Rockman.EXE:The College Years-3-82:Great Battle of Light(sp)

[Midnight]

Sigh. These bipolar opposites--light and dark--'Hikari' and 'Yami'--is simply becoming FAR TOO overused these days. Too many rips from the other animes--and although it was intended to be a bombshell how the antagonists and protagonists were related by blood, it simply did not splash to me.

I wholeheartedly agree with Web--this COA concept is falling quite fast. I see nothing that distinguishes them from Dark Chips. Whatever energy the previous few chapters had in hopes of an upswing is almost completely dissipated now.
_________________
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

[ForteZero.EXE]

Nice chapter so far AMZ. Although the battle seemed a bit less detailed in terms of attacks and stuff, it was still a good chapter. I'm taking a very wild guess, but with Saiba being a reverse of Lan, his Navi is what, Omega X from the Zero series?
_________________
ForteZero ~ The White Shadow

[SonicNigma212]

I see that you've finally managed to put in the new chapter. I've read it and so far I've got to say that Saiba wasn't exactly what I expected him to be. I mean, the guy is actually Noah's brother? I didn't see that one coming.

Now, as for the battle that just occurred, it was good and better than the previous ones that I've read from season three. But what interested me the most is how Fefnir treated his operator as if he were nothing than a tool to him. Now that was sad and almost made me feel sorry for the guy. I also read the reaction that guy Nicol had for when he heard those words from his own Navi's mouth.

Not only that, but you've managed to mention an upcoming tournament that's going to be coming up in future chapters. I can't wait to see what's going to happen next. Keep up the good work man. Later!

Maurice A. Nigma :grr:

[Lan1220]

Well, at least you're not giving Noah god powers. XD. Saiba's Noah's brother? Didnt see that one coming.
_________________

Sig credit goes to Hikari Angel

[LgacyDX]

I really love this story so far. I should read this from the beginning in hopes to get the full meaning of the story.
_________________

Mega Man: New Generation *Updated to Chapter 1-14*
Wanna join Hi5? Click here.

[Mistress Leviathan]

These chapters are really great Anime Master ZERO. Been reading season one and two. :D^_^:]

What's the upcoming tournament gonna be like. I can imagine something similar to the N1 from the anime. And whatever happened to Fortissimo from season one, he gonna make an apperance later in S.3? I can (again) imagine his voice sounding like Yami Bakura... :puku:

[Anime Master ZERO]

Fan: Saiba is a real name. In the case of this fic, though, Saiba is a play on the word “cyber”.

-----------------------------------
CHAPTER 3-12
Battle on Campus

Lan laid on his bed boredly tossing a ball up to the ceiling and catching it as it fell. The activities from a few days ago were still deeply etched into his mind. He desperately needed something to get his mind off it.

“Lan, let’s go,” Sean called as he stuck his head into the room, “We’ll be late for pixelball practice.” Lan’s face finally lit up.

“I’ll be right there!” he answered. Pixelball was the perfect way to take his mind off everything that had happened, as with MegaMan. He grabbed his PET off its charger and followed Sean across campus.

“This’ll definitely do us some good,” MegaMan piped up from his PET as he searched through his files for his pixelball uniform.

“It sure will,” Lan agreed. MegaMan soon found his uniform and double-clicked his icon to download it on. They met up with Sean and Dex at the door and hurried over to the pixelball field.

“Sorry we’re late, coach!” Lan apologized as they arrived.

“It’s okay,” the pixelball coach replied, “You made it just in time for practice. Hurry up and get your Navis in.”

“Right away.” Lan, Dex, and Sean quickly jacked in their Navis and took their seats with the rest of the team. Inside the arena, the coach’s Navi was going over some new tactics with the team.

“Now listen up, everyone,” he said as he pointed to the graph he was using, “We are going to practice these new tactics throughout all of today’s practice session. We are going to practice until we get it perfect.”

“Yes, coach!” the entire pixelball team chorused.

“Alright, let’s get thing started. Everyone, to your starting positions!” The Navis got up and ran over to their respective places on the field. GutsMan went to the goal while MegaMan took his place at front center. Glancing to his left, he could see Axl getting into position at the front left position. Looking further back, he could see another blue Navi getting into the position of left Defender. He wore armor that gave him the resemblance of a knight. Long spikes jutted out over his shoulders and a two-pointed crest emblazoned his helmet. Two more spikes similar to those that protected his shoulders shot out his back while two smaller ones protruded downward right underneath them. His icon, located in the dead center of his back between the wing-like spikes, was an image of a sapphire against a white background.

That must be the new Defender I’ve been hearing about, MegaMan thought, I think his name was Cobalt. In the real world, Lan was taking a glance to his right at Cobalt’s supposed operator. Like his Navi, he too was wearing a lot of blue. From his analysis, Lan could tell that he possessed quite a bit of physical strength. His eyes were the same color as Cobalt’s armor, but his left was covered by his messy brown hair. He quickly turned his eyes back to the main screen at the other half of the team on the opposite side of the field. As expected, he could see DragonMan among them. However, what he saw next really surprised both him and MegaMan. In the position of center Offender on the other side of the field was none other than RapidMan.

So RapidMan’s the new second center Offender? MegaMan wondered as the pixelball appeared.

“PXELATE!”

The pixelball shot up and MegaMan leapt up to catch it. However, RapidMan got to it first and he sped towards GutsMan.

“He’s not getting through me! Cobalt Blade!” MegaMan turned his head and watched as Cobalt clenched his fist and his right arm guard stretched out into a blade.

“I’m way too fast!” RapidMan laughed.

“Don’t be so sure!” Cobalt shouted back, “Blue Thunder!” A bolt of blue lightning suddenly shot out from his sword and struck the pixelball, knocking it clear out of RapidMan’s hands. MegaMan quickly leapt up and grabbed it before passing it to Axl, who dashed towards the other goal.

Lan took a quick glance up at the stands where a few students were either working or watching the practice. To his annoyance, Greg was up there among them. The black-clad NetBattler locked eyes with him for a moment before he turned away and left. Lan quickly shook it off and returned his attention to the task at hand. After practice had ended, the whole team decided to head out for pizza.

“Hey, Lan!” Zack called as he ran up to the headbanded NetBattler, “Great practice today, huh?”

“Yeah, it was,” Lan agreed, “You and RapidMan were really good out there.”

“Thanks. Last year I was captain of my high school’s pixelball team,” Zack answered as he scratched the back of his head.

“By the way, do you know who the new Defender is?” asked Lan. Zack looked over at Cobalt’s operator for a moment.

“I think I overheard coach call him Nick. He may seem stupid, but he’s brilliant when it comes to academics.”

When they reached the campus Pizza Shack, the twelve pixelball players sat down around a large table and engaged in lively conversation amongst each other as they waited for their food.

“So what did you think of coach’s new strategies?” asked Dex.

“I think they actually work,” Sean replied, “The guy knows his pixelball and the sport’s only been out for a little over two years.”

“Actually, it’s really not that hard to learn,” Zack interjected as he took a sip of his iced tea, “RapidMan and I picked it up almost instantaneously.”

“True that,” Lan agreed.

“I like pizza,” Nick blurted out. Everyone stopped and just stared at him.

“Nick, maybe it’s best if you don’t say anything,” Cobalt sighed.

“So, you’re the new Defender,” MegaMan said as he walked up to the armored Navi via the PET wireless connection, “Cobalt, right?”

“That’s right. And you’re MegaMan, the star player of the Den University Dragons.” The two blue Navis shook hands as Axl and GutsMan walked up to them.

“These are my friends,” MegaMan introduced, “Axl and GutsMan.”

“Hey,” Axl greeted, raising his hand.

“Hi there,” GutsMan also greeted.

“Hey MegaMan! Great practice today!” There was a blur of red and RapidMan suddenly stopped next to Cobalt.

“Hey RapidMan!” MegaMan said cheerfully, “You know Cobalt here, right?”

“Yeah, you’re the guy who knocked the pixelball right out of my hands in the first few minutes of practice.” RapidMan smiled beneath his mask.

“Hey, pizza’s here!” In the real world, the servers were bringing in large pans of pizza and setting them down on the table.

“Let’s dig in!” Lan yelled excitedly as he dove for the pizza in front of him.

* * *

“You’re home late,” Saiba noted as the Gospel fanatic walked it without looking up from the chess board he was hunched over. He picked up one of his knights and moved it ahead. “Check.” Nicol, with whom he had been playing with, looked at the board for a moment before moving his bishop in to protect his king.

“What took you?” asked Diana as she sat on one end of the couch reading a magazine while Waya watched TV on the other.

“I stayed after class to watched pixelball practice for a bit,” Greg replied as he hung his cap up on his hook and dropped his back off in his room.

“That’s not something you usually do,” said Nicol.

“Checkmate,” Saiba declared. Nicol turned his head back to the board and saw that Saiba had indeed checkmated him. He looked back at his leader and smiled. After packing away the chessboard, Saiba turned to his four subordinates.

“Everyone, listen up,” he said to all of them as they sat on the sofa while he paced back and forth in front of them, “You’ve all fought well using the Crest of Arcadia. However, it’s time we took our fights to a whole new battlefield.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small case. When he opened it and showed its contents to the four fanatics, they gasped.

“Saiba, where did you get these?” asked Diana.

“Black market. I just tampered with them a bit to change their appearances.” Inside the case were four shining Synchro Chips. Unlike the regular chips, these ones were white instead of grey. Instead of a Navi icon, they had the Crest of Arcadia emblazoned onto them.

“Despite their appearance, these Synchro Chips are no different from others,” Saiba continued as he handed each of his comrades a chip, “As you know, you’ll be able to perform Cross Fusion with these. However, I must warn you of something very important, first.” All eyes turned to Saiba.

“Whatever you do, you must NOT use the Crest of Arcadia while in Cross Fusion,” Saiba warned them. He took out one of the godly white chips and held it up.

“As you know, the Crest of Arcadia enhances a Navi’s attributes,” he explained, “When a Navi’s attributes are all in perfect harmony with one another, the Crest will increase their power and abilities dramatically, making that Navi the ultimate fighting machine. However, only some Navis are like that. Those would be your Navis. However, if a Navi’s attributes aren’t balanced, the Crest will only enhance the most dominant attribute in that Navi. Even the slightest imbalance can cause a massive problem for any NetNavi.”

“So what does this have to do with us not using the Crest while in Cross Fusion?” asked Waya.

“Your Navis may be immune to the Crest’s corruptive powers, but you aren’t.” Saiba’s words seemed to echo through everyone’s minds, “The Crest of Arcadia can corrupt humans just as easily as Navis. So I strongly advise against using it when you’re in Cross Fusion. Understood?”

“Understood,” the fanatics chorused.

“Good.” With business taken care of, Saiba turned and disappeared into his room. As everybody else dispersed, Greg looked at the shining white Synchro Chip in his hand.

I can’t wait to test this thing, he thought, And I know just how.

* * *

The next day was a Saturday, but Sean had some business to take care of so he left the house early that morning. He left without a noise and ran walked towards the SUB. Upon his arrival, he went straight into the computer lab in the basement and sat down in front of a terminal. Unbeknownst to him, Greg had followed unnoticed. He slowly took his PET out from its case and attached it to his wristband.

“Jack in. Phantom, power up,” he whispered.

“Tell me again, Sean. Why are we doing this here instead of at home?” asked Axl.

“Sorry Axl, but I had to log in from one of the school’s computers,” Sean answered. As he continued typing, a shuriken suddenly flew across the screen and struck the Explorer icon.

“I know that shuriken anywhere,” the grey-haired teen muttered, “Axl, prepare for battle.” Taking out his PET from its case, he attached on the solar sensor before pulling back his sleeve and clicking it onto his wristband.

“Jack in!! Axl, power up!”

As soon as Axl arrived inside the system, he was immediately attacked by Phantom.

“Axl Gun!” The redheaded Navi turned and fired on his opponent as he dashed backwards in an attempt to put some distance between them. Meanwhile in the real world, Sean looked up as Greg walked into the computer lab.

“Greg. What are you up to this time?” he demanded.

“I just felt like picking a fight,” Greg replied.

“People who pick fights are usually the ones who lose,” Sean shot back as he slipped a Battlechip into his PET, “CircleGun Battlechip in, download!” Axl’s Axl Gun quickly changed into the CircleGun and he took aim at Phantom. He waited until all three crosshairs lined up with his target and opened fire with a short volley of bullets. Phantom deflected the shots with his shuriken and flew in using his weapon as a flying machine. He slid his katana out from its sheath and closed in on his prey.

“I don’t think so. StepCross Battlechip in, download!” Sean dragged and dropped the chip and Axl’s hands both transformed into swords. Crossing his arms blades in front of his chest, he and Phantom faced each other for a brief moment. The silent Navi suddenly picked up speed and Axl morphed into a negative image of himself and teleported forward. The two of them met halfway and swung. Both Navis landed behind each other and they collapsed onto one knee at the same time.

“Not bad,” Greg commented.

“We’ve done better,” Sean answered as he slipped in a Lance chip and several bamboo spears shot out of the floor at Phantom.

“Invisible Battlechip in, download!” Greg quickly countered with his own chip and Phantom disappeared clear of the spears. When he reappeared high overhead, he re-sheathed his sword and threw down his shuriken. Axl looked up just in time to see it coming and backflipped away from the deadly projectile as it spun closer toward him like a sawblade.

“Axl can’t last forever,” Greg sneered, “You know Sean, when I found out that you had disbanded Gospel and abandoned all your beliefs, you really disappointed me. Tell me, why did you do it?” Sean was silent for a moment, but then he spoke.

“It’s because someone once told me that if you have something against society, revenge is not the way to go. That someone also taught me to trust others. That’s why I abandoned my ideals and disbanded Gospel.”

“You’re an idiot, Obihiro,” Greg scoffed, “Phantom, destroy him!” Phantom nodded in silence as his shuriken flew back into his hand and he leapt at Axl. The scarred Navi brought his weapon up to fire, but as purple plasma blast shot out from nowhere and struck Phantom in the chest, knocking him back.

“I’m glad you still remember our first meeting, Sean.” The crimson-eyed teen whipped around and saw Lan standing at the door to the computer lab with his PET attached to his wristband.

“Lan!”

“I was just barely awake when I heard you go downstairs,” Lan explained, “So I decided to follow you to see what you were up to.”

“Don’t forget us!” The brunette Net Savior was quickly pushed aside as Zack tried to squeeze in through the door with Nick right beside him.

“Nick, I told you this doorway was too small for both of us to fit through!” Zack gasped.

“No you didn’t,” Nick argued.

“Yes, I did.”

“When?”

“Seven seconds ago.”

“Are you guys going to waste time arguing or are you going to help?” Cobalt called from his PET.

“Oh, right!” Zack whipped out his PET and tossed it into the air. He stuck his right hand out behind his back and caught it before bringing it forward and aiming at the terminal, “Jack in!! RapidMan, power up!” Nick took his PET out and pointed the laser at the jack-in sensor.

“Jack in!! Cobalt, power up!”

MegaMan joined Axl’s side as he continued to fire on Phantom and RapidMan and Cobalt dropped in and joined them.

“Tell me Lan, why did you bring them?” asked Sean.

“I didn’t,” Lan replied, “They followed me.”

“Damn it!” Greg hissed under his breath while Phantom took a step back and brought up his shuriken into a defensive position.

“Let’s get him!” MegaMan cried, “Mega Buster!”

“Axl Gun!”

“Rapid Fire!”

A burst of plasma, a series of energy bullets, and two missiles flew towards Phantom and collided with him.

“Cobalt Blade!” Cobalt formed his sword and charged. He dashed over towards Phantom and slashed him as soon as he was within range. The ninja recovered quickly and swung his weapon at the blue knight only to have it blocked.

“You’ll have to try better than that!” Cobalt smirked as he pushed him back, “Blue Thunder!”

“Everyone, get back!” Axl warned. Immediately, MegaMan, RapidMan, and Cobalt moved behind the young Navi as he took a step towards Phantom.

“Gospel may have been disbanded, but I still carry a few remnants of it.” Sean reached into his pocket and took out the Gospel chips. Greg gasped upon laying his eyes upon them for the first time.

“I must have those chips,” he said almost hypnotically.

“Then try to take them from me!” Sean challenged.

“Don’t worry. I intend to.” Greg shut off his PET display and pressed his icon button to log out Phantom.

PHANTOM LOGGING OUT

He quickly turned around and bolted out the exit.

“After him!” Lan yelled. The four of them gave chase and they soon tracked Greg down all the way to the QUAD. The Netmafia fanatic stood waiting for them and only grinned as they approached. Reaching into one of the pockets inside his vest, he pulled out the Synchro Chip Saiba had given him.

“Is that what I think it is?!” Lan exclaimed.

“Yes, it is!” Greg laughed, “Synchro Chip, in!” He slid the chip into his PET and the Cross Fusion symbol formed on his screen. A white light shone out that engulfed the entire device and he raised it over his head.

“CROSS FUSION!”

Greg stood with his arms spread out to his sides and his feet shoulder-width apart from one another as his cap disappeared in a shower of pixels, causing his dark unkempt hair to fall back into place. His jeans wrapped themselves around his legs as sleek dark blue boots formed over them. Matching arm bracers appeared over his forearms and merged with his gloves, covering up his fingers in the process to make complete gauntlets. Phantom’s icon soon formed on his chest and transformed the rest of his clothes into a white bodysuit while changing his now zipped-up vest into navy-blue torso armor. Phantom’s helmet appeared over his head and the two crests shot up the sides and curved back a few inches while a red triangular gem appeared in the center of his forehead. A red scarf reaching down to his hip formed around his neck and a white sheathed sword appeared behind his waist. Phantom’s shuriken appeared in midair in front of him and he grabbed it, activating its blades and spinning it in his hand before taking up his finishing pose.

“So this is what Cross Fusion looks like,” Zack mused, “I’ve heard about it, but I never thought I’d actually see it happen.”

“Cross…Fusion?” Nick asked, confused.

“Well Zack, you’re about to see it happen again.” Lan looked at Sean and the two friends nodded.

“With new PETs come new Cross Fusion results,” Sean said as he and Lan took out their Synchro Chips. Bringing their PET arms up to chest level, they slotted in their chips at the same time.

“Synchro Chip, in!” The Cross Fusion symbols appeared and boys shifted their arm positions. Lan positioned his PET right next to his face while Sean held his arm across his chest and positioned his PET on the opposite side of his face.

“CROSS FUSION!”

Lan relaxed his body as the Cross Fusion process took its effect. First, his jeans wrapped themselves around his legs as a pair of cobalt-blue boots formed over his feet. The tops extended outward slightly and clamped around his legs as white stripes formed under them. Small triangular extensions shot up his shins until they almost reached the bottom of his knees. The centers then became indented as diamond-shaped emeralds became embedded in his boots. Next, the sleeves of his shirt wrapped themselves around his arms as a pair of blue gloves appeared, covering two-thirds of his forearms. Slightly thicker cuffs formed and covered the rest of his forearms while a pair of extensions similar to the ones on his boots materialized and two more emeralds became embedded in them. Lan’s eyes snapped open as MegaMan’s icon came together and formed on his chest. The moment it touched his body, the rest of his clothes were instantly transformed into a navy-blue bodysuit. A cyan circle formed around the icon and four lines shot out in different directions. Two of them moved downward in a diagonal direction and formed stripes down the sides of his bodysuit. The other two moved up to his shoulders, where a pair of protective yellow shoulder guards appeared, reaching from the base of his neck to halfway down his upper arms. The stripes then moved beyond his shoulders and met up with the other two, which had split apart from the main stream at the waist and went upward, in the center of Lan’s back, where a modified version of MegaMan’s power pack appeared. Finally, his hair was pressed flat against his head as his helmet formed over his head. The crests spread out to the sides and curved back slightly while a green chevron with a yellow border appeared in the center and moved towards the top of his helmet and the mouthguard covered the lower half of Lan’s face. He clenched his fist tightly as he raised his arm over his head and took up a fighting stance.

Sean’s hands were covered in white gloves as his forearms were encased in navy-blue gauntlets as red formed around the tops and his wrists, connecting the two by a single stripe. Extensions shot out from the back and provided extra protection to his elbows. The centers of the extensions became indented as a single rectangular topaz appeared embedded in each one His cargo pants wrapped themselves around his legs as navy-blue boots appeared around them. Red stripes appeared around the tops and the ankles and a single red line ran down each shin that connected them. Extensions shot up to his knees and like his gloves, topazes embedded themselves in them. His T-hoodie zipped itself up as Axl’s icon formed on his chest and instantly transformed his clothes into a grey bodysuit. The T-hoodie itself transformed into Axl’s armor with red stripes around the collar and waist and running down the sides, front, and back while the sleeves transformed into his shoulder guards. Axl’s power pack formed on his back and a pair of skinny white wings shot out from the bottom and reached down to his knees. Finally, Axl’s icon appeared over both of Sean’s ears and the rest of the helmet formed in between them while allowing his hair to stick out the back like Axl’s. The white crests extended upward, angled to the sides, and curved slightly backward. A navy-blue mouthguard with red running across the top slid into place over his face and a pistol appeared in front of him. He grabbed it in his right hand and a second gun appeared to his side. He grabbed that one in his left hand and spun both weapons in his hands before finishing up with his guns aimed forward.

Zack let out a low whistle when he saw what had become of his two pixelball teammates.

“I wonder if it’s possible to play pixelball in Cross Fusion,” he thought aloud.

“Mega Buster!” R MegaMan’s right hand transformed into his newly modified buster and a thin red beam of light shot out from just above the barrel and hit R Phantom’s chest.

“Cool! Laser targeting!” With his new targeting system, R MegaMan immediately opened fire. R Phantom raised his shuriken and blocked the shots before somersaulting into the air and landing a good distance away.

“This is awesome!” R MegaMan exclaimed, “With my new laser targeting system, I actually spend less time trying to aim!”

“Let’s see what my new abilities can do!” R Axl said eagerly. He stepped forward and held out his pistols. A yellow visor slid down over his eyes and several dots appeared on it. Two pairs of crosshairs zeroed in on one particular dot.

“Axl Bullets!” R Axl pulled the triggers and two plasma bullets shot out from his guns and flew straight at R Phantom, who once again blocked with his shuriken.

“Auto-lock! Cool!”

“It’s incredible!” Axl exclaimed, “With our new auto-locking system and Lan and MegaMan’s laser targeting, less time is spent on aiming and more time on actually shooting!”

“Hey Sean!” R MegaMan called out, “What do you say we give Battlechips a try?”

“I was just thinking the same thing, Lan,” R Axl replied.

“Hi-Cannon Battlechip!” R MegaMan’s buster changed back into his hand before morphing into the Hi-Cannon. Once again, his laser targeting system kicked in and he fired at R Phantom without having to spend much time aiming.

“Triple Kunai3 Battlechips!” The Cross Fused ninja Navi put his shuriken away as six kunais appeared in his hands. He leapt up and threw three at each of his opponents.

“Spreader Battlechip!” R Axl’s pistol quickly changed into a handheld spread gun and six crosshairs locked onto the approaching kunais. He pulled the trigger and a blast of energy shot out, which spread out into nine shots, six of which intercepted the kunais.

“Looks like all my weapons are handheld now,” R Axl observed, “Sweetness! Sword Battlechip!” His spread gun changed back into his pistol, which in turn transformed into a handheld sword.

“Take this!” R Phantom threw his shuriken forward and R Axl dashed ahead and blocked it.

“Lan, attack him now!” He called to his partner.

“Right! Program Advance! Triple Vulcan2!” R MegaMan’s hands both turned into Vulcan2s and he brought them over his head, fusing them together with the third and creating a four-barrel Vulcan. He brought it forward and centered the laser on R Phantom’s chest.

“InfinityVulcan2!” A massive rain of bullets shot across the QUAD towards the Cross Fused Gospel fanatic. He brought his arms in front of him to protect himself, but it didn’t do much and he was soon forced out of Cross Fusion. His armor came off his body in a shower of pixels and reformed into his PET. Greg snatched it in midair and squeezed his cap back onto his head before taking off. R MegaMan and R Axl knocked their fists together before crossing out and their PETs reappeared on their arms.

“Chaud sure knows how to design a good Cross Fusion compatible PET,” Sean complimented.

“I concur,” Lan replied.

“You guys were awesome!” Zack exclaimed, “Do you guys think I can get a Synchro Chip, too?” Lan and Sean sweatdropped.

“We’ll…have to get back to you on that,” they said simultaneously. And with that, Lan took off on his rollerblades with Sean right behind him on his skateboard.

“That was close,” Lan sighed.

“I’ll say,” Sean agreed as they headed back home, “I prefer to keep our ring small.”

“Come on, let’s hurry home,” Lan urged, “If we get back there fast enough, we should be in time for breakfast.”

“Come to think of it, I haven’t eaten yet. Race ya!” Sean pushed himself ahead and passed Lan.

“Hey!” The headbanded NetBattler quickly accelerated and the boys raced back to the house.

-------------------------------
End of chapter 3-12.

CHAPTER PREVIEW
Lan: Maylu’s a strong person. She can deal with things no problem.
MegaMan: But with our enemies now able to perform Cross Fusion, aren’t you worried that she might not be able to handle it?
Lan: We’ve known each other since we were in diapers. She can handle it.
MegaMan: I hope you’re right.
Lan & MegaMan: Next time on Rockman.EXE: The College Years, “Maylu’s Challenge”.
Lan: She’s plenty capable of taking care of herself.
MegaMan: You said it twice already, except using different words.
_________________

[Fan]

“PXELATE!”

It's Pixelate.

[kram_elbog]

Interesting Chapter. I've read alot of the chapters so far, well mainly skimmed the second season chapters. But these are getting even better. I like the fact that Saiba gave his group synchro chips. Though having them be normal synchro chips yet, are were modified to make them white is slightly odd. But I guess it even's them out with Lan and them, what I mean is the Crest was making them seem to powerful, but since they aren't supposed to use it while Cross fused it levels the playing field good Job.
_________________
I didn't lose my mind, I sold it on eBay!

Kamen Rider Rockman(AU, Ryuusei Spoilers)
My art

[TheWebbuilder]

My position hasn't changed, the CoA chips are still way too close to the Dark Chips.

I found this chapter was severely lacking in plot, I think you could have done a better job at introducing the CoA Synchro Chips (which I don't think help the storyline any). The Cross Fusion battle was kind of pointless since it lacked action and balance. Given the number of times that Lan and co. have had their PETs handed to them on a plate by this group, Greg went down way too easily.

[Midnight]

Again--I concur with Web. Nothing distinguishes the COA from Dark Chips now, besides poetic license and a simple change of name.

Oh god, not Cross Fusion again...it's not that I do not enjoy seeing it--I am rather neutral on that stance--but the way it was introduced in this chapter was VERY shoddy. The battle was a far too simple--one-sided hammering. Greg got a foot up his ass FAR TOO easily. You think that the new abilities could have been added in a more fervent combat situation--where it wouldn't be necessary to beat the snot out of your opponent.

The story is plateauing now. Just beware of letting it fall any lower.
_________________
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

[SPDBlue]

[gameman]

I am surpised you don't ussally use cross fusion till later in your fic you also have not mead up cross fusion armor since season 1 but I like cross fusion so I don't care
_________________
i am the game master

[SonicNigma212]

This new chapter that you've put up man is really good. I like for when you've mentioned the full details of the consequences of using the chip The Crest of Arcadia while during Cross-Fusion. I like with how you've also managed to describe the new Cross-Fusion suits and abilities that they're in. I hope that there are going to be other surprises on the way. By the way, where did you get the name of the Navi named Cobalt? It sounds so familiar to me somehow. How was it that you were able to create the Navi? In any case, keep up the good work man and I hope that the next chapter would be as good as this one. Just give me an e-mail if you ever need help with one of your chapters, man. From one story writer to another. Well, later!

Maurice A. Nigma :grr:

[SPDBlue]

[NotJim]

STOP THE CROSS FUSION!!! I mean, I know it's good, but you've used it far too many times...
_________________

Avatar and banner by Spork-Queen.EXE.

[Abiisan]

I thought the chapter was ok, but i agree that Greg went down too easily. In addition, it would be wise to satisfy your readers soon and make the differences in the CoA and dark chips known. I for one see almost no difference.

Also, since i was gone for your last chapter i couldn't review, but just so you know; I really hope Lan's relationship with that lady doesn't escalate. I mean, Maylu and Lan are seperate technically, but they are still just as close.

Lastly, even if Noah is a favorite character of yours, I think that his role is getting to be too big. Plus, I was really scared when some person whose name I don't have the time to check on, suggested that Noah was getting closer to Maylu. If you don't do anything else, at least don't put those two together.
***
Anyway, sorry for commenting on old stuff, just wanted to make my oppinion known.
***
_________________
Formerly known as LunarSun

Banner and icon by Xhunter17

[Flame Buster]

Blargh. One, your making the arcadia people look like a mix of the WWW and Nebula. Two, The CoA's are just white dark chips and I see you conveniently made CoA synchro chips to boot. Three, Greg was just a setup to show off the new Cross-Fusions, so he went down too easy. Frankly the only good thing about this chapter was the pixelball.

Have a nice day!
_________________

[Fan]

Another thing I would like to point out. If The PETSP can give Auto-Lock to Axl, and LP-System to Megaman, What does Chaud, Greg, Saiba, And the crossfusers with the PETSP get?
_________________
If you're reading this, it's obvious you have nothing much to do.

[Anime Master ZERO]

SPDBlue: How the hell is Cobalt a B-Daman Navi? He doesn’t shoot marbles at his opponents.

The difference between the Crest of Arcadia and Dark Chips was explained in the last chapter. Dark Chips give power at the cost of corrupting a Navi’s data. The Crest of Arcadia enhances a Navi’s attributes, but true power can only be obtained of all of the Navi’s attributes are in balance.

-------------------------------
CHAPTER 3-13
Maylu’s Challenge

“Make sure you practice those arpeggios,” Maylu called to her piano student as he left, “And don’t forget to work on those pieces.” She closed the door and walked into the living room.

“Is it safe now?” Sean asked as he sat on couch watching TV with the headphones.

“Yes, he’s gone.” The grey-haired teen pulled the phones off his head and unmuted the TV.

“Thanks for not turning on the volume while I was teaching, “Maylu thanked.

“No problem. We know how much your piano lessons mean to you,” Sean answered.

“What are you watching, anyway?” asked Maylu as she sat down on the couch.

“Nothing, really. I’m just channel surfing.”

“Did your student leave already, Maylu?” asked Yai as she came down from upstairs.

“Just a few minutes ago,” answered Maylu.

“By the way, Yai,” Sean interjected, “how’s that paper for your business course coming along?”

“I’m still working on it but I should have it finished by the end of next week,” Yai answered as she sat down between Maylu and Sean. She leaned against her boyfriend as he placed his free arm around her.

“Give me the remote, Sean.”

“Sure. There’s not much on anyway, so I’m willing to watch anything.” Sean passed the remote control to Yai and she immediately flipped to one of the shopping channels.

“Except that.”

Maylu decided to leave the two alone and headed upstairs. With no more piano students coming in that day, she decided to finish up the paper she had been working on for the past three weeks. She went upstairs and walked into the room she shared with Yai. She sat down at her desk and opened her Word file before resuming her work. Meanwhile, Lan and Tory were in the basement going through a tight crawlspace they had just found behind the furnace.

“I can’t believe this place is even here,” Lan muttered as he pulled his headband down over his face to cover his mouth and nose from the immense layers of dust. Tory, who was crawling in front of him, brushed aside several cobwebs with his hand as he cast a thin beam of light into the darkness with the headlight he had borrowed from Sean.

“I swear it’s like ‘Raiders of the Lost Junk’ down here,” the chestnut-haired teen muttered, “Hey, I found a pizza.” Reaching ahead, he pulled out a Pizza Shack box and opened it. Lan peered over his shoulder for a better look.

“I don’t think they make that topping anymore.”

“IceMan, see if you can get one of the others to bring down a few garbage bags,” Tory ordered his Navi, “It looks like this place is going to need a HUGE clean-up.” The midget Navi nodded in acknowledgement and disappeared in a shower of pixels.

This is going to be a long day, the boys thought as they scavenged around trying to clear everything out.

“I still don’t see why our landlord had us clear this out instead of him doing it,” Lan said to no one in particular, “It’s his house, after all. We just live here.”

“Isn’t there a law or something about this?” Tory asked.

“Don’t look at me. I study science, not law.”

“Here are the garbage bags,” Noah’s voice called from outside the crawlspace.

“Thanks. Just set them down outside,” Lan called back.

“Hey Noah,” Tory said, “You’re the smallest. Want to…”

“Heck no!” The boys could hear a box drop followed by the sound of footsteps running out of the room and up the stairs. Lan looked at Tory, who just shrugged.

“It was worth a shot.” He shook his head vigorously as some low hanging cobwebs got tangled in his face and he spat them out of his mouth, “Bleh! We better get the vacuum cleaner down here, too.”

“I concur.”

Back upstairs, Chaud walked into the kitchen to fix himself a cup of coffee. However, when he opened the can, he found that it was completely empty.

“Who put the empty coffee can back in the pantry?” he shouted. As he turned around, he saw Rush sitting at the table sipping a cup of coffee. The dog virus looked up at the skunk-haired NetBattler’s outburst and quickly dove into his hole before he could get caught.

Maybe I just have a glass of juice, he thought as he turned around. Chaud opened the fridge and looked inside.

“What the hell?! We went shopping just three days ago!” The refrigerator was completely devoid of all contents.

“It looks like Rush had more than just the last of the coffee,” ProtoMan pointed out.

“This definitely explains a lot,” Chaud muttered as he closed the fridge.

“Shall we call another meeting?” asked ProtoMan.

“Yes.”

About an hour later, everyone was gathered in the living room. Chaud stood in front of the TV while everyone else sat either on the couch or the floor.

“You guys noticed the food shortages we’ve been having for the past month, right?” he asked them. Everybody acknowledged either with a nod or a “yes”.

“Well, it appears that Rush is the one who’s been eating all the food.” Everyone turned their eyes onto Rush, who slowly backed away.

“Rush, that food costs us a lot of money each week and you’re the one who’s been eating it all?” Dex demanded.

“Take it easy, Dex,” Tory said as he placed his arm in front of Dex to keep him from throttling Rush, “We can talk this out somehow.”

“No we can’t,” Chaud quickly replied, “Rush, you’re not permitted to help yourself to any more food. On top of that, you’re sleeping outside for a week.”

“Aup?” Tears began to well up in Rush’s eyes. He quickly opened up a hole and dove through it, closing it behind him as he left.

“Chaud, I think you may have been a bit too harsh on him,” Sean said thoughtfully.

“It may seem that way, but we had to draw the line somewhere,” Chaud responded, “He’ll get over it.”

“You obviously don’t know Rush as well as we do,” Lan mumbled.

* * *

A hole appeared in ACDC Park and Rush popped out. He walked over to the bench and sat down on it, sighing heavily as he propped his elbows on his knees and rested his head on his paws. He whined sadly.

* * *

“I’m back!” Greg announced as he entered the apartment, “And I got us some lunch.”

“What did you get us?” asked Nicol as he walked over from the kitchen table.

“Take a look.” Greg dumped the bags he was carrying onto the counter and everyone gathered around. Inside them were several deli sandwiches and a few cans of iced tea.

“So what’s everyone up to for the next week?” Saiba asked as he took out his share of the food.

“I’ve got school, as usual,” Nicol answered.

“And I’ve got classes,” Greg added.

“Work-related stuff,” was Waya’s reply.

“You boys have such boring lives,” Diana said nonchalantly, “I’m planning to go out on a jewelry shopping spree.”

“In other words, you’re planning to steal,” Saiba replied flatly.

“Exactly!”

“What are you planning on this time?”

“The one thing that every woman desires.”

“Clothes?” guessed Waya.

“Commitment?” Nicol piped up.

“Scantily-clad man servants who follow your every command like dogs?” Greg thought aloud, which earned him a whack upside the head.

“Diamonds,” Diana declared.

“You’re so materialistic, Diana,” Saiba sighed, “But if that’s what you want, go ahead. I’ve got other things to deal with.”

“Alright then. I’m off!” Grabbing her PET and her chips, Diana headed out.

“I give her a day,” said Waya.

“I give her twelve minutes,” Greg responded.

* * *

Later that day, Maylu, Tory, Dex, and Yai had gone shopping at the mall. After they had parked and gone inside, the four of them stood by the decorative fountain in the center of the shopping complex.

“We’ll meet back here in a couple of hours,” Yai announced.

“Works for me,” answered Tory. With that, the friends split into two groups. Dex and Tory headed off in one direction while Maylu and Yai went in the other direction.

“I still think what Chaud did to Rush this morning was harsh, even by his standards,” Maylu said as she and Yai walked through the mall.

“Chaud’s always been hard on everyone,” Yai explained matter-of-factly, “That’s just how his father raised him to be. Ahh, here we are.” Maylu looked in the direction that Yai was facing.

“You talked us all to come here just so you could buy some jewelry?” she asked in disbelief.

“What were you expecting me to do? Take the bus? Come on, Maylu.” Yai turned around and started walking into the store.

“Tory’s not going to be happy when he finds out that you just cost him some gas,” Maylu mumbled under her breath as she followed Yai.

“Hello, Miss Ayano,” a clerk greeted, “What will it be today?”

“I’ll go for something classic,” Yai replied, “Show me some diamonds.” As the clerk brought out some diamond-studded jewelry, Diana walked in and another clerk came up to her.

“How can I help you, miss?”

“I’d like to see some diamonds, please.” The clerk happily brought out some jewelry from the display case and showed them to Diana.

“They’re beautiful.” She gently ran her fingers along the shimmering jewels, “I’ll take them all.” This took the clerk by surprise.

“A-a-all of them?” he stammered.

“Is there an echo in here?”

“A-alright.” The clerk put the jewelry aside before taking out a receipt pad, “A-and how will you be paying?”

“I won’t.” Diana replied.

“Excuse me?”

“I’m not paying.”

“B-b-but ma’am, you said you wanted all of them.”

“I said want. I didn’t say buy.”

“But you can’t just take all these diamonds!”

“Oh, yes I can.” Diana took out her PET, “Synchro Chip, in!” She slipped her Synchro Chip into her PET and the Cross Fusion symbol appeared, causing a blinding white light to shine out.

“CROSS FUSION!”

Diana’s vest zipped itself up as Leviathan’s icon appeared and transformed it into ocean-blue armor before embedding itself on her chest. As soon as it was in place, the rest of her clothes transformed into a white bodysuit. Blue high-heel boots formed over her legs and went up to her knees. Yellow trims formed on the tops and around the ankles before sapphires appeared at the tops of the boots just in front of the knees. Long flexible yet protective gloves appeared over her arms and went up halfway past her elbows. Yellow trims formed around the tops and wrists while sapphires appeared on the backs of her hands. Next came her helmet, which didn’t differ much from Leviathan’s helmet except that a white and blue mouthguard formed over her face and Diana’s hair flowed out from the back. Finally, a large spike of ice rose up in front of her and shattered, exposing Leviathan’s spear. The head activated as soon as her hand made contact and she spun it around before taking up her finishing pose.

“Hand over those diamonds!” R Leviathan demanded as she pointed her spear at the clerk. Frightened out of his wits, he fainted onto the floor.

“Well the. I guess I can help myself.” Taking the backpack she had brought with her, R Leviathan started smashing the cases open with the blunt end of her spear and scooping up all the store’s diamond jewelry and stuffed them into her bag.

“Maylu, we have to do something to stop her,” Yai whispered as she and Maylu got down behind one of the display cases.

“But what can we do?” asked the redhead, “Lan, Chaud, and Sean are at home and it’ll take them took long to get here.”

“Can’t you perform Cross Fusion, too?” asked Yai.

“Yes, but only if Rush is here,” Maylu answered. Yai groaned angrily.

“Fine time to have Chaud send him away.” She took out her PET, “Glyde, send a message out to everyone we know and ask them if they’ve seen Rush. If they have, make sure they tell him that we need him.”

“Right away Miss Yai.” Glyde bowed before disappearing in a shower of pixels.

* * *

Back in ACDC Town, Rush was still moping in the park. He was so busy feeling bad he didn’t even notice how much time had passed. His attention was diverted away from his state of depression only when he noticed a sad-looking girl standing next to him.

“Rush, is that you?” she asked.

“Aup,” he replied sadly. Shuuko sat down next to the canine virus, but no other words came out.

* * *

“Looks like someone’s found Rush,” Yai reported, “He’s been spotted in ACDC Town.”

“ACDC Town?” Maylu repeated.

* * *

After a moment of silence, Shuuko left. Not long after her departure, Mrs. Hikari arrived.

“Hello, Rush,” she greeted, “What’s wrong?” Rush replied with a series of barks and whimpers.

“Is that so?” The dog virus nodded, “I know it hurts to get kicked out like that, but there’s a time to mope and right now is not that time. Your friends are in trouble, Rush, and they need your help.”

“Aup aup?”

“Yes. Yai sent out a message saying that there’s a commotion going on at the mall near the university and they need your help.” Rush scratched his head as he thought about this for a moment.

“Don’t worry,” Haruka assured him, “I’ll have Lan talk to Chaud about it. In the meantime, they need your help.” After a bit more deliberation, Rush barked and disappeared through his hole.

“You understood what he said?” Shuuko asked.

“No,” Haruka answered, “but a mother’s intuition works just as good.”

* * *

R Leviathan had just finished bagging up the last of the diamond jewelry and turned to leave.

“I’ll be leaving now,” she said, “Good bye and thanks for the diamonds.” Just as she turned to leave, a hole appeared in the ceiling and Rush dropped down and landed on top of her.

“Aup aup aup aaaaauuuuup!” he barked triumphantly.

“Rush!” Maylu exclaimed.

“Where did this stupid mutt come from?” R Leviathan demanded. She quickly pushed Rush off and kicked him away before running off. Maylu caught the little virus in her arms and set him down gently.

“Rush, we have to go after her,” she informed him, “I need you to transform into a Synchro Chip. I know you don’t like to, but this is important.” Rush was about to respond with a no, but then he remembered Mrs. Hikari’s words. He sighed and then gave Maylu a thumb-up. Leaping into the air, he barked once as his body fused with the Synchro Chip around his neck, creating the Rush Synchro Chip. Maylu caught it as it fell from the air and connected her PET to her wristband.

“Are you ready, Roll?” she asked her Navi.

“I’m ready!” Roll replied.

“Rush Synchro Chip, in!” Maylu slid the chip into her PET and held up her arm as it began to glow.

“CROSS FUSION!”

Pink boots reaching up just below her knees formed around Maylu’s feet and oval-shaped indents appeared at the tops where a pair of rubies embedded themselves. Yellow trims appeared over the tops of her boots while a yellow border surrounded each ruby. Pink gloves slowly formed over Maylu’s hands and yellow trims appeared on the ends. At the same time, circular rubies appeared on the backs of her hands. Roll’s icon appeared over her chest and transformed her clothes into as pink dress. Black coverings appeared around the rest of her legs and black sleeves covered the rest of her arms. Maylu bowed her head slightly as her helmet appeared over her head. A pair of yellow knobs appeared on the front and her antennae sprouted out from them and curved around behind her head, meeting up halfway around. Her hair suddenly grew down past her waist and a green ribbon tied itself around it into a neat bow. With her transformation complete, she turned around once and took up her finishing pose.

* * *

R Leviathan arrived at the center of the mall and looked up a the skylight high above the fountain.

That’s my ticket out of here, she thought. Pointing her spear at the fountain, she touched the head against the nozzle and froze it solid thus sealing it. She quickly created a platform of ice and stood on it, waiting for the water pressure underneath to build up.

“And I am off!” she declared as she smashed her ice seal to pieces and the water blasted her platform upward, “This is the best thing that’s ever happened to me!”

“Roll Arrow!” A pink heart-shaped arrow suddenly shot up and cut a large hole in R Leviathan’s bag, causing all of its contents to spill out.

“My diamonds!” She made an attempt to grab as many as she could, but they all slipped from her hands. Angrily, she looked around to see who had cost her her stolen goods and saw R Roll standing next to the fountain with her bow aimed right at her.

“You!” R Leviathan discarded her torn bag and leapt down. Her spear struck the floor headfirst and she landed on her feet, yanking her weapon out as she faced the pink Cross Fused Navi.

“You may have ruined my plan, but I can at least get rid of you!” And with that, R Leviathan began jabbing her spear at R Roll, who backed away. As they fought, shoppers stopped and watched the spectacle, which most of them believed was just a show.

“CurseShield1 Battlechip!” A Dominerd formed in front of R Roll and as soon as R Leviathan’s spear hit its surface, it opened its mouth and attacked her.

“Agh!” The icy Cross Fused Navi stumbled back, but she quickly regained her composure, “A clever move, but how long can you keep this up. Ice Barrage!” She swung her spear and several icicles shot forward.

“Heart Slash!” R Roll blew a small kiss and countered with a rain of pink hearts, which intercepted the icicles.

“What’s going on here?” Tory asked Yai as he and Dex arrived.

“Just look,” Yai answered, pointing forward. Tory and Dex looked and saw R Roll locked in combat against R Leviathan.

“Whoa! Intense!” Dex was in complete awe at the spectacle that was taking place.

“Dex, close your mouth,” Tory ordered.

R Leviathan’s spear came down on top of R Roll’s head and the redhead raised her arms and caught it between her hands.

“Blizzard Battlechip!” Suddenly, a blue Wither virus dropped down next to R Roll and began to spray her with ice and snow. The blast caught her by surprise and forced her to let go, allowing the spear to come down and hit her.

“Ice Barrage!” Another storm of icicles shot forward and R Roll intercepted it with another Heart Slash.

“I don’t get it,” Dex thought out loud, “Every time that spear chick attacks, Maylu always either blocks or intercepts her move.”

“Dex, take a look around you,” Yai informed him, “There are people here. Not only is she trying to stop Leviathan, but she’s also trying to protect everyone here.”

“Maylu’s truly a strong person,” Tory said thoughtfully as he continued to watch the fight.

“Ice Tower!” R Leviathan plunged her spear into the floor and several icicles shot up from it in a trail towards her opponent.

“CrackOut1 Battlechip!” R Roll swept her hand forward and created a hole that stopped the Ice Towers in their tracks, “PanelReturn!” A second later, the hole magically patched itself back up.

“You can’t beat me at the rate you’re fighting!” R Leviathan taunted, “Unless you’re holding back for some reason.” She took a look around and then it all became clear.

“Now it makes sense,” she laughed, “You’re trying to protect these people. Well then, maybe I should select a different target. Ice Beam!” Without warning, she pointed her spear a little boy and his mother on the side of the rotunda farthest away from R Roll and shot a beam of ice at them.

“NO!”

“She’s not going to make it!” Tory yelled.

“AreaGrab Battlechip!” R Roll transformed into a negative image of herself and disappeared.

“Even with AreaGrab, you’ll never make it there in time!” R Leviathan sneered. R Roll reappeared shortly after closer to the boy and his mother, but she was still not close enough.

“Prism Battlechip!” A diamond-like gem appeared and she quickly threw it into the line of fire. Just as she had hoped, the Ice Beam hit the Prism and was reflected back at R Leviathan, striking her hard and sending her flying back a few meters as opposed to freezing her.

“Way to go, Maylu!” Yai cheered. R Leviathan looked up and growled as R Roll made her way across the fountain towards her. Slowly, her lips curled into a grin beneath her mouthguard.

“Not a bad move,” she commented as she moved closer to her opponent.

“I’ve got more where that came from!” said R Roll, “I don’t want to have to hurt you, so please leave now.”

“Leave? But things are just getting started.” R Leviathan raised her spear and plunged the head into the fountain. The water instantly froze and trapped R Roll right in her spot. She struggled to get free, but to no avail.

I can’t move! she thought. R Leviathan stepped back and laughed at her opponent’s current situation.

“As you can see, I’m clearly the stronger woman!” She sneered as she shouldered her weapon and walked up to R Roll, but then her expression changed, “Stuck up bitch!” A hard slap followed and the redhead fell back.

“I should just end this now.” R Leviathan walked off the fountain and stuck her spear into the floor once again. A frosty aura rose up from it and took on the form of a massive ice dragon.

“Kill her!” she ordered. The ice dragon hissed and slithered towards R Roll before unleashing a freezing attack on her.

“MAYLU!” Dex, Yai, and Tory yelled.

“Barrier200 Battlechip!” A crystalline dome formed over R Roll and shielded her from the attack, however, it wouldn’t last long so she had to think of something fast.

I…can’t lose to her, she thought, She’s endangering everyone here.

“Maylu, we have to do something quick or else that dragon will freeze us,” Roll warned.

“Aup aup!” Rush agreed.

Wait, that’s it! R Roll thought. She slowly brought herself back up into a standing position and crouched down as best as she could just as her barrier faded.

“Rush Hole!” Braving the cold, she punched the ice hard and a giant hole appeared underneath the ice dragon. The frigid creature ceased its freezing attack and hissed loudly as it was pulled down into the abyss.

“What?!” R Leviathan shrieked as she watched her icy minion disappear from sight. A trail of ice breath shot up as the hole closed over the dragon, trapping it.

“FireHit1 Battlechip!” R Roll’s fist flared up and she punched the ice near her feet, melting it and thus freeing herself. As she got back up, a pink glow covered her body.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“I think it’s one of those new abilities Lan talked about the other day,” Roll replied, “Hey, Maylu! We just regained some of the health we lost from those earlier attacks!”

“A self-recovery ability,” R Roll whispered. As she took a step forward, she felt something underneath her boot she didn’t notice earlier due to the ice.

“Well it doesn’t matter!” R Leviathan yelled, “I’ll end this myself!” She charged forward and swung out her spear. Moving fast, R Roll grabbed the object and brought it up. The two item collided and both Cross fused Navis cast their gazes towards the thing in the redhead’s hand.

“A diamond!” R Leviathan exclaimed. Indeed it was. Twinkling in R Roll’s hand was a diamond about the size of a tennis ball.

“Looks like you dropped this when I cut your bag. WindRacket!” R Roll’s free hand transformed into a fan and she waved it at her opponent, knocking her back.

“Roll Arrow!” Her hand changed back from the fan before taking on the form of her bow. She quickly used a WhiteWeb1 to tie the precious stone to the arrowhead and took aim. R Leviathan looked ahead and saw the arrow fly towards her. The diamond struck her helmet and caused a big crack to appear.

“Gaaaaahhhhhh! I’ll get you for this!” She quickly turned around and ran off, crossing out as she did so from the damage she had taken.

“After her!” yelled Dex. As if on cue, several mall security guards appeared and chased after Diana. R Roll took a deep breath and crossed out, as well. Her Synchro Chip popped out of her PET and changed back into Rush.

“That was awesome, Maylu!” Tory exclaimed.

“Yeah!” Yai agreed, “You protected all these people AND you got the diamonds back.”

“Well we couldn’t have done it without Rush,” Maylu said as she patted the virus on the head.

“But there’s still the problem that Chaud kicked him out of the house,” Dex reminded everyone. Suddenly, Maylu’s PET beeped with a message and she answered it. It was ProtoMan.

“Actually,” the silver-haired Navi told them, “Lan had a little chat with Chaud and I’m delivering the resulting message. Rush can stay with us if he likes.”

“That’s great!” Dex exclaimed.

“Under the condition that he lets everyone know when he takes food out of the fridge and how much,” ProtoMan finished.

“It’s reasonable,” Tory commented.

“Then so be it,” Maylu replied. ProtoMan said nothing but gave an acknowledging nod before closing his window.

“Well Rush,” Maylu said cheerfully to the canine virus, “it looks like you’re back with us again.”

“Aup aup aup aup!” Rush barked happily.

--------------------------------
End of chapter 3-13.

CHAPTER PREVIEW
Lan: Chaud’s joining the fencing club to improve his swordsmanship skills.
MegaMan: ProtoMan says is to train him for any future battles against Waya and Harpuia.
Lan: With all the practice he’ll be getting in, it better be worth it.
MegaMan: Chaud will do whatever it takes to try to beat his opponent.
Lan & MegaMan: Next time on Rockman.EXE: The College Years, “Hands Laid Upon Swords”.
Lan: Chaud puts his mind to everything he does.
MegaMan: Never have I ever seen anyone so determined.
_________________