Rockman.EXE: The College Years - Season 4 (T-M,Gen)SPOILERS

[Anime Master ZERO]

Genre: General
Rating: T (PG-13) to M (R)

Some chapters will not be suitable for all audiences. They may contain mature subject matter. Those chapters will have a warning at the beginning indicating an R rating. Reader discretion is advised.

Rockman.EXE: The College Years (Seasons 1, 2, and 3)
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[Anime Master ZERO]

CHAPTER 4-1
A New Year, a New Challenge

Twenty-one-year-old Lan Hikari sat on the couch reading the newspaper in the living room of the apartment he shared with his girlfriend, Maylu. Having been in a relationship with each other for some time, they had made the decision to move onto the next stage and start living together. They found an apartment near Den University with affordable rent and decided to move in from home.

As Lan read his paper, Maylu came in from her room and sat down beside him. He set down the newspaper as she placed her arms around him and pulled him close.

“Looks like we have some time together today,” said Maylu.

“No work, no class registrations, no visiting friends. Looks like we have the whole afternoon to ourselves, Maylu,” Lan replied as he kissed her lightly. Maylu returned the kiss and the two of them soon fell into a deep make-out session. Nothing could ruin this moment for either of them. It was absolutely perfect.

“Ahem.”

Well, almost perfect. The couple broke their kiss and turned to see their young friend and roommate Noah Kaiyou standing at the door. The boy genius had grown about a head taller over the course of the summer break. He was wearing a light-blue short-sleeved dress shirt, crème-colored pants, brown dress shoes with white socks, and a dark blue sweater-vest with green stripes along the sides. He was holding his plushie in one arm and a briefcase in his other hand.

“Do you guys really have to do that here and now?” the child prodigy asked.

“Sorry, Noah,” Lan apologized as he and Maylu got up from the sofa, “So, how was the faculty meeting?”

“Well, I got my schedules,” answered Noah as he set his briefcase on the dinner table and opened it up. He handed some papers over to Lan, who looked through them.

“That’s funny. Your classes are the exact same ones I’m taking and at the exact same time.” Lan suddenly paused and turned to look at Noah, “Wait a minute. You’re not…”

“That’s right, Lan!” Noah said with a cheesy grin, “I’m teaching all your classes this semester. And maybe even next semester. You better get used to calling me ‘Dr. Kaiyou’ around campus.” He took back his papers and placed them back inside his briefcase before heading into his bedroom.

“Well, this is certainly going to be an awkward year,” Lan thought out loud, “I can’t believe I’m going to be taught by a nine-year-old.”

“He’s not going to be nine for another two weeks, Lan,” Maylu corrected him.

“It’s not that bad,” a new voice intervened. Lan and Maylu turned and saw their grey-haired friend, Sean Obihiro, standing at the door to his bedroom.

Lan’s and Maylu’s plans had originally to live together alone, but through a clerical error by the apartment complex’s landlady, they ended up sharing a four-bedroom apartment with Sean and Noah. The apartment itself was fairly big. Just inside the door was a small foyer with a shoe rack, a mat, and a place for everyone's slippers. Just above the shoe rack was a set of coat hooks. Immediately into the apartment beyond the foyer was the main area, which was separated into a kitchen and a living room. The kitchen was immediately to the left upon entry into the main area. It consisted of all the basics found in most kitchens: countertops, cabinets, a stove, an oven, a sink, a refrigerator and freezer, and a pantry. It was separated from the rest of the room by a counter against which was the dinner table with four chair placed around it, two on each side. A few steps away was the area everyone considered the living room. The far wall was occupied by a patio window that led onto the balcony. To the left was the television tucked into the corner and the couch was a large corner sofa facing toward it with a coffee table in the middle. Maylu’s piano from home sat on the other side if the window. On the wall adjacent to the window was a DVD rack. Along that wall were two doors. The door on the right closer to the DVD rack led into Lan’s room. Lan’s bed stood in the middle of the far wall with a window along the same wall as the patio window. His desk and chair sat under that window. His newly purchased computer rested on the surface of his workspace with a small book shelf next to it for his schoolbooks, which he still had yet to buy. On the opposite side of the room was his closet, which contained all his clothes. On the wall beside the door was a shelf were Lan had placed all of his memorabilia he had collected over the years.

Next door to Lan’s room was Maylu’s. She had decorated it in a similar fashion to her room when she still lived in ACDC Town. Her bed was tucked away in the far corner under the window and a full-length mirror stood in an adjacent corner. Her dresser sat along the wall with the door and her desk was between her bed and mirror.

On the opposite side of the apartment were three more doors. The one on the far right just before the foyer led into the bathroom, which had all of the basic necessities: a shower, a toilet, a sink and counter, and a mirror that also doubled as a medicine cabinet. The door right beside it led into Sean’s room. Because of the bathroom, a little extra distance had to be walked in order to get into the room. Sean’s bed sat in the middle of the far wall with the foot facing the bathroom. In front of it was a TV that the grey-haired teen used to play video games. The shelves of the television rack were completely filled with his consoles. On the shelf beside it was where he kept his games. The left wall had his dresser standing against it and on the opposite side of the room from it was his desk and computer, above which was his window. Since the landing was right outside, Sean kept his blinds closed to keep people from looking in. Just outside his room on the left was a single wall phone.

The last door, which was only two to three meters away from the patio window, led into Noah’s bedroom. It was the smallest room in the apartment no bigger than a storage space. Noah slept in a red-frame lofted bed with his pillow toward the small window on the far wall. Across from it was his bookshelf containing the books he had read at least twenty times over with his favorites near the top for easy access at night. Under his bed was his desk, computer and chair. A single beanbag seat sat next to it where he kept all his plushies. At the foot of his bed was a small closet where he kept all of his clothes. Due to the lack of space, the door had been removed allowing him to simply reach in and grab whatever he needed.

“You know, with Sean and Noah living here it’s almost like a preview of our future lives as a family,” Maylu commented.

“How so?” asked Lan.

“Well, obviously we’re the parents,” explained Maylu, “Sean is kind of like the older son and Noah is like the younger.”

“I kinda see what you mean,” replied Lan. The door to Noah’s room opened and the boy stepped out in his new regular attire: blue cargo pants, a white tank top, white shoes and socks, and a blue short-sleeved jacket with a grey hood. As always, he held his trademark plushie in his arms.

“By the way, Lan,” Noah suddenly spoke up, “I think you might want to get an early start on buying your books and beating the lines. Here, I’ll get your book lists.” He ducked back into his bedroom for a moment before coming out with several course itineraries, all of which he handed over to Lan.

“How exactly did you land the job of teaching all my classes?” asked the brunet.

“When one of the former professors suddenly, uh… ‘left’, I was still around so the dean of his department asked if I would take his place,” came Noah’s answer, “With no other plans for the time being, I accepted her offer. Once I got accepted as a faculty member, I pulled a few strings and got assigned to teach all of your classes, Lan.”

“In other words,” said Sean, “you charmed them with your cuteness.”

“And it never seems to fail. Speaking of our jobs, how are your guys’ jobs coming along?”

“Curry just really isn’t in demand during the summer,” Lan sighed, “Plus without any students staying in residence, I really don’t have many people to deliver to.”

“Did you consider switching over to waiter for the summer?” asked Sean.

“Now that I think about it, no. What about you, Sean? How’s your job at the theater?”

“I got a raise last month,” Sean answered, “Plus my boss is thinking of letting me direct a play.”

“Really?” asked Maylu, “That’s great!”

“Yeah, he really liked some of the ideas I sent him. Maylu, we know your piano lessons are doing really well. I think you’ll make a great music teacher.”

“You really think so, Sean?”

“Whoa there, buddy. Leave the flirting to me,” Lan intervened jokingly, which triggered a few chuckles out of everyone.

“Hey Lan, we better head to the Official Center,” Sean informed the headbanded NetBattler, “We can’t be late for our meeting.”

“Right. I’ll see you later, Maylu.” Lan kissed his girlfriend one last time before putting on his shoes and heading out with Sean.

* * *

Mr. Famous sat in the meeting room in the Official Center waiting for Lan and Sean to arrive. Chaud was too busy running IPC to attend in person, so he did so via com from his office, his face displayed on one of the many computer screens in the room. Ever since he graduated university and became the IPC president fulltime, he began dressing more for his new position. His clothes now consisted of black pants, a black shirt, black dress shoes and socks, and a long sleeveless red coat. In addition to all, that he also wore a pendant around his neck that bore ProtoMan’s icon.

“Here they are,” Mr. Famous announced as the pair of Net Saviors entered.

“I hope we’re not late,” Lan said as he walked in.

“We’re Laika?” asked Sean as he looked around the room.

“He’ll be here in a bit,” answered Mr. Famous. No sooner had he spoken, the blue-haired soldier from Sharo entered accompanied by an older gentleman also wearing a Sharo military uniform. He was Laika’s commanding officer, General Stolz, who had come over to Electopia from Sharo sometime over the summer by request of the Officials. He was a tall man, strong, with grey hair and a moustache. His uniform bore several medals and his left eye was covered by an eye-patch. Upon entry of the two soldiers, everyone saluted them respectfully before taking their seats.

“Alright, everyone is here,” Mr. Famous noted, “Let’s get down to business.”

“Is this about the serial killer?” Sean asked offhand.

“Actually, yes,” Mr. Famous answered, “Now as you may or may not know, this serial killer…”

“Targets Official NetBattlers only?” Sean interrupted again.

“How do you know all this, Sean?” asked Lan.

“I keep up with current events every day, Lan,” answered the grey-haired teen, “not just every week.”

“Okay, so now you know about the purpose of this meeting,” Mr. Famous continued, “Yes, there is a serial killer on the loose and he or she only targets Official NetBattlers. There have been reports of murder all across the globe. They first began in Netopia. After that, they moved on to Sharo. Now, more recently, reports have started to come up here in Electopia. Now I know I don’t need to say this, but everyone must be on full alert at all times. We don’t know when the serial killer will strike again nor do we know who the next target may be. As Net Saviors, you are also targets of the murderer. So, you must be extremely careful. If you come across any suspicious activity, do not engage it on your own. Call for assistance first.”

“How are we sure it’s the same serial killer?” asked Lan.

“General Stolz has been working on this case since the murders in Sharo,” Mr. Famous explained, “That is why I have asked him to come in and help us.” General Stolz cleared his throat as he stood up to address the Net Saviors.

“We know it’s the serial killer because all the victims that were found had the same marks on their bodies. There is no mistaking it. Their bodies are completely dismembered. Deep slashes and cuts. However, not one drop of blood has been found on the corpses.”

“This is most certainly unusual,” Chaud commented, “How can someone carve up bodies like that and not draw blood?”

“We don’t know, but that is how we know it is the same serial killer,” answered General Stolz, “In addition, we noticed that all the Officials who were killed were missing their PETs. One can imagine that the serial killer keeps them as trophies of his murders.”

“In any case, we must stop this murderer before anyone else is killed,” finished Mr. Famous.

“Yes, sir!” everyone chorused.

“Now on a more local level,” Mr. Famous resumed, “the DenTech City police have asked the Official NetBattlers for help. According to the case file, there is a sexual predator on the loss in the city. No confirmation yet whether it’s a man or woman, but they only target young children. Usually between the ages of six and thirteen. Lan, Sean, I understand you two live with Dr. Kaiyou. It would be best to keep an eye on him.”

“Noah’s also our friend,” answered Lan, “We’ll do everything to protect him.”

“Well then, that ends today’s meeting,” Mr. Famous concluded, “General Stolz, thank you for coming in. And good luck with the serial killer case. If you need them, you have the Net Saviors at your disposal.”

“Thank you, Famous,” responded the general, “I’ll see to it that this madman – or madwoman – is stopped for good.”

* * *

Maylu had taken Noah shopping with her while Lan and Sean were at their meeting. After an hour and a half of going from one store to the next, they stopped by the food court for a break. Noah sat across from Maylu sipping on his banana milkshake while she just watched him enjoy his treat.

“Maylu, do you think I’ll make a good professor?” asked the young prodigy. Maylu just smile and placed her hand on one of Noah’s.

“I think you’ll make a great prof,” she said to him. Noah smiled and resumed drinking his milkshake. Not far away, a man dressed in an expensive yellow suit with jacket tails that spiked outward and large cuffs and collar was looking around in a jewelry store. He had short brown hair and his eyes were covered by a pair of circular black sunglasses. His gold tie clip resembled the image of a frog. As he looked around, a sales associate came up to him from behind the counter.

“Can I help you, sir?” he asked.

“Yes. How much is that beauty?” inquired the man. He pointed toward a lone display case inside of which was an extremely expensive looking diamond necklace with an enormous ruby as the centerpiece.

“I’m sorry, sir. That is not for sale. That is only for display purposes,” the sales associate said apologetically.

“A pity. It looks like it could be worth millions.” The man reached into his jacket, pulled out a grey PET, and aimed it up toward the ventilation system, “Jack in!! VoltMan, power up!” He beamed his NetNavi into the system and a few seconds later, a powerful blast of wind blew out of the vents, which caught everyone off guard. The man then smashed open the display cases and the wind suddenly shifted and the vents started to suck up the jewels.

Over in the food court, the commotion in the jewelry store did not go unheeded. Noah and Maylu turned their heads toward its direction and saw the expensive merchandise get sucked up.

“We have to go help them,” said Noah.

“I’ll call Lan and tell him we’ll need his help.” Maylu took out her PET and began to send her boyfriend a voice message.

“But first, I’ll finish up my milkshake.” Noah hurriedly finished off his drink and rubbed his forehead upon finishing, “Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow. Brain freeze!” Once he had relieved himself of the pain, he threw the empty cup into the garbage and ran toward the jewelry store with Maylu.

The man smashed another case open and the jewels were lifted out of their displays into the air ducts. He continued doing this until he approached the case holding the necklace.

“You won’t be going with the others. You’ll be coming with me.” He heard footsteps over the sound of the rushing wind and turned to see Maylu and Noah approaching.

“VoltMan, close up the shop!” he commanded into his EPT. Immediately, the steel bar door slid over the front of the store and locked, stopping the pair from going any further.

“We can’t get in!” exclaimed Maylu.

“But we can still beam our Navis into the vent system,” Noah replied as he reached for his PET.

“I don’t think so!” The man took an expensive-looking gun out from his jacket and fired a warning shot at Noah, which caused the boy to jump, “Nobody’s going to ruin this robbery.”

“Jack in!! MegaMan, power up!” A thin red laser shot toward the vent system and deposited MegaMan inside. Noah and Maylu turned around and saw Lan standing several feet away with his PET in hand.

“Lan, you made it!” Maylu exclaimed.

“That was fast,” commented Noah.

“Lan Hikari, the famous Official NetBattler and many-time savior of the world,” the man presumed.

“That’s right,” Lan answered, “Now who the hell are you?”

“My name is Mammon Avarice,” the man introduced, “Count Mammon Avarice.”

“Well Count Avarice, it’s time we put an end to this little robbery of yours.”

* * *

Inside the vent system, MegaMan found himself looking at a green NetNavi wearing yellow gloves, boots, and armor that had spikes shaped like lightning bolts jutting out from the shins and forearms. Each glove was equipped with a pair of claw-like blades shaped like thunderbolts. His helmet was green with a yellow mask covering his eyes that was designed to look like a pair of lightning bolts crossing in the center of his face and moving upward to create two horns. A pair of sharp electrodes stuck out of his shoulders and two larger ones from the center of his back.

“Who are you?” demanded MegaMan. The electric Navi stopped what he was doing and turned to face the blue newcomer.

“My name is VoltMan and I’m Count Avarice’s NetNavi,” the yellow and green Navi answered.

“Stop what you’re doing immediately!” MegaMan commanded, “You are hereby under arrest!”

“And I never go down without a fight!” VoltMan stopped the vent manipulation and turned his full attention toward MegaMan, “Volt Slinger!” Electricity poured of the electrodes on his back to the ones on his shoulders, which transferred the energy to the blades on his hands. He raised his right arm over his head before thrusting it out at MegaMan and sending out a bolt of electricity. MegaMan dove to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack, and morphed his hand into his buster.

“Mega Buster!” MegaMan pointed his weapon at his opponent and fired several magenta-colored plasma shots. VoltMan planted his hands together and pulled them apart with a single bolt of electricity between them, which he used as a shield to deflect his opponent’s attack.

“Okay, this clearly isn’t working. Let’s try something else. RollingLog1 Battlechip in, download!” Lan slotted a chip into his PET and watched as two wooden logs appeared in his Navi’s hands.

“Take this!” MegaMan threw both logs forward and they rolled toward VoltMan, but the electric Navi fired a blast of lightning into the air and several bolts rained down from overhead and destroyed the floor panels, stopping the attack in its tracks.

“Okay, try this then. RiskyHoney3 Battlechip in, download!” MegaMan’s hand morphed into a honeycomb and he unleashed several swarms of bees at VoltMan.

“ElementTrap Battlechip in, download!” Count Avarice counterattacked with one of his own chips and MegaMan was hit by powerful clouds of spores.

“He’s good,” commented Noah.

“Damn, what now?” muttered Lan.

“How about if I intervene?” asked Sean as he stepped forward, “Jack in!! Axl, power up!” Within seconds, Axl appeared alongside MegaMan.

“What’s up, MegaMan?” he greeted.

“Good to have you here, Axl! Now let’s kick his ass! Mega Buster!”

“Axl Gun!”

The two Navis fired simultaneously, but VoltMan used his Electric Field again to block their shots.

“Let’s add some speed,” Lan declared, “Falzer Beast Chip in, download!” MegaMan cried out as a column of red light erupted up from under his body. His arms, legs, and torso were encased in red armor as his hands and feet transformed into talons. The crest of Falzer appeared in the center of his helmet and transformed his headgear. A pair of wings sprouted from his back and he slashed the air in front of him several times before pulling back.

With his transformation complete, MegaMan flew into the air and morphed his hand into his weapon.

“Feather Shoot!” He took aim at VoltMan and fired several feathers down at him from above. Meanwhile, Axl prepared to take care of things from the ground.

“Give me something effective, Sean!” he called.

“You got it! WoodDNA Battlechip in, download!” Sean inserted the chip and Axl’s body flowed with the power of WoodMan.

“Wood Tower!” He slammed his fist into the floor and several wooden spears shot up in a row toward VoltMan. The electric Navi was preoccupied with MegaMan and didn’t notice them approach until they stabbed him from underneath and launched him into the air.

“Falzer Claw!” With VoltMan still caught off guard, MegaMan flew in and slashed him with his talons, knocking him back down.

“Great work, MegaMan!” Lan cheered, “Now we just need to finish him off.”

“Hey, what’s going on?” asked a confused Dingo who just happened to be passing by.

“Thank you, Dingo!” Lan quickly ran over to the native Netopian with his stylus in hand and drew a line from Dingo’s PET screen to his own.

“Here we go, MegaMan! Tomahawk Beast!” A green light surrounded MegaMan and he emerged in Tomahawk Beast Over.

“One more time, Axl!” Sean commanded.

“You got it! Wood Tower!” Axl punched the floor again and shot several more Wood Towers at VoltMan, forcing him into the air once again.

“Wing Boomerang!” MegaMan detached his wings and threw them at the electric NetNavi. They struck their target dead-on and forced VoltMan out of the system.

VOLTMAN LOGGING OUT

With VoltMan gone, Axl turned his attention to restoring the vent system and opening the store. Back on the outside, the wind from the vents stopped and the bars slid aside, allowing Lan and Sean access into the shop.

“You’re under arrest, Count Avarice!” the two Net Saviors declared simultaneously. The greedy count made his way toward the other side of the store, but Maylu and Noah blocked it off, trapping him inside.

“Sorry, but I don’t have time to stick around. Maybe some other time. Right now, I have other matters to attend to. But first, I can’t leave without this.” He smashed open the single case and took the priceless necklace out from inside. He quickly shoved it into his pocket before jumping onto a broken display counter and punched open a ceiling tile before climbing up.

“Why must bad guys always be so good at running away?” asked Sean.

“Well in any case, we better go back to the center and fill out the paperwork,” Axl said as he projected his hologram on Sean’s shoulder.

“We’ll go. Lan, Maylu, Noah, you guys head home,” Sean offered.

“Okay. Thanks Sean. Make sure you’re back in time for dinner,” said Lan before he headed back home with Maylu and Noah.

“Can somebody please tell me what’s going on?” asked Dingo.

“I’ll fill you in along the way,” Lan promised.

* * *

A black limousine with a license plate saying “GREED” drove down the road just along the outskirts of DenTech City. Count Avarice sat in the backseat surrounded by all the jewelry he had stolen, but his eyes were only on one.

“This is definitely worth a lot,” he commented as he examined the necklace. He chuckled as he put the priceless gems away and sat back to enjoy the rest of the ride. But just as he got comfortable, his PET rang.

“Count, it’s your autophone,” VoltMan informed him. Count Avarice took out his PET and answered.

“Yes, this is Count Avarice,” he said, “Yes, I got the rocks. Yes, I ran into some trouble. No, I didn’t get caught. Right, I’ll see you when I get back.” He ended his call and leaned back in his seat again. Reaching over to an ice basket, he pulled out a bottle of champagne and poured himself a glass. As he held the liquor in his hand, he wondered what he could steal next to help satisfy his insatiable desire for material wealth.

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End of chapter 4-1.

CHAPTER PREVIEW
Lan: Senior year has finally started.
MegaMan: A new year, new friends. You’ve got a broad range of friends, Lan.
Lan: But none of them are anything like him.
MegaMan: He’s definitely different from all the others.
Lan & MegaMan: Next time on Rockman.EXE: The College Years, “My Name is Kotaro”.
Lan: MegaMan, why the sudden scared look?
MegaMan: There’s something about him that just creeps me out.
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[Plantman]

Just a not-so-little Warning: Let this be the last time you double post without need. You could have very easily attached your first chapter to the first post you made. Next time you do this I'm locking your topic.
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Hecha en MÉXICO - Avatar by Me.
"Logic is the Ultimate Weapon."

[Plantman]

Just a not-so-little Warning: Let this be the last time you double post without need. You could have very easily attached your first chapter to the first post you made. Next time you do this I'm locking your topic.
_________________
Hecha en MÉXICO - Avatar by Me.
"Logic is the Ultimate Weapon."

[Elementalman.EXE]

Well moderately okay. My first gripe is that you seem to add pointless babble, to make the chapter seem longer, such as Sean working at the movie theater, or a rather odd one, Noah refusing to go until he's finished a milkshake. Dingo could have easily been removed and introduced in a less...random way. Also, Lan and Sean just ran from somewhere, yet you acted as if they weren't fatigued at all. That doesn't make alot of sense, seeing as how they would have had to run quite fast.
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Elementalman.EXE
Nothing is True. Everything is Permitted.
1000 Post on Sept. 18 2005 at 6:29pm

[Blue]

I'm predicting a 'seven deadly sins' sort of theme for our standard group of villains this time around, if Avarice is any indication. Are those two brought up in the meeting associated with the Deadly Sins (as I'm going to call them for now)? If not, having three seperate groups of baddies running around will be interesting. And I can see where the R rating's going to be coming in... I'm getting the feeling that Maylu's about the only one who isn't someone's target. On the chapter itself, it wasn't bad; a nice intro chapter in which we caught up with the gang. Tomahawk Cross felt forced, though. I'd rather see you make a Roll Cross/Axl Cross/Someone-Who's-A-Regular-On-This-Fic Cross than have the Link Navis randomly pop up for Mega to use their power.

[Midnight]

Duly agreed, DJ.

A lot of your characters seemed to have been cut and pasted into the story. Dingo is a great example of this--just where the hell did he come from? If he is to be an integral part of the story, you should have introduced him a little bit more convincingly than just having him enter on a whim and completely unexpected.

Noah, Noah, Noah. He just keeps pressing his luck about Mary Sue-ism. With what has already transpired, I can't how you're going to pull him back without making it sound unnatural.

The fourth season begins, and it's off to a sluggish start.
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Today, these three players are after Big Bucks! But they'll have to avoid the Whammy, as they play the most exciting game of their lives! From Television City in Hollywood! It's time to 'Press Your Luck!'--Rod Roddy

The Kingdom of Loathing: An Adventurer is You! // I ♣ Seals

Avatar by Spork. I very much appreciate it! <3

[Blue Bommer]

So season 4 starts. Personally I think it started better then the last season, but it still could have been better. This is still a very good story, and it looks like it could get better. Yet, it is very predictable. So I'm looking forward to something unexpected.
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[SonicNigma212]

What you've put up for the beginning of your fourth and final season is a good start. It really has been an improvement over last season. But as I've always heard, "Everything has its ups and downs." Well, onto the review.

Now, in the beginning, you've made it sound like both Lan and Maylu starting to act like a normal young couple. Well, that and the fact that you've made the two of them like a couple of parents raising a couple a kids. And I mean a couple. Well anyany, it's good that you've put up and mention a serial killer going out killing off Official NetBattlers and the way that you've mentioned how this guy operates, now that's just intense. Not only that, but you've put up a fact that little Noah would be the target of a sexual predator. I really hope that nothing would happen to the little guy. From the looks of things, I could tell that things could only become more intense and interesting as things come.

I like one of the new villian characters that you've put up for this chapter. I mean, a guy that only values any shining thing he sees with a new Navi to boot. It seems to me that you've got this character connected to one of the seven deadly sins of man. But I'm not going to pray further. All that I could say at this point is that I could wait and be patient for the next and upcoming chapters. Keep up the good work. It's as best as ever. I hope that you could allow me to help with the beta reading. I would be here if you need the assistance. But it seems to me that you've got things under control. I've got a feeling that you've got something else in store for the next chapter, right?

Oh, and one more thing, this long fic that you've put up has encouraged me to start my own long fan fiction crossover project of my own. It's going to be one of my greatest challenges yet. First, I'm going to put up three short fics that would help follow up the fic. I hope that you would be the one to give me an honest and good opinion on one of them that I've put up in fanfiction.net. I hope that I could do it well. It's going to be hard for me to do it all by myself. Well, keep up the good work. Later!


Maurice A. Nigma :grr: ^_^

[Viewtiful Starman]

So, we appear to have a new season of this going... And it's not bad, so far.

I found the main content of the chapter a little dull (others went in to detail here already), but it seemed to cut down on some of the pointless segments which were more prevalent in the previous seasons. That, and your foreshadowing make me interested in how you plan to handle some of the ideas you've presented.

Emphasis on how you handle them though. That kind of thing you have set up can go wrong just as easily as it could turn out well, so I'd recommend being careful (especially on what I'm assuming is supposed to be the Lust character).

Avarice was pretty interesting too, although he reminded me a little bit too much of Count Elec in description and navi. Hopefully their personalities will differentiate more later on.

However, the similarities look pretty coincidential to me and I can tell that you put a good amount of thought in to the design.

[Anime Master ZERO]

Elementalman.EXE: Actually, Sean works at a live-performance theater.

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CHAPTER 4-2
My Name is Kotaro

One thing Lan saw as an advantage to having Noah as his prof for every class was that he was able to buy all of his books before the semester had even started. He was able to go into the bookstore without having to worry about long line-ups at the check out and had gotten back within an hour. Classes were finally starting up again and he was fully prepared for what was to come. Sean had already left the apartment since his classes began earlier, leaving Lan, Maylu, and Noah alone by themselves.

“Hurry up, guys,” Maylu called from, “You can’t be late for your first day of classes.” Lan soon came out of his room tying on his headband.

“Morning, Maylu,” he greeted as he kissed her lightly on the lips.

“Good morning, Lan. And good to see you’re up. Now hurry up and eat breakfast.” As Lan went behind the counter to pour himself a cup of coffee, Noah came out of his bedroom still wearing his towel.

“Has anyone seen my red tie?” he asked.

“Where did you see it last time?” asked Lan as he sat down at the table.

“On my tie rack. It’s not there anymore and I checked my entire closet. Thrice.”

“Just wear a different tie,” Maylu interjected.

“Which one?” asked Noah.

“Well what are you wearing today?”

“My green suit.”

“Here, I’ll help you find something.”

“Why can’t Lan do it?”

“Because he’s hopeless with formalwear.”

“Hey!”

A couple of minutes later, Noah finally came out of his room in his suit with a navy-blue tie around his neck.

“That looks good on you, Noah,” Lan commented before biting into a piece of toast.

“Do you really think so?” the child prodigy asked.

After breakfast, the boys left the apartment and walked for ten minutes to the university campus.

“Feels good to be back,” Lan sighed upon arrival in the QUAD. He noticed several brothers of Delta Sigma Kappa in the center of the area with a red pickup truck holding another charity fundraiser. He immediately spotted Tory sitting on the roof of the cab and walked over.

“Hey, Tory!” he greeted.

“Hey, Lan,” Tory replied.

“Another fundraiser?” Lan asked.

“Yep. We couldn’t get a hold of a car for a car smash this year, so we had to improvise,” answered Tory.

“So what kind of fundraiser are you guys doing?”

“Well, the idea came when we were watching Office Space last Friday night.”

“Wait. Office Space? You don’t mean…”

“Yep.” Tory got down from his seat and picked up something from the back of the truck, “We’re having a printer smash!”

“Where did you get all these printers, anyway?” asked Noah as he peered into the truck.

“The university apparently just tosses all their old computer equipment into a storage room whenever they stop working,” answered Tory, “They needed to get rid of some of it because they were running out of room, so they let us take all the printers. We easily got almost a thousand of them.”

“Save me a printer, Tory,” Lan requested.

“I’ll have one waiting with your name on it.”

“Nice to see you again, Tory. Good luck with your fundraiser,” wished Noah as he and Lan walked off. As they left, a twenty-one-year-old fourth-year student walked toward the frat boys. He wore heavy black boots with enormous silver buckets, black pants sagged halfway down due to the heavy chains that were attached to them revealing a pair of black skull-print boxers, a belt made of empty bullet shells, a black punk shirt, a heavy black leather jacket covered with studs and spikes, and a black spiked dog collar around his neck. He had black spiky hair and his face was covered with a thick layer of white make-up, black eyeliner, and black lipstick. He had several piercings in his ears and lips. His nails were painted back and he wore several skull rings on his fingers. Underneath all his clothes, he had several images of death, despair, and darkness tattooed all over his body, the most predominant being the enormous Grim Reaper tattoo on his back, and countless scars on his arms as a result of repeated cuts.

“Hook me up with a printer,” he demanded as he paid his two hundred zenny. Tory tossed a printer to one of his frat brothers and handed the newcomer a baseball bat. Within the two-minute time limit, the printer was nearly obliterated. He handed the bat back and slowly walked off. Everyone could only watch his back as he left.

“Damn. That guy destroyed a printer in record time,” one of the brothers who had a stopwatch noted.

“Dude must have some anger issues,” another commented.

“I think I’ve heard about him before,” Tory thought out loud, which drew the attention of his brother.

“Enlighten us, brother Tory,” the stopwatch holder requested.

“I don’t know much,” Tory began, “I read it in the college paper. I think his name is Kotaro. I can’t remember his last name. Anyway, he supposedly scored the highest on the annual impurity test last year.”

“How high on the impurity test?”

“I can’t remember the score, but the article said he had done lots of things. Drug abuse, performing occult rituals, et cetera. But what really scored big on him was…” Tory’s voice trailed off for a moment.

“Well? What?” asked the others.

“I’d really rather not say.”

* * *

“And so, by changing even the smallest code, a NetNavi’s entire program can be completely rewritten. Well, that’s it for today. See you guys in two days.” Noah concluded. His first class as a professor had finally ended and he felt fairly satisfied with himself. As his students left, Lan walked up from his seat in the front row and watched as he packed away his material.

“Ready to go yet, Noah?” he asked.

“All set,” the prepubescent prodigy confirmed. They exited via the side door and headed toward their next class. Along the way, they passed the one Tory had identified to his brothers as Kotaro. He was leaning against a tree smoking an unknown drug as he watched them walk by.

“You there,” he called out quietly. Lan stopped and turned around.

“Uh, can I help you?” the brunet asked.

“Are you Lan Hikari?” Kotaro demanded.

“Who wants to know?”

“Meet me by the dumpsters behind the SUB at four-fifteen. Don’t be late.” Kotaro then pushed himself off and walked away.

“Well, that was rude,” Lumine commented as his hologram appeared on Noah’s shoulder.

“He scares me,” the young boy said as he peeked out from behind Lan.

“MegaMan, do we have anything planned for four-fifteen?” asked the twenty-one-year-old NetBattler. The blue Navi’s hologram popped up on his shoulder with a schedule window in his hands.

“Nothing,” answered MegaMan.

“Are you sure there’s nothing you can squeeze into there?”

“Nope. Nothing.”

“Great,” Lan muttered unenthusiastically. It was the first day of his fourth year and already he seemed to have made an enemy without even getting to know him.

“Guess I don’t have a choice,” he sighed, “Noah, do you think you can make it back home by yourself after our last class?”

“I have some stuff to take care of in my office first,” replied Noah.

“Okay.” Lan took in a deep breath and sighed again. He was not looking forward to whatever was going to happen at four-fifteen.

* * *

Everyone at the Scarlet Lobster in Dentown watched with their mouths wide open as a rather large man devoured one entrée after another. His stomach’s protrusion was so great, he had to sit at least two feet away from his table. As a result of his gluttonous appetite, he wore a big orange muumuu with pigs imprinted all over it as there were no pants or shirts that could fit him. His hair was short and brown and he had at least six chins. When he finally finished, he set down the plate he was eating from and gave a large belch.

“Is that everything, sir?” a server asked.

“I think so,” the fat man replied. He slowly got up and made his way to the exit.

“Excuse me, sir. You forgot about the bill,” the server reminded him.

“I don’t need to pay,” replied the fat man, “I’m entitled to eat at much as I desire. Now goodbye.”

“Police!” The server called into a phone and within minutes, police cars surrounded the restaurant. Fortunately, the fat man hadn’t left the restaurant yet because of his slow pace.

“Just pay the bill, fat man!”

“I was promised free food!” shouted the fat man, “He took out a PET and aimed it at a police car dashboard, “Jack in!! SavageMan, power up!”

Inside the police car computer, a black and grey NetNavi resembling a Beasted Out Greiga Zoanoroid landed and roars, alerting several police Navis. He was hunched forward with hands armed with deadly jagged claws. But on closer inspection, one would discover too late that his arms were actually mouths and the claws were actually teeth. His legs were covered with dirty fur and his feet are armed with sharp claws. His tail swung back and forth as he gazed at his prey with the eyes of a wild predator. His mane waved in the artificial wind as he reared up and roared, exposing countless fangs inside his mouth.

“Get him!” All the police Navis rushed forward with their Cannons and fired. SavageMan dropped down on all fours and ran past the blasts with blinding speed. He ripped through their frontline and tore the Navis to pieces. The one remaining survivor activated a StoneBody chip and he transformed into a statue.

He’ll never penetrate my defense now, he thought. But his thoughts were proven wrong as SavageMan sank his arms’ teeth in and tore off the Navi’s arms. He then closed his own mouth down over his head and ripped it right off. After spitting the body parts out, he bit into the car’s control system and pulled back until pieces of the program broke loose. He then immediately transferred to the next car before the first one exploded and did the same thing. Before long, all the police cars were destroyed. With the obstacles gone, the fat man ran as quickly as he could.

“Get him!” a police officer shouted and they gave chase. Fortunately for them, the fat man was in very poor physical condition. Unfortunately, he stole a car and escaped. One of the officers took out a PET and called the Official Center.

“This is the officer DuFresne. A perp has just escaped us. He’s a fat man in a muumuu driving a stolen green sedan with a handicap tag license number CVI13. He’s got a very powerful NetNavi. Please send any help you can.”

* * *

“I think that went well,” the fat man thought out loud. SavageMan barked and snarled from inside his PET, which his operator somehow managed to understand.

“What’s our next move? Hmm. I say let’s go get some more food. After all, I, Gorge, still have to fulfill my quest.”

* * *

At four-fifteen, Lan reluctantly went over to the place where Kotaro had told him to meet. Sure enough, he was there waiting for him smoking another unknown drug.

“You came,” Kotaro acknowledged.

“Who are you?” Lan demanded.

“My name is Kotaro Yamigumi. I want to challenge you to a NetBattle.”

“That’s it? Why can’t we just use an arcade?” asked Lan.

“Too many people,” answered Kotaro, “I prefer to stay away from the living. However, there’s something else about you. You’ve seen death firsthand. Therefore, you may understand the inner depths of my soul. My desire is to find out for sure.” He reached into his clothes and pulled out a black and purple PET.

“You may have brought me here against my will, and you’re creepy to boot, but I never back down from a NetBattle. Jack in!! MegaMan, power up!”

“Jack in. PhantomMan, power up.”

Inside the dumpster’s computer, MegaMan appeared on a large pile of junk and waited as his opponent arrived. PhantomMan’s appearance was ghostly, wearing long tattered robe that waved in even the slightest cyber breeze with a hood pulled up over his head. His face was covered by a mask resembling a skull. He made no sound as he moved as if he had no physical body.

“That is a bad idea,” MegaMan mumbled.

“Begin,” muttered Kotaro.

“Phantom Illusion.” PhantomMan’s robe shifted and several ghosts floated out and slowly made their way toward MegaMan. The blue Navi saw the phantoms emerge from his opponent’s body and completely froze with fear.

“Come on, MegaMan. You have to move!” Lan urged his Navi.

“Phantom Blade!” A right arm clad in dull grey armor shot out from under PhantomMan’s cloak and his hand transformed into a wicked-looking halberd head with two scythe blades in place of the spike and the end opposite of the axe blade. He flew toward the paralyzed MegaMan and slashed him across the chest, knocking him off his garbage pile and into a puddle of unknown liquids screaming.

“MegaMan, get up!” Lan called.

“S-s-s-s-scared…” stuttered MegaMan.

Oh, right! Lan realized, MegaMan’s scared of ghosts. Back in the dumpster’s computer, PhantomMan came over the garbage pile and floated down toward his opponent with his weapon raised. He slashed again and MegaMan screamed a second time.

“Why does your Navi not attack?” demanded Kotaro.

I don’t want to tell him that MegaMan’s afraid of ghosts, Lan thought.

“Answer me,” said Kotaro.

PhantomMan pulled back watched wondering why his opponent refused to attack. When MegaMan realized that he was gone, he got up and ran away as quickly as he could to find a hiding place. He found a small hole among the garbage and tried to squeeze himself in headfirst.

“I see,” PhantomMan whispered, “He has phasmophobia. He is afraid of me.”

“Pathetic,” Kotaro sighed as he jacked out PhantomMan and returned his PET to its case, “I’m very disappointed, Lan Hikari. Your NetNavi is pitiful. Perhaps you don’t understand, after all. Farewell.”

“Hold it, Goth boy! I never wanted to have this NetBattle in the first place!” argued Lan.

“Then you should have pulled out,” Kotaro replied emotionlessly.

“You didn’t give us a choice.”

“What is done is done.” And with those words, Kotaro left. Lan was infuriated by the Goth’s attitude, but then he remembered MegaMan checked to see if he was okay. As expected, he was hiding somewhere inside the PET. As Lan began to decide not to bother trying to look for him, he caught a glimpse of a small wet spot on the floor of his PET.

“Huh. He actually succeeded in wetting himself this time.” Lan’s stomach growled and he decided he would go have a small snack before going back home. Slinging his bag over his shoulder, he made his way over to a nearby ramen shop and sat down at the counter.

“Give me your smallest ramen bowls,” he ordered.

“Right away,” the cook answered. After a few minutes, placed a bowl of ramen in front of Lan with some shrimp, some chopped spring onions, and two pieces of naruto. As Lan ate, MegaMan was inside the PET trying to clean up his mess. He had finally calmed down after the battle with PhantomMan, but he was still a little shaken up. The puddle had been mopped up and now he was rubbing his groin with a sponge to clean off his bodysuit.

And all along I thought I was incapable of peeing myself, thought the blue Navi.

While the twins were busy with their current tasks, the fat man known as Gorge walked in.

“Give me everything!” he ordered.

Lan’s PET suddenly rang. He slurped up his current mouthful and swallowed it before he answered the call.

“This is Lan.”

“Lan, this is Famous,” came the call, “The police have asked for our help to track down someone. He’s a very large man with short hair and a muumuu. He’s reported to eat enormous amounts of food and not pay for it. And whenever anyone tries to stop him, he sends his Navi to give him an escape route.” Lan turned his PET toward Gorge.

“Is that him?” he asked.

“That’s him,” Mr. Famous confirmed.

“Alright, I’m on it.” Lan set his ramen aside and walked over to Gorge. He quickly got his attention and flashed his Net Savior ID.

“Sir, you’re under arrest,” he informed him.

“A Net Savior?” Gorge gasped.

“Please come along quietly,” Lan instructed politely.

“But you’re just a kid.”

“I’m twenty-one.”

“You’re still a kid by my standards. I ain’t listening to you.”

“Fine, if that’s the way you want it.” Lan switched on his autophone and contacted Mr. Famous, “Famous, I’m going to need backup.”

“No need for formalities,” Mr. Famous replied like clockwork.

“HA! Gotcha that time!” Lan whooped. He quickly gave his location and shut off his autophone before turning toward Gorge just in time to catch him trying to sneak out. However, he wasn’t about to let that happen. Lan held his PET toward the door and sent in MegaMan.

“Lock the door, MegaMan,” he instructed.

“Locking the door.” MegaMan walked over to an enormous lever and pulled. Immediately, the light overhead changed from green to red and the door was locked.

“SavageMan, unlock that door,” Gorge commanded as he took out his PET, “Jack in!! SavageMan, power up!” SavageMan appeared inside the door’s electronic system and roared.

“It’s time to fight, Lan!” MegaMan called up this operator.

“Then let’s begin. Hopefully, it’ll buy some time for backup to get here. Katana3 Battlechip in, download!” Lan’s PET registered his chip and MegaMan’s right hand morphed into a samurai sword. SavageMan got down on all fours as he growled and dashed forward. His ground speed was unlike anything MegaMan had ever seen. However, he felt that the Katana3 Lan had sent him was a good choice since projectile weapons would be useless against such an opponent. When SavageMan got within striking distance of his prey, he pounced and that’s when MegaMan attacked. He waited for his enemy to get close enough and he struck out with his sword. However, SavageMan caught the blade in his right mouth and snarled. With one snap of his jaw, he shattered the blade.

“What the?” MegaMan was completely caught off guard and SavageMan took that opportunity to skull bash him and send him flying backward.

“Wind Battlechip in, download!” A WindBox appeared behind the blue Navi and blew a steady wind that slowed him down and allowed him to land back on his feet without getting hurt. However, his moment of relief didn’t last long as SavageMan pounced and lashed out with his teeth. MegaMan quickly rolled to the side and his opponent chomped down on the WindBox, destroying it. He immediately pounced again and flew straight toward MegaMan.

“Reflector3 Battlechip in, download!” A giant Mettaur helmet fell down over MegaMan as a shield, but SavageMan tore through it with his teeth with deadly ease.

“That should have deflected his attack back at him!” exclaimed Lan, “How come it didn’t work?”

“Lan!” MegaMan yelled, “His teeth are made out of steel!”

“That’s right!” Gorge gloated, “SavageMan is a Breaking element. Shields and swords are useless against him and with speed like his, he can dodge projectiles easily.”

Saliva dripped from SavageMan’s mouths as he narrowed his eyes before charging forward again.

“Watch out, MegaMan!” Lan warned, “Here he comes again!” MegaMan nodded with acknowledgement and when SavageMan attacked, he jumped back into the air.

“Soul Unison: Gyro Soul Battlechip in, download!” Lan slotted in the chip and as soon as MegaMan transformed into Gyro Soul, he spun his propeller and flew higher into the air out of SavageMan’s range.

“TwinFang3 Battlechip in, download!” Gorge slotted in one of his own chips and the feral NetNavi roared before launching a pair of spikes from his arm mouths. The first MegaMan was able to avoid, but the second struck the center of his propeller and knocked it out of commission. He screamed as he fell toward the floor, but a DashAttack chip saved him and he reverted back to his normal form.

“How are you holding up, MegaMan?” asked Lan. His Navi opened his mouth to answer, but only a scream came out when SavageMan leapt onto the Fishy and ensnared him in his jaws. He jumped back to the ground and held each of his opponent’s arms in one of his mouths.

“Now tear him apart!” Gorge urged. SavageMan roared and bit down harder on MegaMan’s arms as he began to pull them apart, causing him to scream even louder. A long slimy tongue slid out of his main mouth and licked his lips before he moved in on his prey’s neck.

“It doesn’t matter what you do,” Gorge laughed, “MegaMan is SavageMan food!”

“MegaMan…” Lan could only watch as his Navi was about to get mauled by his opponent. Suddenly, a grey blur streaked by and slashed SavageMan. The feral Navi cried out and released his hold on MegaMan. The bite marks were still visible on his arms, but other than that the Blue Bomber was okay. He looked to see who had saved him and nearly screamed in fear when he saw it was PhantomMan.

“Kotaro!” Lan exclaimed upon seeing the Goth standing outside the shop, “What are you doing here?”

“PhantomMan’s ghosts serve as excellent scouts and trackers,” Kotaro explained, “We felt that perhaps we underestimated you, so he sent one of his spirits to follow you.” MegaMan looked around inside the computer and saw the mentioned ghost hovering overhead.

“I’ve been followed by a ghost?” he moaned as the color seemed to drain from his face.

“SavageMan, devour them both!” ordered Gorge. SavageMan roared and lunged out with his arms at PhantomMan, but his jaws passed right through him.

“Spirits cannot be harmed physically,” PhantomMan said silently before he slashed his Phantom Blade across SavageMan’s back, causing him to roar in pain. The beast-like NetNavi pounced forward through PhantomMan and leapt away to gain distance.

“Hey MegaMan, want to try matching SavageMan claw to claw?” asked Lan.

“Yeah!” MegaMan replied excitedly, “I’d like to see how he feels when HE gets bitten!”

“Alright, then! Greiga Beast Chip in, download!” A column of blue energy erupted from under MegaMan as he cried out with power. His hands and feet transformed into claws and the crest of Greiga appeared on his helmet, which transformed it into the head of a beast. MegaMan roared a he spun around and punched the air.

“Greiga Claw!” He slashed at SavageMan’s midsection and threw him back long the floor.

“SavageMan, don’t let that punk win!” shouted Gorge. SavageMan quickly leapt onto his feet and pounced again. He and MegaMan collided halfway and locked arms. The latter dug his claws into his opponent’s mouths to keep them from opening, but his opponent lunged forward with his head and tried to bite him with his main mouth. MegaMan quickly moved his head to the side and narrowly dodged it. When SavageMan tried to bite him again, he retaliated with Beast Breath, sending a powerful stream of flames straight into his mouth. The three-mouthed Navi pulled back crying out in pain as the fire burned through his throat.

“Jack out, SavageMan!” yelled Gorge.

SAVAGEMAN LOGGING OUT

The door slid open and Gorge suddenly bolted out of the restaurant as Kotaro came in.

“Kotaro, we have to go stop him!” Lan exclaimed as he tried to get past the black-clad fourth year to pursue Gorge.

“He won’t get far,” Kotaro answered calmly, “A man that fat would have a bad heart. Plus I doubt he’s ever done any exercise.” Sure enough, Gorge stopped running about two blocks away clutching his chest in one hand and breathing heavily.

“Wow. That sure saved a lot of effort.”

“Lan, I misjudged you earlier,” Kotaro said quietly, “Perhaps you do understand.”

“Hey Kotaro, if it’s okay with you, I’d like to be your friend,” Lan offered.

“Friend?” Kotaro turned toward the brunet, “I’ve never had a ‘friend’ before. Well, not a live one, anyway. The only companions I’ve ever had were the bodies down at the morgue I work at.”

“Well consider this a new experience,” said Lan as he held out his hand. Kotaro slowly took it into his own and shook.

“Now if MegaMan would just get over his fear of ghosts, maybe he won’t wet himself every time he meets with PhantomMan,” Lan thought aloud.

“That wasn’t urine,” Kotaro corrected, “That was junk water from the dumpster’s computer. It just happened to smell like urine.”

“Oh.”

* * *

Gorge sat in the holding cell in the police station with his PET sitting beside him on the bed. Because the cells were old-fashioned key-and-lock types, there was no fear in letting the prisoner keep such a device at his side.

“Hey!” he called out, “Don’t people in holding get food?” A fiery blast suddenly blew the wall open and a figure could be seen through the smoke beckoning Gorge to come with him.

“Hey, it’s about time!” The fat man grabbed his PET and followed the figure out.

* * *

Lan was running late for dinner and he knew that if he didn’t make it back home in time, Maylu would give him an earful. Fortunately, Tory happened to pass by him and he stopped.

“Hey Lan, need a ride home?” he offered.

“Thanks, Tory. I do.” Lan got into the passenger’s seat and Tory drove off.

“So how was your day, Lan?” the chestnut-haired man inquired.

“Well,” began Lan, “first I had classes, then I met this creepy guy named Kotaro who turned out not to be so creepy after all…”

“Creepy guy named Kotaro?” interrupted Tory.

“You know him?” asked Lan.

“Sort of,” was the answer, “I only know him from what I’ve read in the college paper. He apparently got the highest score on the annual impurity test. I met him at the printer smash today.”

“How did he get the highest score on the impurity test?” Lan inquired.

“Lot of things,” Tory answered, “Drug abuse, self-mutilation, occult rituals, you get the idea. But there was one thing that really got him a big score.”

“What was that?”

“I’d rather not say.”

“Come on, Tory. Tell me.”

“Believe me, you do not want to know!”

* * *

It was late at night when Kotaro came into the morgue to begin his shift. His supervisor was sitting at his desk looking over a file when he entered.

“Ah, Kotaro. Just in time. A young lady’s body was brought in today. I need you to perform the autopsy. This is her file.” Kotaro took the file from his supervisor’s hands and looked through it.

“Any relations?” he asked.

“No family and no friends. She was completely alone in the world,” the supervisor answered, “I’ve already tested her for STDs and the results were negative. She was clean. No signs of poison in her system, either.”

“Okay, I’ll take over from here. Thanks for the update.” As soon as the supervisor left, Kotaro proceeded to the back room, where he found the corpse lying on the examination table covered by a large sheet. He pulled it away from her head and looked into her face.

“Looks like it’s just the two of us,” he said quietly as he set down the file and slowly removed his clothes as he locked the door behind him.

-----------------------------------
End of chapter 4-2.

CHAPTER PREVIEW
Lan: People go see psychiatrists to help solve their problems.
MegaMan: But for these people, their problems just get worse.
Lan: There’s something fishy about that shrink they’ve been seeing.
MegaMan: We should go check it out.
Lan & MegaMan: Next time on Rockman.EXE: The College Years, “Who am I?”
Lan: Something is definitely wrong, and it’s not the outdated magazines.
MegaMan: Be careful, Lan!
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[Blue Bommer]

All I can say is, wow. This chapter had a good balance of plot and comedy. Yet, this story seams to be growing darker, but, that is very common.
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[Dragonman .EXE.]

the last pert really trew me off balence. very very very creepy
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[SonicNigma212]

Well, to say the least, you've managed to catch me off guard with this fiction. I've only got one question to ask, "Have you watched that South Park episode with the guest stars Korn?" I ask this because this is something familiar from what I've read in the chapter. Anyway, on with the review.

I've got to say that this is something that I didn't expect from a person like you. I mean, a goth person with a good side to him, now that's something that I didn't read everyday and I've read a lot of books and fanfictions. From what I've read in your past chapters and seasons, I'd say that you've done your research pretty well. Not only that, but you've also managed to give me mental picture on the most disgusting subjects that I've ever read and heard about. Especially with that last part for when....well, never mind. -_-;

But I've got to say that the battles that you've put in are good. Well, it was pretty funny for when you've got MegaMan still fearing ghosts like his usual self would. But also the intensity of the battle that you've put him in with SavageMan is something that I would never forget. Like I've said before, you've given me something that I'll never forget. But what got me by surprise is the fact that Kotaro managed to save MegaMan with his Navi PhantomMan just in the nick of time. I almost forgot to mention this but the Greiga and Falzer powers that you've added to these chapters are pretty good in description. Honestly, it's the best way that you've managed to put research to good use.

Well, that's all from me. Trust me on this one, from what I've read in this fic, it proves to me that there are worst things than what I've been going through recently. Things like this tends to put things back into perspective. Later!

Maurice A. Nigma :grr: ^_^

[Anime Master ZERO]

[Midnight]

Hmm.

Your newest character is...interesting, to say the least. A mortician is certainly not someone that is focused on a lot when it comes to fiction, but he seems to be a little deeper than your average character. Hopefully, when he does make a return appearance in the story, he'll be a little more interesting.

Now, for the chapter itself. Parts of it were really quite repetitive. Kotaro's description to the others seemed to have been duplicated. The antagonist this time...well...he doesn't seem all too special--just another faceless minion for the 'evil' organization to be revealed later on.

I'm glad that you decided to shift the focus away from Noah this time, but hos proximity to the main cast of characters, even more so in this arc than the first three, still irks me. I still don't see much dragging it away from a true service to your ego.

Other than that, this was a fine chapter. Good job.
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Today, these three players are after Big Bucks! But they'll have to avoid the Whammy, as they play the most exciting game of their lives! From Television City in Hollywood! It's time to 'Press Your Luck!'--Rod Roddy

The Kingdom of Loathing: An Adventurer is You! // I ♣ Seals

Avatar by Spork. I very much appreciate it! <3

[Elementalman.EXE]

I.....don't know...what to say. You got me...mild startled. Could, you leave a warning at each chapter when something...like this happens... One vauge one for the whole series...isn't quite enough.
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Elementalman.EXE
Nothing is True. Everything is Permitted.
1000 Post on Sept. 18 2005 at 6:29pm

[Stars_Are_Projectors]

Well done! You handled the darker aspects of that chapter without going too far, and illustrated a memorable battle. For Gorge being fairly simple (no-face minion, someone said) his navi certainly filled in what his character lacked. Rockman's horrendous defeat at the hands of ghosts was pretty funny (he can't win all the battles, all the time).
Nice work! This season is off to a great start!
-Stars
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The stars are projectors, man. Projecting our lives down to this planet Earth.

[TheWebbuilder]

Well... this is definitely shaping up to be much darker than the previous 'seasons' were.

You did manage to keep my interest throughout the chapters here, but some parts of it just seemed to come out of nowhere. Case in point being the aforementioned Dingo cameo and PhantomMan's appearance during the main fight, even though that was explained to a degree, it still felt cheap.

I know that Noah's supposed to be some kind of child prodigy, but a professor...? That just doesn't sit that well with me, and please don't accuse me of being a Noah-hater for saying that.

Finally, I'm not trying to tell you how to write this fic, but I think we all have a fair idea about what the Mature aspect of this fic's rating is. It's a very delicate subject, so please, tread carefully.
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[Flame Buster]

Now THAT, was really creepy. While the villain was kinda simple, the battle was well done.

The plot was pretty good, considering that it's meant to be a character introduction, and the ending was....unexpected.

All things considered, it was a good read.
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[Anime Master ZERO]

CHAPTER 4-3
Who am I?

“So you see my situation, Dr. Green,” said the psychiatric patient, “I’m at a complete loss of where I am in my life.” The psychiatrist, a green-haired woman wearing a suit with a golden broach shaped like a dog pinned to her jacket, clasped her hands together as she took a moment to contemplate her patient’s words. The nameplate on her desk read “Dr. Nancy-Vanessa Green” in big bold letters against a brass surface.

“Well, I do have one solution,” she suggested. She took something out of her desk and walked over to the couch on which her patient lay and instructed him to sit up.

“I’m going to try hypnosis,” she explained.

“Isn’t that a bit extreme and only used as a last resort?” asked the patient.

“If there’s a problem, I prefer not to beat around the bush.” She raised her hand, which held a pair of balls with black and white swirls designed on them.

“Watch the balls,” she instructed and began to rotate them in her hands. The patient’s eyes followed the swirling patterns as the gentle noise they generated reached his ears. He could feel himself relax and before long he fell into a trance.

“Tell me your name,” Dr. Green instructed.

“My name Keiko Aburame.”

“And how old are you?”

“Thirty-eight.”

“Tell me your home address and phone number.”

Before long, Dr. Green had completely milked all her patient’s personal information right out from him. When she was done, she brought him out of his trance and sent him on his way. Once he was gone, she returned to her desk and sat down. She looked at her computer screen and saw that her Navi had recorded all the information.

“That’s everything, Dr. Green. Overall, this one had a very good life. He was just experiencing a midlife crisis.”

“A really wonderful life,” Dr. Green observed as she read the data, “Perhaps too wonderful. IllusionMan, you know what to do.”

“Yes, Dr. Green.” The screen darkened for a short moment as a red cape suddenly appeared and spread out. Wearing it was a NetNavi dressed in a black tuxedo. He wore dark glasses and a black magician’s top hat. He also had a long twisted moustache. Set into his torso was a large mirror and two pendulums hung from his fingers.

“One can never be too careful with one’s own identity.” IllusionMan smirked as he took the patient’s information with him and went out onto the net.

* * *

Lan could hear the morning news from the TV in the background as he sat at the kitchen table eating breakfast. Maylu and Noah had left early to take care of a few things, leaving him alone with Sean, who was sitting on the couch watching the news.

“And with the countries of the world finally coming to the consensus that the president of Netopia is the spoiled son of a powerful politician from a wealthy oil family who is supported by religious fundamentalists, operates through clandestine organizations, has no respect for the democratic electoral process, bombs innocents, and uses war to deny people their civil liberties, terror alert level had dropped down to lightish red.”

“It’s called ‘pink’,” the co-anchor corrected.

“And that concludes the morning news. We’ll be back at noon with more news. And now, a word from our station sponsor.”

“In Soviet Sharo, Navi operates YOU!”

Sean switched off the TV and placed the remote down on the coffee table.

“Lan, I gotta get going,” he informed the brunet, “Make sure you clean up before you leave.” He went to his room to grab his bag before going to lace up his shoes.

“Let’s meet up for lunch later at MetDonald’s,” suggested Lan.

“Looking forward to it,” replied Sean before he left the apartment.

* * *

Chaud sighed as he sat down at his desk and leaned back in his chair. He had just come out of a hectic board meeting and he was exhausted. Looking at the clock, he saw that it was ten-fifteen and decided to take his morning break.

“Michelle, please get me a green tea latte,” he paged his secretary. He sighed once more before switching on his wall-mounted television on the other side of the room.

“And finally, a child pornography ring has been thwarted,” the newscaster reported, “The suspect has been identified as a man in his late thirties named Keiko Aburame. During his trial, all he could say was ‘I’m innocent’. Mr. Aburame’s records say that he was a psychiatric patient of a Dr. Nancy-Vanessa Green, however authorities have declared this to be irrelevant. Mr. Aburame is expected to service fifteen to twenty years in prison.”

While Chaud was watching the news, his secretary came in with his green tea latte and set it down on his desk before returning to work.

“Chaud, you have a call from the Official Center,” ProtoMan notified his operator.

“Patch it through,” Chaud instructed. A few seconds later, Mr. Famous’ face appeared before him.

“Chaud, I’m glad I was able to reach you,” Mr. Famous began, “There have been many reports of identity theft recently. I would like you to investigate it.”

“I’m busy, Famous,” Chaud replied, “Get someone else to do it.”

“I would if I could,” Mr. Famous answered, “However, Lan and Sean are in classes and Laika is working on the serial killer case with General Stolz, which leaves you. And I will not be taking no for an answer.” And with that, the transmission ended. Chaud sighed as he took his drink and took a sip from it.

“ProtoMan, cancel all my meetings for the rest of the day,” he ordered. Chaud got up from his seat and walked over to his bookcase. He shuffled his books around before pulling back on the bust of his father and pressing the button underneath it. The shelf slid open and revealed his private elevator. He stepped inside and rode it down to the underground parkade beneath the IPC building. He drove off as soon as he got into his car.

“ProtoMan,” he said to his NetNavi, “First thing we’re going to do is question Keiko Aburame. We’ll decide our next move after that.”

“Affirmative,” replied ProtoMan.

About an hour later, Chaud arrived at the city prison and flashed his Net Savior ID to the guards before being let in. He was escorted into an interrogation room where he waited until the man he came to see was brought in.

“Who are you?” Keiko asked nervously.

“I’m with the Net Saviors,” Chaud introduced as he showed him his ID hologram, “I just have a few questions to ask you.”

“I swear it wasn’t me!”

“That’s why I’m here. I’ve been sent to prove your innocence.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Alright, here’s how it’s going to work,” Chaud said flatly, “I ask you a question, you give me an answer. One question, one answer. If I don’t get an answer I like, we’ve got a problem. And if we’ve got a problem, you’ve got a problem.”

“Okay, but please hurry this up. I’m a single parent.”

* * *

“You got any plans later?” Yutaka asked Lan over a NetBattle after class that day.

“Noah’s in a faculty meeting until five, so I’ve got some time to kill,” Lan replied.

“Do you think you can give me a hand at the chip shop later? We just got a new shipment in and I need some help doing inventory.”

“Sure.”

Inside the NetBattle machine, MegaMan and CrashMan were engaged in full-assault combat.

“Come on, MegaMan!” CrashMan urged, “I expected more from an Olympic gold medallist!”

During the summer, Lan and MegaMan had participated in the Summer Olympics, which were being hosted by DenTech City that year. The two of them were part of Electopia’s NetBattle team. After winning several grueling battles, the pair finally made it to the top and were awarded gold medals for their victories. Lan’s medal hung in his room over his desk while MegaMan kept his digital one displayed on his homepage.

* * *

“Have you found anything ProtoMan?” Chaud asked as he sat in his car. It had been hours since he had finished questioning Mr. Aburame and he hadn’t gained much information from him. He decided to dig further and look into the other recent cases that had come up in the police files.

“Well Chaud, I haven’t found much but I believe that a fair majority of these cases are the results of identity theft,” the silver-haired Navi answered.

“Did you find anything they had in common to Mr. Aburame?”

“Only one thing. They were all patients of Dr. Nancy-Vanessa Green.”

“Then we have our next objective.” Chaud started his car and drove off to Dr. Green’s office.

* * *

Dr. Green’s file cabinet sat open as she sorted through her patient files. She was busy trying to sort them out, removing those belonging to the people whose lives she had ruined due having stolen their identities. While she was working, her receptionist suddenly came in over her phone.

“Dr. Green, a Mr. Chaud has come to see you. He says he doesn’t have an appointment.”

“Tell him to make one then,” Dr. Green replied, “I’m busy.”

“He also says he’s here on a police investigation.”

At the mention of the word “police”, Dr. Green began to panic.

“IllusionMan, what should we do?” she asked to her PET, which sat on her desk.

“First of all, calm down,” IllusionMan instructed his operator, “If he sees you panicking, he’ll know it’s you. If you stay cool, he won’t suspect you.”

“We have to get out of here!” Dr. Green said, ignoring her Navi. After grabbing her PET and putting it away, she smashed open her window with a statuette of Sigmund Freud before tying her drapes together and casting them out.

“Dr. Green, this is stupid,” IllusionMan muttered, but his operator didn’t hear him. She grabbed the drapes and took in a deep breath. A loud thumping could be heard coming from the other side of her office door, which caused her to panic even further. Taking in another deep breath, she closed her eyes, took a step forward, and jumped out her window. One second later, she hit the ground with a soft thud. Opening her eyes, she suddenly remembered her office was on the first floor. Upon this realization, she released her hold on her drapes and ran. Just as she got into her car, the office door broke down as Chaud shoulder-checked it. He looked out the window just in time to see Dr. Green pull out of her parking space and out of the lot. He immediately made a dash for his own car and began to chase her down.

“ProtoMan, do you have a lock on her PET signal?” he asked his Navi.

“Affirmative,” ProtoMan confirmed, “I also have a lock on her intended path. You can cut her off by taking this route.”

Fifteen minutes later, Dr. Green checked her rear view mirror to see if she was still being followed and saw no sign of Chaud’s bright red sports car.

“I think we lost him,” she said with a sigh of relief.

“I wouldn’t be too sure of that,” IllusionMan objected. Dr. Green turned her gaze forward and nearly slammed her brakes. A construction barricade was set up on the road, completely blocking her path. She had been so focused on trying to get away from Chaud that she completely missed the signs indicating the obstruction ahead. However, what had really startled her was the fact that Chaud was standing in front of the barrier with his Net Savior ID rotating in front of him. When she came to a complete stop, he identified himself as an Official and ordered her to step out of her vehicle. Dr. Green complied with his demands only to end up running away as quickly as she could. Chaud immediately gave chase.

“Dr. Green, this man is clearly not going to let us get away,” IllusionMan pointed out, “Perhaps we should stay and fight.”

“IllusionMan, I’m not going to let you fight while I’m left in the open.”

“Then find something with an electronic lock or something along those lines.”

Dr. Green looked around for a moment and saw a side door leading into an unknown building. She quickly jacked in IllusionMan to unlock it and then re-lock it as soon as she got inside. When Chaud arrived at the door, he took out his PET and beamed in ProtoMan. The red-armored NetNavi landed inside the door’s lock system and found himself face-to-face with IllusionMan.

“Who are you?” the caped Navi demanded.

“Official NetNavi ProtoMan. You and your operator are under arrest for identity theft.”

“And you really think we’ll come along with you peacefully?”

“No.”

“Good.” IllusionMan held out his arms and dropped his pendulums from his hands. ProtoMan clenched his right fist and his hand transformed into his Proto Sword. He waited for a moment before dashing toward his opponent.

“Illusory Shadow.” Darkness swallowed up IllusionMan as ProtoMan approached. The silver-haired Navi swung his sword and his blade passed through nothingness. Another cloud of darkness appeared elsewhere on the battlefield and IllusionMan emerged from it unharmed.

“Is that all the great ProtoMan has to offer?” he taunted, “I expected more from the legendary Scarlet Swordsman.” ProtoMan turned and faced IllusionMan.

“You want to see my skills? You’ve got it.” He performed a StepSword dash and slashed as he passed, but once again he missed as IllusionMan vanished and reappeared on another part of the field. Deciding to try something else, ProtoMan swung his sword and fired a Sonic Boom. However, his opponent was able to evade that as well.

He demands a fight and all he does is keep evading, thought Chaud as he watched the battle on his PET screen, He’s up to something. Deciding to try something else, he slotted in a Mega-Boomerang and a WhiteCapsule. A yellow boomerang replaced ProtoMan’s sword and he threw the projectile toward his opponent. As expected, IllusionMan vanished and reappeared elsewhere. However, the boomerang successfully caught him in the back upon its return and the effect of the WhiteCapsule paralyzed him.

“Well done, ProtoMan. Now hit him fast! Uninstall Battlechip in, download!” As Chaud slotted in the chip, ProtoMan switched back to his sword and the power of the Uninstall resonated from his blade.

“Delta Ray Edge!” In a blindingly quick triple dash-and-slash move, ProtoMan dashed a delta pattern around his opponent and swung his sword thrice at him. When he finished, he turned to see what damage he had caused. IllusionMan, now free from his paralysis, was flickering like a picture on a television with bad reception.

“Just as I thought!” Chaud exclaimed, “IllusionMan’s appearance is nothing more than another illusion!”

“So you figured me out,” IllusionMan scoffed.

“You might as well show us your true form,” ProtoMan demanded as he pointed his sword at his opponent.

“Sure. I was getting tired of this form anyway.” IllusionMan seemed to vanish in a flash of light and he soon emerged in his true form. He was still the same height and build as he was before, but now he wore a dark grey bodysuit was glowing blue lines running down the sides and his front from either side of his chest to his legs. Silver bracers covered his forearms and his hands were equipped with silver clawed gauntlets. His boots were also silver with the ends beyond the toes pointing upward, making them lethal weapons for kicking. Grey armor covered his torso and shoulders. His face was covered by a gas mask while white bandages completely covered the rest of his head save for his right eye, which glowed bright orange. Attached to the back of his armor was a pair of skeletal metallic wings.

“Well, this is my true form,” IllusionMan announced in a raspy, slightly mechanical voice.

“So I see,” ProtoMan replied, “So, do your powers allow you to take on the appearance of anyone?”

“Correct,” answered IllusionMan, “However, it only lets me copy their appearances. I cannot use that individual’s techniques to fight.”

“That would explain why you kept avoiding all of my attacks before.”

“Again, correct. But now that I’m in my true form, I can fight you with all my strength.”

“Bring it on.”

The two Navis squared off against each other. IllusionMan summoned into his hand a silver pistol with a long barrel that doubled as a knife blade and opened fire. ProtoMan swung his arm around and blocked the shots with his sword.

“That gun’s not part of your original program, is it?” the Scarlet Swordsman asked.

“An excellent observation,” IllusionMan responded, “Yes, this pistol is an equip program I received to give me an actual weapon with which to fight. My original code only permits me to use illusions, so I need some kind of firepower. And speaking of illusions, Illusionary Clones!” Suddenly, several copies of IllusionMan split out from his body and formed a ring around ProtoMan. The silver-haired NetNavi looked around at the constantly shifting images trying to find the real IllusionMan, but the way the illusions kept moving made it hard to tell if and when the genuine article moved.

“This doesn’t look good,” Chaud muttered, “We’ve battled against illusions before, but this one is a more complex version of all the previous clone-based images we’ve fought. ProtoMan, be careful.”

“Right!” Just as ProtoMan acknowledged his operator, one of the IllusionMen suddenly shot out from the ring of shifting images and slashed him across the back with his gun before returning to safety on the other side.

“We need to find the real one and fast!” Chaud looked through his chips to see if he hand anything that would be of any use, but so far he found nothing. Meanwhile, he could hear screams coming from his PET as ProtoMan continued to receive damage from IllusionMan.

“Hold on! These should work just fine.” Chaud grabbed two chips and put the rest away, “FlashBomb3 Battlechip in, download!” As IllusionMan finished his last pass by ProtoMan, a flashing sphere appeared in the red-armored NetNavi’s hand.

“ProtoMan, aim that at the target above you!” Chaud ordered, “Prism Battlechip in, download!” As soon as the diamond appeared overhead, ProtoMan threw the FlashBomb3 up at it. It exploded upon contact and the light it generated reflected off all the Prism’s surfaces, illuminating the entire battlefield. Just as Chaud had hoped, only one of the IllusionMen cast a shadow.

“ProtoMan, target the one with the shadow.”

“Affirmative.” ProtoMan quickly spotted the shadow and dashed forward. He appeared before the real IllusionMan and slashed, landing a direct hit and sending his opponent flying backward. The winged Navi hit the floor hard and his illusions vanished.

“Clever move,” he complimented as he got back to his feet, “I concede defeat in this battle, but we will meet again, ProtoMan.”

“You’re giving up so easily?” ProtoMan inquired. IllusionMan opened another one of his shadow portals and stood in front of it.

“As you could tell, I’m not designed for combat. My primary function is espionage and infiltration. Until I obtain the necessary upgrades, I shall avoid all confrontation. Farewell, ProtoMan.” IllusionMan stepped back into his portal and it vanished along with him. As soon as he was gone, ProtoMan immediately unlocked the door and Chaud burst into the warehouse only to find no trace of Dr. Green.

“She escaped,” he mumbled.

* * *

Dr. Green slowly entered a large dark room. The only light was that from a large computer screen mounted on the far wall. Standing along the adjacent walls were six figures dressed in black robes. Two of them were Count Avarice and Gorge, both of whom had their hoods down. The other four, however, stood with their features covered by their hoods.

“I’m disappointed with you, Envy,” a voice from the computer screen boomed.

“Forgive me, sir,” Dr. Green pleaded.

“Don’t feel bad about it, Dr. Green,” Count Avarice consoled from the side, “Somewhere along the way you’re bound to screw up even more than you did today.”

“The problem with her is that she always panics whenever police or Officials are involved,” one of the hooded figures brought up, “If she can overcome this, she’ll be practically unstoppable.”

“Maybe she can try hypnotizing them,” another hooded figure suggested.

“That’s not a bad idea,” Gorge concurred.

“Very well,” the computer screen said, “Envy, you have another chance. Don’t mess it up.”

“I understand,” complied Dr. Green.

* * *

After filing his report at the Official Center, Chaud returned to his car and started the engine.

“All the victims have been released from prison,” ProtoMan reported as soon as the information came, “Now all authorities are focusing on finding Dr. Green.”

“It won’t be enough,” Chaud replied, “It seems we’re dealing with something much greater than anything we’ve faced before.”

“I know, Chaud,” ProtoMan answered.

“We’ll talk more on this later.” Chaud ended his conversation with his Navi and pulled out of the parking lot and drove off.

-------------------------------
End of chapter 4-3.

CHAPTER PRVIEW
Lan: Things all over the city are exploding spontaneously!
MegaMan: Ah! Hot, hot, hot!
Lan: The whole city is in flames!
MegaMan: It’s hot! It’s very, very hot!
Lan & MegaMan: Next time on Rockman.EXE: The College Years, “Blaze of Fury!”
Lan: MegaMan, will you please stop screaming about the heat?
[bMegaMan:[/b] Hot! Hot! Hot!
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