New Megaman Battle Network
A complete reimagining of the universe and stories of Megaman Battle Network.
Story 3: The Rise And Fall Of Forte
Chapter 3: Descent Of Darkness
Megaman raced along the Cyberworld of Lan's school, looking in all directions as he traveled. Just as Forte had said, any attempts to contact the school faculty or staff had been fruitless; he would have no choice but to find the bomb himself and attempt to disarm it, something he knew nothing about.
"Found anything, Megaman?" Lan asked nervously. "Any clues, anything?"
"I can't take a close look anywhere like I need to!" Megaman responded, a bit exasperated and looking behind. "Shadowman is-"
Megaman stopped abruptly, turning around. He'd thought he was being chased by Shadowman, but his assailant was nowhere to be seen. He looked all around him, cautious, but found no trace of Shadowman. "What... where is he?"
"Who cares?" Lan replied. "We still need to find that thing!"
Megaman nodded and started exploring more thoroughly, checking every nook and cranny as quickly as he could manage. "Where would it be, anyway? I'm not even sure how a network bomb is supposed to cause trouble in the real world, I don't know how these things work..."
"I can open a browser, try and find out," Lan said, moving to his computer; a browser was less efficient at obtaining data than a Navigator, but it would do in this instance.
"Let me know what turns up," Megaman replied, continuing his rather fruitless search, as Lan searched online for the details of network-based explosives. Searching quickly, he managed to find a promising source of information; when he tried to open it, however, a large, colorful roadblock popped up.
"THE NETWORK ADMINISTRATOR HAS BARRED ACCESS TO THIS CONTENT. PLEASE TRY ANOTHER WEBSITE," the page declared. Lan slammed his fists on the desk.
"Damn it, Dad!" he declared angrily. "Stupid parental controls, does he think I'm going to blow up the house?"
"Lan, what are you doing up there?" his mother called out from the floor below.
"Just... playing a game!" Lan replied, turning his attention back to his PET. "No dice, Megaman, I'm not allowed to read that stuff!"
"Darn it... what do we do now?" Megaman took another look around, and something managed to catch his eye. He skidded to a stop and looked at the wall; amidst the various data lines that gave the wall its tech-like texture, there was a tiny, nearly invisible purple one that seemed rather out of place.
"What's this?" Megaman followed the line back a little ways, where it entered a classroom; he traced it all the way up to the digital blackboard. "This definitely isn't part of the blackboard, it's like it was soldered on or something."
"You think Forte has anything to do with it?" Lan wondered, as Megaman started following it in the other direction. As he followed it along the wall, he saw that there were other, similar data lines joining it, each one leading into another classroom.
"That would make sense," Megaman replied, continuing on. "Attacking every blackboard at once, maybe making them explode..."
"Ugh, I don't want to think about that." Lan grimaced, imagining a torrent of shrapnel flying toward a class full of students. "Better find it quick, Megaman! We have one and a half minutes!"
Megaman nodded and started running faster, keeping his eye on the mysterious data line; it eventually took him to the network for the basement, and a number of staff-only areas. The security programs that usually blocked this area off, but there wasn't a single one to be found; Megaman had no doubt this was Forte's doing as well. After another few seconds, Megaman found a large, wire-covered device in the distance in front of him.
"Lan, I've found it!" Megaman took another look, running right up to it; he didn't know what a bomb was supposed to look like, but it had a number of wires surrounding it, and all the purple lines were connected to it. Looking on the side, he found a timer counting down; it was at 83 seconds.
"So... what do we do now?" Lan wondered, trying to find how to defuse a bomb through his browser, and once again coming up empty-handed.
"I don't know," Megaman responded. "I need to try and figure out how this works, somehow..." As he reached out to touch one of the wires, he retracted it quickly as a kunai flew right by him, slicing the wire in half as it missed his hand. He turned quickly to find Shadowman standing a few yards behind.
"Darn it!" Megaman yelled, recreating his sword. "I don't have time to deal with you!"
"Of course you do." Shadowman dashed forward, and Megaman jumped back. He aimed his buster at Shadowman, ready to attack, but stopped short. Shadowman had stopped chasing after him, but instead turned to the bomb; pulling out two short daggers, he began to slice away at a number of wires outside of the bomb, before cutting a hole in the side. He then pulled out three kunai and threw them, one after the other, inside the explosive, before finally putting his daggers away. The bomb made a series of beeping sounds, then the timer halted, before the numbers disappeared.
"Wha... why..." Megaman was at a loss for words for a moment, before regaining his composure. "What are you doing? Did you just disarm that?"
Shadowman nodded. "I do not need to bow to the whims of an impatient, demanding client. I am the best, and I am perfectly capable of carrying out my mission my own way."
He drew his own sword and took a stance. "I intend to finish the battle we started on the airplane, for my own sake as much as Forte's. I've been looking forward to defeating you in battle."
Megaman smirked and got himself ready to fight. "How noble of you, Shadowman. Don't worry, you want a fight, you'll get one!"
The two ran forward, prepared to strike, when Shadowman found himself suddenly flung upward. Megaman screeched to a stop, staring upward at a thin yet tall tornado that had sprung out of the ground, launching his opponent skyward. As Shadowman tried to orient himself, Megaman saw a strange Navi appear above, slamming his fists into Shadowman's torso and sending him back toward the ground, where he landed painfully.
"Shadowman!" Megaman ran over to him, as Shadowman slowly got to his feet; both looked up at the mysterious interloper, who was slowly descending to the ground. He was powerfully built, his torso a mix of black and white, and had gray, plane-like wings protruding from his back; his hair was large, blue and wild, and he wore a red mask on his face, with an unusually long nose. Most disturbing of all, however, was the strange aura that surrounded him; it was as if he was exuding pure darkness, somehow.
"As Forte suspected, your arrogance and pride have led to your betrayal," the Navi spoke. "Nobody defies Forte and lives to tell the tale."
"Tenguman..." Shadowman stood up, his hand at his hip, ready to strike with one of his weapons. "What are you doing with Forte? Last I saw you, you were training with Feng Tian in Cyber City."
Tenguman stared harshly. "Forte has given me incredible strength, and liberated me from the shackles of my own morality. He has gained access to that dark power..."
"You mean he corrupted you," Shadowman responded, as Megaman looked back and forth between the two of them. "You're no better than a mindless virus now, and you don't even realize it."
Tenguman frowned. "Keep talking, Shadowman. You're about to see how inferior you are." Staying where he was, he began to spin in place, counterclockwise, with increasing speed. As he became a blur, strong winds started moving inward toward the spinning Navi, and Megaman had to fight to keep from being pulled in. As the winds became stronger, he found himself launched off his feet and toward Tenguman; his opponent's strong arm slammed into the side of his head, knocking him away, but the winds immediately brought him right back. Tenguman's second blow hit him powerfully in the gut, and he fell to the ground a few yards away.
"Oww..." Megaman sat up slowly, then quickly ducked to avoid Shadowman, who had been flung in his direction. He pulled out his buster and fired repeated shots at Tenguman, as he stood up, recreating his sword yet again; a small whirlwind appeared in front of Tenguman, catching the buster shots and flinging them about the Cyberworld. Megaman dashed forward, ready to attack with his blade, but was caught off guard as Tenguman's nose suddenly extended greatly, striking him powerfully in the gut once again.
"Oof!" Megaman fell backward, as Shadowman made another attempt to attack Tenguman. "What the hell? Was that his nose?"
Lan rubbed his head. "A nose strike was enough to knock you down? What kind of Navi is this?" Both he and Megaman watched as Shadowman attacked repeatedly with his blade, having shunned his projectile weapons; Tenguman effortlessly dodged his every attack, quickly reaching out and grabbing Shadowman's blade on the last swing. Holding it in his hand, he clenched his fist tightly, and the blade shattered from the sheer force of his grip.
"Im... impossible!" Shadowman barely had time to be surprised before a knee to his gut sent him flying backwards. As Tenguman outstretched his hand, forming another tornado, Megaman received a Mega Cannon from Lan and started charging it up, hoping to catch his opponent off guard. Making sure that Tenguman was firmly standing in place, he fired a shot directly at him, only to have Tenguman leap into the air at the last instant.
"Damn it!" Megaman cursed, watching Tenguman fly up and above the suspended Shadowman, clasping his hands together. Tenguman flew back downward, slamming his elbows powerfully into Shadowman's chest; Shadowman's eyes bulged out as he flew into the ground, and upon landing, he didn't get back up. Both Megaman and Lan were at a complete loss, as Tenguman flew back down to stand in front of Megaman, his aura of darkness stronger than ever.
"You might as well surrender now, Megaman," Tenguman warned, staring Megaman down. "There is no power that can rival this darkness. Nebula knows that, and so does Forte... and now, so do you."
"You know this is just a waste of time, right?" Megaman taunted. "What's to stop Lan from restoring me from backup after this?"
Tenguman laughed. "Nice try, Megaman. But Forte knows far more about you than you realize... he knows that you are one Navi that can never be backed up properly, and he knows why."
"W-what?!" Megaman stepped back, as Lan's eyes went wide. "How does he know that?!"
Tenguman stepped forward in response. "He didn't relay that to me... let's just say it's enough that he knows. If you fail here, you won't be back to case him any more trouble."
"Grr..." Megaman clenched his fist, getting highly frustrated. "I won't let you get away with this, I don't care how strong you are!" He dashed forward, ready to attack; Tenguman snorted, and his nose extended once again, striking Megaman on the side of his neck. Megaman's eyes widened, and he fell onto his face, surprised.
"Megaman! Are you alright?" Lan inquired, anxious, as Megaman tried to get up but failed.
"Unh... my legs... they're not working..."
"Don't bother getting up," Tenguman interjected, walking over to Megaman. "Your legs are done for, and so are you." He grabbed Megaman by his upper arm and flew upward, far higher than he had moved before, nearly reaching the limits of the school's Cyberworld; he immediately turned around and started flying down toward the ground, prepared to slam Megaman into it as a finishing move. Megaman struggled to get free, as his mind raced; he looked over at Tenguman, trying to find any sort of potential weak spot. His eyes suddenly lit up with an idea.
Megaman formed another Mega Cannon on his arm, aiming it at Tenguman. Before Tenguman could react, Megaman fired the powerful blast directly at Tenguman's wings, shattering them completely.
"What?! What are you doing?!" Tenguman demanded, as the two of them started to speed up, his descent going completely out of control.
"I'm ending this fight!" Megaman declared; as they continued to descend and spee up, he formed one more Long Sword, nearly exhausting the limits of his Custom style. Right before they hit the ground, Megaman yanked his arm away from Tenguman as hard as he could, rotating them in midair so Megaman was underneath, and he pointed his sword skyward.
The two crashed into the ground with incredible force, causing a shockwave that knocked Shadowman some yards away and practically crushing Megaman's frame. Groaning in pain, he looked over at the Navi that had landed on top of him; Tenguman was lying face-down on top of Megaman, speared through the chest on his Long Sword. Moments later, Tenguman's body dissolved and blew away as he was deleted.
"Ow..." Megaman tried to move his body, managing to sit up the tiniest bit, resting on his one good arm. "Lan... looks like I did it..."
"Megaman, you're alright!" Lan exhaled, holding his chest. "Don't scare me like that!" Megaman grinned and looked around, seeing Shadowman slowly get to his feet over to his left. Looking over to his right, Megaman blinked as he noticed something that hadn't been there before.
"Look, there's some chip data he's left behind... but it's got that dark aura..." Megaman reached out to grab it.
"If I were you, I would stay as far away from that as you can." Megaman looked over to see Shadowman walking in his direction. "That chip data is extremely dangerous. You only saw its benefits, you don't know the damage it does."
Megaman looked over at it, not doubting its potency. "Well, I shouldn't leave it here. I'll take it to SciLab, see what they can do with it."
"Suit yourself." Shadowman turned away. "I guess this means my contract has been terminated..."
Megaman looked over at him again. "So I guess we're not enemies anymore, huh?"
"I don't have enemies, nor do I have friends," Shadowman responded. "I merely have clients, and targets... though I suppose I could make room for a rival."
Megaman smirked. "What are you saying exactly?"
Shadowman looked back. "I'm saying to watch your back." He teleported away in a beam of light, as Megaman turned back to the chip data; he grabbed it in his hand right before Lan returned Megaman to his PET.
Inserting a blank chip into the PET, Megaman placed the chip data into it, and the chip popped back out; Lan took it out and looked at it. The label had attained a dark purple color, with a strange symbol in the center.
"Weird... doesn't look pleasant, whatever it is..."
"We should take it to your Dad," Megaman offered, feeling better as the PET began to repair his frame.
"We can do it later..." Lan lay back on his bed, putting his hand on his head. "Now that that battle's over, I'm feeling worse than ever..."
"Yea... we should both get some rest," Megaman responded. Lan nodded, putting his PET back on his bedside table and slipping under his covers.
"That was the best class ever!" Dex declared later, as he rode home from school on a cable car with Mayl and Yai.
"Definitely," Yai concurred. "I've seen a lot of neat technologies, but never anything like that!"
"It's too bad Lan couldn't be there," Mayl added. "Staying at home all day, he was probably bored out of his mind."
"Maybe we can go visit him?" Yai offered.
"Let's do it!" Dex exclaimed. "I can't wait to rub it in his face!" The three laughed, as they were taken away from school, oblivious to the fate they had barely escaped.
