Series 9 Issue #17 - Starcrossed Part 2

By Raijin (Snakeman)

Last time, Snakeman and Sparkman went online with their navi forms to investigate the Council, but ended up in the Cyberworld of AXE and then back in the real world through a reality-breaking CyberGate. Sparkman.exe destroyed the CyberGate at the cost of trapping himself on the real world side with the Council. Now, Snakeman has to explain to the other Maniacs why Sparkman's body is lying comatose on the floor of their apartment with a dubiously constructed machine hooked up to his brain.

Magnetman: You killed Sparkman?

Snakeman: I wasn't the one that killed him! Also, he's not dead. Maybe. Hopefully.

Topman: What, is he in a coma?

Snakeman: Kinda. He can't wake up because his mind is somewhere else. The Council indicated they wanted to keep us alive to get information from us, so we probably still have a chance to rescue him, but we'd better do it fast.

Shadowman: How did you manage to get a virtual avatar captured? Couldn't he just instantly log out?

Snakeman: Only if we were online at the time, but the Council had a device to bring us into the real world. We should also deal with that, by the way. It's broken now, but it probably wouldn't take long for them to repair it.

Needlegal: So he's in his navi form, but in the real world? Any idea where?

Snakeman: Some lab somewhere? He might have been moved, though. They didn't seem prepared to take prisoners when they opened the doorway.

Geminiman: We need at least a general idea where he is before we can mount a rescue. I mean, was the virtual location tied to a real one we could check out?

Snakeman: It wasn't supposed to be, but then it turned out to be a power plant that doesn't exist.

Hardman: Well that makes sense.

Snakeman: At some point we ended up in the cyberworld of an alternate Earth. I don't know. It was like a timeline where navi forms were more important than ever and where we're mercenaries or something. It turns out Monsteropolis' internet has as much multiversal weirdness going on as the physical version.

Magnetman: That's it, I'm outta here.

Shadowman: *sigh* Stay there, Mags. Snake, are you absolutely sure we can't infiltrate a known location like RPD HQ?

Snakeman: That's a lot of security to risk breaking through if we're not even sure that's where they are.

Shadowman: Because it sounds like you're angling towards using our navi forms to go through the net and wait for them to re-open the back door into their lab.

Snakeman: Whaaaaat? I never suggested anything like that.

Snakeman: That's a good idea though. We should probably consider it.

The Maniacs: (Groan)

Snakeman: Look, the only real problem we had in there was a lack of numbers! I don't blame you for opting to sit out before, we were expecting it to be basically deserted. That's changed. So bite the bullet and come on a navi form adventure with me!

Topman: My only objection is that you refer to it in such terms.

Shadowman: He's right, though. At least in that it's our only way to find them... Once we're through, we could send out a signal that could lead us to the real world location.

Snakeman: Sure, but why bother going there in person? Power for power, our navi forms are better suited for the fight.

Needlegal: We've also established there's a risk of getting trapped, so let's have at least somebody ready to back us up from this side.

Magnetman: Right. That sounds like the job for me, since I don't know what all this cyberworld nonsense is about.

Geminiman: Actually, it's the job for me and Hardman, since we never got real navi forms.

Topman: Lucky.

Magnetman: Are they that bad?

Snakeman: They're NOT that bad.

Topman: Mine is! I turn into a hunched old man with a brick for a chin!

Shadowman: Just...channel that frustration into beating the council. We'll try to make it quick and then before you know it we'll be back to forgetting navi forms were ever a thing.

Snakeman: Okay, it's decided then. I'll make a program to act as a tracking device when it manifests in the real world...which isn't as impossible as it sounds.

Needlegal: Just one problem, how are we going to transmit even five of us when this device is only set up for two?

Snakeman: Oh... It shouldn't take too long to expand it, but we will need to round up some extra parts.

(Shortly, at Walkman's Bar...)

Snakeman: Hey, Walkman, does your kitchen have three colanders we could borrow?

Walkman: Getting ready for the big spaghetti cookoff, huh?

Shadowman: No.

Magnetman: There's a spaghetti cookoff? When?

Walkman: Next Saturday at six, downstairs.

Magnetman: Is there a flyer or something I can write that down on?

Walkman: (Pulls a flyer out from under the counter and hands it to Magnetman.) Here ya go. Junkiman's recipe usually takes the prize, but Gyroman is promising to give him a run for his money this year. And there's this one Skeleton Joe that's really enthusiastic about it too, oddball that he is. Thinking of entering?

Magnetman: Maybe...there's this bourbon-based sauce I usually reserve for chili that I've been thinking of trying on--

Snakeman: Focus, guys! We need parts for our navi form transmitter.

Waveman: (Looking up from the bar, where he had been literally crying into his beer.) *sniff* You guys are gonna go online as navis?

Needlegal: Eventually. If we can get the parts we need AND put them together without Spark.

Waveman: Well...I have a transmitter you can use, if you want...

Shadowman: No.

Snakeman: Wh-!? Since when do YOU have a navi form transmitter!?

Waveman: Since it came out. It's my second life. I'm marginally more appreciated there.

Needlegal: ...It needs to seat five.

Waveman: It seats six! I can go with you!

Shadowman: No.

Snakeman: We don't have time to be picky! This is a big stroke of luck.

Topman: Is the part where Waveman tags along negotiable?

Waveman: Absolutely not.

Shadowman: (Whispering into his communicator so only the other Mechs can hear) I say we let him lead us to the transmitter then just beat him up.

Waveman: By the way, I have the lockout codes just in case you're thinking of beating me up after I take you to the transmitter.

Shadowman: Damn it, Wave.

Snakeman: It's fine, it's fine. We could use the extra muscle anyway. Please lead on, Wave.

Waveman: Yes! I have a team again!

Shadowman: NO.

(Shortly, at Waveman's hovel...)

Snakeman: I can't believe this thing is in such good condition!

Topman: (Looking disdainfully at Waveman's living conditions.) It looks like the only thing that is, around here...

Waveman: I used to use it with my team.* The others all got bored with it. When they kicked me out I took it with me. They said I wasn't allowed to have it, but it's not like they noticed it missing. They just didn't want me to have it.

(*See Series 6's Special - "Sinister Six.EXE Strikes Back" and #7 - "The Rivalry" for the Sinister Six's earlier navi escapades.)

Snakeman: But how, with the decommissioning, were you even able to keep using your navi form? It took me forever to figure out the mods that would re-enable it.

Waveman: I've had a lot of free time...

Snakeman: And what did you even do online if nobody else was using navi forms any more?

Waveman: Well, nobody in Monsteropolis. There were still billions of navis hanging out in the other cyberworld.

Snakeman: You even knew about--!? Gah. Wish I'd had the forethought not to let my team throw out our old gear.

Waveman: You know, you could come over to use mine any ti-

Snakeman: No thanks.

Shadowman: Alright, let's just hook in and get started.

(Moments later.)

Topman.exe: Yay. Arthritis.

Magnetman.exe: Everythin' looks like a technicolor Escher print and my arms are suddenly bigger than my entire body used to be... Somehow, it's all you'd led me to believe it would be.

Needlegal.exe: Because it's incomprehensibly overwhelming?

Magnetman.exe: Exactly. For once, I feel adequately prepared for the weirdness of your adventures.

Snakeman.exe: Good, because the weirdness is just getting started.

Waveman.exe: It doesn't take that much getting used to. Once you figure out all your new powers, it's actually pretty cool!

Shadowman.exe: Hold on. Wave, is that what your navi form looked like last time?

Waveman.exe: What, this? I don't think so, the new look is pretty recent. Didn't have to do anything to get it, it just showed up one day and I almost didn't notice. Not that I'm complaining -- I think it reflects my hidden animal nature and presages my true regal potential.

Snakeman.exe: Uh oh.

Needlegal.exe: Problem, Snake?

Snakeman.exe: ...Um...it's probably nothing. Follow me. We're meeting up with some folks that will help us out.

(The Maniacs and Waveman take the path that transitions to the other cyberworld and meet up with the AXE squad just outside the power plant system.)

Drillman.exe: You're back already? That was fast.

Snakeman.exe: What about you? I thought you were getting your whole police force to back you up.

Metalman.exe: They're mobilizing as we speak, but it's only been a few minutes since we called in.

Snakeman.exe: Huh? It's been over an hour since I logged off!

Waveman.exe: Didn't you know about the time differential here?

Snakeman.exe: What!?

Waveman.exe: Yeah, even though it's been over 15 years in our world since the first time I was here, from their perspective it's only been about four.

Needlegal.exe: If time is moving four times faster outside, then we may have even less time than we thought before the Council fixes their portal!

Terra X Gaia: (From the ground, where she's being held down by Infernoman's massive arms.) Good. I'm getting tired of waiting.

Snakeman.exe: ...And what are the bad guys still doing here?

Drillman.exe: Er...We're still figuring out what to do with them. We can't force the Star Crossed to log out because the connections with their PETs were severed.

Pluto X Flamechick: I want to log out...but I also don't want to log out... Please help.

Metalman.exe: Until the Officials get here with proper containment units, the only way to remove them as threats would be to permanently delete them. We don't want to do that to our teammates.

Mercury X Overdrive: Much appreciated.

Snakeman.exe: Yeah, but what about them? (Thumbs toward the three remaining members of the Getsumen Corps.)

Poseidonman.exe: Remaining for and cooperating with the Officials is a massive risk, one that the cowardly Bitman lacked the loyalty to endure. Inferno and I, however, will do whatever is necessary to cure Gaia of her condition and salvage what is left of our team. We lack the resources to contain and analyze her, so we will surrender to Official custody for now and worry about escaping later.

Waveman.exe: Hold on, Bitman was here?

Snakeman.exe: Different one, don't worry about it.

Drillman.exe: The arrangement makes me uneasy...I'd just as soon delete her after what we've been through because of her...

Infernoman.exe: Just try it, asshole!

Drillman.exe: ...But we also know the Terra Cross will just manifest in another navi somewhere else as soon as she's gone, and at least this way we know where it is.

Terra X Gaia: Ha ha ha, exactly. Not only can you do nothing to hinder our cause, it seems all you can do is aid it. Thank you for bringing our brother to the congregation, by the way.

Metalman.exe: What? Who...?

Mercury X Overdrive: (Looking at Waveman, eyes wide with sudden realization.) Nn-...N-Neptune, the Mystic...the wanderer from another realm...I have...a message for you?

Neptune X Waveman: Me?

Snakeman.exe: Aw, crap! I was afraid of this!

Drillman.exe: Overdrive! Hey! Stay with us! Don't let this thing mess with your head.

Mercury X Overdrive: I know! I know. I'm not going to turn...but I have to tell this guy...be here and don't let anybody close the portal once it's open.

Neptune X Waveman: Okay.

Metalman.exe: Damn it, Overdrive!

Mercury X Overdrive: What! That didn't do any harm, did it? Wait, did it? I can't seem to think clearly...

Topman.exe: I don't know what's going on with these people, but just ignore her, Wave. We're going to try to go in, rescue Spark, blow the place, and get out. We don't want the portal to stay open and we really don't need you getting in the way.

Neptune X Waveman: I dunno...I want to help you, but something tells me I should do what she says. It makes sense, somehow.

Terra X Gaia: Of course it does. You've been deemed worthy of the same rare gift. That means you're one of us.

Neptune X Waveman: You'd welcome me onto your team? ...Yeah, I'm sold. (Shoots a torrent of water at an unprepared Infernoman, deleting the weaker elemental warrior.)

Poseidonman.exe: No!

Shadowman.exe: Damn it, Wave!

Terra X Gaia: (Standing up) Thank you, dear. Though I don't think violence was really necessary just yet.

Neptune X Waveman: Oh... Sorry?

Terra X Gaia: It's alright. We were probably going to have to delete them all sooner or later. We can just get a head start while we wait for the others to arrive. (Levels her arm cannon at Poseidonman, who can't bring himself to counter the threat.)

Pluto X Flamechick: Nng...N-No! I won't be part of this! You two need to stand down!

Metalman.exe: You're still very outnumbered, Gaia. Don't be stupid.

Neptune X Waveman: Wait, what are the sides here? Nobody's really filled me in yet.

Magnetman.exe: I think I could use a rundown myself.

Snakeman.exe: Right now, it's Wave and the green lady on team "Crossed", possibly with catgirl and catsuit if they can't fight the brainwashing. They'd definitely be up against those two metal "Official" guys and beardo over there, except the Crossed ones are normally their teammates so they're reluctant to hurt them. We should be standing with the Officials against the Crossed because the Crossed are working with the Council, but we don't care about hurting anyone. Got all that?

Magnetman.exe: Well, if it's all of us aginst the two-or-four of 'em, that's pretty well settled.

Neptune X Waveman: Oh! I can help with that! Remember when I said I had the lockout codes for the transmitter?

Shadowman.exe: Wave, don't you dare--(is cut off as he and the rest of the Mechs' sessions are forcefully ended with a thought.)

Terra X Gaia: How nice! I'm very proud of you, Neptune.

Neptune X Waveman: Hooray!

Drillman.exe: Fat lotta help they were! Well, Gaia's probably still weakened from before. The five of us are enough to contain them. Overdrive, can you drain the new guy to weaken him too?

Mercury X Overdrive: Uhh...I just...hold on, there's something I gotta do real quick. (Disappears with a sonic boom and a cloud of dust kicked up where her feet were.)

Poseidonman.exe: Did she just run away!?

Metalman.exe: I don't believe it.

Terra X Gaia: Don't worry, she'll be back. While you're waiting, we'll be happy to keep you entertained.

(Outside in the real world...)

Topman: Well, that was anticlimactic.

Needlegal: Back to building our own transmitter, I guess?

Snakeman: Nuts to that! I can override Waveman's controls faster than that would take.

Shadowman: While you're at it, we can pull him out and beat him up like we should have done in the first place.

Snakeman: That might not actually be possible now ... like they said in there, the ones with those "Star Cross" transformations are resistant to being logged out.

Magnetman: You're saying we can't just yank him out of that seat right now and start whuppin his ass like he deserves?

Snakeman: I mean, you could yank his body out of that seat, but it would just be a mindless husk like Spark's while his mind continues to cause trouble in the Cyberworld.

Magnetman: Whatever, good enough. (Yanks Waveman's body out of the seat and starts kicking it while it lies limp on the floor. Shadow quickly joins in.)

Snakeman: Well ... just save some of that for when we get back in there, okay?

(In the Council's lab...)

Terra: Repairs are coming along nicely. We should be able to get back online today. Now don't you feel silly for sacrificing yourself to stall our progress?

Sparkman.exe: (Strapped to a medieval-style torture rack.) In hindsight, I could have made some better choices back there.

Holzenbein: (Scanning Sparkman with a spectro-analyzer.) Hmmm...I was expecting a form of arrayed electromagnetic fields similar to a hard-light hologram, but there is something genuinely exotic about the pseudomaterial. I can hardly wait to get to a real dissection, but I definitely need to acquire some backup subjects before I risk expiring this one.

Trio: When the time comes, we'll acquire everything we can from ... Sorry, but why do his restraints include a ball-gag? He doesn't even have a mouth.

Sparkman.exe: I've been wondering that myself.

Holzenbein: (Shrugs) That's just standard procedure, isn't it? Trust me, I know my restraints.

Trio: ...If you say so. Anyway, for the trouble we're going through, Terra's allies in that world had better be true to their word.

Terra: I wouldn't call them "allies" exactly.

Sparkman.exe: Yeah, they're the voices in your head, right? Doesn't that make this whole thing seem like a sane and sensible endeavor?

Holzenbein: Quiet, you.

Terra: It does make me wonder just how this other Terra inspired me... Hm...

(Somewhere in the Cyberworld, Plantman tends to his secret garden while Bubbleman and Burstgirl lounge next to a pond they'd recently installed in it.)

Burstgirl.exe: Doesn't this brighten up the place?

Bubbleman.exe: It's almost as beautiful as you, blub.

Plantman.exe: Ugh. Just saying, this is supposed to be a meeting place to broker drug deals. I don't need you making the atmosphere less intimidating.

Burstgirl.exe: How are all these lovely flowers meant to be intimidating?

Plantman.exe: By spewing toxic pollen at the first sign of a threat. What security features does that puddle provide?

Bubbleman.exe: Who could make a threatening move in the presence of such serene beauty, blub?

Plantman.exe: Dude, I don't even recognize you any more.

Mercury X Overdrive: (Runs in at super speed.) Yes! There you are! Venus, Bringer of Peace, I have a message for you!

Burstgirl.exe: Huh?

Plantman.exe: (Sputters.) H-how did you get in here!? Vines!

(The plants of the area move in to ensnare Overdrive, but she slashes them to pieces before they even get close.)

Mercury X Overdrive: Be at these coordinates. (Transfers a text string with the URL.) Understand?

Burstgirl.exe: ...Yeah. I think I do.

Mercury X Overdrive: See you there! (Runs out.)

Plantman.exe: Get back here! How dare you-!

Burstgirl.exe: I have to go now.

Bubbleman.exe: Wasn't that one of the Officials? What was she talking about?

Burstgirl.exe: I don't know ... or part of me does? Anyway, I gotta go to find out.

Bubbleman.exe: Wait! Go where? Let me go with you, blub!

Burstgirl.exe: I ... That's not a good idea. Please don't worry about me. I promise I'll be back. (Forms a cluster of bubbles to lift her up into the air. She quickly floats out of view through the garden's canopy.) I love you!

Bubbleman.exe: I love youuuu, bluuub!

Plantman.exe: I hate all of you.

(In a dark, desolate corner of the Cyberworld...)

Mars X Napalmman: Grrr...These preparations are interminable! I need battle! I need enemies to destroy!

Saturn X Gate: Patience, my friend. I sense you won't have to wait much longer. The pieces fall into place and gradually form the whole. With every step, our fate becomes clearer.

Mars X Napalmman: Talk, talk, talk! That's all you're good for! I already know my role! I don't need any more of your vague lectures or premonitions!

Mercury X Overdrive: (Zips in.) Mars, Bringer of War. Saturn, Bringer of Old Age...

Saturn X Gate: I prefer "Wisdom".

Mars X Napalmman: Oh, come off it! You told me yourself the only reason you got your role was for being the oldest living being in the Cyberworld -- a gross technicality of an acknowledgement since you were born as a human decades before the Cyberworld was invented!*

(*This guy transferred his mind permanently to the Cyberworld in the AXE Season 1 Finale - Part 1, page 1.)

Saturn X Gate: ...Nonetheless, I sense it is truly my wisdom that our shared fate values in me. Wisdom and old age go hand in hand.

Mars X Napalmman: Pfft, whatever. You can program "wisdom" into a real navi. You're just a geezer.

Mercury X Overdrive: Yo, guys, go here. (Drops the link and runs.)

Mars X Napalmman: Wait! Will there be enemies to destroy?

Saturn X Gate: I sense you won't be disappointed.

Mars X Napalmman: Oh, shut up already!

(And in a suburban PC in Cyber City...)

Lan: Come onnnn, Megaman! Get into your PET! I'm late for school!

Jupiter X Megaman: I can't! I have to be online for...some reason...something important! Just go without me today.

Lan: But I need you there! They're teaching us the basics of Virus Busting today and you need to participate in the tutorial.

Jupiter X Megaman: AGAIN!? Just tell them we already know all that!

Lan: You know full well that tutorial is unskippable!

Mercury X Overdrive: (Zoom) Jupiter, Bringer of Jollity! The supreme one! It's an honor, apparently! I have a message for you!

Jupiter X Megaman: Sorry Lan, gotta go! (Grabs the link and flies away on his jetpack.)

Lan: What!? M-Megaman!? Where'd you go? Megamaaaaan!

(And in a battle-torn sector of the Undernet...)

Uranus X Magicman: Have you yet to realize your folly in challenging me? Your comrades have fallen, your barriers are failing. You should cut your losses and flee.

Magister.exe: The Ch-Children of V-Vengeance d-don't run! ...Though m-maybe just this once...(She suddenly becomes furious.) Aw, hell with that! I'll make you pay for what you did to the others!

Uranus X Magicman: Make ME pay? It was your team that came picking a fight with mine in the first place! I have my own teammates to avenge, so if you're not going to do the smart thing and leave I'll be happy to finish this the old fashioned way. Quake!

(Magicman floats high above the ground as it begins to violently shake and collapse in pieces. Magister scrambles to find safe ground and cast a float spell of her own while the incoming Overdrive stumbles, unable to get any closer on foot.)

Mercury X Overdrive: (Shouting at the two navis in the distance) Hey! I got a message for Uranus, the Magician! I know you're over there somewhere, I can feel it!

Uranus X Magicman: Who's that? Tsk, just when I thought the field was clear to unleash the full potential of my new powers.

Magister.exe: (Now floating) Hah! Don't bother! Why don't you just hand over the secret of the Star Cross? Tenebrosi would make much better use of it!

Uranus X Magicman: You don't even understand the first thing about it. I am the master of earth and the god of sky! (Blasts Magister with a wind spell that slams her back down to the ground, where the ongoing quake spell swallows her in an opening fissure.)

Magister.exe: (Appears behind Magicman and ensnares him with bands of light.) Some wizard you are if you can get tricked by a simple illusion spell! (As she points the orb in her staff at his head, her fierce demeanor shifts to a soft, earnest one.) Oh, I almost forgot. Blackbelt wanted you to know, "no hard feelings."

Uranus X Magicman: Blackbelt!?

(She blasts his head off with a Magic Missile. An explosion of light envelops them both. Overdrive is able to approach as the ground settles.)

Mercury X Overdrive: Hello? Uranus?

Uranus X Magister: ...Yes...Yes! That would be me.

Mercury X Overdrive: Oh. You. Eh, I'm not feeling too vindictive for some reason. I got a message. Take this link and be there or be square.

Uranus X Magister: Ah, but I should really report back ha ha but this will be so much fun! I see now I was always destined for this ugh how predictable but it's the unpredictability that matters! Chaos, delicious chaos! I'll never be free how wonderful how terrifying how mildly interesting.

Mercury X Overdrive: Rrriighht...Wellll, I did my job...I'm gonna go now. I really hope I don't regret all this when my mind is my own again. (Sprints back to the power plant.)

Uranus X Magister: Yes? No. Minds will never be our own. Our minds are multitude. They are one, will be one. Must go, embrace the multitude, embrace the one. Master of earth, god of sky. God. We are gods. God will be...ha ha ha...

(While back in the power plant system...)

Pluto X Flamechick: Get back! (Slashes at Drillman with her claws.)

Drillman.exe: Yagh! Please, Flame, you gotta snap out of it!

Terra X Gaia: Don't you lawmen have a sense of fairness? She's just evening the odds. (Shoots lasers at Metalman.)

Poseidonman.exe: (Trying to stab Waveman, but can't get past the torrents of water he's shooting out) This is absurd! How is it I wasn't chosen for the Neptune Cross? Being the ocean god is MY thing!

Neptune X Waveman: Ha ha! I guess you just don't measure up to the great Waveman! I'm as "ocean" as it gets! I'm deep! I'm...uh...full of life...and...

Topman.exe: You're salty and you smell of fish!

(The Mechanical Maniacs burst onto the scene shooting at Waveman, Gaia, and Flamechick.)

Neptune X Waveman: Oh geez, that was a sick burn. Good thing I have plenty of cool water! (Creates a tidal wave to sweep the Maniacs.)

Magnetman.exe: Watch yerself, hombre. You don't want to know the state we left your body in outside. Quit while you still got a leg to stand on... no pun intended ... Spoiler: I may have ripped your leg off.

Neptune X Waveman: Like I care! I'm just gonna live here from now on, with a team that likes me!

Metalman.exe: One manipulator and a couple brainwashing victims aren't much of a team!

Mercury X Overdrive: You haven't met the rest of the family!

(One by one, the rest of the Star Crossed teleport in and assess the situation.)

Uranus X Magister: OHO! My Annihilating friends! I am going to enjoy/regret this!

Venus X Burstgirl: What's with all the fighting? Is it necessary?

Mars X Napalmman: Yes! A battle! You're all going down in flames!

Jupiter X Megaman: Napalmman! I knew you were still at large!

Saturn X Gate: Hold, comrade. We're on the same side. It is clearly this ungifted rabble for whom you should save your wrath.

Drillman.exe: Fate!? How the hell are YOU still alive!?

Saturn X Gate: It's a long story. It's too bad you had to skip it. There was a monkey, and ... ah, never mind. The only thing that matters now is the Star Cross!

Terra X Gaia: At last, the gang's all here! Just one more thing before the party's complete! ...

(Gaia looks around expectantly while everyone else pairs off into a brawl around her.)

Terra X Gaia: ...Just one ... last ... thing ...

(Nobody is paying attention to her. Various stray attacks explode near her feet.)

Terra X Gaia: Any second now, probably...

(Missiles fly past her head as she taps her foot impatiently.)

Terra X Gaia: Hmph. I guess it was too greedy to expect a perfectly timed s-

(The sky suddenly splits asunder, freezing everyone in their tracks. The CyberGate is re-opened!)

Terra X Gaia: -egue!

Terra: Hello? Shall we try this again?

Holzenbein: Good god, why are there so many of them now?

Saturn X Gate: It's time. Come, everyone.

Terra X Gaia: Not everyone. Mars! Guard the gate and blow up anyone else that tries to come through!

Venus X Burstgirl: Oh yes, I'm fine with delegating the violence to the guy that seems to enjoy it.

Uranus X Magister: And since the rest of us won't be needing our destructive power for what comes next, might as well lend it to him so he can realize his full potential.

(As most of the Crossed sprint past their opponents into the portal, Magister waves her arms to cast a spell causing energy to flow from her and her allies into an elated Napalmman.)

Mars X Napalmman: HwwoooooOOHHH! BRING IT ON!!

(One blinding mystical explosion later and when the smoke clears, a much larger navi stands between the Cybergate and the Star Cross' enemies.)

Mars.exe: ...FIRE!

(A sudden and relentless barrage of artillery sends everyone else still in the system scrambling for cover.)

Shadowman.exe: This is it, we gotta get through there to rescue Spark, right?

Snakeman.exe: That's the portal I was talking about, yes, but I wasn't expecting this kind of resistance!

Drillman.exe: He's going to destroy the system single-handedly! So much for keeping things running.

Needlegal.exe: (Firing her Needle Cannon from behind cover) My shots are just bouncing off him!

Mars.exe: HAHAHA I am the perfect killing machine!

Topman.exe: I think it's clear that there's no point in fighting this guy. We should figure out how to slip past him.

Metalman.exe: This is why it always pays to pack Invis chips.

Magnetman.exe: Don't know what that is!

Drillman.exe: I kinda spent mine already, and my wormholes are not reliable when space-rending crazy is happening.

Poseidonman.exe: Worthless Officials! Leave it to me. God or not, no navi can survive my ultimate finishing move, the Charybdis Hole!

(Poseidonman uses an Invis chip to hide himself and begins to run around the explosions to get close to Mars.)

Mars.exe: Cloaked enemy detected! Photon Beam! (Shoots a beam of light from the cannon on his head straight through Poseidonman.)

Poseidonman.exe: B-buh-but my ultimate finishing moooooove! (Deleted.)

Needlegal.exe: Any other ideas?

Metalman.exe: Invisibility is usually a foolproof defense, but in case of lasers, a Mole chip lets one slip underneath an attack.

Drillman.exe: I still got one of those, but I don't doubt he has a ground-piercing weapon ready for me.

Shadowman.exe: We'll just have to give him too many targets to focus on! (Summons a pair of bunshin clones.) Top, Needle, head for the left! Snake, Magnet, to the right! We'll hit him high!

Drillman.exe: Alright, then I guess I'm hitting him low! (Activates a Mole chip, sinking into a hole in the ground that starts moving quickly towards Mars.)

Mars.exe: Idiot! I'll blow you up along with the entire platform! (Mortars the ground with Drillman's mole-hole barely dodging.)

Topman.exe: Hey, look! I'm almost through! (Spins towards Mars' right flank.)

Snakeman.exe: You can't blast all of us! (Slithers up to Mars' left.)

Mars.exe: Wanna bet!? (Shoots wide with his arms while his shoulder guns continue to pound the ground in front of him.)

Shadowman.exe: Heads up! (His clones toss Shadow Blades from above while Metalman chucks his Metal Blades. The blades all mostly glance off Mars' armor, but they manage to throw off his aim.)

Mars.exe: Bah! Don't think you're safe up there! (The guns on his shoulders and back aim upwards to blast Metalman and Shadowmen out of the sky. All the Shadowman holograms are dispersed except one, a blue one that remains completely unscathed.)

Shadowman.exe: Aha! ...Could someone remind me what's special about the blue one? I haven't used these powers in a while.

Metalman.exe: That's it! Shadow! Swords are the one type of weapon he doesn't seem to have. Your shadow clones are invulnerable to him.

Shadowman.exe: "Shadow" means "only vulnerable to swords" around here? That's a weirdly specific thing.

Topman.exe: Your regular weakness is Top Spin, G.

Shadowman.exe: Fair enough. (Forms as many Shadow Clones as possible and has them surround Mars, slashing at him.)

Mars.exe: Heh, that tickles! (Shoots, but the clones absorb all the shots. He notices the other navis slipping past him.) Hey! Where do you think you're going? Outta the way you creepy ninja bast--AARRGH!

Drillman.exe: (Popping up behind Mars.) Nice work! See ya. (Flies through the portal behind everyone else.)

Mars.exe: Get back here! (Tries to squeeze through the portal after them.)

(On the other side of the CyberGate, the Crossed have gathered on one side of the room with the Council behind a cadre of Guard Bots. The Maniacs and AXE pile in and immediately start firing on the security forces.)

Metalman.exe: Remember, we want the navis captured and brought back into our world if possible! Backup from the Officials will be arriving shortly!

Snakeman.exe: Spark! Are you alright?

Sparkman.exe: (Still strapped to the rack on the Council's side of the room) Better than it looks.

Terra: Please be careful fighting in here! The equipment has suffered enough damage as it is.

Holzenbein: Damn it, even I don't have enough restraints for all of them.

Trio: You, the agreeable ones! Is there a way to incapacitate your kind without disintegrating them?

Jupiter X Megaman: Sorry, Navis are both hardy and fragile. I could stun them for a few seconds with my electricity...

Terra X Gaia: Don't bother. We have a more important task to focus on.

Terra: Aren't you going to help at all?

Saturn X Gate: In the fight? No. We wouldn't be much help in our current state anyway. Just keep those fools away from us and we'll talk about exchange afterwards.

Trio: And what, exactly, will you be doing in this time?

Uranus X Magister: We would love to explain but WE DON'T FULLY UNDERSTAND EITHER! HAAHAHAHAHA!

Pluto X Flamechick: I sense the light above us!

Venus X Burstgirl: Bubbles go! (Releases a stream of floating bubbles into the ceiling. Their popping makes the ceiling magically disappear in a spray of sparkles.)

Terra: WHAT are you doing to our lab!? Ohh, I'm starting to have my doubts about these people.

Needlegal.exe: Spark may be here, but they have quite a barricade set up to keep us from him! (Sprays needles at Guard Bots, but most are hiding behind riot shields.)

Snakeman.exe: Oh, right! Now that we're out here, it's time to call in the backup! (Pulls a special Snake Arrow out of his jar and shoots it into the now-exposed sky.)

Magnetman.exe: Looks like we're at the top of a skyscraper in the middle of upper Monsteropolis.

Snakeman.exe: Should be easy to transmit and receive the signal then.

(A sudden flare erupts between the Crossed as they hold their hands up to the sky. A beam of light shoots straight toward the sun.)

Topman.exe: Somehow I don't think Hard and Gem are going to have trouble finding this location now!

Saturn X Gate: Mars! Get out here! It's time!

Mars.exe: (Stuck in the portal that's a little too small for him) Hrrgh! Must fulfill my purpose! Let this be my final target!

(Mars backs up and launches guided missiles that turn on himself, blowing his arms off. He then charges through the CyberGate, barreling through everyone else until he collides with the aura surrounding the rest of the Crossed, exploding into fiery pixels that get swept into the pillar of light, forming into a cloud just above their heads.)

Neptune X Waveman: Whoa! Was that supposed to happen?

Mercury X Overdrive: Uh oh ... I think it was. Look! Our data is starting to get swept up into it too!

Terra X Gaia: It's too late to fight it now! We are the incubators and our purpose was to come together to give birth to the one whose seeds we carry!

Jupiter X Megaman: Ew.

Terra X Gaia: No! You must fully embrace the purpose as I have! We are the salvation! We will return the lost fragment of light to the heavens!

(Gaia holds out her hand towards the CyberGate. At that moment, Officials gathering in the power plant system with the containment programs Metalman called for are shocked to see the Northern Lights effect in the sky go dark as Gaia's sword glows with the same array of colors, draws its vines back into itself, then dislodges from the ground and flies through the portal and back into her hand. She immediately holds it up to the cloud that was Mars and it disperses, adding its glow to the particles.)

Terra X Gaia: Our bond to the Cyberworld is completely severed. There's no going back now!

Jupiter X Megaman: Wait. That can't be right. I ... I have to get back to Lan.

Venus X Burstgirl: I promised Bubbleman I would return... I shouldn't...

Uranus X Magister: You shouldn't have made promises that you can't keep. This is more important than the meaningless connections of our old lives!

Mercury X Overdrive: But what the hell are we doing? I've just been running around on autopilot. I still don't understand WHY.

Saturn X Gate: It is not important that you know.

Neptune X Waveman: But YOU know?

Saturn X Gate: ...I should know everything. This form has revealed so much to my mind. I thought by now...

Neptune X Waveman: Ma'am, you know everything, right? You've guided us all the way here.

Terra X Gaia: I don't need to know anything. I feel it throughout every pixel of my being!

Mercury X Overdrive: I don't believe this! My legs won't move! I'm going to die here without even knowing why!

Pluto X Flamechick: ...

Mercury X Overdrive: Flame, I'm sorry. I feel like I got you dragged into this.

(Flamechick can't hear her. She stares transfixed into the light. Her place on the boundary of life and death makes her more perceptive of the voices beyond.)

Flamechick: It's you, isn't it? You're controlling us.

???: I am.

Flamechick: Who are you? Why are you doing this?

???: To create an avatar in this world. To bring peace.

Flamechick: Okay... Who are you though? Where did you come from?

???: I come from the sun. I am...

Mercury X Overdrive: Flame? Say something, please. We gotta do something...

(With the defensive line broken by Mars' entrance, Topman is able to spin through to where Sparkman is tied up and uses his mini tops to cut the bonds.)

Sparkman.exe: It's about time!

Topman.exe: Kids today, no gratitude!

Trio: You're not going anywhere! (Charges at Top and Spark with his glowing fist.)

Hardman: Hard Knuckle! (Launches his fist, knocking Trio off-balance.) Hey, thanks for saving some action for us! I was getting bored.

Terra: Where did YOU come from!? (Shoots his Spark Chaser towards Hardman, but a Gemini Laser intercepts it and both beams bounce off-course, mostly damaging the walls and Guard Bots.)

Geminiman: As soon as Snake sent us the coordinates, we were able to just teleport in. I think whatever is going on over there disabled your anti-teleportation net.

Holzenbein: This is the worst! Those cretins are supposed to be giving us their power and instead they're costing us all of our work!

Terra: ...Could it be I was deceived?

Pluto X Flamechick: Aaahhh! No! WE were the ones deceived!

Mercury X Overdrive: Flame? What? You were zoned out for a minute.

Pluto X Flamechick: I know where our powers come from, finally! I could suddenly hear their voice clearly as their mind comes together within our own. There's an entity ... some kind of macroscopic consciousness enveloping the universe. The stars are their synapses.

Shadowman.exe: It's Sunstar, right? It's your universe's version of Sunstar. You're all like the Stardroids so it's kind of obvious where this has been heading.

Pluto X Flamechick: Like some kind of ... Sun God.

Shadowman.exe: Close enough.

Pluto X Flamechick: Twenty years ago, a solar flare caused an EM storm that somehow lodged an impression of that consciousness into the Cyberworld. It passively adjusted to our system and culture over the course of decades until it found a way to bring its fragmented self together by possessing navis like us. When we merge here, they will have a form at our scale for the first time...

Terra X Gaia: Of course it's God. We are the chosen to carry out the will of--

Pluto X Flamechick: NO! This is no benevolent god! If we merge like this into their avatar, we'll doom everyone!

Sparkman.exe: Wait. Everyone who? Us everyone?

Pluto X Flamechick: Everyone everywhere! The plan is for the avatar to commune with the macroscopic version that exists in the stars, creating a target that tells them where to aim cataclysmic solar flares that will incinerate offending planets -- planets that hold sentient life.

Uranus X Magister: That's awful! Makes no difference to me. Let's do it!

Venus X Burstgirl: It makes sense... It's the answer I've been looking for. This is the true way to peace! Many will be sacrificed, but the one that remains will experience the most perfect contentment possible! Our imperfect existences have always stood in the way of this utopia.

Terra X Gaia: If that is the Sun God's will, then it's mine as well! We will bring this avatar into this world!

Jupiter X Megaman: Is this just? ...N-no! I can't let that happen!

Mercury X Overdrive: We really need to fight it with all we got now!

Magnetman.exe: At least they're split on whether or not to go through with it now. I don't know if what she's saying is even possible, but seems like we can't go wrong keeping this weird ritual from playing out.

Jupiter X Megaman: Can't take any chances! Everyone, delete us! Don't let it be born!

Saturn X Gate: N-no! Deletion will just speed up the process! You saw what happened to Mars!

Uranus X Magister: Good idea! Hyahaha! (Zaps the others with magical energy.)

Magnetman.exe: Now cut that out! (Uses his magnetic hold to stop Magister from moving without hurting her.)

Shadowman.exe: Just pull them out from under that hole in the roof!

(As he rushes to their side of the room, Shadowman is suddenly knocked away by Trio's backhand.)

Trio: Are you forgetting? These are our guests. We will not allow you to bother them further.

Geminiman: Are you insane!? They JUST admitted they're going to wipe out all life as we know it!

Trio: The possibility of possessing a planet-killer weapon is the most promising thing I've heard all night. All that matters is that this Sun God is on OUR side, right?

Terra X Gaia: Exactly! Let this happen and only your enemies may fear the wrath of our Lord!

Pluto X Flamechick: Lies! I felt their indiscriminate hatred. They never intended to honor the deal. They'd have no need! They will destroy you all and never stop!

Trio: Too bad. If it won't work with us, then we'll just reprogam it so it works FOR us. I've always wanted to own a "god".

Snakeman.exe: And how the hell do you plan to make that work?

Trio: None of your concern, but we should have what we need. Whatever is "born" will be a navi of some kind, right? We've learned all we need to about their fundamental structure from our helpful test subject.

Holzenbein: What? No we haven't! I specifically said we needed more test subjects to derive anything but cicumstantial data!

Trio: ...Then perhaps we should focus on recapturing THESE subjects now and derive the data we need before the weapon arrives.

Holzenbein: Really? Now!? With the hole in the ceiling and the teleport screen disabled!?

Terra: Sounds like quite a risk to take when the "weapon" could be born any minute and doom the Earth before we get anywhere close to figuring out how to reprogram it.

Trio: I am disappointed by your defeatist attitudes! So what if the Earth is destroyed? We would have plenty of time to evacuate ourselves before any solar flare hit anyway. Don't you at least want to try?

Holzenbein: I would much rather have the leash ready BEFORE releasing the deadly creature we attempt to slap it on!

(The Council members' argument and resultant Guard Bot confusion gives the Maniacs and the navis an opening to reach the corner of the room where the Crossed are merging. Metalman reaches his massive arms towards the paralyzed Overdrive and Flamechick to pull them away, but an incredible force holds him back.)

Metalman.exe: Gngh... Can't reach them like this.

Pluto X Flamechick: This energy field is meant only for the Crossed. Any other navi is blocked...

Hardman: How does it feel about me, then? (Reaches into the light and grabs Waveman, but can't manage to pull him out.) Oh, come on!

Venus X Burstgirl: Goodbye, my friends.

(Burstgirl smiles as her body disintegrates and joins the swirling cloud above them.)

Mercury X Overdrive: There's no time left, you gotta do something!

Drillman.exe: We're doing what we can, but I'm getting the sense that you're the ones in control here. You're the key elements in the doomsday plan, you have to reject it!

Mercury X Overdrive: That's what I've been trying to do this whole time!

Drillman.exe: Well, try harder! Uhh, remember how earlier you were saying you were actually enjoying the perks of your upgrade?

Mercury X Overdrive: Yes, well, obviously by now I know there was a catch, thanks.

Drillman.exe: I'm saying maybe you're still subconscously hanging on because of those feelings. Don't just reject it for the evil entity's sake, reject everything you liked about being Mercury! The speed, the sword, the life drain...

Metalman.exe: You were each chosen for specific reasons, right?

Pluto X Flamechick: ...Something unique in each of us that makes us compatible with a different aspect of the fragmented essence of Sun God...

Metalman.exe: Alright. Could you make yourselves incompatible?

Pluto X Flamechick: ...Overdrive... It's your selflessness, your need to succeed for the sake of the group. You became the Messenger to bring us all together.

Mercury X Overdrive: So ... I'm actually supposed to be "selfish" to get this thing out of me? Or to give up? I'm not sure that would get us anywhere.

Drillman.exe: No, I think I get it. This whole time you've been trying so hard to gain control, you've been in constant motion. Even frozen in place like you are now, your mind's racing against the clock and it's just strengthening their hold on you. You need to STOP and let us take care of YOU for a change.

Mercury X Overdrive: I need ... to stop ...

(Putting her trust her team, Overdrive takes a deep breath and tries to relax her body, dropping her sword for the first time. Seeing a chance, Hardman grabs her limpening body and yanks it from the circle of light. She emerges from it back in her original form, unconscious. No more of her data is seen entering the cloud.)

Drillman.exe: Holy crap, that actually worked.

Terra X Gaia: NO! How DARE you rob us of a complete congregation!

Uranus X Magister: INFURIATING but also ha ha ha like you think you can stop us at this point.

(Gaia and Magister both close their eyes and smile as their bodies vanish, joining the cloud.)

Magnetman.exe: Halfway there, and the pace is picking up!

Neptune X Waveman: Man, I hope I'm next. I wanna die so the world can die. This is like everything I've ever wanted.

Shadowman.exe: Damn it, Wave!

Pluto X Flamechick: He's the Mystic because of his deep faith, a divine empathy that spans worlds.

Topman.exe: Oh, brother. Listen Wave, you're not a destined legendary hero or whatever. You're a shut-in that spends too much time online. Stop playing games and get back out into the real world for a minute.

Waveman.exe: H-hey! Shut up!

Hardman: Yoink! (Pulls Waveman out of the circle during his moment of doubt.)

Waveman.exe: Aw! Nooo! I was sooo clooose!

Snakeman.exe: None of the rest of you need convincing to put a stop to this, right?

Saturn X Gate: My fate is my own! I refuse to let another will supplant mine!

Jupiter X Megaman: It's my job to save the world, not destroy it!

Pluto X Flamechick: Your attributes are wisdom and courage. If you can admit your own ignorance and helplessness...

Saturn X Gate: My ego has suffered plenty this day. And what is your attribute that you suddenly know more than even I?

Pluto X Flamechick: Insight, I suppose. I died and came back. A part of me has seen the other side and in a way remains there. I can help you two break free, but I feel like there's no going back for me. I can't unsee what I've seen.

Metalman.exe: Unacceptable. If your connection is death, all you have to do is live!

Pluto X Flamechick: I don't know. Whatever it is, it won't be simple... Moreover, I fear Magister was right. One way or another, the Sun God is coming. All we can hope for is that they will be incomplete and fallible without all the pieces.

Saturn X Gate: And perhaps imbalanced... Mars, Venus, Terra, Uranus... The avatar will embody war, peace, order, and chaos. A god balanced in power and purpose, but lacking in personality. Ours are the pieces of the mind.

Jupiter X Megaman: So... maybe it's better if one of us joins? If the Sun God is born with my heart, how could they go through with hurting anyone?

Pluto X Flamechick: Don't count on it. The way your heart serves your sense of right doesn't apply to this being. It would only fuel their own conviction in the purpose of universal genocide.

Needlegal.exe: What is their deal? Is "God" that disappointed in us?

Pluto X Flamechick: It's more like they're irritated. The waves created by our minds and our technology interferes with their own inter-galactic neural network, but they've always existed at a scale too large to identify us. We're an itch they can't scratch. The avatar we're about to create is meant to solve that problem.

Jupiter X Megaman: And twenty years getting to know us isn't enough to make them reconsider our right to life?

Saturn X Gate: You heard Venus before she went. From their perspective none of our lives matter. That twenty years would have been like the blink of an eye to one as old as the stars themselves.

Jupiter X Megaman: ...I may not know how to change my heart to reject my role, but I know when I'm dealing with an enemy I can't see eye-to-eye with... I know. If Megaman the hero is what they want, then...

(Megaman concentrates as a blue light breaks free from his Navi Mark and slowly envelops him.)

Hub: Then Hub the boy is what they're gonna get.

Hardman: Gotcha! (Frees Hub from the circle.)

Magnetman.exe: Well of course taking your clothes off is the answer. Kids these days post anything they want to the internet.

Saturn X Gate: Clever... Then perhaps a sacrifice of self will be enough for me as well. I came upon this power after gathering the pieces of my creation within myself... All I ever wanted to do was create a world, and now to save every other world, I'll have to finally let Gamma die. Let Gate be no more!

(Gate grits his teeth and forces a bubbling aura of red liquid-like energy to ooze from his diminishing form. As his transformation disappears, Hardman pulls him outside.)

Fate: ...I'm just the man called Fate again...

Hardman: One left.

(The circle of light contracts on Flamechick. The cloud of pixels above her has nearly taken humanoid form.)

Pluto X Flamechick: This is it... I don't think I can cheat death any longer, but perhaps there's still a part of me that can... "live".

Shadowman.exe: Start pulling, Ben. Looks like she's working on something. Everyone else, I don't know if it'll do any good, but blast that cloud!

(Snake Arrows, Needle Cannon, Top Blades, Smoke Bombs, Gemini Laser, Drill, Metal, and Magnet Missiles, even a reluctant Spark Chaser all shoot through the cloud and indeed don't seem to do any good. Meanwhile, Hardman grabs Flamechick and pulls while she closes her eyes and grips her mask.)

Metalman.exe: What are you trying to do?

Pluto X Flamechick: I'm trying to separate my original mind from what it's become, like what Fate and Hub did, but it's hard. My transition was never by choice, and both aspects of me want to survive.

Metalman.exe: Are you talking about...? No! There has to be another way! Flame, you have just as much right to exist as --

Pluto X Flamechick: I know, thank you, but I can sense this is the right way.

Metalman.exe: Don't do it just because you think it's what your operator wants! She wouldn't want you to hurt yourself!

Pluto X Flamechick: I know that too! It's not about that. This is my choice now, so that a part of me can survive ... and hopefully every one else...

(There's a crackling noise and thick smoke bursts from Flamechick. Hardman suddenly falls backwards.)

Hardman: What the-? Did I lose my grip? (He opens his hands and a much smaller navi falls out of them.) Wait, who 'dat?

Ice Chan: Huhnh? Where am I?

(The smoke clears and Pluto's mask is all that remains. It quickly disintegrates and joins the cloud. The circle of light vanishes and the cloud finally congeals into a solid shape. With a flash as bright as the sun, the avatar is born.)

Sun God: ...

Drillman.exe: Ohhhh crap.

(Sun God hovers in the air, shining brightly, while everyone else in the room stares transfixed ... until someone finally breaks the silence.)

Terra: Well, what are you all waiting for? It's solid now. Attack!

(Terra deploys the first Spark Chaser, which repeatedly bounces off Sun God's body without them seeming to notice. Everyone else with a weapon quickly enough catches on and tests their effectiveness, but their target doesn't flinch. Trio, instead of attacking normally, holds out his hand and shoots out a swirling mass of Evil Energy that surrounds Sun God in an attempt to infect them.)

Trio: You! Do you remember our deal? Work with us and things will be much easier all around!

Holzenbein: Seriously? You still think that has a shot?

Trio: Time to find out if my living program is compatible with that living program.

(Trio extends his giant hand and pours out purple evil energy. It surges and pulses as it surrounds the shining figure before them.)

Sun God: ...

(Sun God looks slowly over everyone assembled, then up to the sky. Then, without any further acknowledgement, flies straight upwards, rapidly accelerating, and vanishes from sight within seconds.)

Trio: Damn it.

Geminiman: ...Now what happens?

Fate: Hopefully, nothing. They're incomplete and quite likely in the wrong universe to enact their plan anyway.

Snakeman.exe: Wait, so that thing about landing in the Cyberworld through a solar flare...?

Fate: That was an event in our world. The part of the plan that involved materializing in the "real world" probably wasn't supposed to end up in THIS real world.

Hardman: Then none of that even mattered!?

Fate: Well, you saved OUR lives from being sacrificed to that thing, so I thank you. Although now I'm left with the depressing question of what to do with my immortality now that I've given up what I fought so hard for... Anyway, I wouldn't rule out the possibility of a similar being existing in your universe that the avatar could manage to communicate with, so I would keep a close eye on your sun for signs of unusual flare activity. Good luck with that.

(Fate walks grimly towards the CyberGate.)

Trio: Who said you could leave? YOU still made a deal with us!

Fate: Feh. (Flips Trio off as he continues to walk away.)

Trio: Guards!

Sparkman.exe: Guys, it's been fun, but I'd like to get back to my real body one of these days.

(Sparkman creates a blinding flash that disorients the Guard Bots and the Council. When they can see again, all the navis are gone and the CyberGate hardware is getting smashed to pieces by Hardman and Geminiman.)

Geminiman: Oh. Hey. Soooo, this is kinda awkward...

Terra: (Sighs) Whatever. I would have had it scrapped anyway.

Holzenbein: Really? But what about the potential?

Terra: I don't know how, but that fanatic woman messed with my mind and this entire project was a result of that. All that potential was a lie and I would much prefer to sweep it all under the rug at this point.

Hardman: Cool! So, all's well that ends well?

Terra: Of course we're arresting you idiots.

Geminiman: So you think that teleport screen is back online yet?

Holzenbein: I-

(Geminiman and Hardman warp out.)

Holzenbein: -t ... should have been ...

Trio: ... Yes. Sweeping today's events under the rug would be best...

(In the Cyberworld, Fate is being detained by the gathered Officials while everyone else debriefs.)

Fate: Fine, bring me in. We'll see how long that lasts.

Hub: I'd better get home and get a change of clothes.

Moe: You guys made it back in mostly one piece, it seems. What happened over there?

Hoshiko: My PET's establishing a connection again... Oh my god... Ice Chan!?

Ice Chan: Hoshiko! What's going on? Last thing I remember is fighting that giant ball of fire... Where are we and who are all these people?

Metalman.exe: The Flamechick persona sacrificed herself but managed to isolate the revived Ice Chan side. The other half of her memories is gone.

Hoshiko: Oh... Oh no, Flame... Ice Chan, jack out. It's going to take some time to explain everything.

Tricia: Overdrive? How is she?

Drillman.exe: She'll be okay, but seems to be down a sword.

Tricia: What's the status on the Star Cross case, then?

Drillman.exe: Um... Closed, I guess. Long story short, it won't be bothering us any more.

Shadowman.exe: Lucky you.

Metalman.exe: Sorry your world ended up with our trouble. Thank you for your help in ... containing the damage, I suppose.

Needlegal.exe: Sounds like you didn't have nearly as much at stake in the end.

Drillman.exe: Your world may be a little outside our regular jurisdiction, but eliminating Alpha-Level threats like that is still our job. It feels like we did at least half that job in the end.

Snakeman.exe: Well, I guess things turned out all right.

Sparkman.exe: If I log out and wake up in a world that's not on fire, then maybe.

Needlegal.exe: And we learned something too.

Shadowman.exe: That if we never need to do another Navi Forms adventure again it'll be too soon, but if we do then we can just steal Waveman's rig.

Waveman.exe: Aww, my second life...

Needlegal.exe: I was thinking about how it wasn't violence, but rather introspection, personal sacrifice, and the power of friendship that saved us from the worst case scenario.

Waveman.exe: Friendship!? You jerks berated me and broke my confidence!

Shadowman.exe: Damn it, Wave! You ruined an almost-good lesson.

Topman.exe: Well, until--ugh, I can't stand it in this body any more. (Logs out.)

Topman: FINALLY. Well, until the Mario 3 angry sun consumes us all, we are ... The Mechanical Maniacs!

...

Topman: Aaand none of you have also logged out yet so I'm just talking to myself. Great.

Cast:
Leon as .....	Sparkman	Raijin as .....	Snakeman	Psycho Magnet as .....	Needlegal
Ben as .....	Hardman			Nightmare as .....	Topman
Lennon as .....	Geminiman	Sheriff (Kassidy) Mags as .....	Magnetman	Gauntlet as .....	Shadowman