ROCKMAN EXE: Prophecy
Deep in the net, in the shattered remains of the World 3's server, a single eye snapped open. A single, dull grey hand reached out of the shadows and pulled the figure into the last vestiges of light that reached the now dead server. The eye spun wildly in its socket, gazing about at the ruined data that surrounded it. The other eye was ruined; destroyed by Forte's Earth Breaker attack. An attack that had been coped and adapted.
Megaman allowed himself a chuckle. He actually liked being here, since it almost felt like home. He'd spent too much time in the company of Laserman during the Red Sun Meteor incident, and had helped the scheming Navi out by playing the role of 'Rockman's Dark Soul.' True, Megaman had not been at full strength at the time, and he had to wear a completely black covering to hide his real identity, but it had been fun playing head games with the little blue bastard, anyway.
Speaking of that stupid black disguise, not all of it had worn off. Megaman still glowed a dull green from the power his body held inside of it. He had absorbed data from almost every Navi in existence with his 'Get Ability' program, and had adapted several of the attacks together. Megaman could feel the power flowing through him, even though many parts of him was still covered with the last remnants of his disguise. His hand, for example, had slowly gone from pitch black to the dull gray it was now, although bits of his green, glowing skin poked through at some of the finger joints, giving his hand a segmented, robotic appearance. He rather liked the effect, and made a mental note to touch up his paint job next time he began terrorizing the Net.
And he really did intend to return. There were still people to terrorize, souls to devour, and Rockmans to kill. Megaman had decided to find a way to steal back Saito.bat from his true blue counterpart, and had stolen and adapted the very program Laserman had used to extract Rockman's 'Dark Soul.' Megaman chuckled even more as he recalled the horrified look on Laserman's face as Megaman tore the program from the near-dead Navi.
He approached a wall of rubble that blocked his path. This was perfect for practicing his comeback. He grinned and shoved a hand inside the dead data, tearing the wreckage in half very slowly and grinning evilly through the gap. He even had a suitably corny line worked out for his inevitable return, just to freak out everyone who witnessed his comeback.
"Heeeeeeeeeear's MEGA!" he shouted gleefully as he tore the wreckage clean in two, laughing insanely for no one to hear.
Rockman was back in the museum. Since it was on the Net, it was never closed, but it was kind of deserted, since it was midnight in Den town. Netto was asleep, but Rockman wanted to mull over the prophecy picture a bit more. He knew that Blues was around somewhere, but didn't feel like involving the red Navi in his speculations, since Blues had just been too depressing lately.
So imagine his surprise when a voice from behind him broke the silence of the room. "It's a pretty picture, but it isn't THAT captivating."
"I'm trying to figure out what it means, Blues," Rockman sighed, not even bothering to turn around.
There was silence, and Rockman assumed the Blues had moved on. However, a quiet voice next to his ear nearly made him wet himself. "I'm insulted."
Rockman whirled about and stared into the face of a Navi that had sworn to kill him at least three times. "FORTE! What . . . what are you DOING here?"
"Well," the black Navi said, pretending to look at his nails, "I originally came here to kill you, but you seem to have found quite the interesting relic." Forte's tone was so nonchalant that it sent chills up and down Rockman's spine.
"Don't toy with me, Forte . . ." Rockman stammered.
"You know, ever since I awakened, the only thing I've ever thought about was trying to destroy you," Forte continued. "Ever since Gospel dragged me from the darkness inside of Alpha, all I've ever wanted was to see you die a slow, torturous death. You were all I could remember, and all I hated, but I took some time to think . . ." Forte mused, looking the old picture. "And now that I think about it, another name springs to the front of my mind. Someone I hated more than you." Forte turned to look at Rockman. "Do you know who that might be?"
"Er . . . Serenade?" Rockman ventured.
Forte looked at him for a while, and then tilted his head to the side. "No," he said in a confused tone. Obviously, the mention of the king of the Undernet had stirred some unexpected memory within Forte, but he quickly dismissed it. "No, no, no. The name I'm thinking of is . . . Megaman."
Rockman gasped. "What? Wh . . . why bring that up now?"
"Because he isn't dead."
"WHAT? But we killed him! We blew him away and I reclaimed Saito.bat! He can't be alive, it isn't possible!" Rockman exclaimed.
Blues was suddenly there, drawn by the noise. "Forte!" he shouted in surprise. "Shit!"
Forte looked at the red Navi impassively. "Unfortunate person whose name escapes me for the moment," he said in mock surprise. "How have you been?"
"Er . . . fine?" Blues tried. Then he collected himself. "What are you doing here?"
Forte gave Blues an innocent look. "I'm just having a friendly chat with my blue friend here, and-"
"Blues, Forte says Megaman's back!" Rockman burst out in a worried tone.
"WHAT?"
"Tsk, tsk," Forte shook his head, "it's RUDE to interrupt!" He gave Rockman a solid punch in the face that knocked the blue Navi over. "Now then, where was I? AH, yes, Megaman. The only other name I remember. From what I can gather, he is alive, and on his way here."
"Here . . .? Why?" Blues asked.
Forte turned to look at the picture. "This, I believe."
"Huh?"
"I remember two names. Rockman and Megaman. But I also remember something of this legend . . ." Forte looked along the length of the picture. "Seeing it stirred a memory. It is not read in the normal manner, but rather in the opposite direction. Starting with . . . oh dear, the picture isn't complete . . ."
Blues could only watch, dumbfounded, as the black, cloaked Navi began to doodle on the wall next to the picture. What he drew was a crude stick figure, and then three arrows that pointed to the three left-most figures.
"Yes, that's better!" Forte said with a slight amount of satisfaction. He clapped his hands, and then pointed to his art. "From one source comes the Light, the Dark, and the Neutral. That's the three colors. These three must face the four guardians, the first of which can not be found without Dark to guide the way. Then, the trio must pass every guardian's test to be guided to the ultimate power. Only the Neutral may USE the power, however, because any other use of the power will tip the scales and create a wave that will destroy the world."
Rockman slowly stood up. "What are you talking about? They already knew about that . . ."
"Ah, yes, so I see," Forte said, looking at the translation. "But, unfortunately, they left out an important part. The wave that destroys the world will happen anyway."
"What?" Rockman asked. "Then what's the point?"
"Because with Light's guidance, the world can be saved from the wave of Armageddon." Forte nodded.
"Deep," Blues whistled.
"How do you KNOW all of this?" Rockman asked the black Navi, who simply smiled.
"Because I am the herald of Armageddon, and I know when its time is nigh. And it is nigh-ing all over the place right now." Forte smiled.
"What are you saying?" Rockman asked. "You're not making any sense."
Forte got close to Rockman's face, smiling. "I'm saying that Megaman is coming, and he's going to help save the world."
Deep in the net, in the shattered remains of the World 3's server, a single eye snapped open. A single, dull grey hand reached out of the shadows and pulled the figure into the last vestiges of light that reached the now dead server. The eye spun wildly in its socket, gazing about at the ruined data that surrounded it. The other eye was ruined; destroyed by Forte's Earth Breaker attack. An attack that had been coped and adapted.
Megaman allowed himself a chuckle. He actually liked being here, since it almost felt like home. He'd spent too much time in the company of Laserman during the Red Sun Meteor incident, and had helped the scheming Navi out by playing the role of 'Rockman's Dark Soul.' True, Megaman had not been at full strength at the time, and he had to wear a completely black covering to hide his real identity, but it had been fun playing head games with the little blue bastard, anyway.
Speaking of that stupid black disguise, not all of it had worn off. Megaman still glowed a dull green from the power his body held inside of it. He had absorbed data from almost every Navi in existence with his 'Get Ability' program, and had adapted several of the attacks together. Megaman could feel the power flowing through him, even though many parts of him was still covered with the last remnants of his disguise. His hand, for example, had slowly gone from pitch black to the dull gray it was now, although bits of his green, glowing skin poked through at some of the finger joints, giving his hand a segmented, robotic appearance. He rather liked the effect, and made a mental note to touch up his paint job next time he began terrorizing the Net.
And he really did intend to return. There were still people to terrorize, souls to devour, and Rockmans to kill. Megaman had decided to find a way to steal back Saito.bat from his true blue counterpart, and had stolen and adapted the very program Laserman had used to extract Rockman's 'Dark Soul.' Megaman chuckled even more as he recalled the horrified look on Laserman's face as Megaman tore the program from the near-dead Navi.
He approached a wall of rubble that blocked his path. This was perfect for practicing his comeback. He grinned and shoved a hand inside the dead data, tearing the wreckage in half very slowly and grinning evilly through the gap. He even had a suitably corny line worked out for his inevitable return, just to freak out everyone who witnessed his comeback.
"Heeeeeeeeeear's MEGA!" he shouted gleefully as he tore the wreckage clean in two, laughing insanely for no one to hear.
Rockman was back in the museum. Since it was on the Net, it was never closed, but it was kind of deserted, since it was midnight in Den town. Netto was asleep, but Rockman wanted to mull over the prophecy picture a bit more. He knew that Blues was around somewhere, but didn't feel like involving the red Navi in his speculations, since Blues had just been too depressing lately.
So imagine his surprise when a voice from behind him broke the silence of the room. "It's a pretty picture, but it isn't THAT captivating."
"I'm trying to figure out what it means, Blues," Rockman sighed, not even bothering to turn around.
There was silence, and Rockman assumed the Blues had moved on. However, a quiet voice next to his ear nearly made him wet himself. "I'm insulted."
Rockman whirled about and stared into the face of a Navi that had sworn to kill him at least three times. "FORTE! What . . . what are you DOING here?"
"Well," the black Navi said, pretending to look at his nails, "I originally came here to kill you, but you seem to have found quite the interesting relic." Forte's tone was so nonchalant that it sent chills up and down Rockman's spine.
"Don't toy with me, Forte . . ." Rockman stammered.
"You know, ever since I awakened, the only thing I've ever thought about was trying to destroy you," Forte continued. "Ever since Gospel dragged me from the darkness inside of Alpha, all I've ever wanted was to see you die a slow, torturous death. You were all I could remember, and all I hated, but I took some time to think . . ." Forte mused, looking the old picture. "And now that I think about it, another name springs to the front of my mind. Someone I hated more than you." Forte turned to look at Rockman. "Do you know who that might be?"
"Er . . . Serenade?" Rockman ventured.
Forte looked at him for a while, and then tilted his head to the side. "No," he said in a confused tone. Obviously, the mention of the king of the Undernet had stirred some unexpected memory within Forte, but he quickly dismissed it. "No, no, no. The name I'm thinking of is . . . Megaman."
Rockman gasped. "What? Wh . . . why bring that up now?"
"Because he isn't dead."
"WHAT? But we killed him! We blew him away and I reclaimed Saito.bat! He can't be alive, it isn't possible!" Rockman exclaimed.
Blues was suddenly there, drawn by the noise. "Forte!" he shouted in surprise. "Shit!"
Forte looked at the red Navi impassively. "Unfortunate person whose name escapes me for the moment," he said in mock surprise. "How have you been?"
"Er . . . fine?" Blues tried. Then he collected himself. "What are you doing here?"
Forte gave Blues an innocent look. "I'm just having a friendly chat with my blue friend here, and-"
"Blues, Forte says Megaman's back!" Rockman burst out in a worried tone.
"WHAT?"
"Tsk, tsk," Forte shook his head, "it's RUDE to interrupt!" He gave Rockman a solid punch in the face that knocked the blue Navi over. "Now then, where was I? AH, yes, Megaman. The only other name I remember. From what I can gather, he is alive, and on his way here."
"Here . . .? Why?" Blues asked.
Forte turned to look at the picture. "This, I believe."
"Huh?"
"I remember two names. Rockman and Megaman. But I also remember something of this legend . . ." Forte looked along the length of the picture. "Seeing it stirred a memory. It is not read in the normal manner, but rather in the opposite direction. Starting with . . . oh dear, the picture isn't complete . . ."
Blues could only watch, dumbfounded, as the black, cloaked Navi began to doodle on the wall next to the picture. What he drew was a crude stick figure, and then three arrows that pointed to the three left-most figures.
"Yes, that's better!" Forte said with a slight amount of satisfaction. He clapped his hands, and then pointed to his art. "From one source comes the Light, the Dark, and the Neutral. That's the three colors. These three must face the four guardians, the first of which can not be found without Dark to guide the way. Then, the trio must pass every guardian's test to be guided to the ultimate power. Only the Neutral may USE the power, however, because any other use of the power will tip the scales and create a wave that will destroy the world."
Rockman slowly stood up. "What are you talking about? They already knew about that . . ."
"Ah, yes, so I see," Forte said, looking at the translation. "But, unfortunately, they left out an important part. The wave that destroys the world will happen anyway."
"What?" Rockman asked. "Then what's the point?"
"Because with Light's guidance, the world can be saved from the wave of Armageddon." Forte nodded.
"Deep," Blues whistled.
"How do you KNOW all of this?" Rockman asked the black Navi, who simply smiled.
"Because I am the herald of Armageddon, and I know when its time is nigh. And it is nigh-ing all over the place right now." Forte smiled.
"What are you saying?" Rockman asked. "You're not making any sense."
Forte got close to Rockman's face, smiling. "I'm saying that Megaman is coming, and he's going to help save the world."