Lan's father, Yuichiro Hikari, curiously absent for most of "EXE", completes his research on the Synchro Chip, a device that enables Operators and NetNavis to become one through the use of Cross Fusion. This development coincides with a plot by Nebula (led by the notorious Dr. Regal) and the Darkloids (headed by ShadeMan and later Laserman) to take over both the human and cyberworlds. It is at this point that events involving Navis become secondary to the action that takes place in the real world (rather than the cyberworld), which has led critics to label it a generic Henshin (transforming) series. The storyline in "Axess" is considerably darker, and many "EXE" regulars make only sporadic appearances.