MegaMan collapsed to his knees, panting hard and clutching his shoulder. Glyde, Roll, IceMan and GutsMan lay scattered out behind him, unconscious. Their soft groaning stirred something more than just anger inside MegaMan, it stirred determination. They were depending on him to finish the job and if he didn't… well… his and their fates were sealed: deletion. The blue NetNavi took a deep breath and struggled to his feet, wobbling a little but he regained his balance. He wasn't going to stand down. Not now.
The virus cackled demonically, brandishing an ElectroSword and FireSword as it advanced towards him. Its ruby red eyes glittered with murderous intent, all of it being focused on the blue bomber. It halted in its tracks, flashing MegaMan a condescending smirk, revealing gleaming rows of serrated fangs.
"Prepared to be deleted, you blue pest!" it said, small hysterical giggles escaping with each word. It leaped up into the air, its nightmarish form silhouetted against the artificial backdrop of stars. Both CyberSwords were wrenched down with tremendous force, producing a powerful energy wave headed straight for MegaMan.
MegaMan's eyes widened in terror, but he stayed where he stood, despite his legs screaming at him to run. He lowered his head, his helmet shrouding his closed eyes in shadow. He braced for impact, but before the energy wave hit, a scream shattered the air, "SHADOW BLADE!"
His audios registered the whoosh of air being sliced through and when he lifted his head; his mouth gaped in a soundless gasp of awe. Standing in front of him was another NetNavi, but it wasn't Roll or Glyde or GutsMan or IceMan. It stood with an arm outstretched, equipped with a CyberSword unlike anything he had seen before. It glowed with an eerie red colour, crackling with white hot electricity. In front of the NetNavi was the energy wave intended for him. It was like frozen in time before it ruptured, fractured then finally splintered. With a resounding crack, the energy wave exploded in a burst of multicoloured chunks of data. MegaMan shielded his face against the explosion, chunks of data rebounding harmlessly off his arm. He took his arm away and stared back up at the NetNavi that had saved him, still shocked.
The virus also wore a dumbfounded look, but it was short-lived.
It was replaced by a look of intense anger and it bellowed its fury.
"Heh, music to my ears," The mysterious NetNavi murmured in a feminine, amused voice, its facial features concealed behind a dark grey battle mask adorned with yellow glowing highlights and red visor. It looked over its shoulder at the still immobilised blue bomber. "Just leave this thing to me, MegaMan. I can handle it."
"Who… who are you?" was all he could conjure up.
The NetNavi didn't answer and confronted the enemy with renewed fury in its gaze. The virus roared again and charged. The NetNavi charged too, easily evading the first strike with a somersault. It landed behind the virus before quickly launching out a leg, taking the virus' legs out. The virus tumbled to the ground with an agitated howl and twisted, attempting to strike the NetNavi, but its strike merely encountered thin air. The virus struggled to its feet, staring around the area wildly, unaware that the NetNavi had vanished to the air above it. Another blade materialised from its remaining arm and the NetNavi dove towards the ground, putting both swords together and screaming a ferocious battle cry. The energies conflicted, but merged to create one long, grey blade with white hot lightning zigzagging across the glowing surface.
The virus barely had enough to register the pain erupting from its back as the entire blade disappeared into it, the tip soon poking out in its chest, smeared with green ooze. There was a sick-twisted gurgle from the virus' mouth and its body slid off the blade. Before it hit the ground, the virus was deleted and disappeared for good. The NetNavi, triumphant, made its arms return to their original form and let out a wheezy sigh.
Their recovery was cut short by a monstrous roar that caused both MegaMan and the mysterious NetNavi to pale in terror.
A block a few hundred metres in front of them was suddenly obliterated, sending a miniature wave of debris and dust scattering in all directions. When the dust cloud dissipated, a monstrosity was revealed. A CyberDragon, face twisted in a savage snarl, emerged, talons clicking as if anticipating who it would rip to shreds first. Its arachnid-like eyes glittered with spite.
The mysterious NetNavi quickly equipped itself with an ElectroSword and without a moment's hesitation, charged at the beast, ignoring the desperate protests from MegaMan. The dragon noticed the solo NetNavi charging towards it and a deep growl rumbled in its throat, as if it was amused by the sight and swung out a massive paw, easily whacking the NetNavi aside. It landed on the ground with a sickening crunch but it was too stubborn to relent. Struggling to its feet, it assumed a ready stance and sighed deeply, wondering how on earth it was going to defeat this thing. The idea took a few minutes to piece itself together, but once the NetNavi ran it through its mind, it was certain it would succeed. It hurtled itself at the dragon, successfully dodging the massive, monster paws lashing at it and aggravating the CyberDragon with every evasion.
It eventually grew infuriated and spewed a jet of flame at the tenacious NetNavi. The NetNavi managed to evade it, but only narrowly, the tips of the flames scorching its shoulder.
The NetNavi staggered, falling to one knee. But it pushed itself back up and whirled to face the virus. "Time to slay a dragon," it chuckled light-heartedly and it dashed towards the lizard.
The CyberDragon bellowed at the tenacious NetNavi and whipped out its tail, hoping it would knock it out. But, the NetNavi merely grabbed onto it. Screeching its fury, its tail flailed erratically, but the NetNavi held its tight grip. It was flicked up into the air and under its mask; a smile worked its way through. Letting another ElectroSword materialise from the other arm, it merged the two blades and rocketed towards the CyberDragon, letting out a fierce battle cry. The virus didn't have the time to react and the blade sunk deep into its back, discharging a massive electrical charge. Its entire body, including the NetNavi on its back, was engulfed by a crackling swell of bright blue and the CyberDragon shrieked in agony, jets of flame randomly spewing from its mouth and flailing frantically. Its struggles allowed the blade to sink deeper, unleashing yet another powerful electrical shock. The dragon shrieked again and it crumpled to the ground, its body jerking wildly. Eventually, the shocks were too much and the beast's resistance faltered, succumbing to the blade. Its head lolled to one side, a dead look of emptiness in its glassy eyes. Then the CyberDragon vanished in a burst of pixels, leaving the NetNavi to crash to the ground with a clunk.
It remained motionless for a while, MegaMan watching anxiously from a distance until the blue bomber saw its head turn and his audios registered a soft groan.
MegaMan scrambled up and rushed to the NetNavi's aid. He offered a hand and the NetNavi gratefully accepted it. He pulled the NetNavi to their feet and eyed the nasty burn on its shoulder, slightly grimacing at the sight of it.
"You're hurt…" he said.
"Hm?" The NetNavi turned to see the burn. "Oh, that's nothing. I've been through much worst. Thanks for helping me up by the way."
MegaMan nodded. "You're welcome."
An awkward silence enveloped the two, only to be quickly broken by the mysterious NetNavi commenting, "Some tough viruses those were."
"Yeah, I've never seen viruses like that before," MegaMan agreed. He suddenly remembered something. "You never answered my question."
Despite the NetNavi's face was obscured by a mask and visor, he could see it quirking an eyebrow quizzically. "And what was that?"
"What's your name?"
"Oh, right… well… you can call me Charlotte." The NetNavi, now identified as Charlotte, turned her back on MegaMan and began walking away. She abruptly halted in her tracks and looked over her shoulder. "See you around, MegaMan. And tell Glyde I said hi." With that, she logged out, leaving behind one puzzled blue NetNavi. a