EarthNet: Paradox

A Megaman: Battle Network fanfiction by Pyrestrike

Warning: This is not the normal, light-hearted material that many of you are
used to seeing from other fanfiction writers and from Megaman: Battle
Network. This fanfiction contains mature themes, vulgar language, extreme
violence and crude sexuality. This is not recommended for younger viewers.

The "-----"'s means that there is a scene change or a big change in
perspective.

The ""'s means that there's a small scene change, a change within the
current scene or a small change in perspective.

Disclaimer: Megaman, Megaman: Battle Network, and related characters are
copyrighted under Capcom. I do not own nor attempt to abuse these
copyrights. And if you see any characters I made up myself, consider them
copyrighted under me ;).

- Begin -

Prelude:

Klev'trath sat down on the floor it could not see, contemplating its current
situation. The blackness that surrounded it was no welcoming site, though it
stretched for infinite distances. The home of evil normally was darkness. This
darkness though, was one created just for him. The Abattoir, it had been called.
It was some foreign tongue's name for "slaughterhouse."

Still, the daemon knew that this bleak dungeon was nothing more than a leash, a
leash that could be stretched. It grumbled to himself impatiently as it awaited
for news of the relic from one of it resources, a "fellow" daemon, though it
knew that it kind rarely ever allied. Its thoughts constantly returned to the
relic, or rather the power it could bring him.

Lervingthis was a powerful rune indeed. It was created by the essence of the
twelve Gorgon Goddesses, forged into the very being of evil. In its physical
form, it resembled nothing but a mere fragment of obsidian, a piece of black
rock. Yet, its mystical powers were bested by none in all the universes.
Lervingthis had a life of its own, beckoning the evil in even the holiest of
hearts.

Klev'trath had seen it many times before. Nearly every great war involved the
black relic. How it wished to possess it! It could just imagine it, the very
real, limitless power flowing in its body as it sank its claws into the hearts
of every ruler and crowned himself as king. "Did you find it, Velznoff? What
news do you bring?" it asked as it saw its ally approaching it.

Velznoff shook its head no, maintaining its distance from Klev'trath. It was a
much lesser daemon, its strength nowhere near as strong as Klev'trath. Its many-
faceted scales jingled due to its trembling. "I went to the area you described,
but Matlineo already had Lervingthis in his hands."

Klev'trath growled at the mention of the goodly wizard; Matlineo was the one who
created the Abattoir, the one who sent Klev'trath into captivity. "Do you know
what happened to Lervingthis?" it asked greedily.

"I saw him tap into some dimensional portals. I believe the damned wizard sent
it back to the desolate universe, the Material Plane. I think he sent it to the
planet Earth, the waste planet, once more. He said something about some
creatures named humans that could toy with-" Velznoff stopped as it felt its own
blood oozing from its abdomen.

"I have heard enough," Klev'trath hissed as it pulled its bloody claws out of
Velznoff. It was angry that the wizard put the relic out of its reach, but its
scales tingled in ecstasy. "It will be interesting to see how these humans react
to you, my dear Lervingthis," it said as it cast a dweomer on the body of
Velznoff. Klev'trath's fellow daemon glowed brightly as it formed a window,
showing it the universe where most inter-dimensional trash went, the Material
Plane.

It remembered how the relic had started the so-called World War Two on the
Earth. Lervingthis supposed seized the power of a dictator at the time. Smiling
to himself at the new, more devious things the relic would to the humans,
Klev'trath laid on its back comfortably as it watched Lervingthis plummet into
the planet called Earth to wreak havoc once again.
-----
Lervingthis landed in the cold concrete floor of an old alleyway. It immediately
sensed the living beings in the universe. It felt the familiar heartbeats of
humans all around it, all waiting to be tainted. It remembered all the times it
instigated the darkest parts of history; several universes had been erased from
existence due to the potent relic. It had waited many eons to be created and
waited many more between each user. It gleamed its black, empty surface. It
could wait a while longer.

-------------------------------------------

Chapter One: Unwilling Ally

Shin Arashi gazed out of her crystalline mansion, standing in the balcony that
overlooked the endless forest behind her abode. She relished these morning
moments, but she knew they would not last. She had a lot of work to do, and
today was the beginning of the project that would place her above all people in
existence.

She smiled to herself, letting the air catch her long red hair. She once again
reminded herself of what had got her to where she was today. She was once a
homeless girl, one of a broken home and nowhere to go. Now she was one of the
richest people of all time.

She slipped out of her nightgown and into a sleek robe that exemplified the
beauty of the twenty-year old. It was nearly time to begin her conquest to rid
the world of those who had damaged her-and damaged others. She admired the
glistening, soul-piercing black gem around her neck. Watching as the relic
gleamed in response she said quietly, "It is time, Lervingthis."

-----

Lan Hikari awoke, the glare of dawn splashing its brightness upon the country of
Electopia. He detested this moment for all his life; when he was younger, he
hated waking up for school, but no he hated the cruel reminder it gave him
whenever he arose.

The world, decimated by the last Netcrime wave, was at its end. The war between
the criminals and the NetBattlers, the international police organization, nearly
every major city and settlement was destroyed, leaving the Earth nothing but
forests and small towns. Lan sighed, somewhat disappointed, somewhat relieved
that he wasn't killed during the night by a virus like a Metool.

"Finally up?"

Lan turned to see Megaman, his brother, friend and Navi, approaching with their
canteens. Actually, he couldn't really call Megaman his Navi anymore, since
Navis where just programs that were living inside computers. Now the Navis of
years before were living amongst humans, living and breathing.

Lan felt a familiar amazement cross his mind. He remembered when Megaman was
nothing but a virtual entity that he watched on the monitor and his PET, or
personal terminal. The world he lived in now was all possible due to the
creation of the EarthNet, the melding of the Earth and Internet. It was created
by the workers at SciLabs; his father was the head researcher.

Lan's heart darkened at the thought of his father, who was killed during the
first successful Netcrime attack since the creation of the EarthNet. His mother
was with his father during the attack. The two of them were at a party when an
large, yet amazingly quick, blue and black Navi attacked; they had no chance
against it.

His thoughts unexpectedly shifted to his greatest sin. He and Mayl had a child,
and the night that it was born, the hospital was attacked by the same Navi that
killed his parents. Lan hadn't been there to be with Mayl because of his duties
as the leader of the NetBattlers at the time. He found out that the Navi was
there and went in, thinking nothing but vengeance. He only had a service
revolver, and he shot nine out of ten bullets. His last shot missed its target,
but found the fire extinguisher of the baby nursery instead. It exploded,
killing every baby in the nursery, including his own. He disappeared after that,
leaving ACDC and his position as the leader of the NetBattlers.

Clearing his head of the dark memories, he got up and packed up his stuff. He and Megaman were
pretty much nomads now, traveling from the remaining settlements to see if
anyone needed any help.

"Let's go," Lan said.

-----

Lervingthis felt the most unholy desire inside its present keeper. Shin wanted
to get back at the people who bade her wrong. That dark energy was what it
thrived upon. When it first met Shin, it had just landed. She was the perfect
target, one whose soul was to torn to give any resistance to the evil rune.

Still, Lervingthis could not dictate its keeper's decisions. It only enticed
them; the final choice belonged to the keeper. Its first act of evil with Shin,
after opening a time rift to allow her to mature from a seven-year-old to a
twenty-year-old, was bringing death upon her foster parents, Sansui and Gale
Arashi, the ones who cast her out on the street. After a number of acts of
personal vengeance, the relic coerced Shin into getting rid of all the people
who hurt others. It gave her everything she ever wanted, from material to
control of her emotions. It created its citadel, Shin's mansion, on its own. The
power it knew was endless.

Now that it had some definite control of her, it was time to create the army. By
showing that she had power, she-Lervingthis actually-would be able to rule the
world and make sure those people never again raised a hand against another.
Lervingthis did not care whether if the world was at peace, as long as it had
all the power.

Shin stepped into the office of the leader of the NetBattlers, the international
police organization that dealt with the criminal Navis and viruses. "Hello,
Eugene," she said seductively as the leader turned around. Eugene Chaud was
sitting in his large executive's chair, waiting for Shin. She grinned; she had
found the first general of her army. Lervingthis gleamed in delight as well; now

it could begin its destruction, starting with the Shin's true parents.

-----

Protoman could not go any further. His crimson armor was damaged and his left
arm, the arm that held his beam sword, was damaged as well. He wouldn't be able
to fend off even the smallest virus.

A sudden rustle in the bushes behind him piqued his interest. He turned around,
noticing a white cap with a red cross on it. Invisibles. He should have known he
would be followed. He stopped moving for a moment and let his scanners do some
data gathering. He noticed another cap floating by. That was enough information;
he was surrounded.

Still, he broke off in as fast of a run as he could, limping all the way. He was
suddenly knocked down by a blue and black shadow that bounced off him. Protoman
had never heard of gray Invisibles before. What could that possibly mean? He
suddenly understood.

The cloaked shadow hovered over him, crouched on a tree branch. The white caps
began to encircle the downed crimson Navi, and revealed the rest of their
bodies: purple, ghost-like bodies with a skull mask over their faces. The
legless, floating viruses began to dance around him. A sphere of gray energy
began to charge over him. He knew it would delete him from the inside out. It
was what he feared most.

Before any pain befell upon him, though, a light blue blast of energy
illuminated the forest. Someone, he could not tell whom, had destroyed the
Sphere of Fear and sent the Invisibles flying. Protoman took the diversion to
get away as fast as possible. Breaking off in a blind run, he only ran a few
more feet before the shadow shot him while it flew back into the night.

-----

"Go get Protoman!" Lan shouted as he ran up to an Invisible and slashed it with
his double-halberd. The staff with twin energy axe blades on each end tore
through the virus, eliminating it immediately.

"Alright," Megaman replied.

Lan spun around, his blue jacket swirling, and used the spear ends of his
halberd to puncture another virus. He faced the rest of the Invisibles
menacingly. They quickly receded their spectral bodies from view and hovered
away as fast as they could.

Lan grinned to himself. He disabled the four blades to his halberd and retracted
the extending poles until all it that was left was a small handle. He pocketed
it inside his jacket, which he pulled closer to him; the frosty breeze bit his
skin and tossed his loose hair back. "I'll go get some firewood. Then I'll use a
repair chip to heal up Protoman," he told Megaman after they entered a clearing.

"You know that won't help," Megaman said, cradling Protoman. Megaman's former
NetBattler partner was out cold. "His armor's too damaged, and his blade arm
isn't going to function unless we find a Navi doc."

Lan stared at the direction of the nearest town's gates. It was the last place
he ever wanted to be, even if it was only a ten-minute walk away. "We aren't
going in there."

"Protoman was shot by someone-although I may have a guess to who-, Lan. I don't
see why we-"

"You know very well why not!" Lan shouted, a sudden anger sprouting from him.
The rage had escaped him whenever he referred to the nearby town-or its
citizens.

"It's been seven years since then. Don't you think there's a time when
everything's dropped?" Megaman asked. He wasn't swayed by the way Lan was
acting.

Lan shifted uncomfortably. He hated it when Megaman talked this way. "Something
that awful is never forgiven," he replied, trying to abate his anger. There was
no way he'd ever be able to say explain.

"You didn't lay eyes on her since that day, Lan. You don't know if everyone
despises you or not," Megaman said softly. He must have pervaded through Lan's
mind again.

"Do you think she would want me to?" Lan asked angrily.

"There's only one way to find out." Megaman pointed toward the town's gates, the
barrier to ACDC Town. The place Lan dreaded most. "If you don't go up there, I
will. You may not feel any reason to, but I do: Roll's in there. And we have
Protoman here who is going to need help. Professional help."

"Do you think they'd let a NetBattler Navi in?" Lan countered.

Megaman nodded confidently. "I'm sure they've heard the rumors."

Eugene, Protoman's operator, always held Protoman as a prized tool, ruling with
an iron fist. From what Lan- everyone for that matter- had heard through the
rumors, though, Protoman was beginning to get irritated at Eugene's orders and
was rebelling. Lan somberly turned to the gates of ACDC. "I guess we have no
choice but to ring Hell's Bells."

-----

Mayl Sakurai watched Lan and Megaman from a distance, on the gates of ACDC Town.
She wondered what they were doing so close to here, but she kept her eyes
peeled. She didn't trust Lan, despite all the talk about the savior of countless
towns. The two of them shared a childhood and adolescence together, and during
those times she saw an inner change that she couldn't dismiss. She had to
protect the town, from the Netcriminals to NetBattlers to even Lan.

"They're really out there, aren't they?" Roll asked, climbing over the ladder to
the watchtower. The holographic rings that exhibited from her helmet used were
retracted, but her long blonde hair was still tied with a green bow.

Mayl turned to her Navi. Her pink, knee-long corduroy coat was unbuttoned and
followed her motions. "Yeah," she replied with a shiver.

"Do you think they will come by?" Roll asked. Mayl did not doubt the sliver of
hopefulness in Roll's voice.

"Knowing Lan, he'd think it would injure his male pride," she replied frostily.
She smiled, however, noticing Roll's sudden sadness. "I'm sure that Mega
wouldn't have much of a problem, though."

Roll smiled weakly. Mayl knew how much Roll cared for Megaman. Mayl didn't have
anything against Megaman, but she did wish he wouldn't join in on his brother's
escapades. They could use someone as strong as Megaman in their ranks.

"Miss Sakurai!" a guard shouted from another watchtower, acknowledging Mayl. "It
looks like two Navis and a man in a light blue NetBattler's jacket are heading
towards the gates. I've never heard of a light blue Elemental before, since most
NetBattlers are Elementals, right? What should I do?"

Mayl didn't answer right away. Letting him in would be the first step to letting
him crush her again. But would he do that to her again? Had he changed?

"I think he has. If you won't let neither him nor Megaman in, then at least take
Protoman. He looks hurt," Roll said, guessing at what Mayl must have been
thinking about. Mayl still didn't speak. Roll turned to the guard and ordered,
"Let them in."

The young guard, naïve and skeptic, wasn't sure what to do. Being ordered around
by a female leader was enough, but to be bossed by a Navi too... it just seemed
unnatural. He saw Mayl nod, however, and he opened the gates.

Roll began to descend the ladder to meet up with Megaman. "Are you coming,
Mayl?" she asked excitedly.

"Send for Yai and Dex to help you get Protoman in," she said. Roll looked at her
partner with a bit of guilt for feeling happy. She looked away and went to go
get the others. Once Roll was gone, Mayl squatted in a corner of the watchtower,
spreading her coat like a fan around her, and began to sob. She desperately
wanted to be down there, but she could only think about one thing: "How do I...
How can I say anything to the one who killed my baby?"

-----

Yai stepped into the training room of ACDC Town's protection force's command
center. She had a white lab coat on, leaving her blonde hair down instead of the
pigtails she had as a child. She stepped up to microphone and spoke through the
Public Announcement system. "Dex, we're needed to escort a visitor. It's Lan and
Megaman."

Dex, at the stage arena, was swinging his large axe madly at holographic viruses
scattered in the vicinity. Gutsman, Dex's Navi, was using his galactic fists to
pummel through various opponents of his own. They were so enraptured by the
combat that they seemingly dismissed Yai. Dex grunted as he cut through a large,
floating furnace-like virus, known as a FireTower.

Yai felt disgusted having to watch such primitivism. She never enjoyed watching
Dex and Gutsman fight; the two large brutes always seemed to feed off of pure
violence. She turned to leave the room, but turned back to tell Dex something
else. "Protoman's with them too. He looks injured. I might have to treat him."

Dex stopped swinging his axe. He felt the edge of the cold blade with one blunt,
tan finger. "Guts, get my jacket," he ordered in his coarse voice. The yellow-
armored Navi took the silver jacket and handed it to his master. The bleakness
of the jacket didn't match the dark tan skin of its owner, but it matched the
deepness of his voice. "Finally."

-----

Lan shouldered one side of Protoman while Megaman held the other. They waited as
the gate opened, albeit slowly. Once the barrier had been opened, the two of
them stepped into the actual town and waited as the gate closed again. Lan was
doubtful that Mayl would be out here to see him. He was pretty amazed, though,
when he saw Roll there to greet them. Yai and her thin, gold-armored Navi,
Glyde, were waiting as well. Dex and Gutsman were standing behind then, watching
them, or rather Protoman, circumspectly. Lan wasn't sure what Dex's notions
were, but he kept an eye on him.

"Mega!" Roll exclaimed as she ran up to Lan's brother and hugged him fiercely.
She nearly bowled him over, leaving Lan with the sudden task of holding
Protoman's weight. He just about dropped to his knees.

Dex walked his way up to Lan and knocked him out of the way, showing off that he
could shoulder Protoman's weight with just his strength. "Guts, go get the
stretcher. Call a medic while you're at it," he ordered. His voice was deep,
darker than Lan had expected. He looked at Lan fiercely. "This one will be
healed by a doc in less than ten minutes. You go with her, NetBattler."

Lan nearly took out his weapon in retaliation, but he stayed his anger. Dex knew
Lan left the NetBattlers, but, then again, Dex always wanted to be a bully. Lan
remembered what it was like to be with him in fifth grade. The thug was
constantly challenging him and Megaman to battles, and always lost bitterly,
calling Lan names and such. He also knew what Dex meant by saying how quickly
Protoman would be repaired: We'll cure him, and then all of you leave.

"It's good to see you're okay, Lan," Yai said genuinely in her soft voice. It
had matured greatly in the seven years of Lan's absence. He figured she was a
programmer or a Navi doctor, considering she had the whole work suit on, from
the coat to the skirt; all that was missing was the glasses, but she looked fine
without them. He was sure there were suitors out for her because of how she
looked now; Her fair skin helped her femininity shine.

"Nice to see you too, Yai," he greeted in return. He turned to Megaman, who was
still being attacked by Roll with questions and displays of affection. Glyde,
still as thin as always, was also getting a greeting of his own here and there
with Megaman. There was a small cramp in his heart, because he knew that the one
he was hoping for wouldn't show. Although Yai and Dex were here, he knew the way
he hurt them and everyone else in the town gave them every right to shun him. He
tried to put it out of his mind for the time being. "Where will I be staying
until Protoman's ready?"

"I don't see why you can't stay at your old house. It is still held under your
name, after all," Yai replied. She looked like she wanted to say more, but Lan
couldn't think of what.

Lan nodded in agreement. He turned to Megaman and the others, saying, "I'm going
to go home first. I'm sure there's a lot of catching up to be done." He turned
back and started toward his house, but Yai quickly caught up with him. They
walked in silence together, unsure of what to say to each other.

"Lan, here. Take this," Yai said finally. She handed him the blue headband he
gave to Mayl seven years ago. He flinched inside at the sight of it.

"Um... thanks," he said as he touched it. It felt deathly cold in his hands, a
grim reminder that he was not welcome. He doubted that he would ever be welcome,
considering how badly Mayl must have felt when he left her. Yai, Dex, everyone
felt had come to her aid. He never returned until now, not even to see if Mayl
was okay; it was guilt of having ordered the execution of his child that had
driven him away.

Megaman deserved all the greatness he received, despite the fact that he always
stood by Lan. His brother didn't deserve the pains Lan gave him. As he stared at
the headband, he knew that his greatest priority would be to get out of here
before anyone else got hurt by his scarring hands, and this time, he would step
out of the gates alone.

-----

The seed was planted. Shin used Lervingthis to take indirect control of Eugene,
allowing her to seduce him easily. As she slid out of Eugene's bed, she knew
where her true parents were. She hadn't realized that Lervingthis had shown her
the location. She was compelled to seek it out herself, but she decided to send
a lackey instead. After all, she controlled the whim of most of Eugene's
decisions now, which meant she controlled all the NetBattlers as well. The so-
called EarthNet Police all paid an undying loyalty to Eugene, unquestioning
everything. Now with Shin at the helm, she had over half the world's population
as her knights. As a precautionary measure, she woke him up and asked, "Why are
you here?"

"To serve you," he mumbled.

Lervingthis gleamed excitedly. Shin continued, "And who am I?"

"Mistress."

-----

Mayl finally stopped crying to herself. Still, the memory of her minute-old
baby's demise played through her mind, but the sting was weaker, more like a
distant memory. Thinking about it only hurt her scarred heart worse. She turned
to leave her post when she heard the other guard vociferating, crying out
loudly. A curved blade attached to a bone-like handle cut through his stomach
and boomeranged back to its owner. She quickly ducked and took out the handles
to her two energy rings from the inside of her coat. She activated them,
sprouting a bright pink light out from each side of the handles, shimmering in
the form of a corona.

"By the order of Eugene Chaud of the NetBattlers, release the rogue NetBattler
now!" ordered a feminine voice from beyond the gates. "You have fifteen minutes
before we invade!"

Another scythe flew out, this time in her direction, but she turned and saw it
coming, parrying with a throw of her ring. It resounded in dissonance as the
ring hit the scythe and both weapons dropped to the ground. Pocketing the scythe
and her twin rings, Mayl quickly took out her PET, and sent a distress signal to
Yai and the other Navis. She leapt out of the watchtower, landing on her knee,
and ran towards the command center. It was time to face Lan.

-----

"A distress beacon!" Yai said suddenly, interrupting Lan's train of thought.
"It's from Mayl!"

Lan snapped himself back to reality. "What's going on?" he asked as he followed
Yai, who had taken off on a run.

Yai didn't reply but continued towards the largest building in ACDC town, the
command center of the rebel faction. Dex and Gutsman were standing outside,
along with Megaman, Roll, and Glyde. They were huddled together waiting for Lan
and Yai.

"What's going on?" Lan asked again.

"They're knocking for you, NetBattler," Dex grumbled, using Lan's former title
again. Then he grinned deviously. Lan wondered once more what Dex was thinking.

Lan saw this as a moment as the moment to take his leave. He was through causing
his friends and the town any more trouble. "It isn't like I have anything to
pack. I'll make my way out now. Mega, you can stay here. I don't think it would
be right if I dragged you along again."

"Drop your damn ego, Lan; no one's going anywhere."

Lan turned around. It was Mayl. He was at a loss of words, his mind suddenly
paralyzed. "Hi," he said finally. The words felt forced somehow.

"Introductions can wait," she said icily.

"We're going to have to drive them away," Glyde said darkly. "How do we go about
doing it?"

"That's easy: give them what they want," Lan offered. He heard a grunt of
approving satisfaction from Dex and Gutsman.

"No one's going anywhere," Mayl repeated.

"I'm not taking that for an answer," Lan retorted. "I'll leave, pretend to turn
myself in, then I'll escape and be on my merry was as usual."

"We need you to stay here, Lan," Mayl snapped, but still not telling him a
reason to why she needed him to stay.

The familiar rage and stubbornness welled up inside Lan again. "I am not going
to be a burden to anyone. I am going to step outside those gates, leave, and
keep this town in one piece."

"If you're going, I'm going too," Megaman said, acknowledging their lifelong
partnership.

"No!" Lan shouted angrily. "I am going alone. No one is going to be hurt on my
behalf. Not one more death will befall this town. Not one more parent is going
to lose a child and vice-versa."

Lan's last words stung Mayl more profoundly than wanted. He had been referring
to their child. Everyone looked at him admonishingly. Lan immediately regretted
speaking the words; he let his anger get the better of him again. Then he sighed
in frustration, knowing his campaign would aid him no further. "Do we have any
idea who we're up against?"

Mayl searched desperately within herself to find a way to focus. She needed to
get the NetBattlers out of her vicinity. She would deal with her emotions and
Lan later; the years of pain had hardened her heart so she could. "They took out
the other guard with something like this." Mayl took out a scythe, its handle
made of bone. Lan knew their opponent instantly.

"Miyu," he said ominously.

"And Skullman," Megaman finished.

The others looked at them questioningly. Lan explained with a sound of disgrace
in his voice. "Miyu joined the NetBattlers shortly after the ruining of
DenTown."

"One city Lan and I lost to that shadowed Navi," Megaman said just as gloomily.
"Miyu and Skullman joined the NetBattlers as an offering of solace and promise
of revenge against the Navi. It was the same Navi that attacked the party for
Lan's-" He stopped at that, but the damage had been done. Lan stared gloomily at
the floor.

"They two of them aren't out there alone though. One watchtower says there seems
to be an entire contingent of Invisibles too," Glyde reported. Lan guessed that
he must have received the information recently.

"That's typical of Miyu."

Everyone turned and saw Protoman, fully repaired but still limping slightly.

"What are you doing out here!" Roll cried out suddenly, running to his side in
fear and concern. "You're supposed to be resting!"

"I had to train her for battle when she joined the NetBattlers. She always
preferred great numbers," he explained. If everyone could see through Protoman's
obsidian visor, they were sure that his eyes would have matched his capricious
smile. It was somewhat of a disturbing sight; he usually had steady amount of
seriousness. Rarely did he ever smile. "I'm not sure if she's an Elemental or
not, like the other element masters in the NetBattlers."

"You aren't going out there, Protoman," Roll reprimanded.

"Even with this limp, I think I may be able to help out some," he said
confidently.

"It probably won't matter. We'll only have to fight and drive them out," Yai
said, grinning. Glyde looked at her with a face of dread. Yai took two long
daggers from her white lab coat, flipping one masterfully in the air and
catching it just as easily.

"I'll go get the rest of the soldiers to prepare themselves for battle," Glyde
said in an exasperated tone. He was never designed to be a fighter; he was much
more a scientist and researcher. He went into the command center to relay the
orders to the rest of the rebel faction. "Then I'll be out to help you guys."

Everyone stood by his or her respective partners, waiting to receive instruction
from Mayl. "I'll get the archers to give us support from the city barrier. We'll
just get out there, get rid of as many as possible and tell them to go away."

"We'll take on Miyu and Skullman. Maybe we can talk her out of being a
NetBattler. The organization has probably done some horrible shit to her head,
but nothing's unbreakable," Megaman said cruelly.

"Whatever the case, let's get this over with," Dex snapped impatiently.

-----

Miyu adjusted her gray beret, her long blue-gray hair flapping in the wind. She
waited anxiously. Despite the number of Invisibles she had with her and her Navi
Skullman by her side, she knew they would lose. Skullman was a thin Navi with a
long face and long arms. His ability with scythes was amazing, but they lacked
good speed. Even with their strengthened abilities in the darkness, she knew the
only way they could win this battle was if their informant, posing as a rebel,
turned to aid her.

"Our spy has reported that they want to drive us away," Skullman reported. "He
and his Navi are willing to turn the tides."

"Let's see if Lan still shines with his sins."

-----

Lan and Megaman, along with everyone else and a couple dozen other agents, leapt
down from the gates. They were following the arrow shower, using the hailing
arrows as a diversion and guise. Lan quickly extended his double-halberd. Two
axe-like energy blades sprouted from each end while spear-like blades extended
from the tips of the staff.

He heard a whistling sound behind him, and quickly whirled around. The scythe
nearly hit him, but a buster cannon shot knocked it out of the air. Megaman had
seen it and lent a hand. Miyu wasn't far, at the edge of the woods. Skullman was
quite a few yards away, but at the edge as well.

"You go get Skullman," Lan said to his brother, but Megaman was already on his
way.

Miyu saw Lan coming, taking out two scythes of her own. Their blades were
longer, and he guessed that they weren't going to be used for throwing. She
leapt into the woods, disappearing from Lan's view. He cursed to himself; if she
would willingly risk being as blind as her opponent and jump into the woods, it
meant that she must have been pretty confident.

He stepped into the woods, constantly turning around to see if anyone was
sneaking up behind him. He suddenly felt a kick coming in a downward fashion
into his back. He flipped himself back up, turning to face Miyu.

"You can't hide. Even in the dark, I can see your spirit, Lan. It glows too
much."

-----

Megaman leapt out to one side, dodging a bone scythe and entering a clearing.
Skullman jumped out of the woods and threw another scythe, this time to quickly
for Megaman to dodge. He then opened in long mouth and shot out a blue-gray
flame chain. Megaman extended a sword from his buster cannon and jumped over the
fire.

Landing in front of Skullman, he came in with a deep thrust. Skullman
unexpectedly parried with two scythes, latching Mega's beam sword in place.
Skullman kicked a long leg into Megaman's torso, throwing Mega a few yards away.
Mega coughed and wheezed, unable to lift himself. He suddenly felt the cold
blade of a scythe to his back.

"Let's see what you're greatest fear is, Megaman," Skullman said wickedly.

"I'll save you the trouble; it'll be having to watch you-" Megaman began, but
stopped and winced as he felt the scythe dig into his back painfully.

"Don't mock me. I am an acolyte of the darkness now, Megaman. I can create
you greatest fear come true!"

"Mega!" Megaman heard Roll call. She was looking for him.

"Ah, perfect," Skullman whispered. He flipped Megaman up and threw him into the
trunk of a tree. He took out a large scythe, locking Megaman to the tree.

Mega was about to call out to Roll and tell her to watch out, but Skullman's
long, bony fingers overlapped his mouth.

Skullman grinned as he took out yet another scythe. He threw it at the faraway
Roll, knocking her unconscious. "Your greatest fear is her demise, isn't it? I
can't wait to see your expression as I decapitate that rebel bitch." He began
stalking his way toward her.

-----

Mayl cut one Invisible into three and spun herself around quickly, decimating
two more viruses with her ring blades. But as she struck one, another sprang up
to replace it. She was soon surrounded, and the Invisibles phased their ethereal
bodies out of her view. They began to dance around her, and a gray glowing
sphere began to emanate above her.

"If only Xena had two chakrams," she said quietly to herself. She quickly
snapped her wrists out, crossing her arms, and released her weapons. She dropped
to the ground as she heard her rings begin to ricochet around the area, bouncing
off the trees at their maximum velocity. She then stopped the rings in mid-
flight and used her abilities to summon back the rings to her. As she rose, she
noticed that the Invisibles had all been destroyed. She dusted off her long coat
and started off to see if there was anyone that needed her help.

A red tongue lashed out of thin air and held her, pulling her arms to her sides.
Mayl had forgotten about the Invisibles' ability to disappear. The one that she
faced was gray, however. She'd never seen a gray Invisible nor heard of one. She
suddenly remembered that the color gray stood for the Darkness element.

The Invisible holding her began to pervade Mayl's mind, finding her worst fear.
She felt it opening the doors to her memories, looking and searching through her
like a book or computer. The Invisible found it, and began forcing the memory of
her baby's death to played through Mayl's mind over and over. The pain and
heartache was multiplied by the virus' abilities, and she soon fainted in
exhaustion. The Invisibles snickered amongst themselves; they now held the rebel
leader, and her brain was all theirs to pick.

-----

Protoman used his shield to block the tongue of one Invisible. He quickly
disabled his shield and swung his sword arm in a downward arc, cutting right
through it. Three more charged at him. Three more dissipated into nothing. It
was all too easy, so Protoman tried to ignore the oncoming Invisibles and tried
to find out what was really going on.

He turned around, right into the fist of a Navi. Protoman's vision swam, but he
knew who his assailant was. The rectangular jaw, yellow armor, huge fists. They
all fit Gutsman.

"Tear him apart!" he heard Dex order.

He should have known. Protoman quickly jumped up and grabbed onto a tree branch,
dodging Gutsman's rush. He dropped back down, slashing his sword across his
opponent's back.

"Are you trying to hurt me? I'm aligned with the Force Aspect!" Gutsman taunted.
He turned and punched Protoman again, sending a shower of silver energy. He
continued to pummel Protoman, even though the crimson Navi had already lost
consciousness.

"Go! Get in there, you damned viruses!" Dex ordered, pointing towards the walls
of ACDC Town.

A horde of gray Fear Invisibles appeared, nodding in assent. They floated and
headed towards the gates. Dex grunted in amazement as a dagger suddenly flew
right threw the long line of viruses, deleting them all from existence. The
dagger suddenly flew backwards, as if it were possessed, and into the arms of a
"fellow rebel."

-----

"Dex, what are you doing?" Yai asked angrily.

Glyde ran over to Protoman, who was still being attacked by Gutsman. Protoman
had regained consciousness, only because the pain kept him from fainting. Glyde
ran up to the weakened Navi, shielding him from Gutsman. "Guts, stop! He isn't a
NetBattler Navi anymore!"

Gutsman didn't reply, just swatting away the gold-armored Navi like an irritable
fly. "Only the more reason to beat him into a faceless pulp," he said
maliciously.

Yai stomped up to Dex, suddenly glowing with a white energy around her body. She
grabbed him by his jacket collar, lifting him off the ground, and slammed him
into a tree; Dex was amazed that a woman with such a small, petite figure could
lift an over two hundred pound man. Yai was quite amazed herself, but she could
guess that the energy she felt-and exhibited-was the source of her newfound
strength. "Would you care to extrapolate on that Dex?" she asked, flipping the
dagger in her hand.

"How do you think the NetBattlers knew that Lan was here? Well, you're looking at
the answer, rich bitch," Dex said pompously. He took out his energy axe and threw
it to Gutsman, shouting, "Finish the job the Mistress sent us to do, Guts!"

"Double-crossing bastard," Yai hissed and brought up the dagger in her hand and
sliced his throat shallowly. She dropped him, letting him bleed; she knew the
cut wasn't life threatening, but she also knew it would keep him from doing
anything for a while.

She turned to see Gutsman swing down the axe in a killing blow. A flash of white
energy, similar to the energy Yai had around her body, caught the corner of her
eye, and when the blinding light finally dimmed, she gasped. Glyde, on his
knees, had intercepted the axe's course of destruction; the axe sliced deep into
his torso. He quickly put a palm onto Gutsman's armor and blasted a beam of
luminescent energy, throwing the traitorous Navi out of view.

Yai ran over to Glyde, tears rimming her eyes. She dropped to her knees before
him and stammered, "It's alright; the gash isn't to bad. I-I think I'll be able
to-"

Glyde shushed her, pushing a lock of lovely golden hair away from Yai's face.
"We both know this can't be repaired, Yai."

"But, you can't go now. You're my digital match; I don't know what I'd do
without you," she said, letting the tears stream now.

"People change, Yai. That means that they can find other matches," Glyde
explained, wincing. As if in cue, Protoman grunted as he slowly awakened. "It
won't be much longer now. Bye, Yai."

"No! You can't die!" Yai pleaded as a bright light grew from Glyde. She threw
her arms out to wrap them around him, but when she opened her eyes, however, she
found Protoman in her embrace. The sadness and heartache faded away quickly. All
too soon, all she could feel was anger, a faint pale glow in her eyes. "The cut
will be deeper the next time we meet, Dex."

-----

Miyu came in with both her scythes, crossing down over each other. "I am aligned
with the Darkness element now, Lan. There isn't anything you can hide from me. I can
make every uncertainty come true to work against you," Miyu taunted as Lan
blocked the attack.

He jumped back, knowing that she did hold the advantage. Lan never aligned
himself with any Element or Aspect, so he had an average chance in every battle.
In a situation like this, though, he never felt more helpless. He didn't any
special abilities like fireballs and energy blasts, just his halberd. Every one
of his direct attacks had been predicted and countered. He would need a distraction.

Miyu put her scythes away and stood rigidly, positioning her arms at a slight
angle to her sides. A gray vortex appeared and dissipated, leaving behind a
giant, four-foot skull. Miyu took out her scythes again. She sliced in an "X"
through the skull, which suddenly divided into four pieces and transformed into
four energy balls. They flew at Lan, leaving a trail of energy like a comet.

Lan quickly jumped over the first sphere, grabbing onto a tree branch and
swinging full circle to avoid the rest. He raced up to Miyu. She did the same, but
unexpectedly sidestepped and stuck out her scythe. It ran right along his arm,
cutting through his light blue jacket and into his arm.

Lan didn't say anything. Instead, he ignored the searing pain in his right arm
and slammed his halberd into the ground and pushed down against it; dirt and
soil flew into Miyu's eyes. He ran up to her and tackled her to the ground. The
speared end of the double-halberd met the skin above her heart. "Call off the
Invisibles, now!" he growled.

"I don't think you're in a position to make threats, considering what's at
stake, here Lan," Miyu said. "Your worst fears have come true by my hand."

A rustle in the bushes averted his gaze. There, unconscious and held by Fear
Invisibles, was Mayl. Her body hung lifeless and limp, as though she were
drained of energy. Miyu waved her hand, and some trees suddenly disappeared. The
new view revealed Skullman, ready to decapitate an unconscious Roll.

"Let them go!" Lan shouted, pushing the blade slightly deeper to tear a few
seams of Miyu's gray NetBattler's jacket.

"You're not in any position-" Miyu started, but was interrupted by a howl of
pain from Skullman.

-----

Megaman leapt down from his perch in the tree. Skullman hadn't thought about
restraining Megaman's sword arm, so Mega had easily escaped his restraint. He
landed between Skullman and Roll, slicing off the hand that held her captive.
Skullman bellowed in agony, clutching the damaged arm. Megaman retracted the
energy blade and used his buster cannon to delete the hand, freeing Roll
completely. He gently laid her by a tree.

Skullman took out a scythe quickly, and looked up. He found a giant cannon put
to his face.

"Call off your Invisibles now, Miyu. Release Mayl and get the invading ones out
of the city. Otherwise the Navi will be missing two body parts," Megaman
threatened, his voice dripping with anger and seriousness.

Miyu didn't even stop to contemplate the situation. "Alright."

The gray Fear Invisibles disappeared from view, gently laying Mayl down. The
invading viruses receded from the gates of ACDC. Lan disabled the blade to his
double-halberd and retracted the extension poles. He offered a hand and helped
Miyu up. "You don't have to be a NetBattler. They aren't helping you in any way,
trust me," he advised. "I'm sure that they won't help you with that Navi."

She dusted off her jacket. "You still have so much naïveté, Lan Hikari. The
NetBattlers have accepted me. If you'd stayed you would still be a great leader.
But, then again, every leader has his flaws and mistakes. I just hope yours
don't cost you any more than it already has- or will."

She walked over to Skullman, who was still hurting from the severed limb. She
fixed her gray beret, and suddenly disappeared from view as easily as an
Invisible.

"We'd better get back inside and get Mayl and Roll treated right away," Megaman
said. Lan nodded in agreement. Megaman picked up Roll and was already making
haste for the gates, not waiting to see if his brother needed help.

"I think we're going to be inside these gates-or at least with our friends here-
for quite some time," Lan remarked as he lifted Mayl from the ground. He felt a
twinge of guilt form in his heart. She got hurt again because of him; although
he knew it would be easy for him to just run away and forget it all, he
remembered that Mayl had told him that he needed to stay. "What could you
possibly ever want to do with me?" he asked her, wondering whether if she could
hear him through her slumber.

-----

The blue-black Navi stared down at the town. It watched as Lan and Megaman
hauled in their loved ones. It felt sick at the sight of such emotion. Grunting
to itself about the amount of vulnerability of sentiment, the Navi jumped down
from its perch. It turned to the dark horizon and began calculating the fastest
way to eradicate Lan. Before it could do that though, it had to report to its
master, Lervingthis. Then it would savor every last howl of pain that escaped
Lan's lips.

- End -

- Notes/Explanations -

My first episode! Well, this took me a while to do, since I was conflicted with
whether I should include people from EXE/Battle Network 2 or not. I didn't have
the game, so I didn't know much of the BN 2 characters/enemies, but I just
bought it, so I will include cameos and whatnot from some of the characters in
BN 2. And I won't use those annoying US enemy names.

How'd you all like the fact that the kiddies (Lan, Mayl, etc.) aren't very
happy-go-lucky anymore? And now they have to fight too! If you didn't understand
what a halberd is, let me explain: it's a polearm with a spear at the tip and an
axe along perpendicular to it. It gives the best qualities of the axe and spear
in one. Lan's halberd happens to have spears and axes at both ends of the staff.

Maybe you didn't notice, but I kinda took Mayl's outfit and weapons from Rinoa
in Final Fantasy 8 ;). The energy rings were a mix between Rinoa and June from
Star Gladiator, another great Capcom game, and the long coat is supposed to be
Rinoa's long coat/jacket thing. Expect some small twists and stuff like that
from me. My writing is usually full of rips.

Well, the story will continue, with the next episode to come soon (hopefully).A big, big thanks go out to Lan of Rockman Network! Very, very big thanks. If
you didn't host it, I wouldn't have known where else to go other than To review this episode/chapter, just post a review at the MMXZ
Forum or e-mail me Make sure you check out my other story! If you are on just
scroll up to the top and click on the link where my name is!

Pyrestrike Out -