Chapter 10 – Trapped in the Dark
Lan quickly got up from his chair and reached for his PET, pushing a button in it.
"Mayl, where are you?"
Mayl's image appeared on the screen.
"Left side of the house, third room on the right."
"Are you all right?"
"I'm fine, but I don't like this..."
"Someone must have hacked into the security system." the Princess said. "We need to get to the mainframe."
"I'm coming for you girls." Lan said. "Stay put."
Relieved that his PET had a built-in flashlight, Lan activated it and navigated between the startled guests, making his way towards the girls.
"Who do you think is behind it this time brother?" he asked with a frown.
"No idea." Hub replied with a concerned frown. "But it's like a curse. I'm beginning to wonder if you'll ever get to go on a date without being interrupted by this sort of thing. It's getting old."
Lan reached the room and pushed the door open. The two girls sighed in relief at the sight of him.
"Looks like we're back in action." Lan said. "Where's the mainframe?"
"I'll show you the way." the Princess replied. Mayl could understand how she had earned Lan's respect, taking point despite her standing instead of sitting back and leaving work for others.
After a couple of minutes, she led them to a downward staircase that ended in a plated door.
"It looks like it's sealed too. Figures..." she said with a sigh.
Lan stepped closer and examined the electronic lock.
"A jack in port!" he said. "This is almost too easy. Let's go brother."
The way practically every device in the Network Age had a network port, from toilets and air purifiers to weather control systems, was a curse in the way they allowed anyone to tamper with them, but at least Lan always had a way in.
Lan connected his PET to the port and sent MegaMan inside the system. The Navi looked around and saw a long narrow path that split into three different directions, each of them in turn splitting into a multitude of ramps and walkways.
"Ah crap... It's a maze..." Lan said.
"The system was designed to give intruders a hard time... I guess the joke's on us now." Pride said with a sigh.
"Isn't there a manual override or something?" Hub asked.
"I have to admit I don't know." the Princess said. "Oh, and if memory serves, the maze is full of traps."
"Great..." Lan muttered. "I guess we'll just have to do it the old fashioned way."
"There's got to be some sort of shortcut or safety switch for maintenance." Hub said, scanning the area around him. Suddenly he noticed a brief shimmer in the corner of his eye.
Turning to the left, he carefully prodded the ground with the tip of his boot. To his surprise, as he brought it down upon what appeared to be empty space, he felt something solid a few inches above the ground.
"An invisible path?" he wondered, prodding further. As he stepped on the elevation, he felt another ahead.
Following what turned out to be an invisible stairwell, he found himself high above the maze with a good view of his surroundings. In the distance, he saw a raised platform with the lock control program's shiny key-shaped form. Taking careful, measured steps, he followed the rest of the invisible path for a few minutes until he found himself on the platform, right in front of the program.
"Should I try to fix it, or just blast it?" Hub asked, not wanting to smash things in another person's house without permission.
"Princess?" Lan asked, turning to Pride.
"We don't have time to figure out a way to reset it." she said with a glimmer of steel in her gaze. "Blast it."
Hub nodded and raised his right arm, turning it into a Buster. A few shots destroyed the program, disengaging the lock.
"Nice work brother." Lan said. "Time to jack out."
Hub nodded and beamed out of the system. Lan pushed the now unlocked door aside, revealing a small chamber with a bulky computer at the far left corner.
"This is it." the Princess said, recognizing it by its bulky, reinforced construction.
Suddenly a large screen on the wall flared to life, showing a figure shrouded in darkness.
"Ah, how predictable." it said in a distorted voice. "I was wondering when you would show up. But well well, if it isn't Lan Hikari... Quite unexpected to find you here."
"Who the hell are you?" Lan demanded. "I'm getting sick of you maniacs showing up to ruin every event I attend, every date I go on!"
"This will only be a minor inconvenience..." the figure replied. "As long as the Princess cooperates."
"What do you want from me?" Pride asked.
"The security codes for Creamland's nigh impenetrable firewalls. That is, unless you want you and your precious guests to run out of air. Did you know that this place's security system is capable of airtight sealing to protect against airborne toxins? A pity the air filters are offline. I'd say you have about two hours." it said with mock concern.
Pride's lips tightened as she gave the figure a steely glare. "Out of the question. I will not betray my country, and we're going to break out of your pathetic little trap."
"Yeah! Screw you and the horse you rode on!" Lan added. "Hub, let's go in!"
The figure let out a sinister laugh.
"Feisty... true to your reputation. You are welcome to try jacking into the mainframe, for all the good it will do. I shall enjoy watching the great MegaMan's deletion."
"I think you'll be sorely disappointed." Lan said with a smirk. He was used to his adversaries' boasting and idle threats, and had yet to face one he hadn't swiftly put in their place.
Lan plugged his PET into the security mainframe and sent Hub in. The Navi looked around and found himself in a bizarre landscape where everything seemed to warp and bend before his eyes.
"Uh... Lan... I think we have a problem."
The shrouded figure laughed.
"I hope you'll appreciate my handiwork."
"Oh shut up you!" Lan spat, getting increasingly sick of two bit terrorists popping out at every corner. "Hub, this goes without saying, but stay alert. See if you can find your way into the core."
They had been doing this sort of thing for so long, it was becoming like second nature. The extended period of peace since the Cybeast incident had been welcome, but they had been a little worried about their skills getting rusty.
The Navi in blue nodded and started walking, keeping his eyes open for traps or obstacles. Suddenly he heard a beeping sound and barely had the time to jump out of the way as a black energy beam shot out of nowhere and hit the spot where he was standing. Turning his gaze upwards, he saw a mass of floating dark red orbs. Then he heard the same sound and saw one of the things fire another beam at his location.
"Damnit! It's a trap!" Lan shouted. "Run!"
Hub dashed towards the nearest pathway, dodging more beams while taking a few shots at the orbs with his buster. However, that did not seem to do much. He made it up a ramp, then jumped to the right and fired again, the orbs still relentlessly chasing him. One of them was hit by his shot and exploded in a cloud of damaged data, only to be replaced by another coming in just as fast.
Thankful for the advances in PET technology that let him carry an entire arsenal in digitized form, Lan went through the backup chip data he'd stored over the years. Thinking quickly, he sent Hub a sequence of Spreader chip data, which combined as soon as Lan completed the transmission, causing his Buster to glow. Raising it, MegaMan fired a single shot, which struck one of the orbs and unleashed a massive explosion that obliterated all of them.
"Good old backup data." Lan said with a sigh of relief. His Battle Chip collection had grown to an absolutely ludicrous size over the years, and he could not fathom carrying even a fraction of it in physical form. "Let's keep going brother."
After a few moments trekking through the bizarre landscape, Hub heard what sounded like the rattling of an engine. Looking into the distance, he saw something boxy and green, resembling a large tank of a variety that seemed like a hobbyist's recreation of a real life model from a bygone era, heading his way at an insane speed. The barrel of its turret turned towards him, and an instant later there was a large detonation right in front of him.
"What is that thing?" Lan asked.
"I don't know, but I'm getting a bit tired of being shot at." Hub replied, getting rather annoyed at this point.
Lan nodded and dug through the backup data, sending a sequence of M-Cannons. They combined with a glow and the Buster changed into a huge cannon. A single shot obliterated the tank.
"Lan looks angry." Mayl thought, watching him intently. "He sure isn't pulling his punches."
She knew that he intentionally limited the power of his Battle Chip folders in average Net Battles against his friends since some items in his collection were frankly overpowered, and he wanted to keep it sporting, saving the heavy hitters for special occasions such as Battles with ProtoMan or major incidents. He had also disabled the random selector on the Battle Chips that was the norm in competitions and enabled by default. He was handpicking each Chip and not shy about going for Program Advances.
"Wait a minute..." she thought. "Is he mad just because pests like these still keep popping up after everything he's done… or because they interrupted us?"
Hub made his way through the system, encountering a few more red orbs, but in smaller numbers, and disposing of them with a few quick buster shots. Then he reached a large square area that seemed to be absolutely deserted. Beyond it he could see a teleporter pad.
"This is too quiet." Lan said. "Stay alert."
MegaMan nodded and took a few steps forward, shifting his gaze around warily. Suddenly there was an explosion right under his feet, knocking him into the air.
"Hub! Are you all right?" Lan shouted as the Navi landed on his face with a pained grunt.
"Mine field..." he groaned. "At times like this I wish I still had Falzar inside me."
The Princess looked at something inside her purse and smiled.
"Finally..." she said to herself.
"Don't worry, help is on the way." Pride said, stepping towards the mainframe and pulling out her PET, quickly extending a cable and plugging it into an open port. "KnightMan, go!"
The towering gray armored Navi with his spiked ball and chain appeared inside and rushed forward in massive strides. MegaMan got up and watched him sprint towards the minefield at an impressive speed for someone of his obvious size.
"What are you doing?" he managed to ask before KnightMan threw his massive spiked ball. The impact detonated a mine and he quickly retracted the chain, returning the spiked ball to his hand.
"Stay behind me." KnightMan said, advancing in a straight line and hurling the spiked ball at the ground in front of him with every step as if playing that old Minesweeper game the twins had heard stories about. Slowly but steadily he cleared a path to the teleporter.
"Thanks KnightMan." the Navi in blue said as he approached it.
"Nobody threatens the Princess and gets away with it." the armored Navi said before following him. "Apologies for the delay. Those firmware updates are out of control."
The two vanished in a beam of light and reappeared in front of a large glowing construct.
"Is this the core?" Hub asked.
KnightMan nodded. Then he caught movement in the corner of his eye, but as he turned towards it, something struck him from behind in a purple flash, slicing through his armor and knocking him to the ground.
"KnightMan!" Hub shouted, quickly turning around raising his buster. A sinister laugh echoed behind him and he turned again. The sight stunned him. Before him stood a Navi that looked almost exactly like Zero, but clad in black armor, with a silver ponytail instead of his friend's golden, and red eyes with a mad glimmer in them, gripping a purple energy blade.
"What the hell?!" Lan shouted. "Who's this cheap Zero knock-off?"
The figure grinned maniacally.
"Ah, the famous MegaMan. How I've longed for this day! First I'll dispose of you, then the inferior one!"
"I don't think so." Lan said coldly, sending MegaMan the backup data of the dreaded NeoVari. The two engaged in a vicious duel while KnightMan struggled to no avail, trying to get on his feet, still stunned by the fact that someone had managed to get through his plating so easily.
"Don't strain yourself KnightMan." Hub said as he parried a downward swing. "We'll handle this."
The Navi in black sneered, and started moving faster, eventually slipping past Hub's defenses and slashing across his left shoulder.
"Son of a..." Hub hissed, the cut leaving a burning sensation. Growling with rage, he struck back, slicing his opponent across the chest.
Lan tried his best to assist, but the fight was too chaotic for him to find a window of opportunity for Full Synchro, and the fact that they were locked in close quarters combat meant a lot of his ranged Battle Chips wouldn't be of much use.
To his and Hub's surprise, the strange Navi in black just laughed and pressed the attack with the same insane look in his eyes. Suddenly, he was a blur, and MegaMan found himself being lifted by the neck. The Navi in black grinned and squeezed hard.
"So easy... I'm disappointed." he hissed.
His grin was replaced by a look of surprise as he felt a sharp pain in his stomach. Somehow, Hub had managed to drive his blade into him. With a smirk, he slammed him into the ground, before removing the blade and tossing it aside.
"So you do have some fight in you..." the Navi in black growled with a sudden glow in his eyes. "Good. I was starting to get bored."
"This guy is completely insane!" Lan thought as he sent in some recovery chip data.
The wound in Hub's shoulder sealed itself and disappeared as the Navi in blue got back on his feet. Jumping to the right to dodge a swing of the purple saber, he reached for his NeoVari. Just as his opponent was about to take another swing at him, Hub decided he'd had enough and unleashed the sword's true power. The activation codes were common knowledge on the network by that time, but the Battle Chip itself was still rare enough that he was able to give most opponents quite a surprise.
The blade suddenly started glowing and fast as lightning, he struck twice, unleashing two huge green energy waves that cut right through his opponent. Just as he thought he had deleted the strange Navi, he heard the same maniacal laughter again. Though his armor was in tatters and he had two huge cuts in his chest that were leaking gray streams of indistinct data, he looked strangely pleased.
"I guess I'll let you have it your way this time." he said with a demented grin, licking his lips. "I've got what I really came here for anyway. "But next time, we play for keeps. And tell that useless blond I'll be coming for him after I'm finished with you!"
He then beamed out, leaving MegaMan staring in confusion.
"What the hell was that all about? I want some answers!" Lan said. "We'd better have a word with Zero and Ciel about this after we get out of here.
"KnightMan, are you all right?" Hub asked, offering him a hand.
"Didn't see the fiend coming... I was... careless..." the armored Navi managed to say as he pulled himself up. For his part, Hub was deceptively strong for his size and was able to easily help him to his feet now that they no longer had a maniac to deal with.
The Princess sighed, relieved that her loyal knight had not met his demise. She quickly beamed him back into her PET to assess his condition and applied a restorative sub-chip. Hub made his way to the control panel and canceled the lockdown, turning the lights back on in the process.
"Good job brother. Let's get out of here." Lan said, recalling him into his PET.
The three made it back to the dining room, perplexed with what had just transpired.
"What did he mean when he said he already had what he wanted?" Pride wondered.
"Whatever it is, it can't be good." Lan said.
Uniformed guards ran into the room, nervously looking around.
"Princess! Are you all right?" one of them asked.
"The situation has been resolved." she said, trying to sound calm.
Once again, Mayl's respect for her grew. She knew that the Princess was a leader, and as such needed to project calm and authority to those who depended on her. As people started settling down, she returned to her seat, pondering her course of action.
"You said he looked like someone you know?" Pride finally asked after a few moments.
"Yes. An old friend." Lan explained. "He was created as a virus but we helped him become a Navi. We hadn't heard from him for a while, but we recently found out he's with a couple of scientists from overseas. Really nice, all three of them. The real Zero would never do anything like this."
"But who would make such a psychotic copy of him?" he thought. "And why?"
"I hope this hasn't ruined your night." Pride said, glancing at Lan and Mayl.
"Someone could have been hurt if we hadn't come." Lan said with a sigh. "That's a win in my book. It would be nice to go somewhere without having this sort of interruptions all the time, but I guess I'll have to live with it. How's KnightMan doing?"
"The damage wasn't as severe as I thought." the Princes said, relaxing her guard now that they were the only ones in the room again. "He's resting now."
The party continued as if nothing had happened. Lan eagerly resumed devouring the curry, while Mayl stared into the distance, wondering what the Princess had planned for him. After everyone was sated, Pride stood up and walked to a raised platform in the back of the room, where everyone could see her. Lan and Mayl would soon get the opportunity to see what she was like when she was fully engaged in her royal duties, with a commanding presence and firm voice that did not need a microphone to be heard. Most of the room went silent before she even spoke.
"My friends, we are gathered here today to honor a good man who has worked to foster good relations between our countries for most of his life."
A man in his fifties stood up as everyone in the room turned their attention to him. His graying hair was impeccably combed, and as his blue eyes had a proud glimmer as he walked towards the Princess. He stood before her, slightly taller, and bowed his head humbly.
"Ambassador Wellington, in recognition of your service, I would like you to accept this commendation. One of many you have earned." she said with a smile, as one of her staff brought an elaborate golden medal with a red velvet ribbon. As she grabbed it and placed it around the man's neck, the crowd applauded loudly.
"I did not think myself worthy of the Golden Rose, but I trust your judgement, Your Majesty." he humbly said.
"Your modesty only serves to exalt you further in our eyes." she replied as the ambassador bowed again and returned to his seat.
After the applause died down, another staff member came in, carrying a richly decorated sword in a leather scabbard with golden embroidery. Another followed close behind with a small blue case. Everyone in the room gave her a quizzical look, wondering what was going to happen next. This part had not been mentioned in the invitations. The Princess smiled and stared right at Lan.
He felt like a deer caught in headlights, unsure of what she was doing.
"I would also like to take this opportunity to honor one of our guests." she spoke again with a radiant smile. "Lan Hikari, would you kindly step forward?"
Lan blinked and felt slightly uncomfortable as everyone in the room stared at him. Mayl watched intently as he got up and walked towards Pride.
"W-what's going on?" Lan muttered under his breath as he got close enough.
Pride smiled and gracefully unsheathed the sword with practiced motions, the blade shining under the room's golden lighting. Before Lan's mind could process what was happening, she placed a hand on his shoulder, gently pushing him down. Unsure of what to do, he complied, until he was kneeling before her.
Mayl raised an eyebrow at the scene. She suddenly realized what was going on, just as the Princess brought the sword down, lightly tapping his shoulders with the flat side of the blade.
"For great valor and gallantry, for furthering the cause of peace and saving the world over and over again, I hereby bestow upon you honorary citizenship of Creamland and the title of Knight of the Realm. Rise, Sir Lan."
Lan blinked and blushed slightly as he got back on his feet. Pride opened the blue case and retrieved a golden medal with the royal crest, hanging from a blue ribbon, and placed it it around his neck.
"I-I don't know what to say..." Lan muttered, caught by surprise as everyone in the room broke into applause. "I couldn't have done it without my friends, my father... and my brother Hub."
Mayl's heart swelled with pride as she watched the scene unfold.
"A knight..." she thought with a smile. "My knight..."
"Didn't see that coming..." Hub thought. The Princess was one of those people with the ability to completely surprise him. Either due to her royal upbringing or because she was naturally charming and her presence tended to interfere with people's thought processes, he could hardly ever figure out what she was thinking.
Then he heard a beeping sound, warning him that someone was attempting to access the PET. Curious, he opened the link, and KnightMan appeared in front of him.
"KnightMan? Aren't you supposed to be resting?" Hub asked with concern.
"I have one last thing to do before I turn in for the day." the armored Navi said calmly. Despite the helmet fully concealing his face, Hub could tell he was smiling. "You did not think the Princess had forgotten about you, did you?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean the honorary citizenship and title are extended to you as well. Congratulations."
The towering Navi summoned a medal identical to the one Lan had just received as well as a similar sword with which he performed the same motions. MegaMan didn't know what to say.
A couple of hours later, once most of the guests had left, the Princess saw Lan and Mayl to the door.
"I hope you liked my little surprise." Pride said with a smile.
"It was something all right." Lan said, still slightly embarrassed. Mayl grabbed his arm and leaned against him.
"Congratulations, sir Knight." she whispered with a smile, before kissing his cheek.
"On a more personal note… It was great to see you again Lan." Pride said, putting her arms around his neck and kissing his other cheek.
Just then, Yai's limousine stopped in front of the embassy, and the petite girl stepped out of it, looking very pleased about something. She stopped in her tracks as she watched the scene.
"Isn't one girl enough for you Lan?" she teased, making him look over his shoulder, blushing again as he realized she was watching.
"That's Sir Lan to you." Mayl replied with a grin.
"What?" Yai asked, blinking in surprise.
"We'll tell you all about it on the way home." Mayl said with glee. "But you're here early. We didn't even have to call you. What happened?"
"Well... just when I thought I had that eggshell head where I wanted him, there was an emergency and he had to go. Officials..." she said with a sigh.
"Eggshell...? Wait, you mean you tried to go out with Chaud?" Mayl asked incredulously.
"Not so loud..." Yai protested, looking slightly uncomfortable.
"Ooooh! I'm going to have to hear all about it." Mayl said teasingly. "Why are you making such a big secret of it anyway?"
"That boy is impossible, I tell you. Always so serious, always with his 'I hate you all, insolent maggots!' face!" Yai protested. "Sometimes I just want to..."
"He's not a bad guy." Lan said, usually seeing the good in most people. "He just has the rotten luck of having an asshole of a father. That tends to mess people up."
"There's got to be a way to get through to him..." Yai mused. "But all he seems to care about is Net Battling and his work as an Official."
"Well, then I guess you'll just have to figure out a way to beat him." Lan said with an evil grin. "Maybe that'll get his attention. After all, he's extremely proud of his skill."
Lan knew very well what he was talking about. Before their first encounter, ProtoMan had often been thought of as invincible. The fact that a civilian Navi operated by a teenager had been able to beat him had been a serious bruise to Chaud's ego, sparking a rivalry and grudging friendship that still lasted.
Lan then turned around and hugged Pride. This also surprised the three girls. He seemed to be growing more confident, more expressive.
"It was nice to see you." he said fondly. "I loved the surprise. Looking forward to seeing you again soon."
The Princess smiled and waved as they left.
"You've done a lot of good, Lan." she thought, happy despite the fact that one of her few potential suitors was forever out of her reach. "I wonder what new heights you'll reach in your life. I'll be watching."
During the trip back, Lan and Mayl told Yai about what had happened during the party, and she was thrilled to hear the news, though worried about the strange intruder.
"I guess we'll go talk to Ciel and Zero tomorrow." Lan said with a yawn as Yai's limousine stopped in front of his house. "We'll get to the bottom of this."
"I'd like to hear about it too." Yai said. "We'll go to SciLab together. Until then, you two take care."
"Thanks for the ride Yai." Mayl said.
After all that had happened, Lan was in an extremely good mood. Before leaving, he grinned.
"Hey Yai..." he said.
"Hm?"
"I know I'm not the eggshell head, but..."
The petite girl gasped in surprise as she found herself pulled into a hug.
"I-impudent man..." she stammered, suddenly quite flustered. "What's the big idea?"
"You've been a good friend of ours from the start." Lan said. "I need to learn to show you some more appreciation."
"Have you been drinking?" Yai asked, although everyone knew she was being sarcastic. "You do know you're still technically underage."
"Serious talk for a minute?" Lan asked. "I mean it. I'm not going to question your tastes. More power to you. I just thought you should know. One way or another, we'll always have your back."
"Don't let this one get away, Mayl." Yai finally said, accepting the gesture for what it was.
The pair stepped out of the car and Yai closed the door, lost in thoughts as the driver took her home. Still thrilled about everything that had happened, Lan decided to walk Mayl home, even though it was right next door. She couldn't help noticing the gesture and smiled as she grabbed his hand.
"I'm sorry we can never go anywhere without some lunatic deciding to interrupt." Lan said dejectedly. "This was supposed to be special."
"Oh, but it was special, Sir Knight." Mayl replied, pulling him into a tight hug. "You got some recognition for everything you've done, and you got to show off your skills again. And... I never thought you'd dare to ask me out, just the two of us. I'm so glad! I've been waiting for this for years!"
She was so happy a tear of joy ran down her cheek. Lan couldn't help feeling like an idiot for having taken so long to gather his wits, but before he could mouth an apology, she pressed against him and softly kissed his lips. Something caught fire inside him and he returned the embrace, relishing in the taste of her lips. Overwhelmed by the rush of emotion, they felt like their hearts had just exploded. For a moment that seemed to last forever, nothing else existed to them.
Meanwhile, at SciLab…
Cadmus had been working nonstop on the modifications to the copy bot. He was feeling extremely tired, but there was something he had to do before turning in for the night. After examining the disabled robots and going through the reports on their capabilities, he shuddered.
They were too sturdy to be damaged by most conventional weapons, and he had the feeling they hadn't seen the last of them. He didn't want to think of what would have happened if it hadn't been for Wily remembering the override code, and something told him that might not work a second time. Making his way to the lounge, he found just the man he was looking for.
"Dr. Wily... There is one additional modification I need your help with."