A/N: Is it wrong that this entire chapter is one big chase scene? Yes? Well, it was all I have. Yeah, I'm disappointed in MYSELF for this.
Chapter 20: An Elegant Chase
-004-
Creamland Wave Road
If there was one thing Sonia loved about being Harp Note, it was the ability to navigate the Wave Road. Most people didn't know that for every second for them, a Wave Being could move and act at lightspeed on Wave Roads such as the one she was running across, allowing her to reach her destination far quicker than the Chromos agents she had been unknowingly competing with. And due to the Wave World being exposed to the world two-hundred years early because of Chromos screwing up the timeline, EM Wave Roads had been accessible for twenty-years, allowing for near-instant travel. Chromos had actually managed to thwart themselves on this one.
If not for EM-Wave Viruses deciding to introduce themselves to this time period, it would be perfect. Regardless, Harp Note soon found herself nearing Big Gwen's area. However, a couple Hertz were blocking the way.
"We're sorry, Miss," the first Hertz said, "but this network is strictly off-limits until the network repairs are complete. Please come again when the network is online!"
"Oh, please, come on!" Harp Note pouted. "There are lives at stake, here!" She then had an idea. Pulling out her Hunter-VG, she opened a pop-up. "This is Satella Police business!"
"Satella Police?" the second Hertz asked. "Aren't those the guys that pretty much left us for dead for twenty years?"
"What's going on out here?" a voice spoke up. A yellow-bodied, hard hart-wearing Wizard that Harp Note had looked up called "Construct Wizards" came from the access point. "What are you two Hertz yappin' about?"
"Well, this woman says she's a member of the Satella Police," the first Hertz answered. "She says she needs access to our site."
"I do!" Harp Note said. "And I really am a Satella Police Commando! Trans-Code number 004! Harp Note! You know, the Wave Girl who's dating Mega Man?"
"Yeah, that was twenty years ago," the second Hertz complained. "And then Wilshire Hills got abandoned two-hundred years in the past, and the Satella Police did NOTHING to fix this! Not even the world-renowned hero, Mega Man, came to our rescue!"
"He has a point, lady," the Construct Wizard nodded. "When we found out that we were stuck in the past, there was mass panic city-wide. Many people hoped that someone would save us... but nobody did. Heck, you didn't even try."
"We're here, now," Harp Note offered. "We're trying to make this right for you all. And to be fair, in 22XX, almost nobody really knows about what happened to you all, yet, save for access to what used to be Wilshire Hills is somewhat restricted. And in the future, WAZA and the Satella Police are doing all we can to bring you back."
"Too little too late," the Construct Wizard waved off. "You've had twenty years to try, and you want us to wait another 180 for a solution? How much more do we have to suffer for your amusement until you figure something out, cop?"
Harp Note assured him, "You're not the only ones who are suffering. There's an entire city that no idea of the fact that it's in the future in your place. Give us a chance to make it up to you... but to do that, I need access to your site. There's a girl not too far from here, named Mayl Sakurai. She's the key to fixing all of this. I need to save her, first, because if she gets hurt or worse, I can't save you all."
"This only proves my point," the second Hertz said. "You not only now decide to show up, but you put a girl's safety over the rest of us? Why should we let you in!?"
"(He has a point,)" Lyra whispered. "(What do we do?)"
Harp Note sighed. "I understand your frustration. I really do. None of you deserve to be in this situation. But at least this way, you all are alive and existing. But somewhere, in the bizarre confines of time and space, there lies a group of seriously insane villains who would mess up the timeline even worse than it already is messed up. If they win, there's a strong chance you all will never get back, at best, or straight-up erased from existence, at worst. Believe it or not, it's up to you. But that girl? She's innocent of all of this chaos. She's just as much of a victim as you. Perhaps even worse... because she is from the past, and has a very critical role to play. And the bad guys will stop at nothing to make sure she never plays that role. That role... is being the supporter of the boy who would become the man who made our lives possible. If she gets hurt or killed... he may never have a reason to help build Wave Society, which will means none of us will exist."
The three Wave Beings looked at each other. "That's... a heck of a story, lady," the Construct Wizard said. "Sadly, it's not like you can prove it, right?"
"Also, I can get you an autograph of Sonia Strumm for the first time in twenty years," Harp Note added.
"Go right through, ma'am," the Construct Wizard grinned, clearing the way. Harp Note smiled.
"Thanks!" she waved. "I'll make sure that autograph gets emailed!" She then ran through, accessing Big Gwen's Network, and pulsing out near it. The Construct Wizard grinned.
"I'm getting Sonia Strumm's autograph!" he gloated to the two Hertz. "The first one in two decades!"
"No way, not fair!" the first Hertz protested. "I wanted her autograph."
"(Am I the only sane Hertz here?)" the second Hertz asked. A Security Wizard walked by, and looked at the three.
"Did you guys just let a mysterious girl go into a restricted area?" the Security Wizard asked
"We're all totally fired, aren't we?"
"Like you wouldn't believe," the Security Wizard said.
-MS-
Big Gwen District
Mayl loved quite a lot of things. Roll. Her prized teddy bear collection. Her electronic piano. This cool pop band called "The Ringers". The PC Lan got her for her last birthday. The aforementioned boy. Spending time with said boy and her friends. That said, she barely hated anything. But if there was one thing she utterly despised, it had to be time travel.
After being separated from everyone else by ChronoMan, Cain, and Dark Phantom, she and Roll found themselves in the alleys of what she found out to be Creamland twenty years into the future. She had no idea what happened to everyone else. She didn't know wherever or whenever they ended up. But the one thing she remembered was the utter heartbreaking face that Lan made as she was thrown through time. How... destroyed he looked. It hurt.
That had been approximately a week ago.
When she first accessed the Net, she and Roll found themselves being pursued by some type of dragon that kept chasing them offline. If not for Roll's speed and Mayl's improving operating skills, Roll could have been deleted every time they got online. What was worse is that this dragon continued wreaking havoc on the Net, more likely in response to losing Mayl and Roll. To top this off, Heel Navis and thugs who were associated with Chromos were after her. Which meant their Operators could be ANYWHERE in Creamland. They could be ANYONE.
Now, here she was, slumped in an alley, hungry, thirsty, dirty, and only Roll for company as she sat, looking at a group of construction workers repair one of the biggest tourist attractions in the city.
"Hey, Mayl?" Roll spoke up. The girl looked at her pink PET. Unfortunately, without a proper charging station, the power was running low on the device, just enough to get a signal. She apparently received emails, but she didn't want to drain the battery on her PET any further by checking them.
"Roll, save your strength," Mayl advised. "Your battery is almost out... if that happens, you won't be able to see Mega and Lan, again."
"Do you think everyone's okay?" Roll asked. Mayl frowned.
"I... honestly don't know," the redhead confessed. "I know we've been in bad spots before, but... we at least had someone else to support us. Here? We don't know anyone, and we could have enemies all around us."
"Don't worry," Roll smiled. "Whenever we're in trouble, Lan and Mega will find us. I know we're tired of relying on them, and we need to one day save them... but... right now, I would give anything to get their help." Looking at Mayl's weak state, she said, "Heaven knows you need it more than I do..."
"Roll," Mayl sighed, "we have no idea if Lan, Yai, Dex, or anyone's even okay, anymore. We don't know if Lan was sent through time, too. What if they've been captured by some evil people in new time periods? Or worse?" She weakly stood up. "But you're right... I could use some food. And there's a free charging station, too at the Creamland Tower. Think it's safe to head to Cream Square?"
"No idea," Roll said. "But it beats sleeping in alleys and starving, for your sake. You have quite a bit of Zenny, too, so... let's get you something to eat, at least." The girl began walking away from the clock tower... only to gasp when she saw three people she recognized (Yuika, Vic, and Ito) coming towards Big Gwen. They were certainly not from this period, though, so why would they be here?
'(Simple,)' Mayl answered her own question. '(They're time travelers... and maybe they work for Cain and Mr. Hyde!)' The redhead grew worried as they got closer, albeit too busy arguing amongst themselves to actually spot her. Mayl may not have actually talked to the trio of ex-WWW operatives, exactly, but she recognized the three during their rather poor attempt to escape capture or death at the hands of Wily's Navis. And she knew they were more than willing to kill Lan at the end of the Cybeast incident.
And she hated to see what they'd do to her.
She headed back into the alley, only for a light pink and yellow striped, fingerless glove to put its hand on her mouth. She looked at the owner, and saw the bright green eyes of a girl her age.
"Don't say anything," the girl warned, pulling her deeper into the alley. Once they were out of the three ex-WWW minions' potential sight, the girl turned to Mayl, and released her mouth. "I've always wanted to say this: Come with me if you want to live. It's actually kind of appropriate, considering I'm a time-traveler like you."
"You're part of Chromos, too?" Mayl questioned, trembling in slight fear... and hunger. That wasn't going away.
"Nope," the girl grinned, holding up a Hunter-VG, and showing her ID. Mayl looked at her own Hunter-VG, and spotted the name, "Sonia Strumm", with an affiliation to something called the Satella Police. "I'm an SP-Commando on my off days. Otherwise, I'm a pop star and a superhero."
"...What?" Mayl asked. "How can you be a superhero?"
"Long story," Sonia said. "But right now, Mayl, I'm the best hope you have of getting away from those bad guys."
"How do you know my name!?" the redhead asked. Sonia was about to answer, but placed a hand on Mayl's mouth.
"(Be quiet,)" the pinkette insisted. "(Follow me.)"
"Hey, do you hear talking?" Ito asked.
"Yeah, sounds slightly familiar," Vic answered.
"Almost like we heard that the other day we got broken out," Yuika smirked, walking into the alley. However, Mayl and Sonia had already snuck away. "And the other voice sounds like the other little girl after that Hikari brat's heart... oh Mayl! Mayl Sakurai! Come out, come out, wherever you are! We only want to be your friends! And we won't kill you... too painfully!"
"You probably shouldn't say that aloud near a construction zone," Ito chided.
"Who's in charge here?" Yuika asked.
"Lance?" Vic asked. "This is his operation."
SMACK! SMACK!
"Idiots," Yuika said. Mayl and Sonia silently listened in. "Lance may be in charge here in 20XX+20, but he's wasting his time trying to take over the kingdom. Once he's either outlived his usefulness to Chromos or failed too many times in front of Cain, that'll be our chance to promote ourselves. Soon, after we place knives in the proper backs, we'll climb the ranks of this organization, even getting back in Master Cain's good favor... and then kick him, his old man Navi, and that kooky scriptwriter to the curb, and be in charge of all of time! And I think I know just the girl to help us."
"What, Mayl Sakurai?" Ito asked.
SMACK!
"Ow, again!" Ito complained. "I should charge you with assault and battery!"
"No, you idiot!" Yuika snapped. "I'm talking about that Wish Genie girl. That display of power she has... with the right tweaking, she can be turned against Cain. The only reason she hasn't blown him up is because of whatever morals she has. I bet she's just a really powerful Wizard, not a real girl. And once we reprogram her, he'll pay for abandoning us for over a year in prison, only busting us out because he thinks he can walk all over us!"
"Good point, Yuika," Vic said. "He DID only spring us and give us new Navis just to serve him. I bet he's willing to throw us to the curb the moment we've done enough for him. We should probably prepare for the inevitable double-cross."
"Will that be before or after we catch Mayl?" Ito asked. The three continued down the alley, ignorant that their quarry was squeezed behind a dumpster.
"Well, at least they're like my fans," Sonia said, casually slipping out from behind the dumpster as soon as she was sure they were gone. "Easily tricked by the simplest of hiding spots. Come on, we gotta move before they decide to backtrack."
"Hold on," Mayl insisted. "Wait a minute... how do you know who I am, why those guys are after me, and where I would be?"
"Like I said, I'm a time-traveling superhero and pop star," Sonia said. "I may look an ordinary elementary, near middle school girl, but I'm actually a powerhouse in 22XX. Also, if you don't hurry, you might miss Lan and Dex."
"LAN AND DEX!?" Mayl yelled. She then slapped her mouth shut, but the damage was done. The three ex-WWW operatives poked their heads out from around the corner. "I can't believe I actually did that."
"Oh, there she is," Ito realized. "I can't believe she actually did that."
"I can't believe you actually did that!" Sonia groaned, grabbing her guitar. "Lyra, Wizard On!" Lyra appeared next to her as she built up power with a few chords.
"Let me guess, you want me to fully charge up your Pulse Song?" the FM-ian harp asked. "Got it, but you won't be able to do it again outside of Wave Form for awhile."
"It's a risk I'll have to take," Sonia said as the three ex-WWW operatives ran towards them. She then turned on the volume of it, and played a high note, releasing a shockwave that decked Yuika, Ito, and Vic. Sonia strapped her guitar to her back and turned to Mayl as Lyra disappeared back into Sonia's Hunter-VG. "Run!" The two pink-themed girls began running down the alley into the streets. Before the three ex-WWW agents could give chase, the dumpster suddenly moved in front of them, and blocked off their path.
"Huh!?" Yuika asked. "Hey, what gives?" She peeked out around the dumpster, and saw a blue jacketed boy walking by, but Sonia and Mayl running as fast as they could. "They're getting away!"
"For the love of," Vic groaned. He then ran towards the dumpster, grabbing the top of it. "Give me a boost, I'll pull you guys up!"
Yuika gave him the said boost before he yanked her up and then did the same for Ito. The three then found themselves on the ground, and barely spotted Mayl and Sonia. Yuika and Vic began chasing after them. Ito would have joined, but attempting to run in judge's robes wasn't the best idea ever. Heck, he was barely able to make that jump in them. He then stopped at a nearby corner, and waved down a Robo-Horse-drawn carriage.
"Where you heading, sir?" the driver asked.
"Follow that highly visible ninja and that ringmaster woman chasing the two pink-themed thieves that stole my wallet!" Ito ordered.
"...I still get paid after you get your wallet back, right?" the driver questioned.
"Yes!"
"Then hop in and buckle up!" Ito did so without question, and pulled out his PET, pressing a button.
"I hate to do this to you, girls," the former prosecutor sighed, "but I'm bringing hard judgment upon you."
Outside, the jacketed boy frowned. "So close to stopping this now," the boy panted. "Sorry, Mom… I still don't have this strange time power down just yet. But hopefully, you can meet up with Dad… and he'll get you out of this."
"Are you sure you want to sit this one out, Pats?" Megs asked.
"They have a head start on us, and moving a dumpster that size took a lot out of me," Pats replied. "I'm only eight, and I'm still getting the hang of the Time Stamps."
"Good point," Megs nodded. "Here's hoping they'll be okay."
-003-
Creamland Wave Road
Geo looked at the Air Display, which was still ringing. Eventually, Sonia showed up on it, followed by a redhead girl, and both of them were running. "Sonia, are you okay?"
"Not really!" Sonia said. "Chromos' new henchmen are after us!"
"Oh no, there are even more of them!" the redhead exclaimed. "And they're Copy Bots!" The two turned, and ran a different direction as a Heel Navi and a shady looking guy tackled a table that was behind them... and the people that were at the table.
"Lyra, give us a new route out of here!" Sonia called. "Preferably one that's not occupied and could get more innocent people hurt!"
"Working on it!" Lyra claimed.
"Ha!" Omega-Xis laughed "You two screwed up!"
"I didn't screw up!" Lyra insisted. "We underestimated Mayl's volume, Omega-Xis. Also, I was silent the entire conversation!"
"Well, you haven't Wave Changed and simply one-shot the problem, yet," Omega-Xis pointed out. "That's screwing up in my book."
"You know darn well that Sonia and I need Wave Holes just like you to switch between human form and Wave form just like you dummies!"
"You can transform!?" the redhead asked. "We have a lot of questions you need to answer!"
"So that's Mayl?" Geo said. "Okay, quick glance, where are you girls?"
"We're running down a road called Pastry's Street," the popstar said. "Funny... my favorite book series' character lived there."
"You read the Hemlock Bones mysteries, too?" Mayl asked with a smile on her face. "If we weren't running for our lives, I'd love to do some sightseeing, here."
"Alright, one detour through there and past England Yard, coming right up!" Lyra called. "Try to keep up, Mega!"
"M...Mega?" a female voice said.
"It's a long story," Sonia said to her charge. "Hurry! If we get out of this, I'll tell you everything!"
Geo turned off the call to allow Sonia to focus. He began running through the Wave World to find a way to Pastry's Street. Another call, however, interrupted his train of thought. He pressed the answer button, seeing Luna on the street next to Chisao, who finally caught up with the others. "Prez, what's up?"
"Mega Man, where are you?" she questioned. "Are Sonia and Mayl okay?"
"Unfortunately, not—"
"Lyra messed up!" Omega-Xis accused. Geo muted Omega-Xis before turning to the confused Luna.
"Sonia has Mayl, and they're on their way to Pastry's Street," he explained. "However, they're being chased by Chromos operatives. I'm pursuing on the Wave Road."
"And I'm on foot!" Lan said, entering the call from his SN-PET. He looked like he was skating. "Pastry's Street, right?"
"Right!" Chisao said, looking at Luna's Map app. "Turn right up here, then keep going that way until I tell you, Lan! Then wait for my big brudder, and he'll back you up!"
"Got it!" Lan said. "Raika, you heard that?"
"I did," Raika said, entering the conversation as well. "We'll make sure that these Chromos guys don't harm your friends. It's the least I can do to pay you back for our friendship."
"Thanks." Geo smirked, closing the call. He then unmuted Omega-Xis.
"Well, that was rude," the AM-ian said. "Anyway, we heading after them?"
"Of course!"
-SS-
Pastry's Street
Several Heel Navis and Chromos throughout the neighborhood, desperately searching for their targets. All they found was a pair of blonde, sunglasses-wearing girls dressed in trenchcoats looking at a nearby television store at the news. Yep, it was totally unsuspicious.
After the Chromos forces were far gone from Pastry's Street, the two girls looked at each other, and sighed, shedding the trench-coats and taking off the wigs, revealing Mayl and Sonia. "Wow, nice plan," Mayl said. "Where did you get the idea of wigs and coats?"
"Well," Sonia giggled, "the paparazzi has always been a bit of a pain. It's easier when I can Wave Change. That way, I don't have to wear warmer clothes in the middle of summer." She then pressed a button on her Hunter-VG, and the trenchcoats vanished in an instant. The two put the wigs back on, and kept the sunglasses on. "Still, when I have to go in public and I don't want to be bothered, I have disguises that can be turned into Real Waves."
"Alright, since we're safe for right now," Mayl said, "you owe me some answers..." Her stomach growled. "And perhaps something to eat. Ugh, I feel like Lan. His stomach's never full, the dummy."
"Yeah, we big eaters know that feeling too well," Sonia giggled. Looking at a nearby café, she smiled, "Anyway, yeah, we can talk." The two sat down, inside, and ordered some food while Mayl's PET charged. After Mayl finally got some decent food in her belly for the first time in days, and looked over Lan's worried email (really glad he was here in this time period), Sonia asked, "So, what do you want to talk about?"
"Alright," Mayl sighed after eating. "For starters, who are you Satella Police Commandos?"
"Well, short version is that we're basically skilled Battle Wizard Operators who are assigned special missions," Sonia summarized. "However, we're no ordinary Operators. We're part of Project Trans-Code, a group of Satella Police affiliates who are designated as legal Wave Changers. Lan and Geo told me you encountered a jerk named Hyde? He's an Unregistered Wave Changer, the type that can cause trouble."
"Sounds like you guys are Officials, in a way," Mayl said. "Like Lan's rival, Chaud. By the way, what do you mean that you know Lan and Dex?"
"I met them both not too long ago," Sonia explained. "Lan came all the way to 22XX, and started looking for a way to find you and his other loved ones almost immediately. My friends Geo, Luna, Bud, and Zack, and Geo's semi-friend Jack, all agreed to help him, as did I. Hence, we're here. As for Dex, apparently, he figured out how time traveling works before the rest of us did, and made it all the way here. You missed him by that much."
"Wow, Dex and GutsMan actually figured out how to get to us before we figured out how to time travel," Roll said, feeling somewhat better as the PET charged. "I'm quite impressed… and kind of jealous. By the way, how does one time travel?"
"Through Time Waves," Sonia said. "We still don't know how many there are, but we've only found you two, Dex and GutsMan, and Lan and his Mega Man."
"His Mega Man?" Mayl asked. "There's really more than one?"
"We have one, too," Sonia smiled. "I'll introduce you to him. But for now, we should probably find our way back to Pride Castle. It's kind of our base of operations."
"You figured out how to be friends with the queen?" Mayl asked.
"Lan did," Sonia confessed. "I see why you like him, Mayl. He's a nice, determined guy. A bit dense, but really nice. He cares for you, though, so that's certainly a plus." Mayl blushed, surprised this girl from the future knew about her crush on Lan that quickly. The bell to the café door rang, and the two looked to see Yuika and Vic walking in, both looking incredibly impatient.
"How in the world... do we lose... two preteen redheaded girls... in Creamland!?" Vic complained between breaths.
"I told you that you and Ito really needed to work out more," Yuika scoffed. The ex-clown looked around. "Speaking of Ito, where the heck is he? Those stupid robes of his got in the way! I don't know why he fancies himself a prosecutor turned-judge. He was a really bad prosecutor."
"Actually he was a pretty good prosecutor," Vic said. "Blackbeard screwed up out of petty revenge, got caught, and got what he deserved. And he almost got rid of Yuricho and Lan Hikari. He just underestimated the Hikari brat, like we all did. In fact, of the three of us, he got the closest to breaking Lan Hikari. Meanwhile, I got what I was supposed to, and you only got ONE CyBeast."
"Well, it doesn't help us catch our target," Yuika frowned, walking around the café.
"Excuse me!" a waitress interrupted. "Are you two here to eat?"
"Um, no, we're just looking for someone," Yuika said, holding up a PET to show Mayl's picture. "Have you seen a girl like this?"
"Well, not really," the waitress replied. "Similar outfit, though. She sat down right over there, next to the other blonde in the hoodie." The two Chromos operatives looked, only to see an empty booth with Zenny on the table and the bill paid. "Huh... that's weird. They were just here a minute ago."
"I think I know exactly where to look," Yuika said, eying the woman's restroom.
"Paying customers only, I'm afraid," the waitress told her. Yuika growled.
"Fine, I'll have a cappuccino to go," Yuika said. "Vic, pay the woman, I have to go to the little girl's room..." Vic stood flabbergasted while Yuika headed towards the bathroom, and then kicked it open... to reveal nobody. "But... what?"
Outside the restaurant, Sonia and Mayl peeked in through the window. The two sighed before walking away. "That one was too close," Mayl sighed. "So, we need to get all the way to Pride Castle... from Pastry's Street."
"I know, this isn't an easy task," Sonia confessed. With a frustrated groan, she looked above, and asked, "Mama, what would you have me do!? Please, I need a miracle!"
"Mama?" Mayl asked.
"My mother... passed away when I was younger," Sonia explained. "I'm sorry, bringing up my problems like this, when you've been fearing for your life and those you care about for who knows how long. I mean, yes, she's not exactly been born yet, let alone in heaven, during this time period, but... I feel like praying to her and anyone who would listen. I know I tasked myself to keep you safe until we reunited you with you, but... I can't keep doing this without my ability to Wave Change. I don't know how Lan Hikari did all of his crazy, heroic feats without being able to Wave Change like I do. Even though I know Lyra's right here..." she gestured to the guitar on her back. "...I feel like how I was not even two years ago. Alone, vulnerable, being exploited for my talents, and powerless to stop it. And it stinks, because I'm normally a fighter or a singer. Not a runner or victim like... like this!"
"That's pretty much how I feel all the time," Mayl said. "Lan and MegaMan have saved me and Roll more times than I care to remember, but I feel like we're just... burdens to them. I want to return the favor so badly, but... here I am, again... getting in trouble."
"I wonder if this is how Luna feels with Geo," Sonia smiled. "Even though there are times I wonder if she sets herself up to be in trouble so Geo saves her, she probably has to have some sense of frustration about the amount of trouble she's in."
"You'll have to introduce me," Mayl laughed.
"I will," Sonia promised. "But first, I need to get you to safety."
"Hey, what's that?" Lyra asked. Sonia looked as her Wizard popped out, and pointed at a place near a fire hydrant. Sonia closed her eyes... and heard a grinned as she heard a familiar swirl.
"Thank you, Mama," Sonia smiled. Mayl looked at her in confusion. "Come on!" The two girls began running—
"NEIGH!"
Only to stop when a carriage stopped in front of them. Out from it emerged Ito, who cracked his neck, and placed some Zenny into the driver's hand.
"Hey, I thought you said you didn't have your wallet!" the driver pointed out.
"A slight fabrication of the truth," the ex-prosecutor replied. "Thank you for the lift." The driver rolled his eyes, and drove away.
"Oh, come on!" Mayl complained, backing up. "We were so close!"
"Close, but no cigar," Vic scowled, walking out with Yuika's cappuccino. The woman then snatched it, and took a sip, and then a bite of an apple that she more than likely stole.
"About time we caught you," Yuika said as a group of Heel Navis soon surrounded the two girls. She walked up to the two, and ripped off the wigs, revealing their red and pink hair. "Now, I don't know who exactly you are, young lady, but you shouldn't have gotten in our way... now, you'll enjoy the same playtime we were saving just for Mayl."
"Playtime?" Mayl asked, backing away from Yuika, only into a Heel Navi's grip on her shoulders.
"Now, let me start by saying that my hostility to you has NOTHING to do with how jealous I am of how cute you are, or how you just made me run halfway across a city in heeled boots. If anything, that was a good workout."
"I hold a grudge about that!" Vic chimed in.
"The reason I am absolutely livid at the sight of you, however," Yuika explained, "is because you're someone close to Lan Hikari. The boy who ruined... EVERYTHING for me! For us! Before he and MegaMan moved to Cyber City, we had a perfectly good operation going on for us. We should be ruling that city, if not the world! But then, he shows up, and steals a Cybeast right from under our noses, and everything goes horribly for us very quickly! We all go to jail, and we're barely a note in history, according to Cain and that Hyde freak! What were we to Lan Hikari, Tuesday!? That's not how I want history to remember me!"
Mayl scoffed, despite her fear. If she was going out, she may as well go out telling this clown what for. "Well, it's not like you all DIDN'T have a choice but to be evil jerks! From what Lan told me, you guys were completely aware of what you were doing, working for WWW! You guys made your decisions! You chose to awaken and steal the Cybeasts, lady! Mr. Prosecutor, you chose to frame Dr. Hikari for a crime he didn't commit, and tried to have everyone in Cyber City tortured by robots! You, you blue-haired jerk, chose to try to destroy Sky Town and unleash weather-based havoc! You all chose to lure MegaMan into a trap, kidnap him and unleash him on an unsuspecting city! You chose to torture Lan's friends Baryl and Iris! And now, you're choosing to kill me, just to hurt Lan! If anything, you're blaming Lan for the consequences of your own bad decisions!"
The three ex-WWW operatives all looked at each other. Ito was the only one who admitted, "Well, she has a point... we did choose to do all of that. That evidence isn't refutable in any court of law... not even mine."
"Well, it doesn't change a thing," Yuika said. "Except now I have to decide if I'm going to make it quick or painfully slow just for your mouth, little brat." Sonia looked at the fire hydrant blocked off from her. Her guitar was still building up power to do another Pulse Song in the real world. If it wasn't for these Heel Navi-controlled Copy Bots, she'd be one Trans-Code away from Harp Note and rocking these guys' world.
"MAYL! SONIA!" a voice yelled. The two girls and everyone else to turned to the right exit to Pastry's Street.
-LH-
Lan Hikari stood at the top of a long staircase with a handrail. He looked down at Mayl and Sonia's situation, and scowled. "You have ten seconds to let them go!" Lan scowled.
Vic chuckled, "Well, if it isn't Hikari. Looks like the kitty cat didn't have nine lives."
"She got away," Lan confessed. "But you guys won't!"
"Objection!" Ito said. "You don't grasp the situation, Lan. Your friends here are the ones you should be worried about, not us. You make a move against us, they can suffer for it. Do you really want on your conscience?"
"Ugh, he's right, Lan," Hub confessed. "If we do anything, there's no telling what will happen to Mayl and Sonia..." Sonia, meanwhile, looked up. She grabbed her guitar, and stood in a somewhat similar combat stance. "What's she doing?"
"Lan... can you do anything?" Sonia asked.
"Well, of course he can't!" Yuika scoffed. "He tries, you two are history! Don't you get how hostage situations work!?"
"Oh trust me, I'll be fine," Sonia said. "After all... I have a little song just for you."
"(Lan,)" Raika whispered, "(SearchMan and I are in position. We can take out a couple Copy Bots, but we can't make a move without risking Mayl or Sonia. Do you have anything akin to a plan?)'
"...I think I do," Lan said, looking at his chest. A bright blue pulse flashed from it. Mayl's chest had a pink one. He noticed a green pulse coming from yards away, signaling Dex, Luna, Bud, Zack, and Jack were coming. Lan then pressed his right hand on his chest, and yelled, "Take the shot, Raika!" A pair of laser sights formed on two Heel Navis while Sonia turned to the Heel Navis blocking her path to the fire hydrant to play a Pulse Song. He then leapt onto the rail... as the world stopped for everyone but him.
Lan, with time frozen, used his skates to grind down the rail before leaping off of it, and landing in the dead center of the group. He then skated towards Mayl, grabbing her in his arms and pushing past the frozen in time Heel Navis, and pulling a stop that would make Shotaro Kaneda proud (if he used roller skates instead of an awesome motorcycle). Mayl, looked around her, confusion on her face.
"L-Lan... is that you?" Mayl asked.
"You can move when I stop time?" Lan questioned.
"Stop time?" Mayl asked. "Lan, is that what's going on...?"
"I'll explain when we're safe," Lan answered. "Because it's about to—"
BANG! BANG! BOOM!
Time returned to normal as all heck broke loose, two Heel Navis having their Copy Bots' heads shot off, a group of them getting blasted by Sonia's Pulse Song, and the two Heel Navis that Lan pushed with his time stopped powers actually going flying because of the force of an objecting moving at the speed of light tends to have a lot of momentum. Yuika, Vic, and Ito stared slack-jawed at their henchmen getting wrecked all at once while Sonia finally ran towards the fire hydrant.
"Trans-Code #004! Harp Note!" the pinkette pop star yelled, turning into Harp Note. This was just as soon as Geo, in his Mega Man form, showed up. "About time, Mega Man! I was getting worried."
"Wow," Omega-Xis said. "You go from screwing up to taking care of this awfully quickly."
"Oh, be quiet, Mega," Lyra brushed off. Harp Note and Geo both aimed their weapons, and took out the remaining Heel Navis with ease, returning their Copy Bots to normal. Lan then aimed his SN-PET at one of the Copy Bots that was in decent enough condition.
"Jack-in, MegaMan! Execute!" Hub then appeared in control of the Copy Bot.
"Oh, it's so good to be finally back in the real world!" Hub grinned. He and everyone else turned to Yuika, Ito, and Vic. Even though he couldn't use his Mega Buster, he still had a bit of intimidation factor on the three. "So, it's about time we got around to taking you guys back to jail." The three Chromos operatives looked at each other.
"I suggest we adjourn to a safe location," Ito said to the other two.
"Don't have to tell me, twice!" Vic said. He pulled out a smoke bomb, and tossed it down, blinding the four.
"We'll meet again!" Yuika declared through the smoke. "Besides, you may have saved your little girlfriend, Lan, but you're too late to stop Lance!"
Luna's group arrived, her being the only one not wheezing of exhaustion. "Lan!? Mega Man!? Sonia!?" She was answered by the sound of vacuuming, and saw Lan, wearing Vic-Vac, sucking in all of the smoke, but everyone but Hub was slightly coughing and they all were covered in soot. "Oh, thank goodness you all are okay."
"Lan... you found Mayl!" Dex grinned, although out of breath. "Nice work, dude!"
"Hey, Mayl!" Chisao waved. Lan, the adrenaline gone, remembered Mayl was here, who realized that she was right next to him, and sheepishly blushed.
"I'll just leave you two lovebirds alone," Vic-Vac chuckled, returning to Lan's SN-PET.
"Vic-Vac," Lan groaned.
"Hey, if you guys want some privacy," Harp Note said, walking towards Luna, pulling Geo along with her, "we'll clear out, too. We need to find a safe place to return to normal, anyway."
"Huh!?" Geo said.
"Now, now, Mega Man," Luna said, grabbing his other hand, "we should give them some space... and you need a shower."
"But Prez..." Zack complained. "I wanted to meet Mayl, too! Geo said that she—"
"Move it, Zack!" Luna cut him off. "And you too, Bud."
"Got it, Prez," Bud nodded, grabbing Zack by the back of his shirt. He grabbed Jack too, and hauled them along.
"Hey!" Jack scowled. "Why do I have to go back to the castle?"
"What part of 'leave them alone' aren't you getting, Jack?" Bud smirked. "Even I can tell they're gonna want some time to themselves."
"Yeah," Dex agreed, walking with him and Chisao. "And when we get back to the castle, Bud, you and I are having that Net Battle!" Looking back at Lan, Mayl, and Hub, he waved, "See you later, guys!"
The two best friends and childhood neighbors realized that they were alone save for Hub. "Um, maybe I should wait over there," Hub said. "You know, test if this Copy Bot that's had twenty years to be perfected can do as much as Iris' old Copy Bot. It feels that the battery has just as much power as it, too." He then walked towards a bench on the other side of the street.
"Don't you want some company, MegaMan?" Mayl asked. She spotted another Copy Bot, still working despite the wreckage, and said, "Jack-in, Roll! Execute!" The Copy Bot soon turned into Roll, who looked at Hub with a look of pure joy.
"Mega!" The pink Navi glomped the blue Navi, glad to see him again. "Where have you been!?"
"I missed you, too, Roll," Hub smiled. "Though I'm not sure we're going to be able to use that nickname, anymore. Long story."
"Lan," Mayl said while the two Navis reunited, "I'm... glad you're okay. The last time we saw each other... because you wanted to protect me, you got hurt really bad." She hugged him. "Thank goodness you're alright!"
"Well, I'm glad you're okay," Lan said. "We at least found each other... and Dex."
"So, you have no idea where Yai or your parents are?" Mayl frowned.
"No," Lan sighed. "All three of them and Pat are still missing. And it turns out, Pat's one of Geo's friends."
"Geo?" Mayl asked. "He's that boy in that blue getup, right? He looks so much like your brother."
"Yeah," Roll spoke up, looking at Hub. "Why does he look so much like you, Mega?"
"I was about to tell you guys that," Lan said. "But hey, we'll find the rest of them. I found you and Dex." However, his SN-PET rang. He pulled it out, and pressed a button, revealing Raika and Pride's concerned faces. "Raika? Pride? What's wrong?"
"Lan!" Pride breathed. "We have a problem back at the castle! Cherri... Cherri's been kidnapped by a dragon!"
"What!?" both Lan and Hub asked. Not far away, Pats, who just barely arrived down the street, gasped.
"No… Cherri!" he growled.
Kingdom Rider92's Notes: Cue the dramatic music!
Okay, honestly, you all probably saw this coming by the end of last chapter. Lance distracting everyone by putting Mayl in an immediate crisis they would see that Cherri was left without too many defenders. Enjoy that bit of adult fear as we come into Halloween, people.
I enjoyed the chapter's conversations more than I did the action. I also edited in Chisao so people wouldn't ask next chapter, "Wait, how did Chisao get spared this?" And thus, he actually gets to do stuff, here... albeit small stuff. He'll be mission control for right before the boss fight. In his own way.
I'll let you think about that while I answer reviews.
JapaneseDragonrider: Excuse me as I enjoy the feeling of being called "teacher". *inhales... and exhales* Now, then, about your request... I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this before, but I'm ironing out the complications in Plan F. Please, be patient.
On an additional note, glad to have sparked your interest in Star Force. It's a rather underrated trilogy, all things considered.
Rockster: Yeah, I thought that was pretty obvious. Lance, Dragons, the fact that the Battle Network and Star Force series have been primarily exclusive to Nintendo systems, of which includes Pokemon.
I feel the reason that Omega-Xis DIDN'T get a new look was because in Star Force 3, he was no longer on Geo's left hand serving as his blaster, because of how streamlined the Hunter-VG was. But I'd like Fan Art of the Historic forms and what I plan to do for Hub. And darn it, I keep spelling that virus wrong! My bad, I'll fix it.
Anyway, you've gotten an idea of what I'll do for Hub/Past MegaMan. Let's just say you'll enjoy what the future holds.
3697014: There's probably a secret to why your pen name is all numbers, but let's move on. I made this as tender or sweet as I could make it... before throwing the rest of this arc's plot into the mix. Sorry about that!
lucaura678: Hey, you only had to wait a week! Remember, my Praxis stuff is happening... in about four days. As for Mr. Mach, don't worry, I have NOT AT ALL forgotten about him. The Mayor's taken a very special interest in him... oh, and BlastMan will also show up, too.
Ghost 501: Well, I'd reasonably say half the UnderNet would most likely be wiped out. And that's generous.
aliesterus: Okay, you have questions, I'll try to answer.
For the lack of Beast Out, I didn't want to cut off any branches, here, and pick a form for Hub to have (Gregar or Falzar). I also thought, although I may be mistaken, that Lan and Hub took note of this, but noted they could always go to Yurichiro and have the data uninstalled. My theory was this actually happened after the Hikaris moved back to ACDC Town, and Yurichiro has the data at SciLab for safe study. Then again, I could be wrong. Another theory is that Lan is completely aware of how DANGEROUS Beast Out possibly is, and he and Hub have refused to use it unless as an absolute last resort.
For your second question, I will TRY to have an epic Full-Synchro moment. Those moments are usually saved for the finale, however... or an epic moment when it really counts.
As for your third question: I'll have something SIMILAR for Lan and Hub. I personally liked Double Soul and the Cross System. However, it won't be the exact same. You'll see why in the shocking future.
Alright, that should sate everyone long enough for me to study. See you all next week, my subjects!