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 10: Lying In Wait
"Master Lan, it is time to get up. Wake up."
Lan groaned and rolled over in his bed, his eyes rebelling and refusing to open. He put a pillow over his head.
"Master Lan, you will be late for school if you hesitate for too long." After this second prompt, Lan sighed and sat up, rubbing his eye; mornings were not kind to him.
"The current temperature is 50 degrees Fahrenheit, 10 degrees Celsius, 283.2 degrees Kelvin, and thunderstorms are expected for tonight. You also have a new e-mail from your father."
"From Dad, huh?" Lan slowly got to his feet, heading to his dresser. "What's it say?"
"He reports that his upgrade of Megaman is complete."
"Awesome!" Lan grinned. His Navi had been with his father for the past couple of days, and he was ready to see Megaman again; the stock Navi that was serving as a substitute had started to wear on his nerves, with his complete lack of personality.
"He also reminds you that you are not allowed to skip school to come to SciLab," the Navi continued. "He expects to see you after school is over."
"Man..." He glanced over at his wall calendar, where today's date was circled excitedly in red marker, with a note - Famous Exhibition 4 pm. He sighed, a bit disappointed. "Well, I guess we'll have to go as fast as we can, then. Maybe if I just run in and out real quick, me and Mega can still get to the thing in time to try out his new skills."
"It's possible," the Navi commented automatically. Lan nodded, grabbing a change of clothes and heading toward the bathroom for a shower.
In downtown Den City, a rather ritzy hotel found its entrance mobbed by people. A throng of reporters waited eagerly for the appearance of a certain person, hoping to catch a photograph, maybe even a sound bite.
As the front doors opened, the mob lurched forward, as a man in an official looking suit appeared, clearly ready to speak. Flash bulbs went off and microphones shot forward, trying to get the scoop. The man cleared his throat.
"Attention everyone," he began. "I am sorry to disappoint you, but Mr. Famous is no longer in the building. He has..." The man's voice was drowned out by the resulting buzz, as the entire group demanded more information, disappointed and not wanting to leave without something useful.
About a mile away, a limousine was driving through downtown Den City, headed toward a television studio. Inside, two more official-looking men sat, one in the front seat, one in the back, along with a twenty-something man wearing sunglasses and a white trench coat.
"...and your interview with Ms. Midorikawa is scheduled to end at 11:30," one of the aides spoke, to the sunglassed man. "After lunch, there's a business meeting with the CEO of IPC, then your exhibition takes place at 4, Mr. Famous."
"Ugh, that can't go by soon enough." Mr. Famous looked out the window, watching the buildings go by. "There's going to be about three good Netbattlers there, along with a bunch of snot-nosed kids who think they can take me on. Where's the challenge?" He sighed. "I should have cancelled my business trip during the Red Sun Tournament."
"Perhaps there will be a better showing this year, sir. Some youngsters did very well in that tournament."
"Bah." Mr. Famous stretched his arms. "If there's a kid out there that can best me in a Netbattle, I'll eat my hat. I'll go out and buy some hats and then eat them. It's not going to happen."
"If you say so, sir." The aide continued dictating a schedule, as the limousine turned a corner.
Several hours later, in another portion of the Net, a group of orange Official Navis found themselves gathered in a circle. They muttered amongst themselves, wondering what to do with the mysterious bat-like Navi lying on a bench in the center.
"He's been rather badly damaged by Protoman," one of them commented, looking down upon the unconscious creature. "Is he worth studying in this state, is the question?"
"I'll tell you this, I'd rather be dealing with him now than when he's got his full strength," another answered. "We should get to work as soon as we can. I can't imagine we won't be able to find anything out just because he's been injured."
"Agreed," a third Navi chimed in. "Let's go fetch the instruments. This being could tell us a lot about the Dark Chips that Forte has been making..."
The group dispersed, walking off in various directions to collect their instruments. Once they had all left the room, the bat Navi opened one of his eyes, looking around. Seeing nobody present, he grinned and sat up, touching his hand to his injuries; they faded away instantly, having been naught but illusions.
"Excellent." Shademan grinned, baring long, pointed teeth. "Time to have a little fun..."
Shortly after school let out, Lan dashed into his father's office at SciLab, incredibly eager to see what modifications had been made to his Navi. Taking a look around, however, there was nobody to be found in the room.
"Dad?" he called out; his didn't answer, but another voice did.
"Lan! I'm over here!" Lan grinned and followed the sound of Megaman's voice to his PET, which was resting on Dr. Hikari's desk.
"Megaman!" Lan exclaimed. "Or Hub... erm... what do you..."
His Navi laughed. "'Megaman' will do just fine, thanks."
"Right..." Lan rubbed the back of his head, smiling sheepishly. "So, Megaman... did Dad upgrade you? Is that all taken care of?"
"Almost," Megaman answered. "Basically he upgraded my systems so that I could handle the real upgrade... it's kind of weird how it works out."
"Huh?" Lan blinked, confused. "The real upgrade? What do you mean?"
As he asked, Megaman brought up a data file on Lan's PET, left there by his dad to explain the situation. "You remember when Dad mentioned HubBatch a few days ago? That's the data file we need to get that will make the upgrade complete... it restores the bits of DNA that would link you and me together."
The data file disappeared. "If you jack me into Dad's main computer on the wall, it'll take you to some SciLab data archive. HubBatch is hidden away there, he said... he gave me the password to access the archive, so we should be all ready to go."
Lan nodded, walking over to his father's personal computer, a giant machine that put his home computer to shame. "He told you all this to tell me? Where is he?"
"Where do you think? He's in a meeting, like always."
Lan sighed, pulling out his PET's jack-in cable. "Dad's always so busy... we'd probably see him once a week if we didn't drop by SciLab."
"It's not his fault, Lan," Megaman reminded him. "Everyone at SciLab is busy these days, with research, and Forte... it's just not a good time."
Lan nodded. "I just hope it doesn't last much longer..." He inserted the cable into a data port on his father's computer, sending his Navi into the Cyberworld. Entering the PC, Megaman quickly found the link to the archive and stepped in, being transported to the depths of SciLab's Net space.
"Okay, the door should be around here somewhere..." The Navi looked down into his hand, which held a key that would get him where he needed to go. After a bit of searching, Megaman finally found the door he was looking for, identifying it by several clues Dr. Hikari had offered.
"Alright, here it is." He put his hand on the energy door in front of him, transferring the key and unlocking it; the door slowly faded away, then disappeared entirely. Smiling, Megaman took a few steps in, when a blow to the back of the head knocked him down, pitching him forward.
"Ow! What?!" Megaman fell to his hands and knees and turned around quickly, rubbing his head. He found himself looking up at a tall, red-and-gold Navi with a runner's body; a golden V resided on his forehead, right above his eyes.
"Thank you for opening the door for me," the Navi spoke, smirking and putting his foot on Megaman's chest. "With that out of the way, I will easily be able to obtain HubBatch for Master Forte, and the information it holds within."
Megaman grabbed the Navi's foot. "You're not going anywhere! You'll have to get by me if you want that file!"
The Navi laughed and kicked his opponent in the face, knocking him down. "You think you'll be able to stop me? I've never met a Navi that's been able to keep up with Quickman!" He jumped off of Megaman's torso and dashed down the recently opened corridor at a blinding speed, checking every branching path in his search for the item.
Behind him, Megaman slowly stood up, rubbing his head. "For Pete's sake... I wasn't expecting this..."
"Megaman, we need to hurry!" Lan urged from Yuichiro's office. "We need to beat him to the file!"
"There's no way we can outrun him, though..." Megaman stepped forward, requesting an Invisible chip, which he quickly received. "But we can beat him there... he doesn't know where it is, so he's got alot of searching to do. Let's see who gets to HubBatch first!" He took off down the hallway, moving as quietly as he could.
Over at DenDome, the stadium was abuzz. Children from all over the city had crammed themselves into the stadium, some accompanied by parents, most accompanied by other children. Many were talking animatedly with their friends, while others were checking and re-checking their Navis and their folders, trying to be as ready for battle as possible.
"Dex, stop checking your folder over and over." Halfway up the audience, Yai was mildly berating Dex, who was compulsively analyzing every single chip he had. "It's not like you're going to beat Mr. Famous, you know."
"How would you know?" Dex shot back, as Mayl giggled on Yai's other side; the two of them bickered constantly. "Me and Gutsman have been training nonstop! I bet I've worked harder than anyone else here!"
"So? Mr. Famous works hard too! And he's been doing it a lot longer than you, that's for sure." Yai smirked and looked down at her chip folder. "I'm going to win, because I've got chips that I bet not even HE can afford. Let's see him try and work his way around a..." She picked out a random chip and squinted at it, trying to discern its function. "...whatever this is."
Mayl grinned, looking down at her PET, where Roll was stretching. "I don't really expect to win... I mean, he's the most famous Netbattler in Electopia. He's got a TV show and his own Battlechips... doesn't he have a breakfast cereal too?"
"Don't put yourself down, Mayl," Yai advised, putting the Battlechip back into her folder. "You almost won that Den City Tournament this summer, remember?"
"Yea, almost..." Mayl smiled and put her PET aside. "Speaking of which, where is Lan? I thought he'd be here by now. I know he'd hate to miss this..."
"There he is!" a voice cried out, and the stadium erupted in cheers. In the very center of the stadium-like room, a man wearing sunglasses and a white trench coat was walking in, waving at his numerous idolizers in the crowd. Mr. Famous was used to this kind of treatment, nearly everywhere he went. After a minute, he raised his hands to call for silence.
"I tell you what, it's good to be back in Electopia again..." he began nonchalantly, "looking at all of these aspiring young Netbattlers. Which one of you is going to be the next celebrity Netbattler superstar, I wonder?"
He grinned as the children cheered again, loving to receive attention, even if it was from these brats. "Well, I say we get down to business. You all remember my Navi, Dynamoman... well, he's gone into retirement. But I've got a newer and better model this time around, and you lucky kids are the first people to see. Take a look!"
He pressed a button on the three-dimensional screen in front of him, displaying his new Navi for all to see. It was humanoid, colored mostly brown, standing tall and thin. It had what appeared to be a yellow, metal casing where long blonde hair would be, and in its chest was what appeared to be a metal door.
"This is my new Navi, Gateman!" Famous announced. "Stronger and faster than Dynamoman, and the gate in his chest holds a number of interesting surprises... but you'll be seeing those soon enough, I think. Who's ready to try and beat my Gateman?"
The crowd cheered a third time, limitless in its candor, as Mr. Famous transported Gateman to the DenDome Netbattle arena, along with the first competitor. Mayl, Dex and Yai watched as the battles began.
"Man, this guy doesn't look so tough!" Dex proclaimed. "Look at him! I bet Gutsman could flatten him, no problem!"
"Well, Megaman didn't look so tough either," Mayl reminded him, smirking; Dex snorted.
"Bah! You won't be smirking once I beat Gateman's head in!" The three of them continued to bicker and laugh, as each child waited eagerly for their turn to battle.
"I'm approaching as fast as I can," a red Navi spoke through his PET. "Almost there. Other Officials should be arriving soon as well." Protoman quickly arrived at his destination, a cyber building deep inside SciLab. He could tell, simply from looking at the outside, that something powerful and dangerous was at work.
"I'm heading in." He raced inside and immediately saw signs of destruction all around him; terminals had been destroyed, machines had been knocked over, and claw marks were everywhere he could see. It didn't take a genius to figure out who was responsible here.
Protoman walked through the area cautiously, looking all around, not quite sure where his opponent could hide. "Come out, come out, wherever you are..." he muttered under his breath. Rounding a corner, he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye, and quickly brought his blade up, as Shademan's claws clashed with it.
"You!" Protoman exclaimed, trying to force his opponent back. "How on Earth did you do this? I wounded you far too much!" He kicked at the bat Navi opposite him, and Shademan jumped back, laughing.
"Wounded, you say? Did it look something like this?" He put his hand on his body, and immediately a gaping wound appeared. Protoman gritted his teeth as the wound vanished just as quickly.
"So it was all a ruse to get in here..."
Shademan grinned evilly. "You were doing a bit too much research into the darkness that I serve... both Forte and I decided it was to be taken out."
"Hmph." Protoman brandished his sword, pointing it at Shademan. "Well, this time, your injuries will be for real."
"I wish you the best of luck!" The purple Navi dashed forward and swiped with his clothes, attacks that his opponent dodged. "There is only one thing that can harm me... the only weapon that you dare not use!"
"Dark Chips..." Protoman's eyes narrowed behind his shades, as the dark Navi cackled again.
"What's it going to be? Corrupt yourself and save the world from me, or save yourself and have me wreak havoc?" Shademan continued to laugh and slash away, as Protoman dodged his blows, trying to think of a way out of this.
Quickman darted about the SciLab archives, looking for the HubBatch file that he was sent to destroy. He grinned at the thought of returning to Forte with his mission a success; he imagined rewards, a promotion, a boatload of Zennys...
He skidded past one hallway, doing a double take and taking another look. He grinned wide; at the end of this rather long hallway, that had to be it, the file he was seeking. Megaman was nowhere to be found; victory was sure to be his. He took off down the hallway, but immediately came to a stop; a severe pain in his leg sent him tumbling to the ground.
"Agh! What the?!" He grabbed his leg and cursed in pain, as nearby, Megaman slowly came into focus as an Invisible Chip wore off; he was equipped with Aqua Custom style and brandishing a Long Sword.
"No brains but plenty of ego." He smirked and started running off down the hallway, as Quickman tried to get to his feet. "You guys make this too easy..." He continued running as fast as he could, when a somewhat slower streak of red rushed by.
"What?!" Megaman watched, wide-eyed, as Quickman dashed ahead of him, limping but still a good deal faster than Megaman. He gritted his teeth and vanished, appearing several yards ahead from an Area Steal, then did the same thing again, over and over, trying to catch up.
"Geez, even with a bad leg this guy's fast..." Lan commented, rubbing his head. "Megaman, be careful, you're almost out of Area Steals!"
"I know." Megaman continued to disappear and reappear, his destination growing nearer, but not fast enough.
"Darn it, he's still too fast!" Lan watched as Quickman inched closer to the prize; Megaman was catching up, but not quick enough. "You're not going to get there before him..."
"I don't need to get there before him," Megaman responded, getting as close to Quickman as he could. "I just need to get... close... enough..."
As he felt his final Area Steal activate, Megaman thrust his palm outward toward Quickman, and watched as a Rock Cube wall apeared right before his red opponent.
"Gah!" Quickman tried to brake as best he could, but to no avail; he crashed heavily into the wall and flew across the small room, right past HubBatch. As he slammed into the wall, he rubbed his head and looked up toward Megaman, as the Navi touched the file and began to glow a bright white. The light quickly blinded the red Navi, forcing him to look away; the sight that greeted him when he looked back was the last one he ever saw.
"Yea!" Lan cheered as Megaman, glowing white, destroyed Quickman in an instant, effortlessly. "You really showed... ugh..." Lan lost his grip on his PET and fell to his knees, as all of his energy rushed out of him.
"Lan!" Megaman cried out. "What's going on?" Lan couldn't respond; his vision swam and his head pounded, and he vomited on the floor before rolling to the side and passing out.
In another part of SciLab, Protoman was cursing and holding a wound of his own, as Shademan laughed maniacally.
"It seems you're too noble to subject yourself to the sort of power I possess," he taunted, walking forward toward the Official. "This isn't even entertaining anymore... I might as well just finish you off."
He conjured up a massive, powerful Dark Sword and raised it above his head. "Perhaps you could have torn me from that blasted Forte, had you been strong enough... but I guess now we'll never know!" As he swung the sword downward, Protoman raised his hands to meet it, glaring.
"Reflect!" he called out, as the sword connected. Shademan's eyes widened as he saw his Dark Sword curve back to meet him, cutting a deep wound in his torso. Screaming, he fell backward onto the ground, as Protoman stood up over him.
"How did you live this long, if you underestimate your opponents like this?" he taunted, as his opponent stuggled to sit up.
"You bastard..." Shademan lay back down, propping himself up with an elbow. "Don't think this is over..."
Protoman pointed his sword back down, at the Navi's neck. "What exactly do you think will save you from going right back where you were?"
Shademan grinned evilly. "Well, in a few minutes, you're going to have bigger fish than me to fry..." He cackled, coughing a bit. "Electopia's hero, their symbol of strength, the role model for the children... who is protecting him right now? His Navi and him..."
"What?!" Chaud's Navi reached down and grabbed Shademan by his neck. "What are you talking about?!"
"Why don't you go down to DenDome and see for yourself?"
"You... this isn't over, trust me!" Protoman quickly vanished upward, jacking out, leaving Shademan to tend to his injuries in a desolated region of SciLab.
"And another one falls!" An announcer's voice boomed over the loudspeaker at DenDome, as hundreds of children cheered in support of Mr. Famous, or perhaps his opponent for the moment.
"It's almost our turn!" Mayl exclaimed excitedly. "Are you guys ready?" Yai and Dex both nodded, as they counted off one, two, three other children who were in line to battle.
"Close, but not quite!" Mr. Famous declared, as another Navi vanished from the DenDome Cyber arena. "We've seen some good matches so far, but nobody's been able to best me yet! Does anyone have what it takes?"
"I think I might," a voice boomed over the loudspeakers. The crowd let out a surprised yelp, looking around for the source of the voice, as Gateman turned his attention to another part of the Cyber arena. A Navi was slowly approaching from the far end; one by one, the crowd turned to watch this mysterious Navi float over, his body almost entirely concealed by a tattered brown cloak.
"What?!" Dex exclaimed, as Mayl gasped. "What is he doing here?!"
"Is he going to fight?" Yai wondered.
"What are you doing here?" Gateman exclaimed, almost in unison with Dex, as the Navi landed a few yards in front, his eyes narrowing.
"I wish to participate in your challenge," Forte replied calmly. "I want to see if you truly are as strong as you claim to be... I have a bit of an ego to satisfy, shall we say."
Mr. Famous grinned. "A mysterious challenger appears..." He turned toward the crowd. "But he's no match for me, is he, kids?"
"No!" the crowd screamed as one, with the exception of three worried children, the only three who knew who this cloaked Navi truly was. Mr. Famous turned back to the screen, riding a wave of confidence, as Gateman got into a defensive position.
"Alright, stranger," he spoke calmly. "Let's see what you got."
Forte smirked. "Very well. Let's begin."
"No," another voice spoke. "This ends now." Forte looked up quickly at the source of the sound, as a familiar, female Navi descended and landed next to Gateman. She wore Arabian-style attire, the white clashing against her dark skin; her long, blonde hair was partially hidden by a golden helmet, as gold donned her arms as well.
"Serenade..." Forte snorted. "So you've finally decided to act. I didn't think you'd approve of my actions."
"This has gone on far enough," Serenade responded. "You've grown far too powerful... I cannot allow you to continue to exist." Gateman and Mr. Famous watched, dumbfounded, as this repartee continued.
"And how do you plan to stop me? You're not nearly as strong as I am, not anymore."
"Don't underestimate me," the girl Navi replied. "And even so, if Gateman and I battle together..." She looked toward Gateman, as if asking for approval. "...you won't be a match for the two of us."
Forte glared. "Hmph. You really think you can intimidate me, don't you? Poor, deluded girl..."
He clenched his fists, falling into an offensive stance. "You think I'm scared? I'll take on the both of you!"
"What?!" Serenade exclaimed, along with several other voices from the audience. "Are you out of your mind?!"
Forte grinned maliciously. "Why don't you try me and find out?"
"You monster..." Serenade extended her palm at her opponent. "Fine then! Prepare yourself!"
She fired an energy blast at Forte, who easily dodged and rushed the two Navis, beginning an intense, three-Navi battle.