Sithking Zero: I now own Megaman. And if you believe that, I have an authentic ICBM to sell you from Russia's stockpile.

Chapter 4:

In which the search for the Missing Navis begins

The four of them had been searching for almost one whole week.

"Zero, we've searched every room in net city. Ten Times. Can we just go home now?"

"Not yet, Matt, we've still got to search the park."

Matt and Maylu groaned simultaneously. It was bad enough to have to stay inside and work during the beautiful summer, but Zero had decided to go over the entire Net City with a fine-tooth comb. Worse yet, Roll had decided to join him. The netops spent most of the time worrying about whether or not their navis would be captured, and had their fingers on the jack-out buttons at all times.

"Hey, Zero."

Zero looked up at his human. "Yeah, Matt?'

"There's a new invention. It's called 'taking a break.' Try it."

Zero chose to ignore the sarcastic comment, instead concentrated on the patch of bushes that he had not yet investigated.

On his way there, however, he tripped on something. A very deep something that was strangely oval.

Zero nearly gasped in shock. There, underneath his left foot, was a gigantic footprint. Easily the size of a sled, the footprint was as deep as Zero's ankle was tall. Zero stared at it in shock and horror. Then, he realized in triumph, that his information had been correct after all…

(FLASHBACK'D!)

It was a dark and stormy night in Net City. A.N.: Jeez, I'm starting to sound like Snoopy… two hooded figures strode hesitantly up to a bar, one that was, quote: "the rowdiest and densest hive of villainy outside of the Undernet itself," unquote. Naturally, the two netnavis were slightly nervous, but they continued on inside, and immediately ducked as a chair whizzed into the location where their heads had been only a half-second before. Gingerly, the taller of the two navis picked his way through the piles of garbage, the constant brawling of heel- and custom navis, and unconscious bodies, with his shorter companion trailing slightly behind.

Once free of the rabble, the taller navi strode up to the bar, then motioned to his companion to join him. Hesitantly, the navi walked up to the bar and sat down next to her taller companion on a very worn and battered bar stool, which bore all the unmistakable signs of having been bashed to pieces several times, and was looking much the worse for wear.

The shorter one leaned over to it's companion.

"Zero?"

"Yes, Roll?"

"Are you sure that this is such a good idea?"

"Absolutely. This is where I go to get all my quality information about the internet. Plus, the barman's a friend of mine and one of the most connected navis in the whole of the Cybernet. If he says it's true, it's darn well true."

Roll seemed skeptical, and the feelings did not subside with the appearance of the bartender.

The guy was massive. Looking like the fusion of a really fat guy and an alien, he looked almost human, except for his four massive arms and his crest on his chest.

Leaning very close to Roll, he yelled at her over the massive brawl directly at her.

"Well? Ya gonna order summat, or'l I have to break summat?"

Zero wisely chose that moment to lower his hood and comment.

"Actually, Dax, we were looking for information that you might have for us. Could you please enlighten us on a few things?"

Dax just stared at Zero for a moment, then picked both Zero and Roll up with his bare hands and carried them into a back room.

Dax locked the door, put up a silence shield (prevents evesdropping), then Let out a roar of joy and grabbed Zero in a bonecrushing hug.

"Zero, my boy! Yeh've gotten big! Ah mean, lookit yerself! Yer almost as big as me!"

Dax spoke in a booming, rich, yet tough-sounding voice.

"Yeah, Dax, I'm getting big, but two things. One: I don't think that I'll ever be as big as you, and two: I won't get much bigger if you crush me to death."

Dax reluctantly set Zero back down on the ground, and was about to sit down when he seemed to notice Roll for the first time.

"Ah, Zero, I see you've got a lady friend for yerself now! I admire yer choice; I mean, she's quite a looker-"

Zero and Roll responded at the same time, a flush advancing over their faces.

"HE/SHE IS NOT MY BOY/GIRL FRIEND!"

Dax just winked at them.

"Sure yeh aren't. Anyways, I've heard a lot about yeh, Zero. Becoming a Net Savor, and yeh've already got yer first assignment! Tell, whazahell is it?"

Zero grimaced. "I've got to track down the guy who's responsible for all of the kidnappings. What do you know about this symbol?"

Zero held up a sketchpad, the kidnapper's logo drawn on the paper.

Dax stared at Zero, then spoke slowly, and with fear in his voice. "I don't like this. Rumors have surrounded that navi since the first kidnappings. Even Shadowman's afraid of him, and you know that he ain't easy at all to scare. Anyways…"

"they say that this guy's name is…"

Dax looked around in fear.

"Sigma.EXE."

Dax's courage seemed to go up a couple of notches, now that the fearful name had been spoken.

"Zero, you and yer girl best stay away from him. Yeh'll only get killed. But, if ye must, then yeh should look in the Park. He was last seen there."

After thanking Dax for his hospitality, Zero and Roll quickly exited the bar and left for the Civilized net.

(END FLASHBACK!)

Zero carefully followed the gigantic footprints to a section of bushes. Pushing them aside, he made an astonishing discovery. In the bushes, he found a very suspicious hatch.

"Hey Roll, come check this out." Zero called.

Roll, who was not taking the kidnapping of Megaman well at all, stopped her interrogation of a six-year old navi to investigate.

Zero gave a tight grin. "Recognize anything?"

Roll gasped in horror. There, on a panel previously covered in weeds, was a gigantic Greek symbol for the letter sigma. The same logo had shone from the kidnapper's chest.

Zero opened a communications line to his netop. "Hey, Matt?"

"Da, comrade?"

"I think we've found something."

"Okay, what is it?"

Zero sighed in exasperation. "It's obviously a-"

"No, you dolt, I mean your head is in the way of the camera."

"Oh. Oops." Zero laughed embarrassedly.

"Okay, Zero, Roll, be careful. We don't know what's behind there!"

Zero gave Maylu a reassuring look. "Don't worry about it. Roll and I will proceed calmly and cauti-"

Zero stopped, midsentence, in a combination of shock, horror, and amusement, as he watched Roll rip the twelve-hundred pound chunk of metal from its hinges and throw it twenty feet away, before diving headfirst down the hole.

Zero shook himself, then continued. "Or, we could do it Roll's way, and go Rambo on whoever is down there."

Zero glanced up at his Netop. "Hey, Matt?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm going in. I'm taking the Rhakshi for backup."

"Copy that, Z."

"Oh, and Matt?"

"Yes?"

"If I'm not back in five minutes…"

Both netops leaned in close to the PET screens.

"…Just wait longer!"

Before either could yell at the red-armored navi, he was gone.

A.N.: A Milky Way bar to whoever gets the quote Zero said at the end of the chapter. Please Review!