Chapter 12: A Scrape With Death
Haseo's HP, Cyberworld
Blademan and Cynthia beamed down together on the portal out of Haseo's HP, and they both ran quickly to the center of the temple. Upon seeing what was in it, they both skidded to a stop, and Cynthia let out a gasp.
The object in question was a black and sinister looking Navi wearing a large and tattered brown cape, who turned around the instant Cynthia gasped to stare at the two with glowing red eyes. He donned a black helmet with two fins that swept back on either side of his head, the inside of the fins colored gold, and a blue cross-shaped gem between them on his forehead. Sharp gold plates covered his shoulders, a little bit of his gauntlets and almost all of his boots, and his Navi emblem had a glowing scar across it.
"Blademan...zoom in on him for me..." Haseo said, his eyes widened.
Blademan did as he was told and zoomed in on the Navi using his visor, and Haseo nearly choked when he saw him up close.
"Holy crap, that's Bass!" he shouted.
"Heh...what a surprise," Bass said, chuckling. "The human knows who I am. I assume that filth Megaman told you about me?"
"Well, his operator told me about your guys' scrapes in the past..." Haseo replied.
Bass sighed and closed his eyes. "Yes...Megaman and I have fought in the past. And every time, he has bested me...But then I hear of a Navi and his human scum who defeated the very Navi I was supposed to destroy."
Haseo smiled. "So, the all-powerful Bass knows who I am. That's actually quite flattering."
"But you can't just be here to fight me, can you?" Blademan asked, keeping a light stance. "Not even you would leave the Undernet just to fight some loser and his Navi."
"You have a point, Navi," Bass replied in agreement, much to Haseo's surprise. "But you do have something that is worth a lot to its owner, which means a reward for me if I bring it back. Deleting you is just icing on the cake."
"You're here for Cynthia," Haseo said. "But you're a Solo Navi. You answer to no one, right? What do you want with her?"
"That doesn't concern you, human," Bass replied a little harsher. "My business is my own, and you just so happen to be interfering in that business. So I'm going to take what I came for and, if you stay put like a good little Navi, I will spare your pathetic life."
"And what if I refuse to let you take her?" Blademan said, stepping forward with his swords out.
Bass just chuckled softly before disappearing and reappearing in front of Blademan, landing a solid punch to his chest before the swordsman could react. Blademan cried out and flew back against the wall of the temple, hitting it hard and slumping to the ground.
"You won't," Bass said as he looked to Cynthia, who had backed up and had a Fire Sword in front of her.
"Don't make this any more difficult and just come with me," Bass said, walking towards her. "We both know you're not strong enough to oppose me."
Meanwhile, Blademan was struggling to get up as Haseo was frantically calling out to him. Blademan looked at his emblem and noticed that the force of Bass' punch had cracked it.
"Such power...he could have deleted me in one shot..." Blademan said in awe.
"We have to get out of here! Jack out, now!" Haseo said.
"No...!" Blademan growled, standing up fully and picking up his swords. "I can't let him take Cynthia..."
"Blademan, we're way in over our heads here!" Haseo shouted. "Bass is too strong for us! If you get deleted...!"
"I have to take that chance," Blademan said quietly. "For the sake of our team...and for the sake of our pride. We have to at least try...and I can't do this without you."
Haseo sighed and nodded, smiling. "Yeah...I hear you, partner." He slotted in two chips and sent the data to Blademan. "We do this together. And we're gonna give him a beating the likes of which he's never had before."
Blademan nodded as he got the data, and he shimmered out of view. Bass was still advancing on Cynthia, who still had her sword drawn and was staring Bass dead in the eye.
"Why rely on someone so weak for protection?" Bass asked her as he floated towards her, his hands crackling with a powerful dark energy. "You know that resistance is futile."
Cynthia gritted her teeth and glared at Bass. "Because I know that if anyone can beat you, it would be Haseo and Blademan. Not even Megaman could triumph against them...what makes you so sure that you can?"
Bass chuckled darkly and looked over to where he threw the swordsman, only to find that he had disappeared. As he was looking around, a voice shouted out, "Cynthia, dodge!"
Cynthia jumped up and out of the way as Blademan reappeared in front of Bass and cross-sliced him, causing Bass to grunt and fly back aways before he stabilized himself in the air.
"So, you're gonna fight, huh?" Bass growled, staring down at the Navi who managed to land a solid hit on him.
"You expected anything less?!" Blademan shouted. "Cynthia is my friend! And I'll be damned if I let you take her!"
"Hmph...very well," Bass said, floating back down. "It will give me great pleasure to send you back to the 1's and 0's you came from."
"First thing's first!" Haseo said. "If we win, you'd better take your sorry tail and get out of my page, and never come back here again!"
"Hmph...and what if I win?" Bass questioned.
"If you win...you're free to take Cynthia...as well as use your Get Ability to absorb Blademan's program data," Haseo said with a deep sigh.
"What?!" Blademan shouted. "Haseo, what are you talking about?!"
"He's just gonna do it anyway if he manages to win," Haseo said calmly. "But this time, I'm not just gonna hand you over to him. We're going to win this battle and send him crawling back to the craphole he slithered out of!"
Blademan smiled and nodded, admiring his NetOp's choice of words. He got into a stance, then noticed that Cynthia was standing next to him.
"Cynthia..." he said silently.
"I'm not letting you fight this guy alone," Cynthia said with determination. "As of right now, Haseo's my NetOp too. So we're gonna be fighting together."
Blademan chuckled. "Alright then. But don't say I didn't warn you."
"I should be saying that to you," Cynthia retorted.
Bass just glared at them as they spoke to each other.
"If you're done with the needless banter, let's get this thing started," he growled.
"Very well! Blademan, Cynthia!" Haseo shouted. "Battle routine, set!"
"Execute!"
Meanwhile, in the real world...
Mrs. Tomokari continued to labor away at the stove, hurriedly cooking dinner for when her husband returned home, and for when Haseo finished taking care of whatever needed to be done on his computer. As her thoughts turned to Haseo, she couldn't help but smile. Ever since he was a little boy, Haseo had always been fascinated by Net Battles, but because of their hard luck as a family, Haseo had never been privileged enough to have his own PET. It's not that she didn't want him to have one, no. When they lived in End City, Mrs. Tomokari was never able to find work, and her husband was always toiling away doing temp work for as little wage as possible. But when they received a business opportunity, Mr. Tomokari had no choice but to take it, and they moved to DenTech City, settling in the quiet little suburb of ACDC Town. Since that day, the Tomokari family has been doing so much better, even allowing for Haseo to have his own PC, and soon enough, his own PET and Net Navi. And as his mother, she couldn't be more happier for him.
A knock at the door snapped the woman out of her trance, and after calling out, "Coming!", she hurried to the door and opened it.
Mrs. Tomokari was left staring down at a curious little teenage girl, at least as old as her son. She had long and flowing brown hair, slightly curly, and her bright blue eyes looked up at the middle-aged woman with courage and mischief. She wore a bright yellow tank top that hugged her chest and torso, dark blue jeans and some vivid green and yellow running shoes. Around her waist was a brown leather belt with a fancy buckle on it that had a fox head engraved in it. Resting on her hips was a bright green Link PET with yellow and red highlights, and her Battle Chip sack. Overall, Mrs. Tomokari thought her appearance screamed Net Battler.
"Can I help you?" she asked calmly.
"Yeah, I'm looking for a Haseo Tomokari," the girl said, grabbing her PET and looking at her notes. "This is where he lives, right?"
"Um, yes," Mrs. Tomokari replied. "I'm his mother, Maria. I would call him down, but I think he's busy working in Cyberworld."
"Could you tell him that I really need to see him?" the girl asked nicely. "I really need to talk to him about something. It's kind of urgent."
"I can try...but knowing Haseo, he's gonna be all kinds of wrapped up in what he's doing," Mrs. Tomokari said before advancing to the foot of the stairs. "Haseo! You have someone here to see you!"
"I'm kinda busy!" she heard her son shout. "Tornado, Battle Chip in! Download!"
The girl huffed and crossed her arms. "Please, Mrs. Tomokari, I really have to talk to him. Is there any way I can go up there and see him?"
"Hmm...I have an idea," Mrs. Tomokari said with a devious smile on her face. She turned back to the stairwell and shouted, "You better talk to this one! She's a really pretty girl, around your age! She really has an interest in you!"
The girl squeaked a little and blushed furiously. Mrs. Tomokari waited patiently for an answer. Then, after a few seconds...
"Send her up! Maybe she can help me out with this guy!"
Mrs. Tomokari nodded at the girl and smiled. The girl, still blushing, made her way up the stairs and stopped, not knowing what she was going to see once she opened the door.
Taking a deep breath, she grabbed the doorknob and made her way in.
Haseo's HP
BAM!
Blademan and Cynthia were locked in a power struggle against Bass, who had two Cyber Swords on his arms and was pushing the two back with ease. Cynthia jumped up behind him and threw a Fire Hit attack at him, but he just whirled around and spawned a black Barrier that nullified the attack instantly.
"Haseo! Give me something stronger!" Blademan shouted as he jumped back from the Barrier.
"Gotcha covered, buddy!" he shouted, slotting in another chip. "Step Sword, Battle Chip in! Download!"
Blademan's swords flashed a little, and he launched himself at Bass, who merely looked at him as he somehow phased through the Barrier and slashed him with both swords. He yelled out in surprise and stumbled back a little, but he showed no signs of damage whatsoever.
"Heh, is that all you've got?" Bass said cruelly, a smile on his face.
"No way! There's not even a scratch on him!" Haseo exclaimed, his eyes widened in shock.
Blademan jumped back and landed next to Cynthia, looking at her.
"You still good to go?" he asked her.
"I don't know how we're even gonna beat him..." Cynthia said quietly. "He's far too strong..."
"Blinder, Battle Chip in! Download!"
Cynthia saw the data upload to her matrix, and she thrust a hand out as Blademan shielded his eyes, blasting out a blinding burst of light. Bass cried out in pain as he covered his eyes far too late, effectively blinding the Solo Navi.
"What the...?" Haseo asked as he turned around, looking at the brunette that had entered his room.
"Cynthia! Are you OK?" she shouted, running up next to Haseo.
"Chiaki?! Is that you?!" Cynthia shouted back, looking up at the girl's window. "It's about time you showed up! What took you so long?!"
Haseo looked at the girl named Chiaki. "You're Cynthia's NetOp?"
"Yeah, I am," she said looking Haseo dead in the eye. "The name's Chiaki Aranami. And I suggest we fight together to take this guy out. So like it or not, I'm taking control of Cynthia."
"Hey, by all means, go for it," Haseo said agreeably. "You're the only one who really knows how to operate her, and you have her Battle Chips. So let's work together."
Chiaki cocked an eyebrow at Haseo, stunned that he would agree to her barging in on his battle.
"And since we're introducing ourselves, I'm Haseo Tomokari," he said, a small smile on his face. "But then again, you probably already knew that."
Chiaki giggled a little, but returned to seriousness as she looked at her PET and saw that Bass was going back to normal.
"OK, Cynthia! I'm turning the Chip Folder settings off!" Chiaki shouted.
"Chip Folder settings?" Haseo asked as he cocked his head to the side.
"Ugh, some Net Battler you are," Chiaki scoffed. "Look, I'll explain later. For now, let's just kick Bass' butt and get out of this in one piece."
"Brave words from a couple of weakling humans," Bass finally said, staring the Net Navis directly in the eye. "But I'm afraid that your fate was sealed the moment you challenged me."
Bass charged up two rings of dark energy and sent them careening towards Blademan and Cynthia, and they jumped away before they had a chance to connect.
"Wide open!" Bass shouted, switching to his Buster Arm and firing off a wide burst of automatic fire. Blademan was able to block part of it with his swords, but Cynthia took what was left and cried out in pain as she fell to the ground.
"Crap!" Blademan shouted as he landed and blasted off, sheathing his swords and catching Cynthia before she touched the ground. Bass was still firing upon them, so Blademan had no choice but to keep running and avoiding fire.
"Haseo! Help!" Blademan shouted frantically.
"Reflector 1, Battle Chip in! Download!" Haseo shouted as he slotted in the chip.
Blademan flung Cynthia over his shoulder and knelt down as he spawned the big yellow shield, reflecting whatever fire that came from Bass right back at him. Bass had no choice but to stop firing his Buster and move out of the way, giving Blademan the opportunity to make sure Cynthia wasn't hurt.
"You OK?" Blademan asked the fox Navi, who looked at him weakly.
"I've been better..." she said quietly, feeling the holes that Bass' Buster had put in her.
"Recover, Battle Chip in! Download!" Chiaki said, slotting in a chip that patched all of Cynthia's wounds. She shivered and sighed with relief, getting up to hide behind the shield with Blademan.
"Hiding behind that shield won't work for long, kiddies!" Bass shouted. "Time for me to take what belongs to me!"
"Haseo, we need a plan!" Blademan said quietly.
"I know, but what can we do?" Haseo replied, trying to think up a plan.
"Hmm...do you have a way to ground him?" Chiaki asked.
"Well, I can always do my Cannon and Vulcan combo," Haseo said.
"OK, but first, we have to get rid of his Barrier," Blademan chimed in.
"Right, which is why I use this," Chiaki said, pulling out a North Wind chip. "I'll use North Wind to blow away the Barrier, then we'll hit him with another Blinder. Once that happens, you use that grounding combo and plant him on the ground, then I'll use a Lava Seed and Red Wave combo to devastate him. It'll be a piece of cake!"
"OK, sounds good!" Haseo said, nodding and smiling. He and Chiaki pulled out the chips they needed and got ready to execute their strategy.
"OK, Blademan! Drop the shield!" Haseo shouted.
By this time, Bass had started bombarding the shield with his ring attacks, floating in the air so he wouldn't get hit by the Reflector's shockwaves. Blademan quickly dropped the shield, and Chiaki slotted in her chips.
"North Wind, Blinder, Battle Chips in! Download!"
Cynthia jumped up and waved her arm, sending out a fierce wind that blew away the dark Barrier from Bass' body. Then, her other arm thrust out to blast out another blinding flash of light, causing him to cry out in both pain and anger this time.
"Now, Blademan!" Haseo shouted, slotting his chips in. "Vulcan 1, Cannon, Battle Chips in! Download!"
Blademan ran out next, his arms turning into the two guns. He fired the Vulcan right at Bass, the three shots penetrating his body with terrifying precision before Blademan jumped up above him and put the barrel of his Cannon right against Bass' chest. Blademan fired the Cannon and sent Bass plummeting back to the ground.
"Lava Seed, Red Wave, Battle Chips in!" Chiaki shouted, slotting in the last two chips. "Download!"
Cynthia produced a red grenade from her glove and threw it right under Bass, lava exploding from it and covering the ground below him. As he fell to the lava and landed in it, crying out in pain, Cynthia ran up and focused hard, creating a massive tsunami from the quickly spreading lava and sent it crashing over Bass, burying him under the surface of the ultra hot liquid.
"Well...that's it, I guess," Cynthia said, resting in the lava for a bit. Since she was a Fire-based Navi, it didn't bother her one bit. In fact, she was able to replenish the rest of her vitality with it, and was starting to feel relaxed.
Blademan landed a few feet from the pool of lava and drew his swords.
"Is it over?" he asked warily, looking for any sign of the Solo Navi.
Cynthia looked back at him and smiled. "Yeah, I guess so! No way he could have survived a hit like that!"
Haseo, however, was very skeptical that it was over. He turned his monitor on and began to run diagnostics on his PC.
"Dude, why are you so sketchy?" Chiaki said, looking at him weirdly. "He's gone, there's no reason to be nervous anymore."
"Do you honestly believe that Bass would go down so easily?" Haseo replied, not taking his eyes off of the screen. "I don't know about you, but I know what he's capable of. I'm not taking any chances."
Blademan was with his NetOp on the subject, walking up to Cynthia and pulling her out of the lava pool, much to her discontent.
"Hey! Easy, guy!" Cynthia said, struggling against him.
Just as she said this, Bass burst out of the lava, a look of pure anger and hatred on his face as the lava dripped off of him.
"Told you so," Haseo said in a deadpan as he looked at a very surprised Chiaki.
"No one...and I mean NO ONE..." he growled deeply, "catches me off guard and gets away with it. Congratulations...you've successfully managed to piss me off."
A massive wave of pure intimidation was pouring from Bass' body, and Blademan and Cynthia stepped back, swords at the ready.
"No way...we gave it everything we had..." Cynthia said quietly in shock.
By now, Bass was charging up a devastatingly large energy attack, malice pouring from his eyes.
"Haseo...we have to do something..." Blademan said through clenched teeth.
"I know, but...I don't think we have anything left," Haseo replied. "I don't even think the Sol Cross is strong enough to compete with him..."
"At this rate, we're both going to be done for!" Chiaki shouted, looking at Haseo with fierce blue eyes. "If you have something to combat this, now would be the time!"
Haseo nodded and pulled out his ace in the hole, slotting the Django chip in.
"Django, Mega Chip in! Unite! Initiate Sol Cross!"
Blademan's body began to glow brightly, and before Bass knew what was happening, he was blinded by an explosion of light for the third time as Blademan transformed into his Sol Cross form. Frankly, this pissed him off even more and caused him to throw the attack he was charging down at the ground.
"Crap!" Haseo shouted. "Blademan, stop that attack!"
Blademan sent out two fierce blades of light from his own swords and cut the attack in twain, sending the two halves careening past him and Cynthia and slamming into the temple, obliterating it without leaving a trace.
"Aww, come on!" Haseo shouted. "That took a lot of work!"
Blademan turned around and looked at the smoldering mass of data, a sweatdrop appearing on his head.
"Sorry..." he said sheepishly.
Bass shook his head and returned to normal, then he blasted off towards Blademan with a Cyber Sword in his arm. Blademan was able to whirl around quick enough to block Bass' attack, and the two began a vicious sword fight once again as Cynthia stayed off to the side.
"Cynthia, let's give him a hand!" Chiaki said, slotting in another chip. "Pulsar 2, Battle Chip in! Download!"
Blademan jumped out of the way as Cynthia fired the ultrasonic rays at Bass, who ate the attack pretty easily and dropped to the ground, stunned.
"Now, Blademan!" Cynthia shouted.
"Cyber Sword, Wide Sword, Long Sword, Battle Chips in! Download!" Haseo shot off as he quickly popped in three chips. "Program Advance activate!"
Blademan's swords flashed and glowed a rainbow color, and he blasted off towards the still downed Bass, slicing the Solo Navi with everything he had. Bass cried out in pain and fell back, hitting the ground and remaining motionless.
"Did...did we win?" Haseo asked quietly.
Cynthia walked up with a Hi Cannon on her arm, growling at the Solo Navi as she blasted him in the face with it. She watched him slide a few feet but he was still not moving.
"He's not dead, but he is unconscious," she replied, her arm returning to normal.
Blademan walked up and kicked Bass' shoulder just to be sure, then looked at Haseo. "So what do we do? He's knocked out cold right now."
"I dunno..." Chiaki said, looking at Haseo. "Celebrate?"
Haseo stood still for a few seconds, then threw his fists into the air and shouted as loud as he could.
"HOLY CRAP, WE DID IT!"
Haseo, Chiaki and their Net Navis cheered and danced around excitedly, not just because they had won, but because they had triumphed over the strongest Navi in the Undernet and came out relatively unscathed. Haseo looked at Chiaki as she flung herself at him and wrapped her arms around him, laughing excitedly.
It was at that exact moment that Mrs. Tomokari opened the door and walked in.
"What's going on in he-" she began before she saw Chiaki latched onto a very red and very nervous Haseo, who was standing there awkwardly just letting it happen.
"Ah, I see," Mrs. Tomokari said with a mischievous smile on her face. "You didn't tell me that she was actually your girlfriend, Haseo."
Chiaki blushed and let go of the now even more red Haseo, and the two just stood awkwardly apart from each other.
"Well, anyway, dinner's on the table when you're ready," Mrs. Tomokari said. As she walked out, she turned her head and winked, saying, "I'll just leave this door open, so don't get any ideas," before walking back downstairs.
"Ugh...dangit, Mom..." Haseo said quietly, pinching his eyebrows.
Blademan and Cynthia just looked at each other and giggled like a couple of kids. A coughing noise, however, set both Navis back on high alert as they drew their weapons and looked at Bass' stirring form.
"Alright, scumbag, you lost," Blademan said, pointing his sword at Bass' emblem.
"Grr...I haven't lost yet..." Bass growled as he struggled to get up. But he couldn't manage to do anything except prop himself up for a bit before falling back down.
"You were saying?" Cynthia said, cocking an eyebrow.
Bass just growled more and looked away, making both Haseo and Chiaki chuckle.
"Alright, big guy, you lost fair and square," Haseo said with a smile. "But since you can't exactly leave in your condition, you might as well tell us who sent you and why they're after Cynthia."
"I don't have to tell you anything," Bass replied, crossing his arms.
"OK, then I'll just look through your memory banks," Haseo said, bringing up his PC's interface. "Won't take a minute."
Bass seemed to seize up for a bit before he shook his head and sighed.
"That won't be necessary…" Bass said sullenly, realizing just how badly he lost. "Look…I can't tell you who sent me…but I can tell you this. They won't stop until they have Cynthia back in their clutches. And trust me…opposing them is a losing battle."
"You lost to them too?" Blademan asked curiously. "How? It took us nearly everything we had to defeat you…"
"DON'T remind me…" Bass snapped.
"Look…we all know that, despite how much of an edge lord you are, you're not a bad Navi," Haseo said, making the Solo Navi look up at him. "We can help you redeem yourself and take these guys down. All you gotta do is tell us who sent you."
Bass looked down, obviously thinking about Haseo's offer. But instead of providing a direct answer, Bass pulled a Panel Grab chip and warped out of Haseo's page, leaving without a trace.
"Dammit! He just HAD to Panel Grab!" Blademan shouted.
"Hold up, Blademan…he left behind some data," Haseo said, pointing at a glowing fragment of data on the ground. Blademan picked it up and cocked an eyebrow.
"Holy crap, this thing is massive," Blademan said, uploading the data. "It appears to be some kind of Battle Chip data."
Blademan compressed the data file, despite having some difficulties, and sent it to the PET, where Haseo downloaded it it to a blank chip. When the new chip ejected from the slot, Haseo let out a surprised shout, seeing that the chip had changed from the standard grey to a pinkish color.
"It's a Giga Chip!" he shouted excitedly. "No wonder this thing was so huge, it's literally the strongest type of Battle Chip!"
Haseo pulled it out to see that it had a picture of a gold and black circle with a silver line slashing through the center at an angle; the Navi emblem of Bass. Haseo knew exactly what this meant, because he had a chip very similar to it.
"What is it?" Chiaki asked, looking at the chip curiously.
"I'm not sure…but I believe this is Bass' way of showing his respect for us," Haseo replied, stowing the chip in his sack. He ejected the Django chip and turned Blademan back to normal, then looked at Chiaki.
"Hey…thanks for your help, by the way," Haseo said, smiling a little. "We might not have won if you weren't here."
"It was the least I could do to thank you for saving my friend," Chiaki said, returning the smile. "You really did us both a solid."
Chiaki pulled up her PET's interface and pressed a few buttons. Haseo's PET dinged in response, and he looked at the screen to see Cynthia's emblem on his list of available Link Navis.
"Promise me that if you decide to take her out…that you'll take care of her," Chiaki said softly, looking at her Navi with worry.
"Of course…but hopefully, we can just work together instead of me just calling upon your Navi," Haseo replied. "Besides…we made a pretty good team back there, don't you think?"
"Yeah…yeah, we did," Chiaki said agreeably.
The two smiled at each other before Haseo's PET dinged again.
"You got an e-mail," Blademan said, opening the details. The window he opened made him cock an eyebrow.
"It says it's from Bass…" Blademan said warily.
"Say what?" Haseo said, opening the message. The message in itself was all kinds of cryptic too, since it only had one word in it.
SUNSTAR
"Sunstar…?" Haseo said, cocking an eyebrow at his screen. He could swear he'd heard that word somewhere before. It was bugging him, to say the least.
"He couldn't mean…?" Chiaki asked, looking at the message.
"I don't know…" Haseo said, looking at his new friend. "But I think it's time we did some research."
Author's Note: I set a new record with this chapter, breaking well over 4,000 words, which is WAY more than I usually do. And that leads me to another announcement! For those people who like a decently long chapter, my new minimum word limit it now going to be 4,000 words! So that means more story for the fans!
But hey, how about that cryptic message? What could that possibly mean for Haseo and Chiaki? Will the team ever find out their true adversary? And will Bass ever get his revenge? Find out next time, on Dragon Ball Z!
…Wait…wrong franchise. XD
Strato Abyss signing out.