Tifa & Yuffie

[Tifa Lockhart]

Arido had cleaned up in every single match he'd fought, even those against the tougher finalists. He'd obliterated the fastest win record (which had previously been held by Protoman for as long as anyone could remember) several times over, seeming to only get faster as the matches progressed.

Now it had finally come down to the match everyone had been waiting for, and the entire stadium was eerily quiet as they waited for someone to make the first move.

Arido seemed completely unphased by Lan's trash talking, his posture not slipping even an inch. All that Lan got in response was a confident smirk. One that, up in the stands, made Maylu look twice.
"There's something familiar about Arido..." she murmured to her friends.
Without a word Arido produced his plainly painted PET and logged into the system, but like every time before, his navi had already been in and waiting. Presumably he'd never left the arena each day of the competition.

The moment the buzzer sounded the black blur dashed forward towards Megaman, obviously intent on ending this battle as quickly as he had all the previous ones.

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Megaman seemed like he was going to just stand there, but at the last moment, he sidestepped the attack as if it were nothing, turning with his buster ready to try and hit the navi at point blank before he vanished again. As the navis attack would continue, for some time Megaman only continued to dodge, trying to work out a pattern to the navis attacks or at least get a good shot at him, but it was proving nigh impossible. "Lan!" he called, his Net-op responding immediately by sending him a long sword, given that Mega's buster had proven ineffective.

He was certain something was off about the way this navi moved. It was oddly familiar, the way the strength behind the blows felt so even and controlled as the rush of air from the attacks whizzed past his face. Lan thought something seemed awfully familiar about Arido, too, frowning slightly as he looked across at the mysterious net-battler, wondering just who it was who dared to challenge Protoman and Chaud's long-held records.
Valeska nodded in agreement with Maylu, staring down at the match intently, sure that she'd seen a flash of colour for a moment as the stranger's navi flashed past the cyber-eye viewer again.

Megaman seemed to have been doing okay, having not taken any damage yet, but neither had the unknown navi, and not being able to see nor counter his opponent was throwing off his already-loose attention. Lan knew his brother was beginning to trip up, wincing slightly as an attack came just a little too close for comfort, his brother nearly stumbling the landing from the dodge, not paying full attention to what he was doing.
"watch it, Megaman! Don't let him throw you off!" he called into the mic on his PET, his navi apologising and turning his focus back on the match, still not sure how he was supposed to fight an opponent he couldn't even touch. Nothing that he had experienced before came to his attention that might have helped him, and though he'd never admit as such to Lan, he was beginning to consider throwing the match, since he knew his heart just wasn't in it this time. Arido and his navi had already shown skill and strength, it wasn't like he would be throwing the match for just any old fool...but he knew that Lan would recognise an accident from something done on purpose any time, and knew the boy would be mad at him if he did...still, it was an attractive scenario to him right now, he was fast losing his interest in winning. He managed to parry and dodge a few more charges from his opponent, trying a failing to stop him dead so he could see what he was up against, but his ideas were running short. What was there to do but let this extraordinarily fast navi have the victory they clearly wanted? As this thought came to him, it showed in his actions: his reactions were sluggish and he seemed well and truly confused. Some in the crowd began to show fear at the thought their long-reigning champion and hero might fall to someone nobody had even seen.

[Tifa Lockhart]

Megaman's pathetic counter-offensive didn't seem to phase Arido at first, but then as the blue navi became more and more sluggish, the silent hooded man gave a growl of frustration.
Though no verbal command had been given, the growl must have been enough to convey some sort of order, because all motion in the arena stopped, the navi disappearing completely from view.

"I don't know what's going on down there folks, but Megaman seems off his A game today!" Ribitta announced loudly, her voice tense. "And now our mystery navi seems to have vanished completely!"

Then an all too familiar voice echoed out across the stadium from within the battle sphere.
"Is that all you've got rookie?"
The focus of the cyber-eye immediately shifted, blurring all around the arena as it looked for the source of the voice.
And then it found him
Standing tall atop one of the dividers that added terrain to the otherwise flat digital battle field was an all-too-familiar sillouhette. Protoman stood proudly against the cyber-sky, long white hair billowing behind him.

"It's PROTOMAN!" Ribitta shrieked over the roar of the crowd. "The mystery navi who has been trouncing all the known records in none other than the record holder himself! What a shocker!"

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Megaman's stance went rigid as that familiar voice reached his ears and he whirled around to find the source of the voice, eyes wide in shock. "s-senpai!" he stumbled for words a moment, seeming a bit embarrassed to have even thought for a second that Protoman wouldn't be there to fight him. But, wait...did that mean...? Mega turned his eyes to the view screen of the outside, right to Arido, speechless with confusion.
Lan didn't look much different, save that his expression also showed almost childish excitement as well as surprise.
"aw, HELL yes! This just got elevated Megaman!" he exclaimed, knowing full well that Chaud would NEVER let anyone else operate Protoman. He felt foolish for not having recognised the eyes and the smirk before. He turned his attention to "Arido" then. "Didn't I tell you not to let it get to you? You're a stubborn jerk, aren't you? Couldn't stand to let me and Megaman hold out the title for another year!"

[Tifa Lockhart]

Protoman just smirked down at Megaman as he gawped at him, dropping into a kneel atop the divider.
"You didn't think I'd let you have all the fun, did you?" he joked.

"Arido" reached up to push back his hood and remove his cap then, revealing the trademark white and black hair of Chaud Blaze.
Chaud Blaze... STANDING at the battle podium.
"I think you and Megaman have basked in my spotlight long enough, Lan," the boy's deep voice announced then, that smirk that made girls scream crossing his lips again. He glanced slightly upwards to look at what the huge screens were showing, and it was focusing on him.
"Protoman and I are here to announce the end of our retirement!" He pointed towards Lan then, the roar of the crowd rising to a deafening din.

"Enough slacking kid," Protoman quirked before he leaped down towards Megaman, red sword flashing.

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Lan pouted slightly at that, looking to his navi with a slight huff. "He thinks he's so tough...Come on Mega, no more games, are you gonna' give this your whole attention or what?" he grinned, his navi remaining silent a moment, though he turned away from Chaud. There was a moment's pause in which Megaman stood silent, eyes hidden under the rim of his helmet, before a confident smirk crossed his face. Suddenly the old fire burned again in his green eyes, those emerald hues glistening again with the energy they'd once had in the past as he looked up and he immediately readied himself for the fight, feeling his desire for action flaring up again with a fierce roar, like a bear awakening from a long and silent slumber in a cold, desolate winter.
"absolutely." was his only reply to Lan, his eyes were fixed on Protoman, the expression on his face a clear indication that he wasn't holding back any more, that the desire to prove himself was back in his heart. He'd missed battling like this. As Protoman launched himself at his long-time rival once again, it was clear that finally Megaman had his head in the game; he lost the sluggish responses and misjudged movements, as if he'd been blindfolded before now and suddenly could see again. Lan couldn't help but grin, seeing his brother's fighting spirit coming back with a vengeance. He'd gone too passive of late, it was good to see that energy back in him, after so long.

He could have effortlessly dodged Protoman's first attack, but instead he stepped back, folding his sword arm in front of him at the last moment to catch Protoman's attack against the flat of his longsword, pushing back against the attack to divert the force off to the side, the two swords pushing each other aside easily, giving Megaman the brief opening he needed to try his first attack. He lifted one foot and swung his leg around in a snap-kick to Protoman's flank, hoping to stagger his friend and rival long enough to attack again. The crowd's roars of excitement only got louder as they saw their two favourite navis begin to battle, and as the blue-armoured champion, who had spent the entire competition so far not trying, began to show that strength, speed and skill that made him a top-class fighter.
The sudden rush in his circuits, like the buzzing in one's nerves that came when the adrenaline began to pump in the human world, was something Megaman had almost forgotten...he'd been so long in the real world, away from the fighting, living a passive life where he spent his days exercising his brain, rather than his muscles. But now, he was back in that familiar digital world, with the excitement of battle rushing in his neural processors, every circuit in his body on edge, at his beck and call to put all the energy he had into the fight. He didn't even need to win, he realised -just to be able to fight someone to his best abilities and enjoy the thrill of the fight had been enough to rekindle the fires in his heart that he'd almost let be forgotten in their ashes, and to feel so alive, so attuned to his surroundings with all his senses once again, was something he felt endlessly grateful for. He'd hardly noticed how much he'd changed, but it felt incredible to be back to his old self. He had been feeling so easily tired for the whole competition and he'd been beginning to wonder whether he was just not cut out for battle any more, but now...now he realised he'd just been missing that spark somewhere. He wasn't quite sure where it had been that his heart had gone dark and cold for so long, but the sudden warmth that had come with the revival of that passion had brought with it a surge of energy and he felt like he could run the world over and continue on out into the universe without a care in the world. He felt ready to move mountains, to part oceans, to overturn continents. He felt like he could take the stars in his grip and hurl them into infinity, claiming the universe for humanity. He knew well these things were impossible to do, but the energy he felt surging in his body made him feel like he could if they were possible. He'd have to thank Protoman afterwards, for helping him to find again that blazing spirit he'd somehow lost in the recesses of his soul, for he now felt like he could breathe again, like a beached fish thrown back into the sea; so long living a half life and now free and strong again, the steel bars of his emotional cage torn loose to set free his long-forgotten inner fire. He would make sure to remember that fire now, to keep feeding it with the passion for life that he'd apparently lost somewhere along the way...perhaps that was why Protoman had seemed so concerned for him lately...he really had become fragile, and maybe his love had only been trying to find again that suit of steel that had always protected him. Maybe he'd been missing the more fiery and resilient Megaman he'd known once. Being gentle wasn't wrong, but being utterly submissive to life was, and it just wasn't quite him, and now? He knew it.

[Tifa Lockhart]

Protoman let his sword be swiped aside, but rather than staying around long enough to take Megaman's kick, he vanished in a blur, reappearing a short distance away. He could feel the energy radiating off of the blue navi, and he fed off of it himself. This was right... that was what he wanted!
He and Chaud had spoken at length about how weak the human world was making Megaman, and he knew that it would be no good for any of them if he wasn't ready to face the looming menace. So they'd both resolved to make their triumphant return and spur Megaman back into action.
"Much better rookie! That's what I like to see!" Protoman praised as he raced forward again with a combo of slashes, his sword shifting shape each time.
Chaud's download speed was something to be envied.

"This is everything we could have hoped for folks!" Ribitta exclaimed, eyes alight with glee. "Megaman is finally showing those skills we've been waiting for, and Protoman seems refreshed and fierce after his break! He's pulling speeds even our scanners can't record!"

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Megaman flashed a grin at Protoman's comment, preparing himself for the attacks that were to follow it. "I aim to please!" he replied, not even needing to speak for Lan to send him the battlechips he needed, his instincts -so long suppressed and desperate to be set free- taking control, every nerve in his being suddenly remembering what he'd once been so flawlessly trained in, what he'd once found like second nature and was now finding as such again. He'd thought he'd forgotten everything he'd trained himself in, but it seemed all he'd needed was a little...encouragement. Every movement was precise and calculated, every dodge executed with an ease that only a master could boast. He hop-skipped aside of each of Protoman's strikes, even as the man's speed increased to limits he had never seen before. The challenge was exhilarating, far more so than anything he'd experienced before. He was vaguely aware that he'd never have been capable of keeping up with this kind of speed before...but he could feel that this energy, this strength and speed he was experiencing was coming from somewhere much deeper than before. From deep within, in a shadowed region of his being that had so long been locked to him before Ultima had made himself known. It was the first he'd felt of the power he knew was hidden somewhere within him, and he was amazed that it let him keep up even just barely with the speed Protoman was exhibiting.
"Megaman, let's show him what we can REALLY do!"[/i] Lan called, suddenly, as Megaman managed to spring away from the relentless assault of the swordsman. The emerald-eyed navi immediately responded by lifting a hand to the sky, feeling the rushing in his circuits as Lan sent him the wood-tower battlechip they got from Sal.
"Wood tower!" He only needed say the words and the pillars of sharpened timber crashed through the floor, shattering the artificial 'glass' and sending cracks through the ground around Protoman and Megaman. The azure navi took a single step to gain speed on the disintegrating floor of the arena before he pushed off the unstable ground to land perfectly on the top of one of the pillars, the force of his movement on the glass shattering the floor. Protoman would have to move or plummet to defeat in the pits below. Megaman stood ready, balanced on the point of one wooden pillar, as though he were challenging Blues to face him not on what solid ground now remained outside the range of the pillars but up on top of the precarious ground. It seemed by his eyes that he was eager to put all he had into this fight, to push himself to his utmost limits simply for the sake of making up for lost time.
"Unreal!" Ribitta cried, the excitement causing her voice to almost shake with anticipation. "It looks like this match is going to be more than just a show of strength and speed, folks! Megaman's eliminated the solid battlefield! Protoman better know how to fight with a solid foothold, battle fans, or this match is in the bag for Megaman!" The young navi in question smirked challengingly, shrugging mockingly to Protoman as if to say 'are you done warming up, yet?', not even breaking a sweat despite the energy that both competitors were putting in.

[Tifa Lockhart]

Protoman had been taken slightly by surprise by the wood towers shattering the floor, but true to form, he and Chaud reacted flawlessly. Anyone watching this battle would not have been able to fault their performance even the tiniest bit.
"Clever," Protoman remarked after the cyber-dust had settled. He was perched skilfully on the very top of one of the poles, toes bracing against the edges of the point.
"But we planned for something like this."

"I plan for EVERY eventuality, Lan," Chaud taunted, flashing a step sword battlechip before he activated it.

Protoman eventually used the blade, sending a slash of energy towards Megaman.

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Megaman leaped from the pillar he was standing onto jump across the pillars, senses so aware and balance so acute that he almost made it look like he were running across solid ground, having always been the more athletic of the two navis. However small, he had an advantage up here, but he needed to press that advantage for it to be worth something to him. Lan didn't even need to be told.
"Step sword? Please, we didn't get this far for no reason, Chaud!" the teen scoffed, insulted that Chaud thought such a common chip, alone, would be enough to beat him and Megaman. He pulled two battlechips from his collection, downloading them in quick succession.
"bring it, Protoman!" Megaman said, jumping up to land atop the blue, black and gold Fishy virus that appeared as Lan downloaded the first battlechip, Dash Attack, the wing-crested, pointy-nosed virus rushing forward and off to the side as Megaman leaped from its back, making as if to attack Protoman front on as the second chip - a sword- appeared on his arm. As Protoman would make to dodge or parry, Megaman would vanish to appear behind him, glowing golden sword flashing as he spun around on the point of a nearby pillar to attack from behind, lightning-fast. It seemed when Chaud had pulled step-sword, Lan had decided to do him one better with it's more powerful relative, Step cross. Megaman was loving the mental synchronicity, he didn't even need to make any signs, say anything, Lan just knew what to do and Megaman always knew what he was thinking. They had always been a perfect team, and he was regretting ever having forgotten as such.

[Tifa Lockhart]

Protoman didn't seem like he was going to do anything at first, standing exactly where he was as the fishy virus came towards him with Megaman riding it, sword prepared. He parried Megaman's blow, but the moment the blue navi vanished, a confident smirk crossed his face. He turned lightning quick to slash towards Megaman in his place behind him before he got the chance to attack him himself.

"Paladin Sword!" Chaud barked.

In seconds Protoman was making his second attack, the brilliant and rare sword slashing out towards the blue navi. Whether the blow was successful or not, Protoman would hurriedly retreat a few towers. Then he drew another sword... a flame sword.
"Let's limit the playing field shall we?" he declared, slashing outwards.
The flames took hold of the wooden towers, igniting them easily.
"I've always preferred things a little... hot."

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Megaman managed to just block the worst of the damage from the paladin sword, but the tip of the blade slipped his guard and cut a small but deep gash in the side of Megaman's face, the injury stinging annoyingly, but not quite enough to distract him. "well played!" he quipped, stepping back as Protoman backed off, activating a Fire sword. He looked briefly stricken with fear when Protoman set the pillars alight, his memory momentarily flicking back to that traumatising few minutes he had spent trapped and helpless in Lab 5 at Sci-Lab, but he recovered fairly quickly, forced to abandon the burning pillars before the fire reached him, leaping for the safety of solid ground with one hand briefly brushing the wound on his face to be sure it wasn't bleeding. If it started bleeding during a public match, he didn't want to know what kind of pandemonium may ensue, given navis didn't bleed. He was relieved to find that such a small wound did not bleed as more severe ones did. That and the wound was mostly aesthetic in the N1 arena, where deletion was nearly impossible. It took serious damaged to delete a navi in the arena's specially programmed cyberspace.
He prepared himself for Protoman's next attack, finally finding the chance to reply to his remark.
"Well then, I'll take that as a compliment, since you seem to enjoy my company so much" he quipped, with a slightly lop-sided smirk, the right side of his face a little less inclined to move given the damage done. Most people didn't seem to catch the implications of that statement, by Valeska was certain she'd heard Raven snigger to herself, since she was one of those who did know about the two navis' relationship. He held his arm out as Lan sent him another battlechip; Bronze fist. He then raised the metal-armoured gauntlet that had materialised over his arm and balled the metallic hand into a tight fist, bringing the hand down with crippling force as Protoman would follow him to the flat ground, the cybernetic floor cracking and wrenching about in a great upheaval under the force of the blow. With any luck, the change in ground level would at least divert Protoman's attention enough for Megaman to get in close and put his martial arts to the test, the huge gauntlet on his arm evaporating as he hopped in close over the cracked and uneven ground to try and grab Protoman's sword arm and push it back away from him as he lifted his feet mid-leap to try and hit Protoman with a full-force drop kick to the chest, with the intention of throwing him off of his feet.

[Tifa Lockhart]

Protoman had stumbled slightly across the uneven ground as Megaman cracked it open, but he'd quickly regained his step. Something was certainly different about the red navi... he'd always been known for his intense focus during battle, but now he seemed almost like a machine. He let the blue navi get close and grab his sword arm, but then with his free hand he caught his foot and twisted, thrusting his grip towards the floor to slam Megaman into it.

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

There wasn't much Megaman could do to avoid being slammed into the ground, forced to take the hit and hope he could keep fighting. He felt his shoulder contact the ground first, the earth cracking yet more under the force of Protoman's throw as he hit the floor. He couldn't contain a brief cry of pain, the force crushing him into the hard ground enough to stun many of his circuits. He was briefly unable to move his arms but after a moment, he struggled to his feet, arms up to catch and block any attacks that might come his way as he recovered from the impact with the ground. His ears were ringing somewhat, but he could vaguely hear Lan telling him to be careful, sending him another battlechip. The whole stadium resounded with a cry of horror as Megaman impacted the ground, but gave a cry of relief when he got back up, none of them wanting the match to end just yet. They hadn't beaten their record quite yet for the longest match, but they were damn close.
Megaman was getting worn out now, but he wasn't done just yet, lifting his arm as the chip Lan sent took form. A spreader at close range was sure to be a tricky one for Protoman to dodge, he just hoped it was enough of a stall for his circuits to finish resetting. He didn't care so much about winning, but he was beginning to get rather frustrated at the fact that the only scratch on Protoman's armour was from Jackalman's match. He'd be damned if he was going to lay down and accept defeat before at least getting one decent hit in. He just wanted to fight until he collapsed, he had too much excess energy, and this was definitely burning it fast, something he greatly appreciated. Luckily, the spreader did stall Protoman's advance just long enough for his circuits to stop buzzing and his ears to stop ringing, so he was ready and waiting for Protoman's next attack.

[Tifa Lockhart]

Chaud had sent Protoman a barrier just in time to block Megaman's attack. The red navi crossed his arms over his chest as the glowing light surrounded him and halted the attack. It had given Megaman just enough time to get back to his feet though. For most of the battle it had seemed as though Protoman was not even breaking a sweat, but now he was finally panting with exertion.

Chaud was the one on whom the strain was beginning to show. One hand gripped the console in front of him tightly, and he'd developed a tremble.
"Let's finish this Protoman!" he called out, releasing the console long enough to send Protoman three chips in close succession

"Now there's a trick we haven't seen in a while folks!" Ribitta exclaimed as Protoman lifted a beam of energy over his head.
"Program advance!"

Once the attack had finished forming, the red navi launched it towards Megaman.