Megaman Battle Network - New Generation
By Zelloss
Author's Note: Here we are, the last chapter of the first story. This chapter may or may not be sad. Read at your own risk. Disclaimer: I don't claim ownership to anything that's actually copyright Capcom. There. That includes Legends characters like Juno.
Chapter 7 - Showdown
"This is the HQ, huh?" I asked quietly. In front of us lay the mountain that the original World Three HQ had been carved into. Not the newest one that was shut down, but the original one, where Dr. Wily created the deadly Life Virus and nearly started the 'endgame'. We were back in Electopia, where Hikari Netto was a national hero.
"Yes. I never thought this place would be used again... let's go!" Jen spoke, although somewhat solemn. He didn't expect anything good, and, to tell the truth, neither did I.
We walked into the first dark hallway. The place was built like a spiral. Near where the Metroline link was, there was one passage, which would end way to the left and open back up to the outside. There, you'd climb up a slope and enter another passage, and so on until you reached the top.
I couldn't help worrying though. I doubted Juno would be revived, but I knew, somehow, that it would happen. Because of the Prophecy, which had so far been totally true. There was, though, the second to last line, 'with the sacrifice of darkness' that really scared me. What exactly did it mean? Zel didn't know. Or did he? I wasn't about to ask him, as we came back outside and began to climb up the first of a few hills.
There were so many things that could be happening. I wondered what would happen to Shinju. I could tell that my father was thinking the same thing. Was he all right? Would he be injured?
We arrived quickly to the second hill, but I was still thinking. What about the navis? Would we be able to save them? Or was it too late?
I didn't want to think of choice two, as we arrived at the third hill. One more to go. As we came close to the top, I began to think. Well, think more, anyway. About everything. What would happen if Juno was reactivated? What if something happened to Shinju? What if we had to fight the navis? I couldn't bear any of these things happening.
We reached the last hallway, but unlike the others, this one went straight forward. It was very dark inside of it.
I activated Dynast's light program, but two other lights activated behind me, making me turn. If nobody else had PETs anymore, then who had the lights?
"I wasn't going to leave you behind, mom!" Sasama smiled, running up and hugging her mother. I smiled a bit. Who was the other light?
"Dynast, we weren't going to just let you go!" Ciel happily said from Aera's PET. "If you thought we would, I don't know what's wrong with you!"
Aera stepped up and I gave her a small hug. It was so great, everybody was here, ready to fight together. After a few moments, we resumed our walk down the long, dark corridor.
Suddenly, everything lit up. We were in a huge circular room, carved right into the heart of the mountain. It was lit with lights all around, and there was a huge computer screen in the middle. Standing in front of it was Koushada.
"Return Shinju!" Zel shouted furiously.
Koushada made a tutting sound with his tounge. "No can do, I'm afraid, unless you're willing to play one last game!"
With that, the ceiling above us opened up, and Shinju fell down, stopping in mid-air. He was tied up by his knuckles to the ceiling, apparently unconcious. Unfortunatly, he was still much too high above us.
"Shinju!" my father shouted. "What do you want with us?"
"Hayato knows, I'm sure!" Koushada chuckled. My eyes opened. Did I?
I did. The dream. "You want Dynast, don't you?" I demanded. Koushada nodded.
"Yes. I need Dynast, he's got the last Hub.bat file I need to finish reactivating Juno!" Koushada cackled, as the screen lit up to show a very, very strange navi. Although he looked somewhat Generic, he actually had dark spiky hair, and although his main outfit was black, he had a white band on each arm that had the 'WWW' symbol on it. On his left hand was a buster gun, on the right was a normal hand. As for his feet. they seemed to end in tubes.
"You called, Master Koushada?" the navi asked. Koushada nodded.
"Who's that?" Freddy asked. The navi certainly wasn't Juno. It was active.
"Yes, Valnas. I need you to reveal my little game!" Koushada maniacally cackled again. Apparently, this was his Navi.
"Alright, Master Koushada" Valnas began. "You guys have three choices! Let's take a look at each of them! Number one..."
"I wish you'd stop playing games with us!" Jen shouted. Everybody nodded.
"You've threatened lives too long!" Aera shouted.
"I'm not finished yet!" Valnas shouted out. Everybody shushed. "Number one is simple. You hand over Dynast, I lower Shinju so you can help him."
"That's cheap!" I challenged.
"You bastard..." I heard Zennith mutter.
"Thank you" Koushada smiled, before asking Valnas to continue.
"The second option is to fight against all your friends! If you do this, you can save Shinju. Of course, if you fail..." Valnas shouted, before an image of a long arena appeared, showing all the navis.
"Magician!" Nemo shouted. "You're a demon, Koushada!" to which we could all agree.
"I'm not finished yet!" Valnas smiled, as he returned to the screen. "The last choice, is, of course.."
I heard the sound of a gun cocking. Koushada had one in his hand, pointed right at Shinju. "The kid dies."
My mouth fell open wide. He wouldn't! There's no way he would. I wouldn't have put it past him, though.
"Shinju!" my father shouted. "What should we do?"
"You've got one minute!" Koushada cackled, before a small timer appeared on the computer screen.
"Take this chip. Challenge them" Nemo smiled, handing me a chip. "It'll stop them cold. You should be able to reach the other side of the arena, leaving them stunned."
I looked at the chip in my hand. A rare chip called Mind Bender that confused a navi's programming.
"We'll face the navis!" I shouted out. Slowly, a pedestal arose from the ground, with a bunch of Jack-in ports. I grabbed the cord on Dynast's PET, but I hesitated. Would the Mind Bender work? Before I had a chance though, two other navis had plugged in besides me. Aera and Sasama stood beside me. In an effort to keep them from being alone, I plugged in too.
It was now the large swordsman-like navi Duo, the sweet, scientist navi Ciel, and my navi, Dynast, against a whole crew of navis. Ark, Geminiman, Reggae, HeroSaber, Yamatoman, and Magician. I could see the navis all on the screen. We were outnumbered two to one.
We readied ourselves as the navis came closer, before I heard a trio of clicks come from near me. I looked down to see all six ports full. I turned my eyes back to the screen, and saw Megawater, Busterrod, and Heavystorm appeared. The Bonnes were here.
"We can't forgive you for discarding us like this!" Bomb challenged. Teasel and Tron did the same.
"So they've come back?" Koushada smiled. "Now that it's even, you guys may have a chance! This could be fun!"
With that, the battle begun. I grabbed the Fire Blade chip as I began to activate the Blackfang.
I dropped the Fire Blade chip to the ground. The virus was trying to use the opportunity to control me. Apparently it was smarter then I thought!
I forced all my will into pushing back the virus, as the battle fought on upon the screen. I heard multiple chip names, and many shouts.
"Listen, you're under my control" I demanded to the virus. It stopped struggling. I then used it's power, as I had before, to fuse Dynast and myself. My entire image changed, and I looked on the screen just in time to see Ciel logging out.
"Ciel!" Aera shouted. I grabbed the Fire Blade and slotted it in, as I watched the battles. Megawater was fighting with Geminiman by using Aqua Tower and Bubbler chips. Busterrod was fighting Herosaber, and mabye winning, by using Heat Shot and Lance chips, turning his staff into a deadly weapon. As for Heavystorm, he was fighting against Magician. While as the card-user was smacking with his wand, Heavystorm was busy using Zap Ring and Elec Tower chips to slow down the magician.
I also saw Duo, using a powerfull sword chip, fighting against his 'mother' navi, if you could call it that, Reggae. Which meant Yamatoman and Ark were still around. I grabbed the Aqua Blade as Dynast charged after Yamatoman. Surprising him, Dynast managed to log him off really quickly. Then I remember Ark as he dashed towards Dynast and I grabbed the last chip, Elec Blade, before slipping it in.
I heard the sounds of logouts as the Bonne's navis were forced to log out. Dynast grabbed the Life Sword 3 program advance and shot it at their opponents, logging them out as well. Now, there was just Duo, Reggae, Ark, and me.
I heard another logout as I grabbed the Heat Balloon chip. Duo and Reggae had logged each other out at the same time. Now it was me and Ark.
"Hayato!" I heard somebody cheering, but it was distant.
Dynast fired off the huge heat balloon, but Ark dashed under it as it bounced into the air. The Hero Sword appeared in his hand, and I grabbed for the Leaf Shield chip, but found myself with Guard instead. The sword bounced back from the shield, before the shield dissapeared.
I grabbed at my folder, snatching up the Mind Bender, and I used it. The entire arena warped for a moment, and Ark started stumbling around, slashing wildly with the Hero Sword. Easy enough. Sometimes, a navi could resist the power of Mind Bender, but it would one with a high Sync Rate. Since Ark no longer obeyed Shinju, that wasn't a matter.
Dynast backed off and jumped on top of a data cube, letting Ark wear himself out.
"Hayato! Look out!" Aera shouted. Valnas ran up behind Dynast, putting his hand on his back. I felt something being pulled from me, and I fell to my knees as Dynast did.
"That was so easy!" Koushada smiled. I felt diffrent as Valnas removed his hand. What had he done?
"What did you do?" Sasama shouted. "This is cheap!"
"And release Shinju!" Zel demanded. "They were all beaten! Release him now!"
"I'll release him when I want!" Koushada smiled. "I had no intention of letting him live anyway!"
Zel's eyes opened wide. He ran to the back wall, only a little ways from us, as Koushada drew his gun and undid the safety.
My father flipped off the wall, grabbing Shinju. He took a knife from his left pouch, across from his chip folder, and sliced through the rope as Koushada fired.
I heard a yell.
"Dad!" I yelled as both fell to the ground. Everybody rushed towards them.
Nemo and Zen pulled Shinju off of my father. A slow pool of blood was forming around his back.
"Dad... no..." I nearly cried.
"Hayato... I knew... I knew this would happen. That's what the.." my father squirmed for a moment before continuing. The pain was obvious on his face. "The line meant. With the sacrifice of darkness. It was me."
"Dad.. no.." tears began to form in my eyes. "You can't die.."
"I had to, son... you have to fight Koushada..."
A tear leaked from my eye, running down my face as the blood continued to spread. My father would be dead any time soon.
"Dad... please... don't..." I pleaded. Please, god, let him live.
"Zelloss..." Dynast was nearly crying too. "We'll fight."
"Go, Hayato." Zel said slowly. He let out a long groan of pain. Shinju slowly sat up near us.
"Zelloss!" Shinju shouted. "Don't die on us, not now!"
"Go, Hayato. Defeat Juno. I wish I could have... could have lived long enough to see you finish the last of the prophecy... Hayato Ameriass, na Grausherra Nocortos, nas Shingaies ay Netros... Hasara, Kisato, Lesteo. The last... the last of the prophecy..."
My father's eyes closed, as his head fell to the side. I kneeled down. "Dad... no..."
Tears came down my face. I had never felt sadder. My last family.
"What did he say?" Jen wondered, but I could see he was sad too.
"He said... He said... Change lives, the darkness breaks, the sons are born. Wisdom, Honor, and Truth." I muttered. I wish I knew how I knew that.
I looked towards the monitor as I pulled myself up. I felt angry. I would kill Koushada and Juno. Make sure they never hurt anybody again.
Koushada walked away down a hallway near the base of the monitor. I logged out Dynast and took off at a run. "Wait here. This is my job, and mine alone, to destroy Juno!"
"It's not" Shinju commanded, dashing after me. "I'm coming, if you like it or not!"
"You don't have a navi anymore though.." I said. Shinju smiled.
"Yes I do. I was able to get Ark back when you confused his programming. I always carry a backup of his core program!"
"I'm coming too. We're all coming." Zennith said behind me. "We've got a score to settle, and now that we all have our navis again..."
"We'll stay behind" Teasel said. "Us Bonnes, Aera, Sasama, Merra, Otoyo, and Kiro. We'll wait here and watch over Zelloss."
I stopped, another tear coming into my eye. "Thank you, everybody..."
I took off down the hallway. It was time to finish this, once and for all.
* * *
"Glad to see you all!" Koushada smiled. "You're just in time to see Juno, for the first time in ages, activated!"
We had run down the hall, into a large room. It was like a computer center, a ton of servers abound, and one large screen. I plugged Dynast into a port, and everybody else did too.
The screen popped on. A bright light shone from the picture of cyberspace, before dimming.
"Behold Juno!" Koushada cackled. I removed my PET from my arm before smashing him in the back of his head with my fist. He fell to the ground.
I dashed back to my PET, and I could see Juno, for the first time. Stranger then any navi I had ever seen.
This navi had no legs. Instead, it sported a cone-like body that was purple with white bloches, and a metallic bottom that hovered above the ground. Near the top, there was a decorated ring, and a metallic spike rose towards the center of the Navi. Besides that part, there were two long, cylidrical arms that were decorated the same, but I could see something like a cannon in the center of each.
As for the head, it floated above, upon a ring of metal. This navi had long, purple hair that moved down it's back. Then it spoke.
"Thank you for reactivating me" the navi spoke. It's voice was freaky. Not because it sounded scary, but because it was so calm! "My name is Megaman Juno."
"We know! We've come to destroy you! You're under suspicion of Malfunction!" Yamatoman challenged.
"Malfunction? Hardly" Juno spoke, still smiling. "Anything but, to tell the truth. I'm in perfect shape. Of course, the net is in more-then- perfect shape, which causes a problem for me."
"More then perfect?" Ark asked aloud.
"Yes. The net's gone way beyond what it was supposed to be when it was designed. It's long exceeded it's original limitations. Therefore, I'm afraid I have to restart all the systems of the world" Juno said, calmly. How could he still be calm at a time like this!
"Restart the net?" Dynast demanded. "That's... that's impossible! You'd destroy everything!"
Juno's mouth turned up into a smile. "Exactly the point. Of course, it's going to take a while to prepare for. So, if you want to stop me, you'd best try it now!"
That seemed to work for me! I prepared for what may be the last netbattle. Everybody around me held a legendary chip of some sort. Could we beat him this way?
"Battle Chip, Gaia Sword! Slot-In!" Zennith shouted. A huge black blade appeared in Yamatoman's hands, as he rushed towards Juno.
Juno dissapeared for a moment. Yamatoman looked around.
"Behind you!" Zennith shouted, as Juno dashed head first into Yamatoman's back. He logged out in instants.
"He's quick!" Freddy warned, "Just not quick enough! Battle Chip, Fighter Sword! Slot-In!"
HeroSaber's green sword changed silver, and he dashed towards Juno, as Yamatoman had done.
Juno stood still, then moved his arms facing HeroSaber. Twin rainbow lasers shot out, tearing into the navi and logging him out. Then the arms twisted, moving the laser towards us.
"Battle Chip, Airshoes! Slot-In" came a variety of voices. Everybody's navi floated up and above the lasers, as Juno spun them around. He stopped when he was facing us again.
"One last try, I guess!" Nemo said. His jaw was set. "Shinju, at the same time! Battle Chip, Knight Sword! Slot-In!"
Shinju cried out "Battle Chip, Hero Sword! Slot-In!" at the same time. Magician's wand extended and sharpened, forming the Knight Sword, while the Hero Sword appeared in Ark's hand.
The two navis dashed forward, going to either side of Juno. Juno extended his arms towards the two. "Ready?" he taunted. His voice wasn't quite as calm as normal anymore. The two arms fired off towards the two navis, two rainbow beams firing slightly down as it traveled fast. Both navis didn't have a chance to react before they were hit. The arms then dissapeared, along with Juno.
"Where is he?" I wondered, but it was answered quickly when Juno's body and head reappeared not far from us. Juno's arms shot from the sky, slamming into the ground.
A huge pair of shockwaves shot from where Juno was. Me and Geminiman jumped over them. "I'm not done yet!" Jen challenged. "Battle Chip, Meteors! Slot-In!"
A huge array of meteors shot towards Juno. Juno slowly moved backwards, letting the Meteors hit near him. He stopped for a moment, and began to get pounded within that moment. A huge explosion came from where Juno was.
"Did I do it?" I could hear Gemini wondering. Juno's body and arms were gone. His head was still there, though.
"It appears I have made an error" Juno muttered. "You're much stronger then I expected. You're also quite lucky. It seems that I can't activate the reboot function just yet. You've still got one chance."
Juno's head floated up, and started to float backwards. Dynast and Geminiman followed it through a wall near the back of the system.
Inside was a virtual laboratory. Juno was no longer just a head. His head had attached itself to a body resembling that of the famous Life Virus.
"How will you fare now?" Juno demanded. His voice was harsh, no longer the calm voice he had once. A swarm of viri popped out and swarmed Geminiman. He didn't have time to react before he was logged out. The viri dissapeared right after. It was down to me and Juno.
I felt mad. He had defeated everybody. Madder then normal. "Dad... If only you were here!"
"I am here" answered a voice in my head. My father's voice. "You can win against Juno. The legendary chips aren't the way. You need to use the real power of Blackfang."
"Real... Power?" I asked, but there was no response. Somehow, I began to understand.
"Dynast, what's the Real Power of Blackfang?" I mentally asked. Before I got a response, Juno began to fight. He shot off a huge ball of red energy. "Battle Chip, Barrier! Slot-In!"
The attack dissapeared instantly, but Juno wasn't done. He rose both arms into the air, and the entire net seemed to darken.
"It's the blade from an ancient story. A story that told of the memory of a father allowing a son to save his friend" Dynast explained, running to the left as one of Juno's arms came down quickly. It was a good thing he did, because a huge rainbow beam shot down where he was.
"Then let's use it!" I commanded. "I hope you know how though. I don't."
"You do!" Dyanst said, as Juno began to move his arms up and down, slamming more rainbow beams down.
"How?" I demanded.
"Your father. Think of your father!" Dynast commanded. He was running full out to avoid Juno's beams.
I tried to. "Dad... Please, help me."
I remember everything I could about my father. When I had met him as a child, when I had thought of him as Juru. When I had discovered who he really was. When he saved Shinju. When he died, and spoke his last words.
"Let's do this!"
I felt weird suddenly, as if I was being pulled from the real world to somewhere else. In truth, I wasn't, but I could feel myself inside of Dynast. Yes. Inside.
I could also feel another presence. My father's memory. One more too, the Blackfang, my grand-father's memory.
My entire family line.
Juno stopped and wondered for a moment. "Countdown beginning to restart of the net. Ten.."
"Nine" Juno said. Dynast raised his arms forward, palms up. A thin line of darkness appeared above his hands.
"Eight" Juno continued. He once again seemed calm. I felt the memory of everybody working together. I could also feel data from every chip and every deleted navi coming together.
"Seven" Juno continued to count backwards. The net was trying to protect itself!
"Six!" Juno returned his face to a smile, his head leaving the body of the Life Virus. The thin line of darkness began to crackle with energy, slowly enlarging.
"Five" Juno methodically continued. He seemed certain.
"Hayato-chan, please, hurry!" Aera wished aloud.
"Please, Hayato" Shinju wished alongside her. I could hear similar comments from everybody.
"Everybody, I won't let you down!" I cried out, as Juno reached four.
The blade of darkness grew, forming a handle and a blade. Dynast grabbed it by the handle.
"Three" Juno stated. I fought to control the blade. This was what the net was, what it was made from, what the navis are made from. What the virus Blackfang loved.
"Two" Juno smiled. I felt myself grab the blade and charge forward.
"One!" Juno cried out. We brought the blade crashing through Juno's head.
A huge explosion rocked the lab, making Dynast log out. I lost the presence of my father and my grand-father, and I felt myself back in the real world.
The monitor filled with smoke. I couldn't see anything. What had happened? Did the reboot function work? Was everything gone?
Slowly, the smoke began to clear. I tensed up.
I felt Aera hold on to me. She was scared. We all were.
The smoke began to clear. I still couldn't see anything.
Then it dissapeared. I smiled. I could see the lab, although in shambles from the explosion. The net wasn't touched.
"It... it worked!" I smiled, but that had taken a lot out of me. I fell to the ground.
"Thank you, dad"
* * *
"Hayato. Please wake up!" I heard Aera's voice. I opened my eyes and smiled at her.
"Hello" I said weakly.
"Hayato's awake!" Aera said happily. Zennith, once again in a doctor's uniform, walked over.
"Everybody's safe. I'm sorry, though" Zennith said, a tear in his eye. "Your dad... he is dead, I'm afraid."
I sighed unhappily. My father had been right. I had survived. Everything was right, the prophecy was nearly fufilled. Except the very end.
Aera hugged me. I returned it.
* * *
"Father, thank you for everything" I whispered. I knelt beside his grave. "For helping me and saving everybody. Thank you."
"You're welcome. Just do me a favor, and tell Shinju I said hi." replied a small voice in my head. I knew my dad would never be truly gone.
* * *
"That's it, kids" I smile. "Time for bed. That's the last of the story!"
"But dad" my children groan. Hasara, Kisato, Lesteo are there names. Kisato and Lesteo resemble me a lot, well, when I'm young. As for Hasara, she resembles her mother.
"Sorry, that's all there is too it" Aera smiles. "That's the end of the story, after all."
The kids walk off towards their bedroom, grumbling a bit.
"I miss dad" I sigh. "I really wish I could see him once again."
"I miss Zel too" Aera says, as she moves beside me. "At least, the old prophecy is completed. The world's safe."
"Not really" I sigh again, as I close my novel. "At least it's safe now, but I suspect our children will play their part in the history of the world soon enough"
We both nod at the same time.
Author's Note: Here we are, the last chapter of the first story. This chapter may or may not be sad. Read at your own risk. Disclaimer: I don't claim ownership to anything that's actually copyright Capcom. There. That includes Legends characters like Juno.
Chapter 7 - Showdown
"This is the HQ, huh?" I asked quietly. In front of us lay the mountain that the original World Three HQ had been carved into. Not the newest one that was shut down, but the original one, where Dr. Wily created the deadly Life Virus and nearly started the 'endgame'. We were back in Electopia, where Hikari Netto was a national hero.
"Yes. I never thought this place would be used again... let's go!" Jen spoke, although somewhat solemn. He didn't expect anything good, and, to tell the truth, neither did I.
We walked into the first dark hallway. The place was built like a spiral. Near where the Metroline link was, there was one passage, which would end way to the left and open back up to the outside. There, you'd climb up a slope and enter another passage, and so on until you reached the top.
I couldn't help worrying though. I doubted Juno would be revived, but I knew, somehow, that it would happen. Because of the Prophecy, which had so far been totally true. There was, though, the second to last line, 'with the sacrifice of darkness' that really scared me. What exactly did it mean? Zel didn't know. Or did he? I wasn't about to ask him, as we came back outside and began to climb up the first of a few hills.
There were so many things that could be happening. I wondered what would happen to Shinju. I could tell that my father was thinking the same thing. Was he all right? Would he be injured?
We arrived quickly to the second hill, but I was still thinking. What about the navis? Would we be able to save them? Or was it too late?
I didn't want to think of choice two, as we arrived at the third hill. One more to go. As we came close to the top, I began to think. Well, think more, anyway. About everything. What would happen if Juno was reactivated? What if something happened to Shinju? What if we had to fight the navis? I couldn't bear any of these things happening.
We reached the last hallway, but unlike the others, this one went straight forward. It was very dark inside of it.
I activated Dynast's light program, but two other lights activated behind me, making me turn. If nobody else had PETs anymore, then who had the lights?
"I wasn't going to leave you behind, mom!" Sasama smiled, running up and hugging her mother. I smiled a bit. Who was the other light?
"Dynast, we weren't going to just let you go!" Ciel happily said from Aera's PET. "If you thought we would, I don't know what's wrong with you!"
Aera stepped up and I gave her a small hug. It was so great, everybody was here, ready to fight together. After a few moments, we resumed our walk down the long, dark corridor.
Suddenly, everything lit up. We were in a huge circular room, carved right into the heart of the mountain. It was lit with lights all around, and there was a huge computer screen in the middle. Standing in front of it was Koushada.
"Return Shinju!" Zel shouted furiously.
Koushada made a tutting sound with his tounge. "No can do, I'm afraid, unless you're willing to play one last game!"
With that, the ceiling above us opened up, and Shinju fell down, stopping in mid-air. He was tied up by his knuckles to the ceiling, apparently unconcious. Unfortunatly, he was still much too high above us.
"Shinju!" my father shouted. "What do you want with us?"
"Hayato knows, I'm sure!" Koushada chuckled. My eyes opened. Did I?
I did. The dream. "You want Dynast, don't you?" I demanded. Koushada nodded.
"Yes. I need Dynast, he's got the last Hub.bat file I need to finish reactivating Juno!" Koushada cackled, as the screen lit up to show a very, very strange navi. Although he looked somewhat Generic, he actually had dark spiky hair, and although his main outfit was black, he had a white band on each arm that had the 'WWW' symbol on it. On his left hand was a buster gun, on the right was a normal hand. As for his feet. they seemed to end in tubes.
"You called, Master Koushada?" the navi asked. Koushada nodded.
"Who's that?" Freddy asked. The navi certainly wasn't Juno. It was active.
"Yes, Valnas. I need you to reveal my little game!" Koushada maniacally cackled again. Apparently, this was his Navi.
"Alright, Master Koushada" Valnas began. "You guys have three choices! Let's take a look at each of them! Number one..."
"I wish you'd stop playing games with us!" Jen shouted. Everybody nodded.
"You've threatened lives too long!" Aera shouted.
"I'm not finished yet!" Valnas shouted out. Everybody shushed. "Number one is simple. You hand over Dynast, I lower Shinju so you can help him."
"That's cheap!" I challenged.
"You bastard..." I heard Zennith mutter.
"Thank you" Koushada smiled, before asking Valnas to continue.
"The second option is to fight against all your friends! If you do this, you can save Shinju. Of course, if you fail..." Valnas shouted, before an image of a long arena appeared, showing all the navis.
"Magician!" Nemo shouted. "You're a demon, Koushada!" to which we could all agree.
"I'm not finished yet!" Valnas smiled, as he returned to the screen. "The last choice, is, of course.."
I heard the sound of a gun cocking. Koushada had one in his hand, pointed right at Shinju. "The kid dies."
My mouth fell open wide. He wouldn't! There's no way he would. I wouldn't have put it past him, though.
"Shinju!" my father shouted. "What should we do?"
"You've got one minute!" Koushada cackled, before a small timer appeared on the computer screen.
"Take this chip. Challenge them" Nemo smiled, handing me a chip. "It'll stop them cold. You should be able to reach the other side of the arena, leaving them stunned."
I looked at the chip in my hand. A rare chip called Mind Bender that confused a navi's programming.
"We'll face the navis!" I shouted out. Slowly, a pedestal arose from the ground, with a bunch of Jack-in ports. I grabbed the cord on Dynast's PET, but I hesitated. Would the Mind Bender work? Before I had a chance though, two other navis had plugged in besides me. Aera and Sasama stood beside me. In an effort to keep them from being alone, I plugged in too.
It was now the large swordsman-like navi Duo, the sweet, scientist navi Ciel, and my navi, Dynast, against a whole crew of navis. Ark, Geminiman, Reggae, HeroSaber, Yamatoman, and Magician. I could see the navis all on the screen. We were outnumbered two to one.
We readied ourselves as the navis came closer, before I heard a trio of clicks come from near me. I looked down to see all six ports full. I turned my eyes back to the screen, and saw Megawater, Busterrod, and Heavystorm appeared. The Bonnes were here.
"We can't forgive you for discarding us like this!" Bomb challenged. Teasel and Tron did the same.
"So they've come back?" Koushada smiled. "Now that it's even, you guys may have a chance! This could be fun!"
With that, the battle begun. I grabbed the Fire Blade chip as I began to activate the Blackfang.
I dropped the Fire Blade chip to the ground. The virus was trying to use the opportunity to control me. Apparently it was smarter then I thought!
I forced all my will into pushing back the virus, as the battle fought on upon the screen. I heard multiple chip names, and many shouts.
"Listen, you're under my control" I demanded to the virus. It stopped struggling. I then used it's power, as I had before, to fuse Dynast and myself. My entire image changed, and I looked on the screen just in time to see Ciel logging out.
"Ciel!" Aera shouted. I grabbed the Fire Blade and slotted it in, as I watched the battles. Megawater was fighting with Geminiman by using Aqua Tower and Bubbler chips. Busterrod was fighting Herosaber, and mabye winning, by using Heat Shot and Lance chips, turning his staff into a deadly weapon. As for Heavystorm, he was fighting against Magician. While as the card-user was smacking with his wand, Heavystorm was busy using Zap Ring and Elec Tower chips to slow down the magician.
I also saw Duo, using a powerfull sword chip, fighting against his 'mother' navi, if you could call it that, Reggae. Which meant Yamatoman and Ark were still around. I grabbed the Aqua Blade as Dynast charged after Yamatoman. Surprising him, Dynast managed to log him off really quickly. Then I remember Ark as he dashed towards Dynast and I grabbed the last chip, Elec Blade, before slipping it in.
I heard the sounds of logouts as the Bonne's navis were forced to log out. Dynast grabbed the Life Sword 3 program advance and shot it at their opponents, logging them out as well. Now, there was just Duo, Reggae, Ark, and me.
I heard another logout as I grabbed the Heat Balloon chip. Duo and Reggae had logged each other out at the same time. Now it was me and Ark.
"Hayato!" I heard somebody cheering, but it was distant.
Dynast fired off the huge heat balloon, but Ark dashed under it as it bounced into the air. The Hero Sword appeared in his hand, and I grabbed for the Leaf Shield chip, but found myself with Guard instead. The sword bounced back from the shield, before the shield dissapeared.
I grabbed at my folder, snatching up the Mind Bender, and I used it. The entire arena warped for a moment, and Ark started stumbling around, slashing wildly with the Hero Sword. Easy enough. Sometimes, a navi could resist the power of Mind Bender, but it would one with a high Sync Rate. Since Ark no longer obeyed Shinju, that wasn't a matter.
Dynast backed off and jumped on top of a data cube, letting Ark wear himself out.
"Hayato! Look out!" Aera shouted. Valnas ran up behind Dynast, putting his hand on his back. I felt something being pulled from me, and I fell to my knees as Dynast did.
"That was so easy!" Koushada smiled. I felt diffrent as Valnas removed his hand. What had he done?
"What did you do?" Sasama shouted. "This is cheap!"
"And release Shinju!" Zel demanded. "They were all beaten! Release him now!"
"I'll release him when I want!" Koushada smiled. "I had no intention of letting him live anyway!"
Zel's eyes opened wide. He ran to the back wall, only a little ways from us, as Koushada drew his gun and undid the safety.
My father flipped off the wall, grabbing Shinju. He took a knife from his left pouch, across from his chip folder, and sliced through the rope as Koushada fired.
I heard a yell.
"Dad!" I yelled as both fell to the ground. Everybody rushed towards them.
Nemo and Zen pulled Shinju off of my father. A slow pool of blood was forming around his back.
"Dad... no..." I nearly cried.
"Hayato... I knew... I knew this would happen. That's what the.." my father squirmed for a moment before continuing. The pain was obvious on his face. "The line meant. With the sacrifice of darkness. It was me."
"Dad.. no.." tears began to form in my eyes. "You can't die.."
"I had to, son... you have to fight Koushada..."
A tear leaked from my eye, running down my face as the blood continued to spread. My father would be dead any time soon.
"Dad... please... don't..." I pleaded. Please, god, let him live.
"Zelloss..." Dynast was nearly crying too. "We'll fight."
"Go, Hayato." Zel said slowly. He let out a long groan of pain. Shinju slowly sat up near us.
"Zelloss!" Shinju shouted. "Don't die on us, not now!"
"Go, Hayato. Defeat Juno. I wish I could have... could have lived long enough to see you finish the last of the prophecy... Hayato Ameriass, na Grausherra Nocortos, nas Shingaies ay Netros... Hasara, Kisato, Lesteo. The last... the last of the prophecy..."
My father's eyes closed, as his head fell to the side. I kneeled down. "Dad... no..."
Tears came down my face. I had never felt sadder. My last family.
"What did he say?" Jen wondered, but I could see he was sad too.
"He said... He said... Change lives, the darkness breaks, the sons are born. Wisdom, Honor, and Truth." I muttered. I wish I knew how I knew that.
I looked towards the monitor as I pulled myself up. I felt angry. I would kill Koushada and Juno. Make sure they never hurt anybody again.
Koushada walked away down a hallway near the base of the monitor. I logged out Dynast and took off at a run. "Wait here. This is my job, and mine alone, to destroy Juno!"
"It's not" Shinju commanded, dashing after me. "I'm coming, if you like it or not!"
"You don't have a navi anymore though.." I said. Shinju smiled.
"Yes I do. I was able to get Ark back when you confused his programming. I always carry a backup of his core program!"
"I'm coming too. We're all coming." Zennith said behind me. "We've got a score to settle, and now that we all have our navis again..."
"We'll stay behind" Teasel said. "Us Bonnes, Aera, Sasama, Merra, Otoyo, and Kiro. We'll wait here and watch over Zelloss."
I stopped, another tear coming into my eye. "Thank you, everybody..."
I took off down the hallway. It was time to finish this, once and for all.
* * *
"Glad to see you all!" Koushada smiled. "You're just in time to see Juno, for the first time in ages, activated!"
We had run down the hall, into a large room. It was like a computer center, a ton of servers abound, and one large screen. I plugged Dynast into a port, and everybody else did too.
The screen popped on. A bright light shone from the picture of cyberspace, before dimming.
"Behold Juno!" Koushada cackled. I removed my PET from my arm before smashing him in the back of his head with my fist. He fell to the ground.
I dashed back to my PET, and I could see Juno, for the first time. Stranger then any navi I had ever seen.
This navi had no legs. Instead, it sported a cone-like body that was purple with white bloches, and a metallic bottom that hovered above the ground. Near the top, there was a decorated ring, and a metallic spike rose towards the center of the Navi. Besides that part, there were two long, cylidrical arms that were decorated the same, but I could see something like a cannon in the center of each.
As for the head, it floated above, upon a ring of metal. This navi had long, purple hair that moved down it's back. Then it spoke.
"Thank you for reactivating me" the navi spoke. It's voice was freaky. Not because it sounded scary, but because it was so calm! "My name is Megaman Juno."
"We know! We've come to destroy you! You're under suspicion of Malfunction!" Yamatoman challenged.
"Malfunction? Hardly" Juno spoke, still smiling. "Anything but, to tell the truth. I'm in perfect shape. Of course, the net is in more-then- perfect shape, which causes a problem for me."
"More then perfect?" Ark asked aloud.
"Yes. The net's gone way beyond what it was supposed to be when it was designed. It's long exceeded it's original limitations. Therefore, I'm afraid I have to restart all the systems of the world" Juno said, calmly. How could he still be calm at a time like this!
"Restart the net?" Dynast demanded. "That's... that's impossible! You'd destroy everything!"
Juno's mouth turned up into a smile. "Exactly the point. Of course, it's going to take a while to prepare for. So, if you want to stop me, you'd best try it now!"
That seemed to work for me! I prepared for what may be the last netbattle. Everybody around me held a legendary chip of some sort. Could we beat him this way?
"Battle Chip, Gaia Sword! Slot-In!" Zennith shouted. A huge black blade appeared in Yamatoman's hands, as he rushed towards Juno.
Juno dissapeared for a moment. Yamatoman looked around.
"Behind you!" Zennith shouted, as Juno dashed head first into Yamatoman's back. He logged out in instants.
"He's quick!" Freddy warned, "Just not quick enough! Battle Chip, Fighter Sword! Slot-In!"
HeroSaber's green sword changed silver, and he dashed towards Juno, as Yamatoman had done.
Juno stood still, then moved his arms facing HeroSaber. Twin rainbow lasers shot out, tearing into the navi and logging him out. Then the arms twisted, moving the laser towards us.
"Battle Chip, Airshoes! Slot-In" came a variety of voices. Everybody's navi floated up and above the lasers, as Juno spun them around. He stopped when he was facing us again.
"One last try, I guess!" Nemo said. His jaw was set. "Shinju, at the same time! Battle Chip, Knight Sword! Slot-In!"
Shinju cried out "Battle Chip, Hero Sword! Slot-In!" at the same time. Magician's wand extended and sharpened, forming the Knight Sword, while the Hero Sword appeared in Ark's hand.
The two navis dashed forward, going to either side of Juno. Juno extended his arms towards the two. "Ready?" he taunted. His voice wasn't quite as calm as normal anymore. The two arms fired off towards the two navis, two rainbow beams firing slightly down as it traveled fast. Both navis didn't have a chance to react before they were hit. The arms then dissapeared, along with Juno.
"Where is he?" I wondered, but it was answered quickly when Juno's body and head reappeared not far from us. Juno's arms shot from the sky, slamming into the ground.
A huge pair of shockwaves shot from where Juno was. Me and Geminiman jumped over them. "I'm not done yet!" Jen challenged. "Battle Chip, Meteors! Slot-In!"
A huge array of meteors shot towards Juno. Juno slowly moved backwards, letting the Meteors hit near him. He stopped for a moment, and began to get pounded within that moment. A huge explosion came from where Juno was.
"Did I do it?" I could hear Gemini wondering. Juno's body and arms were gone. His head was still there, though.
"It appears I have made an error" Juno muttered. "You're much stronger then I expected. You're also quite lucky. It seems that I can't activate the reboot function just yet. You've still got one chance."
Juno's head floated up, and started to float backwards. Dynast and Geminiman followed it through a wall near the back of the system.
Inside was a virtual laboratory. Juno was no longer just a head. His head had attached itself to a body resembling that of the famous Life Virus.
"How will you fare now?" Juno demanded. His voice was harsh, no longer the calm voice he had once. A swarm of viri popped out and swarmed Geminiman. He didn't have time to react before he was logged out. The viri dissapeared right after. It was down to me and Juno.
I felt mad. He had defeated everybody. Madder then normal. "Dad... If only you were here!"
"I am here" answered a voice in my head. My father's voice. "You can win against Juno. The legendary chips aren't the way. You need to use the real power of Blackfang."
"Real... Power?" I asked, but there was no response. Somehow, I began to understand.
"Dynast, what's the Real Power of Blackfang?" I mentally asked. Before I got a response, Juno began to fight. He shot off a huge ball of red energy. "Battle Chip, Barrier! Slot-In!"
The attack dissapeared instantly, but Juno wasn't done. He rose both arms into the air, and the entire net seemed to darken.
"It's the blade from an ancient story. A story that told of the memory of a father allowing a son to save his friend" Dynast explained, running to the left as one of Juno's arms came down quickly. It was a good thing he did, because a huge rainbow beam shot down where he was.
"Then let's use it!" I commanded. "I hope you know how though. I don't."
"You do!" Dyanst said, as Juno began to move his arms up and down, slamming more rainbow beams down.
"How?" I demanded.
"Your father. Think of your father!" Dynast commanded. He was running full out to avoid Juno's beams.
I tried to. "Dad... Please, help me."
I remember everything I could about my father. When I had met him as a child, when I had thought of him as Juru. When I had discovered who he really was. When he saved Shinju. When he died, and spoke his last words.
"Let's do this!"
I felt weird suddenly, as if I was being pulled from the real world to somewhere else. In truth, I wasn't, but I could feel myself inside of Dynast. Yes. Inside.
I could also feel another presence. My father's memory. One more too, the Blackfang, my grand-father's memory.
My entire family line.
Juno stopped and wondered for a moment. "Countdown beginning to restart of the net. Ten.."
"Nine" Juno said. Dynast raised his arms forward, palms up. A thin line of darkness appeared above his hands.
"Eight" Juno continued. He once again seemed calm. I felt the memory of everybody working together. I could also feel data from every chip and every deleted navi coming together.
"Seven" Juno continued to count backwards. The net was trying to protect itself!
"Six!" Juno returned his face to a smile, his head leaving the body of the Life Virus. The thin line of darkness began to crackle with energy, slowly enlarging.
"Five" Juno methodically continued. He seemed certain.
"Hayato-chan, please, hurry!" Aera wished aloud.
"Please, Hayato" Shinju wished alongside her. I could hear similar comments from everybody.
"Everybody, I won't let you down!" I cried out, as Juno reached four.
The blade of darkness grew, forming a handle and a blade. Dynast grabbed it by the handle.
"Three" Juno stated. I fought to control the blade. This was what the net was, what it was made from, what the navis are made from. What the virus Blackfang loved.
"Two" Juno smiled. I felt myself grab the blade and charge forward.
"One!" Juno cried out. We brought the blade crashing through Juno's head.
A huge explosion rocked the lab, making Dynast log out. I lost the presence of my father and my grand-father, and I felt myself back in the real world.
The monitor filled with smoke. I couldn't see anything. What had happened? Did the reboot function work? Was everything gone?
Slowly, the smoke began to clear. I tensed up.
I felt Aera hold on to me. She was scared. We all were.
The smoke began to clear. I still couldn't see anything.
Then it dissapeared. I smiled. I could see the lab, although in shambles from the explosion. The net wasn't touched.
"It... it worked!" I smiled, but that had taken a lot out of me. I fell to the ground.
"Thank you, dad"
* * *
"Hayato. Please wake up!" I heard Aera's voice. I opened my eyes and smiled at her.
"Hello" I said weakly.
"Hayato's awake!" Aera said happily. Zennith, once again in a doctor's uniform, walked over.
"Everybody's safe. I'm sorry, though" Zennith said, a tear in his eye. "Your dad... he is dead, I'm afraid."
I sighed unhappily. My father had been right. I had survived. Everything was right, the prophecy was nearly fufilled. Except the very end.
Aera hugged me. I returned it.
* * *
"Father, thank you for everything" I whispered. I knelt beside his grave. "For helping me and saving everybody. Thank you."
"You're welcome. Just do me a favor, and tell Shinju I said hi." replied a small voice in my head. I knew my dad would never be truly gone.
* * *
"That's it, kids" I smile. "Time for bed. That's the last of the story!"
"But dad" my children groan. Hasara, Kisato, Lesteo are there names. Kisato and Lesteo resemble me a lot, well, when I'm young. As for Hasara, she resembles her mother.
"Sorry, that's all there is too it" Aera smiles. "That's the end of the story, after all."
The kids walk off towards their bedroom, grumbling a bit.
"I miss dad" I sigh. "I really wish I could see him once again."
"I miss Zel too" Aera says, as she moves beside me. "At least, the old prophecy is completed. The world's safe."
"Not really" I sigh again, as I close my novel. "At least it's safe now, but I suspect our children will play their part in the history of the world soon enough"
We both nod at the same time.