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

[TheWebbuilder]

O.K., this was a decent chapter. Aside from a couple of BN4 plot devices, and the aforementioned YGO rip/similarity, there wasn't much wrong with it.

The battle was a fairly animated and the originality was good. However the fact that it repeated itself with the 'PA-Dodge-Counterattack-ownage' took some of the wind out of this chapter. *bricked*
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[Lan1220]

o.o PA frenzy~ i like it that he learned his lesson the hard way. Great job
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Sig credit goes to Hikari Angel

[LgacyDX]

He did learn it the hard way. Too bad Takao got DQ'd alright. At least Noah was great. Looks like in the next chapter, AirMan is gonna have something to do with this.
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Mega Man: New Generation *Updated to Chapter 1-14*
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[Viewtiful Starman]

Forgot to post something about the last chapter...

I liked it quite a lot more than your previous chapters, and it was actually pretty good IMO. I liked how you wrote Dingo and the battle was pretty entertaining.

Didn't like this one though... the PA battle was uninteresting and the way he won was a PA, when you made it sound like the point of the chapter was to beat them without using them.

Also, I'm finding the Ed-like jokes with Noah's eyes horrible and getting old very, VERY fast. Might not be bad if they were clever, but these ones seem incredibly forced and nothing more than a random reference to show how much anime you watch (especially the one in this chapter).

[Abiisan]

I've felt that way about the Ed jokes for a while, but I had been able to mostly ignore them up until now. At this point, they do little more than tell us what anime you watch. All in all, the channel wasn't that bad.
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Formerly known as LunarSun

Banner and icon by Xhunter17

[Anime Master ZERO]

This chapter features a short RPG cameo. Pavo and RadioactiveTurkey belong to Pavo.

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CHAPTER 3-32
A Puff of Chaos

Saiba at outside a café checking several figures on a laptop. He smiled when his mail icon flashed. He moved his cursor over it and double-clicked on it, which brought up a Navi icon.

“Looks like another victim has been claimed by the Crest of Arcadia,” he snickered as he stored the file away. Meanwhile, several Pantheon Navis were working hard inside the computer organizing the files as they came in.

“Put this one in section J,” one of them ordered.

“Roger roger.” Another Pantheon Navi took the data it had just been handed and walked off. As they worked, a pair of eyes watched them from an observation deck, which was really just a connection between the laptop and Saiba’s PET. The white-haired NetBattler himself finished off his hot drink and put down a small amount of cash before putting away his computer and getting up.

“I better get back to the tournament,” he muttered to himself, “My subordinates better be doing their jobs.” He slung his laptop case over his shoulder and walked away.

* * *

A green sphere of radioactive energy flew towards Roll and she jumped to the side and watched it strike the rock behind her.

“Keep going, RadioactiveTurkey!” a black-haired Mexican thirteen-year-old boy with brown eyes ordered.

“Si, Pavo,” the green radioactive poultry replied, “Radioactive Sphere!” A green ball energy formed between his wings and he flung it forward at Roll.

“Here it comes, Maylu!” the pink Navi informed her operator.

“Try to send it back, Roll,” Maylu replied, “WindRacket Battlechip in, download!” Roll’s right hand transformed into a folding fan and she swung her arm, sending forth a gust of wind that blew the Radioactive Sphere away.

“Fight, RadioactiveTurkey,” Pavo urged.

“Roll Whip!” Roll suddenly appeared in front of the green bird and started slapping him with her antennae. When she finished, she fired a Roll Arrow and forced him to log out. Two of Pavo’s Battle Points were transferred over to Maylu’s score and after the congratulatory wishes the young teen handed over a Quake3 chip before leaving.

“Maylu, I wonder about something,” Roll said out of the blue, “What happens when someone runs out of rare Battlechips but still have Battle Points?” Maylu thought about this for a while. In all honesty, even she didn’t know and gave her Navi an honest answer. Roll sat back inside her PET and thought more on this as they continued to find another opponent.

* * *

Across town, a salesman was showing a couple around inside a home appliances store.

“This air conditioning system is the latest in home technology,” he explained, “You can hook it up to the net so you can constantly monitor your house’s temperature at any time.”

“What do you think, honey?” the husband asked as he turned to his wife.

“It sounds like a great idea,” she replied, “Let’s buy it.”

“We’ll take it,” the man said to the salesman.

“Excellent choice, sir and madam. Just let me go get the paperwork.” Just as he turned to leave, a nearby fan suddenly exploded.

“What was that?” the store manager asked as he ran over.

“The fan just exploded, sir,” another of the salesmen answered.

“I want to know who the manufacturer was,” the manager demanded. Another salesman came back with a chart and was reading off of it as he walked.

“It was made by Path-E-Tech,” he reported.

“Those guys always make shoddy appliances,” the manager grumbled, “Well, at least nobody got hurt.” Suddenly, an air conditioning system exploded followed by an electronic ceiling fan.

“Let’s get out of here!” a customer screamed as she fled the store along with several other people. The couple who had been shopping was huddled together as they watched their future purchase go up in smoke. The salesman who had been about to sell it to them dropped his jaw.

“There goes my commission,” he whined.

* * *

Elsewhere, a boy was standing inside a video game store playing on his handheld system while leaning on the counter.

“Is it here yet?” he asked the employee who was there with him.

“No.” The boy went back to his game.

“Is it here yet?” he asked a few seconds later.

“No.”

“Is it here yet?”

“No.”

As this seemingly endless cycle continued, every item in the vacuum cleaner store three doors down exploded and the manager stumbled out.

“Oh merciful God, please kill me now!” he screamed as he dropped to his knees and threw his head back.

“Is it here yet?” the boy asked again.

* * *

“And the strange chain of exploding appliances continues,” a reporter announced, “No one knows for sure what the cause of this disturbance is, but it has been confirmed that all the items destroyed were electronic devices that are somehow related to air.”

“Am I the only one who finds this whole thing disturbing?” asked Nicol as he sat with his comrades inside a local juice bar.

“I guess,” Waya said casually.

“I personally couldn’t care less about it,” Greg replied.

“Me neither,” added Diana. Nicol sighed and re-checked his Battle Point count when a thought struck him and he looked back up at the others.

“Has anybody given out their Crest of Arcadia chip as of late?” he asked. The others shook their heads.

“Must be yours, Nicol,” Waya thought aloud. The young soldier got up from the table and immediately headed out.

“What’s his problem? All he did was do what Saiba said,” Greg wondered.

“I don’t think he intended that chip to be used like this,” answered Diana.

* * *

Maylu was within the vicinity of the next attack when it occurred. A store belonging to a big name appliances company started to go up in smoke as everything on the fans and air conditioning floor started exploding.

“We should try to help, Roll,” Maylu said to her Navi.

“Yeah,” Roll agreed, “First we need to help take care of that fire.”

“Rush!” A hole appeared in the ground and Rush popped out of it on Maylu’s call.

“Aup?”

“Rush, we need you to transform into a Synchro Chip,” Maylu requested. The canine virus shook his head vigorously.

“It’s an emergency,” Roll explained.

“Aup! Aup!”

“Okay then, you go and put the fire out yourself.”

“Aup?!” Rush looked up at the building and gulped. He hung his head in defeat and turned to Maylu as he transformed into a Synchro Chip.

“How did you do that?” Maylu asked her Navi.

“Simple. Rush would never get involved if he was in direct danger,” Roll explained.

“That’s good enough for me, Roll. Rush Synchro Chip, in!”

“CROSS FUSION!”

When the process was complete, R Roll rushed into the building. She pushed aside a burning shelf and found a mother and two children huddled in a corner.

“I’m here to help,” she said as she held out her hand. The mother grabbed hold of it and she pulled her up before leading them out of the building. Once she had gotten them a safe distance away, she ran back inside.

KillerEye!” A few KillerEye viruses appeared before her and R Roll bent down to talk to them.

“Go and find any people who are trapped in here and then bring them outside,” she ordered. The viruses complied and spread out.

“Where to now, Maylu?” asked Roll.

“To where this all started,” R Roll answered and she began making her way up the stairs. When she arrived at the fans and air conditioning, she was surprised by how big the blaze had grown.

“The fire department will never get here in time,” she thought aloud, “I’ll have to take care of this myself. Geyser Battlechip!” She planted her hand firmly on the floor and a massive rush of water shot out and washed over everything. The fire was extinguished quickly and she stood up.

“Maylu, there’s fire upstairs, too!” Roll shouted.

“It must have spread to the next floor!” R Roll ran upstairs and quickly doused out the fire with a Wave chip. On the next floor, she activated AquaTower and guided it around until the blaze was out.

“That looks like it, Maylu,” Roll reported, “We got here fast enough so the fire didn’t spread too far.”

“That’s good.” R Roll crossed out and her Synchro Chip changed back into Rush, who promptly opened up a hole and fell through it, exhausted. Maylu caught her PET as it landed in her hands and breathed a deep sigh of relief.

“Impressive display.” The redhead got up at the sound of the voice and turned to face the direction from which it came, “You managed to put out the fires and saved everyone in the building.”

“Are you the one who did all this?” asked Maylu.

“And all the other exploding fans and whatnot,” came the answer. A man with blond hair wearing a blue suit stepped forward and Maylu almost recognized him immediately.

“You’re the man who tried to gas Yai about ten years ago!” she exclaimed, “Arashi Kazefuki!”

“The very same. This was all a set-up to reel in some powerful NetBattlers and you came. So now I challenge you to a NetBattle.”

“You put other people’s lives in danger just so you could have a NetBattle?” asked Maylu.

“Sometimes you have to make a few sacrifices,” Arashi said casually, “Come on, let’s go. Jack in!! AirMan, power up!”

“I guess I have no choice then. Jack in!! Roll, power up!”

A battle grid formed and Roll appeared on the red side while AirMan appeared on the blue.

“Quack quack quack!” AirMan laughed, “This will be an exciting match.”

“I wager ten Battle Points!” Arashi declared as he and Maylu slotted in their Battle Point chips. Maylu acknowledged the wager and looked at her PET display.

“Let’s teach this rotten crook a lesson, Roll,” she said to her Navi, “Battle routine, set!”

“Execute!”

“I’ll blow you away!”

BATTLE START

“Air Cannon!” AirMan’s fan started spinning rapidly and three puffs of air shot out at Roll, who jumped to the side and avoided getting hit.

“Come on, AirMan! Show them who’s boss!” Arashi commanded, “AirShot Battlechip in, download!” AirMan’s fan stopped spinning as his hand changed into a wide-barrel blaster. He pointed it forward and fired bursts of air his opponent. He struck Roll twice and knocked her back.

“Fight back, Roll,” Maylu urged.

“This is for the horrible things you did!” Roll cried, “Heart Slash!” She unleashed a storm of pink hearts and they rained down on AirMan from above.

“Quack!” he shrieked.

“Nice going, Roll,” Maylu congratulated, “But there’s still a lot we have to do.”

“I’m with you, Maylu,” Roll replied.

“You won’t win against AirMan,” Arashi cackled, “AquaWhirl3 Battlechip in, download!”

“AquaWhirl!” Two tornadoes of water appeared on either side of AirMan and shot forward towards Roll. They hit her from both sides and disappeared once they had finished their job.

“Quack quack quack! You can’t win!” laughed AirMan.

“That’s what you think! Roll Arrow!” Roll turned around and shot an arrow into AirMan’s fan. She quickly got back onto her feet.

“What?” AirMan turned on his fan, but the propeller wouldn’t move. It was jammed in place by the Roll Arrow. He growled and wrapped both hands around it as he tried to pull it out.

“HIYA!” Roll quickly flew in and kicked her opponent in the head, causing him to stumble back.

“Trident Battlechip in, download!” Maylu slotted in a chip and a fish appeared in front of Roll. It opened its mouth and fired a trio of needles at AirMan. The fan Navi turned to the side and crouched down. The needles flew over his head and struck the wall. He got back up and resumed trying to pull out the arrow.

“No fair jamming AirMan’s fan like that!” Arashi shouted.

“It’s a legal move,” Maylu answered.

“Well then, legalize this!” He dragged and dropped a Lance chip and several bamboo spears shot out at Roll from behind. She leapt out of their way, but then AirMan jumped in and sucker-punched her.

“Just returning the favor,” Arashi laughed.

“Arashi, my fan’s going to be out of commission for a while,” AirMan informed his operator, “I need you to send me more Battlechips.”

“Okay, AirMan. Tornado Battlechip in, download!” A tornado formed in front of AirMan and it blew towards Roll.

“Twister Battlechip in, download!” Maylu inserted her own chip and Roll countered with a Wood-element whirlwind. The two wind attacks collided and dissipated.

“Of course!” the pink Navi exclaimed, “Twister and Tornado are both essentially tornadoes, but their spin is in opposite directions so naturally they cancel out.” Arashi growled and took out three more chips.

“Alright then, try three! Triple Tornado!” He slotted in all three chips and three tornadoes surrounded AirMan and blew towards Roll while he continued to pull out the arrow.

“Roll, we don’t have any more Twister chips,” Maylu informed her Navi.

“I have an idea, Maylu. Give me a HotBody chip,” Roll replied.

“Why?”

“Like I said, I have an idea.”

“Alright. HotBody2 Battlechip in, download!” Flames surrounded Roll’s body and she curled up into a ball and threw herself forward. Like a meteor, she streaked across the field and broke through the tornadoes before smashing into AirMan’s chest and knocking him into the wall.

“Where did you learn that?” Maylu asked, completely surprised.

“MegaMan taught me that one!” was the response. Arashi growled at his and AirMan’s situation. His opponents had indeed proven themselves to be strong, but he hadn’t anticipated them to be so resourceful. He dug around in his pocket and produced a shimmering white chip.

“This battle is far from over!” he cried, “Crest of Arcadia Battlechip in, download!” He slotted in the chip and it registered on his PET. Instantly, a column of white light engulfed AirMan.

“Did he just use the Crest of Arcadia?” Roll gasped.

“He did,” Maylu replied grimly, “Be ready, Roll!” Roll got into a defensive stance and watched as the light died down and the Crest of Arcadia formed in the center of AirMan’s fan.

“QUACK!” He turned his propeller and broke the arrow, his fan now spinning at full speed once again. He fired several powerful Air Cannon shots and blasted Roll away.

“Roll!” Maylu gasped.

“This is incredible power!” Arashi laughed, “Go, AirMan!” AirMan turned around and looked at his operator straight in the eyes. He spun his fan and fired an Air Cannon shot and static instantly replaced the image on Arashi’s PET display.

“AirMan? AirMan! What’s going on, AirMan? Tell me!” the blond man demanded.

“AirMan’s lost control,” Roll said weakly as she got up, “He’s gone insane from that chip.”

“Then we have to stop him fast,” replied Maylu, “ElementIce Battlechip in, download!” Roll’s hand turned into an ice gun and she brought it forward. However, before she could fire it, AirMan appeared right in front 00of her and delivered a punch to her face that sent her flying backward. She twisted herself around and landed on her hands, which she used to push herself back up and flipped onto her feet.

“Tornado! QUACK!” AirMan spun his fan and three large tornadoes shot forward and encircled Roll.

“I’m trapped, Maylu!” she cried.

“Hold on, Roll.” Maylu dug around in her folder for a moment and produced a chip she had been saving. It was the KnightSword that Lan had given her back in first year for the Den 500. She slotted it in and Roll’s hand transformed into the elegant blade.

“Take this!” She brought up her sword and stabbed it towards AirMan. An energy wave shot out from the blade and struck the fan Navi hard in the chest. She attacked again and her second assault caused him to take a step back. After a third attack, his fan broke off and the propeller went flying. It shot up into the air and turned around before coming back in and striking AirMan on the back of the head. He collapsed and ten Battle Points were deducted from Arashi’s score and added to Maylu’s.

“Damn it!” Arashi cursed, “What happened to AirMan?”

“It was because of that white chip you used,” Maylu answered.

“Well take it as your winnings then. I don’t want it,” the blond man muttered. Maylu took the chip and examined it for a moment.

“We should take this to Lan and others so they can have SciLab take a look at it,” she said to Roll.

“That’s a good idea,” Roll said nodding. A loud scream suddenly came from the PETs as a white column of light engulfed AirMan.

“QUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!” He screamed as loudly as he could before his shouts died down and the light disappeared, leaving no trace of AirMan behind.

“AirMan? AirMan!” Arashi grasped his PET as he shouted into it, but no response came.

“Let’s go, Roll.” Maylu pocketed the Crest of Arcadia and left the store.

* * *

An hour after Maylu had left, Nicol arrived and found Arashi. Judging from his visible mood, he had already lost his Navi to the Crest.

“You there!” he called as he ran over to him, “Do you still have the chip I gave you.”

“I lost it to someone else, already.” Nicol’s pupils shrunk when he heard this. Not only had he failed to recover his Crest of Arcadia, the chip was now in someone else’s possession. He slowly rose to his feet and left the store.

“Nicol!” The young soldier jumped at the voice and turned to see Saiba.

“Saiba, you scared me.”

“You lost your Crest, didn’t you?” asked Saiba. Nicol nodded. The white-haired NetBattler sighed as he reached into his pack and produced another Crest of Arcadia chip, which he handed to Nicol.

“Don’t lose this one,” he said sternly. Nicol tightened his hand around the accursed chip. And slowly put it away. He turned to leave, but stopped before walking away.

“Saiba, how much more damage must we do with this chip?” he asked.

“This is for the glory of Neo Arcadia, Nicol,” Saiba reminded, “Don’t forget that.” And with that, he left and Nicol walked away.

This is all wrong, he thought to himself, I need to do something about this before other people get hurt by the Crest.

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End of chapter 3-32.

CHAPTER PREVIEW
Lan: Independent Navis are in this tournament, too.
MegaMan: From allies to revived enemies.
Lan: Who would’ve ever guessed that Serenade’s subordinates would actually be in it?
MegaMan: They never leave the Secret Area.
Lan & MegaMan: Next time on Rockman.EXE: The College Years, “Snipers and Samurai”.
Lan: Why is Laika going to investigate End City?
MegaMan: I have a hunch that YamatoMan’s been lurking there.
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[LgacyDX]

Nice chapter. I was wrong if WindMan was involved in this. But it was good to see a Battle Network 2 Villain named Arashi back on the fritz. I look forward to seeing another chapter from your fic.

Off-Topic: Please read my fic "Mega Man: New Generation". It's about to get intense and I promise you that it will get better.
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Mega Man: New Generation *Updated to Chapter 1-14*
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[ForteZero.EXE]

Radioactive Turkey sounds like a custom MegaMan X character. Kodos to the owner of RT. This chapter was a decent read, and a bit exciting from the return or AirMan and Aarashi. Also a bit funny that Rush is forced to become a Scynchro Chip if he's faced with danger.

YamatoMan and JapanMan are both the same NetNavis, but which name are you gonna use, cause I think you used the dubbed name during Season One I think. Good job anyway AMZ.
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ForteZero ~ The White Shadow

[gameman]

:] :] :] I called this one
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i am the game master

[Abiisan]

It was an interesting chater, butI have to say that I can's see anyone setting a building on fire with them in it just because they are too lazy to go out and find opponents. Though, it was good to see R Roll again.

I wonder if Serenade will be making an appearance.
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Formerly known as LunarSun

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[kram_elbog]

Nice Chapter, I doubt Arashi would be dumb enough to risk killing him self inorder to net battle some one. Especially since he couldn't be sure that some one would come to net battle him. I cant wait for the next chapter, Laika VS JAPANMAN will be interesting but why did you say Yamatoman in the preview?
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[LgacyDX]

YamatoMan is the official NetNavi's name in Japan and officially in the Rockman.EXE series. JapanMan is a stupid name for him in the Battle Network games. I don't like JapanMan because its pointless. YamatoMan is much better because he reminds me of the Mega Man 6 Robot Master.
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Mega Man: New Generation *Updated to Chapter 1-14*
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[Flame Buster]

So? what's your point? Since AMZ is going by dub, kram_elbog was asking why he didn't use Japanman. He's not asking for an opinion.
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[NotJim]

He's using Laika, not Raika. That's not dub, is it?

Plus, very few people use Japanman anyhow.
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[TheWebbuilder]

Just what the world needs, Pantheons that act like Star Wars Battle Droids.

I'm not even going to comment on Radioactive Turkey.

I'm sure I'm missing something here, so set me straight. Arashi wants to Netbattle a strong opponent... so he sets a building on fire? How in the world would that draw out a Netbattler? The only thing that I can think of is that he had previously messed with the sprinkler system, making it necessary to Jack In and fix it. But since Arashi's logic was never explained I was left shaking my head over that one.

Also, I don't think that you should have pulled the R Roll scenerio right after Raika's stunt in Beast 2. It was just too soon after the episode and made it look like another rip- which I can't tell if it was or not.

I give this chapter a 6/10.

Again, I'm not trying to be harsh or difficult with you, I'm just being honest.
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[Midnight]

I'm in the same boat as Web. I have never tried to be hostile in my reviews--I'm simply pointing out what I think about it. The cameo...well...you probably already know what I will say about it.

Although Arashi has been characterized to be a bit mentally unstable, I agree--there is no way that he could feasibly set up a fire just to find a good opponent. It is seriously too far of a stretch...and definitely something that will not go down easily with the reader.

And one last thing...put it this way. One line seemed to be particularly...provocative...since it could be read the wrong way and make the reader laugh for all the wrong reasons. Finding the line itself is an exercise left to the reader.

Innuendo-tastic! :O
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Today, these three players are after Big Bucks! But they'll have to avoid the Whammy, as they play the most exciting game of their lives! From Television City in Hollywood! It's time to 'Press Your Luck!'--Rod Roddy

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

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

[Lan1220]

*looks at Web's post* *agrees* Gasp! No logic! :O
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Sig credit goes to Hikari Angel

[Mari]

I'd like to remind all of the readers here that, in the fanfic library forum of the rockman.exe online forums, we value more your honesty-filled critiques, over one-liners merely agreeing with somebody else or just expecting the emoticons to be enough response.

The guys I'm referring to should know what I'm talking about. :P
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[Mari]

I'd like to remind all of the readers here that, in the fanfic library forum of the rockman.exe online forums, we value more your honesty-filled critiques, over one-liners merely agreeing with somebody else or just expecting the emoticons to be enough response.

The guys I'm referring to should know what I'm talking about. :P
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[Anime Master ZERO]

CHAPTER 3-33
Snipers and Samurai

“I am a champion!” the Navi repeated for the umpteenth time in battle. He turned and held his sword tightly in his hands as he faced his opponent, a tall Navi in blue samurai armor with a spear in one hand.

“I am a champion!”

“A champion is not necessarily a warrior,” YamatoMan retorted, “Thousand Spears!” He jabbed at his opponent with countless rapid thrusts of his spear and forced him to log out. He rested the tip of his weapon on the floor and watched as his Battle Point count rose. He held out his hand and his opponent sent him his rarest Battlechip data.

“A Muramasa,” he noted, obviously impressed before he put it away. He then turned and continued to wander through End Area, waiting for the next challenge.

* * *

“Vulcan1 Battlechip in, triple download!” Laika inserted three chips into his PET and watched as SearchMan’s sniper rifle and left hand changed into vulcans. He raised them over his head and they fused together into a single gattling gun.

“InfinityVulcan1!” The barrel spun and he fired a massive barrage of bullets at his opponent. Before long, the Navi his was fighting logged out and SearchMan won the battle. Laika turned to the man he had been battling and held out his hand. His opponent took out and AlphaArmSigma and handed it to him before leaving.

“That’s a total of forty-three Battle Points so far, SearchMan,” said Laika, “Well done.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant Laika. Where should we go to next?”

“There have been rumors that a Navi has been lurking around the End Area. Let’s go to End City and check it out.”

“Roger.” Laika quickly headed to the MetroStation and caught the next train to End City. When he arrived, he immediately descended down the stone steps to the lower terrace and jacked into the statue, sending SearchMan into the End Area. As the sniper made his way through that part of the net, he was unaware of the lone figure that watched him.

“This one’s strong,” YamatoMan mused, “I shall lure him up to the GargoyleComp, where I shall engage in combat with him.”

* * *

“How is it so far, SearchMan?” asked Laika as he kept his eyes glued to his PET display.

“No sign of anything unusual yet,” SearchMan reported, however he stopped short in his words as he approached the security tower in End Area 3, “Wait a second, sir. I’ve spotted something.” Three shadows appeared on top of the tower and jumped off, landing in front of SearchMan.

“Those are ninja programs!” Laika exclaimed.

“We’ve been expecting you,” the red ninja program spoke.

“Pass our test and you shall proceed,” the white ninja program continued.

“Fail and your fate shall be sealed,” the blue ninja program finished. SearchMan just stood there staring at the three of them.

“Are you quite finished yet?” he finally asked. The ninja programs fell over backwards

“Ahem! We’re basically testing you to see if you’re worthy to face the great samurai,” the red ninja explained, “Beat us and we’ll lead you to him.”

“But we’ll also have something for your operator, too,” the blue ninja added.

“Are you up to the challenge?” asked the white ninja. SearchMan turned to Laika, who nodded in response.

“We accept,” the sniper answered.

“Good. Then catch and fight us!” The three ninjas spun around and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

“Seek them out, SearchMan,” Laika ordered.

“Roger.” SearchMan brought up his sniper rifle and started running through End Area in search of the ninjas.

* * *

“Did they fall for it?” asked YamatoMan.

“Hai, YamatoMan-sama,” the ninjas replied simultaneously.

“Excellent. Proceed with the plan.”

“Hai!”

The three ninja programs quickly returned from the GargoyleComp and stealthily leapt across End Area until they found SearchMan. The red one performed a few signals with his “hands” and they dispersed. Meanwhile, SearchMan had just picked up something on his scanners.

“I’ve got something. Sir,” he reported.

“Be alert, SearchMan,” Laika warned. Suddenly, a shuriken flew out of nowhere and SearchMan quickly shot it out of the air. He looked towards the direction it had come and saw the blue ninja making a run for it.

“After him, SearchMan!” ordered Laika. SearchMan didn’t need to be told twice as he followed after the ninja. What he didn’t expect next, however, was for the program to jump up and appear right over him.

“Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!” There was a large puff of smoke and SearchMan suddenly found himself surrounded by countless clones of the blue ninja program.

“Laika, sir, there’s too many of them!” the sniper gasped, “And they’re not illusions, but solid clones! I can’t detect which one is the original!”

“This is far from what we’ve seen of ShadowMan,” Laika muttered.

“Attack!” All the ninjas screamed in unison and they leapt at SearchMan in full force.

“SearchMan, aim for this and fire!” Laika ordered as he slotted in a chip, “Prism Battlechip in, download!” A crystal appeared on the field and SearchMan quickly realized what his operator was planning.

“Roger.” He aimed his Scope Gun at the Prism and fired. His shot hit the clear crystalline surface and almost instantly countless beams shot out from its many faces and flew in every direction. Almost every single clone was hit and what few remained were quickly dealt with when Laika sent his Navi a MoonBlade3.

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!” With all his clones gone, the blue program leapt out at SearchMan but was quickly dispatched of.

“One down, two more to go,” the sniper Navi muttered.

“Top of the castle,” the ninja program gasped, “Head there.”

“Did you get that, sir?” asked SearchMan.

“Affirmative,” Laika confirmed, “Let’s go.” He jacked out his Navi and headed inside Gargoyle Castle. Upon his arrival to the end of the main hall, he found that the door was shut. He wasted no time in sending in SearchMan and he quickly went to seek out the next program. The white ninja appeared before him threw a kunai. The soldier Navi moved to the side to dodge, but the program smirked as he placed his “hands” together.

“Henge no Jutsu!” There was as puff of smoke and the white ninja program transformed into a Scuttlest Omega. It then took a step forward and fired its beam at him. SearchMan rolled to the side and fired, but his shot bounced off the LifeAura surrounding its body.

He’s chosen a good form, he thought. Laika slotted in a Mine and a landmine appeared in the floor just in front of SearchMan’s opponent. It took a step forward and detonated the explosive, the power of the explosion destroying the LifeAura.

“Search Grenade!” A grenade appeared in SearchMan’s hand and he threw it forward. It struck the ninja and forced him to change back.

“Nicely done, SearchMan,” it commented before taking out a shuriken, “Kage Shuriken no Jutsu!” SearchMan jumped to the side to avoid getting hit, but another shuriken suddenly appeared and struck him in the back.

“Wa ha ha ha! Now for my ultimate technique!” The white ninja program placed its hands together and SearchMan got ready for whatever was to come.

“Oiroke no Jutsu!” One puff of smoke later, a beautiful nude woman stood before him.

“Hey, handsome. You wouldn’t hit a beautiful young lady, would you?” SearchMan held up his Scope Gun and shot her through the head, causing her to change back into the white ninja program.

“A hardened soldier would never fall for such a tactic,” the sniper chided. The door opened and Laika proceeded. However, he was cut off when he reached the place where the beams crossed and dummies started dropped down and advancing towards him.

“Laika, sir, be careful!” SearchMan warned.

“I’m already aware of that.” Laika picked up the kendo stick that was lying near his feet and started smacking the dummies away. As he swung his weapon, he pointed his PET at the nearest jack-in sensor and sent SearchMan into the system, where he immediately came face-to-face with the red ninja program.

“Scope Gun!”

“Kawarimi no Jutsu!” The Scope Gun shot hit its mark, but when the smoke cleared all that remained was a log with a hole in its center.

“I’m right here!” SearchMan gasped as he looked up and saw the red ninja coming towards him. He leapt back and it landed on the spot he had just vacated.

“Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!” The scarlet-clad program pulled down its mask and a fireball shot out of its mouth. SearchMan raised his arms and shielded himself as the flames engulfed him.

“I specialize in fire techniques, but you obviously noticed that already,” the ninja cried. The sniper grunted as he called for his operator.

“Lieutenant Laika…”

“Sorry SearchMan, but I’m preoccupied right now,” Laika responded as he knocked away a red-robed dummy. SearchMan quickly got up and pushed himself away from the flames.

“Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu!” The red ninja swung its “hands” and several fireballs shot out towards his opponent. SearchMan quickly called up his Search Satellites and they fired intersecting beams that blocked the attack.

“Katon: Karyu Endan!” The program spat out another fireball and it took on the shape of a dragon’s head as it roared towards SearchMan. By this time, Laika had managed to finish off the last of the dummies and slotted in an AntiFire. A dragon statue appeared on the field and it swallowed up the fireball before unleashing a fiery explosion on the ninja. The program was thrown back and it coughed.

“You’ve done well,” it commended, “Go forth to the top of the castle and fight YamatoMan-sama.” Without wasting another second, SearchMan logged out and Laika proceeded to the top of GargoyleCastle. When he finally made it to the roof, he climbed up to the GargoyleComp and held out his PET.

“Are you ready, SearchMan?” he asked. His Navi nodded.

“Let’s do it.”

“Jack in!! SearchMan, power up!” SearchMan landed inside the system and he was quickly faced with a blue-armored samurai wielding a spear.

“I must commend you on making it this far,” YamatoMan congratulated, “But now is not the time for congratulations. How much do you wager on this tournament match?”

“We’ll bet five Battle Points,” answered Laika as he slipped his Battle Point chip into his PET and a counter appeared over SearchMan’s head.

“So be it.” YamatoMan tapped the end of his spear against the floor and his own counter appeared.

“We came this far, SearchMan. Now let’s give it everything we’ve got,” Laika said, “Battle routine, set!”

“Execute!”

“This shall be an honorable fight!”

BATTLE START

“Scope Gun!” SearchMan raised his sniper rifle and fired.

“Spinning Reflect!” YamatoMan spun his spear around and the shot was deflected back to its source. SearchMan ducked as it sailed over his head and struck the wall behind him.

“Straight Spear!” YamatoMan’s spearhead grew larger and he thrust his weapon forward. He struck his opponent on the chest and sent him flying back.

“SearchMan, are you alright?” asked Laika.

“I’m fine,” SearchMan replied, “YamatoMan’s a master of spear combat with a high defense. Simply shooting at him from a distance will not be enough and fighting him up close is no good, either.”

“Study his attack pattern and see if you can find any weaknesses,” Laika ordered.

“Thousand Spear!” YamatoMan rushed in and started taking multiple rapid stabs at SearchMan. The green-armored Navi rolled away as quickly as he could and threw a Search Grenade behind him. Just as he hoped, YamatoMan stepped on it and it exploded under his foot, which created a cloud of smoke that gave the sniper enough cover to get up and move to a safe distance.

“You can’t get far!” YamatoMan declared as he used his Spinning Reflect to dispel the smoke.

“CircleGun Battlechip in, download!” From his sniping position, SearchMan held out his left hand and it morphed into a gun. He looked through the scope and waited until all three sets of crosshairs converged and locked onto YamatoMan before firing. The shots struck the samurai and he turned to face his opponent.

“So that’s where you are!” he brought up his spear and threw it with all his might. SearchMan quickly abandoned his post and the weapon struck the wall.

“Excellent work, SearchMan. You disarmed him,” Laika commended.

“Tch. Do not forget that I am a samurai. My spear is not my only weapon.” YamatoMan clenched his fist and it morphed into a Katana3. Laika armed his Navi with a LongBlade and SearchMan ran towards his opponent. The two combatants met and their blades clashed.

“You are as strong as I had surmised,” YamatoMan noted as they locked swords.

“You’d be surprised,” SearchMan replied.

“TankCannon1 Battlechip in, download!” The sniper Navi’s other hand changed into a cannon and he pressed it against his opponent’s stomach. Before he could give himself time to react, YamatoMan was blasted back and he was thrown against a wall. Leaning on his katana for support, he slowly got back to his feet and faced his opponent.

“Impressive.” And with that, he rushed back into the fight and the two of them resumed their sword fight.

“DrillArm1 Battlechip in, download!” SearchMan’s LongBlade was replaced by a drill and he shattered his opponent’s sword. YamatoMan quickly changed the hilt back into his hand and he grabbed onto the weapon’s arm attachment and threw SearchMan aside.

“Just because I lack a weapon does not mean I cannot defeat you,” the samurai informed him, “Backup!” Several mini spearmen materialized around his feet and they ran towards SearchMan, jabbing their spears at him as they approached.

“CrackOut3 Battlechip in, download!” SearchMan slowly raised his arm and slammed his palm on the floor. All the panels adjacent to his hand glowed white before they disappeared. When the spearmen reached the end, they all plummeted into the abyss below. With them taken care of, he brought up his sniper rifle and targeted YamatoMan’s icon.

“Scope Gun!” He pulled the trigger and the shot sailed forward and struck his target. He fired again and struck him. As YamatoMan blocked the continuous chain of sniper shots, he looked up and saw his spear still sticking in the wall.

“StepSword,” he muttered. His hand changed into a WideSword and his colors inverted as he dashed towards SearchMan. He leapt over the trench and slashed him as he passed, reappearing behind him. YamatoMan stood up as his sword vanished and he ran towards his spear. When he finally reached the wall, he used DoubleJump to help him gain access to his weapon and grabbed onto it.

“SearchMan, he’s getting his spear!” Laika warned.

“Search Satellite!” A green satellite appeared in the air and fired a green laser at YamatoMan. The samurai swung his legs up and flipped himself on top of his spear, the laser missing him and striking the wall just underneath him. He chortled before jumping off and pulling his spear out of the wall. He landed back on the floor and spun his weapon around.

“Now prepare to meet your end!” he declared, “Thousand Spear!” He made several rapid jabs with his spear and dealt many blows to his opponent.

“Straight Spear!” Once his multi-hit attack was complete, he thrust his spear forward and it slashed SearchMan’s side.

“SearchMan!” Laika dug around in his pocket and quickly produced a SuperVulcan, “SuperVulcan Battlechip in, download!” SearchMan’s hand changed into a gold gattling gun and he fired several bullets at his opponent.

“Spinning Reflect!” YamatoMan held his spear out in front of him and spun it around, deflecting the shots away from him. SearchMan ceased fire and just watched as his opponent brought his weapon down and enlarged the spearhead.

“This battle is mine. Straight Spear!” YamatoMan thrust his weapon forward.

“AntiDamage Battlechip in, download!” Laika’s PET registered the chip and when the spear hit SearchMan, he disappeared and left only a dummy of himself behind. The real SearchMan then appeared overhead and threw a shuriken down on YamatoMan, striking the center of his helmet.

“While we were battling those ninjas, we picked up on some of their skills,” the sniper informed the samurai.

“I must say I’m impressed with your resourcefulness,” YamatoMan commented, “But this battle is far from over. Straight Spear!” This time, SearchMan was ready. As soon as the spear came, he jumped up and landed on the handle.

“HeatBreath Battlechip in, download!” A Whomper virus dropped down in front of YamatoMan and blew its fiery breath into his face. Using the attack as a means of cover, SearchMan pointed his Scope Gun at his opponent’s chest and fired. He struck his mark and quickly leapt off as the flames died out and the Whomper retreated. YamatoMan shook his head and wiped his face and gave SearchMan a good hard glare before charging at him.

“Thousand Spear!”

“Rope3 Battlechip in, download!” A pair of thorn-covered vines rose up from the floor and wrapped themselves around YamatoMan’s legs. SearchMan then charged up his Scope Gun and jumped high into the air. As soon as his weapon reached maximum charge, he unleashed its power and shot YamatoMan through the head. The samurai dropped his spear and fell on his face. Five Battle Points disappeared from his counter and were added to Laika’s score.

“Well done, SearchMan. We won this battle,” Laika said.

“You fought well,” YamatoMan commended as he got up. He picked up his spear and held it in his hand as he stood before SearchMan.

“You deserve this. Take it with honor.” The samurai held out his hand and transferred a piece of chip data to Laika’s PET. The soldier from Sharo slotted in a blank chip and when it came out he had a shiny new YamatoManV5 chip.

“Perhaps we can battle again someday,” SearchMan said.

“I look forward to it,” YamatoMan replied. The two bid farewell and SearchMan logged out. Satisfied with the outcome of the battle, Laika quickly returned to the ground and left End City.

“Their display in combat was incredible,” YamatoMan said thoughtfully, “They shall no doubt be able to defeat the evil that Serenade mentioned.”

---------------------------------
End of chapter 3-33.

CHAPTER PREVIEW
Lan: Even Navis who were deleted instantly are coming back for this tournament.
MegaMan: They really pulled out all the stops for this competition.
Lan: Let’s hope Tory can handle himself in his next battle.
MegaMan: There’s trouble brewing where he is.
Lan & MegaMan: Next time on Rockman.EXE: The College Years, “Flower Power”.
Lan: There are no elemental advantages or disadvantages in this battle.
MegaMan: It’s all about strategy and power.
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[LgacyDX]

From the knowledge of the next chapter, I'd say PlantMan will return.
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Mega Man: New Generation *Updated to Chapter 1-14*
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