~Chapter 4: Silent Revelations
Dr. Yuchihiro Hikari sat in a black leather chair in his office, staring intently at the computer screen. Streams of data went flying by on the monitor, and the doctor watched each one, writing down pieces of them as they went through. He was alone in his lab, and actually enjoying the peace and quiet.
It had been two years since anything dangerous had happened in the world, aside from the normal every day things like robberies and murders of course. Nothing had threatened Net safety, and nothing had really threatened the safety of the human race either. The doctor, for once, let his mind wander to the conclusion that maybe, at last, peace had return to the world…he was wrong.
In a sudden clamor of sound Dr. Hikari's door came flying open, a scientist standing in the doorway, breathing heavily. The man dashed into the room, causing Dr. Hikari to turn toward him for a moment.
"Hey! What was that all about, you could have broken something!" the doctor yelled, speaking of the large glass case just outside the door.
"I'm very sorry Dr. Hikari, but there is something you must see."
With that the doctor stood, and the men exited the room. Standing on the second floor, the two men looked out over a huge crowd that had gathered in the lobby. The entire group was shouting questions, trying to make their way further into the building. A group of Officials where holding them back, and Chaud was at the head of them. He turned toward the stair, and sighed when he saw the doctor.
"What's going on?" Dr. Hikari asked, moving down the stair toward Chaud.
"All of these people are looking for answers." Chaud said, not looking away from the crowd.
"Answers, to what questions?"
"The question of what is happening to the Net."
Dr. Hikari sighed. "Alright, slow down…did something happen?"
Chaud turned toward the doctor, surprise written across his face. "You mean, you don't know?"
"Know what!" the doctor yelled, becoming angry at not receiving a straight answer.
"…You should see this…" Chaud said, holding out his PET toward the doctor.
Dr. Hikari took the device in his hands and looked at the screen. He could see Protoman standing there, with six different news reports playing around him. Each one showed reporters all around the world, talking about a never ending army of viruses.
One of the reports, that of Electopia's very own news station, showed footage of navis being attacked by an army of black spider-like viruses. It showed the army moving all across the Net, destroying everything it saw.
"W-What is this? What's going on?" Dr. Hikari stammered, looking to Chaud for an answer.
Chaud chuckled. "Take a number doctor, all these citizens want to know the same thing…"
"…the army of viruses, which seems to have originated from somewhere in the Sharo region of the Network, has thus far engulfed Electopia, Netopia, and Sharo. The viruses seem to be immune to all forms of navi weaponry. Officials for each region encourage all people who do not have to be on the Net for business reasons to jack-out and remain away from the Net until this crisis is controlled…once again this has been Ribbita reporting for DNN news…"
A man, wearing a black suit, grabbed a remote from his desk and clicked the TV screen off. The room became eerily silent for a short time, before the man turned his chair toward the north wall of windows, looking out over the lab far below.
The room below was filled with activity, men in black uniforms rushing all about, looking like ants against the pure white floors of the lab. Created for the sole reason of research, the area had become much more popular since its new management. Operating in secret, it had no allegiance to any government of the world.
The walls of the lab where covered in computers and printers, spitting out information at a break-neck pace. Huge cords stretched across the floor of the laboratory, connecting all the equipment to a sole item in the center of the room, a large black stone.
The stone, roughly the size of horse, sat in a large glass case. The stone, black as night, was streaked with large violet streams of crystal. It was no ordinary hunk of rock, as it seemed to pulse slightly, letting off a deep violet glow throughout the lab area.
The man in the black suit, sitting in his office chair, turned slightly and pressed a button of his phone. There was a quick beep, and a female voice answered on the other end.
"Yes sir?"
"…Send in Specter…"
"Right away sir…"
The silence continued for a few more moments, until it was broken by a ping from the elevator. The two doors slid open slowly, and a man in a black suit brought forth a small PET. He placed the PET on the desk, jacked it into the man's computer, and then exited the room.
There was a beep from the computer, and a black mist slowly downloaded into the computers network. The navi, called Specter, was nothing but a cloud of black mist with two blazing red eyes, cut roughly on his face.
"I am here…" he said, his voice filling both the computer and room, however no mouth had moved.
"You said you had news from the field my friend…how fares the operation?"
"It is going as planned sir…the spiders are making their way across the major Net Area's as we speak, and will be in place within a few days."
The man smirked. "Your plan is working Specter…though it is taking much longer than I would have liked."
Specter chuckled, though it sounded more like a raspy cough. "Did you doubt me?"
"…I did…I whole idea of your existence filled me with doubt…"
"As you can clearly see, I am here, and my work does have an effect on this world. I must say, these humans are so much fun to toy with."
The man turned his chair toward the screen, the light illuminating one side of his face. His hair was a deep grey, and a large scar stretched down the side of his face, a black patch covering his eye.
"What do you think…will the plan work?" he asked, a frown on his face.
"Yes, I think it will…I have met up with this Megaman you have told me about…he is as strong as you have said."
The man's face grew dark, and he growled slightly. "Megaman….damn that net navi…it was because of him and his stupid friends that my plans failed before. I will not let him interfere again!"
Specter laughed once more, his voice bouncing around the room. "Do not worry, I have a perfect way of eliminating the fool, if you would allow me the honor of meeting him in person."
"…Are you sure you want to do that friend, he is quite strong."
"Relax Kane, I can handle him…after all, I already know his weakness."
Sir Kane leaned back in his chair, a dark smile stretching across his face. "Very well, you may test him…I will move on to phase two of our plan."
"Good, then I shall take my leave…"
With that the navi ported away, off into the Net itself.
Sir Kane turned toward the window once more, and slowly pulled himself from his chair. Clutching tightly a walking stick, he made his way toward the window. He smiled down at the stone on the lab floor.
"…So Megaman…can you handle the spawn of the Devil himself? This will be a most interesting battle to see…I can't wait for it to begin…"
Sir Kane, the madman whom Megaman had fought once before…had returned.