A/N: Well, it's 2017, now. And I missed my 200 comments mark. Still, 200 comments! That is amazing! I don't think I've ever gotten this many comments on anything else I've written on this site! Well, here's hoping to break that 300 mark. And let's go.
Chapter 24: Farewell to Creamland
Pride Castle—Dungeon
"Well, this is familiar," Yuika deadpanned. "And so, once again, our day ends with the three of us..."
"Stuck in jail," Vic finished. "You know, Ito, we probably would have won had you hurried up and took care of Raika."
"I still don't know how Lan Hikari moves that fast!" Ito reasoned. "Also, I was sucker punched by an ex-soldier and then throat punched by a queen!"
"Well I was shot with an arrow and then beaten the paste out of!" Vic said, looking at his shoulder wound. "Yuika, what's your excuse?"
"Oh, come on!" the ringmaster scoffed. "Like you bozos weren't caught up in the idea of revenge! Also, knocked out by a queen. She has a nasty jab for a dainty queen."
"Perhaps our scientist is onto something about stealth and practicality," a male voice said. The three looked to see ChronoMan walking in with their PETs. "So... you're the three who brought me the Heal Water. I thank you for that. That and Cain's orders are the only reason I don't just take your PETs and leave you to this fate."
"ChronoMan?" Ito asked. "How did you find us?"
"Wish Genie mentioned returning the crown jewels after proving that she and Circuit could arrange their thefts just to see if they could," the old EM Wave Navi replied. "I then heard of your arrest, and figured some time to cool off was just what you needed." He turned to the power box, and used his Sand Rain to short it out, opening the cells. "Now, we best return to base. You three have quite the chewing out waiting for you."
"What about the guards?" Vic asked.
"I'd be more concerned about the security cameras," ChronoMan said. "Time Wave Slice!" He then created a portal. "Hurry up! The security is coming, and Cain awaits to hear just what you three have to say for yourselves." The three ex-WWW operatives scrambled into the portal, followed by ChronoMan himself.
-LH-
Pride Castle
"So they escaped back to their master?" Pride frowned while the group of time travelers gathered at the throne room the following day.
"Unfortunately, Your Majesty," a guard confirmed. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry," the queen said. "At least they're out of my hair for the time being, and my kingdom and family are safe. They'll think twice before bothering us again." Turning to the time traveling children, she said, "Words cannot express my gratitude for you risking your lives to save my family. Creamland owes you a debt it can never repay. Although I wish I could have given you all those meddlers to return to your time with…."
"It's actually safer this way," Geo said. "We're still kids like this, so they could possibly overpower a few of us."
"We'll get them, eventually," Lan smirked.
"Lan, I'm so thankful that you still have that upbeat, heroic attitude," Pride giggled.
"As am I, Lan," Raika saluted. "There are very few people who I'd battle alongside. You are one of them. And Geo... you earned my respect, too. Sure, you didn't catch Lance, but you did knock him silly and made certain he won't be coming back at least anytime soon. If he so much as sets his big toe on Creamland again, we'll be ready for him."
"Someone had to," Sonia smiled at Geo. "So, is SearchMan okay?"
"I'll be fine," SearchMan said. "Sure, my data has been copied, but it's nothing I can't recover from."
"Well, I'd say this was a pretty solid win for us," Luna smirked. "The bad guys are on the run, Mega Men saved the day, and we found two of Lan's loved ones. That Purpose is getting closer to being done, already!"
"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask," Mayl said, looking at her Hunter-VG, "what's this Purpose thing about?"
"It's goal-setting, really," Lan said. "Luna here set our original goal when we started time traveling to save you guys. Now, all we need to do is find Yai, Chaud, Mom, and Dad."
"And Pat," Geo said. "He's missing, too!"
"Wait, that Pat kid we met when we first went to Wilshire Hills?" Mayl asked. "He's missing, too? Ooh, Yai's going to be SO disappointed when we rescue her."
"Wait, what?" Geo frowned.
"So, where do we start looking for everybody?" Dex asked.
"Let's go home to ACDC Town!" Chisao suggested. "We have so much to show you in the past!"
"I'm actually thinking going back to 22XX," Sonia suggested. The four from 20XX looked at her. "Well, I actually have to go back to Netopia, soon, if I'm going to continue my world tour. We're going to Sharo and Choina next. If time moves consistently with every era, I have to be rocking out, soon. And Geo, Luna, Bud, Zack, and Jack, don't you guys have to get ready for a trip to Grizzly Peaks?"
"...Oh no!" Bud recalled. "We've been so busy with solving this crisis, we forgot have our own stuff waiting for us!"
"What?" Lan asked.
"Lan," Zack explained, "this was before this whole time traveling thing happened, we swear. But we had a whole itinerary planned for this summer. Maybe we can reschedule, but... it's going to take some doing. We'll need to see what we missed since we first jumped, then see what we can make up."
"Ooh, really sorry our troubles cut into yours," Dex apologized.
"Don't be," Luna said. "We have to help everyone we can." All of the sudden, Cherri ran in with several of her friends. "Oh, hi, Princess! What's wrong?"
"Oh, nothing," Cherri replied. "I heard from Mommy and Daddy that you guys had to leave 20XX+20. As much as I want you guys to stay more, maybe meet my little brother, we can't hold you heroes up. I really wanted to thank you guys and the Mega Men before you left."
"And we wanted to thank MegaMan, too!" a girl said. "You saved us!"
"Yeah, you showed those bad guys!" a boy grinned.
"You guys are real heroes of Creamland!" another girl said. "Our mommies and daddies told us all about MegaMan!"
"THANK YOU, MEGA MEN!" the kids all beamed.
"Looks like somebody has fans," Luna mused. "Lan, you might wanna find a Copy Bot and give these kids a brief show before we leave. They ARE kids of VIPs."
"Yeah, Lan," Mayl agreed. "If we're going to the future, you can prepare us for what we need to know while MegaMan entertains people."
"Yeah, we only got a taste of 22XX back before this mess started!" Dex agreed.
"Mmm, taste," Bud mused. "Man, I'm going to miss the food we had here."
"Don't worry," Cherri said, turning to the group. "I'm going to do everything I can to make sure Mommy's dream of Creamland's prosperity happen! That includes our food!" Pride turned to her daughter in awe. "Mommy... I heard you once did some bad things when you were younger. But... you got better, right? Otherwise, Daddy would never had asked you to marry him!"
"...You're right," Pride said, with a blush. "I did some awful stuff when I was younger. KnightMan himself can attest to that. However, after Gospel fell through, I realized I couldn't force people to accept Creamland as a major power and important. I think that makes me not so different from Lance, in that regard. Part of me thinks he deserved to get my crown, regardless of my reforms. But attacking you and those innocent children to do so, and planning to sacrifice us for a war was incredibly dirty, even for my old days. As Queen of this country, your mentor in leading it to prosperity, and your mother... I need to guide you to be a fair and loving ruler, my daughter. So you don't repeat the mistakes I did."
"Aw, can't Elijah do the ruling while I find what makes Creamland great?" Cherri asked.
"You can't just put your baby brother on the throne, sweetheart," Raika said. "You don't have that kind of power. But there is something you CAN do before Lan and company leave..."
And thus, our heroes spent a bit more time in Creamland. Lan and Geo, as promised, introduced Cherri and her friends to the Mega Men. Needless to say, they were all excited and glad to meet them. But after everyone settled down, Cherri had an announcement to make.
Geo and Lan found themselves kneeling with their heads bowed while the little princess, wearing an actual red princess dress, walked in front of them. She then pulled out a toy sword (because her parents would not let her use a real one for obvious reasons), and gently tapped Lan's right shoulder, and Geo's left.
"Lan Hikari and Geo Stelar. By the power invested in me by the Queen, a.k.a., my Mommy, for your thankful service in saving our country from evil, and your bravery, I hereby dub thee..." Turning to her mother, she asked, "Did I get that right?" Pride nodded, and made a motion with her hand to go on. "I hereby dub thee honorary Knights of Creamland. Rise, Sir Lan and Sir Geo!"
Both boys rose at the young princess' command. The kids and their parents all clapped. "And now, I have something else to give you," Raika said. "I think you can use this to come visit Creamland Area anytime." He gave Lan the Cream Banner.
"Wow, thanks!" Lan smiled.
"And here's something else," Raika said, holding up a Hunter-VG of his own. With that, he and Pride formed a Brother Band between them, Lan, and Geo. "There... we can keep track of you boys."
"One more thing!" Cherri said. "Mommy had this made for you, Lan!" She handed him a SearchMan EX Mega Chip. "Of course, if you want, Lan, you always challenge SearchMan during his patrols in Creamland Area 3."
"I'll keep that in mind," Lan said. "Thanks guys. We'll see ourselves out."
"Before you do, I have an announcement to make, Sir Lan," Pride smiled. She turned to the crowd. Growing serious, she explained, "Ladies and gentlemen, what's happened in the past 48 hours is my fault. This horrible incident you all were put through was the result of my past sins. You may may have forgotten, but I was once a part of an organization known as Gospel, which wreaked great havoc across both the real world and Cyber World. Of course, at the time, I did it for Creamland, but that excuse is irrelevant in the big picture. I helped nearly destroy the world order, and I was selfish about it. I sure got whipped into shape." She looked at Lan, who offered a sheepish smile.
"After my exposure, I was subject to a lot of discussion, and some even moved to have me removed from power. Part of me will always think I should have lost it. But that opened my eyes to how the world saw me. So… I softened my iron heart, and changed my image. I hoped that it would allow me to be more approachable. And I then found someone WORSE than I was: Nebula. I helped fight them off, and made sure that the world was safe. At least, that was my goal. Once Nebula was beaten, I found myself getting a hero's welcome upon returning to Creamland, and all talks of my removal silent. My atonement was a success… or so I thought. Not everyone's forgiven me. This is where this incident comes in.
"This whole thing occurred because a small group thought I didn't really mean to change, that it was all an act. They tried to take my throne by force. But that failed. From there, the leader of that movement plotted my downfall for the past twenty years. They were a patient sort, I'll admit. Not everyone else was. For instance, the world thought for the longest time I'd go rogue. Well, if I had known their suspicion would net me a handsome husband out of the deal, I would have been a bad girl turned good a lot earlier."
Raika rolled his eyes while others laughed. "Really?"
"I'm sorry, but it was kind of how our romance started," Pride giggled. She then kissed him on the cheek, and said, "Love you, though."
Raika grabbed his wife and kissed her on the lips. "Love you, too," Raika smiled right back, leaving Pride blushing.
"Um, Mommy, Daddy," Cherri said, "you can save that lovey-dovey stuff for later. You have a speech to finish."
"Right, apologies," Pride replied, rubbing her daughter on the head. Pride turned to the crowd. "Despite that bit of humor, I do sincerely apologize. These innocent children were dragged into my struggle, all because the past still clings to me. But today, we all need to look to the future. I know I have NO right to ask for your forgiveness, especially after this incident… but I hope only for your aid. Creamland needs you all more than ever if we are to prevent incidents like this from happening again. And the world needs the people of Creamland and the things we can provide in order to shine brighter and march towards the future! So I ask you, people of the world: Can I request we aid each other?"
The crowd was silent. Eventually, a representative from Sharo stepped forward. "Queen Pride… you have Sharo's support."
"And you have Electopia's," the ambassador of Electopia replied.
"Ours too, yeah!" the Yumland representative replied. Other countries around the world offered their support for the queen. Pride had the biggest grin on her face.
"...Everyone… thank you!" Pride smiled, tears in her eyes.
"It took twenty years," Lan said, "but congrats, Pride! You finally have your wish for Creamland to enter the major parts of the world."
"Here's hoping it works out for you!" Mayl beamed.
"Thanks to you, kids," Raika said. "We owe you all everything."
"Right," Lan said. "Well, we really should be going. Take care, Your Majesty and Raika." Turning to the princess, he said, "And you be a good ruler and good big sister, okay?"
"The best!" Cherri said with a wink.
"Well, she's no longer timid," Hub noticed. "I don't know what happened…"
"It was the Operator of the other Mega Man," Cherri recalled. "He told me that I had to be braver. So, that's what I'm going to do! As much as I look up to your MegaMan, Lan, and you, Geo, fore being a Mega Man, I can't just rely on you all, Mommy, or Daddy anymore. I have to be strong!"
"I'm glad we inspired you," Geo said.
"You go, little girl!" Sonia said, happily high-fiving the princess.
"Oh, and Lan, Mayl?" Pride requested. Both turned to the Queen. "Take good care of each other as well as others, and do your best to fix everything. I don't know if we'll ever remember this conversation if you do, but... I feel as though as our kids could have been as good friends."
"K-Kids?" Mayl stammered. Pride giggled.
"Who knows what your future holds?" Pride shrugged. "Only one way to find out."
"But before we go," Luna interrupted, "I feel that something should be in the scrapbook. Group photo!"
With that, the group squeezed in, and took a picture with the royal family. Lan and Mayl were next to each other, Mayl hugging Lan, while Dex had Chisao on his shoulders. Luna and Sonia were on each side of Geo, smirking as Geo flushed. Bud, Jack, and Zack were snickering while Cherri was getting a piggy back ride from her father and Pride was laughing, placing a hand on Lan's head. Hub was getting glomped by Roll, while GutsMan, Taurus, and Omega-Xis compared muscles. Lyra and Mode rolled their eyes. Pedia, meanwhile, was the only one who actually looked like he was trying to be serious.
Time Wave 1—20XX-22XX
"That came out nicely," Luna said, admiring her new picture. Mayl, meanwhile, looked at the world around her.
"Whoa... this is amazing," she breathed. "So, this is the world between time periods?"
"It's beautiful but sadly empty," Sonia admitted. "Now, I guess in order to return to 22XX, we'll have to return to 20XX and back through ACDC... right?" The group walked towards the path they took before, but spotted an odd sight of the bridge being restored. "Huh?"
"You forged a new road in time by averting the dark fate created by Lance," an older woman's voice said. The group of time travelers spotted an older woman in her early forties wearing a purple and golden bedlah outfit similar to Wish Genie, but with white hair that was straight down and cut off at her shoulder blades. There was a sundial hanging from her necklace. "And here I was about to intervene, but you fixed this. Excellent work."
"Huh?" Lan asked. "Who are you... are you a future version of Wish Genie?"
"Is that what she's calling herself?" the woman replied. With a shake of her head, she sighed, "I take it you have met my idealistic but naïve daughter, who'd wish to try to keep the time stream as stable as possible. She's shown some skill navigating time with almost no long-term alterations as a Chronicler, but she clearly needed your help."
"Wait, you're Wish Genie's... mom?" Geo asked.
"Yes," the woman nodded. "Since she is going by Wish Genie... you may call me 'Clock Charmer'."
"So, did we do something bad by stopping that war?" Dex asked.
"On the contrary," Clock Charmer said, "you corrected this flow of time. You see, time is like a river. Sometimes, throwing a pebble into it only sends a ripple, but no significant change. However, if you throw a bigger rock in, like Chromos tried to do here, or multiple rocks, like yourselves did, you may alter the very course of that river, changing the tide. A simple explanation here is because you thwarted the dark path that the world would have gone down had the Creamland Royal Family perished, you created a way to branch this road to the rest of the major Time Waves. Of course, this is but one possible version of the timeline. There are multiple, multiple paths the year 20XX+20 could have taken… such as the one the boy who helped bail you out of that last mess came from."
"Huh?" Luna frowned. "The boy? Wait… the third Mega Man Operator!"
"Yes," Clock Charmer grinned. "He came from a different version of this exact year. He was pursuing something through the Time Waves, which protected him when the incident your your time, Lan Hikari, happened. Because that path that he originates from... it should have been closed when you all were scattered and technically should not exist. But because he was outside of the timestream when your defeat happened in the past, Lan Hikari... the third Mega Man is active."
"So, he was unaffected when we were scattered through time?" Dex asked.
"Him and that other, far more dangerous being he was pursuing," Clock Charmer warned. "Their timeline was broken, so neither should exist… but yet, here they stand, involved in the affairs of this altered timeline."
"I know," Lan said. "Time's been altered by Chromos."
"Indeed it has," Clock Charmer replied. "Still while there are multiple realities, you must be careful traveling through and altering time, though. You could bring about worse damage than already caused by these Chromos interlopers, even if you meant to do good. And until you fix the damage done, some paths may be open but others may be closed forever. And if you don't fix it fast enough… a paradox may form."
"Yeah," Dex said. "Like that war in 20XX+70."
"Right," Clock Charmer frowned.
"That's something we figured as much," Geo said.
"So, what do we have to do to return things completely back to normal?" Mayl asked. "Defeat Mayor Cain and ChronoMan BEFORE they scattered us in time?"
"If only it was that simple," Clock Charmer said. "Time travel has rules, one of which not participating in events involving your past self… and doing something like that has lasting consequences. We Chroniclers only do so as a last resort."
Geo asked, "But if you're a Chronicler and you're Wish Genie's mom, why are you letting her team up with people who break rules of time travel like Chromos?" Clock Charmer frowned.
"I don't know why my daughter has done this," the older Chronicler replied. "It is far from like her to leave before she even started her trials."
"Trials?" Zack asked. "What trials?"
"In order to become a Time Wave Master," Clock Charmer explained, "one has to pass our ritual trials. Though Wish Genie's knowledge of history and eagerness to explore would make her truly capable of becoming a Master, she is too young and inexperienced, right now, to pass the trials. So, why leave the Tribe, exposing us like this?" Thinking to herself aloud, she asked, "What could cause her recklessness? Could it be because of what happened to her brother...?"
"Brother?" Bud asked. "She has one?"
"Had one," Clock Charmer said. "An older brother. She and he were close... but when he performed his trials, he had suffered a terrible fate. Wish Genie left afterwards, and I've been looking for her since. She's inherited her late father's romanticized ideals of history, which makes her naïve. But she gets her skill navigating through time from me, so she's crafty." She then began walking away from them. "Please... I know you most likely do not trust the Chroniclers, but be gentle with Wish Genie. She is all I have left." She then pulsed out.
"...That was strange," Mayl said. "But if she means that we can travel safely between this era and the main road, then we should probably do so."
The group walked through time, eventually finding the rope they had used before. "I guess we can follow this back to 22XX," Lan reasoned, looking at Mayl, Dex, and Chisao. "I can't wait for you guys to meet all of the people that have been helping me and MegaMan find you!"
"It sounds neat," the youngest of the group beamed. As the group continued walking, a chuckle erupted. "Um... did anybody else hear that?"
"That laugh..." Mayl said. She then looked around, her face in dread. "Lan, move!"
"Huh!?" Lan asked. Mayl then pushed him away... only to be grabbed by a swooping Dark Phantom in his stead.
"Well, well, well, if this isn't a familiar scene," Dark Phantom said, holding a flailing Mayl in his grip while everyone looked at him in horror. Touching down on the ground, he taunted, "Mayl Sakurai, the leading lady, once again placed in distress by the main villain as her hero Lan Hikari is helpless to stop him."
"Hyde!" Geo growled.
"That's Hyde!?" Dex asked. "How did he become... that!?"
"He's an EM Wave Changer!" Lan answered.
"Let her go, Hyde!" Geo demanded.
"Tempting," Dark Phantom said, turning towards the edge of the Time Wave Road. Everyone gasped. He then turned back to his audience. "But you see, Geo Stelar, I've been working on a very special plot for Act 2, and I've been missing an actress. I knew feinting an attack on Lan would spring one to me. Now, normally, I'd fill this role with your blonde friend right there... come to think of it, how are you alive? I could have sworn you were removed from the stage of life by the villainous player named Joker."
"I'm still trying to figure out how I came back," Luna shrugged. "Hey, wait! Not that I don't mind being something OTHER than a damsel in distress, why aren't you kidnapping me?"
"Because for this role, I need a... very special actress," Dark Phantom said. "I'm afraid my script doesn't call for you or the guitarist right now, Miss Platz. The guitarist did quite enough for me, already."
"Huh?" Sonia asked.
"Oh, it's a little secret," Dark Phantom said. "But it would be a spoiler if I talked about it! All you need to know is that I couldn't be ANYWHERE near this strong without you! So, thanks! I'll just borrow your friend here."
"Hey, leave her alone, you bully!" Chisao yelled, running at him.
"Chisao, wait!" Dex called.
"Phantom Claw," Dark Phantom casually said, and his claw rushed out, knocking Chisao on his butt, and rubbing his nose.
"Owie... that hurt..."
"Why do you normal humans keep insisting on challenging the all-powerful EM Wave Beings?" Dark Phantom deadpanned. "Be thankful my script requires me to hold back, because I could easily kill everyone here."
"Not on my watch!" Geo said. "Trans-Code #003! Mega Man!"
"Me too," Sonia said. "Trans-Code #004! Harp Note!"
"Me three!" Bud grinned. "Trans-Code #005! Taurus Fire!" The three waited for their transformations to activate... only for nothing to happen. Omega-Xis, Taurus, and Lyra all looked around in confusion. Dark Phantom laughed.
"Oh, it seems the Time Waves have a nasty side effect of preventing Wave Changing BETWEEN time periods," the mad director mused. "If you don't Wave Change before entering one, you're stuck as a human. In short, you're as mortal as any human here, Mega Man."
"No...!" Geo growled.
"Well, this is where I take my leave, ladies and gentlemen," Dark Phantom said. "Until we meet again. Ta-ta!"
"Lan!" Mayl called.
"Dex?" Lan asked, turning to him. The two nodded at each other, and activated their Time Stamps. As the world slowed to a crawl, Lan and Dex ran at the retreating Dark Phantom, Lan determined to save Mayl this time while Dex planned to find out just what would happen if he used his Time Stamp on a person...
"Ah-ah-ah!" Dark Phantom said, suddenly snapping into regular speed in the slowed reality, and smacking both boys with his cane while Mayl freaked out.
"What in the world!?" Mayl asked. "You... you can move through Lan's time stops!?"
"Oh, it's a little trick I picked up... once upon a time," Dark Phantom confessed while the two boys groaned and sat up. "However, our frozen time is just simply more powerful in the Time Waves, so I had to resist this curious little trick for a bit. I'm impressed you two mastered the Time Stamp in such a short while."
"You know about Time Stamps!?" Lan demanded.
"I know plenty of things," Dark Phantom taunted. "Such as the fact that your freezing of time, while good intended, has given me quite the opportunity to make you pick a sadistic choice. You see, I only need Mayl Sakurai in my latest script. At the same time, however, Geo Stelar has—quite often, mind you—ruined my scripts, more than justifying my hatred of him. And if you've experimented enough with time like this, you know that I can easily cause some serious mayhem. I could destroy him and everyone else here with a single push... but it doesn't have to be that way. Just let me leave with Mayl, and I will leave everyone else be... for now. You have my word as a director. Try to stop me, and their deaths will be on your head. Tell me, hero... will you sacrifice everyone else for your heroine? Or will you sheathe your sword and leave her in the hands of fate once more?"
Lan clenched his fists. '(If I do anything... everyone else will die! But if I don't... who knows what will happen to Mayl!? Darn it!)'
"Lan, no!" Dex growled. "You can't trust anything this freak says! He's the reason why we, Mayl, Yai, and your folks were separated! He'll hurt everyone!"
"He'll hurt Mayl if I leave him be!" Lan replied.
"Lan, Dex," Mayl spoke up. The two noticed how calm Mayl's sweet voice was, despite the tears in her eyes. She stopped struggling in Dark Phantom's grasp... and reached for her PET. She then looked up at Lan, holding the PET, and yelled, "Lan, don't let Roll fall into his hands!" She then threw the PET at Lan, who caught it. "Go!"
"Huh!?" Lan asked.
"I know you'll save me again," Mayl said. "I'll wait as long as I have to... but today, someone's gotta make a sacrifice for everyone else!" Tears falling down her face, she answered, "And today... I'm protecting you." Turning to Dark Phantom, she said, "Allow me to answer for Lan... I accept your deal."
"...Well, this is an unexpected but not unwelcome choice," Dark Phantom said. "Now, where were we? Ah, yes." Looking at the two boys with shocked looks on their faces, he waved. "Farewell!" With that, time unfroze, and Dark Phantom pulsed out... taking Mayl with him.
"MAYL!" Lan yelled, despair on his face as he reached out towards where she was before. Everyone looked at Lan in confusion as he collapsed onto his knees.
"Um... what the heck just happened?" Jack asked, looking at Lan and Dex's horror. "Did we just get played?"
"Uh, we stopped time and Lan and I tried to save Mayl," Dex answered. "However... Dark Phantom could move through our powers. Mayl... rather than risk your lives, surrendered to him and let herself be taken."
"WHAT!?" Roll asked from her PET. "Oh no! Mayl! Not again... we got separated again!"
"Oh, right," Hub recalled. "Nebula..." As Roll broke down and cried in her PET, Hub awkwardly promised, "Roll, we'll get her back."
"We better," Sonia said, tears starting to roll down her face.
"Will we?" Chisao asked his older brother. Dex frowned.
"...We'll do everything we can," he promised.
"There's nothing else we can do right now," Zack sighed. "Without any idea as to where and when Chromos' headquarters are, we have no way of tracing Dark Phantom. We'll need to get back to WAZA in 22XX..."
"Lan," Geo sighed, placing a hand on Lan's shoulder, "I'm sorry. But we gotta go." Lan begrudgingly allowed himself to be taken back to 22XX… and 200 years away from Mayl.
Unknown Location—20XX
Wish Genie bowed her head. "Master Cain," she said, "I humbly beg you for your forgiveness. The mission in 20XX+20 Creamland's complications were entirely my fault. The interference of Solo, the exposure of Chromos' activities, and the chaos that it all caused are on my hands. I offer my apologies... and pray for your mercy."
"Hmm," Cain said, pacing in front of the young genie. "On the contrary, Wish Genie. If there was a measure for screwing up, here... you arguably screwed up the second least. Sure, your fear of this 'Solo' character is justified if Hyde's reports are to be believed. It shouldn't have driven you to allow yourself to be thrown into Lance's scheme, however. You know we can protect you, here." Wish Genie raised her head, and sheepishly blushed.
"I'm sorry, Master," Wish Genie apologized again. "I had, in the moment, forgotten your generosity and your agreement to help protect my people."
"It's alright," Cain smiled, patting her on the head like a father would his daughter. "Take some time off. This time, I'm wishing that you do. No time traveling for a while, just... relax and be a normal girl." Wish Genie nodded, and walked away. He then turned to the others in the room, the scientist in particular. "A nice girl… a bit idealistic and slightly timid for this kind of work, but she has her heart in the right place."
"So, how are you chewing me out?" the scientist asked. "Because, knowing you, Master Cain, you probably have some choice words about that fiasco that got so bad I had to call you."
"You brought the parts we needed, so you technically succeeded in your mission," Cain reasoned. "Granted, however, what you said would take a day turned into three, bordering four. You also put your foot down a little too hard on everyone's brakes, so it's no wonder everything went off the rails. The problem, young lady, with trying to control unstable forces like ex-WWW operatives is without proper incentive, they're only going to fight you. And complain very loudly."
"Well, it's people like her who complicate things by trying to slap rules on what we can and can't do!" Yuika argued.
"Point proven," Cain muttered.
"And it's people like you who make a very simple plan of 'get the job done and go home' so difficult because you want to be 'remembered'!" the scientist barked right back. "I already had the Booster System bought and ready to be shipped to the lab. But Lance couldn't wait for the master plan to be finished because I still needed to go back to 20XX to build the Noise Control Program, power up ChronoMan, and we still needed to find the other OOPArts, and you wanted to maim innocent girls to get revenge by proxy on a boy who got you thrown in prison!"
"She's not wrong on either of those accounts," the leader of Chromos confessed.
"This coming from the woman who had Wish Genie steal the crown jewels to prove that she could?" Ito asked.
"I'm sorry, what?" Cain asked, slightly amused.
"I won't lie, one of the world's greatest thefts that required science and knowledge of history to pull off?" the scientist asked. "I just wanted to see if it was possible. Sadly, we didn't get to do the plan I wanted. And it's not like we kept them. We left them at the palace." She pointed at Yuika, and said, "And you decided to go there, pick up the crown, and flaunt about with it in front of the enemy! If not for ChronoMan, you'd be the queen's little pawn!"
"Enough," Cain stopped her. "All of you settle down right now." Turning to his scientist, he explained, "Listen, while it's nice to see that we have someone who can specialize in simple plans where nobody's the wiser to what you're doing, you have to understand not everyone here at Chromos appreciates your silent, non-aggressive approach to getting things done. Some people like a bit more pizazz and less control. That is where Yuika's frustration with you comes from. I'm not saying you have to become a more ruthless person in order to survive in this organization, but you should not expect everyone to play by your rules, and allow for a bit of trouble to happen. Not too much it can't be stopped, but enough to quench their thirst. You have may more seniority here in Chromos, but I have worked with Yuika, Vic, and Ito much longer than I have you. That's why I was quick to promote them ahead of you."
"I understand," the scientist replied. "Despite the fact that I think it's unfair, I understand."
"Now, that said, you DID screw up the least, and made a good call to ask for ChronoMan's assistance in dealing with Solo," Cain said. "Still, like Wish Genie, I'm taking you off active mission duty for a while, though, since you're clearly stressed. You need to work on the Noise Control Program and other assignments, anyway. I will see that Hyde keeps his promise, though. Dismissed." The scientist nodded, and left as well.
"Why are you so soft on them?" Vic asked. "Baryl was never that soft on us. In fact, Wily wasn't."
"I do tolerate failure far more than Wily does," Cain said, "because you all are still useful despite the royal screwing up you did in comparison to those girls. Our scientist is right to be angry with you because you dragged them both in an assassination plot and overthrowing of a royal family in broad daylight with no efforts to even conceal your personage. This has resulted in making Chromos operations with any of you too risky in 20XX+20 through 20XX+40... at the least. Which mean we now have two less decades to work with that we could have used. If the temples containing Bow of Angels, Pirate's Anchor, the Chronicler's Scythe, or worse, the location of Wily's Eye, are discovered in this period... our efforts to complete our immortal time master could be in jeopardy."
"Easily fixed," Vic said. "Send us a few days back before the incident, and we'll help our past selves not screw this up!"
"Unfortunately, not possible," Cain confessed. "At least, according to Hyde's understanding of time travel, you only have one go at altering events in that particular day in that year. Interacting with previous versions of yourself in any way can possibly have serious consequences on the time stream, and we can't rule a reality that doesn't exist because we created time paradoxes that wipe out the fabric of existence."
"Forgive us, Cain," Ito begged. "But you said that we were allowed to hurt Lan, and our best way to do that was to target Mayl Sakurai."
"I did give you my permission to target Lan Hikari's loved ones in order to torment him away from the idea of inventing Wave technology," Cain recalled. "However, you could have been a bit more careful. I'm not angry at you all... very disappointed, though." Cain turned to Orion, who looked unapologetic. "You didn't really screw up at all, so you're okay. I am, however, slightly miffed that you got involved."
"Just helping out Lance like he ordered, and I wanted to have another go at Mega Man," Orion said. "I'm a soldier… one with a lot less morals than liked even by Nation Z, but a soldier, no less. I can vouch that Rogue is pretty tough, though, so Wish Genie is right to wet herself, the little weak dancer. Still, I got a new toy out of this trip. Wait until you see Search Historic in action."
"At least that's not a total loss, you did become stronger, being our other Historic Wave-user." Cain then turned to Lance, who had switched to a gray shirt over a pair of black skinny jeans. "Lance, on the other hand... you were the instigator of this brand of chaos, were you not?"
"I was trying to take revenge like you did!" Lance replied. "And get my crown you promised me! I can't touch Creamland here in 20XX, and Pride was nice and nearly helpless in 20XX+20!"
"Yes, but your reckless way of going about it could have caused unnecessary casualties," Cain pointed out. "Something that makes it incredibly difficult to keep Wish Genie on board, and we need her historic expertise, Lance. Not to mention you planned to launch a war for no reason but glory and your pushiness for results alienated two of your allies to the point they pushed back ruined you and forced the Mega Men to get involved. You also nearly got Wish Genie and Yuika killed. We aren't sacrificing our allies for petty victories, Lance. For that, expect to be here cleaning up for a long time. Have DragoMan report to the Commander for a diagnosis of his combat abilities, and prepare yourself for a new menial assignment." Lance grumbled, but left. "As for the rest of you, prepared to be assigned other tasks."
Before he could complete their reassignment, Hyde kicked the door open, pulling a cart with a covered cage on it. "Tada!" the director cheered. The group looked at him in confusion. "...What, did I miss my cue? Darn it, let me take two."
"Hyde?" Cain asked. "No offense to you, but I'm a bit busy debriefing our colleagues."
"Oh," Hyde frowned. "Well, I can wait to show you what I have." He then began to wheel the cart out. "I'll be in our Paradox lab!"
"I accept your generous offer to ask where did you get that cart, cage, and what's in it," Cain said, although disinterested. He didn't want to deal with Hyde's eccentrics right now, but best to get it out of the way.
"Oh, remember the whole 'auditions' conversations we had about our plan?" Hyde asked, stopping the cart and bringing it back in. "The one about who'd wear the Paradox Crown? You finished extracting the UMA out of the crown by now, yes?"
"Oh, yes," Cain recalled. "We did get Paradox out of her old cell and into a new one until we can control her, that wild beast, but we still have no idea where we're getting a girl who'd fit the bill in 22XX. Not even Wish Genie does."
"The stories never said she'd have to be born a particular year, Mr. Cain," Hyde chuckled.
Cain then realized why Hyde was so excited... and who could possibly be under the tarp. "...You clever monster. Interesting twist."
"Wait, you already have an idea as to who to give that crown to?" Yuika asked, walking to the cage. She pulled the curtain off, and saw an unconscious, bound and gagged Mayl Sakurai. Mayl slowly woke up, and looked at the group around her, fear evident on her face. "Is it my birthday?"
"No touchy," Hyde replied, smacking Yuika's hand away. "At least... not yet. First things first, we need our Doctor. Who should be coming up, right about… now."
"So, this is what you bring me?" a female voice asked. The group of villains watched as a Haitian woman in her early thirties wearing a brown and red demonic-looking mask, wearing brown robes with a red feather necklace and a red Hunter-VG hanging from it, and holding a large wooden staff that had a bird skull on it. "Another subject for my work?"
"Ah, Priestess Deka," Hyde bowed before kissing her hand. "I do believe she could be our fated heroine."
"Enough formalities, Hyde," Deka interrupted, looking at Mayl. "And you said that about the last subject you brought me in Wave-Aiti." She lifted up her mask, showing she was actually pretty beneath it. Her brown eyes looked with Mayl's fearful ones, and her cherry red lips curled into a frown. She grabbed Mayl's cheeks, and continued, "Are you sure about this one? She has the red hair and innocence... healthy, too. But the others have not had the markings of the Tribe Queen emerge during the awakening rituals."
"I have a good feeling about her," Hyde said. "Mr. Cain, any objections?"
"I believe you know best, Mr. Hyde," Cain said. "It's a win-win for us. She either becomes the chosen bearer of the Paradox Crown... or she will not survive the ritual. Either way, Lan Hikari suffers." He offered a controlled chuckle, which made Mayl's eyes widen even more.
"Before we begin," Deka interrupted, "I'd like to remind you all that we still need to find when and where the temples of the three rejected tribes can be uncovered. The problem is that the Tribes who rejected Mu decided to hide their sanctuaries until they were hunted down unless specific years are met. Not even Wish Genie knows where the Abhilekh Sanctuary is. When a Temple is found, that is when the girl can undergo one of the Trials of the Tribe Queen as foretold by the ancient tribes."
"Tribe Queen?" Yuika asked. "What's the Tribe Queen and why is that preventing me from getting my revenge? Ugh, I hate history!"
"And that's my cue to leave," Orion said, walking out. "Have fun, Deka."
"What?" Yuika asked.
"Wizard-On," Deka casually said. A green, ragdoll-like EM Wave creature, complete with button-like eyes, emerged while walking towards the circus manager girl. "Voodoo, a doll please."
"Gladly, priestess," the doll said in a male voice. Deka pulled out a pair of scissors, and cut off a few loose hairs of the confused Yuika. Voodoo, summoned a small doll that looked like a hairless Yuika, and Deka made the hairs look like Yuika's body on the doll. Deka then held out the doll.
"Oh, please, like that's going to do any—" Yuika then started gasping as Deka squeezed the doll, and plants suddenly sprouted from the ground to enwrap Yuika. Soon, the woman was practically wrapped in vines. If Mayl didn't have her mouth wrapped up, she would have screamed louder.
"Do you know nothing of this world's history, sad clown?" Deka asked while Vic and Ito could only stare in horror. "You let your desire for revenge blind you into making the same mistakes that doomed the people of Mu. Mankind's inability to learn from the past nearly led to Planet FM wiping us out! To Meteor-G crashing onto us, and nobody in 200 years since Duo's Asteroid decided to create a defense against extra-terrestrial attacks! You let your desire for power and lust for revenge guide you, luring you into your downfall. That is precisely why I have come to Chromos… I've seen too much human stupidity throughout our world's history to ignore it! And if altering the course of history is the only way to benefit mankind, so be it!" She relaxed her anger, and huffed, "If Cain and Hyde did not insist on your usefulness, I would kill you right here and now." She then let the doll go, and the plants released and vanished Yuika as she could breathe. Ito and Vic actually approached Yuika, helping her up. "If you wish to be useful, learn history. Then talk to me again."
"I did ask our Captain to look into a lead on Jiāochā gǔ Isle," Cain recalled, turning Deka's attention to him. "And Vile is looking as well for the Abhilekh Sanctuary between missions. Between one of them, we'll find a temple soon." He then looked at his three ex-WWW operatives. "And good call on what to do with these three... have them look into Paradisum Cheribrum. In the meantime... I think Miss Sakurai should be prepared to face the trials."
"Yes," Deka agreed, looking at Mayl. "I'll try to be gentle with my procedures... with some luck, I'll make a queen out of her. One that is loyal to Chromos and our goal of creating a beautiful future." She then grabbed the cage, and turned to Voodoo. "Come, Voodoo. We have some work to do." Mayl screamed as she was dragged away by Deka and Voodoo.
"Is it wrong that I want to watch despite being terrified of that voodoo lady?" Yuika asked.
"Nobody tell Wish Genie or our scientist about our guest," Cain ordered his minions. "If they find out, things could get... ugly. Now, I want you to reflect upon your actions. You are all dismissed." The group of villains dispersed save for Cain and Hyde. "Is there something else on your mind, Hyde?"
"Oh, I wished to ask, Mr. Cain," Hyde replied, "according to Wish Genie's report, you sent ChronoMan to save her from Solo and our Navi banished the Guardian of Mu. Where and when exactly did you have ChronoMan send him?"
"Well, I got the idea looking at one of your... backup scripts for emergency plans for dealing with the Mega Men. Plan F, I believe. You bumped it down from Plan A in terms of 'in case Rogue returns to meddle in our plans'." Hyde's eyes widened. Sensing something wrong, Cain asked, "What's wrong with Plan F?"
Undernet—20XX
Rogue groaned as he woke up. He looked around, seeing the dark, dreary atmosphere. He looked at the Cyber Road, which had bones, purple liquid, and spikes to match the red and gray virtual pavement. "Where and when did I end up?" Rogue demanded.
"My domain," a male voice answered. The Guardian of Mu looked to see a shroud-wearing figure floating not too far from him. "It's not too often I see Navis reach this deep area of the Undernet. Usually, anyone who tries is deleted by now. And those who manage... well, their power is always useful to me." The figure's right hand turned purple with dark energy. "But you? Well, you were dropped here. Normally, I would have destroyed you for disturbing my rest and be done with it. But even I, Bass, can sense you have a very special power... and I welcome any challenge." Throwing off his shroud and summoning his Aura, Bass demanded, "Show me what you're made of, newcomer!"
Rogue snorted, but summoned Laplace. Rogue was surrounded by his Indie Proof Dark Barrier. "Gladly. After I'm finished wiping you off the face of the Earth, I have business elsewhere."
With that, two fierce warriors of the Cyber and Wave Worlds clashed with such ferocity, that the whole Net shook. And thus, the problem with Plan F: Awakening Bass, one of the most powerful Net Navis in existence, was always a bad idea.
Kingdom Rider92's Notes: Before you start with me about Rogue and Bass fighting, it fits their characters. Both are powerful, antisocial beings who value solitary strength, and enjoy battling. There was no way their meeting was going to be peaceful. Rogue hates time travel shenanigans because of the Chroniclers, and Bass sees Rogue as a potential power upgrade he could absorb.
What you CAN get on my case about is what I've done with Mayl. Sadly, my storyline (and Hyde's theme of kicking Lan in the heart) required Mayl being captured by Chromos one way or another... that said, I wanted to at least keep Roll involved in the plot with the heroes, right now. It's heart-wrenching, yes, but this was never going to be a straight line with this plot, because Cain and Hyde each want to do something big.
Also, fun fact: remember Pride introducing herself into the story? Well, if you get her question right, you will not be able to battle SearchMan for his chip until much later than you would if you got the question wrong (as the first time would be required, but he'll be encounterable in Creamland Area 3 during the arc), but you'll get a guaranteed SearchMan EX Mega Chip if you get it right. Pays to pay attention. The only other downside is he'll ALWAYS be in his SP form if you do this, but not as a random encounter.
Now, I know you're all busy, so I'll try to get through the reviews as best I can... I can't believe the last time I did this, I didn't save.
Ghost 501: Plans A through E aren't important, but Plan F, which stands for Bass' Japanese name "Forte", was demoted from Plan A to such because Hyde heard about from Circuit's Operator about how easily unleashing Bass onto the Net would backfire. Yeah, he'd most likely be able to take out Lan and MegaMan, given the series' unhealthy habit of dumping their overpowered folders at the start of each game with no viable explanation, but stopping Bass is easier said than done.
And your comment made me realize I probably had to have Clock Charmer explain the multiple timelines dilemma. While 20XX and 22XX are the years definitely set in stone, there can be numerous possibilities as to what's happened between the two-hundred year timeskip between Battle Network and Star Force. And our certain third Mega Man Operator, Pats, is from an alternate version of 20XX+20 where Pride and Raika decided to have a second child earlier, who became Elijah, Cherri's younger brother. Cherri herself was also far more confident, mainly because she liked impressing Pats.
XxBlueAcidxX: Well, that would be an interesting idea, but I'm not using the Robot timeline because it would overpopulate the Electronics timeline with Mega Men... Rock, X, Zero (does he count as a Mega Man? I dunno, but he has four games where he's the main character, so it has to count somewhere), Vent/Aile, Ashe/Gray, Volnutt.
RedemptionWarrior: While Rogue is being extreme with his desire to destroy the Chroniclers, he does see their destruction as a long-term solution to preventing time-travel shenanigans. And he feels the only reason they haven't abused their power to destroy Mu centuries ago is because he thinks/knows they fear there would be long-term consequences for their actions.
Oh yeah, I wanted Pride to have some pure catharsis. So yeah, I made Yuika an unlikable witch here... so Pride flooring her would be so satisfying. But Geo giving Lance a verbal tongue thrashing to go with the physical thrashing was pretty good.
Rockster: Pride is done playing games. She, since the events of Battle Network 2, had decided to improve her physical skills... which means she took up some martial arts. She'd like to remind everyone that she's more than just a pretty face. As for Raika, well, he just needed an opening to escape.
Nope. No angels here. Just a friendly time traveler's Navi who wants to help his Operator's childhood friend when he had been removed from time.
I wanted to remind everyone of complimentary colors. Because with every video game, especially team battle ones, have red vs. blue, nobody really pays attention to the fact that blue's opposite color is ORANGE. It's something that has always irked me, and I'm not sure why.
It was the only way I felt I could justify having Lance do double duty as arc villain. It also makes the villains that more dangerous, since it's entirely possible for the ex-WWW operatives, who want revenge, to have the ability to go into a new form while Lan is still human. So yeah, this shouldn't be admired, it should be freaking FEARED.
Omega-Xis doesn't have time or patience for Lance's shenanigans. He would have captured him right then and there had Noise and ChronoMan's sand not been involved.
Well, I screwed that one up. This is what happens when you region-lock shows and only have the games as a go-to resource, Japan. Still, they are pretty darn retro, and most of the Battle Network games where pre-DS era save for Battle Network 5: Double Team. In short, the joke could be noted as a reference to the GBA era, where things were mostly D-Pad and analog.
Yeah, no Tribe powers, just the Historics and something else that will be happening soon.
But yeah, I can really see that the anime DID have an impact on how they did Star Force. It's actually nice to see them making use of the anime verse in some manner.
Matteso585: I wanted to find a way to make use of the cast. Note that in the games, Lan/Hub and Geo/Omega-Xis usually have to solve the main problem of the week. It makes the rest of the cast seem pointlessly there at best, and flat-out loads at worst. In fact, the genuinely useful protagonist cast per series (that isn't in distress or sidelined) can be counted on your fingers. I understand that the series is called "Mega Man", but if they're main characters, they need to do SOMETHING other than be sidelined... hence, what Zack does as tech guy and Dex does since he LIVED it.
Guest: I was originally going to say "no" because Omega-Xis' parents weren't going to be important enough to involve in the plot and Omega-Xis was too young to remember them, but I suppose we can dive into Omega-Xis' parents prior to the AM-FM War.
mega float guest: Well, we do have genes from both parents. Makes sense if he's a combination of two sets of data, he'd have traits from both. But yeah, Cherri's "Blue Bomber Prince".
Mitsuki Shigamatsu: Glad you enjoyed that, because I normally do not do the horror genre. I am a pansy.
takedigi: Well, I'm glad you found your way back to this story, and are enjoying it. And it's okay about Sigma, I first heard about him looking up Mega Man X Command Mission, and then my search went scatterbrained from there. It's how I find a lot of things, really.
As for Star Force 2, I feel that even though it didn't really touch on the space theme of the other two entries in the trilogy, it was pretty good. It expanded the Battle Network and Star Force lore, noted how Lan laid the groundwork for the Brother Band and Wave Society, and gave us a history.
Zekky-Reshi-Kyu: I'm really glad you liked this story... and wow, that is a lot of reviews. *Hands you a Chao Egg*
JaneValentine007: And even more reviews! Thank you both. Between the two of you, I'm pretty sure I broke 200! Here, have a Chao, each of you! *Gives you a Chao Egg*
matt altadorre: Thank you for the seal of approval!
Okay, well, that should be everyone. Next time, we will see a slightly crabby old friend... Farewell, my subjects!