Begin Chapter!
"AUGH!"
CF MegaMan hit the wall with a resounding smash, the force of the explosion forcing him to dig a crater in it's otherwise smooth surface.
Likewise, CF ProtoMan was driven into the side of a building opposite the street.
And finally, Zero completed the sequence as he too was blown off of his feet and to the unyielding ground below.
"Ugh…" Lan blinked painfully in an effort to clear his head- and then a blunt pain cascaded through his head as a blue PET Progress bounced off of his head and tumbled down into his lap. "That hurt- Uh oh."
The brunette looked down, and then his jaw dropped in horror as he realized that he was no longer Cross Fused. "Not good!"
Glancing around, the brunette Net Op spotted Zero Logging Out of the human world- evidently he'd done all that he could.
And then something brown and ugly stepped in front of him, cutting off his view of the area. Slowly Lan looked up, to find a giant-sized FlameMan towering over him. "Really not good!"
In excruciating slowness, the oversized Asteroid Navi parted it's huge jaws and prepared to attack.
"Lan, get out of here!"
"My plan exactly!" The brunette scooped up in PET and began a dive for safety, even though he knew that he'd never make it.
"Flame Breath!" FlameMan finished his warm-up and prepared to discharge his attack on the helpless human.
"Aqua Sword, Battle Chip in!"
The fire Navi's attack was lost in a howl of pain, as a tidal wave of water crashed into it. The flood shot past Lan, carrying it's flammable captive down the street.
"Excellent timing, Chaud." Lan glanced over his shoulder to find the aforementioned Cross Fusion Ranger standing behind him. Almost immediately, he wished that he hadn't said those words- for CF ProtoMan was breathing heavily and supporting himself with his Aqua Sword… It was obvious that the Red Raider wouldn't last long.
At that exact moment, FlameMan ripped himself free of the tidal wave. With a resounding crash, he slammed into the ground and reared himself back to his full height in preparation to wipe his opponents off the face of the earth.
CF ProtoMan tensed himself; he would hold out as long as possible… And then he blinked in surprise as his opponent exploded into a shower of pixels and left the human world.
"Why'd he just give up like that?"
"If I knew that, Lan, we'd have this mess taken care of." CF ProtoMan tensed as the Cross Fusion dropped away, separating Net Op from Net Navi. With a gasp of pain, Chaud dropped to his hands and knees ahead of his PET.
"You O.K.?" The brunette rushed over to his partner and dropped to his knees.
"I'm fine, just exhausted." Chaud muttered, panting heavily. "What about Sean?"
"I think he's O.K.," Lan looked up to see the gray-haired kid approaching them. "Yeah, he's good."
"I'm glad one of us is."
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SciLab…
"All diagnostics are green." MegaMan called from his PET. "I didn't suffer from that battle at all."
"Lucky you." Lan rubbed his bruised back and picked up his Personal Terminal from the recharge base.
"ProtoMan checked out fine." Chaud walked into the room with Sean on his heels. "And it looks like Aster- Zero made it as well."
"Great, then we're ready for our next move." The brunette collapsed into a nearby chair. "The question is- what is that move?"
"First, I think that it's time that Sean leveled with us." Chaud also sat on a chair and turned to look at the gray-haired kid. "Who's this Scratch, what exactly are we fighting against, and why?"
Sean looked away, refusing to meet the gaze of his friends.
"Sean…"
The gray-haired boy looked up at Lan, and then took a deep breath. Fingering the Dream Aura chip, the one Lan had given him just days before, in his pocket; Sean nodded and began his explanation.
"It's pretty much what it looks like." The gray-haired kid stared at the floor. "Scratch, we call him that because he's got his monster of a scar running down the side of his face, picks up homeless kids, trains them as thieves and pickpockets and then sends them out to do his dirty work in exchange for room and board- which is almost a joke. If you don't do what he says, then you'll end up like Missy or a lot worse. Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if FlameMan showed up to buy Gregory the time he needed to escape just so that Scratch could- you don't want to know."
Lan swallowed, trying to choke back the anger he felt building inside him. "Then it's time to shut him down. Sean, where's this guy's hideout at?"
"I'm sorry, Lan," The gray-haired boy shook his head. "I can't tell you."
"'Can't' or 'won't'?" Chaud shot a look at the boy.
"Both." Sean fired back. "Because if I tell you, you'll go racing in there to arrest him. And knowing Scratch, he wouldn't hesitate to take the kids hostage with FlameMan- something we really don't want to happen. Second, knowing Scratch, he's already got a way to one-up us."
"Sean, you have to trust us." Lan said, "we'll get the others out of there without FlameMan hurting anyone."
"It's not that I don't have confidence in you; I'd just rather not take unnecessary risks- especially ones that could cost lives."
"He does have a point," Chaud placed his hands together in thought. "We can't rush in there, at least not with a pyromaniac Asteroid Navi inside… Maybe there's another way."
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"Tamako!" Lan pushed the door open and stepped inside the shop. "You here?"
Silence.
Warily, the brunette took a few footsteps forward, scanning for the slightest hint that Tamako was about to pop out of nowhere and scare him to death.
"Hey, Lan!"
"GYIA!" The brunette whirled around to find Tamako jammed between the door and the ceiling. However, having snapped about so fast, Lan lost his balance and wound up crashing to the floor on his backside.
"Hi." The Net Saver squeaked as his mind and body came to the agreement that his rear end was going to be sore for a few days. "What are you doing up there?"
"Nothing of importance," the raven-haired woman dropped to the floor and straightened herself to her full height. "What brings you here?"
"Net Saver business." Lan hauled himself to his feet. "I need your help."
"I'm listening."
"Have you ever want a business partner?"
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"You want me to do WHAT?" Higsby stared at Chaud in complete disbelief.
"Higsby, if this works, you'll be free of your tormentor and there'll be one less Asteroid Navi in the world." Chaud nodded his sincerity.
"But still, you're asking a lot of me." The Chip Nerd was still obviously unconvinced as to this plan's merits.
"No more than others have done," The duel-haired Net Saver replied. "We're not asking you to Cross Fuse and save the world, just go along with our façade for a few days."
"I might consider it…" Higsby shook his head warily, "But are you sure this'll work?"
Several days later.
"Are you sure this'll work?" Lan stared up at the building before him, as the construction crew fit the new sign into it's place above the doorway.
"It will." Chaud nodded, "FlameMan has spent considerable time making Higsby's life difficult. Therefore, it stands to reason that his Net Op holds a grudge against our friendly neighborhood chip nerd, and is using his Asteroid Navi to bear that grudge out. He's bound to show up here sooner or later and attack."
"Still, I have a hard time seeing Higsby and Tamako as business partners." The brunette turned back to studying the structure before him. "Why was this necessary again?"
"Remember the cover story we put out." Chaud noted Sean stepping over to join them. "According to the press, Higsby got himself so far in the red that Tamako had to buy him out and merge their two shops- and if some other unfortunate accident should ruin this fledgling new enterprise, then Higsby would be bankrupt."
"And you expect FlameMan to take the bait, show up here and attack." Sean nodded his approval, "Great idea."
"I have my moments." Chaud replied, deadpan.
Sean shot a look at the duel-haired boy. "Do you ever loosen up?"
"I do." Chaud nodded and walked off, leaving his two partners behind. "But not around gray-haired squirts."
"His sarcastic remarks need help." The gray-haired kid muttered.
"They always have." Lan agreed.
"NOOO! ANYTHING BUT THAT!"
"Uh, was that you?" The brunette turned to look at his friend.
"Nope. No earth-shattering scream from me." Sean shook his head. "You?"
"Not me." Lan blinked and then the answer hit him and Sean at the exact same moment.
"That was Higsby!"
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"Hang on, Higsby!" Simultaneously, Lan and Sean rammed their shoulders into the door to the shop, causing it to explode open. Unfortunately, the door proved not to be blocked or locked. When the two boys slammed into it, they quickly lost their balance as it flew open and crashed to the floor.
After untangling their mangled limbs, the two Net Battlers leapt to their feet, ready for anything.
Anything except a kneeling, sobbing Higsby and Tamako busily engaged in a Net Battle with a customer.
"You can't risk that chip!" Higsby was screaming in disbelief. "Not my authenticated autographed Neo Variable 5! Any chip but that!"
"Don't forget." Tamako smirked at her opponent. "You win, you get that Chip; you lose, you have to buy any antique I choose."
"You're on!" The customer nodded in satisfaction. "Jack in, RifleMan, Power Up!"
"NO!" Higsby wailed.
"Jack in, MetalMan, Power Up! Since I'm in a good mood, I'll let you go first."
As they watched the proceedings, Lan and Sean sweat dropped and glanced at each other out of the corner of their eyes.
"You think he'll make it?" Sean nodded his head at the distraught Higsby.
"He'll live." Lan shook his head, mildly surprised that the Chip Nerd hadn't passed out from fright yet. "You know, maybe this wasn't such a good idea."
"I'm beginning to wonder about it myself." The gray-haired kid muttered back.
End Chapter!