Disclaimer:
All official MegaMan characters are property of Capcom.TO Dr. Weird:
It's only a coincidence that my main dragon supply comes from Yu-Gi-Oh!–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
CHAPTER 24
Nightmare of DreamMan
"And JudoMan hits GroundMan with another Terra Toss!" shouted Ribbita as the second round of the Den 500 raged on. The two NetNavis, GroundMan and JudoMan, were seriously at it. GroundMan was a brown-colored Navi with drills for hands, very large feet, and a cubic helmet. JudoMan was a Navi in a white bodysuit with a black headband in place of a helmet. Their operators, Daniel and Sarah respectively, were completely focused on the battle.
"Alright GroundMan, hit him with this! Seismic Quake Battlechip in, download!" The moment Daniel slid the chip into his PET, GroundMan began stamping the ground with both feet before plunging his drills into it, causing the ground to split.
"Evade, JudoMan!" Sarah ordered. JudoMan quickly leapt out of the way and flew straight towards his opponent.
"I don't think so!" said Daniel, "StoneBody Battlechip in, download!" GroundMan's body instantly turned to solid stone and JudoMan bounced off him.
"Let's end this, GroundMan!" Daniel produced three chips from his pocket and slid them into his PET one at a time, "Quake1 Battlechip in, download! Quake2 Battlechip in, download! Quake3 Battlechip in, download!"
"HEAVY STAMP!" GroundMan leapt high into the air and his feet morphed into the shape of Flappy viruses in attack mode. He let the sheer weight pull him down and he landed on top of JudoMan with a sickening crash.
JUDOMAN LOGGING OUT
"And with an impressive Heavy Stamp Program Advance, Daniel and GroundMan will advance to take on Lan and MegaMan!" announced Ribbita.
o o o
"Well Maylu, in half an hour you'll be out there battling your opponent," said Yai.
"We'll be cheering for you," said Tory.
"Go out there and give him everything you've got," encouraged Dex.
"Just remember that you'll always have your friends at you side," said Sean.
"And boyfriend," Lan added as he placed his arm around Maylu and pulled her close.
"We'll give you two some time alone," said Sean, "Okay guys, let's get back to our seats." He, Yai, Tory, and Dex quickly left, leaving Lan and Maylu alone in the CAB for the next twenty-seven minutes for pep talks, cuddles, and snogging.
"Hey Maylu."
"Yeah, Lan?"
"Here, I want you to have this." Lan reached into his pocket and handed Maylu a Battlechip. She took it from his hand and looked it over carefully.
"A KnightSword Battlechip?" she asked as she looked up at Lan.
"Just a little present. You can use it to get out of a tight situation," he said. Maylu smiled.
"Thanks Lan." She sided up closer to Lan and gently pressed her lips against his.
o o o
Derrick Dickerson, operator of DreamMan, sat at a table inside the SUB with his PET in hand. He was just about an average second-year student with jet black hair wearing black jeans and a violet sweatshirt.
"So DreamMan, you ready?" he asked his Navi. DreamMan was a Navi whose body was covered by a dark cloak most of the time. Beneath his cape, though, his bodysuit was black with purple stripes running down both sides along with yellow and orange armor to cover his torso with boots and gloves to match. His helmet covered his entire face with a mouthguard looking like the maw of a gargoyle and a red visor to cover the eyes.
"I am ready, Derrick," DreamMan replied, "However, Roll has been known to be a formidable opponent. Defeating her will not be easy."
"I know," Derrick sighed, "I'm sure we can defeat her. We just need to have the right strategy."
"There is a way to ensure a victory." Derrick looked around to see who had spoken, but no one was around other than himself.
"DreamMan, did you hear something?"
"I thought I heard somebody speak," the Navi replied.
"Same here." Just then, the voice spoke out again.
"You can win, but only if you use your full potential."
"What are you talking about?" Derrick asked.
"You have only to tap into your Navi's darker powers."
"Darker powers?" DreamMan repeated with a questioning tone.
"Are you really determined to win?"
"Yes, I'll do anything so long as it's not illegal," answered Derrick.
"It's legal. Just tap into your Navi's dark powers. Open your hearts to the darkness."
"The darkness," Derrick repeated. He grasped his PET firmly and looked at the screen. At first he thought he was seeing things, but after a closer look he noticed a black glow surrounding DreamMan.
o o o
"And now let's begin the third match of the Den 500!" shouted Ribbita into her mic over the roar of the crowd, "From Team Fine Arts, we have Maylu Sakurai and her NetNavi Roll! And
"Jack in!! Roll, power up!"
"Jack in!! DreamMan, power up!"
Both NetBattlers inserted their PETs into their N-Terminals and opened the covers simultaneously. The holographic image projectors kicked in and holograms of Roll and DreamMan appeared right in front of their operators.
Let's see what DreamMan can do now
, thought Derrick as the battle started."Heart Slash!" Roll instantly began the battle by blowing a quick kiss before launching a hailstorm of pink hearts down on DreamMan.
"Is that it?" asked Derrick, "ReflectWall Battlechip in, download!" DreamMan's eyes flashed behind his visor and a barrier formed in front of him, which absorbed Roll's Heart Slash. The barrier glowed pink for a moment before relaunching the attack back at its source.
"Roll!" Maylu watched as he Navi was thrown back by her own technique.
"I'm okay, Maylu," Roll said as she got back up. She flew over to DreamMan as quickly as she could and started whipping him with her antennae.
"ElecAura Battlechip in and download!" Derrick slid another chip into his PET and a sparking yellow glow surrounded his Navi. The moment Roll's antennae hit DreamMan, several volts of electricity coursed through her body.
"Now DreamMan, attack!"
"With pleasure," DreamMan held his hands out of his cloak in front of his chest and created a sparking black ball of energy, "Psychic Shocker!" He launched the ball into Roll at point-blank and blasted her back several meters.
"Roll, are you okay?" asked Maylu.
"Yeah. That attack just caught me off guard," the pink Navi replied.
"Here Roll, you better take this," said Maylu, "Trident Battlechip in, download!" The moment her PET registered the chip, a fish-like virus appeared in front of Roll and launched three needles at DreamMan.
"DreamMan, you know what to do," Derrick said calmly. DreamMan nodded silently and threw his cloak over himself. Instantly, he disappeared and the needles passed through where he once stood.
"An Invisibility technique!" Lan exclaimed from the stands.
"Now DreamMan, unleash your dark powers!" Derrick ordered. Upon command, DreamMan reappeared and his red visor flashed momentarily.
"Mind Rape!" Claws of darkness emerged from his body and flew towards Roll, sinking deep into her head. She screamed as she dropped to her knees, grabbing her helmet with her hands.
"ROLL!" Maylu could only watch helplessly as her Navi suffered from DreamMan's attack, "What was that?"
"It's a technique called Mind Rape," explained Derrick, "It tears its way through the mind and digs up the most painful and frightening memories of the victim."
"That's sick!" exclaimed Sean, "What kind of person uses someone's own painful memories to torture them?"
"Maylu's gotta do something fast!" said Tory.
"Roll, try to fight it!" Maylu called out.
"I'm…trying," Roll gasped as images of the Devil Chip incident and MegaMan's deletion flashed across her mind.
"Now DreamMan, it's time to expose her to her greatest fears," said Derrick with a maniacal grin.
"Nightmare of Terror!" DreamMan's visor flashed once again as his eyes seemed to glow out from behind it and stare straight into Roll's. The latter grabbed her head and screamed as darkness surrounded her completely.
"Don't worry, Roll. We're here for you." Roll slowly opened her eyes and turned around. There, standing in front of her, was MegaMan. Her eyes brightened at the sight of him and she ran over and threw her arms around him.
"MegaMan! Thank God you're here!"
"It's alright, Roll. I'm here." Roll could fell MegaMan's arm wrap themselves around her. She felt safe in the blue Navi's arms, his embrace was warm. Comforting.
Roll looked up and what she saw caused her to scream. MegaMan's head was tilted back with his mouth hanging open and a blank lifeless stare in his eyes. A sharp blood-covered spine stuck out from one side of his neck. She gasped as the spine was removed and MegaMan collapsed to the ground.
"MEGAMAN!" A maniacal laughter caused her to turn and she could see the silhouette of BeastMan approaching her. Right behind the feral NetNavi were others that she recognized from the past. PharaohMan hovered right next to the Darkloid ShadeMan. BurnerMan stood with MagnetMan and DrillMan on either side of him. Behind them loomed Gospel with Bass standing right on his head with the LifeVirus and Alpha standing next to him.
Kill her.
Everything then happened quickly. MegaMan's body suddenly got up and lunged at Roll with a Sword.
"MegaMan!"
"I'm not MegaMan," the blue Navi said in a hollow distant voice. He was soon joined by GutsMan, ProtoMan, IceMan, Glyde, and Axl, all under the same spell.
Meanwhile, everybody watched as Roll shuddered on the ground, shaking her head.
The nightmare is going smoothly
, thought Derrick, That guy was right. Dark powers are the true power."Something doesn't feel right," said Lan, "It's as if DreamMan and his operator are under some kind of influence."
"What do you mean by influence?" asked Dex, "Look at what he's doing to Roll!"
"Lan's right," said Sean as he crossed his arms over his chest, "He's been manipulated somehow. I know what it's like and it's not good. I just hope Roll can hold out."
Back inside her nightmare, Roll was suffering beyond anything she had ever been through. She found herself pinned to the ground with MegaMan's hand pressing down on her neck while he had his Sword positioned over her. He leaned closer to her face and whispered.
"Farewell, Roll." It was then that Roll got a clear view of his eyes. She wasn't quite sure, but she could have sworn that she saw something abnormal in them. Something she had seen since the battle had started.
"No. You're not MegaMan. I know you're not!" She blasted 'MegaMan' back with her antennae and launched a Heart Slash. The images faded and she found herself back at Den University.
"Roll!" Roll turned and saw Maylu. She was smiling and had tears running down her eyes.
"Roll, I was so worried."
"It's okay, Maylu. I'm fine now."
"What?! How did she escape the effects of Nightmare of Terror?" asked Derrick.
"It matters not, Master Derrick. I shall win this battle," said DreamMan, "Dream Sprites!" Several small blue spirits appeared around DreamMan and flew towards Roll at lightning-quick speed.
"I don't think so!" said Maylu, "Cyclone Battlechip in, download!"
"Cyclone!" Roll began spinning rapidly, creating a funnel of wind, which she launched forward. The Cyclone did its work as it tore past the Dream Sprites and hit DreamMan.
"Now Roll, hit him with an Aqua Tower Battlechip in, download!"
"Aqua Tower!" Roll placed her hand on the ground and sent forth a giant pillar of water.
"Psychic Shocker!" DreamMan formed another sparking ball and launched it forward, but the power of Roll's Aqua Tower fizzled it out and the massive water pillar struck DreamMan with incredible power.
"Get up, DreamMan!" Derrick ordered. He watched as his Navi rose back to his feet.
"Can you handle another wave of your fears, Roll?" DreamMan asked, "Mind Rape!"
"Maylu, help!" cried Roll.
"Hold on, Roll!" Maylu reached into her pocket and produced the KnightSword that Lan had given her before the match.
Lan's KnightSword.
She looked at its surface as she remembered her conversation with him earlier.---FLASHBACK---
Hey Maylu."
"Yeah, Lan?"
"Here, I want you to have this." Lan reached into his pocket and handed Maylu a Battlechip. She took it from his hand and looked it over carefully.
"A KnightSword Battlechip?" she asked as she looked up at Lan.
"Just a little present. You can use it to get out of a tight situation," he said. Maylu smiled.
"Thanks Lan." She sided up closer to Lan and gently pressed her lips against his.
---END FLASHBACK---
This is just what we need. Maylu looked back up and could see the claws of darkness approaching her Navi.
"Hold on, Roll. Help is on the way. KnightSword Battlechip in, download!" She slid the chip into her PET and Roll's right hand transformed into the KnightSword. She drew back her arm as the claws approached and swung, severing the shadowy limbs from their source.
"Big deal. DreamMan, DreamSaber Battlechip in, download!" DreamMan tossed back his cloak and held out his right arm as it transformed into a purple blade. The two Navis stared at each other for a moment before charging forward. The distance between them closed quickly and they swung their swords at once.
Lan. MegaMan. Thank you both,]
thought Roll."I've lost all feeling below my waist," said DreamMan as his cloak split and the top half of his body slid off from the bottom half.
"Jack out, now!" Derrick quickly pressed the icon button on his PET and his Navi morphed into the word "LOGOUT".
DREAMMAN LOGGING OUT
"And the winners are Maylu and Roll!" announced Ribbita.
"I can't believe I lost," Derrick moaned as he dropped to the ground, "That guy said that tapping into DreamMan's dark powers would ensure me a victory."
"Who are you talking about?" asked Maylu.
"This guy I met before the match. He told me that if I used DreamMan's dark powers, I could win against anyone," Derrick answered.
"I don't get it," said Lan, "Who would do something like this?"
"And it's nothing like the Dark Chip incident with Nebula," said Chaud as he walked up to them from behind, "The Dark Chips were items. Mr. Dickerson here didn't use any Dark Chips. He used his Navi's own powers. However, he used them in a corrupted way.""But that still doesn't answer my question," said Lan, "Who would do such a thing?"
o o o
"How did it go?"
"He lost the match, but the plan worked," a young man said from the shadows of the empty classroom he now sat in, "You were right, Master Chaos. These fools are easy to manipulate."
"Chaud will prove impossible to convince," said Master Chaos, "The only way we'll be able to unleash ProtoMan's dark powers would be to manipulate him directly."
"Don't worry about a thing, Master Chaos. I have everything under control." The young man ended the transmission and looked out the window down on the QUAD, where Yai and Glyde were just beginning to battle their opponents.
"Everything is under control."
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And thus concludes rounds two and three of the Den 500.