Chapter 4: A New Threat

'Just as the trio begins enjoying their vacation, it's suddenly interrupted, but by who or what is the question at hand.'

Jawaii Island's Power Plant

Having heard the explosion and having discovered a massive black cloud streaming from the island's power plant area, the four rushes to the power plant to investigate the damage. Now arriving at the power plant, the four begins looking around the area as they cover their mouths to prevent the smoke from entering their lungs.

"That's strange." Maylu speaks, continuing to keep her mouth covered. "An explosion took place here, but there isn't a source in sight that leads to what caused it."

Rush barks twice, indicating that he agrees with Maylu's statement.

"You're right." Tori agrees, keeping his mouth covered as well. "That is strange."

"Not strange enough." Lan adds in with suspicion in his voice. "I've got a hunch that might be right."

Grabbing his PET, Lan immediately hits the A button, which opens a transmission from the PET to Sci-Lab. With the transmission open, a connection is now established to Sci-Lab with Mr. Famous appearing on the screen of the PET.

"Mr. Famous, we need a dimensional area at Jawaii Island's Power Plant right away." Lan requests.

"Right away Lan." Mr. Famous replies.

Within a minute, a dimensional area now appears over the power plant.

"Some how I knew you Net Saviors were going to show up." A voice from behind the four now speaks.

Hearing the voice, the four now turns around and spots the owner of the voice. The voice belongs to none other then the dark, sinister leader of the dark loids, Dark Megaman.

"Dark…." Maylu begins.

"Megaman." Roll finishes Maylu's sentence.

"Dark Megaman." Lan hisses as he slants his eyes in anger.

"The one and only, but let's not forget about my loyal allies." Dark Megaman says as he steps one space to his right.

A dark shadow in the form of a human being with wings sprouting from its back now steps into the light and smirks.

"Swallowman!" Lan says in anger.

A dark shadow with rings around its wrists, ankles, and body now steps into the light.

"Cosmoman!" Tori hisses.

And lastly, a dark shadow that is sitting on a cloud now floats into the light, revealing itself.

"Cloudman!" Maylu speaks, her anger rapidly rising.

"Good, now that we are all properly introduced, I must take my leave now." Dark Megaman speaks. "Bye, bye."

Dark Megaman now teleports out of the area, leaving the three Dark Loids face to face with the three member of the cross-fusing team.

"I'm up for a staring contest any day, but for now, let's decide who gets to stay and who gets deleted." Lan speaks. "Are you ready Tori and Maylu?"

"Ready!" Tori and Maylu says in unison.

Rush now jumps into the air and transforms into a synchro chip that now falls into Maylu's hand. Grabbing their PET's, the three now slot in their synchro chips.

"Begin Cross-Fusion!" The three shout in unison.

Blinding light now envelops the three. Within a minute, the light disappears, revealing the three in cross-fusion form. Lan in Megaman cross-fusion, Tori in Iceman cross-fusion, and Maylu in Roll cross-fusion form.

The three now huddle up, with their backs touching while keeping their eyes on the three dark loids.

"Maylu, you take Swallowman, Tori you take Cloudman, and I'll take Cosmoman." Lan informs them. "Be careful."

Tori and Maylu nod as they now part company with Lan to go deal their assigned dark loids.

Lan and Cosmoman now lock gazes as the tension between them begins to rise and thicken. The tension is so thick that you can cut it with a knife.

"Didn't you learn your lesson two years ago?" Lan questions with venom dripping from his voice. "Wasn't the defeat you tasted then not good enough? Well, I wouldn't mind jogging your memory!"

"You may have defeated me two years ago, but I've gotten much stronger since then." Cosmoman replies with a light chuckle. "I'll be more than happy to display that for you. Cosmo Ring!"

Releasing the cosmic rings, the rings are heading in Lan's direction at lightning speed. Eyeing the rings coming at him, Lan now converts his right arm to the High Cannon as he leaps into the air. The rings now impact the ground where Lan was standing.

"Nice try, but not good enough!" Lan says with a grin. "High Cannon!"

The attack is released from the cannon's barrel and is heading for Cosmoman at a rapid pace. Cosmoman grins as a blue field now forms around him. The high cannon's attack now makes contact with the field, but instead of causing damage, it is deflected.

Landing on the ground, Lan stares in disbelief, not believing his attack was deflected in an instant.

"Oh, did I forget to mention my new Magnetic Field?" Cosmoman says in a casually calm tone. "Something else that has improved since our last meeting. Impressive isn't it? Well, you'll love this even better. Cosmo Buster!"

Now releasing the planetary attack, it is heading towards Lan at a lightening speed rate. Still in shock about his attack being deflected, Lan is now impacted by the attack and is knocked to the ground.

Lan, will you start paying closer attention to the situation at hand?!?" Megaman fumes. "I'm taking serious damage here!"

"Well, you're not the only one." Lan replies to Megaman.

"I see you're getting that ever lasting taste of defeat." Cosmoman taunts as his magnetic field falls. "Allow me to continue serving it up. Cosmo Gate!"

Raising his hands to the sky, a void of space now opens up as ringed satellites begins raining down from the void. Seeing the satellites raining down, Lan rolls out of the way as the satellites now impact the ground. Now getting to his feet, Lan converts his right arm to the Charge Shot Cannon.

"You're a slippery one aren't you?" Cosmoman casually speaks as he now lowers his hands and begins walking towards Lan. "Looks like we're going to have to take care of that, now won't we?"

"Maybe, maybe not." Lan says with a grin as he now aims the Charge Shot Cannon in Cosmoman's direction. "Charge Shot!"

With the cannon fully charged, Lan releases the attack that quickly and directly impacts Cosmoman in the abdomen, causing him to stumble backwards.

Cyber World

In the dark regions of the Cyber World, in the cyber lair, sits Dark Megaman. He is watching the trio battle on the screen in front of him, but is mainly focusing on Lan's battle.

"Very entertaining." Dark Megaman says with a slight laugh. "I expected less then what I originally anticipated, but surprisingly, got more then what I anticipated."

Now crossing his left leg over his right one, Dark Megaman continues watching the battle.

Jawaii's Power Plant

"Planetary attack!" Cosmoman calls as he now raises his hands to the sky.

A ring with the nine planets on it now appears and circles around Lan, trapping him in the middle.

"What the?" Lan asks as he begins looking around him, at the ring.

The ring now begins spinning as the nine planets release an Electromagnetic Beam that directly impacts Lan. Lan screams out in pain as the planets continue electrocuting him. Continuing to electrocute Lan, the ring now disappears as Lan falls to his knees.

"Now who's learning their lesson from two years ago?" Cosmoman speaks as he approaches Lan. "Are you going to continue learning this lesson or are you going to let the lesson come to an end?"

Lan doesn't respond, but instead, converts his right arm to the Neo Variable Sword.

"No response huh?" Cosmoman says with a small smirk. "You're going to learn to answer me when I speak to you Net Savior!"

A yellow streak now cuts through the air with Cosmoman landing on the ground, face first. Lan now stands as he faces Cosmoman.

"School's in and today's lesson is: Never mess with a Net Savior 101!" Lan speaks firmly. "Open your book to page one!"

Maylu's Battle

"Rush Hole!" Maylu now calls as she places her right hand on the ground. A huge hole in the ground now opens and begins expanding.

The hole's vacuum suction begins trying to pull Swallowman, in bird form, into the hole. Struggling against the strong pull of the suction, Swallowman manages to get out of the range of the hole and transforms back into his dark loid form as he lands on the ground. The hole now closes.

"What is it going to take to get rid of this guy?" Roll asks with aggravation.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out soon." Maylu answers as she keeps her sights locked on Swallowman.

As the three battles continue, the curry shop gang now arrives at the power plant.

"Dark Loids?!?" Maddie speaks in anger. "So it was them who caused that explosion and interrupted the lunch hour! We lost money today thanks to them!"

"And it was them who broke the shop's windows!" Yahoot yells. "You dark loids owe me new windows!"

"Good luck getting them." Mr. Match says in a sarcastic tone.

Dingo, who is watching the battle, now grabs his PET.

"I have to go help them." Dingo says as he begins approaching the dimensional area. "I'm apart of the team."

Maddie notices Dingo heading for the dimensional area and grabs him by his shirt, instantly stopping him.

"You can't go help them now." Maddie says to Dingo. "Your shift isn't over yet."

"And I'm not covering for you this time, unlike last time." Dex adds in. "Two shifts are too many."

"It was an emergency as to why I couldn't come in that day." Dingo replies.

"Well, you're going to have to sit this one out I'm afraid." Maddie says to Dingo.

Dingo now releases a sigh as he continues watching the three battles, wishing that he could help out his team.

"Swarm of Ravens!" Swallowman calls as he now begins whistling.

A swarm of black ravens now appears and begins to violently flock around Maylu.

"I hate birds!" Maylu hisses as she begins fighting off the bird swarm. "They are the most annoying things in nature next to bugs!"

"I do too!" Roll adds in. "Just when you think Swallowman couldn't get any more annoying, he just proves me wrong!"

"Time to clear this crowd." Maylu says as she continues fighting off the birds. "Roll Whip!"

The antennas on Roll's helmet now begin swinging at the birds, swatting them away. Continuing to swat the birds away, the swarm of ravens now flies away. Having cleared the crowd of birds, Maylu now turns to Swallowman as she converts her right arm to the Roll arrow.

"Now, it's time to deal with you bird brain!" Maylu says as she now aims the arrow in Swallowman's direction.

Tori's Battle

Tori now dodges a lighting bolt from one of Cloudman's clouds.

"Snow Storm!" Tori calls as he now raises his hands to the sky.

The sky above them now turns dark with dark snow clouds as the snow clouds begins blowing snow around the area while producing below zero temperature winds. Cloudman is immediately frozen by the freezing cold temperatures and the snow.

Noticing this, Tori now converts his right arm to the Wide Sword. Swiftly leaping in the air, Tori swings the sword in Cloudman's direction and impacts him in the chest. Cloudman now falls to the ground as he begins to thaw out. Continuing to thaw out, Cloudman now begins trying to get to back on balance.

"Oh no you're not!" Tori says in anger as he now converts his right arm to the Spreader Cannon.

Quickly aiming the Spread Cannon towards Cloudman, the single beam immediately leaves the cannon's barrel and splits into many shots that impacts Cloudman, knocking him back to the ground.

"I thought when I came to Jawaii Island to vacation, I wouldn't see any of you, but since you just had to show up, then you're going to pay for ruining my vacation!" Tori fumes with frustration.

Tori's right arm now converts to the Charge Shot Cannon as he immediately aims it towards Cloudman.

"Eat hot cannon Dark Loid!" Tori hisses as the shot is now fired.

A bright light is all that Cloudman can see in his vision.

Lan's Battle

"Cosmo Buster!" Cosmoman yells.

The ringed satellite orbs now appear as they begin heading towards Lan. Quickly performing a double back hand spring, Lan now dodges the ringed satellites.

"It's about time this lesson came to an end." Lan speaks through his heavy panting as his right arm now converts back to his right arm and hand with his right palm beginning to glow.

Dark Megaman, who is continuing to watch the battle, notices this as the window in front of him now displays what is making Lan's palm glow. Seeing it, an image now flashes through Dark Megaman's mind, reminding him of what he is looking at.

"The Crest Of Duo." Dark Megaman speaks in shock as he sits forward on the throne. "He is a protector of earth. Cosmoman, grab the crest now!"

Hearing the request, Cosmoman nods as he now disappears from Lan's sight. Noticing Cosmoman's sudden disappearance, Lan begins looking around for him.

"Where did he go?" Lan asks, continuing to look around for him.

"Looking for me?" Cosmoman questions as he now appears behind Lan.

Hearing Cosmoman's voice behind him, Lan's muscles now freeze up from sudden surprise.

"I believe you have something that is valuable to the boss." Cosmoman says as he grabs Lan's wrist.

Now placing his left palm on top of Lan's right palm, Lan begins to feel weak.

"I'm starting to feel weak." Lan says as his speech begins to slur with his cross-fusion beginning to fall apart.

"Lan, the cross-fusion is starting to come apart!" Megaman speaks to Lan in a frantic tone.

While Cosmoman is continuing to remove the crest from Lan's palm, a voice now echoes over the battle field: Medi Capsule! (Sorry, couldn't find the English version of her attack.)

A huge purple and white capsule now enters the area and breaks up the trio battle.

"My job is done here." Cosmoman says with a grin as he now releases Lan's wrist, dropping him to the ground. "Let's go."

Cosmoman, injured Cloudman, and fuming Swallowman now teleport out of the area as the dimensional area begins unraveling. The dimensional area completely falls as everyone's cross-fusion comes undone.

"Oh my god Lan!" Maddie practically shouts as she, Tori, Maylu, Jasmine and the curry shop gang now rush over to Lan. Now reaching him, Maylu kneels at his side as she grabs his left hand.

"Lan, are you ok?" Maylu asks in a frightened tone. "Please speak to me!"

"I'm fine." Lan replies as he turns to Maylu with a weak smile. "I'm just extremely exhausted."

Maylu smiles as she lightly squeezes Lan's hand.

"Hey, who was that who scared off the Dark Loids?" Tori curiously asks.

"No need to thank me, but you're welcome anyway." A voice from behind the crowd speaks.

Everyone now turns around and spots the owner of the voice.

"Jasmine!" Maylu sneers as she slightly slants her eyes in anger.

"Thanks Jasmine, for helping us out." Tori thanks Jasmine with a warm smile.

"You're welcome." Jasmine replies with a confident smile. (Have I mentioned I can't stand her?)

"Let's get Lan back to the shop immediately." Count Zap speaks up.

Maddie, Count Zap, and Mr. Match helps Lan to his feet as they now begin heading back to the shop.

Cyber World

In the cyber lair, Swallowman, Cloudman, and Cosmoman have returned and are standing in front of the throne, in front of Dark Megaman.

"Good job all." Dark Megaman congratulates the three Dark Loids. "You did well. So far, we only have one of the 13 crests of Duo. Now if that one earth protector possesses a crest, then that means the others possess one as well. We will collect the others soon enough and once I have all of the crests, there will be more then enough power to bring those brats and the world to their knees."

A sly smirk now crosses Dark Megaman's face.

#1 Curry Shop

Back at the shop, Lan has been seated at a booth and is holding a cold compress to his forehead.

"How did you find us Jasmine?" Maylu calmly questions to Jasmine as she now turns to her.

"Medi picked up the frequency of the dimensional area and informed me of it." Jasmine answers. "That led me right to you guys and of course with me being a cross fusing member and all, I had to do my civic duty and help out."

"Thanks for your help Jasmine." Maylu says with a smile. "We really appreciated it."

::::I thought I'd never live to EVER say that to her.:::: Maylu mentally says to herself as she continues to smile.

"You're welcome." Jasmine replies, returning the smile.

"Yea, Maylu's right." Tori adds in as he now turns to Jasmine and Maylu. "If it weren't for you showing up when you did, who knows what would have happened."

"It was no problem Tori, but will Lan be ok?" Jasmine asks in concern.

"I'll be fine." Lan answers, continuing to hold the cold compress to his forehead. "I'm just extremely exhausted right now. I've never known for a battle to exhaust me like this."

"I'm a bit exhausted right now myself." Tori chimes in.

"Lan, are you ok?" a familiar voice to the group now inquires.

Hearing the voice, everyone now turns to the exit/entrance of the shop and spots Dr. Hikari.

"Dad, what are you doing here so early?" Lan asks in surprise as Dr. Hikari begins approaching the group. "I wasn't expecting you for at least another couple of days now."

"As soon as I heard about the Dark Loid attack, I had to rush right over here from America." Dr. Hikari explains as he now reaches the group. "How do you feel son?"

"More exhausted then I have ever felt in my life." Lan answers, now removing the cold compress from his forehead.

"Did anyone get hurt during the fight?" Dr. Hikari asks.

"Thankfully no." Maylu answers.

"Thank goodness." Dr. Hikari speaks in relief." Ok, the best thing for now is to head back to the hotel where I can get a better insight on what happened that led to your exhaustion Lan."

"What about our meal bill?" Tori asks. "We didn't pay for our meals yet."

"Consider it paid for." Maddie informs Tori. "The best thing to do now is to take care of Lan."

"Thank you so much Maddie." Dr. Hikari thanks her. "I will definitely pay you back for this. Maylu, Tori, Rush, and Lan, let's get going."

Mr. Match and Dex now helps Lan to his feet and hands him over to his father as the five proceed to the exit of the shop with Jasmine in tow.

"Alright everyone, back to work." Maddie commands.

Everyone now heads back to their assigned work positions with Dingo heading back to the dish room to finish washing the dishes as a sad expression now appears on his face.

Now reaching and entering the dish room, Dingo places his PET on the counter as he goes back to washing the dishes. Noticing the sad expression on his Net Op's face, Tomohawkman is consumed with worry.

"What's wrong Dingo?" Tomohawkman inquires. "You look sad."

"It's nothing Tomohawkman." Dingo answers as he now places a washed and rinsed dish in the drain board.

"Dingo, you know that won't work with me." Tomohawkman replies. "You know something is bothering you and I want to be able to help you. Now what's wrong?"

"Ok, what is bothering is me this. I wish you and I got the admiration and attention that Lan and Megaman gets." Dingo admits as he now turns to Tomohawkman.

"What do you mean Dingo?" Tomohawkman asks in confusion. "We do get that."

"Not like they do." Dingo continues fuming. "Ever since Lan and Megaman saved Dentech City and became Net Saviors, they get the respect of anyone they come across. That's what I want for us; I want us to get that same admiration."

"Dingo, we're apart of the cross-fusing team and everyone who is apart of that team is admired greatly." Tomohawkman replies.

"But it isn't the same Tomohawkman." Dingo argues back. "Listen, I'm going to take my break now. I've got some thinking to do."

Placing the last dish in the drain board, Dingo dries his hands as he now leaves the dish room.

Tomohawkman releases a heavy sigh, wishing that there was more that he could do for Dingo.

Having vented to Tomohawkman, Dingo is unaware that Tomohawkman wasn't the only one that listened to him vent.

"So Dingo wants him and his navi to be admired like Lan and my other half is does he?" Dark Megaman says to himself as he now closes the window in front of him. "Well, that can easily be arranged."

Now positioning his left hand in front of him, a window now appears with the being of light appearing on it.

"Hello again partner." Dark Megaman greets to the being of light. "I have a job for you, your first assignment if you will."

Ocean View Hotel (Room 425)

The five have returned to the hotel as Dr. Hikari continues performing anatomical checks on Lan while Lan is laying flat on his back in bed while holding a hot compress to his forehead.

"Well, your blood pressure is a tad bit low, but it's nothing to worry about." Dr. Hikari informs Lan as he now turns off the blood pressure monitor and removes the cuff from Lan's right arm. "Ok, your vital signs check out ok and so do your heart rate, brain activity, and your blood pressure. What I'm confused about is why you're so exhausted. You haven't been this exhausted since you first learned to cross-fuse."

"It could be that I haven't fought a dark loid in two years." Lan replies as he removes the compress from his forehead. "That's my only guess."

"But that can't be it." Dr. Hikari sincerly argues. "Whether you have or haven't fought a dark loid in a number of years wouldn't make a difference, but what would make a difference is what happened during the fight and something did happen during your fight with that dark loid that led to your extreme exhaustion."

"I'm not sure what did it." Lan replies, now placing the compress back on his forehead.

"Well in any case, I'm not going to give up until I find out what happened to you." Dr. Hikari confirms.

"Thanks Dad." Lan says with a small smile.

Maylu now takes Lan's left hand into her right and lightly squeezes it.

"I'm glad you'll be ok Lan." Maylu says with a smile.

"Me too." Lan replies as he turns to Maylu with a smile.

"Ok Lan, for now, until I can figure out your condition, I'm restricting your activities." Dr. Hikari informs him. "I can't risk anything happening to you."

"Does that mean I can't go to the beach today with my friends?" Lan question, quickly sitting up.

"Especially that." Dr. Hikari answers.

"Oh man!" Lan whines as he now flops back down on the bed. "That is so unfair!"

"I'm sorry Lan, but that is how it has to be for now." Dr. Hikari replies. "If I let you go out anywhere in your condition, anything can happen to you and I can't risk that. You'll understand one day when you become a parent."

"If I'm not still under strict control by then." Lan mumbles to himself.

"Don't worry Lan." Maylu speaks up. "Me, Jasmine, Rush, and Tori will be right here with you."

"Thanks guys." Lan says as he now turns to his friends.

"Alright everyone, I'm going to head down to the Sci-Lab here on the island to further investigate Lan's condition and I'll be back in a little bit to check on you son." Dr. Hikari informs everyone as he begins gathering his equipment. "If anything happens before I come back, call the lab immediately."

"Yes sir." Tori replies.

"Be back in a bit." Dr. Hikari says.

Having his supplies gathered, Dr. Hikari now slips out of the room, leaving Tori, Maylu and Jasmine with Lan.

"This sucks a lot." Lan mumbles as he rolls over on his right side." My vacation is officially ruined."

Cyber World

After speaking with Dingo earlier that afternoon, Tomohawkman has begun wandering the cyber world while trying to figure out a way to cheer up his depressed Net Op.

"I wish there was more that I could do for Dingo." Tomohawkman says to himself as he now leaves the Cyber World book store and begins down Cyber Link Avenue. "He is really upset and I really hate seeing him like this."

Now turning the corner, Tomohawkman begins down a side street.

"I know talking to him didn't do much good." Tomohawkman continues. "But there has to be more that I can do. I am his Net Navi after all."

"There is more that you can do." A voice from behind Tomohawkman now speaks to him.

Hearing the voice, Tomohawkman stops dead in his tracks and quickly turns around, now spotting who spoke to him. Quickly pulling out his axe, Tomohawkman slants his eyes in anger as he positions himself in defense mode.

"What do you want Dark Megaman?" Tomohawkman sternly questions. "If you want trouble, you came to the right place because I have plenty of it!"

"Relax, I'm not here to cause trouble." Dark Megaman calmly speaks to Tomohawkman as he begins approaching him.

"Don't get any closer to me!" Tomohawkman warns. "I'm pretty sure whatever you're here for, it's not anything good!"

Dark Megaman now reaches Tomohawkman and places his left hand on the axe, now lowering it.

"Trust me, I don't want any trouble." Dark Megaman sincerely speaks to him. "I'm here to help you."

"How do you know I need help?" Tomohawkman asks in a hardened tone.

"Listen, I overheard you talking about how upset your Net Op is when you were walking down Cyber Link Avenue." Dark Megaman sincerely explains. "I walked passed you and heard your distress. I have a way to help you."

"So you were eavesdropping on me?" Tomohawkman questions with suspicion.

"No, I wasn't eavesdropping, but I did overhear what you said and I just want to help you out." Dark Megaman replies. "I have the answers that you are looking for."

"How do I know that you don't have a hidden agenda behind your so called answers?" Tomohawkman continues questioning him. "You can't be trusted."

"You can't trust who I was two years ago, but I've changed since then." Dark Megaman answers. "I don't have any other intentions, other then to help you and your net op. Just trust me and I promise you that I will help solve your net Op's problem."

"Alright." Tomohawkman says, now putting his axe away. "Let's say that you do have the answers to help my Net Op, what would they be?"

"Walk and talk with me and I'll give you all the answers in my book." Dark Megaman speaks with a smile

Nodding, Tomohawkman and Dark Megaman begins walking down the side street.

::::Worked like a charm.:::: Dark Megaman mentally says to himself as an evil smirk now crosses his lips.

#1 Curry Shop

Dingo has finished the dishes and is now cleaning the dining room. Maddie, who is in the grill area preparing a customer's order, is now interrupted by the incoming order beep on the restaurant's computer sitting on the counter next to her. Turning to the computer, Maddie notices the address on the screen.

"2010 Lake Street." Maddie reads. "And it's a delivery order."

Dingo, having finished cleaning the dining room, now enters the grill area.

"I'm done cleaning the dining room." Dingo informs Maddie as he places the broom in the corner.

"Good." Maddie replies. "You have a delivery to make to 2010 Lake Street."

"Ok, let me grab my PET and I'll get going." Dingo responds as he begins heading back to the break room.

What does Dark Megaman really have up his sleeve and who is residing at the 2010 Lake Street? Keep reading to find out!

A/N: Ok End of chapter 4 and I hope you all enjoyed it. I know it took forever to get out and I'm sorry. My finals wore me down, but they are over and here is my chapter 4. As usual, no flames please and if anything is confusing to you, please let me know and I'll modify it for you. Also, I created a few attacks for the Dark Loids because of their limited attacks, so the attacks you haven't heard of before, that's my idea. Now despite my attending summer school at the university, I will have chapter 5 out the next moment I get. :) If nothing else, please review.

Review Please!