Chapter 1: The Perfect Gift
*sigh* Another boring evening…
Haseo Tomokari sat in his computer chair, tapping away on his keyboard. He was stuck doing his homework while all of his friends were jacked into the Net, hanging out with their Net Navis. Haseo was never able to join that fun, and ever since its debut, he really wanted a PErsonal Terminal, or PET for short.
For the residents of ACDC Town, having a PET was a basic necessity for everyday life. Adults could use it for important work, while kids could use it for downloading textbook and homework data. And inside their PETs was an Internet Navigator, called a Net Navi for short. Navis could pretty much do anything in the computer world, and most kids Haseo's age participated in the greatest pastime in DenTech City, no…in the entire world, Net Battling.
Haseo was a huge fan of Net Battling, especially if those battles involved Official Net Battler Eugene Chaud. He and his Navi Protoman were the top Net Battlers in the country until they were defeated by ACDC Town's very own Lan Hikari, and his Navi Megaman.
Since forever, he'd been learning how to program, and he was already on the path of finishing a custom Navi for himself. But, without a PET, he wasn't able to complete its activation, and it remained in his computer.
Haseo tapped one last time on his keyboard and saved the homework file to his flash drive. Then he looked at a special folder set aside in the window.
"Soon enough, my virtual friend," Haseo said to himself. "You will become a reality."
Haseo shut down his PC and went to his bed, dressing into his pajamas. As he collapsed on his bed, he couldn't help but dream about winning the title of #1 Net Battler. At this note, he quickly fell asleep.
"OK, Megaman! Battle routine, set!"
"Execute!"
Lan Hikari and Megaman were engaged in yet another Net Battle. This time, it was his beefy friend and rival Dex Oyama, and his equally beefy Navi Gutsman.
"You may have beaten me last time, but we've been training!" Dex sneered. "You and your puny Megaman won't stand a chance against me and Gutsman!"
"Yeah, we'll see about that!" Lan shouted, pulling out his starting combo. "Cannon, Attack +10, Battle Chips in! Download!"
Megaman's arm formed into the giant green cannon, and he fired off a powerful shot, hitting Gutsman head on.
"Good move, but try this on for size!" Dex shouted. "Guts Punch, Battle Chip in! Download!"
Gutsman's already massive fist grew bigger, and he launched himself at Megaman, who was ready.
"Reflector 3, Battle Chip in! Download!"
The red shield shimmered into view, and once Gutsman's attack made contact, a shockwave of equal power blew out and sent the giant yellow Navi flying back.
"Grr! Not yet! Guts Hammer, Battle Chip in! Download!"
Guts man's arms combined together into a giant hammer, and he slammed it on the ground, sending shockwaves towards the blue Navi.
"Prepare to lose, Dex! That stuff doesn't work twice!" Lan shouted. "Now, Megaman! Area Steal, Wide Blade, Battle Chips in! Download!"
Megaman disappeared from view, leaving Gutsman scratching his head saying, "Where'd he go?"
"Behind you."
Megaman rematerialized behind Gutsman and slashed him with the upgraded Sword attack, forcing him to jack out.
"What?! No way!" said a disgruntled Dex.
"Aw yeah! That's how it's done!" Lan shouted happily.
"Hmph! I lost this time, but I'll get you next time!" Dex shouted before cutting his link to the Net.
"Heh, he never learns," Lan laughed. "Nice work, Megaman!"
"You too, Lan!" Megaman replied. "Now we should jack out. Mom might get mad if we stay up too late."
"Oh, alright," Lan groaned. "Jack out, Megaman."
Megaman warped out of the Net and back to Lan's PET. The two brothers quickly fell asleep.
The next morning...
Haseo woke up, the morning sun blazing in his room. He felt particularly good today, since he was turning 13.
"Fwaaaaaaaahh!" he yawned loudly. "Well, happy birthday to me."
Haseo walked over to his dresser and dressed in his usual clothing; a black T-shirt with a blue circular ring with a lightning bolt pattern in the center, blue jeans and black sneakers. He also took his Battle Chip sack with him. Even though he didn't have a PET, he still needed them for his first period class, which was virus busting techniques. Even though the Navi he used was always defeated, he still kept a cool head and resisted the urge to crush every one of his chips.
Haseo walked down his stairs to his living room, but then he started to hear voices. He stopped and listened carefully.
"Do you think he'll pee himself when he gets it?"
"Eww! Gross, Dex!"
"What's taking him so long, anyway? It's not polite to make a lady wait."
"Just be patient, guys. He'll show up soon enough."
Haseo already knew what was going on, and he was jumping for joy on the inside. His friends were planning a surprise on him. He decided to go along with it and casually walked down his stairs and into the living room, where his friends from school; Lan, Dex, Maylu, and Yai, and his parents were waiting.
"Hey, guys," Haseo said. "What are you doing here?"
"We came down to give you a little present," Lan said, stepping forward and pulling out a small box.
"We all pitched in on this," Maylu said. "Even Ms. Mari helped out."
"Well, go on, Lan," Megaman said from Lan's PET. "Give it to him."
Lan nodded and handed Haseo the box. He wasted no time in snatching the box and ripping it open. His hopes were rising as he tore off the paper. But then his jaw dropped.
In the box lay a king size candy bar.
"Do you like it?" Lan said, a huge grin spreading across his face.
"Seriously?" Haseo said, not amused in the slightest. "Of all the gag gifts to get me for my birthday, you had to get me one that was the shape of a PET. I freakin' hate you guys."
Lan and Dex burst out laughing while Maylu and Yai just facepalmed.
"Sorry, I just couldn't help myself!" Lan said, wiping the tears from his eyes. "Here's your real present."
Haseo's eyes widened as Lan produced a brand new Link PET from his vest pocket. It was even in his colors; jet black with sky blue accents. In the center just below the screen lay the insignia on Haseo's shirt. He could already tell that this thing was heavily customized.
"No way!" He shouted, grabbing the PET from Lan and looking at it with wide eyes. "Is this for real?!"
"Yup, it's the newest model," Maylu said. "Happy Birthday, Haseo!"
"Oh boy..." he said.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Lan asked.
"Hold on, I'll be right back!" Haseo said excitedly before bolting back up to his room.
Once he reached his PC and fired it up, he jacked the PET into the PC and began the file transfer.
"Finally...you can experience the world!" Haseo said excitedly.
Once the transfer was complete, Haseo ran back downstairs and stopped in front of everyone, holding out his PET.
"So, does anyone know why I was never able to hang out with you guys after school?" Haseo began.
"We always just thought that you liked to do your homework," Yai said.
"Well, that's part of the reason," he said. "The real reason is because I've been taking programming classes since the fourth grade. And now, I'm about to activate my biggest project yet: my very own custom Net Navi."
"Whoa!" Lan said, surprised. "Did you say you programmed it yourself?!"
"Mmm-hm," Haseo confirmed. "And now it's time to turn it on and see if it works." Haseo opened the file explorer and started the A.I. Navigation program.
The entire group was in awe as the new Net Navi shimmered into the screen. Like Haseo's signature colors, the Navi was black with sky blue accents, the lightning bolt pattern on a crest on his chest and on his helmet where his ears would be. He had slight shoulder armor, as well as a small crest on his samurai like armor that sported a small gem. On his back were two swords that resembled that of the Wide Sword Battle Chip; a bright blue blade that was wider on the tip. The helmet had a blue visor that was able to put up a heads-up display with any data on the opponent. Long black hair was flowing from the back of his helmet.
"Blademan, are you awake?" Haseo said. "Please respond."
The Navi's eyes remained closed. No reply.
"Hello? Blademan?" Haseo said, beginning to get nervous.
No reply.
"Come on, wake up buddy!" Haseo shouted frantically.
Still no reply. Haseo was ready to give up, until the Navi's eyelids shot open to reveal striking green eyes. He yawned and stretched, looking around his new home.
"Huh?" he said, unaware that he was in a different home. "Where am I?"
"You're in a PET, my virtual friend," Haseo said, relieved that he had finally woken up. "You're finally running. How does it feel?"
Blademan stretched his back some more and said, "Better than being stuck in a folder, that's for sure."
"Great," Haseo said. "So, no bugs?"
"None that I know of," Blademan responded.
"That's a relief," Haseo said. "I'm Haseo. It's great to finally meet you."
"Haseo..." Blademan said. "Cool. I'm Blademan. Great to finally meet you, too."
"Uh, sorry to interrupt the moment, but we're about to be late!" Maylu said, checking the time on her PET. "C'mon, let's move!"
Haseo nodded, putting his PET into his pocket and bolting out the door. On the way, Blademan spent his time conversing with the other Navis.
"Hi!" said a rather cute Navi in hot pink armor. "I'm Roll! Glad to meet you!"
"Nice to meet you, Roll," Blademan said, nodding at her and smiling. "I'm Blademan."
"And I'm Megaman," the blue navi spoke up while stepping forward beside Roll. "The polite one in the gold back there is Glyde, and the big beefy one is Gutsman."
Glyde did a slight bow, whereas Gutsman stomped forward, towering over the black Navi.
"So, you're the new guy, huh?" Gutsman said, cracking his knuckles. "Hmph, pretty puny looking if you ask me."
"Oh, really?" Blademan said, looking up at him, not intimidated at all. "Well, sorry to burst your big bubble, tough guy, but you're not much to look at, either."
"What'd you say?!" Gutsman said, pounding his fists together. "Someone's about to be a little black stain on the ground!"
"I'm right here, come and get some!" Blademan said, a black mask covering his face. He drew his swords and went into a battle stance.
"Hey, what's going on in there?!" Haseo shouted. He had been looking in on them the whole time they were arguing.
"Some tough guy thinks he can take me in a fight!" Blademan said, ready to let loose at any time.
"Save it for the battlefield, guys," Haseo said. "Now's not the time to get in each other's faces."
"What's wrong, Haseo?" Dex challenged. "Afraid that your Navi can't hold his own? From the way you fight, I'd be scared too."
Haseo bristled at that remark. He looked at Dex and said, "OK, you wanna fight, let's have it out! Take your best shot!"
"Hey! You know the rules!" one of the teachers said, walking up to them. "No Net Battling on school grounds! Get to class!"
The Navis returned to their respective PETs, Gutsman turning to Blademan and saying, "You're mine," before exiting.
Blademan retracted his mask and sheathed his swords.
"I can already tell," Blademan said. "That guy's gonna be a real nuisance."
"Just keep your head straight," Haseo said. "We'll get our chance."
The kids made their way to Class 5-A to start homeroom, knowing that a lecture from Ms. Mari was imminent.
"OK, class!" Ms. Mari spoke loudly. "Today, we'll be learning about Program Advance."
As soon as those words left her mouth, every kid in Class 5-A murmured excitedly.
"Program Advance is a very developed way of battling," she explained. "The right combination of Battle Chips will create a totally devastating attack that is sure to delete anything in its wake. A popular example is Giga Cannon."
After she said this, she looked around the room, saying, "Who would like to demonstrate Program Advance to the class?"
Haseo immediately jumped out of his seat and made his way to the front of the room.
"Ah, Haseo," Ms. Mari said with joy. "How are you enjoying your new PET?"
"Pretty good, thank you," he said, smirking.
"So, by coming up here, you must already have your own Net Navi," she said. "Or are you using the rental?"
"Let's just say that you don't have to worry about me," Haseo replied.
"Well, alright, then!" Ms. Mari said happily. "OK, who will be his opponent?"
She looked around the room. "Wow, Lan isn't volunteering?" She then locked eyes onto the young Net Battler, who was sawing logs.
"LAN!"
"Wah!" he screamed, waking up with a start. The entire class laughed.
"Lan Hikari, you may be the best Net Battler in the class, but that doesn't give you an excuse to fall asleep in it!" Ms. Mari scolded.
"Sorry, Ms. Mari," Lan said sheepishly.
"Now, get up here and help Haseo and I demonstrate a Program Advance," Ms. Mari ordered.
Lan nodded and walked up to the electronic blackboard.
"Now, jack into the blackboard, if you please," Ms. Mari instructed.
The two boys nodded. Haseo had been waiting his whole life to say these words:
"Jack in, Blademan, Power up!"
Author's Note: My name is Strato Abyss. This is the reworked version of a Megaman Battle Network fanfic I had written a few years ago in a notebook. I figured I'd post it on this site for you readers to enjoy.
Now, in my opinion, Battle Network was one of the greatest Megaman series ever made (second only to Star Force), and it's severely underappreciated, especially by all those "hardcore" fans who'd rather stick with their NES. It was different in a lot of ways, and any mistakes in the series is entirely excusable.
Now, to clarify what this fanfic will be running off of. This will be based off of events that happened in the game, but will have some mechanics from the anime, and will include all Battle Chips from the game series, as well as all Program Advances. Chip codes will not be used, so I'll definitely have to clarify what advance I'm using. Also, Blademan will be able to utilize the Cross System, which also means he'll be able to form change.
That being said, I hope you enjoy the first chapter of my newest work, "Megaman Battle Network: Rise of a Champion".
Strato Abyss signing out.