Author's Notes: Standard Disclaimer.

Jill, Your question about Chaud's hair intrigued me, so I took a picture of him, and recolored his hair from black and white to red. Therefore, I have some foundation for my opinion, it's a definite improvement and I could live with him being a redhead.

Vokteren, Kai, I've never heard of him/her (did you mean Kaito?), but Mary does make an appearance later on.

C. S. Omega, bleh, Battle Chips don't taste that good. And I'm not an 'idiot that doesn't know what a Dark Chip is' (quote from that guide you sent me) but thanks for the info... Well, if you insist, I suppose I could let Roll use a Dark Chip...

Warning! Very intense cliffhanger! Proceed at your own risk!

Saturday 2:15 PM: Tournament Battle Arena.

"Welcome back to the Tag Team Tournament!" Ribbita's voice echoed through the stadium, "It's down to the final round, Maylu and Lan, versus Chaud and, his assigned partner, Roy!"

"I see you came back." Chaud snapped at me, "you might want to quit while you still can."

"Nice to see you too." I replied at his voice.

Ribbita's voice interrupted the exchange of insults, "And what a tournament this has been! Maylu Sakurai, the first blind Netbattler to enter Championship competition, has reached the final round, with a 6-0 record! Chaud Blaze appears equally determined to take the championship however, as he has a 7-0 record. Who will make the best Netbattler team? We'll find out soon!"

"So Lan, how's ya're 'girlfriend' doin'?" I heard a gravelly voice, immediately I sensed Lan tense.

"Roy! You're the World Three agent that blinded Maylu!" I could hear the rage in his voice; I had never heard him so angry before.

"Too bad it backfired, I wanted both of ya in that building when it blew, but ya weren't fast enough." Roy's voice continued, "Wily nearly killed me when he found out I'd hit ya're 'girlfriend' instead a you, said it would make you even madder at us. But even I've gotta admit you two make a cute couple. Too bad I've gotta wipe you out."

"Oh, yeah? Well we're going to take you down." Lan retorted.

"Wait a moment." Chaud didn't sound happy; "You're World Three?"

"I was." Roy snapped, "But I'm not now."

I heard a loud crash and then Chaud's voice cut through the air, "Listen, Modem, I've never thrown a match in my life, and I don't intend to start now. Which unfortunately means I need your semi-intelligence, so you make one false move out there." His voice became even more menacing, "and I'll take you down myself."

"Yeah, I gotcha." Roy whimpered.

"I don't believe this I got assigned a WWW agent-" Chaud was cut off by Ribbita.

"And now it's time for the championship round!" The announcer shouted, "Battlers, jack in now!"

"Jack in, Mega-Man! Power Up!" Lan shouted.

"Jack in, Roll! Power Up!" I cried as I clipped my terminal into the computer.

I listened as Roy and Chaud also jacked in.

"I'm gonna fry you!" Turbine's voice shouted.

"Oh yeah?" I heard my Navi retort, "Not before I cool your jets!"

"Mega-Man," Proto-Man called out, "I didn't know."

"I don't blame you." The Blue Bomber replied, "I blame him."

"This is the moment we've all been waiting for!" The announcer hollered, "Battle Start!"

"Spreader! Battle Chip in! Download!" I heard Lan download a chip.

"Typhoon virus, Battle Chip in! Download!" I also slid a chip into my P-E-T.

"Typhoon virus!" Roll repeated.

The idea was for the Typhoon to distract our opponents, while Mega-Man unleashed his Spreader's power on Turbine and Proto-Man.

"Proto-Man, Barrier!" I heard Chaud shout.

I groaned inwardly, the barrier would easily protect Proto-Man. However, Roy's cries at Turbine told me that he wasn't as successful at avoiding the attack as Chaud was.

"Bubbler, Battle Chip in! Download!" I sent the chip into my P-E-T.

I heard the Bubbler form, and then Roll send a shot flying at one of her opponents, she must have chosen Turbine, because I heard Roy downloaded a barrier.

"Crossfire! Battle Chip in! Download!" Lan instructed.

"Crossfire!" Mega-Man agreed; I heard him fire and then the sounds of Turbine's barrier shattering, allowing Roll's Bubble to crash into the hotshot.

"Proto-Man, Long-Sword Download!"

Roll called out to me; "He's going for Mega-Man!"

"I don't think so!" I grabbed a couple of chips, "Area-Steal, Battle Chip in! Download! Leaf-Shield, Download!"

I listened as the Area-Steal took effect. Then I heard Roll quip: "peek-a-boo!" I knew that she would appear in front of Proto-Man, with her Leaf-Shield raised.

"Proto-Man dodge!"

It was too late; the Navi was too close to Roll. I grinned as I heard him crash into the shield.

"Blaster!" My teammate cried. Seconds later, Roy roared at Turbine for getting hit.

"Unbelievable!" Ribbita shouted, "This match has been one sided since the beginning, I don't know how much longer Proto-Man and Turbine can hold out!"

"NOW!" Roy shouted, "Double Program Advance!"

"I don't like this," I whispered.

"Me neither," my partner agreed.

"Cyber-Sword, Battle Chip in! Download!" Our opponents cried. "Wide-Sword, Battle Chip in! Download!"

I fingered my Bubble-Wrap chip, it would be a poor defense against a Program Advance, but it was the best I could do.

"Long-Sword, Battle Chip in! Download!" They finished.

"Barrier, Battle Chip in! Download!" Lan shouted.

"Bubble-Wrap, Battle Chip in! Download!" I slammed a chip into my P-E-T. Explosions sounded through the computer, the noise continued on for several minutes. Finally, the sounds died away, and I heard Roll and Mega-Man groan.

"ROLL!" I shouted, "Are you alright?"

"MEGA-MAN!"

"Maylu- that was… powerful." My navi gasped.

"What do I do?" I ran my hand over my chips; There was only one way out of this situation, but I wasn't sure if we could control it...

"I'm alright." Roll cried; "just give me a minute to get to my feet."

"I'm with you." Mega-Man's voice reached my ears. "We can't give up."

I heard Chaud mutter, "Proto-Man finish them off."

"Yes Sir," The Navi acknowledged the statement, "Proto-Buster."

"Uh, I'm up, Maylu." My Navi said.

"Let's do this." Mega-Man agreed.

"O.K. Here, Barrier, Download." I slid the chip into my P-E-T to protect Roll as I tried to reason this out. What if we couldn't control it? If we couldn't then it could cost Roll her life…

"Go get him Mega-Man!" Lan shouted, "Variable-Sword, Battle Chip in! Download!"

I heard Roll's barrier shatter, and she yelled as she was hit with the Proto-Buster.

"Do you have any ideas?" My Navi asked, as I heard her crash into the floor.

I felt over the chips again, the longer I waited the more our chances faded...

"Roll," I said quietly, "Do you think we can do it?"

"We've got to." She said. "We've come to far to turn back now."

"Then let's do it. " I grabbed the chip and held it in front of my Terminal, I tried to clear my mind; we had to do this perfectly…

"Let's do this!" Roll and I cried in unison. "The Program Advance!"

"1. Typhoon, Battle Chip in! Download!" I slid the chip into my P-E-T, and listened to Roll activate the chip.

"2. Hurricane! Battle Chip in! Download!" I sent another one.

"3. Cyclone, Battle Chip in, Download!" The third Chip entered my P-E-T, "Program Advance:"

"DESERT STORM!!!" Roll and I finished in unison.

"No way!?" Roy gasped.

I listened to the three attacks combine, into what we called the Desert Storm Program Advance.

With a battle cry, Roll sent the Program Advance tearing at our opponents. I listened as the storm washed over them, pelting them with air and rain. The Advance ran it's course, then Roll cancelled it.

"How did you do that?" Lan gasped.

"Me and Roll accidentally discovered it during one of our training sessions," I explained, "But this is the first time we've ever been able to pull it off while we were in full synch."

"Wow, now it's our turn!" My teammate commented, "Program Advance!"

"Program Advance!" Mega-Man agreed. "Cyber-Sword, Wide-Sword, Long-Sword Download!" I heard Lan's Program Advance sword form, and the Blue Bomber send it crashing into Proto-Man and Turbine.

Turbine Logging Out.

"You'd think that they'd have learned by now that WWW Navis always lose against us." Lan chuckled over Roy's scream of disbelief.

"Proto-Man end this!" Chaud instructed, "Go for Roll!"

"Right, Chaud," I retorted, "I don't think so!"

"I agree!" My Navi cried; I heard two pairs of footsteps as they started running at each other.

"Cloudy Virus! Battle Chip in! Download!" I sent the chip into my P-E-T, and listened as Roll summoned it.

"I know that you would use a virus attack," Chaud muttered, "It won't stand a chance against this: Electro-Sword, download!"

I listened to the distance between the two Navis lessen, I had to time this just right for it to work. So I waited until I heard Proto-Man slash through the virus.

"Now!" I instructed, "Cyber-Sword, Battle Chip in! Download!"

"Thanks!" Roll congratulated me as I heard the sword form.

I heard the two swords clash and waited to hear the result…

Now isn't that just a terrible place to stop? (Hey, I warned you!)

C. S. Omega, I had you going there for a few minutes didn't I? Like I'd really let Maylu use a Dark Chip. Anyways, I do things in a very strange way, I write out the entire fic on my computer and then back it up onto a floppy disk. After that's done, I just publish and update the story on a predefined schedule (you can't leave fics hanging for months this way) so the story is pretty much set in stone, but you might be surprised at what's going to happen later on.

See everyone on Friday!