ROCKMAN vs. MEGAMAN
Gutsman had once heard an old saying that he had decided to stick with. He liked this particular saying, a lot. So much so, in fact, that he added it to the end of every E-Mail he sent now.
'Power is useless, unless you use it for a worthwhile cause.'
However, now that Gutsman was in the Undernet, tracking down this mysterious Megaman, it seemed someone else had taken that old saying to the next extreme. There were gashes in the very fabric of the net here. Recent ones. Made by, Gutsman could guess, a Dream Sword program advance. Other than that and the shreds of someone's cloak, there was nothing here aside from the usual Undernet gloom.
From what he could tell, whoever did this had modified his beloved saying.
'Power is useless, unless you use it to blow something up.'
Frankly, Gutsman kind of liked the change.
Deeper into the Undernet, Forte dragged himself along with his good arm. He'd been lucky enough to fall onto one of the hidden paths to the Undernet after Megaman's Dream Sword attack. He'd crawled all the way from there, praying that the blue monster wasn't jut behind him, chuckling at Forte's turtle-slow getaway.
He looked behind him. There was no one there.
Forte was in no condition to tangle with a dead rabbit, let alone another Navi. His left arm was gone, as was the left leg and most of that side of his body. The big, yellow fin on the right side of his head had been ripped clean off, and had been used as a piercing weapon. The fin currently sat in his stomach, refusing to be budged by Forte's feeble attempts. To make matters worse, his right leg didn't want to move at all, and he couldn't see out of one of his eyes, if he even still had it.
The good news was that he'd gotten the shuriken out of his back, but it seemed like such a small victory compared to the task before him.
Forte found a quiet corner of the net and drew himself into a ball. He sat there, focusing on healing himself, and thought about his battle. And how he would enjoy destroying Megaman.
Rockman, on the other hand, was searching for any sign or trace of Megaman in the regular Net.
"I don't know why you want to find him," Netto sighed. "He's a lot stronger than you."
"I know that," Rockman said, "but I have to try. And if I DO get in trouble, I know I can count on you."
Netto looked a little gloomy. "Yeah, but . . . what do you really hope to accomplish?"
"To destroy that bug," Rockman said in all seriousness.
"Yeah, but," Netto whined, "I heard he beat up Blues without any effort at all, and then Forte disappears, and then . . . If he has Forte's power, what could you possibly do to hurt him?"
"I . . . I'll figure something out," Rockman said resolutely.
"Well, if that's what you want," Netto smiled, "I'll help you. We'll fight him together."
Rockman smiled. He was glad to have a brother like Netto.
Megaman, in the meantime, had reached the deepest part of a hidden server. He had fought his way past some sort of Demon Navi that called itself Darkman, and a samurai known as Yamatoman. He could only grin with a deep satisfaction when he thought about the power he could attain at the end of such an obstacle course.
On a high platform sat another Navi, which seemed to be meditating peacefully. Not wanting to waste time, Megaman took aim with his buster and fired.
Imagine the evil Navi's surprise when the plasma bounced off of some sort of spinning barrier and sailed back at him. Megaman leapt to the side to avoid his own buster shot. The meditating figure slowly turned.
"What," the figure asked, "do you want?"
Megaman was still recovering from the shock of having his own attack thrown back at him. "What did you say?" he snapped at the mystery Navi.
"I asked you what you wanted," the Navi repeated, calm as could be.
Megaman grinned. "I want power."
The Navi stared at Megaman for a while. Something about the stare was unsettling.
"You are not Forte," the figure said, finally.
Megaman barked a laugh. "That fool couldn't beat me, even with all of his tricks and deceptions! I am Megaman, and you are my next target!"
"So be it," the Navi said. He floated down from the platform to Megaman's level. Calm, golden eyes looked at him with a calculated coldness. "I am Serenade, and I do not intend to feed your lust for power."
"Too bad," Megaman grinned, raising his buster, "because I'm not giving you an option."
Gutsman had once heard an old saying that he had decided to stick with. He liked this particular saying, a lot. So much so, in fact, that he added it to the end of every E-Mail he sent now.
'Power is useless, unless you use it for a worthwhile cause.'
However, now that Gutsman was in the Undernet, tracking down this mysterious Megaman, it seemed someone else had taken that old saying to the next extreme. There were gashes in the very fabric of the net here. Recent ones. Made by, Gutsman could guess, a Dream Sword program advance. Other than that and the shreds of someone's cloak, there was nothing here aside from the usual Undernet gloom.
From what he could tell, whoever did this had modified his beloved saying.
'Power is useless, unless you use it to blow something up.'
Frankly, Gutsman kind of liked the change.
Deeper into the Undernet, Forte dragged himself along with his good arm. He'd been lucky enough to fall onto one of the hidden paths to the Undernet after Megaman's Dream Sword attack. He'd crawled all the way from there, praying that the blue monster wasn't jut behind him, chuckling at Forte's turtle-slow getaway.
He looked behind him. There was no one there.
Forte was in no condition to tangle with a dead rabbit, let alone another Navi. His left arm was gone, as was the left leg and most of that side of his body. The big, yellow fin on the right side of his head had been ripped clean off, and had been used as a piercing weapon. The fin currently sat in his stomach, refusing to be budged by Forte's feeble attempts. To make matters worse, his right leg didn't want to move at all, and he couldn't see out of one of his eyes, if he even still had it.
The good news was that he'd gotten the shuriken out of his back, but it seemed like such a small victory compared to the task before him.
Forte found a quiet corner of the net and drew himself into a ball. He sat there, focusing on healing himself, and thought about his battle. And how he would enjoy destroying Megaman.
Rockman, on the other hand, was searching for any sign or trace of Megaman in the regular Net.
"I don't know why you want to find him," Netto sighed. "He's a lot stronger than you."
"I know that," Rockman said, "but I have to try. And if I DO get in trouble, I know I can count on you."
Netto looked a little gloomy. "Yeah, but . . . what do you really hope to accomplish?"
"To destroy that bug," Rockman said in all seriousness.
"Yeah, but," Netto whined, "I heard he beat up Blues without any effort at all, and then Forte disappears, and then . . . If he has Forte's power, what could you possibly do to hurt him?"
"I . . . I'll figure something out," Rockman said resolutely.
"Well, if that's what you want," Netto smiled, "I'll help you. We'll fight him together."
Rockman smiled. He was glad to have a brother like Netto.
Megaman, in the meantime, had reached the deepest part of a hidden server. He had fought his way past some sort of Demon Navi that called itself Darkman, and a samurai known as Yamatoman. He could only grin with a deep satisfaction when he thought about the power he could attain at the end of such an obstacle course.
On a high platform sat another Navi, which seemed to be meditating peacefully. Not wanting to waste time, Megaman took aim with his buster and fired.
Imagine the evil Navi's surprise when the plasma bounced off of some sort of spinning barrier and sailed back at him. Megaman leapt to the side to avoid his own buster shot. The meditating figure slowly turned.
"What," the figure asked, "do you want?"
Megaman was still recovering from the shock of having his own attack thrown back at him. "What did you say?" he snapped at the mystery Navi.
"I asked you what you wanted," the Navi repeated, calm as could be.
Megaman grinned. "I want power."
The Navi stared at Megaman for a while. Something about the stare was unsettling.
"You are not Forte," the figure said, finally.
Megaman barked a laugh. "That fool couldn't beat me, even with all of his tricks and deceptions! I am Megaman, and you are my next target!"
"So be it," the Navi said. He floated down from the platform to Megaman's level. Calm, golden eyes looked at him with a calculated coldness. "I am Serenade, and I do not intend to feed your lust for power."
"Too bad," Megaman grinned, raising his buster, "because I'm not giving you an option."