Tap… Tap… Tap…
"hmm…" Megaman stirred, and woke up. It was dark and quiet inside the PET. He listened. Something had woken him up, but what? He decided to get up and investigate. All the codes in the Pet were where they should be. Megaman stopped at the new antifirewall that Chaud Blaze, Netop of Protoman, had created and installed in everybody's PETS. Chaud had said it was better to be safe then sorry. Megaman wondered what Chaud had met by that line.
Tap… Tap… Tap…
"There it is again. It's coming from the wall." Megaman felt the wall carefully.
BAM!
Megaman jumped a mile. The wall shuddered once, twice, and collapsed. Megaman couldn't stop the scream that tore from him like a wounded animal in torment. A solid black Navi stood before him. It wore a black cloak with black boots. A single red eye glowed from a horned helmet. The left horn was shorter then the right horn. The cloak was torn in places. Megaman tensed.
"Who are you? Why do you look so familiar?" Megaman asked, "Lan? A little help here!"
"Who I am is not important." Came the cold reply, "We've met before, in Net City."
"LAN!" Megaman screamed over his shoulder at the darkened screen, "Attack at will. You'll only serve to get yourself deleted. I've never seen you before!"
"Ah, screaming for your Netop, eh? Sadly, no one can hear your screams as I leave you to a fate worse then deletion." the black Navi hissed.
The blow hit so fast that Megaman never saw it coming. The next thing he knew, there was pain, and he was laying inside a Megaman shaped crater, panting. The Navi dawned over him.
"LAN! PLEASE!" was all Megaman managed to get out before the next blow came, and with it, darkness.
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"Oh god, what did this to him?"
"Something got through your antifirewall, genius!"
"Lan, breathe."
"Breathe? Breathe? How can I breathe when my brother could be dying?"
Chaud Blaze sighed. He had come running when a screaming Lan called him on the phone. He'd sent Protoman on ahead, and the Navi had sent him an email back saying it wasn't pretty, and to hurry. Now, he and Lan were waiting in the Scilab waiting area while Lan's dad, Dr. Hikari, and Protoman battled to save Megaman. Maylu, Dex, Yai, and Tory had showed up as Lan had called them. On a computer screen, their Navis waited for news in a similar waiting area.
"What if, what if," Lan sobbed, and Chaud found himself holding the crying boy. He sent a look of pure helpless horror at Maylu, who ignored him. Dex sniggered, which turned into a yelp of pain as Yai kicked him. On screen, Gutsman glowered at Glyde.
"Hey! Tell your Netop to keep her hands off of the great Dex! De gutsu!" he growled.
"You tell your Netop to learn some manners." Glyde rolled his eyes.
"Why you puny-Ow!" Gutsman screamed, getting a face full of Rolls fist.
"Both of you shut up! Lan needs us more then ever now. We are going to get along nicely and help Lan through this." Roll snarled at the two Navis.
"For once, I'm not the one in trouble." Iceman spoke up as Roll turned on him, "Me and my big mouth…"
"It's Protoman! Maybe he has some news!" Glyde stopped Roll before she could pound on Iceman.
"It's pretty bad." Protoman refused to look at the Navis, and the six human children crowding the screen, "Megaman is decoding rapidly, and there is nothing we can do."
Lan sank back into Chaud's arms, sobbing uncontrollably much to Chaud's dismay. He locked eyes with his Navi, "Lan's PET, clues, go."
"We have managed to stabilize him." Protoman finished, "Lan, jack in your PET."
Lan responded by crying harder. Chaud sighed, as Dex picked up Lan's PET while Maylu jacked it in. Protoman appeared on it's screen. Shock covered his face. Chaud felt his gut twist in fear. Lan managed to look.
"Protoman, find anything?" Chaud asked.
"Something broke through the antifirewall you installed." Protoman said, "A major battle was fought here. Megaman never stood a chance." he knelt to pick up a piece of black cloth, "Chaud?" the word was filled with fear. Chaud trembled and forced himself to swallow. Protoman held up the cloth to the screen.
"What's wrong?" Iceman asked, feeling creeped out.
"Navirus." Protoman choked on the word, "Chaud? We're doomed."
"Navirus? What is a Navirus?" Yai asked.
"Lan, I tried." this came from Dr. Hikari.
"You mean you can't fix him?" Lan asked.
"There is nothing I can do for him." Dr. Hikari replied sadly, "What ever did this made sure he would suffer."
"What ever did this was a Navirus!" Protoman spat.
"Navirus? Not Medic!" Dr. Hikari spun to the screen where Protoman stood holding the cloth.
"No. Zero has her under control. This one is different." Protoman replied hotly, "Did you create a second one?"
"No, only Medic!" Dr. Hikari had gone white.
"What is a Navirus?" Yai tried again.
"Dad, what did you do?" Lan asked angrily, "Are you responsible for this?"
"No!" Dr. Hikari closed his eyes, "Let me explain." They all took seats with the Navis crowding the screen to hear better, "A Navirus is a Navi Virus cross. I created the first one, named Medic. She doesn't have a Netop. Medic's powers proved to be very destructive, so I sent Zero, another Navi, out to contain her. He brought her back and Medic chose to don limiters to try to manage her powers. She wears three sets of limiters as well as a limitation belt to keep her power at ten percent. Even then, she proved to be too strong. Chaud created a device for Zero to wear that keeps her in a near weakened state. Medic can't be deleted because it would cause untold amounts of damage to the net. I created only her. Someone else must have created another Navirus and used it to defeat Megaman in a way where he'll suffer."
"Doctor?"
"Medic, I didn't think you'd come. Guys, this is Medic, and behind her is Zero." Dr. Hikari brightened a bit.
"Greetings." Medic replied, "I'm Medic, and I'm a Navirus. Doctor, where is he? I think I can help, especially if he was hurt by another Navirus."
Medic wore black pants with white boots and a white top with black sleeves. A pair of white gloves donned her hands, where three thick metal bracelets adorned her wrists. She wore three more thick bracelets on her ankles, and a thick metal belt rested just below her waistline. Her lilac colored eyes sparkled and she wore her lilac hair back in a ponytail.
Standing just behind and off her right was the imposing figure of Zero. Tall, even on Navi standards, Zero wore red boots with a white trim over black pants and a red top with black sleeves. His gloves were red, and he wore a white belt that held a softly glowing green jewel. Zero had long blond hair that streamed out from a ponytail under his red and white helmet. His deep blue eyes were narrowed, and he held a green saber in his left hand.
"Megaman is this way." Dr. Hikari said, "Medic, it appears he was attacked by another Navirus, and he looks really bad. I've done what I could."
The Navirus, her Navi guard, and the doctor left the room. The remaining Navis and kids all sighed and went back to waiting.
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"Zero, I can work better without you breathing down my neck. Why don't you go back to the other Navis? It do you some good to socialize." Medic entered the labs main computer, and jumped over to the capsule where Megaman lay.
"And who will protect you?" Zero asked.
"I can protect myself, and you are going to be just a scream away." Medic smiled at him, "Go socialize. I'm safe here."
"I'd rather stay close by." Zero sighed.
"Oh go hang out and have some fun." Medic chided him gently.
"You sure you will be okay?" Zero asked.
"I'll be fine." Medic watched him leave, "I'm not helpless." She turned to her patient, "What have we here?" Medic ran a scan to give herself an idea of what was damaged. Carefully, she began the long and daunting task of stripping and repairing codes. Slowly, Megaman stopped rezing and became more solid. Sighing, she removed a bracelet from each wrist, "That's better. I'm in control. Just needed a little bit more power."
Dr. Hikari watched her work. He hadn't told the whole truth to Lan and the others. Medic was the first Navi he'd ever made. Medic had become a Navirus voluntarily. It had been Medic who had comforted Dr. Hikari the day Hub died. It had been Medic who had suggested since merging viral DNA to a Navi had been successful, why not human DNA? From there, came Megaman.
Medic recalled the attack on the lab by Mr. Willy. Willy had blocked all access to the Scilab computers by Navi and planned to destroy any and all projects by Dr. Hikari. Hikari had asked Medic if she could go in and retrieve what they had dubbed the Human Project. Medic agreed, and got in easily. She made it back to Hikari's home computer with the file. Realizing Willy was searching for the Human Project, Hikari hid it within Medic's program, and sent her into hiding with Zero. Willy disappeared weeks afterward and Hikari sent a message to Medic saying it was safe to come home. By then, the file had integrated itself into Medic's program and was using her to develop. Several weeks later, Medic downloaded herself into Lan's future PET, giving life to the file in which she'd named Megaman. She and Hikari had decided to keep this part a secret to protect Megaman from Willy. Medic sat back, having finished her repairs at last.
"Rest now, my son." She whispered softly, "I've done what I can."
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"Mama! Guess what? I cleared level one today!"
Medic chuckled as she bent down to catch the little blue and yellow blur rushing her way with a panting Zero behind him.
"Good job, Megaman." She cheered, "He did good?"
"Yes, and he gets to start level two tomorrow." Zero smiled, "He cleared level one faster then I did."
"Shall we go for ice cream?" Medic asked Megaman, who agreed enthusiastically. He would have taken off again if Medic hadn't been holding onto his hand, "Now Zero, don't be jealous of him."
"I'm not jealous. I'm proud of him. He's going to go far." Zero smiled as they left Scilabs and entered Net City. A half an hour later, Megaman dug into a chocolate sundae with blue and yellow sprinkles while Medic licked a vanilla cone. Zero had a cup of coffee in front of him, hating cold treats with a passion. It was peaceful. The sun was out and a gentle breeze blew through the trees. Zero kept one eye on his little family and one eye scanning the crowd. He remembered the Willy scare all too well.
"I'm done." Megaman pushed his empty bowl away, "Can I have seconds? Please?"
CRACK!
Megaman screamed, flying into Medic's arms. Zero whipped out his saber as he put himself in front of Medic and Megaman. He scanned the crowd for potential enemies.
CRACK!
The ground broke open as something dark floated up into the light. It wore all black with a horned helmet. A pair of glowing red eyes shone from the visor.
"Rock!" Zero screamed, "I'm going to delete you!"
"Hand me the brat." came the cold reply.
"Never!" Medic screamed.
"I'll take the brat by force if necessary!" Rock screamed, raising his left hand. Zero slashed at it.
"Medic! Get him out of here! I'll hold Rock off!" he screamed.
Medic took off, or tried to. Black tentacles wrapped around her legs and she fell. More tentacles wrapped around her.
"Mama!" Megaman screamed, his left arm forming into his buster. He fired a shot at Rock, who screamed, one of his eyes going out. Some of the tentacles vanished from around Medic. Zero took advantage, slashing through Rock's left horn.
"Enough." Zero screamed as Rock wrapped him in a bundle of tentacles and did the same to Medic, "I'll let them go if you come with me."
"Mama! Daddy! You let them go!" Megaman fired another shot that tore through Rock's cloak, which also gave Zero the opening he needed to slash his way out of the tentacles. Medic suddenly burst free, her limiters gone.
"Rock, I know what you are and what you want! I'll never love you and you will never get your hands on my son! You can go back to Willy and tell him to give it up!" White tentacles shot up and around Rock, "Do I make myself clear?"
"Perfectly." Rock sniggered, and vanished.
"Where's Megaman?" Medic looked for her son, but he was gone, "No! he got him! We failed! Oh, we failed!"
"Or did we?" Zero snarled, his anger coming off him in waves, "We are going to get him back!"
Megaman's eyes flew open as he woke up. Pain stabbed at him from everywhere. He found himself laying in a capsule inside the Scilabs. A pink and red female Navi with yellow antennae sat in a cyber chair near him.
"Roll?" He tried to sit up, but his head swam.
"Megaman!" Roll ran to his side, "you woke up! You were in a bad way when Lan found you. He's asleep right now. You up to some visitors?"
"Yea." Megaman smiled.
Protoman led the rush to Megamans side as soon as Roll called.
"You gave us quite the scare." Protoman said in greeting, "Who or what did this to you?"
"I wish I knew." Megaman answered.
Minutes later, the kids minus Lan crowded around the capsule. Dr. Hikari threaded his way through them.
"How do you feel?" he asked, "That was quite a beating you took."
"I'm fine, just sore." Megaman looked for Lan.
"Looking for Lan?" Dex asked, "He cried himself to sleep in Chaud's arms. You really scared him. I never want to see him crying like that again."
"If it is possible, I'd like a minute alone with Megaman." Protoman had caught the lie in Megamans words. Megaman knew it too. The doctor, kids, and Navis left them alone. Protoman turned to him, "describe."
"Black, one red eye, horned helmet, tattered cloak, left horn shorter then right horn." Megaman replied at once.
"Bass? Wait, he is not all black. Um, I wish I could tell you who that was." Protoman looked apologetic.
"Rock."
Protoman turned, "Zero, you know that Navi?"
"His name is Rock." this came from Medic, "He attacked us once before."
"Rock is like Medic, a Navirus." Zero explained.
Megaman stared at the two new Navis in shock. They were real? Protoman left them alone together, getting the silent hints from Zero to leave.
"You are real?" Megaman asked.
"Yes. He's starting to remember." Medic looked to Zero, "I'm Medic, and this is Zero. We raised you as our own."
"I dreamed about you. I called you mom and dad." Megaman told them about his dream.
"That is what we are to you." Medic smiled, "I got to you in time to save you."
"Why don't I remember you?" Megaman asked.
"Should we tell him?" Zero asked.
"Does he need to know?" Medic asked worriedly.
"Tell me what? Why don't I remember you? Shouldn't I remember you?" Megaman asked again.
Zero sighed, and drew up Roll's empty chair, "Are you sure you want to know?"
"Shouldn't I know?" Megaman asked.
"Megaman, you are not just a Navi. You carry human DNA inside you. Lan is more then just your Netop. He is your twin brother. It is a long story. The thing that attacked you is like Medic, a Navirus. His name is Rock. He is an agent of Mr. Willy."
"Already been defeated. Mr. Willy ran World Three, which my friends and I took down." Megaman recalled.
"Mr. Willy wanted to find and control the ultimate Navi. He learned of the Human Project and realized that this Navi is what he was searching for. Dr. Hikari hid your still developing file inside Medic and we went into hiding as Mr. Willy attacked the Scilab, looking for that file. Five weeks later, Willy disappeared and Medic and I returned to Hikari. By then, your file had latched onto Medic's program and through her, you were born. Willy made another attempt to capture you days after your birth. It was decided that you would stay with us for your protection as we could protect you better then any firewall or antifirewall. Sadly, we failed. Rock got to you and took you to Willy. We almost didn't find you in time. We decided it would be better to have your memories blocked so you didn't have to remember. It was also to protect you. Medic coded a cloak code in you to help hide you from Willy. I wish things had come out better. Willy is not gone. He's back, and he is after you." Zero swallowed, "Can you forgive us?"
"Why me? I'm strong, but I'm not that strong nor that special. I already know I'm Lans twin brother." Megaman looked away.
"Megaman, you are the third Navirus." Zero explained further, watching Megaman's reaction.
"What? But how?"
"Think about it. I'm a Navirus and I carried your file in me. You have some of my viral DNA in you along with your human DNA. That is what makes you a Navirus, and what makes you so strong."
"I'm the enemy?"
"Good heavens no. you are like me, a Navirus. Your human DNA is what keeps your viral half in check."
"You are saying I'm a virus."
"You are a Navi virus cross." Medic corrected.
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"Lan is still asleep?" Protoman asked, looking out into the waiting area at Chaud, and beyond him, at the softly snoring Lan.
"Yes, and we are going to let him sleep. He needs it." Chaud answered.
BURR! BURR! BURR!
Red lights flashed as the alarms wailed their siren song. Lan woke up due to the noise and nearly got ran over by Tory and Dex who were shouting orders and downloading battle chips at their Navis as they jacked in. the Scilab firewalls began to cave as thousands of viruses flooded the servers. Chaud, Maylu, and Yai jacked in with their Navis. Lan ran to the other room to join Megaman, who was not cleared to battle.
The scene that greeted the five Navis was one of horror. Thousands of viruses swarmed the servers. Protoman recognized many of the viruses, but there were still some he didn't recognize. An orange sword appeared on his right hand as he tensed for battle. There was the sound of buzzing pixels as Medic logged in followed by Numberman, Magnetman, and several Scilab Navis.
"We are outnumbered 20000 to one." Numberman broke the silence.
"They're everywhere." Glyde's eyes were wide.
"We have an advantage." Medic spoke up, her words punctuated by clicks as she snapped open her bracelets, "You have a Navirus on your side. Me. I'm not going to hold back." she dropped her belt with a crash, "Zero, shut it off. I want all of it."
"But won't that cause damage to the net?" Zero asked.
"the net is going to be damaged anyway if we don't stop them." Medic replied.
Suddenly, the viruses moved, and the battle began in earnest. Roll found herself surrounded. She fought hard, but they kept coming and coming. Suddenly, white tentacles shot up around her to stab through the viruses which exploded in showers of pixels. Roll turned to see the floating Medic, who smiled at her. Protoman and Zero found themselves fighting back to back. Iceman froze a group of viruses that were shattered by Gutsman. Glyde was overhead, shout encouragement and warnings to the Navis below. He also made sure no one fought themselves into corners. Numberman rolled dice bomb after dice bomb into the swarm, taking out viruses by the dozens. Magnetman sent wave after wave of magnetic energy into the swarm, which made it easier for Numberman's dice bombs to hit.
"They keep coming and coming!" Protoman hacked what looked like a long legged centipede into pixels, "Where are they coming from?"
"I wish I knew!" Zero sliced a metool in half, "you kill one, and two more pop up to take it's place!"
CRACK!
"The net!" Glyde screamed, "It's falling apart!"
"What? Oh no!" Zero looked up, "Medic! Your powers are tearing the net apart!"
"You guys go, get out of here!" Medic ordered, "go!"
"No way! I'm not leaving you!" Zero fought his way toward her, "Medic!"
"I'm out of control! Just go!" Medic's body glowed white, "Hurry!"
"Let's go! De gutsu!" Gutsman grabbed Zero into a bear hug and ran for the link.
"MEDIC!" Zero fought his grip, but they were already in the link.
Roll screamed suddenly and fell, a bit of the sky on top of her. Protoman ran back to her but couldn't move the piece. Iceman and Glyde joined him, but the piece proved too heavy for them to move.
"Please! I don't want to die here!" Roll sobbed.
Protoman went into overdrive, hacking like mad at the piece of sky with his sword. It broke apart in a shower of pixels. He then scooped her up and ran for the link. As they shot through it, there was an explosion behind them. Roll buried her face into Protoman's shoulder, crying. Glyde was panting, and Iceman was just behind him. They appeared in the main computer. Megaman turned to them from inside the capsule.
"What happened?" Lan asked.
"Thousands of viruses, de gutsu." Gutsman answered, "the net collapsed, de gutsu."
"What? That means you guys are stuck here." Lan replied, "Megaman, why didn't you wake me when you went under attack?"
"Is it my fault you sleep like the dead?" Megaman asked, "I screamed for you many times. You never responded."
"I am a light sleeper!" Lan cried out indignantly.
"Roll, are you okay?" Protoman set her down onto her own feet, but her legs refused to support her. Roll gasped sharply.
"Protoman, look!" Roll pointed at her left leg, which was rezing in several places, "I'm hurt! It hurts so much!"
"It's okay, I know, it hurts. Rest. I've got you. Lan, can you go find our Netops? Roll needs a health chip to repair the damage she took. Maylu should be able to jack in here." Protoman looked toward the door. A glow filled the area behind him.
"Sorry that took me so long."
"MEDIC!" Zero ran to her, "I thought you deleted yourself! Don't ever do that to me again!" He hugged her tightly, "I almost had to explain to our son why you were never coming back!"
"Zero, I knew what I was doing. Wait a minute, our son?" Medic looked up at him, "You mean you think of Megaman as our son?"
"Of course. I miss those days. I had a reason to fight." Zero relaxed a bit, "You didn't destroy the net this time too?"
"It's damaged, but we knew that would happen. I made sure to leave it intact. The viruses are gone at least. I had you all leave so I could use my strongest attacks without harming you." Medic went to Roll, "Let me tend to those wounds." slowly, Roll's face relaxed as her left leg stopped rezing.
"Thanks. Where is Maylu, and shouldn't Lan be back by now?" Roll asked.
"You are right." Iceman said, "I'll go to my PET." He logged out, and returned seconds later, "Our PETS are still there, but our Netops are gone! Where's Magnetman and Numberman?"
"Gone how?" Glyde asked.
"they aren't there! Our PETS are there, but no Netops!" Iceman wailed, "Tory! I failed you!"
"Quit blubbering, you idiot!" Glyde snapped, "We'll just have to find them then." he traced a square, which became a screen that remained blank, "Yai? Where are you?" the screen flashed one word, Ethernet, "She's in the Ethernet?"
"Ethernet? What is the Ethernet?" Roll asked.
"I know of it." Protoman studied the flashing word, "It was the internet before the internet. Ethernet used technology that shouldn't have been used. Reality became warped, and the Ethernet literally ate its way into the real word. It was shut down after a long and harsh battle between the Ethernet and a massive Navi army. The casualties were heavy on both sides. Only two hundred Navis survived out of the thousands that marched into battle. You see, the Ethernet achieved sentience. After the Ethernet was destroyed, the machines that powered it were destroyed. Years later, came the Internet, and the remaining two hundred Navis populated and gave rise to us today. Our Netops are inside the Ethernet, which is where I'm going."
"So am I." Iceman spoke up.
"De Gutsu, don't forget me." Gutsman added.
"As am I." Glyde replied.
"Me too." Roll joined them.
"Hold it! This is a dangerous mission! If you get deleted while in the Ethernet, you die for real. No comeback, no back up data to save you." Protoman stared at each of his friends, "I'm not going to stop you."
"We are coming too." Medic said, "Zero here is one of the survivors of the Ethernet War. He knows the way to the Ethernet."
"I'm coming too." Megaman appeared beside them, and automatically dropped to his hands and knees, "No one is talking me out of this." Gritting his teeth, he rose to his feet, "I'm not going to sit idle and let my friends put themselves in danger for a mistake I caused."
"Megaman, you can barely stand. The viruses living in the Ethernet are not like what you are used to. These things are strong, and I mean strong. Internet battle chips will not help you. You need these." Zero held up what looked like floppy disks, "They are called Etherdisks, or ED for short. They work like battle chips do except you don't need a Netop to download them into a PET. To use them, hold them up and call their name and the word download. For example, this one is a sword ED. You hold it up and call, Sword ED, Download!" Zero's left hand transformed itself into a green sword, "These ED last as long as you have energy. You can use more then one, but be careful. You could end up deleting yourself by running out of energy. If you get low on energy, use one of these." Zero held up a red ED, "this is a HP ED. It will restore fifty health points. It is used the same way as the other ED are. Got that? Megaman, why don't you try a HP ED?"
Megaman took a HP ED and held it up, "HP ED! Download!" his body glowed, and all of his damage was healed. "Wow, that worked like a health battle chip."
"Did you all get that? Some ED heal, some ED give you weapons, while other ED enhance your abilities." Zero handed out a health ED, two black battle ED, and a blue ED to everyone, "Red is health, black is battle, and blue is enhancement."
"So where is the link to the Ethernet?" Protoman asked.
"I'll take you there and guide you in the Ethernet." Zero said, "This way."
He led them back out into the damaged net space and stopped before what looked like a manhole. He reached down and removed the cover. Protoman leaned in to look.
"That looks a long way down." He whispered.
"Don't tell me you are afraid of a little old tunnel." Megaman ribbed, his tone joking.
"I am not afraid of it. I was merely pointing out that it looked like a long way down." Protoman sighed, "hold off the jokes, please. This is serious."
"I know it's serious. I'm just keeping myself optimistic." Megaman replied.
"I hate to ask, but how do we get down there? I don't see a ladder." Roll asked, "Or any way down for that matter."
"Easy, jump." Zero leapt into the opening. Medic followed. Gutsman was next, followed by both Iceman and Glyde. Roll gulped nervously. Protoman made the jump next. Megaman turned to Roll.
"Ladies first." he said.
"You first." Roll stepped back, "I'll follow."
"nervous? I am, too." Megaman said, "How about we go together?"
"You two coming sometime today?" Protoman's voice drifted back up to them, "you want to see this!"
"Coming!" Megaman took Rolls hand into his own, "We'll jump on the count of three."
"Three!" Roll jumped, taking Megaman with her, who screamed.
"Wait a minute! I wasn't ready!" the small blue and yellow Navi screamed as they fell.
"We both know you would lose your nerve!" Roll called back, "why else did you think I stayed behind?"
Megaman didn't respond, knowing she was right. Their boots touched ground, and they looked about in shock at their surroundings.
"Look at how tiny the pixels are!" Roll held a handful of pixels that were so small they looked like one solid color.
The world they jumped in was bright, and colorful. Birds chirped from gently swaying trees. Megaman glanced down to see grass. A stream bubbled from nearby to tumble in a small waterfall into a pool. It was warm, and peaceful. Roll felt a breeze stir her hair. Her hands went to her ponytail, and she felt individual strands of hair. Nearby, Protoman realized the same thing, while Zero showed no reaction to his long waving mane of golden hair. He waited, watching their reactions, Medic beside him.
"It looks and feels so real." Megaman said softly, reaching down to feel the grass between his fingers, "it makes the net feel, well, fake."
"The Ethernet uses higher technology. We are between the nets, in the last surviving free zone before the Ethernet. This is why I fight in both nets. I want to someday share this beauty with other Navis and humans alike. This is what the Ethernet used to be like before." Zero closed his eyes as if the memory caused him great pain, "before it all fell apart, pitting Navi against Navi in a brutal war where nether side won."
"I'm going to fight for this too. I can't wait to see Lan's face when he sees this." Megaman decided, "It is almost like the human world."
"That is because it is the human world, or a fragment of it anyway that got digitalized by the Ethernet during it's rampage." Medic replied, "The human world suffered during the war too. Lets go."
They all turned to follow when Megaman screamed, and dropped to his knees, hands on ether side of his head. His eyes were squeezed shut as if he were feeling great pain. His body shuddered as if it had absorbed a tremendous blow.
"What is wrong, Megaman?" Protoman ran to his side and knelt by him.
"It's Lan! It's torturing him!" Megaman gasped out, "It hurts!"
"This isn't right! A Navi can't feel the pain suffered by their Netop!" Glyde pointed out, "is it the Ethernet?"
"No, de gutsu." Gutsman shocked everyone, "It's because they are twins. Twins feel what the other goes through, de gutsu."
"Hold it! Who are you and what did you do to Gutsman?" Iceman squawked in surprise.
"I am Gutsman, de gutsu." Gutsman said, "I remembered what Dr. Hikari told us."
Megaman screamed again, turning the attention back to him. His teeth were clenched. He had gone white. What ever Lan was going through, it was bad. Protoman felt helpless for the first time in his life. A thought occurred to him.
"Can you tell were Lan is?" Protoman asked gently.
"I can't!" Megaman crumbled to the ground in a near faint, "I can't!"
"It's okay." Protoman wanted to scream in frustration. This was worse then watching his Netop suffer through the flu. Roll found herself wishing she could do more to help. Slowly, Megaman went still, his eyes opened wide, staring blankly, and his sides heaving.
"Megaman?" Roll knelt next to him. He didn't answer, "Megaman?"
"He can't answer you. He's catatonic from shock." Medic replied, "We need Lan."
"We need our Netops." Iceman said, "what are we going to do with him? We can't leave him here."
"We can't take him back to the Scilab. It got overrun, and nearly destroyed." Glyde replied.
"We will have to take him with us." Protoman decided, "I'll carry him myself."
"Is that smart? He could slow us down, and it will be harder to fight off the Ethernet viruses while trying to keep him out of harms way." Glyde pointed out.
"Let's go. We'll deal with that when we come to it." Protoman stood, Megaman in his arms, "I once had to fight through a wave of viruses while carrying him. It wasn't easy, but I never dropped him once."
Zero took the lead again, "I'm going to warn you. The Ethernet is not a pretty place." He led them toward a large tree and pulled down a series of branches.
"Halt! Name, please." came a voice.
"Zero, with Medic and friends." Zero replied.
"Zero, with Medic and friends, state your wish to enter the Ethernet." the voice replied curtly.
"Medic and I are taking a group of Navis to rescue their Netops from the Ethernet." Zero said, "Please, let us through before I delete you permanently, Virus."
"Enter, but don't blame me for what you see! I ain't responsible for lost items, deletion, and anything else for that mater. I only guard the-" Zero's sword flashed warningly, and Virus wisely chose to shut up. The tree did something very untreelike. It rose on its roots and slithered aside to reveal a black doorway. Zero walked through it followed by the others.
It was dark. Data rained down on them from an unseen sky. Crumbling ruins of what was once buildings stretched out in front of them. Nothing moved. Slowly, a slab of data toppled over with a crash. Something black skittered away from it. What looked like thick clouds drifted by overhead. Blacks, dark purples, and dark blues colored the deserted landscape. Zero turned to the Navis.
"Welcome to the Ethernet." he said, "Welcome to Ether City, my home."
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Queen Sunstar: greetings! Did you enjoy it? Review! I also have a Megaman X fanfic out called Corruption, and another Megaman X fanfic called Crisis. This one is my first NT warrior fanfic, so bear with me. I am going to try to get one more chapter out each of corruption and Deletion before next month. My next updates will come in December. November is NANOWRIMO (NAtional NOvel WRIting Month) and I take part of a writing contest where you have to write a 50000 word novel in one month, from midnight October 31st to Midnight November 30th. Last year was my first year. I wrote Murder Hotel, which is coming out around Christmas time. Here is the link if you are interested in participating, PM me and i'll send you the link. I'm Sunstar, there, too. Anyway, coming up next, we see what the Netops think after finding themselves in the Ethernet, and the Navis must figure out where Rock is holding their Netops and get a comatose Megaman to Lan. More shocking discoveries abound as they run into a familiar figure. I take flames, criticism, and rave reviews! Just make sure it is constructive! Navirus and Navi Medic and Zero are not the same Zero and Medic from my other two Megaman X stories! I own this version of Zero, and Medic, not Capcom, which owns everything else, except for Rock. Rock belongs to Amerella, and he is used here with her permission. Amerella may pop up from time to time to help me write out later chapters. See ya!