Chapter 1: Gotta Go Fast
GammaTron: Hi folks. Yeah…my brain went weird and wouldn't stop until I wrote this. Gonna be a bit…um…not sure how to describe it, to be honest. As always, I don't own Megaman Battle Network/NT . That is owned by CAPCOM. I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog. That is owned by SEGA. If I did own either? I'd make another anime following the events of the games and improving Maylu and Roll from their flanderization in the anime or make an official Season 3 of SatAM or a reboot of it.
Amber/Brown eyes gazed up at the clouds in the blue skies, belonging to a pale-skinned girl of seventeen with long flowing rocks of scarlet hair that fanned out in spikes. She slowly stood up, wiping her jean shorts and blue vest over a red shirt and black stockings going into formal magenta shoes. She looked down, her eyes holding a well of sadness in them at the grave she had been tending to. She lightly traced the name upon it as she always did when it was time to go, letting a few tears fall. Footsteps made her stop her routine and look up, seeing a young man her age approach, wearing gray slacks, a red vest, and white button shirt over it with a green camo tie with the most notable thing about him being his black and white hair in the shape of an eggshell.
"I had a feeling you'd be here, Ms. Sakurai."
"I always come here on the important dates," she replied, "You know this. You've come here several times in the last four years since I started doing this."
"Hmph. Have you given thought to…?"
"My answer is the same as it will always be, Chaud: I will never go on a date nor will I marry anyone."
"Sakurai…No one could survive that explosion that coward pulled off," Chaud scoffed, glancing at the grave she had cleaned, "Just forget about him already."
"Go to hell, Chaud. It's that kind of attitude that killed him," she growled as she started to walk to the exit only for him to block her, "What is it now?"
"Why are you so insistent on being this stubborn? I could easily give you a great life, anything you'd want that could be earned with money."
"Because I loved only one person and I swore on his grave that I would never love another after what I did to him," she replied, "Look, just stop it. I will never agree to dating you."
Chaud scowled, but stepped to the side. She huffed before walking off, her bag of caretaking supplies held close to her generous chest. Once she was gone, he glared at the grave, the words 'LAN HIKARI' on it.
"Even when dead, you're still a pain in my side, Hikari," Chaud scowled.
Meanwhile, the girl sighed as she exited the graveyard. A blue bracelet on her left wrist glowed before the hologram of a young man of seventeen appeared, wearing a blue bodysuit with light-blue circuit designs going up the sides with armor of various shades of blues and whites covering him. Four navy-blue spikes of hair picked out of the underside of his helmet while his chest and sides of his helmet over the ears had a round emblem held in a gold ring, showing two red blocks divided by a black line.
"I'm sorry we couldn't stay longer, Megaman," she apologized, "I know you like to talk to him for a bit about what's happened since our last visit."
"I don't blame you, Maylu," Megaman assured, "Guess I should talk about what's happened while you're cleaning his grave now. …"
"I won't date or love someone else. I did this so the best punishment is to never know love like what we had ever again."
"Maylu, it's not your fault."
"Do you believe it when others tell you that?"
"..."
"I thought so. Come on, Megaman. Let's get Roll and Trill something."
"Okay…" Megaman sighed.
'It's hard to believe how long it's been…' Maylu thought as she walked off, 'Lan…' a ringing went off from the watch-like device, "Oh not now…"
"It's Mr. Famous," Megaman confirmed before a screen appeared before Maylu, showing an older man with brown hair in an orange t-shirt under a white lab coat-like jacket and sunglasses over his eyes.
"We have a situation. I called you on Roll's, but you didn't have her with you so Rush will be meeting you," the man, Famous, informed.
"What's going on? You know I don't like being disturbed on this day," Maylu frowned.
"I know. You, Yuichiro, and Haruka all don't like today," Famous replied, "All hands in Den Tech City are on deck for this, however. We detected a massive power buildup the likes we haven't seen since Duo…In fact…they surpass him."
"?!" Maylu tensed.
"Beyond Duo?!" Megaman gasped.
"We tried scanning the exact power readout…it hit 'ERROR' and all our scanners set to gauge the power exploded. It's in the park near your house," Famous replied.
Maylu grimaced as Famous hung up. The park…she'd have to go by there to get to the park if she went straight for it. She quickly ignored the straight path and went off another way. It'd take her an extra minute to arrive, but she couldn't…she just couldn't go straight.
"Seriously…Where the hell is she?" Chaud scowled, 'We were both near the cemetery…she should've been here at the same time I was.'
"The power coming from here…it's astounding," an older man in purple ninja garb noted, his eyes closed as he sat seiza-style.
"Where even is it? The whole air is filled with it, but where's the source?" a Chinese woman of eighteen with long purple hair pulled into hoops while in a cream and pink Chinese dress with pink stockings asked, looking around with trepidation in her posture.
Just as Maylu was running up to them, everyone froze as an immense pressure began to form. Sparks crackled in the air before a massive sphere of golden light and flames erupted, tearing apart the ground and knocking them away. Maylu managed to keep standing due to being pressed against a tree. She opened her eyes before squinting them. Inside of the sphere…were those…figures? Three figures she could only make out from outlines…a human that seemed to be in some sort of contraption…a fox with twin tails by a biplane…and…and a hedgehog with his quills curled upwards. The hedgehog and fox bent and twisted as they assumed the shapes of humans as the first human flew off out of the light on the other side. Maylu could barely make out a bald head before the light brightened considerably before blasting out into seven different trails that sailed through the skies above, one of the figures in one trail. She looked out at them before looking at the crater and gasping. Lying inside of the crater was a young boy around eight. He had extremely fluffy blond hair with two white tufts of it in the shape of fox ears. He wore an aviator's jacket over a white shirt and blue jeans with aviator goggles and leather gloves. Beside him was a blue and yellow biplane with several pieces of artillery attached to it. On the wings and the back of the plane was an unusual emblem of a pair of yellow fox tails with white tips in a red ring.
"Arf!" a bark went off as a semi-humanoid brown dog with black beady eyes and a red collar ran over on its hind legs, carrying a pink version of the 'watch' on Maylu's wrist in his brown glove-covered paw.
"Oh, Rush!" Maylu gasped before putting the watch on her other arm, letting a pink NetNavi appear with a rather mature figure in a black bodysuit with pink armor resembling a swimsuit on her curvaceous figure with long flowing gold locks of hair coming out of the bottom of a pink helmet with yellow semi-transparent antennae resembling the prongs of a plug, "Roll, call an ambulance."
"Are you okay?"
"I am," Maylu assured before gesturing to the boy, seeing a gash on the boy's forehead, "But he's not."
"?!" Roll gasped, "Calling right away."
"Ugh…" Chaud grunted, slowly getting up, as the older man walked over to Maylu.
"A child was the cause?" the man asked.
"No, Dusk," Maylu replied, "There were three in there. One flew away in some sort of device, the other seemed to vanish, and only this one was left."
"The ambulance is on its way for him," Roll noted, looking down in the crater with a concerned look, "He's so young…younger than when we got involved fighting the WWW, even…"
"Ugh…" the purple-haired woman groaned as she walked over before spotting the child and gasped, "Oh my!" she slid down into the crater and pulled out a medical kit before going straight to work on checking him over, "Hmm…Eight years of age based on appearance. Meddy."
"Scanning now, Jasmine," a voice replied from the purple watch-like device on her wrist before it scanned the boy, "Gah! What in the world?! He has an unusual energy field emanating from his body."
"Is it interfering with the medical scans?"
"N-No…He has no severe injuries outside of the head wound you're already treating," Meddy replied, "In fact…his body is actually tougher than any grown adult could ever reach."
"Huh?" Jasmine looked at her device as a holographic image of a shapely woman in a nurse-themed battle outfit with visor over her eyes appeared.
"Yes. He is far more durable than any human on this planet," she replied in Meddy's voice.
"...Is he…like Ms. Yuri?" Jasmine pondered.
"Unsure," Meddy replied, "I'll need to do a scan on her when she returns from Ameropa and compare it to this child's information."
Chaud slid down into the crater next and walked up to the biplane. It sported several marks as if it had been in an intense aerial battle with holes lining several places. He looked into the pilot's seat to see a photograph. On it was the boy around six, his bright blue eyes lit up in joy, as he stood before the biplane and hugging an older boy around fourteen with wild cobalt-blue hair, tanned skin from spending copious amounts of time outdoors, and vivid emerald green eyes. He wore a white shirt over a blue sports jacket with blue jeans that looked to be mixed with the fabric for sports shorts, white gloves, and red running shoes with a white stripe going over them with a gold buckle on the outsides.
'Megaman?' Chaud pondered for a moment before shaking his head and taking it and looking at the back, ''Sonic and me after we repaired the Tornado together. June 18th.' So…that teenager in this is called 'Sonic.' But what about you?' he looked further and found a rectangular device that resembled a tablet of some sorts, the words 'MILES ELECTRIC' written on the top. He turned it over and found scribbled on the back 'Tails's Miles Electric, Property of Tails, do not touch except for Tails. THIS MEANS YOU, SONIC,' "...Tails? Who names their kid 'Tails?'" he looked at a red 'watch' on his wrist, "Protoman, get a truck here that can carry a biplane to SciLab to study." he tried to pull the device away from the plane only to grunt as it zapped him until he let it drop back into the pilot seat, "Sonuva…!"
"Are you alright?" Jasmine asked.
"He takes security quite serious here," Chaud scowled before jumping back as the wings slid into the body of the biplane before extra plating covered the seats on the plane…before a car alarm being set went off.
=Please provide genetic proof you are Tails, Sonic, or related to either to unlock the Tornado. Attempts to open without proof will result in autopilot activating defense measures= a pre-recorded voice of an eight-year-old spoke before a seventeen-year-old spoke up Tails, what are you doing? Ah! Sonic~! I'm recording the message for the Torando's defense measures! Oh. Cool. Hey, whoever you are, don't touch Tails's biplane. It's his favorite gift from me and you break it, you won't like what I do to you…and you'll like it even less what Tails does. SONIC~!=
Jasmine couldn't help but giggle, "Oh my goodness. They sound so adorable."
"Wait…If this is Tails…but he's eight! How is he allowed to own a biplane? Let alone one as advanced as this?" Meddy pondered.
"We're going to have to have a lot of questions before this little one wakes," Jasmine sighed, gently picking Tails up before Dusk helped her out of the crater and over to Maylu, "Maylu, assume the medical position."
"Do you have to put it like that?" Maylu sighed as she sat on the bench.
"Yes, if only for your reactions," Jasmine smiled as she gently laid Tails on the bench, laying Tails's head on her lap, "At least he's not a Karen, right?"
"Don't remind me of that one," Maylu groaned as she looked down at the sleeping boy with a bandage wrapped around his head, 'He's almost as cute as Trill…'
"...whooooooooOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!-!-!-!" a voice screamed before a blur slammed into a dumpster, sending up the garbage in it all over the alleyway it was in, "GAH!" a few moments passed before the blue-haired teen poked his head out, a banana peel on his head, "Ugh…Okay, don't use Chaos Control without a destination in mind…it does not end well…" he reached up and plucked the peel off his face, "Ech. Why is it always the banana peels? Why can't it be a nice fresh blanket or a good Chili-Dog the size of a bed? Why is it th…" he trailed off on seeing his arm, "Uh…" he pulled back the sleeve to see tanned skin, "Oh no." he pulled himself out and fell flat on his face, "Guh!" he scrambled up to his feet and went over to a nearby window and looked at himself, "...Oh Chaos…I'm human again? But…But how? I've been a cool blue hedgehog for four years now! Why am I human again?" he patted his face, "Well…at least I don't look the same as I did." he took off his coat and grimaced upon seeing a scar on his right arm near the shoulder, as if someone had taken a knife several times to it, "Ugh…Yeah, I figured as much you'd still be there." he put his jacket back on and stepped out of the alley, looking around, "Okay, Sonic…just find out where you are, look for the Chaos Emeralds, go Super and Chaos Control yourself back home." he looked around, seeing a bustling city of humans going about their day to day business, "Okay, so far so good. Now where am I?"
=The new PeT ZX! Easily portable, comfortable on your wrist, and affordable to all ages!= an ad played on a holographic screen, showing a woman showing off a blue wristwatch of sorts.
"...PeT? P-Personal Terminal?" he pulled out a Miles Electric from his jacket and turned it on, "Internet…Internet…" he grimaced as the screen showed a small creature in a yellow hardhat with a pickax and yellow feet, "Mettaur…" he pushed a button and the creature screamed in agony as it was deleted by his virus protection system before putting it back away, "Not here…Not here of all places…"
"Everything alright, son?" Sonic looked to see an officer walk over, pulling a bike along.
"Uh, just having trouble finding out where I am. Just came in from outta town and got lost," Sonic explained.
"Ah. You're near Jomon Electric in Den Tech City," the officer replied.
"Really? Ah. Thanks, sir. Was trying to find a joint that sells chili, hot dogs, shredded cheese, jalapenos, and buns."
"Oh, check the grocery store. It's down the street here."
"Nice! Thanks, officer!" Sonic thanked as he walked off, 'Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Why Den Tech of all places?! Okay, Sonic, be cool…be way past cool…you look different. You just gotta pray no one recognizes you and just find the Chaos Emeralds and get the hell out of here.' an ambulance drove by, the window in the back showing Tails in it with Chaud and Jasmine, '...That was Tails, wasn't it?' he paused for a few moments before slumping, 'Fuck.' he pulled out a briefcase and it unfolded into a sleek silver and blue metallic skateboard with no wheels, "I'm coming, lil' bro." he hopped onto it while sliding a green-tinted visor over his eyes…before the board floated up and shot off after the ambulance, weaving and dodging the people around him as Sonic followed.
Tails groaned as he squeezed his shut eyes tighter, trying to deal with the dull ache in his head along with noting several concerning issues. His sense of smell seemed to have dulled significantly as did his hearing. He also couldn't feel his namesakes or twitch his ears. Finally, he caved and opened his eyes, revealing a white ceiling. Looking around, he found several monitors on hospital equipment…and he was behind bars.
"..." he reached up and patted his head, feeling his head fur…but no ears, "..." he lowered his hand and felt a pair of human ears before patting his face, '...Okay…That explains it. Sonic must have pulled Chaos Control and we ended up in another Zone with a 'Law' on it being 'humans only.' …Human?!' he sat up, revealing his clothes hadn't been taken, 'Oh Chaos…He must be panicking right now! Does he still look like he described how he looked as a human or has the years of being a hedgehog influenced it?' the sound of a door opening made Tails look to see Chaud enter, 'Eggshell hair…Oh sugar honey iced tea…That's Chaud, isn't it? I'm gonna have to take Sonic to Dr. Feels immediately after we go home…'
"So you're awake," Chaud noted, "I am Chaud Blaze, Official."
"...Official what?" Tails asked.
"Considering we found no evidence of you having a PeT before your plane locked itself up, I take it you are from a Beyondard," Chaud noted, narrowing his eyes.
"My pla…Hey, what did you do to my Tornado?" Tails demanded.
"It's been taken to SciLab to be analyzed for any threats. After the last Beyondard that came here, we take no chances," Chaud replied, narrowing his eyes at the eight-year-old.
"Beyondard?" Tails repeated.
"Alternate worlds."
"Oh. You mean Zones, then," Tails nodded.
"Zones?"
"It's what the world I come from, Mobius, calls them," Tails replied.
"...Noted," Chaud frowned, "But it doesn't mean we'll allow you to leave."
"Um…Yeah…about that," Tails noted, "You…kinda kidnapped me, ya know."
"You were injured, so we had you treated on-site before relocating you to the prisoner ward of the Beach Street Hospital," Chaud replied.
"Oh…Well, you may be in trouble still," Tails noted.
"How so? You had no NetNavi from what we figured out," Chaud noted.
"Huh? Oh, oh no. It's not a Network Navigator you need to be worried about…" Tails noted before the wall exploded and Sonic skidded to a halt on a red bike with no wheels that was hovering in the air, "...It's my big brother thinking I was kidnapped that you have to be worried about."
"What?!" Chaud tensed as the bike collapsed into a briefcase Sonic stashed into his jacket.
"Let my little brother go," Sonic growled.
"Sonic!" Tails exclaimed, earning a smile and wink from the blue-haired teen.
"Let's get out of here, Tails," Sonic spoke as he held up his left arm with a thumbs up.
"They took the Tornado to the SciLab place you told me about!" Tails explained as got out of bed and walked over to the older male.
"I know how to get there," Sonic replied.
"How did you…?" Chaud began to ask before Sonic pulled out a fine-cut emerald.
"Chaos…" Sonic tossed it up into the air while Tails hugged his other arm before Sonic grabbed and squeezed the gem, "CONTROL!"
Green light erupted from the emerald. Several pops went off as the electronics all short-circuited aside from Chaud's PeT. The light vanished and no sign of the duo remained. A red samurai-like armored NetNavi in a purple/black bodysuit with a spiked helmet and sunglasses appeared on Chaud's shoulder, his long white hair fluttering a bit.
"Chaud, sir…"
"Send a message to Dingo, Protoman. He should be close enough to SciLab to be ready for whatever just happened here coming there," Chaud ordered.
A flash of green light went off and Sonic and Tails landed before a massive scientific complex with several satellite dishes and a multitude of buildings. Sonic frowned as he pocketed the emerald back into his jacket before the two entered the facility, the younger of the two flipping his jacket inside out to reveal a yellow jacket on the inside before putting on a baseball hat. Tails couldn't help but awe at the various pieces of technology all over, causing a small smile to form on Sonic's lips as they approached a counter, Sonic putting on a baseball cap.
"Hi there!" Sonic greeted the receptionist, "A friend said you guys do tours."
"Of course. The next one is in five minutes," the receptionist replied, "Just go over there and enjoy."
"Thanks," Sonic thanked as the two walked off in the direction she pointed to, "..." he whispered, "I wanted to work here when I was younger."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I wanted to be just like my dad and my grandpa. Why do you think I'm so good at programming?" Sonic asked, patting his head, "Just because of our plans to get your plane back doesn't mean we don't get to have a bit of fun beforehand."
"...Thanks, Sonic," Tails smiled, hugging his side.
"Anytime for my little brother," Sonic chuckled, patting his head before they sat down and waited.
"So…what do you think they'll show us?"
"Oh, a few basic things, give the story of SciLab and Grandpa inventing NetNavis. The usual," Sonic shrugged, "Stuff I wouldn't remember but you may like."
"Cool~"
A nearby door dinged before Megaman walked out, wearing an armored tour guide jacket and a policeman-like hat replacing his helmet. Sonic tensed until Tails held his hand. Sonic took in a deep breath before slowly exhaling.
"Oh! Hello there," Megaman greeted the two, "I'm Megaman, your tour guide."
"Hi! I'm Saito and this is my big brother Netto," Tails introduced, "I'm really sorry for any rudeness from him. He had some troubles with AI before and doesn't trust them."
"O-Oh…" Megaman cringed, glancing at Sonic, "Well, I can assure you I can't really do anything in this Copybot. It was designed with limiters making me no stronger than a regular human and disables my standard weapons and the ability to use BattleChips."
"Copybot?"
"Yes. It's something that allows NetNavis to interact with Earth," Megaman explained, "Not many people have them due to them still being tested out. The NetOp I'm staying with, Maylu, has three for myself, my wife, and our son due to her job."
'He has a wife and son?' Sonic thought, his frown deepening as a wave of jealousy hit him that he quickly squashed down.
"Oh, congratulations," Tails smiled.
"Heh-heh. Thanks," Megaman sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, "B-But anyway, let's get this tour going, eh?"
"Right!" Tails cheered as the two followed after him, Tails holding Sonic's hand and giving it a small squeeze.
"Well, SciLab was established over forty years ago by the Ministry of Science here in Electopia before spreading globally with branches in Sharo, Choina, Kingland, Creamland, Netfrica, and Ameropa," Megaman explained as they walked down a hallway, showcasing multiple devices, "One of more iconic scientists with great recognition in the field of programming and cybernetics is Tadashi Hikari, the creator of the modern Internet and NetNavis like myself. His son, Yuichiro Hikari, would go on to improve upon NetNavis by giving them a 'soul,' allowing them to feel emotions and become closer to NetOps. He's gone on to try to further the bonds between humans and NetNavis with the invention of the Dimensional Area, where Earth and the Network can 'overlap' and allow NetNavis to materialize in them…along with Viruses, sadly." he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, "We still need to work on a program that can handle the Viruses."
"Whoa~" Tails awed, looking at a few pictures of the experiments done, noticing one showing a side-by-side of Megaman missing much of his armor and looking to be twelve, a boy that oddly looked like him in an orange vest, long-sleeved white shirt, and black shorts with blue bandana in his brown hair, and a picture of what looked like the boy in Megaman's armor only more refined and armored with his hair poking out under the helmet, "What's this?"
"Part of the Dimensional Area project that not many are capable of using known as 'CrossFusion,'" Megaman explained, looking at the photo with a saddened expression, "I…I used to be able to do that, but…" he sighed, shaking his head, "He passed on four years ago today. I miss him a lot."
'Liar,' Sonic bitterly thought, glaring at the NetNavi.
"Oh! I…I can understand that," Tails noted, "I lost my parents when I was three and then Netto adopted me as his little brother when I was four." he smiled up at Sonic, who looked back down at him with a smile, "He's been the best big brother in the whole wide world!"
"…" Sonic chuckled, patting his head affectionately.
'...I wonder…if we could've had that…' Megaman thought before shaking his head, "A-Alright. Let's keep going, shall we?"
"Sure!" Tails beamed, tugging Sonic along after Megaman, leading them out of the building and to another structure.
"This is Lab 7. It's rather infamous here in SciLab because of how often incidents occur here," Megaman explained, "Last month, we had to clean out the entire lab because someone's experiment caused the whole place to get stuck in a pink foam that turned people's skin blue for a week." they walked by a long hallway with a wall replaced with reinforced glass, showing scientists trying to open the locked down Tornado, "..." Megaman grimaced, "Seems that they're attempting to open a biplane."
"That's a pretty strong security system," Tails noted, trying to not laugh when one scientist put a drill to one of the screws…only for a mechanical arm to pop out of the Tornado, grab the scientist, and move him away from the machine while confiscating the drill.
"I don't like what they're doing," Megaman frowned, "Doing this feels like a major violation of the privacy of the owner of the plane." he blinked a few times upon seeing an older man with brown hair and glasses in a purple and orange long-sleeved shirt approach, "Oh! That's Dr. Yuichiro Hikari." he looked over the surface of the armored plane before pulling out a screwdriver and tapped one of the bolts…before everyone jumped as the armor pulled itself back and put it back into Biplane mode, "What the…?!"
'Oh shoot…' Tails and Sonic thought in shock.
"W-Well…That…That's happened," Megaman noted, blinking owlishly, before they jumped when another scientist touched the plane and it went back into its shell until Dr. Hikari touched it.
"..." Yuichiro looked around the plane before pulling out the Miles Electric, "I'll look it over since it seems to not lock down when I'm interacting with it. Bring it up to my lab."
'Shit…' Sonic grimaced as they went off.
'I swear, this kid's just so inquisitive,' Megaman thought in amusement as he answered another of Tails's questions as the tour neared its conclusion, "Okay, okay. As much as I'd really love to keep answering your questions, Saito…I'm really running low on battery on this Copybot. I hope you and Netto enjoyed the tour."
"It was amazing!" Tails beamed, "The technology here is really advanced!"
Megaman nodded as he walked off to an employees-only room, "Take care!"
"Bye!" Tails waved until he was gone, "...So how do we get to the Tornado?"
"Given how fast people move here, it's likely getting put on transport for moving it." He tossed his hat off, "Not really in a stealth mood, either. I just wanna get out of here ASAP."
"Okay, Sonic," Tails nodded, tossing his own off and fixing his aviator jacket.
"Treat it like Eggman's base minus the Badniks," Sonic advised.
Tails nodded as he got onto Sonic's back. He smirked before shooting off as a blue blur. He raced out before quickly making his was back to Lab 7 as the doors were sliding open to let a robot carry the Tornado out. Sonic narrowed his eyes before tossing Tails to the Tornado before jumping up and spinning like a top. He kicked several times, letting loose blades of blue-tinted wind come out and slice into the robot. The last strike sliced its head off as Tails landed on the Tornado, unlocking it.
"Cyclone Engage!" Tails declared once he got in the pilot's seat.
The wings folded into the body as the back of the plane split down the middle. Panels shifted and changed until the back of the plane became a pair of legs. Tails spun the upper half around and fired several missiles at the robot, knocking it away and crashed into a wall of Lab 7.
"We good?" Sonic asked.
"No! Dr. Hikari has my Miles Electric!" Tails reminded.
Sonic sighed, knowing exactly where that was. He led Tails to a large elevator in the main building, scaring off security with a few warning shots at piles of junk (there were plenty of elevators due to the size of much of the equipment here) before presenting his eye to a scanner. It beeped for several moments before the elevator opened.
=Welcome back, Lan Hikari=
Sonic grimaced at that verbal reminder. He only trusted Tails with the name. No one else. The Cyclone entered the elevator and it closed behind them, leaving the two to go up it in silence.
"...Lan…" Sonic looked up at the worried look on Tails's face, "Are you sure you want to do this? I could be fine getting it back on my own."
"...He's one of the few people that I don't hate," Sonic replied after a moment, "But…It's going to be hard. I mean, I've been gone for four years and, for all I know, they think I've been dead."
"...Hope for the best, prep for the worst?" Tails asked.
Sonic nodded as the elevator came to a halt and opened to a hallway. Tails had the Cyclone go down it, following after Sonic. Eventually, they came to a large entry with a metal plate by it reading 'Yuichiro Hikari' on it. Sonic gulped before holding a hand up to Tails. Tails nodded and got out of the Cyclone and the two carefully entered after Sonic checked around. Despite the alarms going off, Dr. Hikari sat at a desk, looking down at the Miles Electric. Sonic noticed he had it on a photo showing him pouting in annoyance in a similar outfit to the boy in the CrossFusion pictures as a girl around twelve with pink hair was squealing in delight in a green shirt and orange skirt with a big red bow while Tails was laughing. He blinked and jumped when the Miles Electric vanished.
"You know…it's pretty rude to look at someone's private stuff," Sonic noted, handing the Miles Electric to Tails, "And I thought I told you to get rid of that photo."
"Never! It is hilarious," Tails replied.
"...L…Lan?" Yuichiro whispered.
"?!" Sonic flinched, "..."
"...It…It really is you?"
"...H-Hi…" Sonic mumbled before flinching when Yuichiro hugged him, "!" He returned it after a moment, "..."
"I…I'm so sorry…" Yuichiro apologized, "I should've been there for you and…and I…"
"..." Sonic scratched his cheek, "...For what it's worth…You're the best dad in the world."
"?!" Yuichiro looked up at the now blushing Sonic.
"You're…not a failure. It was my own choice to set my room on fire and stay in it," Sonic went on as Yuchiro let him go, "I could never blame you, Dad. Those choices were mine because…I couldn't stand it anymore. The constant attacks from Officials demanding I become one when I just wanted to be left alone. School becoming a horrible nightmare. Mom getting upset due to me not telling her anything." He laid a hand on his cheek, "...Her…" he took in a shaking breath, "You're my role model, doing what you can for a better tomorrow. I've been doing that for four years now with my little brother Tails here. He made the Miles Electric from just a single story of the PeT."
"Really now? That's impressive," Yuichiro noted, a feeling of relief going through him, "Wait…'Her?'"
"Megaman's current owner," Sonic scoffed, "I want nothing to do with him, either."
"..." Yuichiro looked down in sadness on hearing that, 'What happened four years ago? Doesn't he love Maylu? What happened between him and Megaman?'
"..." he sighed, "Look, Dad…" he grimaced as the area suddenly turned multicolored, "Dimensional Area."
"To be fair…No one knows you're Lan and you blew up Lab 7…again," Yuichiro replied.
"Again?" Tails asked as Sonic facepalmed.
"Oh the last time he forgot a bento with Haruka's curry in it and it got into an experiment. Next thing anyone knew? The whole place was flooded with my wife's curry," Yuichiro chuckled as Sonic blushed before shaking it off.
"Tails, we're in for it now," Sonic noted, "If they've got one of those up, a CrossFuser is here."
"You're not gonna use Chaos Control?" Tails asked.
"And wreck Dad's work? Heck no!" Sonic replied, "Though, uh…we are gonna wreck the Dimensional Area generator, so sorry in advance."
"Wait a second, can't we talk it out?" Yuichiro asked.
"I'd like to, but…" Sonic grimaced, "I honestly hate everyone at the moment that isn't you or Tails."
"Lan…" Yuichiro gasped, his eyes wide in surprise.
"I know, I hate feeling like this," Sonic sighed, shaking his head, "C'mon, Tails. Let's get out of here. When the elevator stops, don't wait for the door to open and fire the big laser."
"Right, Sonic," Tails replied before fidgeting.
"..." Yuichiro patted Tails's head, "Lan…Tails…I'll talk to you later, alright? I put my contact information in your Miles Electric."
"!" Tails looked at his handheld and smiled, seeing the new contact on his tiny list, "We'll talk to you later!"
"Bye, Dad," Sonic waved as he hopped onto the back of the Cyclone while Tails got in the cockpit and went into the elevator, "We'll call ya later tonight or you call us, okay?"
Yuichiro nodded, "Take care…sons."
"...Hey, Sonic?"
"Yeah, Tails?"
"He…He said 'sons,' right?"
"Told ya he'd like ya," Sonic chuckled before narrowing his eyes, "Now we just gotta get out of here."
"You said it," Tails nodded as the elevator stopped, "Firing Hyper Mega Cannon!"
The nosecone of the Cyclone flashed once before a massive blue beam shot out of it and tore apart the elevator door. Several explosions went off as the beam went on, forming a large hole where the entrance had been. The Cyclone quickly emerged from the elevator, bypassing a stunned American donned in cyan and red armor with a Native American motif to it along with a large headdress made of feathers and a double-bladed ax replacing his right hand. On his chest was an emblem resembling a totem eagle.
"Holy shit!" he gawked.
"Aw crap…Dingo and Tomahawkman," Sonic groaned, "You keep heading for the barrier, Tails. Keep shooting at it and it'll overload the generator."
"Ok, Sonic!" Tails nodded as Sonic jumped off and glared at CF Tomahawkman.
"So you know me, eh?" he asked, pointing at him with his ax.
"Yeah, I do. Mostly good stuff," Sonic replied, "Name's Sonic."
"Look, bub, I don't know what you two are doing, but ya can't pilot a robot to blow stuff up! Even if it's a really cool one made of a plane…." CF Tomahawkman noted, "Surrender and I'll make sure they go easy on ya."
"Sorry, but I'd rather be as free as the winds that blow," Sonic replied.
"Why do they always gotta fight?" CF Tomahawkman whined before vanishing, "AreaSteal!"
Sonic smirked as he backflipped over the swipe of his ax, landing behind the CrossFusion. He spun around to slash at Sonic only to end up hitting the air. CF Tomahawkman gawked, looking around, before grunting as Sonic's feet landed on his head.
"And now…I Riverstomp!" Sonic declared as his feet became a blur, repeatedly striking the top of his opponent's head until he fell to the floor and his armor shattered, revealing a large blue Native American-themed parka over his body and gray baggy shorts, "Sorry, Dingo. I'll play with you some other time." he ran out as a blur, following after the Cyclone as it began to shoot at the dome of the Dimensional Area, "How's it going?"
"This is amazing!" Tails admitted, "Imagine if I had a generator and hooked it up to one of these things! It could've kept my place safe from the Zombots! Gonna fire the laser again! Stand back!"
"Right!" Sonic nodded before quickly spinning around and throwing a kick, slicing through a pink plasma shot with the blade of blue-tinted pressurized air, "Tch."
"Stand down!" Megaman ordered, his right arm converted into a buster before spotting Sonic's face, "?! L…Lan…?"
"..." Sonic sighed, rubbing the back of his head in frustration, "Of course…Of freakin' course you'd recognize me without the hat on." he opened his eyes and looked over at Megaman, hate and annoyance in his eyes at the NetNavi, "Hello…Megaman."
"Lan, stop this!" Megaman warned, "Please, just stand down."
"My name is Sonic," Sonic growled, "And I don't stand down for anyone." 'How the hell did he recognize me?!'
Emerald green eyes stared at their opposite. One filled with anger and determination to escape. The other filled with unease, a silent plea in them that was viciously denied by the first pair. Megaman grimaced as he fired only to hit thin air. His eyes widened before barely rolling out of the way of the punch that had been aimed at a specific spot on his chest.
'He went for my emblem!' Megaman thought with wide eyes.
'Tch. Missed,' Sonic thought in annoyance before jumping away from several buster shots.
"Y-You tried to Delete me…" Megaman whispered in disbelief, looking at Sonic with wide eyes.
"You're trying to stop me and my little brother from leaving," Sonic replied, "And why the hell do you care? You made it damn clear to me what your thoughts were four years back! Admit it, you enjoyed watching me constantly be hurt by her not being there and the beatings those little shits gave me!"
"Lan, please! Just…"
"It's Sonic! You, Chaud Blaze, and Maylu Sakurai killed Lan Hikari four years ago!" Sonic snapped back, "So…" he pulled out the fine-cut emerald, "...I'll return the favor."
'An emerald?' Megaman pondered before Sonic was upon him and jamming the emerald against his chest, "?!"
Sonic squeezed the emerald and Megaman locked up. After a moment, he started to scream as his body crackled with emerald-colored energy, data starting to break apart. As he screamed, Sonic kept putting pressure on him with the emerald. More and more of his body began to break apart into data, exposing a wire frame beneath along with a blue and pink core behind the emblem on his chest. The emblem began to shine bright before Sonic was knocked back by a blue shockwave that shot off Megaman. His body reformed and he stumbled back, breathing heavily while looking at Sonic with wide eyes of shock.
"L-Lan…" Megaman whispered before the Dimensional Area shut down, "?!" he looked to see a satellite dish atop one of the taller buildings letting out smoke, "No!" he turned to Sonic as he hopped onto the back of the Cyclone as it transformed into the Tornado, "Lan!" he reached out while being forcibly logged out as the Tornado flew off, "Laaaaaaaaan!-!-!"
"So he was able to destroy a large robot, steal the plane, and not only defeat you in CrossFusion but stalled Megaman long enough for Tails to destroy the Dimensional Area with his plane to let them escape…and he didn't use CrossFusion…" Chaud summed up, standing outside Lab 7 as repairs were being made.
"Yeah…It was nuts from the security feeds! Only issue was no audio so we can't hear what he and Megaman were saying," Dingo frowned, his head bandaged up.
"Speaking of…where is he?"
"In Dr. Hikari's lab being checked on," Tomahawkman replied, appearing on Dingo's shoulder, "He nearly got Deleted by whatever that blue guy did to him, so the doc is checking him over and refuses to allow anyone to talk to him."
"Tch. Of course…" Chaud scowled, recalling how the teenager used an emerald and fried all the electronics in the room aside from his PeT with it, "Put an APB on them. Warn all officers to not engage, but report it when they're spotted. We need to find them and detain them at all costs."
"Feels like when we didn't have a house, huh?" Sonic noted as the two sat in a cave with a small fire going, hammocks set up near one another nearby while a solar panel generator was set up outside the cave.
"Yeah. Those were fun times," Tails recalled, "Oh! Remember when that thunderstorm rolled in? You helped me be distracted from it all with shadow puppets!"
"And the silly story. Don't forget that," Sonic chuckled.
"Yeah," Tails giggled before a small silence followed, "...Hey…Lan?"
"Hm?"
"What happened to us, anyway? I mean…I'm not a fox anymore and you're not a hedgehog."
"This place probably has a 'Rule' to it that we have to follow," Sonic replied.
"Oh…" Tails nodded before looking out at the night sky outside the cave, "...Do you think we can see Dr. Hikari again?"
"Tails, call him 'Dad.' He already sees ya as a son. And sure. We'll let the heat die down and I'll sneak ya into SciLab so we can hang out," Sonic assured, patting his head…before the Miles Electric began to play a tune.
"Oh! That must be him!" Tails beamed, "You ready?"
"...I can't do this," Sonic sighed as he got up, "Tails, I'm gonna go do a jog. You spend as much time as ya want talkin' with Dad."
"O-Okay…" Tails noted, looking sadly at Sonic as he walked off, "..." he tapped his Miles Electric and showed a phone ringing image on it before it changed to Yuichiro, "H-Hi…"
"Tails," Yuichiro smiled before blinking, "Um…Where's…?"
"He said he couldn't do this," Tails admitted, shaking his head, "Today…Today wasn't a good thing for his mental state."
"I can understand that. Megaman has pretty much locked himself in the computer here," Yuichiro replied, "I hope that Roll will come soon with their son…Seeing Trill usually snaps him out of bad funks."
"...Can you tell me about him? Megaman, I mean," Tails asked, "Son…Lan…doesn't like talking about his past."
"I…I see…" Yuichiro sighed, "Well…Megaman was made to be there for Lan. He'd be there for him all the time, almost like a twin. Everything Megaman does is because he wants only good things for Lan, but…" he shook his head, "The last time they talked…something must have happened that led Lan to completely reject Megaman."
"...Can you show him to me?"
"Hold on," Yuichiro replied as he typed on something before a second screen popped up, showing Megaman lying on the floor, curled up with his back to the camera.
"...Megaman?" Tails asked.
"..."
"Um…My name is Miles, but Lan named me Tails since I didn't like Miles," Tails introduced himself, "...He saved me when we met. I was going to be thrown off a bridge and drown if he hadn't saved me."
"..." Megaman moved a little, peeking over his shoulder at Tails.
"Lan doesn't know about what they were planning to do since he came after they told me their plan," Tails went on, "But he saved my life and, well, took me in when he learned I…I'm an orphan. The device I'm using, the Miles Electric, to talk to you was something I made from him telling me about PeTs and the machine I was in that let me break through the Dimensional Area barrier? I built that from an old biplane Lan was given for helping some folks out that he gave to me on the request I paint it a different color than the red it had been."
"Wait…Y-You made that mech plane? How old are you?" Megaman asked, fully tuning to look.
"Eight. Lan and I met when I was four."
"Eight?!"
"Yep. I'm really smart…well…" he tapped the side of his head, "Intelligence smart, but not fully street smart yet. Lan's a really great big brother."
"O-Oh…" Megaman looked down at that, "...Has…Has he been doing alright?"
"Mostly," Tails replied, "He tends to forget meals at times and he'll flat out refuse to talk to some people when the word 'hero' comes out of their mouths. He hates that title and insists on being called a 'Freedom Fighter' instead."
"I…I see…" Megaman whispered.
"...Can we…trade stories?" Tails asked, "Lan…doesn't like telling anyone his past. I'm barely able to get stories out of him and I'm his adopted little brother."
"...He was stubborn," Megaman spoke up after a few moments, "He always woke up late even when I'd shout at him for over an hour to wake up. We'd argue a lot on what to use Zenny on and I'd have to lock access to it if he tried to be sneaky and use it to get what he wanted when I thought we agreed on something else." he sighed, "He was my NetOp…someone that came to be my little brother…o-or…at least…" he sniffled, "...Until four years ago…"
"I…overheard you and him screaming at one another in that fight," Tails admitted, "I don't get what happened, but all I do get is that Lan hates being here and just wants to find the other Chaos Emeralds and get home."
"Chaos Emeralds?" Yuichiro asked.
"Do you remember that green emerald that Lan hit you with, Megaman?"
"Ugh…It felt like I was being torn apart by a strange energy in it until the Ultimate Program in me adapted," Megaman cringed as he held up his hand to show an azure-colored energy sparking off it.
"Careful! I have no idea what Chaos Energy will do in the Network!" Tails warned quickly.
"Chaos Energy?" Yuichiro and Megaman repeated.
"It's the power you're channeling, Megaman," Tails explained as he held up a cylindrical device with a yellow gem in it, "Chaos Energy is a powerful clean source of energy that the Chaos Emeralds constantly generate. Channeling it into one of these Chaos Drives allows for a battery that can last up to five centuries of constant use. Seven being used at once can actually power a city about as big as the one you're in for half that time, even."
"That much power?!" Yuichiro gasped.
"Yep. Until Lan fully trusted me, he was a complete and utter mother hen when I experimented with the stuff," Tails explained, "My Tornado even runs off a Chaos Drive made in the form of an artificial Chaos Emerald. It's in the nose cone."
"So that's what kept blowing up the scanners and any machine my colleagues attached to your plane," Yuichiro realized.
"Yeah. You have to use specialized wiring and electronics when interacting with these things," Tails explained, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head, "I lost count of the times Lan and I didn't and got thrown about by an explosion." he smiled, "Lan can use them for all kinds of neat things! He can freeze time, teleport…and well, all kinds of things! And when he gets all seven-hoo boy!-say good-bye to any evil schemes you've got because he doesn't play around after that!"
"So that's how he was able to do all that…" Megaman whispered, his eyes wide in surprise.
"So there are seven?"
"Yep. Seven of them and the Master Emerald," Tails replied, "People always want the Chaos Emeralds, but Lan and I make sure to collect them first because they'll always always scatter once Lan uses all seven of them."
"How haven't we heard of these before?" Yuichiro pondered in surprise.
"Oh! Um…er…" Tails rubbed his upper arm, "F-Funny story about that…y-you see…" he breathed in, "We're from what you call a Beyondard."
"?!"
"Lan is the Lan you know, but…he came to our Beyondard-our Zone as we call other universes-four years ago," Tails explained.
"...A Fossa Resonance must have opened up just before the explosion!" Yuichiro realized.
"Maybe," Tails replied, "...I really wish I could've stayed longer."
"I did, too," Yuichiro replied, "You seem like a great kid and I do mean it when I say that I'd be happy to see you as a son."
"Th-Thanks…" Tails blushed, really wishing he had his tails to hide behind, before shaking it off, "Um…I…I'm sorry, Megaman, but…what did he mean when he said that you, that eggshell guy, and this 'Maylu' person killed him four years ago?"
"That's what I'm hoping to hear about myself, Tails," Yuichiro admitted as Megaman winced.
"...I…" Megaman rubbed his upper arm as he looked down, "...Four years ago, Maylu broke up with Lan. It…It wasn't pretty. Lan thought he wasn't doing anything wrong in it, but he was using the fact he was such a big hero all the time and…" he winced, "She…She wasn't easy on what she said…what she called him. She slapped him so hard his face had a mark in the exact shape of her hand for a few days…which no one knew about since he locked himself in the bedroom until it went away…"
"Huh?!" Yuichiro gawked, "So that's why he seemed so sad in our last phone call…"
"Then the day after his injury faded…Officials started to show up, asking and offering Lan a job with the Officials. Lan kept turning them down, but they just kept showing up, starting to demand he join the Officials," Megaman went on, "It got so bad he locked himself in his room again when all he wanted to do was go outside. We couldn't even go out on the Network without an Official NetNavi coming to talk to us and demand we join the Officials. One day, Lan…snapped."
"Snapped?"
"He…He started getting into trouble at school. He kept getting In-School Suspension because he'd beat up the other kids if they called him a 'hero' or asked if he was going to go sign up for a tournament. Teachers tried, but…Lan would just be cold to them," he went on, "He'd say 'Why should I listen to you failures? You can't protect anyone. You failed me when I needed someone so leave me alone and stop trying to do something that you can't stop.' A teacher quit in tears because of Lan's attitude and him ripping her apart verbally. That day…he was expelled."
"Expelled?!" Tails and Yuichiro exclaimed.
"An Official NetNavi visited later that day and…I…I thought he was just wanting to learn more about it. Maybe going back to the way he was from his shock of getting expelled, but when the Official NetNavi entered our homepage…he forcefully extracted the NetNavi's memory data and then Deleted it when he rendered it brain dead from the procedure he did. He stopped me from interfering by locking me in the PeT and muting it."
"What?!" Yuichiro gasped.
"We learned that Chaud was the one using his connections to get his fellow Officials to try to recruit us," Megaman explained, "The next day was a big meeting for those who could CrossFuse. He gave Chaud a blackeye for what he ordered when Lan saw him next and then threw his SynchroChip at him, too, shouting that he quit and, well…I didn't even know he knew those words or where he picked them up from, but Lan left everyone at the meeting in shock. He laid it on heavy, pointing out every single thing, every flaw in everyone…Maylu was really lucky she wasn't at that meeting."
"Wh-What…?!" Yuichiro stumbled back in shock.
"That was when I knew Lan went way too far. I tried to get him to open up, to talk to me, but the more I tried…the more he just pushed away. He started hiding me in his bedroom on mute and lied to Mama about going to school when he'd just go about town, doing who knows what. The only thing I do know is he never did any drugs, but still…" Megaman went on, tears welling in his eyes, "He…He came home one day…carrying gasoline cans while Mama was away…and started to throw their contents all over the room while breaking everything he could. I was…terrified…he…he was just screaming in rage at that point, destroying everything he could touch. I just tried to not say anything and hide in my PeT. He blocked the door to his room with his bookshelves and upturned bed so Mama couldn't get in when she came home during it all. I still remember her shouting and banging on the door. A book hit the PeT and turned off the mute, so I screamed for her to get the fire department but he muted me, called me a…a…" he sniffled as he rubbed his eyes, "...a pile of useless junk data that he should've just gotten rid of immediately after meeting me…and threw me through Maylu's glass sliding door. The last thing I saw of Lan until now…was him going into the roaring inferno while glaring at us before the explosion that destroyed his room and part of the upstairs went off."
"Oh Chaos…" Tails softly gasped, "A complete mental and psychotic break…Why did no one take him to a therapist like he's been having me and him go to?"
"I tried! I tried to get him to see one, but…but the only one we tried turned out to be an Official in disguise…" Megaman grimaced.
Yuichiro grimaced, "So…So that's what happened…"
"...What do we do?" Tails asked, earning looks, "I…I don't like this. He's hurting so much being here. I…I don't think he should run away…not from this. There…There's so much unresolved tension here…" he shook his head, "I want Lan to be happy. But…it feels wrong leaving here without at least trying to help him let go."
"I…I want to help," Megaman spoke, "That expression…I…I don't want him to hurt like that anymore."
"The only question is…what can we do to get him to open up?" Yuichiro pondered.
"He's stubborn when it comes to his past," Tails sighed, "I barely got much out of him outside of stories about you, Dr. Hikari."
"You're more than welcome to call me 'Dad,' son," Yuichiro assured before both men couldn't help but smile at the excited joyous expression that formed on Tails.
"Okay! But…yeah. Lan hasn't told me much about himself aside from his birth name and stories about you, Dad. He'll slip at times, saying someone else's name…and then clamp up."
"I…I see…" Megaman frowned before several beeps went off, "Ah. That must be Roll and Trill."
"Who?" Tails asked.
"My wife and son," Megaman replied
"Let me change to another screen and we'll try to figure things out while you're with them, Megaman," Yuichiro noted.
Megaman nodded. A nearby panel glowed before two beams of light shot down from the sky and landed on it, forming the pink NetNavi and another. The other was a tiny NetNavi looking no older than three. He had big green eyes and wore pastel yellow, cream, and brown armor made to resemble a kindergartener's uniform with a jester's hat-like helmet.
"Hi, honey," Roll greeted.
"Roll…Trill…" Megaman smiled, holding his arms out and bending down to a knee.
"Daddy!" Trill called out as he hugged the blue bomber, "Daddy! Daddy!" He reaches behind his back and pulled out a drawing, "Lookie! I drawed today with Mommy!"
"Awww…That's so neat, Trill," Megaman cooed, looking at the drawing.
"Uh-huh! Grampie said you were hurts, so Mommy and I drawed this!" Trill beamed.
"Well it certainly makes me feel a whole lot better," Megaman smiled, kissing his forehead as Roll walked over and kissed his cheek, "Hey…"
"Hey," Roll giggled before Megaman set Trill down as Rush came in through a hole in the ground, "Trill, why don't you play with Rush? Mommy and Daddy need to do big people talking."
"Okey, Mommy!" Trill smiled as he ran over and hugged Rush, "Playtime!"
"...Mega, what happened? I was in the shower when I suddenly started to get Deleted," Roll noted in concern.
"Gh! It…It was…" Megaman inhaled deeply, "He's alive…"
"Who?"
"Lan…"
"?! Wh-What?" Roll gasped.
"The teen that attacked SciLab today…was Lan. He's going by Sonic now and…and he tried to Delete me with Chaos Energy," Megaman explained, showing his hand and letting a bit trickle out, "The Ultimate Program in me adapted to it and now I can channel it."
"So that's what this energy is?" Roll pondered, showing her own hand and letting it leak out of her as well, "...Wait…Lan is alive?"
"He's been in a Beyondard this whole time…and he hates us," Megaman sniffled, Roll quickly holding him as he started to sob into her, "He hates us…he hates me…"
"Oh Mega…" Roll whispered, taking his helmet off and running her hand through his hair to help comfort him.
GT: So…yeah. Like I said, story is gonna be weird. I'm also going to keep it short. Hopefully just seven, maybe eight, chapters at best.