Sean's Zero Transmission(Stream spoilers, complete)

[Anime Master ZERO]

I have a bad feeling about this.
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[CrossFusionStarman]

How very, very ominous. Great chapter. Just when you think everything's going to be all right for the two, something bad is going to happen. Good job.
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SERAS VICTORIA OWNS MY SOUL

[TheWebbuilder]

Whoohoo! An update before this thread hit the second page!

Begin Chapter!!

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Sean stared over the mountains of medical equipment at the only friend he had had in his old life. Missy looked so small in that huge bed, and the way all those wires and tubes ran into her was downright frightening.

The sight was enough to make Sean want to cry.

But he couldn’t cry- he’s used up all his tears earlier that evening at the Hikari’s house.

Sean still wasn’t sure what to make of this. He’d awakened last night to the almost non-existent groans of pain. After accidentally waking up Lan, the boy had rushed downstairs and opened the door- to find a badly beaten Missy lying on the steps.

His discovery had raised an alarm in the house, and Mrs. Hikari had instantly dialed 911 while Lan and Mr. Hikari had frantically tried to stabilize her.

In the back of his mind, Sean knew what this meant- but he couldn’t bring himself to fully believe it.

“You O.K.?”

Sean looked up to see Lan standing over him, and the brunette was offering the boy a paper cup filled with water.

“Yeah.” The gray-haired kid took the offered cup and downed its contents. Not bothering to explain anything else, or make any other comments, Sean crushed the cup in his hands and resumed his vigil.

Why did it have to be her? Missy was the only one to ever treat him like a human being… why did they have to pick her?

But Sean knew that that was exactly why she had been chosen- because she would get his attention.

This entire scenario meant only one thing- and Sean didn’t want to think about that meaning.

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“And nothing else was touched?” Chaud looked over the technician’s shoulder at the computer screen.

“Nothing,” The techie shrugged, “Someone hacked into the system, inserted that alarm about someone carrying out a robbery at that… nerd‘s house, and then left without touching a thing.”

“It was embarrassing.” The officer behind Chaud coughed nervously, “we arrested the guy for crimes that hadn‘t been committed.”

Chaud nodded as he digested this information. It was all becoming clear now. They had a saying in the Net Police, “Life is real- coincidences aren‘t.” As bizarre as it sounded, Higsby had an enemy, and said enemy was out to make Higsby’s life miserable. There wasn’t any other explanation for the fact that the nerd’s car hijacking and rigged arrest had occurred within hours of each other. A person would have to be blind to miss such a connection- and even then it should have smelled wrong.

“Put someone on Higsby‘s tail.” The double-haired Net Official snapped, “If Higsby really does have an enemy out to get him, then we need to be ready. I want someone shadowing him twenty-four seven.”

“Yes sir!” One of the officers saluted and scrambled away to fulfill the order.

“In the meantime, I‘m going to go over this entire system and find out just how the intruder hacked our system.” Chaud whipped out his PET, snapped on his custom grip, and pointed it at the nearby jack-in terminal. “Jack in, ProtoMan, Power up!”

A burst of red light exploded out of the PET’s side and leapt through the air into the computer’s system.

With the required burst of red light, ProtoMan dropped to his knees as he landed in the Net Saver’s Network and straightened himself to his full height.

He didn’t have to go far to find out how their rogue Navi had hacked into the system- the gaping hole of melted flooring was a dead giveaway.

Chaud and ProtoMan looked at each other and said in unison: “FlameMan.”

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“I just wish that she‘d wake up!” Sean surprised even himself by blurting out the thoughts foremost in his mind.

“Sean,” Lan got up off of his chair and walked over to the gray-haired boy standing beside the hospital bed. Upon his arrival, the brunette placed one hand on each of the boy’s shoulders and turned the kid so that Sean was looking at him. Dropping to one knee to even the playing field of their height differences, Lan continued his impromptu speech. “I know that you‘re worried- I was too when I was in your place-”

“How could you know what I‘m feeling?” The gray-haired boy snapped back, again surprising himself. It was as if all his pent-up anger and frustration had finally exploded from the dams he had constructed to contain it- and now it was attacking the first available person, Lan. “How could you? I‘ve been abused, used, neglected, tossed out on the street, and trained to be a pick-pocket! I barely remember my real parents, and the only person who ever cared a wit about me is lying here on this hospital bed where she might die. How can you possibly know what I‘m feeling?”

Sean rushed on, desperately trying to check the words pouring from his mouth, but it was no use. His long suppressed emotions had freed themselves and there was no stopping them now. “There are times when I would have been better of dead- I would be better off dead since I don‘t have a future for me. While you‘ve never had to worry about that- you‘ve had everything going for you since day one! And you say that you know how I feel.”

Even as he verbally beat Lan, the boy was amazed at Lan’s resolve. Although it was obvious that Lan was fighting with everything he had to keep from lashing back at his attacker, the brunette managed to stay silent and resolved as wave after wave of the assault continued.

Finally, Sean wore himself out- his emotions were spent, and he was too tired to say anything else. Emotionally drained, Sean dropped all of his defenses and collapsed against Lan’s shoulders.

“I just want her to be O.K.” The boy managed to whimper.

Lan stood still supporting Sean- the truth was that he was afraid to let go for fear that the boy would collapse to the floor.

In an extremely rare moment of clarity, Lan realized exactly how the boy felt. “Believe me, I know how you feel about her.”

The brunette waited for a reply, but none came.

“A couple years back, my dad was never around. He was always off in some strange country doing research. Most of the time we were fairly well informed about his movements… but once, about three years ago, the plane he was on crashed and there was the possibility that he could have been killed.”

Lan paused to catch his breath, and realized that he had Sean’s full attention.

“I worried myself sick, and refused to do anything until I knew for sure what had happened. I even set up camp next to the phone… And then, out of the blue, my dad called. Turned out he wasn‘t even aware that his flight had crashed, he‘d just gotten so involved in some last moment discovery that he missed his flight.”

Somehow Sean found the strength to look up. “You‘re making that up.”

“It‘s the truth, ask my Mom.” Lan took a breath. “All you can do is stay by her side and be there for her- just like any friend would do.”

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“All the data points to FlameMan.” ProtoMan finished his analyses of the hole in the Net Saver’s Network. “Something burned right through our firewalls and fried the warning system.”

“And somehow the direct approach was the most silent.” Chaud muttered in reply. “We‘ll have to document that for future modifications. But judging from recent events, it‘s fairly certain that FlameMan was the one behind this. Have you run the database yet?”

“Right after the first attack, we don‘t have any record of such a Navi being made or issued. Which leaves two possibilities.”

“He‘s an illegal issue Navi or he‘s Asteroid.”

“Exactly.” ProtoMan cocked his head slightly as he decoded a message that had just arrived for his Net Op. “Chaud, Lan needs you at Den Tech Memorial right away.”

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Sean sighed as he continued his vigil; he almost wished that Lan hadn’t stepped out of the room for a few moments. Stranding watch with Lan was less than half as stressful than standing watch alone.

“Come on, Missy.” Too anxious to stay still, Sean began pacing around in a wide circle. “Don‘t leave me here alone…”

“SEAN!”

The gray-haired kid’s head snapped up, as he recognized that voice. It was the voice of Red, Missy’s Net Navi. Looking around, the gray-haired kid spotted the aforementioned Net Navi sitting in a nearby hospital monitor.

“Red!” The boy rushed over to the computer screen, “where have you been?”

“Trying to get here.” Red seethed, “Gregory was under orders to keep me locked in that PET until he knew beyond a doubt that you had found… her. Once he let me go, I had to look all over the Net before I found out where Missy was, and then it was a long journey here.”

“I see…” Sean replied, “But at least you’re here now.”

“Sean…” The Navi ducked her head, indicating that she had a task that she really didn’t look forward to. “Sean, I have a message for you, from Scratch.”

The gray-haired boy‘s head snapped up. “I don‘t want anything to do with that jerk.”

“He says…” Red pushed on despite the order not to. “that Missy is only the first. He‘ll punish one kid every day, until you come back to him.”

The boy gasped- he had known that this would be coming, but he had refused to let himself believe it. Now he had a choice- a choice that he really didn’t want to make.

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“I‘m back, Sean.” Lan entered the hospital room and stopped short- the gray haired boy was nowhere to be seen.

“He‘s… gone…”

The brunette looked up to see an unfamiliar Net Navi curled up on the monitor overlooking the unconscious Missy. And it was clear that she wasn’t at all happy with something or other.

Suddenly, the Navi straightened and shot a hasty look at Lan. “Don’t just stand there! You can still catch him! Sean couldn‘t have been gone for more than five minutes, there‘s still a chance you can talk some sense into him!”

Something inside of Lan screamed at him to listen to this Net Navi. Trusting his instincts, the Net Saver ducked back into the hallway and looked around.

Then he saw Sean, the boy was stepping onto an elevator.

Lan broke into a run, determined to find out what the disk drive was going on. One minute the boy was refusing to leave that girl’s side, and now he was leaving her.

Even as he raced down the hall, dodging people left and right, Lan knew that it was no use. The doors to the elevator were already closing, and it would take another miracle for him to intercept Sean.

Sean looked out of the elevator as his brunette friend raced towards him. Lan’s fingertips were outstretched in an effort to catch the elevator door before it finished closing. But the boy knew that he’d never make it.

Just as the doors slid closed, separating them forever, Sean looked up at Lan and spoke what he fully intended to be their final words. “It was fun, Lan.”

Lan hit the door just a split second after it closed.

He slammed his fist into it in frustration.

End Chapter!
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[Anime Master ZERO]

Now the tension is building up tremendously. I predict Sean will use that Dimensional Chip within four chapters from now. Then before Zero kills Scratch, Sean will stop him and say that he'd rather have Scratch arrested.
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[TheWebbuilder]

AMZ, well...

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Somewhere in the streets of Den Tech, a silent figure strode through the evening dusk.

Her name was Yuri.

The woman stopped in front of the entrance to an alleyway. Something didn’t feel right here.

It took her a second for her conscious mind to register what her subconscious already knew. Just barely audible sounds were drifting from that alley- the sounds of a sniffling child and a demanding teen-on-the-verge-of-manhood. In short, some little kid was about to get mugged by some teen out to prove himself.

Not if she could help it.

Throwing caution to the winds, Yuri commandingly strode into the alleyway. A dozen steps into the side street, the former Nebula agent spotted the impending crime. A small gray-haired child was sobbing at the feet of a stocky, black-haired teen.

“Now you little- Hey, what?” Stocky Teen looked up to see Yuri rushing him.

Gray Hair scrambled backward, frantically trying to get away from the impending fight.

In the back of her mind, Yuri noticed the child reaching for his PET.

And then a burst of intense light exploded out of the ground a short distance before her. Stunned by the intense outburst of light, the brunette woman slid to a stop and shielded her eyes from the glare.

She already knew that she was in deep trouble- she had seen that kind of lightshow before, and it always announced the arrival of an Asteroid Navi. And without any means of calling a Dimensional Area, she couldn’t Cross Fuse to fight it off.

Just as those fleeting thoughts finished crossing her mind, something hard and flat slammed into the side of her head. The impact sent her hurling through the air and crashing into the building lining the right side of the alley. Shocked and stunned from the blow and impact, Yuri sank to the ground and lay still.

Her mind noted the stocky teen stepping over her limp body and saying something to the effect of ‘Nice work, Sean’ just before the world went black.

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“No luck, Lan.” Chaud trudged into the briefing room of the Net Saver’s HQ and slid into an empty seat next to his brunette partner. “Both of us and half the force have been out looking for him, and we haven‘t so much as seen a gray hair.”

“I don‘t get it.” Lan rubbed his temples with his thumb and index fingers. “Everything was going great, and then ‘Mystery Girl’ shows up and Sean goes running off on me.”

“I think it‘s safe to assume that Mystery Girl has some connection to Sean‘s past life.” Chaud mumbled, his mind working on a dozen different trains of thought at once. “What about Mystery Girl‘s Navi, Red? Is she willing to shed any light on the matter?”

“No good, she won‘t even so much as hint on where Sean could have gone.” The brunette shook his head. “Something‘s spooked her and spooked her good. She‘s too scared to talk.”

“Can‘t say as I blame her.” The duel-haired kid nodded. “Not with her Op lying in the hospital.”

“But there has got to be something we can do.” Lan fumed, disliking their inability to do anything. “We can‘t just sit here while Sean‘s facing who-knows-what.”

“Have faith in him, Lan.” Chaud stood and placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Something tells me that Sean‘s about to face the biggest battle of his life in the next few days…”

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“Exceptional work.”

“Thanks.” Gregory dumped his load in the empty storage locker and swung the door closed, locking the locker. “Could have done it without Sean, though.”

“But this way was the most certain to succeed.” The shadowy form of Scratch glanced over his audience of a dozen or so kids, and then swung his gaze over to rest on Sean. “And it did give Sean a chance to partially redeem himself.”

Sean didn’t reply, but folded his arms over his chest and waited for the man in the shadows to finish his monologue.

“We‘re glad to have you back, Sean.” Scratch glanced at the gray-haired boy.

Silence.

Finally, Sean decided that it was now or never.

“Good to know you think that.” Sean spat the words out at Scratch. “But I’m done playing your game. I‘m through working for you. I‘m leaving, and I don‘t care what you think about it.”

Even though it was already dim and cold in the abandoned building, Sean was certain the temperature dropped ten degrees and the shadows thickened in anger.

“You are, are you?” The shadowy form glared from his place in the shadows at Sean.

“I am.” The gray-haired boy glared back. “Don’t pretend that this is about my welfare. This is about control- your control. You know that if I desert, others will realize that they can too, and when they do, that will leave you high and dry. You have to keep everyone here under your thumb, or face the end of your easy life at our expense.”

Sean had never thought that a human could move that fast.

One second he had been mouthing off at Scratch, the next he was lying on the ground with a sharp sting radiating from his cheek.

“You little-!” The shadowy figure barked from his place over the fallen boy. “I took you in, I sheltered you, I taught you everything you know, and you threaten to leave me? You should be eternally grateful to me-!”

“You used and abused me for your own personal gain!” Sean shouted back, interrupting his tormentor. “And I‘ve had enough! You claim to extend friendship to us, but I‘ve tasted REAL friendship! I have a friend out there who‘s probably frantic by now, wondering where I am. And I know that he‘ll never stop looking for me or turn his back on me.”

“You really believe that? He‘s probably already forgotten you!” Scratch roared back. His right hand flying upwards in preparation to strike the child again.

Sean saw the intended blow coming; however, and immediately leapt into action. Gathering his small body beneath him, the gray-haired boy snapped back and rolled out of the way of the slap. As Scratch’s hand swished by his face, Sean tucked his feet beneath him and sprang upward, his fist flying into the man’s stomach.

Scratch wheezed and stumbled backward several paces.

Even through the shadows, the boy could see the murderous gleam in his tormentor’s eyes.

“You… you‘ll pay for that.”

“I don‘t think so.” It was time. The gray-haired boy pulled his PET from his pocket and pulled that forbidden chip from his folder. “I told you that I‘m through with you. I warn you, don‘t try and stop me as I leave.”

“And just how do you intend to fight me off?” Scratch took a step forward. “You have no hope of defending yourself against me. Stop now while I still feel some mercy for you.”

The boy suddenly became aware that all of the eyes in the room were on him. He could sense it, the fate of this rag-tag band of children and teens depended on him getting out of this crazy place.

“I stand by my warning.” Sean raised his PET, and then shielded his Dimensional Chip from view with his hand as he brought it around to his PET’s Slot In drive.

“Then you‘re a fool.” Scratch took another step.

“So are you.” Sean whipped the disk out into his fingers and raised it high above his head for all to see. Deftly he dropped it to chest level and fed it to his hungry Personal Terminal. “Dimensional Chip in and Download!”

Instantly a bright portal of light exploded out of the floor in front of Sean, forcing everyone to shield their eyes as a red-clad figure materialized in the human world.

Zero had arrived.

The light faded away, revealing Zero standing at the height of a normal human adult, the Dimensional Chip hadn’t messed with his height or proportions at all.

“Why, you-!” Scratch exploded out of the shadows at Sean and his protector, fueled by rage and hatred. The wiry adult never knew what hit him.

Zero’s right hand transformed into his slivery-green blade. Snapping his arm around, the swordsman backhanded Scratch with the flat of his sword, sending the adult skittering across the floor out of control.

“Get us out of here!” Sean dodged around his Navi’s legs and bounded up onto the Hunter’s chest.

The swordsman cradled his Net Op with his left arm as he dropped to a crouch. His legs pumped once, propelling them upward and sending them hurling towards the ceiling. Zero hunched his back, shielding Sean from the force of impact as they crashed straight through the roof and up into the next level of the building.

Gregory looked from the barely conscious Scratch to the retreating Sean and Zero. A burning anger exploded out of his face as he whipped his own steel gray PET out of his pocket and slammed an eerily familiar chip into the gate. “I‘ll kill him!"

There was an explosion of light as HardMan surfaced in the human world.

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“Lan, we‘ve got to go!” Chaud ducked into the conference room to collect his partner.

“What is it? Something about Sean?” The brunette flew out of his chair and raced towards the doorway.

“You might say that, we‘ve just received reports of Asteroid Navis in the real world.” The duel-haired kid turned and shot up the hallway. “Three of them, and one of them is Zero.”

Lan’s eyes exploded open in shock.

“Say what?”

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With a grunt, Zero hurtled the empty space between the buildings and crashed into the roof of the adjacent structure. Risking a glimpse over his shoulder, the swordsman grimaced as he saw that annoying HardMan easily clearing the gap with startling agility for a Navi that blocky.

The Hunter put his focus back on escaping and leapt over to the next building’s roof.

“Stay down, Sean.” Zero shifted his grip so that the gray-haired boy was shielded behind his back.

“Hard Knuckle!”

As soon as those words his Zero’s ears, the Navi reacted on instinct. Removing one hand from Sean, the swordsman summoned his default sword. Whirling around, the Hunter turned to face this new attack; instantly he spotted the metal fist flying at his chest. Snapping his blade back and then cleaving it forward, Zero timed his swipe so that it should have cleaved the offending hand in two.

It did anything but.

Zero’s blade crashed into the fist, but instead of cleaving the attack in two, the sword merely rebounded off of the fist.

Zero frantically worked to keep Sean against his chest so that he could take the worst of the blow. As long as the swordsman was between his Net Op and the fist, the boy should be safe.

As the swordsman’s arm jerked crazily from the impact, the Hard Knuckle continued on to slam into Zero’s side. The force of the blow sent Zero and Sean flying backward through the air- and out over the edge of the roof. The two plummeted through the air at an angle, and crashed into the wall of the opposite building.

Gravity took effect, pulling the two to the ground below.

The swordsman reacted on instinct, righting himself and easily hitting the ground upright.

Thankfully, Zero’s instincts had done the saving, since the Hunter was so stunned from the duel impacts that he couldn’t have consciously performed those aerobatics. Stunned senseless, the swordsman dropped to his knees, frantically trying to clear his mind.

“Pitiful.” HardMan crashed to the ground a short distance away, his impact sending shock waves through the air.

Gregory stepped out of nearby alleyway, and pointed across the street to the boy and his Navi. “Kill them, HardMan!”

“As you wish.” HardMan snapped his arms back as he prepared to unleash a pair of Hard Knuckles on his weakened opponents. The Asteroid Navi snapped his arms forward, sending his fists flying through the air. “Hard Knuckles!!”

Zero looked up at the flying fists. He willed himself to dodge and slip away, but his body felt sluggish and refused to respond with the urgency that he himself felt.

“This is it…” Sean stared at the approaching instruments of his death. “I… Zero…”

The Hunter set his mouth and glared at his opponent, it was all he could do.

“PANEL OUT, BATTLE CHIP IN!”

Zero looked down as the ground suddenly vanished out from under his feet. Again gravity seized him in it’s grip, but this time it was taking him to safety instead of death.

“WHAT?” HardMan’s stoic face broke into a mask of bewilderment as his targets dropped out of sight and his Hard Knuckles slammed into the side of the building without striking said targets.

“Sonic Boom!”

The steely Navi turned to his left, just in time to catch a golden shock wave with his chest.

A growl escaped from Gregory’s throat, as he looked back along the path that Sonic Boom had taken to find CF ProtoMan at the attack's source, he was holding a nasty-looking Variable Sword, and CF MegaMan standing a short distance up the street.

“Sorry,” CF MegaMan quipped as he glared at HardMan, “Asteroid Navis are not permitted in Den Tech without a leash!”

“Hmm…” CF ProtoMan studied his opponent as he lowered his blade.

Behind the two Cross Fusion Rangers, a square portal opened about seven feet above the pavement, allowing Sean and Zero to drop to the ground behind their saviors.

“You guys, O.K.?” The Blue Bomber glanced over his shoulder at the boy and his Navi.

“Yeah.” Sean groaned. “Thanks.”

“Don‘t mention it.” The Blue Cross Fused Navi turned back to face HardMan. “Now, let‘s take him down!”

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End Chapter!
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[Wackoguy]

Another update-! Whoohoo!! Good timing,by the way.

I was kinda caught off-guard when Gregory whipped out his own Dimensional Chip,but I guess it was expected.

But I'm wondering...is FlameMan the third Asteroid navi,or am I missing something-?

Anyway,keep it up,this chapter was real good!
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"When it rains,it pours. When it pours,get out of the rain." -quoth me!

Megaman Melee! HUTTAH and HUZZAH!


"I ate your siggy..."

[Anime Master ZERO]

Three Asteroid Navis. If Zero and HardMan are two of them, who's the third? And just as equally important, who's the third operator?
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[TheWebbuilder]

Just a little blip about this fic. I received the following review from FF and got a kick out of it.

[Abiisan]

I really liked that chapter, but I don't think it should have been hard for zero to beat down hardman.
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[Anime Master ZERO]

Well, that reader obviously didn't read your fic's summary. You clearly stated that there were Stream spoilers.
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[CrossFusionStarman]

I think the third Asteroid Navi is Breakman, the navi Zero fought earlier. That, or a new navi. Either way, great chapter. I was hoping Zero would be able to be able to destroy Hardman, but it's turning out better the way it's going right now.
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SERAS VICTORIA OWNS MY SOUL

[ComicX6]

[YurikoOtaku]

Evillll Shun.>:O


Hardman is an asteroid navi? o_O Never really saw that coming.

[TheWebbuilder]

Everyone just hold your horses about Asteroid Navi #3.

YurikoOtaku, evil Shun, er, maybe in the next fic?

Begin Chapter

“You ready, Chaud?” CF MegaMan glanced at his partner.

“I am. Let‘s do it.” The Raider nodded back.

Instantly, the two allies shot through the air towards the offending HardMan.

“Super Vulcan, Battle Chip in!” The Blue Cross Fusion Ranger clenched his fist as the orange rotary-gun weapon locked about his wrist. Bringing his weapon up and around to bear at HardMan, the Bomber locked onto his target.

He pulled the trigger.

The gun flared to life, bullet after bullet exploded out of CF MegaMan’s rotating barrel and shot through the air towards his opponent. As expected, the steel Navi crossed his arms over his face and braced himself for the coming impact.

“Hard Body!” The Asteroid Navi forced the words out of his clenched teeth. Instantly, his body turned a silvery shade of gray as a special layer of metal slid over every inch of his exposed body. The Super Vulcan bullets collided with his new armor and rebounded off harmlessly, HardMan was escaping the onslaught without a scratch.

“Do you really think that that puny weapon can harm me?” HardMan chuckled as he continued to deflect the bullets.

“No. But just keep up your confidence.” CF MegaMan’s eyes slid over to check on his partner, and then he abruptly cancelled his attack and vaulted to one side. “Now!”

Stunned by the fact that the onslaught had stopped, HardMan relaxed his posture and stood erect. Abruptly he caught a flash of movement over his shoulder, and whipped around to find CF ProtoMan racing at him.

“Electro Sword, Battle Chip in!” The Red Cross Fusion Ranger clenched his right fist and raised it over his left shoulder as he continued to rush his opponent. A split second later, a blue bar-bell shaped hilt had materialized over his forearm, and a sparking azure blade had slid out of said hilt. The next instant, CF ProtoMan’s body had taken on an inverted color scheme as he exploded across the ground and high speed. “C Step, Battle Chip in!”

“So I see.” HardMan stared at his new attacker, while bringing his right forearm up to the level of his chest. “Blue boy was a distraction, you are the real threat.”

CF ProtoMan didn’t reply, he merely slid to a stop in front of the Asteroid Navi and whipped his blade around at lightning speed for the first of his three strike combo.

The sword slammed against HardMan’s forearm- and shattered into a thousand pieces.

“What-?” The Red Raider stared at his broken sword in shock.

“Pitiful!” HardMan whipped his left arm back and prepared to send it rocketing into his stunned adversary.

“Yo-Yo! Battle Chip in!”

Before the Asteroid Navi could complete his strike, a bladed Yo-Yo came out of nowhere and circled his wrist in mid-air, effectively wrapping his forearm in its super strong string and stopping his punch. The steel Navi looked down the length of the string, to find CF MegaMan on the other end.

“Chaud! Get out of there!” CF MegaMan hauled back another foot of Yo-Yo line to keep their opponent from completing his attack.

Taking his cue, the Red Raider vaulted backward into a mid-air somersault that carried him out of harm’s way. As soon as ProtoMan hit the ground, a new voice assaulted his ears.

HardMan’s head snapped around, to find none other than Zero teleporting in to the space in front of him. The swordsman’s blade slashed back and forth in two different strikes, landing a scathing blow on the steel Navi’s chest each time.

Zero back flipped away, putting several feet between him and his opponent.

“All right!” Sean pumped a fist in the air. “Great move, Zero!”

All three allies gaped in astonishment as they realized that not one of those attacks had penetrated HardMan’s armor.

The steel Asteroid Navi lost patience with the way this battle was progressing. Snapping his left arm forward with all his strength, HardMan jerked the Yo-Yo line and CF MegaMan along with it. The Blue Cross Fusion Ranger lost his footing and flew forward, as the force of the pull traveled down the line and into his body. The Blue Bomber sailed through the air, past HardMan, and slammed into the side of a building, digging a crater in its otherwise smooth surface.

“That… hurt...” CF MegaMan panted as he dropped to the ground, stunned.

"Now there's an understatement." MegaMan groaned from his side of the fusion.

“Zero, we have to attack him together!” CF ProtoMan leapt into action, racing across the ground towards his opponent.

Zero nodded his agreement and flew over the ground to run by his red ally’s side.

“Neo Variable, Battle Chip in!” CF ProtoMan snapped his arm out to his right, allowing the purple and orange sword to lock onto his forearm.

“Z Saber.” The red Asteroid Navi summoned his green sword.

“Step Sword!” The two Net Battlers cried in unison. Zero and ProtoMan exploded forward at extremely high speed- closing in on HardMan.

With a battle cry, CF ProtoMan and Zero streaked up to their opponent and slashed with all their might…

And then everything exploded.

HardMan snapped his arms out to his sides as his two adversaries passed him by. The move caught both of his opponents squarely in the chest, the impact sent them flying away at right angles to their previous course, and into the walls of the buildings on each side of the street.

“Ugh…” CF ProtoMan peeled himself off of the wall and allowed himself to drop to the ground below.

“Chaud, that punch packed a lot more force than you realize. Our energy levels are on the verge of non-existent; a few more hits like that and we‘ll lose our Cross Fusion.”

A short distance away, Lan was facing a similar situation.

“Two or three more hits like that and we‘ll drop out of Fusion.” MegaMan was giving his Op the rundown.

“Great. Then we‘ll just have to make sure he doesn‘t get those hits.” CF MegaMan hauled himself to his feet. The Blue Bomber looked at his partners and took stock of their situation.

He received a nod of agreement.

“Then here we go!” CF MegaMan thrust his arms over his head as MegaMan activated three of their Battle Chips. “Hi Cannon, Battle Chips in, Triple Download!”

“Cyber Sword, Wide Sword, Long Sword, Battle Chips in!” CF ProtoMan mimicked the move by raising his arms skyward and summoning a Program Advance.

The Blue Bomber felt his three chips fuse into a more powerful cannon. The Blue Cross Fusion Ranger dropped his arms to chest level as the massive blue and teal cannon finished materializing. Without hesitation he lined his weapon up with HardMan and pulled the trigger, sending a blast of intense energy rocketing at his opponent.

Likewise, the Red Raider’s Program Advance had finished forming as well. With a battle cry, the Red Cross Fusion Ranger brought his arms down, unleashing a powerful wave of energy from his long, blue Life Force Sword.

HardMan glanced from one opponent to the other. The Asteroid Navi didn’t even grunt as the waves of power washed over him and detonated in an earth-shattering explosion.

CF MegaMan and CF ProtoMan cancelled their respective weapons and dropped their arms to their sides. Cautiously, they probed the billowing smoke with their eyes, looking for any trace that their opponent had survived.

Slowly the swirling dirt and ash dissipated, revealing the still standing HardMan.

“No way!” The Blue Bomber gaped at their opponent. “He‘s still standing!”

“But not without cost.” The Raider noted the massive scratches and pits in their opponent’s frame. “I doubt that he could take another hit like that, but we don‘t have the power to pull off another PA.”

“We don‘t,” The Blue Cross Fusion Ranger glanced at their Asteroid Ally. “Then we‘ll just have to give him the next best thing.”

Zero didn’t reply..

“We‘ve got to give it all we‘ve got!” CF ProtoMan shouted to his ally.

“Right.” The Blue Bomber straightened his posture and extended his right arm.

The Red Raider mimicked the motion, as they both summoned the exact same Battle Chip in unison.

“Wide Shot, Battle Chip in!”

In perfect synch the two battlers snapped their respective weapons up and around to bear at their adversary. Two twin blue blasts of power exploded out of the weapons and sped through the air at HardMan.

HardMan just anchored himself and stood still, apparently he was too accustomed to deflecting attacks to even consider dodging the Wide Shots.

Zero formed his green blade and snapped it out to his right. Holding his sword parallel to the ground, the Asteroid Navi closed his eyes and concentrated. A glow began to radiate from the weapon as energy from the surrounding area began to flow into the blade under Zero’s direction.

The two Wide Shots slammed into HardMan and detonated, sending a mushroom cloud of smoke and ash up into the air.

Zero eyes snapped open at the exact same moment that the radiance from the sword reached its maximum intensity. The next second, the swordsman became a red blur streaking across space and into the dissipating mushroom cloud.

HardMan’s facial expression never changed as a red blur shot by his left side, and three long slashes appeared on his chest and torso.

Zero exploded out the other side of the cloud and slid to a stop, his blade still extended from his attack.

“Zeta Saber.” The swordsman muttered, deadpan.

The smoke parted just enough for CF MegaMan and CF ProtoMan to see the damage dealt by their Asteroid Ally.

And then another explosion rocked the street, as HardMan met his end.

“That‘s another one down.” The Blue Bomber nodded. “Great work, Zero.”

The Red Asteroid Navi merely nodded.

“And that just leaves one loose end that‘s trying to slip away.” CF ProtoMan turned to catch the retreating Gregory with his gaze.

The stocky teen stopped in his tracks and turned to face the Cross Fusion Rangers and Zero.

“Right,” CF MegaMan stepped forward, “I‘d almost forgotten about him. At the very least, and I mean ‘very least‘, we can nail him for pick pocketing.”

“Not to mention a host of other charges.” The Raider crossed his arms over his chest.

Gregory glared at the others, CF MegaMan, CF ProtoMan, Zero and Sean. And then for no apparent reason, a grin spread across his face.

“What‘s he smiling about?” The Blue Bomber stepped forward to stand near the Raider.

Sean was the first to realize that the ground was trembling slightly, and that it was getting noticeably warmer.

“Oh no.” The gray haired boy blinked and looked up to shout a warning to his comrades. “Guys, look-”

Before he could finish his sentence, the world exploded into flames.

End Chapter.
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[ComicX6]

So now we find out what the deal is with Flameman, I can't wait!
_________________
' I don't care if the buzz isn't real- I can roleplay being drunk!'

- Balmung, .hack vol. 1

I now have a site! Web page rather: http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1048042/

[TheWebbuilder]

Begin Chapter!

“AUGH!”

CF MegaMan hit the wall with a resounding smash, the force of the explosion forcing him to dig a crater in it’s otherwise smooth surface.

Likewise, CF ProtoMan was driven into the side of a building opposite the street.

And finally, Zero completed the sequence as he too was blown off of his feet and to the unyielding ground below.

“Ugh…” Lan blinked painfully in an effort to clear his head- and then a blunt pain cascaded through his head as a blue PET Progress bounced off of his head and tumbled down into his lap. “That hurt- Uh oh.”

The brunette looked down, and then his jaw dropped in horror as he realized that he was no longer Cross Fused. “Not good!”

Glancing around, the brunette Net Op spotted Zero Logging Out of the human world- evidently he’d done all that he could.

And then something brown and ugly stepped in front of him, cutting off his view of the area. Slowly Lan looked up, to find a giant-sized FlameMan towering over him. “Really not good!”

In excruciating slowness, the oversized Asteroid Navi parted it’s huge jaws and prepared to attack.

“Lan, get out of here!”

“My plan exactly!” The brunette scooped up in PET and began a dive for safety, even though he knew that he’d never make it.

“Flame Breath!” FlameMan finished his warm-up and prepared to discharge his attack on the helpless human.

“Aqua Sword, Battle Chip in!”

The fire Navi’s attack was lost in a howl of pain, as a tidal wave of water crashed into it. The flood shot past Lan, carrying it’s flammable captive down the street.

“Excellent timing, Chaud.” Lan glanced over his shoulder to find the aforementioned Cross Fusion Ranger standing behind him. Almost immediately, he wished that he hadn’t said those words- for CF ProtoMan was breathing heavily and supporting himself with his Aqua Sword… It was obvious that the Red Raider wouldn’t last long.

At that exact moment, FlameMan ripped himself free of the tidal wave. With a resounding crash, he slammed into the ground and reared himself back to his full height in preparation to wipe his opponents off the face of the earth.

CF ProtoMan tensed himself; he would hold out as long as possible… And then he blinked in surprise as his opponent exploded into a shower of pixels and left the human world.

“Why‘d he just give up like that?”

“If I knew that, Lan, we‘d have this mess taken care of.” CF ProtoMan tensed as the Cross Fusion dropped away, separating Net Op from Net Navi. With a gasp of pain, Chaud dropped to his hands and knees ahead of his PET.

“You O.K.?” The brunette rushed over to his partner and dropped to his knees.

“I‘m fine, just exhausted.” Chaud muttered, panting heavily. “What about Sean?”

“I think he‘s O.K.,” Lan looked up to see the gray-haired kid approaching them. “Yeah, he‘s good.”

“I‘m glad one of us is.”

1010101010101010101010101010

SciLab…

“All diagnostics are green.” MegaMan called from his PET. “I didn‘t suffer from that battle at all.”

“Lucky you.” Lan rubbed his bruised back and picked up his Personal Terminal from the recharge base.

“ProtoMan checked out fine.” Chaud walked into the room with Sean on his heels. “And it looks like Aster- Zero made it as well.”

“Great, then we‘re ready for our next move.” The brunette collapsed into a nearby chair. “The question is- what is that move?”

“First, I think that it‘s time that Sean leveled with us.” Chaud also sat on a chair and turned to look at the gray-haired kid. “Who‘s this Scratch, what exactly are we fighting against, and why?”

Sean looked away, refusing to meet the gaze of his friends.

“Sean…”

The gray-haired boy looked up at Lan, and then took a deep breath. Fingering the Dream Aura chip, the one Lan had given him just days before, in his pocket; Sean nodded and began his explanation.

“It‘s pretty much what it looks like.” The gray-haired kid stared at the floor. “Scratch, we call him that because he‘s got his monster of a scar running down the side of his face, picks up homeless kids, trains them as thieves and pickpockets and then sends them out to do his dirty work in exchange for room and board- 'room and board' that's almost a joke. If you don‘t do what he says, then you‘ll end up like Missy or a lot worse. Frankly, I wouldn‘t be surprised if FlameMan showed up to buy Gregory the time he needed to escape just so that Scratch could- you don‘t want to know.”

Lan swallowed, trying to choke back the anger he felt building inside him. “Then it‘s time to shut him down. Sean, where‘s this guy‘s hideout at?”

“I‘m sorry, Lan,” The gray-haired boy shook his head. “I can‘t tell you.”

“’Can‘t’ or ‘won‘t‘?” Chaud shot a look at the boy.

“Both.” Sean fired back. “Because if I tell you, you‘ll go racing in there to arrest him. And knowing Scratch, he wouldn‘t hesitate to take the kids hostage with FlameMan- something we really don‘t want to happen. Second, knowing Scratch, he‘s already got a way to one-up us.”

“Sean, you have to trust us.” Lan said, “we‘ll get the others out of there without FlameMan hurting anyone.”

“It‘s not that I don‘t have confidence in you; I‘d just rather not take unnecessary risks- especially ones that could cost lives.”

“He does have a point,” Chaud placed his hands together in thought. “We can‘t rush in there, at least not with a pyromaniac Asteroid Navi inside… Maybe there‘s another way.”

101010101010101010101010

“Tamako?!” Lan pushed the door open and stepped inside the shop. “You here?”

Silence.

Warily, the brunette took a few footsteps forward, scanning for the slightest hint that Tamako was about to pop out of nowhere and scare him to death.

“Hey, Lan!”

“GYIA!” The brunette whirled around to find Tamako jammed between the door and the ceiling. However, having snapped about so fast, Lan lost his balance and wound up crashing to the floor on his backside.

“Hi.” The Net Saver squeaked as his mind and body came to the agreement that his rear end was going to be sore for a few days. “What are you doing up there?”

“Nothing of importance,” the raven-haired woman dropped to the floor and straightened herself to her full height. “What brings you here?”

“Net Saver business.” Lan hauled himself to his feet. “I need your help.”

“I‘m listening.”

“Have you ever want a business partner?”

1010101010101010101010101010101

“You want me to do WHAT?” Higsby stared at Chaud in complete disbelief.

“Higsby, if this works, you‘ll be free of your tormentor and there‘ll be one less Asteroid Navi in the world.” Chaud nodded his sincerity.

“But still, you‘re asking a lot of me.” The Chip Nerd was still obviously unconvinced as to this plan’s merits.

“No more than others have done,” The duel-haired Net Saver replied. “We‘re not asking you to Cross Fuse and save the world, just go along with our façade for a few days.”

“I might consider it…” Higsby shook his head warily, “But are you sure this‘ll work?”

Several days later.

“Are you sure this‘ll work?” Lan stared up at the building before him, as the construction crew fit the new sign into it’s place above the doorway.

“It will.” Chaud nodded, “FlameMan has spent considerable time making Higsby‘s life difficult. Therefore, it stands to reason that his Net Op holds a grudge against our friendly neighborhood chip nerd, and is using his Asteroid Navi to bear that grudge out. He‘s bound to show up here sooner or later and attack.”

“Still, I have a hard time seeing Higsby and Tamako as business partners.” The brunette turned back to studying the structure before him. “Why was this necessary again?”

“Remember the cover story we put out.” Chaud noted Sean stepping over to join them. “According to the press, Higsby got himself so far in the red that Tamako had to buy him out and merge their two shops- and if some other unfortunate accident should ruin this fledgling new enterprise, then Higsby would be bankrupt.”

“And you expect FlameMan to take the bait, show up here and attack.” Sean nodded his approval, “Great idea.”

“I have my moments.” Chaud replied, deadpan.

Sean shot a look at the duel-haired boy. “Do you ever loosen up?”

“I do.” Chaud nodded and walked off, leaving his two partners behind. “But not around gray-haired squirts.”

“His sarcastic remarks need help.” The gray-haired kid muttered.

“They always have.” Lan agreed.

“NOOO!!! ANYTHING BUT THAT!!”

“Uh, was that you?” The brunette turned to look at his friend.

“Nope. No earth-shattering scream from me.” Sean shook his head. “You?”

“Not me.” Lan blinked and then the answer hit him and Sean at the exact same moment.

“That was Higsby!”

1010101010101010101010101

“Hang on, Higsby!” Simultaneously, Lan and Sean rammed their shoulders into the door to the shop, causing it to explode open. Unfortunately, the door proved not to be blocked or locked. When the two boys slammed into it, they quickly lost their balance as it flew open and crashed to the floor.

After untangling their mangled limbs, the two Net Battlers leapt to their feet, ready for anything.

Anything except a kneeling, sobbing Higsby and Tamako busily engaged in a Net Battle with a customer.

“You can‘t risk that chip!” Higsby was screaming in disbelief. “Not my authenticated autographed Neo Variable 5! Any chip but that!”

“Don‘t forget.” Tamako smirked at her opponent. “You win, you get that Chip; you lose, you have to buy any antique I choose.”

“You‘re on!” The customer nodded in satisfaction. “Jack in, RifleMan, Power Up!”

“NO!!” Higsby wailed.

“Jack in, MetalMan, Power Up! Since I‘m in a good mood, I‘ll let you go first.”

As they watched the proceedings, Lan and Sean sweat dropped and glanced at each other out of the corner of their eyes.

“You think he‘ll make it?” Sean nodded his head at the distraught Higsby.

“He‘ll live.” Lan shook his head, mildly surprised that the Chip Nerd hadn‘t passed out from fright yet. “You know, maybe this wasn‘t such a good idea.”

“I‘m beginning to wonder about it myself.” The gray-haired kid muttered back.

End Chapter!

I write strange things at 3:00 A.M... -_-;
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[Anime Master ZERO]

It looks like the plan worked too well. It's apparently attracting other people, as well.

You make Tormented Child a proud C2 community.
_________________

[Elizabeth]

LOVED the ending!

Poor Higsby ... yes, there was definately a flaw in the plan.

[TheWebbuilder]

Begin Chapter!

A blast of light lit up the night.

The column of illumination died away, revealing the giant form of Asteroid FlameMan. The giant Navi turned slowly and surveyed the street before him: no one was around. Lifting his head, the fiery Navi spotted his target: Tamako and Higsby’s Gift/Chip Shop.

He would follow his master’s orders and burn the place to the ground…

And then a loud crackle sounded from above. His attention drawn by this new sound, the Asteroid Navi looked up, to see a Dimensional Area forming around him.

“CROSS FUSION!”

Two twin spheres of light exploded and vanished in seconds, revealing CF MegaMan and CF ProtoMan standing a short distance up the street. It was plain to see that they were going to stop FlameMan at all cost.

“Zero, Dimensional Chip in, Download!”

Another shaft of crimson light exploded out of the ground between the two Cross Fusion Rangers, revealing the normal-sized form of Zero. Without a word, the swordsman snapped out his right arm, summoning his blade.

Sean stepped out of the shadows to join his friends.

“It‘s over, FlameMan.” CF ProtoMan snapped his right forearm up, summoning his default sword.

“Yeah, what he said.” CF MegaMan trained his Mega Buster on his opponent.

“That has to be your worst comeback ever.” MegaMan groaned from his side of the Fusion.

“Hey, a guy can‘t be creative all the time.” CF MegaMan hissed back, slightly annoyed.

“Neither should he recycle old jokes.”

Groaning, the Cross Fused Bomber dropped the argument and turned his attention back to the major problem at hand.

“If you were half as smart as you think you are, you‘d realize that I know that this is a trap.”

As that new voice split through the air, the two Cross Fusion Rangers and their Asteroid companion stiffened. They’d never heard that voice before, but knew immediately who it belonged to.

“And I assure you that I came prepared.” A small spurt of flame appeared on the shoulder of the oversized FlameMan, and illuminated the figure of Scratch.

Scratch was a tall man, probably in his mid-thirties. Amazingly, he was impeccably dressed in a suit, tie, and neatly combed black hair. True to Sean’s words, a prominent scar ran down the length of the man’s face.

“After all we‘d been through, I expected Scratch to be a shaggy hobo, not a businessman.” CF MegaMan muttered under his breath. Aloud, he questioned, “So, just what‘s your real name?”

“My real name is long gone.” Scratch glared down at the quartet of allies. “Lost when Higsby left our computer protection company to sell chips in that rambling old structure. The guy was a nerd and clueless, but he knew his job. I could maintain the business end, but I couldn’t do Higsby’s job... And lost everything because of it.”

“Well, that explains some of this mess.” CF ProtoMan fit the pieces of the puzzle together. “Evidently Higsby used to be in a partnership with this guy; and when he left, Scratch took the fall.”

“Exactly. Now, if you don‘t mind, I‘m going to crush you three pests and finish of Higsby. Go, FlameMan!” Scratch bellowed.

“Flame Breath!” The giant Navi parted his jaws and unleashed a blast of flame from his maw.

“Scatter!” The Blue Bomber leapt to the right, throwing himself out of harm’s way.

“Wide Shot, Battle Chip in!” The Bomber clenched his fist, transforming it into a short blaster with a wide mouth. Taking aim at the Asteroid Navi, CF MegaMan fired. A burst of power exploded out of his gun barrel and shot through the air at his opponent.

“Aqua Sword, Battle Chip in!” CF ProtoMan sent himself spinning into a back-flip, putting himself just outside of the attack’s range. As soon as his blue sword-with-the-water-tank-hilt appeared, the Raider slammed the blade into the ground causing a flood of water to erupt and cascade at his opponent.

Zero vaulted to the left, escaping. With a sweep of his sword he sent a shockwave of energy flying at FlameMan. “Sonic BOOM!”

FlameMan watched as the attacks closed in on him. Abruptly he reared back and slammed his large fists into the ground. In response, three Fire Towers erupted from the fire Navi’s hands and moved off to intercept the attacks.

The Asteroid Navi escaped without a scratch.

“Flame Breath!” FlameMan parted his jaws an sent another blast of fire exploding at his opponents.

“Geyser, Battle Chip in!” CG MegaMan shouted as he whipped back his hand and slammed it into the ground. Instantly the chip data activated, sending a column of water into the air before him; directly in the path of the fire attack.

FlameMan’s eyes narrowed as his Flame Breath slammed into the tower of water and exploded, shielding his opponents behind a cloud of steam.

And then three explosions tore out of the cloud. CF MegaMan, CF ProtoMan, and Zero shot out of the fog bank and straight at their asteroid adversary.

“Variable Sword, Battle Chip in!” The Red Raider flicked his arm out, calling upon his yellow arrow-shaped blade. With a flick of his sword, the Red Cross Fusion Ranger sent a shockwave of energy tearing at FlameMan.

“Energy Bomb, Battle Chip in!” The Blue Bomber vaulted over FlameMan’s head and hit the ground behind the Asteroid Navi. Placing his explosive package on the ground, CF MegaMan leapt away to relative safety.

As he ran forward, Zero held his blade out to his right, allowing the energy from the surrounding area to flow into the sword.

“If this works,” CF ProtoMan watched his attack race towards its target. “We‘ll have this won. The shockwave will knock that oversized cigerrette lighter onto the Energy Bomb, paving the way for Zero to finish him off.”

Unfortunately, fate had other ideas.

Showing amazing agility, FlameMan shifted to his left, allowing the Sonic Boom to sweep right by him. Next the giant Navi snapped his right arm about in a backhand slap, catching the Red Raider and sending him flying backward through the air and down the street.

Zero caught his opponent’s eye, issuing an unspoken challenge as he raced closer.

FlameMan accepted the dare with a slight rumble.

“Take him out, Zero!” Sean’s voice floated through the air.

“With pleasure. Hyper Slash!” Zero’s frame exploded into a blur of red motion. He shot across the lot, gunning for his fiery adversary. Tensing his sword arm, the Navi prepared to unleash his blade’s fury on FlameMan.

The breath whooshed out of the swordsman’s lungs as a giant hand snatched him in it’s grip.

Zero’s body jarred and screamed in annoyance as his high-speed dash ended with the subtlety of hitting a brick wall.

FlameMan had plucked him out of mid-attack.

“ZERO!”

The swordsman wriggled and twisted, trying to find some slack in his opponent’s grip- But it was no use, he couldn’t break free.

10101010101010101010101

CF MegaMan blinked and groaned as he struggled to his feet. His breath froze he looked up to see Zero being held in FlameMan’s closed hand- and Scratch laughing wildly on his Asteroid Navi’s shoulder.

“Hang on, Zero!” The Bomber leapt into motion. His right hand transformed into a steel sword with a light blue glow running along the edge at the same instant that CF MegaMan’s color scheme inverted itself. “Aqua Blade, Step Sword, Battle Chips in!”

FlameMan heard the commotion going on behind him. Still clutching Zero, the Asteroid Navi turned to face this new threat.

CF MegaMan shot forward at incredible speed. His target: FlameMan.

And the next thing he knew, the Blue Bomber was swirling around in an unknown void and his back was slamming into something hard and unyielding. CF MegaMan gasped as his inverted color scheme shattered back into it’s original blue state- the Step Sword Chip had been broken.

As his wits cleared, the Blue Bomber found out what had happened. The giant FlameMan had snatched him with an open palm and driven him into the side of a nearby building, trapping him between the wall and the Asteroid Navi‘s hand.

But what really scared Lan and MegaMan was the fact that the fire Navi was beginning to apply pressure. Meaning that he was about to squish them like a bug against the building’s wall.

“I‘ve been in tight places before,” CF MegaMan panted as he pushed against the giant hand trapping him in an effort to relieve the crushing force. “But this is- Oh, forget it!

The Bomber strained every muscle in his body, but he couldn’t even begin to counter FlameMan’s strength.

“This isn‘t working, we‘re going to have to come up with something else!” CF MegaMan shouted to his Navi half.

"I'm working on it," MegaMan called back, "but it's taking all of our energy just to keep him from crushing us. Whatever we do, it's going to have to be drastic."

1010101010101010101010101

While keeping that annoying blue pest under his palm, Asteroid FlameMan turned his attention back to Zero. The red swordsman was still withering and struggling in a futile attempt to escape his prison.

If the fire Navi could have grinned he would have as he began to apply crushing pressure to the other Asteroid Navi in his fist…

And then a deafening explosion tore into his left hand, the one holding CF MegaMan. Screaming in pained fury, FlameMan dropped Zero and jerked his left hand away from the searing heat.

“And the Program Advance saves our tails again.” CF MegaMan muttered as he regained his bearings. By bracing himself and pushing against FlameMan’s giant hand with his feet, he had freed his hands. Three Hi Cannons later, and the Blue Bomber had a fully charged Giga Cannon ready to blow his tormentor away.

“Enough of this!” The Blue Cross Fusion Ranger turned to see CF ProtoMan racing up the street.

“Fire, Aqua, Electro, Bamboo Swords, Battle Chips in!” Taking advantage of FlameMan’s temporary distraction, the Red Raider closed in on his opponent. Leaping at his adversary‘s chest, the Red Cross Fusion Ranger clenched his right fist as it transformed into a familiar red blade. “Elemental Sword!”

CF ProtoMan swept by his opponent, lashing out with four different sword attacks. A split second later, the Raider hit the ground behind FlameMan.

The Asteroid Navi groaned in pain, and then collapsed to the ground in defeat. Due to the sudden motion, Scratch was sent tumbling from his Navi’s shoulder and crashing to the ground below.

“We did it!” CF MegaMan pumped his right hand as he watched FlameMan whither on the pavement. “We beat him.”

“There is never a complete victory, there is never a complete defeat.” The trio of allies glanced over to see the wiry Asteroid Navi Op getting to his feet. The Blue Bomber decided that he didn’t like the expression on that man’s face.

“You three should know that by now, after all you‘ve been through.” Scratch grinned- it wasn’t a pleasant expression. “I can‘t defeat you in battle, but that doesn‘t mean that I can‘t walk away with some small victory.”

“And what ‘victory‘ could you possibly gain at this point?” CF MegaMan demanded.

CF ProtoMan glanced at Asteroid FlameMan out of the corner of his eye. He really didn’t like the direction this conversation was going- then it hit him: Scratch was stalling for time with his victory/defeat babble.

“He‘s trying to distract us!” The Red Raider burst into motion. As he leapt through the air towards his opponent, the Red Cross Fusion Ranger summoned his default weapon and prepared to finish off FlameMan. “We‘ve got to end this now!”

“Huh?” CF MegaMan glanced over his shoulder in confusion.

“You asked what victory I could obtain at this point-” Scratch grinned wickedly. “I can destroy the cause of my problems. Not much, but a small victory nonetheless. FlameMan, attack now!”

With supreme effort, the Asteroid Navi lifted his head and parted his jaws for one final attack.

The Blue Bomber glanced down the fire Navi’s line of fire- and his heart stopped. In the battle with FlameMan, they had completely forgotten about Sean. The gray-haired boy was a sitting duck, and right smack dab in FlameMan’s sights.

“NO!” CF MegaMan and Zero leapt away from Scratch- each one desperately trying to do the impossible and reach Sean in time to save him.

“FLAME BREATH!” The fire Navi’s unleashed one final burst of fire from his maw, and then vanished in a burst of data.

A growl slipped from CF ProtoMan’s throat as his sword harmlessly slammed into the concrete.

“SEAN!” Zero poured everything he had into outrunning the fireball, but the back of his mind already knew that it was too late. His Net Op was done for.

The gray-haired child was frozen in fear, eye wide and unblinking as he watched his death approach him.

Ten feet to impact.

CF MegaMan inserted an Area Steal chip in a last-ditch effort to save the boy.

Six feet.

CF ProtoMan turned and began dashing towards Sean- even through there was no physical way he could make it in time.

Three feet.

Zero continued running- it was all he could do.

One foot.

The Blue Bomber reappeared and threw himself at Sean- he had to intercept the fireball. He had no other choice.

Impact.

Cross Fusion MegaMan was exactly one second too late.

“NO!” Zero heard the scream before he realized that it was coming from himself. A few seconds later, he had arrived at his prone, unmoving, Net Op.

The swordsman dropped to his knees by his master‘s side, his eyes taking in the damage that Sean had suffered. Surely it couldn’t he as bad as it looked, his Op was still there- just wounded… he had to be… That was wishful thinking and Zero knew it.

“Zero…”

The Asteroid Navi blinked as he heard his name. The word was barely above a whisper… Yet it had come from Sean. There was still hope.

“Zero…” Again the gray-haired boy struggled to speak and sit up. Instantly his Navi was there, helping him to a somewhat reclining position.

“Don‘t move him,” CF ProtoMan cautioned the others, “it could do more harm than good.”

“Zero… I just wanted…” The boy’s sentence was broken by a series of coughs, which he let pass before he continued. “you to know… I was proud to… have you as a Navi…”

“It was my honor, Sean.” Zero continued to hunch over his Net Op.

“This is yours now…” With trembling hands, the boy plucked a chip from his folder and struggled to lift it to his friend. "Keep it... safe for me..."

The swordsman hurriedly took the chip from Sean’s hand. He didn’t want his Net Op to strain himself needlessly.

“Bye…” Sean’s eyes rolled back as his eyelids closed. His body went limp in Zero’s arms.

“No… He can’t be…”

“Zero, I‘m sorry.” CF MegaMan placed his finger against Sean’s neck to check his pulse… and shook his head in sorrow. “He‘s gone…”

“No… NO!” The Asteroid Navi snatched his head in his hands as pain and despair flooded through his being. His beloved Net Op was gone, gone forever… he had failed to protect him, failed in his purpose, failed in his life…

“SEAN!”

The Battle Chip dropped from the red Navi’s fingers and plunked to the ground. It had been a Dream Aura, the one that expressed the bond of friendship between Lan and Sean, and now between Zero and Sean… even after Sean had left this world…

End Chapter!
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[Anime Master ZERO]

As you know, Sean is my favorite character and seeing him die just really stabs me in the heart.

I'm hoping that Zero will sacrifice himself in order to save Sean (that's the impression I get with Asteroid Navis turned good, anyway.
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