Did anybody read Cin's Injured story? Lemme know what you think of it, if you have, and I can pass your things onto Cin herself.

Anyway, onto the chapter.

I've decided that this chapter and the next one are going to be the last chapters of TimeMan, because if I keep going the way I am now, I'll end up with half of System Error being dedicated almost entirely to TimeMan, which is something I don't want since this isn't supposed to be a proper fic, just a collection of one-shots and various headcanons.

That being said, I'm somewhat proud of the fact that I've managed to make this into the longest-running 'part' we have so far. I guess maybe it's the plot?

But yeah, that's basically all. And if anyone's wondering why it's taking me so long to write this, it's because I'm addicted to Skyrim and I LOVE PLAYING IT. HOLY SHIT IT'S THE BEST GAME EVER. I've said it before (or some variation, maybe), but it's true. I can do whatever I want on that game. Only problem is the Nords are racist as fuck, but I can just kill whoever I don't like so it's all good.

Moving on.

I don't own MegaMan Battle Network/NT Warrior, on with the show!

OOOOOO

They found TimeMan first. Of course they did.

And like ProtoMan had said, he was hiding in a time-themed place - a clock shop in the DenTech Shopping Mall, to be specific. Chaud had to wonder exactly why all of these criminals had a thing for hiding in the most obvious places imaginable. It honestly felt like he was playing a game, where the bosses were found in places that fit their themes or designs.

But whatever the reason behind it, it allowed them to find TimeMan.

Fortunately, Chaud and ProtoMan were already in Cross Fusion. Unfortunately, they still had past Lan and past Chaud with them, neither of whom could Cross Fuse and were in constant danger of dying horribly at the hands of a sadistic time-travelling Darkloid.

Or us, ProtoMan reminded Chaud, as he jumped out of the way of one of TimeMan's blasts and landed on the fountain that was the centrepiece of the DenTech Shopping Mall's ground-floor atrium.

It probably wouldn't be the centrepiece for much longer, Chaud thought, as the fountain began glowing with TimeMan's energy blast. ProtoMan activated Jet Vernier and rocketed out of the way, touching down on the floor above them in the atrium while the fountain below them exploded into a million bits of stone and water.

"I didn't know you could fly," Lan commented, staring wide-eyed at ProtoMan while he tried to recover his breath.

Chaud's past self was busy keeping an eye out for TimeMan, but he was stealing surprised glances at ProtoMan as well.

"It is called Jet Vernier," ProtoMan explained. "A feature that comes exclusively with the Link PET, and even then only Chaud's, Lan's and Raika's."

"Who's Raika?"

ProtoMan ignored the question and turned around to face the atrium again. TimeMan had vanished out of sight, but that didn't mean he wasn't anywhere near them.

The past several minutes had been spent trying to evacuate the civilians in the shopping mall. Lan and Chaud's past self had done their best, working together somewhat grudgingly (though ProtoMan, at Chaud's insistance, had threatened both of them with a Proto Sword, which seemed to work) while ProtoMan and Chaud tried to keep TimeMan busy. It wasn't exactly an easy job since the Darkloid could appear literally anywhere via teleportation, but he was almost single-minded in his attempts to take their half of the power block, so he mostly focused on them.

By now, they'd managed to get almost everyone out, aside from a few terrified teenagers who had been told to just hide in a safe spot until they could get out. Chaud could see them now, huddled inside one of the first-floor shops and trying to judge whether or not it was safe for them to make a run for it.

ProtoMan had told them to wait until he had TimeMan occupied, but TimeMan had vanished, so now no one was moving.

This was not a good day for anyone. Unless you were TimeMan. But he didn't count.

[Come on already,] Chaud muttered, keeping an eye out in all directions. Since he wasn't in control at the moment, he had a full 360 view of everything, while ProtoMan could only see what his eyes showed him. It was hard to describe how it was, but it was almost like a third-person view from inside his own head.

Where was TimeMan? He had better not have vanished out of the mall altogether, otherwise they'd be forced to look for him all over again. Chaud was, at this point, thoroughly sick of being here.

He just wanted to go back to his own time.

So do I, ProtoMan agreed. But we cannot, not until we defeat TimeMan.

[Yeah . . . and even then, how're we sure that we're gonna come back to the same place we left?] Chaud wondered. [We've changed the past so much, it's a wonder we haven't disappeared yet.]

As I said previously, the timeline is less fragile than you think it is. When Duo destroyed our entire planet and thirty years of our history, the chosen thirteen did not vanish immediately. I do not know if that was Duo's doing or not, but perhaps being the ones to change history makes us immune to the effects.

[Isn't that the plot of basically every time-travel movie ever?]

. . . Shut up.

Chaud sniggered quietly, but he went on the alert when he noticed a dark grey flicker just outside of his vision. He quickly focused on it, and ProtoMan went silent, sensing that Chaud had found something.

[Over there!] he exclaimed, showing ProtoMan with their shared mind.

ProtoMan immediately activated Jet Vernier - Lan and Chaud's past self yelped and backed away from the sudden burst of rocket-fire - and zipped up to the third floor, already activating Proto Swords on both arms.

TimeMan threw a burst of energy at them just as they came over the balcony level, and ProtoMan fended it off with one Sword. That Sword broke upon impact but it got rid of the energy, and he used the second Sword to jab at TimeMan, who floated back into the wall and had to duck to avoid a swipe at his head.

TimeMan almost teleported away, but ProtoMan managed to grab onto him at the last moment and they were dragged along as well, appearing down on the first floor of the atrium.

Chaud's vision was suddenly blurry and dizzy, and ProtoMan staggered away and fell onto his hands and knees, heaving. The remaining Proto Sword had shattered the moment they had reappeared.

I never want to be human, ProtoMan gasped silently.

[Okay, so, we've learnt a new thing - don't grab someone when they're teleporting.]

Your input is extremely helpful.

"Hand over the power block!" TimeMan bellowed, gathering up more of his energy blasts and not giving ProtoMan any time to recover from the dizziness.

Chaud remembered just in time that they had a recovery chip, and he quickly downloaded it for ProtoMan - who probably couldn't even stand up without assistance right now. The chip gave ProtoMan enough strength to throw himself away from the twin energy blasts.

The only problem with that was that ProtoMan hadn't been able to look where he was throwing himself, and he ended up slamming into the wall nearby.

That took the breath right out of his body, and any energy that he may have had left. ProtoMan was left gasping for air on the ground while TimeMan glowered at them from several metres away, and the Darkloid began to advance on them.

[ProtoMan,] Chaud said urgently. [ProtoMan, get up. Get up! You've gotta get up! He's coming, get up!]

I can't move, ProtoMan said. He sounded completely drained. I'm sorry, Chaud. I just can't . . .

[Then let me!]

Something flashed through ProtoMan's mind - a series of images, thoughts. The power block, infecting them with Darkloid energy. Cross Fusion as they were when Chaud had Fused with Dark ProtoMan. Their sheer strength even without the power block amplifying it. Chaud's hatred of his past self.

[I won't,] Chaud promised quietly, shamefully. [I won't. I promise.]

. . . Go, ProtoMan said weakly.

Chaud took back control - it was an odd sensation and not one he could describe with actual words, but he knew how to do it and that was all that mattered. ProtoMan took the passenger seat now, finally getting a chance to rest.

Now that he was in control, he was gasping for breath. He could suddenly understand why ProtoMan had been so weakened, this fight was draining them almost completely.

But he wasn't the one who had been fighting.

Chaud managed to force himself to stand. TimeMan actually stopped, watching him with narrowed eyes.

"You shouldn't be able to move," the Darkloid growled.

"I'm a whole new person," Chaud informed him, and he downloaded a Variable Sword and activated Jet Vernier, blasting himself directly at TimeMan so quickly that the Darkloid couldn't move out of the way in time.

Chaud slashed at TimeMan with the Variable Sword, letting loose a couple of Sonic Booms in the process (one of the Sonic Booms missed and broke a pillar a few metres away, and Chaud mentally cringed). TimeMan was too close to do anything other than dodge. If he tried to teleport again then Chaud could simply just latch onto him, but there was also the risk that it would also drain him like it had ProtoMan.

He'd have to take that risk if it did happen. For now, he could just force TimeMan to keep dodging with rapid attacks. If TimeMan was too focused on trying to dodge, then he wouldn't be able to concentrate enough to teleport - though Chaud wasn't entirely sure if he needed concentration for that ability.

Chaud was starting to push TimeMan back now. As soon as the Variable Sword expired, he downloaded a Wide Blade and a Long Blade to replace it, switching to a dual-blade attack seamlessly to not give TimeMan any room for a break. It was his turn for a relentless assault, he was getting revenge for ProtoMan.

Up above, he knew his past self and Lan were watching. They'd probably seen ProtoMan collapsing, and were wondering how he was suddenly able to stand, much less attack like this - Chaud had to wonder if they realised that he was back in control, and if they did, what his past self would do.

"If Chaud gains control, I would advise that you run."

Chaud gritted his teeth and ignored it. It was just the power block, the Darkloid energy inside him, that was making him so angry. He could redirect that anger from his past self to TimeMan.

He hoped.

TimeMan snapped back to avoid Chaud's swipe with the Long Blade, and he quickly charged up another of his energy blasts on his right hand. Chaud, seeing it coming, simply dropped down when TimeMan threw it at him - and it went sailing high above.

He didn't realise it was heading straight for Lan and his past self until they both screamed, but by the time he whipped around to find them, he saw it would already be too late. By the time he could activate Jet Vernier and get halfway there, the energy blast would have blown them both to pieces. And they couldn't run, either, because that pillar Chaud had accidentally destroyed had been holding up part of the floor they were standing on, and they were trapped.

There was a flash in the corner of his eye, and when he looked around, TimeMan had vanished.

Then there was another scream from Lan and his past self, and Chaud looked back at them, expecting the worst, but was utterly shocked when he saw what had happened.

TimeMan had teleported right in front of the blast and had gotten rid of it, cancelling it out with a second blast. He removed the resulting smoke from the double explosion, and locked eyes with Chaud. He scowled.

" . . . I don't get it," Chaud admitted quietly.

ProtoMan was either too drained or too shocked to respond, but Chaud could feel his confusion.

TimeMan teleported down to him, towering over him with that scowl still in place.

"Why?" Chaud demanded, as soon as the Darkloid was in front of him.

"If they die, we all die," TimeMan spat.

"But you said-"

"I lied, you stupid child!" TimeMan shouted. "It was a bluff, to make you back down, and when it didn't work I was shocked. How could anyone be so stupid as to endanger the life of their past self? To endanger their own life by proxy?"

"Never underestimate how stupid some people can be," Chaud snapped back without thinking, and then immediately felt foolish.

TimeMan sighed in frustration. "You humans are all the same," he muttered. "You take gambles, risks, and always go through them hoping for the best. You're lucky you didn't kill yourself and everyone in that street."

"So, this means you're not the master of time?"

"No!" TimeMan roared. "But I would be, if I only had your half of the power block! My half only gives me enough power to travel through time - backwards or forwards, and even then only short jumps. Why do you think we ended up here, instead of thousands of years in the past? If I had the entire block, I could control time and remake it however I pleased. I could create a world of Darkloids, I could bring back the glory days of Master ShadeMan himself!"

"Wow," Chaud deadpanned. "Original."

"Silence, lunatic human. I travel through time, but I don't control it, and if anyone significant in this time dies - your own past self, or the idiot operator of MegaMan - then everything in the future will change as well. We're not immune to the effects, far from it. You change the past, and you'll go back to a different world than the one you left behind, but if your past self dies, you cease to exist entirely. As much as I hate to admit this, I never intended to actually kill anyone here."

"Why not just grab us and go back?" Chaud demanded. "Why'd you have to attack, and why did you vanish?"

"I was injured, because you decided to blow up everything in sight!" TimeMan snapped at him. "You're the one who attacked me!"

"Sure, play the victim," Chaud huffed. "But why didn't you just take us back anyway?"

"I only had the power for that one jump. I have enough left over to get myself back, but I would be leaving you behind. I can't leave you behind because you still have the other half of the power block, and leaving you here could change history in unspeakable ways. I can't risk it. I had to wait for you to come to me, and like an idiot, you decided to attack first and ask questions later!"

"Can you get us back if you use the full power block?" Chaud asked, ignoring TimeMan's insults.

"Yes," TimeMan growled through clenched teeth.

"Then do it."

"You're leaving?"

Chaud turned around and saw Lan and his past self making their way over. It was Lan who had spoken. The two of them had used the rubble from the explosion as a way to get down from the second floor faster, and had just came up as Chaud had told TimeMan to take them back to their own time.

" . . . Yeah," Chaud replied, after a moment of hesitation. He glanced at his past self.

Both past humans looked surprised, and judging by the small amount of fear in their expressions, they'd definitely realised it was him who was in control. Maybe it was the word he had used - he'd never heard ProtoMan say 'yeah' before - or maybe it was his voice, but now they knew.

Lan took a step to the side, almost in front of Chaud's past self. Normally that would've prompted some reaction from past Chaud, but he had taken a step backwards himself, looking at Chaud with a mixture of fear and suspicion.

"Look," Chaud began shamefully, realising that he still had both of his Blades active and quickly banishing them before anyone got the wrong idea, "I'm sorry-"

"Don't bother talking to them," TimeMan interrupted. Chaud glared at him. "They won't remember any of this anyway. Time is resilient in that it will correct itself to make sure nothing is broken."

"Then why isn't it correcting itself right now?"

"Because the thing that is changing time is still here," TimeMan replied, acting as if the answer was obvious and Chaud was an idiot to not see it. "Us, you idiotic child. A Darkloid and a hybrid freak from the future. Once we leave, everything will be back to how it should be - they'll be back in that street, playing at their silly mockery of battle, and everything you broke will be fixed."

"Mockery?" Lan repeated angrily.

"You broke stuff too!" Chaud snapped, even though it was true that most of the damage had been caused by him.

TimeMan snorted and ignored both of them.

"No one but the three of us will remember this ever happened," TimeMan said. "But I do have one condition, in order to bring us all back to our original time."

"And that is?" Chaud asked. He had a feeling he already knew what the condition would be. And sure enough, TimeMan said it.

"The power block," the Darkloid said. "I want your word - your sacred word - that you will hand over the power block as soon as we get back. It will be converted back to its original form the moment we do, and you were the one holding it when we left, so it will be once again in your hands. But my demand for our safe passage back to our own time is that you hand it over the moment we get back. I want you to swear it."

"My sacred word?" Chaud repeated distastefully.

"Yes. Swear upon whatever you hold dear. Your parents, your friends, your Navi. Whatever sentimental rubbish you humans hold sacred."

"Fine," Chaud said. "I swear upon my mother's life, I'll give the power block to you when we get back to our own time."

His past self gave him a strange look, but Chaud willed him to keep quiet.

That seemed to be enough for TimeMan. He held out his hand, palm up, and Chaud - though he really didn't want to and he'd rather drive a Proto Sword through it - placed his own hand on top of it.

"Then let us go," TimeMan said, and he began to activate both halves of the power block, which he could now access because he was in contact with Chaud.

The same light from before began to shine - there was more Darkloid energy being poured into it from TimeMan, and more of Chaud and ProtoMan's Cross Fusion energy as well, but this time he wasn't surprised by it.

Chaud glanced at past Lan and his past self.

"Bye," he said quietly, just before the light engulfed him.

OOOOOO

YESSS. I didn't think I'd actually manage it, but there we go.

And we find out that TimeMan was actually bluffing back when he attacked past Chaud and the others the first time. He can travel through time and teleport and all that, but what he can't do is control time itself - so he's not safe if Chaud's past self is killed. Like he said, he was trying to bluff Chaud into backing down, but of course ProtoMan's 'throw a Time Bomb at him' plan worked beautifully, if you find pure carnage beautiful.

And this chapter is officially the longest one we've had in the entire fic, wow . . .

I'll end it before it gets longer.

Read and review!