"Sean!" Lan shouted after the fleeing boy. "Sean! Wait! I just want to talk to you!"

The gray-haired boy glanced over his shoulder, but continued to run in the opposite direction. " Go away! I can't talk to you!"

"I suppose the fact that he even spoke to me is an improvement." The brunette hissed under his breath. The Net Saver glanced up, to see Sean approaching an intersection. Judging from the stale green lights, the signal was about to change. Since Sean had a head start, if Lan didn't catch him quick, he'd lose him when the lights changed.

"Sean, wait!" Lan shouted again, as he darted around a business man. It was useless, Sean was almost at the intersection, and Lan still had half a block to go.

And then fate intervened- in the form of a Battle Chip.

Lan saw the flying disk come out from behind the corner building of the block and crash into the 'Walk' button on the street light. In response, the lights cut immediately jumped to show red a few seconds earlier than normal- and because of that, Sean wouldn't be able to slip across the street.

Undaunted, however, the boy dashed around the corner and slipped out of Lan's view.

Determined not the lose the kid a second time, Lan stayed right on the boy's heels. The brunette whipped around the corner, and stopped in his tracks in surprise.

There, before his eyes, Chaud Blaze was fighting to maintain his grip on a struggling Sean's shoulders.

"Let- me- go!" The gray-haired boy screamed as he bucked and pulled in an effort to escape his captor.

"That's not an option." The double-haired boy tightened his grip on the squirming Sean. Turning his head, the Net Saver addressed his comrade. "Lan."

"Chaud." Lan stepped forward uncertainly. "Why- How'd you get involved in this?"

"It's simple, actually," Chaud moved his head to one side, allowing Sean's fist to fly harmlessly by his head. "He picked my pocket and made off with my wallet. I'd like it back."

"I don't have your lousy wallet!" Sean gave one last twist and then gave up trying to escape. "I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Yes, you do." Chaud didn't release his grip. "Denying it will do no good."

"I- I didn't want to do it!" Tears began forming in Sean's eyes, while he kept his face pointed to the ground. "They made me. I- I had to!"

"Hey, now," Lan stepped forward and squatted down next to the crying boy. "There's nothing to cry over. If you're in some kind of trouble, we'll help you get out of it."

"I- I can't!" The gray-haired kid looked up, tears streaming down his face. "They'll hurt my sister!"

"What?" Lan scooted an inch closer. "Don't worry, we'll help you."

"Really?" Sean looked up, hope shining from behind his tears.

"Really."

"Thanks." The boy's countenance became threatening. "For helping me out!"

Sean's small, spindly arms suddenly flew forward, slamming into the squatting Lan's chest. Caught completely by surprise, the brunette lost his balance and tumbled over backward to land hard on his backside.

Acting immediately, in the split second that Chaud's focus was directed at Lan, the gray-haired boy twisted to one side and broke free of the Net Saver's grasp. Without a second's hesitation, the gray-haired kid dashed away and stumbled around a corner into an alleyway.

"Why that-!" Lan threw himself to his feet, and broke into pursuit.

"He's certainly an actor." Chaud nodded as he followed the brunette.

The partners whipped around the corner and slid to a stunned halt- Sean was nowhere in sight.

"What- where'd he go?" Lan took a few steps into the alleyway

Chaud glanced around, uncertain where his prey had gone. The alleyway was completely empty, except for a few trash cans and a dumpster set alongside the left wall.

Warily, the two Net Savers continued into the alley, their senses on high alert for any more tricks that Sean might have planned for them.

The two reached the center of the alley, when a loud beeping noise caught their attention.

Lan glanced over his shoulder, to see a large dump truck backing into the alley behind them. Evidently, it had come to collect the contents of the dumpster they had passed.

"Chaud, you don't suppose that Sean hid in that dumpster do you?" The brunette turned to his companion. "This is a perfect set-up for a rescue-the-kid-from-being-crushed routine."

"Lan, those kinds of things don't happen in normal life."

"Since when have our lives been normal?"

101010101010101010101010101010

Sean breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the Net Savers continue down the street, completely unaware of his presence. So the dumpster hadn't been his first place to hide, but it had proven effective.

The boy closed the lid completely, deciding to wait a few more moments before leaving his haven.

"That was a close one, Zero." The gray-haired boy panted as he stole a glance at his PET.

"Sean, I'm detecting a strange presence outside of this… receptacle." Zero was all business; something about this didn't feel quite right. "I advise we leave immediately."

"As soon as those Net Saver's are gone-" Sean broke his sentence off. Was it his imagination, or was the garbage beneath him… shifting?

The boy's eyes went wide as he realized what was happening. This was definitely not good. Dumpster diving was a dangerous art, because the trucks used to collect the trash were equipped with compacters to smash the refuse into flat sheets of garbage- and it didn't take much to realize what that kind of pressure could do to a human. The boy screamed in horror as his world dissolved into chaos. His scream was never heard over the roar of machinery.

"NO!" Futilely, Sean clawed at the garbage before him, unable to escape from the mound of trash that was burying him alive- in his own grave.

"I won't go like this!" The gray-haired kid gasped as his hand broke through into clear air. The bin was empty, and somehow he had miraculously been buried near the surface. He could escape, if he hurried…

Then he felt hit, Sean's breath stopped as he realized that a familiar bulge was missing from his pocket- his PET was missing- it must have slipped from his pocket when he tumbled into the truck.

"ZERO!" Abandoning his escape for the moment, the gray-haired boy turned and dove back into the truck, his hands digging through the garbage and filth in an effort to locate his Personal Terminal. "Zero! Where are you? ZERO!"

Sean's hand collided with a familiar object, his fingers instantly recognizing the marred surface of his PET. Hastily, he pulled the device from the rubbish and rushed back for the opening.

Inside of his PET, Zero stood silent in shock. His Net Op had passed up a chance to save himself, and come back to rescue him. Why? This was not the nature of humans… or so he had come to believe…

Sean was oblivious to this; he just continued to claw his way to the exit.

And then the compactor sealed the opening, preparing to start its cycle of destruction. The gray-haired boy was trapped- and about to die.

"This is it, Zero." Sean looked into his PET. It was only a matter of time before they were squashed flatter than a pancake. "At least… you're with me."

The door of steel began sliding closer, piling the trash along its surface. The door continued it's advance, preparing to flatten everything in the truck- including Sean.

Zero remained stunned, he'd never expected this kind of devotion. This was a human he would gladly go to deletion with…

And then the answer struck him.

The Navi checked on the position of the door. Already the trash was piling up around Sean and probably cutting painfully into his sides. The door was about halfway into the bin, meaning that they didn't have much time left. But that time might be enough.

"Sean, the Dimensional Chip. Slot it in!"

"And then you can get us out of here!"

There it was again. Zero stumbled over the word 'us', not 'me' but 'us'. Sean truly considered them a team.

"There's… just one problem…" The gray-haired boy strained at the garbage slowly burying him. "I… can't reach it… Or even… get it to you."

"Don't give up!" Zero shouted without even realizing it. "I'll get you out of here! Somehow…"

Sean looked up at the door, by now it was three-fourths of the way into the bin. It wouldn't be long now…

"Bye, Zero."

"SEAAAAAAAAN!"

And then it stopped.

Sean and the trash surrounding him jerked, as the door came to an early- yet welcome- stop.

"It- it stopped." The gray-haired boy glanced up at the door.

"And what's more." Zero's old stony personality returned, as his voice became deadpan. "It's moving back, you're going to escape."

"And so are you."

The boy looked up to see the compactor opening as the door opened. Abruptly, the mound of trash pinning him in place broke apart and scattered across the floor. Released from his prison, Sean tumbled forward and landed on the top of the refuse. Slowly the gray-haired boy looked up to see an all-too-familiar brunette looking down at him.

"Let me say this now," Lan peered back at Sean. "When we get you out of there, you are definitely getting a bath."