Harry: -smacks Web- Hey! Ya've let your stuff slide for da forum stuff!
Web: -rubs head- Can I help it if I'm overwhelmed? Between sprites, mascots, fiction, not to mention my twelve hour workday, I'm more than a little busy.
Harry: Dat's no excuse to let it go fer two weeks!
Web: Quit your griping, at least we've got a large update now. And Laza, this is Stream based. Stream has no plot, well it does, but a very poor one. Anyways, there's some major plot development in this large chapter.
Harry: So get on wid it already!
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"Well, what's your opinion?"
"You don't have opinions in a case like this." Salvia Nero, Net Saver Counselor, announced as she closed the door behind her. She had just come out of a long session with Sean, and Keifer, Manuela, Dr. Hikari, Lan and Chaud were all eager to here her results. "You have troubled children."
"Sean's an emotional wreck," Silvia glanced at each person in turn. "he's trying to bury his growing anger underneath a façade of happiness. Needless to say, that's not working very well, and it's only a matter of time before that anger boils over."
"Did he say what happened to him over the years?" Keifer voiced the point that foremost on his mind.
"Not directly," The counselor shook her head. "But I'm gathering that after he vanished from his less-than-caring guardians, some homeless person took him in and has been caring for him. Don't mark that as absolute truth, because I don't know for sure that that's the case."
"Very strange…" Manuela pondered the fuzzy story they had heard. "I get the feeling that there's something more here. Something that's lurking beneath the surface of this… case."
"We can sort that out later." Dr. Hikari allowed the father in him to come out. "What's going to happen to him now?"
"Well," Calling on her studies, Manuela tried to recall the answer. "If I remember correctly, Sean's technically still a ward of the state. Therefore, I assume that he'll be placed back in foster care."
"And that." Silvia broke into the conversation. "Is the last thing we need. Sean's confused, scared, and angry. That's a volatile combination. What he needs now is to stay with someone that he knows and relatively trusts, and it wouldn't hurt if he looked up to them somehow."
Lan suddenly became aware of the others looking at him and his father with very thoughtful expressions.
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"So, Sean, how's it going?"
Sean glanced up as Lan entered the 'Counseling Room' of the Net Saver's HQ; although in the boy's opinion, the Counseling Room was the exact same thing as a prison. He couldn't leave, and he had no freedom here.
"What do you care?" The gray-haired kid muttered as he tried his best to avoid looking at the brunette.
"Uh," Knowing full well that reading other people's emotions was not his strong point, Lan tried his best to say the right thing- and still managed to screw it up completely. "I care a lot."
"Then why'd you let that skunk-haired freak bring me here?" Sean spun around to gaze daggers at his only companion. "Huh?"
"If by 'skunk-haired freak' you're referring to Chaud," The brunette dropped all pretence of treading lightly and decided to break Sean's angry spirit- Lan Hikari style. "then I can agree with that description. But the truth of the matter is that when you dropped into my lap we found out who you were and got worried since no one's heard from you in two years. So of course we found you and brought you here so that we could help!"
"If you'd really cared you'd have left me alone!" The gray-haired kid was practically screaming now.
"If we didn't care, we'd have just had you arrested for stealing Chaud and my dad's wallets!" Lan retorted, not bothering to hide his anger. "Instead of dropping those charges!"
"I didn't ask you for help! All I want is to be left alone! Thanks to you, I'm going to get sent back to those- those jerks. Maybe thing's aren't easy with Scratch, but anything's better than being stuck with those abusers!"
Lan opened his mouth to shout something back, but a quick warning from MegaMan caused him to change his outburst into an attempt at making peace.
"Look, we aren't going to send you back." The brunette stepped closer and laid a gentle hand on the rebellious kid's shoulder. "My dad and I want you to come and stay with us for a while- as long as you promise not to run away again."
Sean blinked in amazement, shock, disbelief, and several other emotions. He wasn't quite sure what to make of that sentence- never before had anyone actually cared for him enough to take him in… It was almost too good to be true.
Which meant that it probably was.
"You're lying." The boy tried unsuccessfully to glare in anger at Lan. "You're just going to dump me back in that foster home."
"I'm not lying, am I MegaMan?" The brunette turned to his Navi for support.
"He's telling you the truth, Sean." The Blue Bomber called out from his PET. "We'll be glad to have you come and stay with us. Besides, I've already e-mailed Lan's mother to tell her we've got company coming, and if I know her, she's already cooking spaghetti and meatballs for you. Award winning meat sauce included. "
Sean bit his lip, how in the world did these people know he loved spaghetti?
Although dense, Lan wasn't oblivious, he could tell that Sean was weakening. Now it was time to seal the deal, so to speak.
"By the way," The brunette reached into his pocket, "I couldn't help but notice that your PET's a little… used, so I went ahead and picked this up for you."
The gray-haired kid gasped in amazement as the Net Saver produced a shiny new Progress PET. It's color scheme was of simple red and black, and as Lan turned it over in his hands, Sean could see his name etched into the back housing.
"Here." Lan offered the Terminal to his companion. "It's yours."
"Are- are you serious?"
"Of course I am."
The boy slowly reached out, and took the offered PET. "Um… thank you."
"Don't mention it." Lan grinned and then pinched his nose with his thumb and index finger. "Now, let's get you home so that you can get that bath!"
And for the first time in many months, Sean dropped his guard- and laughed from the heart.
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"I've never seen anyone eat that fast before." Haruka Hikari struggled to keep from staring across the table at Sean as the boy practically inhaled his food.
"He's giving Lan a run for his money," Yuichirou whispered back.
Indeed, if one didn't know better, one would have assumed that Sean and Lan were racing each other to see who could consume the most food the faster. Sean was obviously putting away food as if this were his first real meal in ages and relishing every moment of it- all of which caused Haruka to wonder just what the boy's eating habits had been. Sean was incredibly skinny, and the mother suspected that he hadn't been eating, or hadn't been fed, very well recently.
"Seconds, please?" The gray-haired boy sighed with delight as he scarfed down the last bite on his plate.
"More like your seventh." Lan gave up trying to finish his plate and leaned back in his chair, enjoying the feeling of a full stomach. "I'm done."
Instantly, the boy was eyeing Lan's half-full plate. "Are you going-"
The brunette didn't wait for him to finish, he merely pushed the plate over to his companion, and then watched in amazement as Sean attacked the leftovers.
"Man, where does it all go?" Lan watched the kid in amazement. "I don't see how you can hold so much."
"Mmm…" Sean hummed with delight and then wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his borrowed clothes. After getting the promised, and he'd admit, delightful, bath; Lan had dug out some of his old clothes for Sean to wear. Despite the best of the brunette's efforts, the clothes still hung from Sean's body as they were much too big for him. "This is delicious."
"Well, thank you." Haruka smiled warmly.
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"The old guy's really going to have our heads for this." Slim muttered bitterly. "You saw what he did to Sean last time, what's he going to do to us?"
"I'm not worried about a thing." Gregory leaned his back against the hallway wall and folded his arms. "He won't dare touch us."
"And what makes you so sure?"
"I've got my resources."
Before Slim could inquire as to just what those were- a booming voice called for them.
Slim sighed, then marched forward to meet his destiny- or death as the case may be. Opening the doorway to Scratch's meeting room, the two teens peered inside to see the shadowy outline of a bulky figure standing in the room.
"Enter."
Slim and Gregory did as they were told. Together they entered the room and stopped at a very respectful, and healthy, distance from the figure.
"What's this I hear about Sean missing?"
"He ran off." Gregory snapped back, "like he normally does. I didn't see any special need to go looking for him since he always turns up here. He's only been gone for a couple of hours."
"Over six hours, which is too long in my book. And do you know where he is?"
"Uh, no." Slim muttered bitterly.
"Then we have a problem don't we?" The figure continued, "And we have a failure. You two have failed, and I do not tolerate failure."
"I still think that the kid's just wandering around out there, he'll come back eventually." The stocky teen grumbled.
"I didn't make it this far in life by leaving things to chance." The figure continued. "And I should punish you both right now, but you've done good work in the past, so I am willing to give you a chance to correct this… oversight."
Slim breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you-"
"Just get out there, find Sean, and bring him back!" Scratch roared in fury. "And don't you dare come back here without him!"
"If you ask me, it was a mistake bringing him here in the first-" Gregory's statement died in mid-sentence. One moment Scratch had been on one side of the room, and the next he was smacking the stocky teen on the face.
The bulky teen shook his head, stunned both by the pain on his face, and the fact that the old man had moved so fast.
"Don't you EVER question my authority." Scratch glared at the rebellious teen. ""I'm giving you a chance to correct your mistake. I suggest that you take it. Dismissed."
Slim hastily left the room. Gregory slowly walked away- glaring at Scratch the entire time.
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"I have to admit, those look good on you." Lan studied the gray-haired kid Sean stepped out of their shared room in his new clothes.
Sean bit his lip to keep from loosing control over his emotions. After supper last night, the Hikari's had taken him out shopping for clothes that fit- and they had paid for everything without expecting him to pay them back. After a lot of hesitation, Sean had chosen a pair of black slacks, a 'hoody' sweatshirt, and a pair of tennis shoes.
But all that had been yesterday, and Sean was bracing himself for something, anything, to happen and ruin things.
"All right then," Lan nodded his approval. "Are you ready to go?"
"Uh, go where?"
"Didn't I tell you?" The brunette blinked in surprise, before realizing that he had in fact forgotten to let Sean in on the plans for the day. "I guess that I didn't. Maylu wanted to meet you. So I arranged for us to meet them at the park today."
"Are- are you sure that she want to meet… me?"
"Of course I'm sure." The brunette grabbed his PET, slid it into his belt holster and then tossed Sean his terminal. "You're my friend, and any friend of mine is a friend of hers. Let's go."
"If you say so." Sean slowly pocketed his PET and then followed Lan out the door.
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"Hey, Lan!" Maylu caught sight of the brunette and his companion coming down the path. "Over here!"
Lan shouted back a reply, and then broke into a run. Sean struggled to keep up, his short legs making it difficult for him to maintain Lan's breakneck pace.
A few seconds later, the brunette Net Saver came to a stop in front of his friends. Several seconds later, Sean managed to catch up to them.
"Hey,." Lan cast a blanket greeting over to Maylu. Then he quickly turned and put his hand on Sean's shoulder to begin the round of introductions.
"Sean, this is Maylu." The brunette coordinated a handshake between the girl and the boy, before turning to point out his other two friends. " Maylu, Sean."
"Hello, Sean." The redhead greeted the boy and held out her hand.
"Hi." Although the gray-haired kid's eyes flicked about to indicate his uneasiness, he did shake the girl's hand.
"By the way." Maylu pulled out her PET and raised it so that Sean could look inside. "This is Roll."
"Hi, Sean." The pink Navi called out cheerfully, "It's nice to meet you."
"Uh," Sean pulled out his PET and raised it. "This is Zero."
The red Navi nodded curtly, but didn't say anything.
With that, silence descended on the group. For the next several moments, there was an awkward pause as everyone tried to figure out where to take the conversation next.
Minutes passed before Maylu found a way to end the embarrassing silence.
"I heard that there was some kind of new shop opening up on Beach Street today." The redhead said. "I was planning on dropping by sometime, would you two like to come with me?"
"Sure," Lan shrugged and cast a glance at his gray-haired friend. "What do you say, Sean?"
The boy shrugged uneasily and muttered something to the effect of: "Why not?"
The brunette cast a wary glance at Sean, what was his problem? Last night he had been laughing and really enjoying himself, now he seemed withdrawn and terrified.
"I guess that's a 'yes' then."
"It's this way." Maylu gestured to her right, "I'll show you how to get there."
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Lan, Maylu, and Sean slowed to a stop in front of the shiny new building. The design of the building didn't really fit the Den Tech City architecture, because of that fact, the store stood out from the surrounding area and drew wanted attention to itself.
Lan stared at the building for several seconds. He'd seen that design somewhere before, but where?
With a start, the brunette realized that while he had been meditating on the store's familiarity, Maylu and Sean were entering the shop and leaving him behind.
"Hey, wait for me!" The Net Saver hastily scrambled through the doorway and caught up with his friends.
Almost as soon as he exploded into the store, Lan stopped dead in his tracks as a familiar voice called out to him.
"If it isn't Lan Hikari!"
"Wait a minute." The brunette's eyes slid over to see a raven-haired girl wearing sandals, jeans, a tank top, and a ridiculous-looking robe standing behind the front counter of the store. Lan blinked, thinking that perhaps his eyes were playing tricks on him. However, when he opened his eyes, she was still there. "Tamako!"
"The one and only!" The raven-haired girl vaulted over the counter, hit the floor on the other side, and took off down the aisle to greet her friends.
"I can't believe that it's really you!" A huge grin plastered itself over Lan's face. "Man, how's it going?"
"Terrific." Tamako slid to a stop before the trio of friends. "I've finally scratched together enough funds to branch out and open up a shop here in Den Tech. Since I haven't had a decent Net battle in forever, I figured that I'd open up shop down here and hope that I'd run into you, and I did. By the way, who's shorty?"
"'Shorty?'" Lan glanced over his shoulder, trying to make sense of Tamako's reference.
Sean frowned as he realized that Tamako was referring to him.
"This is Sean." Maylu came to the rescue by introducing the gray-haired kid. "He's staying with Lan."
Lan immediately recognized the smirk creeping over Tamako's face- he'd only seen it about a hundred times in his life. From the looks of things, the raven-haired woman was about to challenge Sean to a Net battle on her usual terms.
"So, Sean, how about a Net battle?"
Yep, Tamako had issued her usual challenge.
The gray-haired boy's eyes narrowed as he considered the option.
"Be careful, Sean." Maylu hastily whispered into Sean's ear. "Whenever Tamako battles, there's always some kind of bet in play."
Sean nodded briefly and then looked up at his challenger. "Don't call me 'shorty', and I accept."
"Since I'm in a good mood today, I'll even out the odds." Tamako grinned in anticipation of an easy victory. "I'll take you and Lan on at once."
"I'm in." Lan nodded. "All right, what's the stakes? If I know you, Tamako, you've got a wager in mind."
"You know me too well." The raven-haired girl nodded and pointed to an ancient lamp standing on the display case. "Three Metal Cracker Fudge cookies for that lamp."
Lan shot a look at Sean, who nodded his approval.
"You're on!" The brunette and gray-haired kid accepted the invitation in unison.
"Then get ready, because I'm going to leave you begging for mercy!" Tamako whipped out her Progress PET, attached her Custom Grip and then leveled the device at a nearby computer system. "Jack in, MetalMan, Power up!"
"All right!" Lan attached his own Custom Grip and then snapped his right arm, bearing the PET, out to his side before raising the device overhead. In one swift motion he dropped the terminal to chest level and hit the 'transmit' button. "Jack in, MegaMan, Power up! Let's get some free samples!"
Sean nodded as he whipped out his PET. Deftly, the boy spun the device on his palm and tossed it into the air. The spinning Personal Terminal sailed up over Sean's head, where he caught it with his left hand and snapped the PET to chest level. "Jack in… Zero! Power up!"
Three beams of laser lights shot out of the individual PET's and sped into the jack-in sensor of the computer.
With the required burst of light, the three Navi's materialized in the computer system.
"Hey, MetalMan." MegaMan grinned at his longtime friend. "Nice to see you again."
The metallic Navi nodded back, a slight grin tracing his lips. "Great to see you too. I'm looking forward to a decent Net battle."
"If it's a Net battle you want," Zero clenched his right hand, causing his right forearm to transform into a long green blade. "It's a Net battle I'll give you."
"MetalMan, this is Zero." The Bomber made the quick round of introductions. "Zero, MetalMan."
Zero nodded in recognition at his opponent, while MetalMan expressed his greetings.
"Now, " The sword-wielding Navi raised his blade defensively. "Let the battle begin."
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"Maybe with Tamako hanging around here." Lan glanced over his shoulder at the store as they trotted off down the sidewalk. "Things will liven up."
"If things got any livelier, I don't know if we could handle it." Maylu shrugged.
An unintelligible mumble came from Sean, as he hastily devoured the cookie he had won in their Net battle with Tamako. He had to admit, the crazy woman wasn't that bad- and she made an amazing fudge cookie.
"So, where to next?" The brunette paused and waited on a red light. "We still have some daylight left to burn."
"Maybe we should check up on Higsby." Maylu pondered over the various options they had at their disposal. "I've heard that some strange things were going on over at his shop."
"What kind of things?"
"According to Catherine, Higsby let her brother walk out of his shop with a level five Break Hammer- at twenty-five percent off."
"Twenty-five percent off?" Lan repeated in bewilderment. "You mean that Higsby's having a… a sale? A sale on his Battle Chips?"
Maylu nodded, then checked to make sure that Sean was still with them. Sure enough, the gray-haired kid was just a few steps behind them.
"I guess… that's unusual?" Sean hesitantly entered into the conversation.
"Unusual?" The brunette repeated, surprise still infecting his voice. "Higsby having a sale on his Chips is like Tamako Net battling with nothing at stake. It's unheard of! What could drive him to do something like this?"
Maylu nodded. "You're right, let's go check up on him."
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The door to Higsby's Chip Shop flew open, allowing Lan, Maylu and Sean to enter the store. No sooner had they taken two steps into the small shop than they stopped dead in their tracks in shock.
Higsby was dancing around the front register with two packs of Zenny in his hands.
The three friends just stood there in shocked awe as Higsby gyrated back and forth screaming something that vaguely resembled 'Oney'.
"Is anyone else really, really scared right now?" Lan unsuccessfully tried to pry his eyes away from the horrible sight.
"I'm more or less terrified right now." Maylu nodded slowly.
"Is he- always like this?" Sean unconsciously stepped closer to Lan as he observed the lunatic before him.
"He's always been crazy," The brunette replied, "Just not… this crazy."
At that exact moment, the chip nerd stopped his dance with one foot still in the air, finally noticing the trio watching him in horror.
Visibly embarrassed, Higsby hastily snapped his Zenny-bearing hands behind his back in an attempt to regain some of his lost dignity.
"Oh, hi, Lan… Maylu… Other guy…" The chip nerd's face turned beet red. "I was just… uh… exercising! It's part of my new way of life, and… uh… you aren't buying that explanation are you?"
"Nope." Lan shook his head. "All right, Higsby, what gives? You've been acting incredibly strange recently."
"Uh…" The brunette chip lover studied the trio for a moment and then snatched a newspaper off of the front register and help it up for all to see. "There! Do you see that? It's the best news I've had all year!"
Maylu stepped forward and read the headline. "Chip Line Announces Bankruptcy: business will close it's doors in one week."
"The Chip Line?" Sean's eyes widened. "Aren't they the biggest retail supplier of Battle Chips?"
"And most of my competition." Higsby nodded eagerly. "They're no longer going to be in Den Tech selling their chips! Which of course means that my business is finally picking up steam-"
"In other words, you're in the black ink for the first time in your business life." Lan interjected.
"Exactly…" The brunette nerd blinked as he realized what he had just agreed with. "… Anyway, things have been going so well that it's put me in such a good mood that I can't help myself, I'm giving away Battle Chips at twenty-five percent off!"
Lan gaped in open astonishment. "Who are you and what have you done to Higsby?"
"I'm serious." Higsby nodded eagerly. "I'm in such a good mood that I'll let you have any Chip for a discount."
A smirk played across Lan's lips. "Including that North Wind?"
"I'm not in that good of a mood."
Losing interest in the conversation, Sean slipped away from the others and began browsing through the aisles of Battle Chips. He wasn't quite sure what to make of Higsby. Everything about the man screamed: NERD, but there was something likable about the guy…
But there would be time to worry about that later. Sean shoved the thoughts out of his mind as he began looking over the rows and rows of Battle Chips. He'd actually been this close to so many Battle Chips before. Swords, Blasters, Bombs, Viruses, it was all there.
And then he saw it. There, sitting on the top left shelf was the Chip Lan had referred to back during his talk with Higsby: the North Wind.
Sean stepped closer, his eyes scanning over the properties of that particular chip. The North Wind was capable of blowing away any barrier or aura, even Dark Auras.
The gray-haired boy could see why Lan would want that chip. It could be very useful, especially against Darkloids.
Sean stared at the chip, mixed feeling running through his mind. He owed Lan and his family for what they had done for him. That Chip wouldn't be very much, but at least it would be some kind of repayment…
The problem was, Sean didn't have a dime to his name.
But that had never stopped him before… Before he'd always taken whatever it was that he needed or wanted. The gray-haired kid's hand started to rise, instinctively wanting to pluck that chip from the rack.
The memory of Lan chasing after him over his father's wallet exploded into his mind. Lan would never accept a stolen gift… but if he didn't know that it was stolen… Sean could always just say that he had found it… That he'd been holding onto it and that he had heard Lan mention it to Higsby and…
Sean's eyes flicked over to the others, they were still chatting and paying no attention to him at all.
The boy nodded, his mind was made up.
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"I guess we should be on our way, it's about time for you to close for lunch." Lan closed the conversation and realized that one member of their clan was missing. "Sean? Sean!"
"Over here!" The gray-haired kid called out, as he stepped out of one of the aisles and into view once more.
"Are you ready? We're about ready to leave." Maylu glanced at the boy, indicating that she was talking to him.
"I guess so." Sean shrugged and headed over to his friends. As he did so, a loud gurgling sound exploded from the boy's stomach. The boy's face turned a deep shade of crimson as he realized that his stomach was growling-indicating that he was hungry. "Uh… sorry…"
"Don't worry about it." The brunette Net saver grinned slightly, "I'm getting kind of hungry myself."
"It is getting late, we should probably head for lunch soon." Maylu stole a look at her PET and noted the time.
"I'll tell you what," Higsby motioned towards to the side exit. "To celebrate, I'll take you out to lunch."
This time Lan and Maylu gaped at the chip nerd in open amazement. Higsby offering to take someone, aside from Ms. Mari, out to lunch was downright unheard of.
"Are you serious?" The brunette regained control of himself. "You're going to take us out to eat?"
"Sure, but I'm only driving." Higsby grinned mischievously.
"What? You're not buying?"
"I'm not in that good of mood."
Admitting defeat in that aspect, the trio decided to take the nerd up on his offer- and then try to weasel a meal out of him.
Following the adult brunette's lead, Lan, Maylu, and Sean left the building and piled into the back of an ancient brown and white clunker that just barely passed for a car.
"Ugh," Lan shoved himself into the far left seat to make room for his other two friends. A quick examination of the car revealed that it had definitely seen better days. "Maybe we'd be better off on the bus."
"Quit your whining and be glad that I'm even driving you there." Higsby slid behind the driver's seat and put his key in the ignition.
"Even when he's generous, Higsby's a cheapskate." The brunette Net Saver muttered as Sean squeezed himself into the back seat.
As Maylu started to enter the vehicle, Higsby turned the key to start the car. No sooner had the engine fired to life than the car exploded into motion. Without warning or time for the others to realize what was happening, the car took off and began tearing down the street.
"Maylu!"
Completely off-guard at the car's sudden motion, Maylu was caught half-in and half-outside the vehicle. Despite a desperate attempt by Lan and Sean to catch her, the redhead was hurled from the vehicle and sent tumbling to the ground.
The brunette's chest tightened as Maylu's head struck the pavement with a sickening thud; Lan tried to leap out of the vehicle to go to her aid. Unfortunately, the door slammed shut on his attempt to bail-out and locked itself tight. There was nothing he could do as the car raced on leaving her behind.
"Higsby!" Barely attempting to keep his anger under control, Lan whirled around to glare at the chip nerd. "What do you think you're doing?"
"It's not me!" The brunette adult threw his hands up to emphasize that he wasn't in control of the vehicle. "The car's driving itself! It's out of control!"
Lan wormed his way up to peer into the front seats, as Higsby had claimed, the steering wheel and pedals were working themselves without any human intervention.
"The car's Network is out of control!"
Sean leaned forward and peered down the road… they were approaching an intersection at what had to be twenty miles over the speed limit- meaning that if they actually entered the intersection at this speed, the medics would be picking them up with spoons.
"Then we'll just have to fix it." Lan pulled his PET off of his belt. "Because we've got to get back there and make sure that Maylu's OK."
"I'm with you, Lan." Sean whipped out his Progress PET. "Let's do it!"
"Jack in, MegaMan, Power Up! Time for a crash course in auto repair!"
"Jack in, Zero! Power Up! Did you have to say 'crash'?"
Two beams of light exploded out of the PET's and raced through the air into the car's Jack in sensor as MegaMan and Zero entered the car's network.
A split second later and the two Navi's had rematerialized inside of the car's computer. One quick look around and MegaMan and Zero were struggling to keep their jaws from dropping to the floor.
"I've never seen this many viruses before…" The Bomber looked around in shocked disbelief.
MegaMan and Zero glanced around, taking in the sight before them. Sure enough, a literal flood of viruses were roaming about the Network, causing glitches and destruction everywhere.
"This is strange." The Blue Bomber glanced around at the various viruses, they all appeared to be of the fire variety.
"Strange or not," Zero's words were just barely above an unintelligible growl. "We have to take them out. Z Saber!"
The red Navi clenched his fist, causing his right forearm to transform into his default green sword. With a battle cry, the swordsman leapt at the nearest candle, his blade singing through the air.
"Right behind you. Mega Buster!" MegaMan held his right hand out as it changed into his blaster. Instantly he had leveled his weapon at a random Met and cut loose, his firepower filling the air.
Their attack did not go unnoticed, however. Quickly a group of Spikeys gathered and launched a counterattack at the invading Navis.
With a very high-pitched squeal, that vaguely sounded like 'Wild Rush', a Spikey suddenly shot through the air, intending to head butt Zero. The swordsman saw the move coming in plenty of time, and leapt forward to delete his opponent. Zero's sword shot through the virus, impaling it.
Nearby, MegaMan had found himself surrounded by a group of Candles. The creatures had circled him in a ring formation and were preparing to incinerate him.
The Bomber studied his situation, trying to figure a way out of this mess.
"Hang on!" Lan whipped a couple of chips out of his folder and shoved it into his PET. "Barrier, Aqua Sword, Battle Chips in! Download!"
MegaMan dropped to a crouch as the Barrier chip took effect, creating a field of energy around him. His move was just in time as the viruses unleashed their fire attacks on him. However, due to the Barrier, the flames struck the field of energy and fizzled out of existence without harming the Bomber.
Unfortunately, now it was MegaMan's turn to attack. The blue Navi thrust out his arm as a water tank materialized on his wrist, which grew a blue blade. With a shout, the Bomber slammed his sword into the floor, sending a powerful tidal wave racing across the Network and wiping out the candles.
Sean glanced out the front windshield and realized that they were drawing close to the intersection. "Hurry, Zero! Variable Sword, Battle Chip in! Download!"
Zero summoned the arrow-shaped sword and ducked his head to avoid a blast of flame from a Spikey. Instantly the swordsman had reared himself up to his full height and had swept his blade through the air, a curved arc of energy erupted from his sword and cleaved through the air- and the virus.
"Almost done!" MegaMan spun around, his Aqua Sword slicing through an Met that had been creeping up on him. Next, the blue Navi slammed his blade into the floor, unleashing a flood of water on an approaching Spikey.
"Their numbers are dwindling." Zero caught sight of a fireball flying towards him. With a sweep of his sword he cleaved the explosive projectile in two. The two halves of the blast disintegrated, clearing the way for the swordsman to rush in and destroy the virus targeting him. "We'll have this finished before long."
Lan's eyes slid up to look out the window, they were within two blocks of the intersection- and he really didn't want to wind up as someone's hood ornament.
"We're running out of time!" The brunette fished three chips out of his folder. "We have to put a stop to this now!"
"I hear you, Lan." The Bomber deactivated his Aqua Sword and waited for the combo he knew was coming.
"Cannon, Battle Chip in! Hi Cannon, Battle Chip in!" Lan shoved the three Battle Chips into his PET, watching as the device registered the approaching upgrade. "Mega Cannon, Battle Chip In! Program Advance Activated!"
The Bomber snapped his arms out wide, as two blasters appeared on his wrists. Then, MegaMan raised the cannons above his head as the three chips began to fuse into one more powerful weapon. A glow of light built up around the cannons, as they combined into one more powerful red and blue weapon.
Dropping his arms to chest level, MegaMan set his sights on the remaining viruses and fired. A blast of plasma energy exploded out of his cannon and swept through the air, and the hostile programs. An explosion rocked the area as the energy slammed into the viruses and detonated.
"And that takes care of that!" The brunette Net Op smirked in satisfaction as a cloud of digital smoke covered the display of his PET screen.
"No, it didn't!" Higsby grabbed the steering wheel and tried to apply the breaks. The car was unresponsive, refusing to slow down or allow the chip nerd to change it's direction.
"What?" Lan shot a look out the window, they were right on top of the intersection. "There must still be a glitch in the system! MegaMan, see if you can track it down!"
"We're out of time!" Sean eye's widened in horror as the car exploded into the intersection. The gray-haired kid looked out his window and closed his eyes tight.
Lan looked out his window to see a semi bearing down on them. There was no way the huge truck would be able to stop in time, it was all but guaranteed that it would hit them.
Lan closed his eyes and braced himself for the deadly impact.
10101010100101010101010
And then a miracle happened- or at least an event which resembled one. A burst of speed exploded through Higsby's jalopy, allowing them to just barely squeak past the semi and fly through the intersection unharmed.
"Whew…" Lan breathed a quick sigh of relief, before sobering. They were still trapped in an out-of-control vehicle that was sure to crash sooner or later- the only question was when. "MegaMan, have you found the glitch yet?"
"Yeah." The Bomber's voice came out as a rough grunt. "Or rather, he found us."
The brunette and his companion looked into their PET's, to see MegaMan and Zero ducking past a ball of flame.
And then Lan spotted the other Net Navi in the Network. The rogue Navi was black and red, and more or less skeletal. It's body was nothing but a red ball with spindly back arms and legs shooting out of it's body, round disks were set every so far apart on its limbs. And the Navi slumped forward, it's posture vaguely resembling that of an ape.
"He claims to be FlameMan." The Blue Bomber filled his op in, "And that he's the one behind this mayhem."
"Then we'll just have to douse this fire." The brunette glanced at Sean, who nodded in support. "Here we go. Aqua Sword, Battle Chip in! Download!"
"Aqua Blade," Sean whipped the proper chip out of his folder and spun it around on his finger before inserting it into his terminal. "Battle Chip in, Download!"
MegaMan clenched his fist as his forearm transformed into a water tank with a glowing blue blade projecting from the tank. Zero mimicked the motion, but his weapon was a standard hilt with a swept blue blade.
The Bomber and Swordsman leapt in separate directions, dividing the number of targets that their opponent would have to aim for.
"I'll fry you!" FlameMan dropped his jaw, as a spark of flame appeared in the back of his throat. A split second later, a blast of flame had exploded from his mouth and was shooting through the air towards Zero. "Flame Breath!"
The red Navi hit the ground and looked up to see the swirling mass of flame barreling towards him. There wasn't time to avoid the attack, Zero braced himself for impact.
"Burn!" The fiery Navi screeched.
The Flame Breath slammed into the swordsman, exploding into a cloud ofdust that blanketed the area.
FlameMan glanced about warily, trying to discern where his opponents were.
On his left, the misty dustparted. Zero exploded from the cloud of water vapor, his sword slicing at his opponent.
A gasp slipped from the swordsman's lips as his blade crashed against FlameMan's arm- and stopped without even scratching his opponent.
"This is impossible." The red Navi blinked in veiled surprise.
"I can redefine 'impossible'." The fire Navi growled as he snapped his arm around, sending Zero flying backward through the air.
"All right, let's smother this candle." Lan jammed a chip into his PET. "Time Bomb, Battle Chip in! Download!"
The Bomber held out his right hand as the cylindrical explosive appeared in his palm. Snapping his arm around in a tight arc, MegaMan hurled the bomb through the air at the renegade.
The fiery Navi didn't even flinch, hastily he parted his jaws and dispelled a fireball. His attack shot through the air and collided with the Time Bomb, destroying it with ease.
MegaMan's eyes widened in horror as the fireball burst through the explosion and continued on its course towards him. There wasn't time to dodge, the Navi didn't have a choice but to throw his arms over his head and brace himself for impact.
The fireball rammed into him, hurling the Bomber backward through the air for a few seconds before dropping him to the floor.
"Hurry, Zero!" Sean glanced out the window to the next rapidly approaching intersection. "Wide Sword, Battle Chip in! Download"
The swordsman clenched his wrist as the aforementioned blade appeared around his wrist. Launching himself through the air, Zero flew at his opponent and prepared to strike.
"BURN!" FlameMan turned to counter his opponent's attack. With another blast of flame, the fire Navi blew Zero backward.
"Uh," MegaMan forced himself to his feet- that fireball packed a punch. "Lan, this isn't working. We can't even get close to FlameMan… working separately…"
The brunette glanced at Sean, who looked his partner and nodded slightly.
"If we can't take him apart, we'll have to work together." The gray-haired kid agreed as he looked into his PET. "Zero, work with MegaMan."
"As you wish, Sean." The Swordsman nodded with barely detectable reluctance.
"All right then, let's take him down!" Lan snapped another chip into his terminal. "Ice Ball, Battle Chip in!"
Instantly a spherical blue ball appeared in MegaMan's free hand. With a snap of his wrist the blue Navi sent the projectile spinning through the air at his opponent.
FlameMan hauled himself back onto his two back legs and hauled his fist backward in preparation to strike. When the Ice Ball came in range, the fire Navi sent his arm ramming into the projectile, which immediately detonated on contact, covering the Navi's arm with a thick sheet of ice.
The fire Navi growled in annoyance and shook his hand fiercely in an effort to free it.
"Now!" Sean slammed another chip into his terminal. "Samaria Sword, Battle Chip in!"
Zero's right arm snapped back as the lethal blade formed about his wrist. The swordsman exploded into the air, leaping through space towards his immobilized opponent.
Unfortunately, the red Navi picked that exact moment to unleash a blast of flame on his frozen body. The fire instantly melted away the ice, freeing FlameMan to turn and counter his opponent's attack.
FlameMan snapped his head up and sent a breath of fire racing up at Zero.
"Watch out!" Sean screamed in warning.
"Gotcha covered. Area Steal, Cold Body, Battle Chips in!" Lan inserted the cartridge. "Download!"
Zero glanced over his shoulder to see MegaMan materializing behind his back.
"Hope you don't mind the assist." The Bomber tensed his body for a moment then snapped his limbs out spread-eagle as he activated the Cold Body. A blast of icy wind exploded from the Navi's body and swept around Zero to demolish the fireball targeting the red Navi.
"At the moment, I am willing to accept your assistance." Zero turned and resumed his downward lunge at his opponent. The Navi's arm struck out, gunning for the hostile Net Navi.
The deadly blade cut through the air, and FlameMan's right arm.
FlameMan hauled onto his back legs and roared in pain as he gripped his wounded arm. Just as Zero had hoped, the fiery Navi had forgotten all about defending himself from their attacks and was focusing intently on nursing his wounds.
"MegaMan, now!"
"We'll take it from here!" Lan inserted two new battle Chips into his PET. "Aqua Soul Battle Chip in! Bubble Shot, Battle Chip in!"
As soon as the Chip data was registered in the Personal Terminal, MegaMan's armor transformed into it's Aqua Soul state. Clear water tanks appeared around his forearms and forelegs, with pads projecting out of the said tanks to cover his knees and elbows. His helmet also transformed into a domed water tank.
Quickly the Bomber raised his right arm to bear at his opponent, as a gray and purple water cannon locked into place about his wrist.
Lan looked out the front window. They were coming to another intersection, and since the lights were already switching to yellow, there was no possible way they'd survive this crossing.
"Time to end this." MegaMan looked down his cannon's barrel as he steadied his aim. With a cry of 'Bubble Shot!' he fired. A bubble of water exploded out of his cannon and sped through the air towards his opponent.
His shot hit home. The bubble rammed into FlameMan and exploded into a mass of watery liquid that washed over his opponent. The fiery Navi howled in fury and pain as he took the brunt of the attack.
Sean glanced out the window, they were closing in way too fast on this intersection for his liking.
"We don't have time for this!" The brunette slammed another chip into his terminal. "Bubble Side, Battle Chip in! Download!"
Instantly MegaMan's tapered cannon was replaced with a round Buster-like weapon. Without delay, the Bomber snapped his weapon up and fired. "Bubble Side!"
Another bubble sped out of the Blue Navi's cannon and sped through the air before erupting into four streams of water that shot through the air and crashed into FlameMan.
"I won't… lose!" FlameMan screamed in pained fury. "I'll tear you limb from limb!"
"And I've had enough of this."
FlameMan screamed in agony one last time, and then exploded into pixels of data as he was forced to log out of the Network.
MegaMan, his Aqua Soul armor dissolving, blinked as he spotted Zero deactivating his green blade. Apparently the swordsman had circled around behind the fire Navi and cleaved him in two while the renegade's focus was on MegaMan.
"You're all clear Lan!" MegaMan shouted back to his Net Op.
"Higsby, you're back in control! Stop!"
Sean glanced out the front window… the intersection was within two blocks. They were going into this on a wing and a prayer.
A squeal filled the air as Higsby slammed his foot down on the brake pedal- causing the tires to scream in protest as the brakes locked.
"We'll never make it!" Sean flattened himself against his seat, there was no way they'd be able to stop in time at this speed.
"Here we go again!" Lan snapped his eyes shut and braced himself for the unavoidable crash.
End Chapter!