee....



The level 1 judge has a 3 round fight. We get WinCard A.



Also in SkyArea: the BugFrag trader. Oooh, I hate you. Not only are there several chips here that can't be acquired anywhere else, thus necessary for 100% completion, but the PoisSeed P needs to be bought TWICE for the PoisonPharaoh P.A.!



ScareCrow: These motionless viruses will do nothing most of the time. After a few seconds, however, a bolt of lightning will strike them, refill their HP to full, and then they'll fire the bolt down the row they're set on.



And here's a demonstration of the RushFood! After you buy it, you'll start seeing panels marked with bones.



Opting to use the RushFood causes Rush to appear! What's interesting is that those are clearly the old PopUp viruses from MMBN2. The thing is, the MMBN Anime used that virus' design to represent Rush in the series, so apparently the designers of this game liked the idea and spliced it in.



Aw, come on, game, don't mock us for Colonel's betrayal!



The second judge has a 5-rounder for us. These fights actually surprised me with how they were set up, because these aren't ordinary viruses being used. I cannot believe I didn't take at least one screenshot of any of the fights, but we're up against SP Viruses, basically the Omega viruses from MMBN3 making a comeback.



NO! LET ME INTO MY FAVORITE PLAYGROUND! This here is the way to the Undernet, but we can't go there for now, sadly.



Due to a minor screwup on my part, I wind up finding the level 4 judge before the level 3 judge in area 2. 10 consecutive fights against SP viruses, hoo boy.



I'm honestly surprised, storyline virus battles are rarely ever difficult. This is actually tough! I'm delighted.



The level 3 judge just has another 5-round fight, yawn.



That's a wrap!



We'll be notified about the 3rd and final round shortly, but until then, we get a VacData. This'll let us access SkyArea from CentralArea3.



Yeah, that was actually kind of difficult.



Ehehehehe. I just love how pissy Mick's Navi is.



That's actually an impressive demonstration of skill, though, I have to admit.



They get into another argument, and Mick's Navi storms off.



What, really!? YAY! That means we get to go there!



Screw that, we've got something else to do here.



This section was just me poking around, but it worked out so well you'd think I knew what I was doing.



This door here requires the passcode that the PunkNavi on screen left in the oxygen tank computer by mistake. Good thing I remembered that!



We're in Undernet Zero again! Remember what I said about it having three entrances? Time for part two of the area.



This guy's a hacker, and whips up a WWWID for us in exchange for 3000z. A great bargain, now we can get to all the loot behind the skull doors!



Back in Undernet 1, we can't access Undernet 2 for a while. There isn't even a password entry screen, unfortunately.



The second ExpandMemory is right here in a computer that has a warp point connected to the Undernet.



And a purple mystery data yields a Muramasa! That's enough swag for now from he Undernet, time to go attend to Mick's Navi.



Statues of Gregar and Falzar? I don't like the look of this.



Wait, offering?



Meet the Cybeast Cult.



Hey, there's a funny story about that, actually...



Even Mick's Navi offers dry commentary on the situation. That's my job, you!



The cult begins chanting and calling out to their gods, the Cybeasts.



And guess what, Falzar responds. That isn't good.



This is basically a small shrine to the Cybeasts, so between it and the chanting, Falzar is probably quite eager to break out. Note how the statue of Gregar's eyes are glowing. Falzar's are too, but they're off screen.



I'm so proud of MegaMan for remembering that they can do this at any time. ALthough, he himself doesn't have enough control over his body to do so at the moment.



No (Mega)Man left behind!








The cult finally notices that MegaMan's glowing and surging with an all too familiar power.



I AM your god!



Falzar's taken over MegaMan...



For a few seconds!



Time to grab a LinkNavi!



TenguMan, you're a wind master, maybe you're the best one to deal with a berserk chicken god.



From Green Area to CentralArea3...



And CentralArea3 to SkyArea.



Short trip. I like how TenguMan is completely relaxed in this situation.



It's the DarkMega situation all over again!



And considering how spiritual TenguMan and Master Feng-Tian are, they're kind of the best ones to know about that sort of thing.



Suddenly!



MegaMan's a danger to the whole internet, given that he has Falzar inside of him. We should be keeping this in mind.

And no, I totally can't guess who that hooded Navi is. ProtoMan, there aren't many people with a purple sword arm who move at insane speeds. Also, cloaks are Bass' fashion statement, not yours!



Seriously, TenguMan just radiates with tranquility.