Darkness in Dentech City
Ryu-san: ::reads all reviews:: Well now I'm happy. The reviews keep coming and I don't even see one bad one. I just hope I can keep writing this good throughout the story. Now to answer some reviews, since I failed to do so in Ch. 3.
Rock Raider-I'm not sure about all those guys, since I've only seen the NT Warrior series on the WB (God, that dub is childish, but what're ya gonna do, eh?) and I've only played a few of the games (MM7, MMX1). Higsby and NumberMan I'll throw in for more comedy relief, I guess. The most recent episode of NT Warrior was the one that intro'd Princess Pride and KnightMan. Hmm... I think Pride has a thing for Lan. I mean, I know they're good friends who haven't seen each other for a while, but still, what's with all the loving hugs she gave him, eh? If anyone disagrees, that's cool. This is a Lan/Maylu fic, after all. Anyways, for a surprise, I'm gonna throw in an old villain for everyone (even Wily and Dracula) to contend with. I'm sure you'll be pleased with who I have in store for all.
Jill-Thanks for the extinguisher, but so far, I probably won't need it. I'll store it somewhere just in case... I was mainly worried that people might bash me for including Agent Smith and turning this into a story with 'stupid' crossovers. I read another Megaman fic ('Rockman EXE: The College Years' by Anime Master ZERO. Great fic and I highly recommend it to y'all) and a few flamed him because he included some Yu-Gi-Oh references and 'Hate Incarnate', Seto Kaiba (who Chaud acts a lot like, come to think of it).
Erick-Genryusai-I'll think about that, but thanks for the suggestion.
WarPrince2000-Is it just me or do you say the same thing to everybody's fics?
Yuuokae-Thanks for the compliments. Much appreciated. But one thing, Mr. Match, Maddy, Yahoot, and Count Zap are now good guys... sorta. I just thought it'd be a good idea that after the PharoahMan Incident, with Wily temporarily gone (until now, obviously), they'd quit and become ordinary thieves, trying to live their lives. They still like to bug Lan and his friends, but they don't do it as much as they used to.
MD 1428-I was just thinking about that Alucard and Maria idea myself. I loved Symphony of the Night. Best... Castlevania game... ever! I might just put that in. Thanks.
Ok, now with most of everyone's questions answered here (except for who would win in Mega vs. Smith), let the next chappy begin!
Disclaimer: See previous chappies.
This chapter is rated PG-13 for language, violence, and a couple of sexual jokes involving Lan having a bit of a wild imagination...
A/N: My apologies if some of this seems a bit angsty. I usually don't like the angst stuff, but hey, it fits the mood for this chap. Also, for those expecting a ton of cool moves from Smith, please be aware that I've only seen the first Matrix (when there was only one Smith and there was that cool fight between Neo and Smith in a subway station), so please bear with me. I'm trying to do the best I can with this and I'm not sure if the fight scenes I write are any good or not. Lastly, this chapter's a bit long and after the Mega vs. Smith fight, the rest focuses on the aftermath of the invasion. I still hope you guys'll still read it anyway. Y'all seem to like it so far.
Chapter 4: Losses, Vows, and Some Plans
In an alley somewhere in NetCity, there lay a beaten, one-armed, blue NetNavi named MegaMan. His right arm was missing, cut off at the shoulder, loose data oozing out. The rest of his body was covered with cuts, bruises, and wounds. Yes, he had definitely seen better days. His face had a look of terror and pain, his mouth slowly moving, uttering one word over and over again...
"Roll..."
As he lay there, mumbling the name of the girl he had been dreaming of since his creation, memories of the last 13 minutes played in his head, taunting his already wounded ego and wrenching his distraught heart...
Flashback, 13 minutes ago...
Agent Smith.EXE had just finished his declaration of placing Roll under arrest when MegaMan charged at him and gave him a few punches. But all of them had missed due to Smith calmly taking steps backward. "Really now... With that kinda response, people like me would think you're a criminal, Mr. Mega" Smith said, his face staying just the same, calm and cold. "You're trying to take my girlfriend, who didn't do anything in the first place. Why wouldn't I defend her?" the Blue Bomber said, giving out another round of rapid punches. But instead of backing off, Smith just stood there and moved his right arm, somehow blocking all of MegaMan's agile blows. Both Mega and Roll distinctly notice his arm moving like a semi-blur. "What the!? Impossible! You couldn't have blocked all that" gawked the blue Navi. Smith remained silent, as if daring him to attack again.
MegaMan backed away slowly, stole a glance at a worried Roll, and then ran toward the Agent, going for a jump kick. But just as MegaMan jumped toward the dark program, everything seemed to slow down to a delusional crawl. (A/N: Yes, I'm putting Bullet Time in this fic. Cool, isn't it?) Smith also jumped, but only a little higher than the Bomber. He did a forward flip as MegaMan flew below him and just when he straightened himself out, he jammed both feet on the back of the blue Navi's head, which sent him skidding on the ground, face first. The Agent landed on his feet, still unharmed. That's when everything sped up to normal.
"Mega!" cried a panic-stricken Roll, trying to resist the urge to just run to him and cradle him in her arms. Her hero started to get up, his face quite scratched up from the gravel raking it. "Haven't had enough yet, Mr. Mega?" the Agent said, still calm. "Hey Lan! I need help here! Lan? Are you there?! Lan!" MegaMan yelled, hoping for a BattleChip. No response. Nothing. All quiet. The Agent just snickered. "What's so funny, Mr. FBI?" the Blue Bomber asked, not liking the snickering at all. "No response from your NetOp, huh? That must mean that one of my superiors' problems in the real world has been... dealt with..." Smith sneered, intimidating them with a light smirk.
"Dealt with? You mean someone... killed Lan?!!" he gasped, causing Roll to gasp in turn and try to contact Maylu, she also getting no response. "Most likely. And I'm betting that my superiors have also taken care of Ms. Roll's NetOp also. She has also been a huge thorn in their side. I'm guessing that they were one of the first to fall to the minions..." Smith laughed, turning to the pink Navi so that he could see her suffering. Roll did start to cry, but only a little. "Maylu-chan... Lan... They can't be dead..." she sniffled, trying to glare at the evil program. "You monster!!! I don't believe you!" Mega yelled, bringing out his arm cannon and blasting Smith with the ferocity of a machinegun. Smith just stood there for a moment, absorbing every shot that MegaMan fired. Then, he charged at the Navi and started fighting him.
15 seconds of punching, kicking, and blocking later, Smith decided to show off his real skill. First of all, he ducked down and tripped MegaMan with a foot sweep. Then, while Mega was still in the air, Smith grabbed one of his feet, swung him around, and threw him at a wall. Soon, Mega slowly got up, coughing. He glared at the Agent, who ran up to him, pinned him to the wall, and started to punch him. Roll watched as the Agent's fists were practically blurs, pummeling her MegaMan with a hundred punches a second. Then, Smith took a step back and slammed his foot into Mega's chest, keeping it there for a few seconds as he glared at the hero.
"Is this the best that the MegaMan, the city's greatest hero, the infamous Blue Bomber, can do? How could a Navi like you stop my superiors so?" Smith mocked, calm as always, before he released Mega from the foot- wall sandwich. MegaMan fought to stand his ground. After a few seconds, he got his bearings and stood up straight, facing the agent. His upper body, since he had left his armor and helmet in the PET ("Why would anyone wear armor on a date?" quote Mega), was covered with bruises, loose data bleeding from his mouth. "You should surrender Ms. Roll to me now before you suffer even greater pain" suggested Smith, smirking evilly.
"Never... I'll never let you have her while I'm still breathing!" Mega declared, glaring hatefully at the sneering Agent. "Such dedication to your loved one... So touching... Too bad my programming doesn't include a heart" Smith egged on, trying to blind Mega with rage. Mega just stood his ground. "Yeah... Well, good thing ya don't have a heart. I mean, who'd love a heartless, ugly jerk like you who dresses up like a freakin' FBI guy and tries to kidnap heroes' girlfriends anyway? Must be hard to get any girl to go with ya, huh? Aww... Too bad. The only way you can ever get a girl is by kidnapping. How sad it is to be a perverted loser like you..." Mega spat back, the battle temporarily turning into a battle of wits. Smith growled almost inaudibly, unable to top that verbal uppercut, and decided that the insults end here by charging at MegaMan. Just as Smith was about to strike, MegaMan quickly sidestepped and whirled around so that Smith was between the Blue Bomber and the wall. The heroic Navi didn't waste any time and punched Smith the second he stepped behind the Agent... but ended up hitting the wall. Along with the pain of fist meeting brick, he felt a powerful blow in his gut, knocking the wind out of him. Smith had ducked down and punched his opponent. (A/N: Think of Johnny Cage's 'Nut Punch' move in Mortal Kombat games, except that the punch wasn't aimed at Mega's nuts. I already did a segment on being hit there...)
While Mega stumbled back, Smith also didn't waste any chances and kicked Mega's head and then, while the Blue Bomber was trying to stop a nosebleed, used both his hands for 2 forceful open-palm strikes simultaneously. That sent Mega flying back a few feet before slamming on the ground. A minute later, Mega barely got up, his face a mess of bleeding data. He began to wish he could Style Change... or at least get a MiniBoomer BattleChip... Meanwhile, on the sideline, Roll wished she could do something, anything to help MegaMan. She decided to attack the Agent right then and there, since he's too busy with MegaMan. So she ran up to him, ready to slap Smith silly. But, as if he knew she was there, Smith stepped backward and stuck his foot forward, causing Roll to trip and fall on her face. "Ow!" she cried, her cute little nose beginning to bleed. "Roll! Are you ok?" Mega cried, running up to her, but before he could get to her, Smith was somehow behind him. He grabbed the Navi by his neck and picked him up off the ground, choking him.
Mega struggled and flailed and kicked. This caused his right fist to hit Smith across the face, knocking the shades off of him and breaking them. Smith frowned, then bared his teeth. "I liked those shades...!" he calmly snarled, dropping Mega like a rock. Before the Navi could hit the ground, Smith kicked him like a football, sending him sprawling up in the air. Smith launched himself in the air, flying toward MegaMan to do some more damage. Before the Agent could land another blow, the Blue Bomber got over the shock from the punt, spun himself around in the air, and using the momentum to deliver a kick to Smith's head, just as Smith threw a punch at him. Smith was disoriented by the kick's impact on his face, but quickly straightened himself out. MegaMan landed on his back, agitating some of his wounds. The Navi also got up quickly, not paying attention to the pain of his wounds, thanks to a second wind.
Still enraged by the fact that the black-haired, blue-clothed hero called MegaMan had the nerve to break his shades, Smith dived down fists- first like a missile, hoping to bash in his opponent's head. MegaMan rolled aside as Smith hit the ground, his fists creating two holes in the concrete ground. The Agent pulled his broken hands out of the ground and resumed his assault, which MegaMan kept dodging and countering. 'Ha! He's too angry to use any of those strange high-speed attacks' thought Mega, as he noticed that the kung-fu fighting seemed fair this time. Roll noticed this too. 'Go Mega... Teach this freak what's what... You can do it... That's it. Duck, right, punch! Down, left, kick! Left, down, right, punch! Huh? Why did that sound like I'm reading off how to do moves from a fighting game? Oh whatever! Get 'em, Mega-kun!' her train of thought ran on.
MegaMan was about to block another punch, which was aimed at his head, when he somehow felt it in his gut. Smith then tried to kick Mega's left side. Mega was prepared to block when his head was somehow hit by the very kick he was trying to block. 'What the?! What hit me?' thought the Blue Bomber, as another invisible kick made contact with his right leg. "Mega! He's psyching you out! He's using attacks too fast for the eyes while fooling you with slower ones!" cried Roll, who had used her mental computer to analyze the last attack in super slow-mo. "Feh... Tattletale..." Smith accused at her as he attacked MegaMan again. The heroic Navi jumped back and decided to keep his distance while Smith was able to do that. He brought out his arm cannon again. "Didn't you learn from the last time?" sneered Smith. "Yeah. But you never gave me the chance to load it up to full power, like you're doing now" MegaMan said, returning the sneer. He fired a huge energy blast at Smith, hoping to do some decent damage. (A/N: Remember that powered-up blaster ability from the old MegaMan games?)
In case the blast didn't work, Mega jumped up, flying in Smith's direction, to ambush him while he was distracted by the energy. Smith scoffed, turned around, and before the energy could hit him, he fell backward and did a soccer-style bicycle kick, rebounding the blast up to where MegaMan jumped up to. Before the Blue Bomber could do anything to dodge, his own attack hit him, sending him back to the ground. "How...?!!!" Roll gasped, wishing she had enough strength to help her boyfriend. She watched as Smith ran up to where Mega fell.
After a few seconds of staring coldly down over his opponent, Smith grabbed Mega's right arm and pulled it, stretching it straight out. While he had it there, he used his other hand to do a quick, but very powerful karate chop, cutting Mega's right arm off.
Everyone in a 5 block radius, virus and Navi alike, heard MegaMan's scream, causing them to stop the battle for a moment and wonder what the heck was going on...
Back in the alley, Smith held the detached right arm in his hand while MegaMan rolled around on the ground in agony, a shocked and sobbing Roll trying to use her healing abilities, but failing because she was too shocked by Lan and Maylu's so-called 'deaths' and by Mega's horrible injury to focus on her magic. "Mega..." she sobbed, trying at least to stop his frantic flailing.
But Roll was suddenly grabbed by Smith and put over his shoulders. "Strong, but not strong enough, Mr. Mega. I'd stay, but I have business to attend to. Oh, and about what happened, your defiance caused you an arm this time. Just make sure it doesn't cost you a leg too from now on" he said, laughing at his own sick joke and dropping the severed arm. Just as it hit the ground, the arm disappeared into broken data, which floated away and vanished. Agent Smith.EXE logged out, taking the still frantic Roll with him...
End Flashback
MegaMan wished he could've been stronger for Roll's sake. He felt like it was his fault Roll was taken. Here he was, broken and beaten, while Roll was who-knows-where, suffering some horrible fate by that Agent's stupid 'superiors'... He wished he knew what happened with Lan. Indeed, he was mad at Agent Smith for even suggesting that Lan and Maylu were dead. He seriously doubted Smith's claim and he knew that Roll, crying as she was, didn't believe him either.
Then, his thoughts began to turn to the Agent himself. How could he move so fast? He remembered the moment when he had impossibly blocked all the punches of his second speedy assault, when he somehow ducked when he had tried to punch him point-blank, and the part when his attacks came out from nowhere. Did he have some secret agility upgrade? A new weapon that increases speed tenfold? Just tons and tons of fighting experience? MegaMan couldn't figure out what powered that crazy program.
Frustrated, he tried to get himself up, trying not to agitate his sore body too much, especially his right shoulder, which leaked data like a leaky faucet. However, his body felt as fragile as a brittle china plate. It took him two and a half minutes for him to get to his knees. "Lan... Where are you... I really need to log out..." he grunted as he tried to get to his feet. However, he fell down again. A minute later, he rolled over onto his back and looked up into the night sky, wishing that someone would help.
And that's when he saw a very familiar skeleton Navi...
The next morning, Lan slowly woke up, wondering how he fell asleep during his date with Maylu. Then, before he got his eyes fully open, it all came back to him. Cyborg monsters, battles breaking out, him attacking one of them, a steel gargoyle throwing him through a window, Maylu in danger, him trying to save her, the gargoyle punching him out, and Maylu being kidnapped. "Maylu!!!" he cried, quickly sitting up. However, he saw that he was in a bedroom. Sunlight poured in from the nearby window, lighting up the room. He looked around and saw that the master bedroom was decorated by kanji depicting arcane magic, mystical artifacts, strange art about angels, demons, and warriors, and a certain crystal ball. Even the tables and wardrobe had some sort of mysterious décor or item on them.
It was very clear whose house he was in. "Miyu..." he muttered as he got out of the fancy bed he slept in. That's when he realized that his head ached a bit. He walked to the window and stared out at the city, thinking. "Argh... Did last night even happen?!" he said out loud, the whole situation still impossible for him to believe. "If not, then what am I doing at Miyu's, wearing almost nothing?" he wondered, suddenly noticing the lack of clothes, save for his underwear. "I guess she found me and took me here..." he shrugged. He still wondered where his clothes went when a crazy thought hit him. "Oh no! Did we...?" he asked, trying to think of what his parents would think about losing his virginity to a girl he barely knows without even knowing it. "Oh what am I talking about?! She wouldn't do that!" he snapped, slapping himself in the face. He began to question whether he was losing his mind or not. "Strange metal monsters? Maylu's gone? Miyu screwing me? Argh! I really need some answers here..." he groaned, leaning his head against the window and making his headache worse.
He heard the door open and turned to see Miyu wearing nothing but a closed-up bathrobe. She had just come out of the shower. 'Miyu actually wearing something normal? That's something ya don't see everyday' he thought, remembering how he always saw her in some mystical get-up. "Good morning, Lan..." said Miyu, sounding mournful. "Morning, Miyu... Listen, I think something weird's going on. First" "You went out with Maylu on a date, you got interrupted by semi-mechanical monsters, Maylu got kidnapped, you got knocked out, and then you woke up here in my bedroom, wondered what went on and what you're doing almost naked, and a minute ago you thought that somehow we made love, yes?" the psychic interrupted, smirking a little at him for a moment. "Uhhh... Yeah?" Lan said, again amazed at her talent. He blushed from her knowing about his thoughts. "You, my friend, have one offbeat imagination there. Relax, Lan. We didn't do it at all. I know how much you like a certain redhead. All I did was bring you here and check you for injuries. Thankfully, there's nothing but bumps and bruises, despite that you got thrown through a window and got punched by a metal fist" she responded, picking up her crystal ball. "Phew! So that's why I'm nearly naked... So do you know what that invasion was about?" he asked, remembering Maylu crying out for him as she was flown off. "It was as you saw it. Cyborg monsters did invade part of Dentech, the citizens caught in the chaos came out with serious or minor injuries, and Maylu was taken away, as well as around half of Dentech's female population. She's gone, Lan. I'm sorry..." the psychic said, feeling sorry for the poor boy.
Lan sighed, feeling down. He felt tears well up when he remembered his promise to Mrs. Sakurai to take good care of her daughter. "Feh... Some job I did of taking good care of Maylu... I let her get kidnapped by a group of freaks... Her mom's gonna be so mad at me..." he said, knowing that his girlfriend's mother's yelling is the least of his problems. Miyu led him back to the bed so he could lie back down. "Sigh... I don't know what I can say, Lan... Getting Maylu and the other women back won't be easy at all" she said, watching Lan as he brooded.
"What about MegaMan? I think I left my PET back at that restaurant" Lan asked, suddenly remembering his partner. "More bad news... It appears NetCity suffered the same type of invasion. I found your PET for you. As far as MegaMan goes, SkullMan found him in horrible shape. He was bleeding data all over, he could barely move, and his right arm has been cut off completely. He told SkullMan that Roll has been taken too... Again, I apologize" she said. Shocked again, Lan looked into his PET and saw a recovering, unconscious MegaMan, his arm halfway regenerated and half his bruises gone. "What happened to him?" he asked, wondering why everything's going so terribly wrong. "A rogue program, a type of cyber-mercenary that follows orders to the letter. Rogue programs can have a wide range of powerful and sometimes strange and new powers and abilities. This one must've been quite a doozy to deal that much damage to MegaMan, the Savior of NetCity..." she explained, noticing Lan putting his hands to his head as if he suffered from a migraine.
"Who's responsible for this!?" Lan growled, having had enough of bad news. Maylu's kidnapping, both Dentech and NetCity being invaded, his Navi beaten up, his Navi's girlfriend also taken, and he just realized that his other close friends could also be in major trouble... It was all he could stand and he had to do something. "Dr. Wily. In NetCity, SkullMan saw StoneMan and BlasterMan among the invaders, along with some strange new Navis. Apparently, this was just his entrance..." Miyu said, handing him fresh clothes. Lan got up and immediately got dressed, inwardly fuming at how devastating Wily's ambush was. 'Is this Wily's idea of revenge? If so, then it worked. He actually managed to win one. But he won't for long. MegaMan and I will save Maylu and anyone else the 'good doctor' took hostage. That I promise' he declared to himself, completely silent for once as he dressed.
"Lan, I have something to give you. I believe it could help you in the rescue mission you intend to go on" said Miyu, reading his mind again. She walked over to a picture of a handsome, blonde, young man wearing a fancy, medieval-type outfit. 'Leon Belmont' the caption on the bottom of the portrait read. She pressed a hidden button on the side of the huge painting of the warrior, then pulled it open, like a door. Inside was a hidden vault. Miyu quickly twirled the lock back and forth, knowing the combination by heart. Then, she opened the safe. Inside, there was a sealed chest, which she took out. "In this case, there is an ancient weapon that was the bane of any unholy being unfortunate enough to come across its owner. Now that there are monsters unleashed upon our world once again as well as their hellish master, I feel that it is time for this weapon to have a new owner" the blue-haired psychic said, giving the case to Lan.
Lan set the old case on a table and opened it only to find nothing but an even older whip inside. However, there was no dust or cobwebs on it. Nor were there any signs of age on the centuries-old weapon. "A whip? What's so special about a whip?" he asked, grabbing the handle and pulling it out, unraveling it. He gave it a light flick, whipping the open air. "That very whip is known as the Vampire Killer. It is the weapon that has defeated the King of Vampires, Dracula, more than once. The Vampire Killer has been passed down the Belmont family's bloodline for centuries now, since Dracula has returned more than once to wreak more mayhem. However, the Belmont bloodline is thinning and we've no time to find the current descendents. But you, Lan... You have shown us all again and again that you have what it takes to be a true hero" Miyu said, smiling a little at him. "I have?" Lan said, as if thinking that World 3 and Grave were nothing but petty rivals, like Chaud. "Yes. You're brave enough to stand up to whatever danger surrounds you, your loyalty to your friends is strong and unwavering, you would risk your life to save others, even those you don't know, you never give up on anybody or anything, since you're so stubborn sometimes, and you have a good heart and would never hurt anybody, except those who deserve it, of course"
"Thank you, Miyu... First time I got told how much of a hero I am... I mean, I celebrate with my friends and all, but really, no one else ever thanked me or anything" Lan said, blushing at the psychic's compliment. "Well, that's because word doesn't get out very much. People know a little of your deeds, but the media thinks that a simple 'the crisis has been averted' would do just fine to settle people. But you wouldn't care about being famous, would you?" she said, smirking. "Nope. Even though playing the hero is kinda exciting, I like being a normal guy. But then again... Being a hero has its downfalls as well..." he said, referring to Dr. Wily kidnapping Maylu and Roll, among those taken. "I know, Lan. But, with great power comes great responsibility..." said Miyu, coining a phrase made famous by a certain web-slinger. (A/N: Anybody gonna see Spider-Man 2? I know I will!) "Yeah... Ya got a point. MegaMan and I'll make sure that everyone returns safely. I beat World 3 many times before, so this should be no problem" Lan said, calmed by the fact that he knows how Wily acts.
"Now you're talking. By the way, I have done you the favor of loading a map of where Wily's new base is in your PET. I managed to put a tracer on one of those flying freaks as they tried to take me. Obviously, they failed" she said, smirking in a way that silently said 'No way I'm going down without a fight'. "Ok. Thank you for your help, Miyu. I really appreciate you saving me back there. I owe you one, big time" he said, going to the door. "You're very welcome" the psychic said, smiling at the young hero and hoping that he does succeed.
"Oh, by the way, what did you mean when you said that the monsters' 'hellish master' was also loose?" Lan asked, looking curiously at the whip. "Dracula has escaped and has formed a deadly alliance with Wily" Miyu simply responded, her smile fading at the subject. "Oh... What?! I'm fighting a Vampire King too?! Jeez! That'll make our job a lot harder...!" groaned Lan, opening the bedroom door. "One more thing, Lan..." Miyu said, which halted his actions. "Yeah?" he asked, looking back at her. "Your fortune for your adventure... Remember that you are not the only true hero in Dentech City. Oh, and that sometime during your mission, you can expect help from an unexpected source" she advised, looking into her crystal ball. "Ok. Later, Miyu. I hope this isn't the last time I say goodbye to you..." he said as he left the bedroom and then left her home. Miyu just had a knowing look on her face, as if she knew whether he'd come back alive or not...
Lan decided to head toward the treehouse hideout at Yai's to see if anyone had heard about Wily's invasion. 'What if Yai got taken too? Sigh... Wily's gone too far this time, interrupting my date with Maylu and taking hostages...' he mentally grumbled. His thoughts turned to Dracula and how the heck he was gonna beat up a powerful lord of the undead along with the mad doctor. He was so deep in thought that he almost didn't realize that he'd arrived at Yai's mansion.
However, it seems that the richest girl in Dentech had some very unwanted company...
Her front gate was ripped off and pieces of it were scattered on the ground. There were also a few holes in the front wall, as if some of the undead were too impatient to wait for someone to destroy the gate. Lan was scared by this and went to the doorbell/intercom.
"Yai! Yai, are you there?! It's me, Lan! Are you alright?!" he said, hoping that she had somehow got away unscathed. No response. Not even the harsh sound of static. He ran through the front gate and ran toward the mansion, which took 5 minutes, since she owned the biggest courtyard anyone's ever seen. He saw that the front door had also been broken down. There were also some claw marks left on the wall around the main door. He ran in and saw that the lobby looked like a tornado ran through it. Apparently, the 'tornado' had really injured someone, for there were a couple of bloodstains on the wall opposite him.
'God, I hope that isn't Yai's blood...' he thought as he ran through the lobby and into the next room, suddenly reminded of the first Resident Evil game. All the rooms he went through had the same kind of harsh treatment. Broken furniture, scattered debris, misplaced items, and, in the office rooms, papers everywhere. As he checked every room, Lan called out for Yai. No response whatsoever. Then, he came to her bedroom. He had never been in there before, since Yai said it was off-limits to anyone... except herself of course. 'Argh! Forget her little boundaries! I have to find her!' he thought as he opened the doors to her room.
The first thing he noticed about Yai's bedroom was that it was obviously one of the biggest rooms in the whole mansion, next to the dining room and ball room. The second thing he noticed was that it, like all the other rooms, was a total mess. In a corner on the other side of the room was a huge plasma screen TV with an Xbox, GameCube, and PS2 lying in front of it. The TV itself was broken, a huge chunk of wood sticking out of it. Her luxurious bed, with pink silk curtains surrounding it and its own roof high above it, was a ruffled mess, claw marks in its expensive blankets and mattress and its curtains torn in places. Lan was reminded again of Yai's huge fetish for strawberry milk when he saw a 5-gallon vat labeled 'Imported Strawberry Milk' in a corner of the room to his left, next to a soft, very comfortable recliner. 'Duh...' was his first thought when he saw the vat. That thought was followed by an 'Oh man...' when he saw that the vat had been punctured by, he guessed, a huge gargoyle's fist and a puddle of wasted strawberry milk covered that corner of the room. The recliner lay on its side, the leg-rest part was cut off, as if a sword sliced it. The rest of the room was a complete mess of scattered manga, CDs, toys, and stuffed animals. 'Poor Yai...' he thought, still hoping that she somehow got away.
That's when he heard something from a steel door at the center of the wall on his right. It sounded like someone or something was moving around in there. He moved slowly to the bank vault-like door, wondering if it could be Yai. He suddenly realized that it could be a left behind monster, so he put his right hand on his new whip as his left hand gripped the steel lever that was the doorknob. '3... 2... 1... Now!' he thought, turning the lever and rapidly pulling the door, expecting a claw or a sword to come flying out toward him. But nothing attacked.
Inside was a smaller but dark room, filled with fancy girl's clothes and items. It was the biggest walk-in closet Lan had ever been in. He fumbled for a lightswitch, which he soon found, and turned on the lights to get a better view of everything. For a moment, it looked like there was no one in the closet. But then, from the corner of his eyes, he saw a few of the hanged clothes slightly move. Walking toward that set of outfits, he could hear soft, rapid breathing, the breathing of a scared person. He knelt down, which resulted in whoever was in there letting out a gasp. Then, he reached in to pull the hidden survivor out, which resulted in the person screaming. Lan jumped back, surprised. It was a girl's scream. And yet, the scream was familiar...
"Yai?" he asked, the outfits the girl's hiding behind shaking a bit again. Then, the shaking stopped. "L..Lan? Is that you?" the girl said, still frightened by his attempt to pull her out. "Yeah... I saw your house in ruins and came looking for you..." he said as a short, blonde girl crawled out from under the hanging clothes. She stood up, looked at Lan, and began crying in his arms. Feeling sorry for her, he put his arms around her, comforting her. Again, he was reminded of his current problems.
"So what happened here, Yai? Did monsters get you too?" he asked. "Monsters? How'd you know?" she asked, surprised that he knew about it, much less believed her. "I was on a date with Maylu... We were having a great time... until we got attacked by these half-metal deadheads and winged androids. They were attacking everyone they saw. I tried to help everyone, but I got tossed aside... and Maylu... they took her..." he said, again feeling deflated and enraged at the same time. "Maylu's gone too?! Oh God no...!" Yai wailed. To her, Maylu was like the sister she never had. The redhead wasn't rich, of course, but Yai liked her anyway.
"Yai, was someone here taken?" Lan asked, feeling another urge to storm Wily's new base and kick his ass for good. "Yes... All my maids... They tried to protect me and hide me, but..." she sniffled before sobbing again. Lan was silent, not knowing how he could ever comfort her with such chaos happening. "My maids... They always took the best care of me... They didn't even care about their pay either, I don't think... I may act spoiled sometimes, I admit, but I always made sure that my servants got the best treatment..." she managed to get out, completely broken down.
"Yai, I promise that I'll help you get your maids back, along with everyone else that got taken. I was found by Miyu and she told me all that's going on, where Wily's hiding, and she even gave me something to help me deal with the undead" he said, showing her his new whip. Yai had that same confused look he had when Miyu showed him the whip, so Lan began explaining everything, the invasion, the attack on NetCity, Roll's kidnapping, Mega's beatdown, the kidnapping of women, and Dracula. Yai listened and tried to let everything sink in.
"Jeez... All this in one night... Sigh... This must be the saddest day I've ever had... This even tops the time when Grave sucked my money account dry with MagnetMan... Speaking of NetNavis, Glyde even had to Style Change to deal with a strange Navi that appeared in out security systems. It looked gross... A giant ball made of human corpses..." Yai sighed, sitting down. She was silent for a moment. "Lan, thank you for your help, promising that you'll get everyone back and all. I mean it... However, this all sounds very dangerous... You're very brave, but how can you beat a vampire and an army of monster with only a whip?" she asked, trying not to imagine a lone Lan surrounded by a large number of Hell's gruesome residents. But her imagination got to her anyway, causing her to get all the more worried about Lan. "I dunno... I wish I could have some help with this..." he admitted, his mind unconsciously thinking of how many minions could be hiding within Wily's base.
"Relax. I'll call the others and see if they wanna help stop Wily. Besides, the mansion also has a hidden armory with a ton of weapons and armor we could use. We can arm ourselves with whatever we want, and then we can fly out to Wily's and storm his base. Hmm... I figure that if we ambush the base while they're guard is down after such an attack, Wily and ol' Bats'll have to keep the minions at the base to deal with us. We'll be armed enough, I think" Yai said, trying to think of strategies she learned from playing a lot of strategy RPG's on her game consoles. "That's cool. I hope everybody'll want to help. It'll take a lot of courage to be willin' to go through with this..." Lan said, remembering his first fight with the undead, trying to save Maylu from being kidnapped.
Suddenly, they heard familiar voices, calling out Yai's name. It sounded like Dex, Tory, and even Chaud had seen the damage and came to investigate. "Least we won't have to call them" Lan said, shrugging as he got up and helped Yai up. "Yeah" she responded, opening the steel closet door.
Lan and Yai found their friends (and rival) and tried to explain the situation. But when it came to the part about Maylu being kidnapped... Well... Let's see for ourselves...
"LAN, YOU IDIOT! YA LET MY MAYLU-CHAN GET KIDNAPPED BY A BUNCHA GOTH FREAKS WEARIN' ARMOR AND MAKEUP! I KNEW MAYLU NEEDED A REAL MAN TO DATE HER!" ranted Dex, angered that Lan was the favorite of Maylu yet he couldn't protect her. Tory and Chaud held him back, since he was struggling to give Lan a serious thrashing. Lan just sighed, feeling like he just had salt rubbed in his mental wounds. Yai, frustrated by Dex's rage and the ruckus he was making, stood up, marched to the fat teen, and slapped him across the face. "YOU INSENSITIVE JERK!!! Don'cha know that Lan was doing his very best to protect her!?! He was fighting monsters out there! Monsters! Not gothic humans in costumes! AND, he was completely outmatched, so it would be extremely difficult to fight all those steel freaks with nothing but fists, tables, and chairs! I can't believe you, Dex! Besides, Lan swore that he was gonna get every hostage back, including Maylu!" Yai snapped, her braided ponytails standing straight up in anger.
"But... But" Dex stammered, but Yai just grunted before sitting next to Lan, trying to calm herself and seeing if Lan was ok. "Dex, you really have gotta get over Maylu..." Chaud muttered, humiliated that he had to be witness to the fat dork's rants. "What'd you say, skunk-hair?!" Dex growled. "Ya heard me... Find another girl to obsess over" Chaud responded. "Guts no like what Skunk-Hair is telling Dex!" threatened GutsMan, only to receive a glare from ProtoMan. "Well, Dex did start it" IceMan said, as if the most obvious thing in the world. "If everyone would please calm down..." Glyde said, trying to reason with the two Navis, but failing. "What would you know about getting girls?! What? Do ya spray 'Ode de Skunk' cologne to go with your hairstyle?!" Dex snapped, proud of that joke. "How long did it take you to come up with that one? Your brain as slow as your feet?" Chaud countered, scoffing at GutsMan's NetOp. Dex and Chaud, along with their Navis, ended up in a glaring contest, making everyone else feel annoyed or uncomfortable. Yai's annoyance was building again, as anyone looking at her could tell with her face giving off a look of a flunked anger management patient. "HEY!!!" Tory shouted, shutting everyone up. "Thank you, Tory..." Lan said, his head pounding from the racket.
And so, the explanation continued, Lan and Yai telling them about Wily's involvement and his alliance with Dracula and what other info Miyu had told Lan. After the whole mess was straightened out, Yai stood up, borrowed Lan's PET, and used both the device and her computer to produce a projection of Miyu's map, showing the location of Wily's castle. Then, she started the briefing, a la drill sergeant. "Listen people, Dr. Wily has succeeded in his ambush, but odds are that during today, the base's guard might be down due to the attack force recovering from the strike by reorganizing themselves, stocking supplies, putting hostages away, possibly celebrating, etc., etc. If we arm ourselves with the weapons from my armory, take one of my jets, fly out to the area, and land a few miles away from the enemy base" she then pointed out an area a good distance southeast from Castlevania. "we can possibly sneak into it and start causing chaos until we find the captured women. We will also hack into the base's network so that our Navis can search for any captured Navis, defeating any virus in their path. Our objective is to first rescue the prisoners and grant them a safe passage out of the base. Then, we find Wily and Dracula and teach them a lesson for good! Understood!?" she snapped, taking her role as drill sergeant a bit too far.
"Ma'am, yes ma'am!" Lan, Tory, and Dex saluted. Chaud just nodded, still disliking her. With that, the briefing ended. "Alright... Follow me to the armory and I'll show ya the weapons my family has stored up" Yai ordered, walking to the double-doors and opening them, the others following her. 'Dr. Wily will pay. We will make sure of that... I just hope this situation doesn't get any worse than this' Lan thought as he walked with the others, following Yai to prepare once again to be the hero and kick around World 3.
But now that World 3 has the advantages of a devastating first strike and a good number of hostages, can the NetSaviors live up to their title once again? Or could this latest adventure lead to their downfall?
Ryu-san: Whew!!! Long chapter this time... Guess that's what I get when I get ideas and run with 'em. I hope you all enjoyed this chappy. Please review and tell me what y'all think. To those that voted for MegaMan to win the battle against Agent Smith, don't worry. They'll cross paths again later on.
Coming Attractions-The gang of heroes choose their weapons, get some new chips from Higsby's, and fly out toward Wily's base, Castlevania. MegaMan is finally repaired and operational, but that piece of good news is drowned out by a 'S.O.S.' email Lan receives from a familiar face, giving the NetSaviors more grief. As they land and sneak toward the castle, even more mystery presents itself as a mysterious figure is following them. What will happen as they try to get in through the front gate? What evil will they face inside? What can their NetNavis expect to face when they are jacked into the dark network? What is going on in the deathly corruption that is the mind of Wily? And whatever happened to the Ex-World 3 agents after the invasion? Chaos, counterstrikes, and conspiracies ahoy on the next chapter, 'Approaching Castlevania', coming out as soon as I can.
Ryu-san: ::reads all reviews:: Well now I'm happy. The reviews keep coming and I don't even see one bad one. I just hope I can keep writing this good throughout the story. Now to answer some reviews, since I failed to do so in Ch. 3.
Rock Raider-I'm not sure about all those guys, since I've only seen the NT Warrior series on the WB (God, that dub is childish, but what're ya gonna do, eh?) and I've only played a few of the games (MM7, MMX1). Higsby and NumberMan I'll throw in for more comedy relief, I guess. The most recent episode of NT Warrior was the one that intro'd Princess Pride and KnightMan. Hmm... I think Pride has a thing for Lan. I mean, I know they're good friends who haven't seen each other for a while, but still, what's with all the loving hugs she gave him, eh? If anyone disagrees, that's cool. This is a Lan/Maylu fic, after all. Anyways, for a surprise, I'm gonna throw in an old villain for everyone (even Wily and Dracula) to contend with. I'm sure you'll be pleased with who I have in store for all.
Jill-Thanks for the extinguisher, but so far, I probably won't need it. I'll store it somewhere just in case... I was mainly worried that people might bash me for including Agent Smith and turning this into a story with 'stupid' crossovers. I read another Megaman fic ('Rockman EXE: The College Years' by Anime Master ZERO. Great fic and I highly recommend it to y'all) and a few flamed him because he included some Yu-Gi-Oh references and 'Hate Incarnate', Seto Kaiba (who Chaud acts a lot like, come to think of it).
Erick-Genryusai-I'll think about that, but thanks for the suggestion.
WarPrince2000-Is it just me or do you say the same thing to everybody's fics?
Yuuokae-Thanks for the compliments. Much appreciated. But one thing, Mr. Match, Maddy, Yahoot, and Count Zap are now good guys... sorta. I just thought it'd be a good idea that after the PharoahMan Incident, with Wily temporarily gone (until now, obviously), they'd quit and become ordinary thieves, trying to live their lives. They still like to bug Lan and his friends, but they don't do it as much as they used to.
MD 1428-I was just thinking about that Alucard and Maria idea myself. I loved Symphony of the Night. Best... Castlevania game... ever! I might just put that in. Thanks.
Ok, now with most of everyone's questions answered here (except for who would win in Mega vs. Smith), let the next chappy begin!
Disclaimer: See previous chappies.
This chapter is rated PG-13 for language, violence, and a couple of sexual jokes involving Lan having a bit of a wild imagination...
A/N: My apologies if some of this seems a bit angsty. I usually don't like the angst stuff, but hey, it fits the mood for this chap. Also, for those expecting a ton of cool moves from Smith, please be aware that I've only seen the first Matrix (when there was only one Smith and there was that cool fight between Neo and Smith in a subway station), so please bear with me. I'm trying to do the best I can with this and I'm not sure if the fight scenes I write are any good or not. Lastly, this chapter's a bit long and after the Mega vs. Smith fight, the rest focuses on the aftermath of the invasion. I still hope you guys'll still read it anyway. Y'all seem to like it so far.
Chapter 4: Losses, Vows, and Some Plans
In an alley somewhere in NetCity, there lay a beaten, one-armed, blue NetNavi named MegaMan. His right arm was missing, cut off at the shoulder, loose data oozing out. The rest of his body was covered with cuts, bruises, and wounds. Yes, he had definitely seen better days. His face had a look of terror and pain, his mouth slowly moving, uttering one word over and over again...
"Roll..."
As he lay there, mumbling the name of the girl he had been dreaming of since his creation, memories of the last 13 minutes played in his head, taunting his already wounded ego and wrenching his distraught heart...
Flashback, 13 minutes ago...
Agent Smith.EXE had just finished his declaration of placing Roll under arrest when MegaMan charged at him and gave him a few punches. But all of them had missed due to Smith calmly taking steps backward. "Really now... With that kinda response, people like me would think you're a criminal, Mr. Mega" Smith said, his face staying just the same, calm and cold. "You're trying to take my girlfriend, who didn't do anything in the first place. Why wouldn't I defend her?" the Blue Bomber said, giving out another round of rapid punches. But instead of backing off, Smith just stood there and moved his right arm, somehow blocking all of MegaMan's agile blows. Both Mega and Roll distinctly notice his arm moving like a semi-blur. "What the!? Impossible! You couldn't have blocked all that" gawked the blue Navi. Smith remained silent, as if daring him to attack again.
MegaMan backed away slowly, stole a glance at a worried Roll, and then ran toward the Agent, going for a jump kick. But just as MegaMan jumped toward the dark program, everything seemed to slow down to a delusional crawl. (A/N: Yes, I'm putting Bullet Time in this fic. Cool, isn't it?) Smith also jumped, but only a little higher than the Bomber. He did a forward flip as MegaMan flew below him and just when he straightened himself out, he jammed both feet on the back of the blue Navi's head, which sent him skidding on the ground, face first. The Agent landed on his feet, still unharmed. That's when everything sped up to normal.
"Mega!" cried a panic-stricken Roll, trying to resist the urge to just run to him and cradle him in her arms. Her hero started to get up, his face quite scratched up from the gravel raking it. "Haven't had enough yet, Mr. Mega?" the Agent said, still calm. "Hey Lan! I need help here! Lan? Are you there?! Lan!" MegaMan yelled, hoping for a BattleChip. No response. Nothing. All quiet. The Agent just snickered. "What's so funny, Mr. FBI?" the Blue Bomber asked, not liking the snickering at all. "No response from your NetOp, huh? That must mean that one of my superiors' problems in the real world has been... dealt with..." Smith sneered, intimidating them with a light smirk.
"Dealt with? You mean someone... killed Lan?!!" he gasped, causing Roll to gasp in turn and try to contact Maylu, she also getting no response. "Most likely. And I'm betting that my superiors have also taken care of Ms. Roll's NetOp also. She has also been a huge thorn in their side. I'm guessing that they were one of the first to fall to the minions..." Smith laughed, turning to the pink Navi so that he could see her suffering. Roll did start to cry, but only a little. "Maylu-chan... Lan... They can't be dead..." she sniffled, trying to glare at the evil program. "You monster!!! I don't believe you!" Mega yelled, bringing out his arm cannon and blasting Smith with the ferocity of a machinegun. Smith just stood there for a moment, absorbing every shot that MegaMan fired. Then, he charged at the Navi and started fighting him.
15 seconds of punching, kicking, and blocking later, Smith decided to show off his real skill. First of all, he ducked down and tripped MegaMan with a foot sweep. Then, while Mega was still in the air, Smith grabbed one of his feet, swung him around, and threw him at a wall. Soon, Mega slowly got up, coughing. He glared at the Agent, who ran up to him, pinned him to the wall, and started to punch him. Roll watched as the Agent's fists were practically blurs, pummeling her MegaMan with a hundred punches a second. Then, Smith took a step back and slammed his foot into Mega's chest, keeping it there for a few seconds as he glared at the hero.
"Is this the best that the MegaMan, the city's greatest hero, the infamous Blue Bomber, can do? How could a Navi like you stop my superiors so?" Smith mocked, calm as always, before he released Mega from the foot- wall sandwich. MegaMan fought to stand his ground. After a few seconds, he got his bearings and stood up straight, facing the agent. His upper body, since he had left his armor and helmet in the PET ("Why would anyone wear armor on a date?" quote Mega), was covered with bruises, loose data bleeding from his mouth. "You should surrender Ms. Roll to me now before you suffer even greater pain" suggested Smith, smirking evilly.
"Never... I'll never let you have her while I'm still breathing!" Mega declared, glaring hatefully at the sneering Agent. "Such dedication to your loved one... So touching... Too bad my programming doesn't include a heart" Smith egged on, trying to blind Mega with rage. Mega just stood his ground. "Yeah... Well, good thing ya don't have a heart. I mean, who'd love a heartless, ugly jerk like you who dresses up like a freakin' FBI guy and tries to kidnap heroes' girlfriends anyway? Must be hard to get any girl to go with ya, huh? Aww... Too bad. The only way you can ever get a girl is by kidnapping. How sad it is to be a perverted loser like you..." Mega spat back, the battle temporarily turning into a battle of wits. Smith growled almost inaudibly, unable to top that verbal uppercut, and decided that the insults end here by charging at MegaMan. Just as Smith was about to strike, MegaMan quickly sidestepped and whirled around so that Smith was between the Blue Bomber and the wall. The heroic Navi didn't waste any time and punched Smith the second he stepped behind the Agent... but ended up hitting the wall. Along with the pain of fist meeting brick, he felt a powerful blow in his gut, knocking the wind out of him. Smith had ducked down and punched his opponent. (A/N: Think of Johnny Cage's 'Nut Punch' move in Mortal Kombat games, except that the punch wasn't aimed at Mega's nuts. I already did a segment on being hit there...)
While Mega stumbled back, Smith also didn't waste any chances and kicked Mega's head and then, while the Blue Bomber was trying to stop a nosebleed, used both his hands for 2 forceful open-palm strikes simultaneously. That sent Mega flying back a few feet before slamming on the ground. A minute later, Mega barely got up, his face a mess of bleeding data. He began to wish he could Style Change... or at least get a MiniBoomer BattleChip... Meanwhile, on the sideline, Roll wished she could do something, anything to help MegaMan. She decided to attack the Agent right then and there, since he's too busy with MegaMan. So she ran up to him, ready to slap Smith silly. But, as if he knew she was there, Smith stepped backward and stuck his foot forward, causing Roll to trip and fall on her face. "Ow!" she cried, her cute little nose beginning to bleed. "Roll! Are you ok?" Mega cried, running up to her, but before he could get to her, Smith was somehow behind him. He grabbed the Navi by his neck and picked him up off the ground, choking him.
Mega struggled and flailed and kicked. This caused his right fist to hit Smith across the face, knocking the shades off of him and breaking them. Smith frowned, then bared his teeth. "I liked those shades...!" he calmly snarled, dropping Mega like a rock. Before the Navi could hit the ground, Smith kicked him like a football, sending him sprawling up in the air. Smith launched himself in the air, flying toward MegaMan to do some more damage. Before the Agent could land another blow, the Blue Bomber got over the shock from the punt, spun himself around in the air, and using the momentum to deliver a kick to Smith's head, just as Smith threw a punch at him. Smith was disoriented by the kick's impact on his face, but quickly straightened himself out. MegaMan landed on his back, agitating some of his wounds. The Navi also got up quickly, not paying attention to the pain of his wounds, thanks to a second wind.
Still enraged by the fact that the black-haired, blue-clothed hero called MegaMan had the nerve to break his shades, Smith dived down fists- first like a missile, hoping to bash in his opponent's head. MegaMan rolled aside as Smith hit the ground, his fists creating two holes in the concrete ground. The Agent pulled his broken hands out of the ground and resumed his assault, which MegaMan kept dodging and countering. 'Ha! He's too angry to use any of those strange high-speed attacks' thought Mega, as he noticed that the kung-fu fighting seemed fair this time. Roll noticed this too. 'Go Mega... Teach this freak what's what... You can do it... That's it. Duck, right, punch! Down, left, kick! Left, down, right, punch! Huh? Why did that sound like I'm reading off how to do moves from a fighting game? Oh whatever! Get 'em, Mega-kun!' her train of thought ran on.
MegaMan was about to block another punch, which was aimed at his head, when he somehow felt it in his gut. Smith then tried to kick Mega's left side. Mega was prepared to block when his head was somehow hit by the very kick he was trying to block. 'What the?! What hit me?' thought the Blue Bomber, as another invisible kick made contact with his right leg. "Mega! He's psyching you out! He's using attacks too fast for the eyes while fooling you with slower ones!" cried Roll, who had used her mental computer to analyze the last attack in super slow-mo. "Feh... Tattletale..." Smith accused at her as he attacked MegaMan again. The heroic Navi jumped back and decided to keep his distance while Smith was able to do that. He brought out his arm cannon again. "Didn't you learn from the last time?" sneered Smith. "Yeah. But you never gave me the chance to load it up to full power, like you're doing now" MegaMan said, returning the sneer. He fired a huge energy blast at Smith, hoping to do some decent damage. (A/N: Remember that powered-up blaster ability from the old MegaMan games?)
In case the blast didn't work, Mega jumped up, flying in Smith's direction, to ambush him while he was distracted by the energy. Smith scoffed, turned around, and before the energy could hit him, he fell backward and did a soccer-style bicycle kick, rebounding the blast up to where MegaMan jumped up to. Before the Blue Bomber could do anything to dodge, his own attack hit him, sending him back to the ground. "How...?!!!" Roll gasped, wishing she had enough strength to help her boyfriend. She watched as Smith ran up to where Mega fell.
After a few seconds of staring coldly down over his opponent, Smith grabbed Mega's right arm and pulled it, stretching it straight out. While he had it there, he used his other hand to do a quick, but very powerful karate chop, cutting Mega's right arm off.
Everyone in a 5 block radius, virus and Navi alike, heard MegaMan's scream, causing them to stop the battle for a moment and wonder what the heck was going on...
Back in the alley, Smith held the detached right arm in his hand while MegaMan rolled around on the ground in agony, a shocked and sobbing Roll trying to use her healing abilities, but failing because she was too shocked by Lan and Maylu's so-called 'deaths' and by Mega's horrible injury to focus on her magic. "Mega..." she sobbed, trying at least to stop his frantic flailing.
But Roll was suddenly grabbed by Smith and put over his shoulders. "Strong, but not strong enough, Mr. Mega. I'd stay, but I have business to attend to. Oh, and about what happened, your defiance caused you an arm this time. Just make sure it doesn't cost you a leg too from now on" he said, laughing at his own sick joke and dropping the severed arm. Just as it hit the ground, the arm disappeared into broken data, which floated away and vanished. Agent Smith.EXE logged out, taking the still frantic Roll with him...
End Flashback
MegaMan wished he could've been stronger for Roll's sake. He felt like it was his fault Roll was taken. Here he was, broken and beaten, while Roll was who-knows-where, suffering some horrible fate by that Agent's stupid 'superiors'... He wished he knew what happened with Lan. Indeed, he was mad at Agent Smith for even suggesting that Lan and Maylu were dead. He seriously doubted Smith's claim and he knew that Roll, crying as she was, didn't believe him either.
Then, his thoughts began to turn to the Agent himself. How could he move so fast? He remembered the moment when he had impossibly blocked all the punches of his second speedy assault, when he somehow ducked when he had tried to punch him point-blank, and the part when his attacks came out from nowhere. Did he have some secret agility upgrade? A new weapon that increases speed tenfold? Just tons and tons of fighting experience? MegaMan couldn't figure out what powered that crazy program.
Frustrated, he tried to get himself up, trying not to agitate his sore body too much, especially his right shoulder, which leaked data like a leaky faucet. However, his body felt as fragile as a brittle china plate. It took him two and a half minutes for him to get to his knees. "Lan... Where are you... I really need to log out..." he grunted as he tried to get to his feet. However, he fell down again. A minute later, he rolled over onto his back and looked up into the night sky, wishing that someone would help.
And that's when he saw a very familiar skeleton Navi...
The next morning, Lan slowly woke up, wondering how he fell asleep during his date with Maylu. Then, before he got his eyes fully open, it all came back to him. Cyborg monsters, battles breaking out, him attacking one of them, a steel gargoyle throwing him through a window, Maylu in danger, him trying to save her, the gargoyle punching him out, and Maylu being kidnapped. "Maylu!!!" he cried, quickly sitting up. However, he saw that he was in a bedroom. Sunlight poured in from the nearby window, lighting up the room. He looked around and saw that the master bedroom was decorated by kanji depicting arcane magic, mystical artifacts, strange art about angels, demons, and warriors, and a certain crystal ball. Even the tables and wardrobe had some sort of mysterious décor or item on them.
It was very clear whose house he was in. "Miyu..." he muttered as he got out of the fancy bed he slept in. That's when he realized that his head ached a bit. He walked to the window and stared out at the city, thinking. "Argh... Did last night even happen?!" he said out loud, the whole situation still impossible for him to believe. "If not, then what am I doing at Miyu's, wearing almost nothing?" he wondered, suddenly noticing the lack of clothes, save for his underwear. "I guess she found me and took me here..." he shrugged. He still wondered where his clothes went when a crazy thought hit him. "Oh no! Did we...?" he asked, trying to think of what his parents would think about losing his virginity to a girl he barely knows without even knowing it. "Oh what am I talking about?! She wouldn't do that!" he snapped, slapping himself in the face. He began to question whether he was losing his mind or not. "Strange metal monsters? Maylu's gone? Miyu screwing me? Argh! I really need some answers here..." he groaned, leaning his head against the window and making his headache worse.
He heard the door open and turned to see Miyu wearing nothing but a closed-up bathrobe. She had just come out of the shower. 'Miyu actually wearing something normal? That's something ya don't see everyday' he thought, remembering how he always saw her in some mystical get-up. "Good morning, Lan..." said Miyu, sounding mournful. "Morning, Miyu... Listen, I think something weird's going on. First" "You went out with Maylu on a date, you got interrupted by semi-mechanical monsters, Maylu got kidnapped, you got knocked out, and then you woke up here in my bedroom, wondered what went on and what you're doing almost naked, and a minute ago you thought that somehow we made love, yes?" the psychic interrupted, smirking a little at him for a moment. "Uhhh... Yeah?" Lan said, again amazed at her talent. He blushed from her knowing about his thoughts. "You, my friend, have one offbeat imagination there. Relax, Lan. We didn't do it at all. I know how much you like a certain redhead. All I did was bring you here and check you for injuries. Thankfully, there's nothing but bumps and bruises, despite that you got thrown through a window and got punched by a metal fist" she responded, picking up her crystal ball. "Phew! So that's why I'm nearly naked... So do you know what that invasion was about?" he asked, remembering Maylu crying out for him as she was flown off. "It was as you saw it. Cyborg monsters did invade part of Dentech, the citizens caught in the chaos came out with serious or minor injuries, and Maylu was taken away, as well as around half of Dentech's female population. She's gone, Lan. I'm sorry..." the psychic said, feeling sorry for the poor boy.
Lan sighed, feeling down. He felt tears well up when he remembered his promise to Mrs. Sakurai to take good care of her daughter. "Feh... Some job I did of taking good care of Maylu... I let her get kidnapped by a group of freaks... Her mom's gonna be so mad at me..." he said, knowing that his girlfriend's mother's yelling is the least of his problems. Miyu led him back to the bed so he could lie back down. "Sigh... I don't know what I can say, Lan... Getting Maylu and the other women back won't be easy at all" she said, watching Lan as he brooded.
"What about MegaMan? I think I left my PET back at that restaurant" Lan asked, suddenly remembering his partner. "More bad news... It appears NetCity suffered the same type of invasion. I found your PET for you. As far as MegaMan goes, SkullMan found him in horrible shape. He was bleeding data all over, he could barely move, and his right arm has been cut off completely. He told SkullMan that Roll has been taken too... Again, I apologize" she said. Shocked again, Lan looked into his PET and saw a recovering, unconscious MegaMan, his arm halfway regenerated and half his bruises gone. "What happened to him?" he asked, wondering why everything's going so terribly wrong. "A rogue program, a type of cyber-mercenary that follows orders to the letter. Rogue programs can have a wide range of powerful and sometimes strange and new powers and abilities. This one must've been quite a doozy to deal that much damage to MegaMan, the Savior of NetCity..." she explained, noticing Lan putting his hands to his head as if he suffered from a migraine.
"Who's responsible for this!?" Lan growled, having had enough of bad news. Maylu's kidnapping, both Dentech and NetCity being invaded, his Navi beaten up, his Navi's girlfriend also taken, and he just realized that his other close friends could also be in major trouble... It was all he could stand and he had to do something. "Dr. Wily. In NetCity, SkullMan saw StoneMan and BlasterMan among the invaders, along with some strange new Navis. Apparently, this was just his entrance..." Miyu said, handing him fresh clothes. Lan got up and immediately got dressed, inwardly fuming at how devastating Wily's ambush was. 'Is this Wily's idea of revenge? If so, then it worked. He actually managed to win one. But he won't for long. MegaMan and I will save Maylu and anyone else the 'good doctor' took hostage. That I promise' he declared to himself, completely silent for once as he dressed.
"Lan, I have something to give you. I believe it could help you in the rescue mission you intend to go on" said Miyu, reading his mind again. She walked over to a picture of a handsome, blonde, young man wearing a fancy, medieval-type outfit. 'Leon Belmont' the caption on the bottom of the portrait read. She pressed a hidden button on the side of the huge painting of the warrior, then pulled it open, like a door. Inside was a hidden vault. Miyu quickly twirled the lock back and forth, knowing the combination by heart. Then, she opened the safe. Inside, there was a sealed chest, which she took out. "In this case, there is an ancient weapon that was the bane of any unholy being unfortunate enough to come across its owner. Now that there are monsters unleashed upon our world once again as well as their hellish master, I feel that it is time for this weapon to have a new owner" the blue-haired psychic said, giving the case to Lan.
Lan set the old case on a table and opened it only to find nothing but an even older whip inside. However, there was no dust or cobwebs on it. Nor were there any signs of age on the centuries-old weapon. "A whip? What's so special about a whip?" he asked, grabbing the handle and pulling it out, unraveling it. He gave it a light flick, whipping the open air. "That very whip is known as the Vampire Killer. It is the weapon that has defeated the King of Vampires, Dracula, more than once. The Vampire Killer has been passed down the Belmont family's bloodline for centuries now, since Dracula has returned more than once to wreak more mayhem. However, the Belmont bloodline is thinning and we've no time to find the current descendents. But you, Lan... You have shown us all again and again that you have what it takes to be a true hero" Miyu said, smiling a little at him. "I have?" Lan said, as if thinking that World 3 and Grave were nothing but petty rivals, like Chaud. "Yes. You're brave enough to stand up to whatever danger surrounds you, your loyalty to your friends is strong and unwavering, you would risk your life to save others, even those you don't know, you never give up on anybody or anything, since you're so stubborn sometimes, and you have a good heart and would never hurt anybody, except those who deserve it, of course"
"Thank you, Miyu... First time I got told how much of a hero I am... I mean, I celebrate with my friends and all, but really, no one else ever thanked me or anything" Lan said, blushing at the psychic's compliment. "Well, that's because word doesn't get out very much. People know a little of your deeds, but the media thinks that a simple 'the crisis has been averted' would do just fine to settle people. But you wouldn't care about being famous, would you?" she said, smirking. "Nope. Even though playing the hero is kinda exciting, I like being a normal guy. But then again... Being a hero has its downfalls as well..." he said, referring to Dr. Wily kidnapping Maylu and Roll, among those taken. "I know, Lan. But, with great power comes great responsibility..." said Miyu, coining a phrase made famous by a certain web-slinger. (A/N: Anybody gonna see Spider-Man 2? I know I will!) "Yeah... Ya got a point. MegaMan and I'll make sure that everyone returns safely. I beat World 3 many times before, so this should be no problem" Lan said, calmed by the fact that he knows how Wily acts.
"Now you're talking. By the way, I have done you the favor of loading a map of where Wily's new base is in your PET. I managed to put a tracer on one of those flying freaks as they tried to take me. Obviously, they failed" she said, smirking in a way that silently said 'No way I'm going down without a fight'. "Ok. Thank you for your help, Miyu. I really appreciate you saving me back there. I owe you one, big time" he said, going to the door. "You're very welcome" the psychic said, smiling at the young hero and hoping that he does succeed.
"Oh, by the way, what did you mean when you said that the monsters' 'hellish master' was also loose?" Lan asked, looking curiously at the whip. "Dracula has escaped and has formed a deadly alliance with Wily" Miyu simply responded, her smile fading at the subject. "Oh... What?! I'm fighting a Vampire King too?! Jeez! That'll make our job a lot harder...!" groaned Lan, opening the bedroom door. "One more thing, Lan..." Miyu said, which halted his actions. "Yeah?" he asked, looking back at her. "Your fortune for your adventure... Remember that you are not the only true hero in Dentech City. Oh, and that sometime during your mission, you can expect help from an unexpected source" she advised, looking into her crystal ball. "Ok. Later, Miyu. I hope this isn't the last time I say goodbye to you..." he said as he left the bedroom and then left her home. Miyu just had a knowing look on her face, as if she knew whether he'd come back alive or not...
Lan decided to head toward the treehouse hideout at Yai's to see if anyone had heard about Wily's invasion. 'What if Yai got taken too? Sigh... Wily's gone too far this time, interrupting my date with Maylu and taking hostages...' he mentally grumbled. His thoughts turned to Dracula and how the heck he was gonna beat up a powerful lord of the undead along with the mad doctor. He was so deep in thought that he almost didn't realize that he'd arrived at Yai's mansion.
However, it seems that the richest girl in Dentech had some very unwanted company...
Her front gate was ripped off and pieces of it were scattered on the ground. There were also a few holes in the front wall, as if some of the undead were too impatient to wait for someone to destroy the gate. Lan was scared by this and went to the doorbell/intercom.
"Yai! Yai, are you there?! It's me, Lan! Are you alright?!" he said, hoping that she had somehow got away unscathed. No response. Not even the harsh sound of static. He ran through the front gate and ran toward the mansion, which took 5 minutes, since she owned the biggest courtyard anyone's ever seen. He saw that the front door had also been broken down. There were also some claw marks left on the wall around the main door. He ran in and saw that the lobby looked like a tornado ran through it. Apparently, the 'tornado' had really injured someone, for there were a couple of bloodstains on the wall opposite him.
'God, I hope that isn't Yai's blood...' he thought as he ran through the lobby and into the next room, suddenly reminded of the first Resident Evil game. All the rooms he went through had the same kind of harsh treatment. Broken furniture, scattered debris, misplaced items, and, in the office rooms, papers everywhere. As he checked every room, Lan called out for Yai. No response whatsoever. Then, he came to her bedroom. He had never been in there before, since Yai said it was off-limits to anyone... except herself of course. 'Argh! Forget her little boundaries! I have to find her!' he thought as he opened the doors to her room.
The first thing he noticed about Yai's bedroom was that it was obviously one of the biggest rooms in the whole mansion, next to the dining room and ball room. The second thing he noticed was that it, like all the other rooms, was a total mess. In a corner on the other side of the room was a huge plasma screen TV with an Xbox, GameCube, and PS2 lying in front of it. The TV itself was broken, a huge chunk of wood sticking out of it. Her luxurious bed, with pink silk curtains surrounding it and its own roof high above it, was a ruffled mess, claw marks in its expensive blankets and mattress and its curtains torn in places. Lan was reminded again of Yai's huge fetish for strawberry milk when he saw a 5-gallon vat labeled 'Imported Strawberry Milk' in a corner of the room to his left, next to a soft, very comfortable recliner. 'Duh...' was his first thought when he saw the vat. That thought was followed by an 'Oh man...' when he saw that the vat had been punctured by, he guessed, a huge gargoyle's fist and a puddle of wasted strawberry milk covered that corner of the room. The recliner lay on its side, the leg-rest part was cut off, as if a sword sliced it. The rest of the room was a complete mess of scattered manga, CDs, toys, and stuffed animals. 'Poor Yai...' he thought, still hoping that she somehow got away.
That's when he heard something from a steel door at the center of the wall on his right. It sounded like someone or something was moving around in there. He moved slowly to the bank vault-like door, wondering if it could be Yai. He suddenly realized that it could be a left behind monster, so he put his right hand on his new whip as his left hand gripped the steel lever that was the doorknob. '3... 2... 1... Now!' he thought, turning the lever and rapidly pulling the door, expecting a claw or a sword to come flying out toward him. But nothing attacked.
Inside was a smaller but dark room, filled with fancy girl's clothes and items. It was the biggest walk-in closet Lan had ever been in. He fumbled for a lightswitch, which he soon found, and turned on the lights to get a better view of everything. For a moment, it looked like there was no one in the closet. But then, from the corner of his eyes, he saw a few of the hanged clothes slightly move. Walking toward that set of outfits, he could hear soft, rapid breathing, the breathing of a scared person. He knelt down, which resulted in whoever was in there letting out a gasp. Then, he reached in to pull the hidden survivor out, which resulted in the person screaming. Lan jumped back, surprised. It was a girl's scream. And yet, the scream was familiar...
"Yai?" he asked, the outfits the girl's hiding behind shaking a bit again. Then, the shaking stopped. "L..Lan? Is that you?" the girl said, still frightened by his attempt to pull her out. "Yeah... I saw your house in ruins and came looking for you..." he said as a short, blonde girl crawled out from under the hanging clothes. She stood up, looked at Lan, and began crying in his arms. Feeling sorry for her, he put his arms around her, comforting her. Again, he was reminded of his current problems.
"So what happened here, Yai? Did monsters get you too?" he asked. "Monsters? How'd you know?" she asked, surprised that he knew about it, much less believed her. "I was on a date with Maylu... We were having a great time... until we got attacked by these half-metal deadheads and winged androids. They were attacking everyone they saw. I tried to help everyone, but I got tossed aside... and Maylu... they took her..." he said, again feeling deflated and enraged at the same time. "Maylu's gone too?! Oh God no...!" Yai wailed. To her, Maylu was like the sister she never had. The redhead wasn't rich, of course, but Yai liked her anyway.
"Yai, was someone here taken?" Lan asked, feeling another urge to storm Wily's new base and kick his ass for good. "Yes... All my maids... They tried to protect me and hide me, but..." she sniffled before sobbing again. Lan was silent, not knowing how he could ever comfort her with such chaos happening. "My maids... They always took the best care of me... They didn't even care about their pay either, I don't think... I may act spoiled sometimes, I admit, but I always made sure that my servants got the best treatment..." she managed to get out, completely broken down.
"Yai, I promise that I'll help you get your maids back, along with everyone else that got taken. I was found by Miyu and she told me all that's going on, where Wily's hiding, and she even gave me something to help me deal with the undead" he said, showing her his new whip. Yai had that same confused look he had when Miyu showed him the whip, so Lan began explaining everything, the invasion, the attack on NetCity, Roll's kidnapping, Mega's beatdown, the kidnapping of women, and Dracula. Yai listened and tried to let everything sink in.
"Jeez... All this in one night... Sigh... This must be the saddest day I've ever had... This even tops the time when Grave sucked my money account dry with MagnetMan... Speaking of NetNavis, Glyde even had to Style Change to deal with a strange Navi that appeared in out security systems. It looked gross... A giant ball made of human corpses..." Yai sighed, sitting down. She was silent for a moment. "Lan, thank you for your help, promising that you'll get everyone back and all. I mean it... However, this all sounds very dangerous... You're very brave, but how can you beat a vampire and an army of monster with only a whip?" she asked, trying not to imagine a lone Lan surrounded by a large number of Hell's gruesome residents. But her imagination got to her anyway, causing her to get all the more worried about Lan. "I dunno... I wish I could have some help with this..." he admitted, his mind unconsciously thinking of how many minions could be hiding within Wily's base.
"Relax. I'll call the others and see if they wanna help stop Wily. Besides, the mansion also has a hidden armory with a ton of weapons and armor we could use. We can arm ourselves with whatever we want, and then we can fly out to Wily's and storm his base. Hmm... I figure that if we ambush the base while they're guard is down after such an attack, Wily and ol' Bats'll have to keep the minions at the base to deal with us. We'll be armed enough, I think" Yai said, trying to think of strategies she learned from playing a lot of strategy RPG's on her game consoles. "That's cool. I hope everybody'll want to help. It'll take a lot of courage to be willin' to go through with this..." Lan said, remembering his first fight with the undead, trying to save Maylu from being kidnapped.
Suddenly, they heard familiar voices, calling out Yai's name. It sounded like Dex, Tory, and even Chaud had seen the damage and came to investigate. "Least we won't have to call them" Lan said, shrugging as he got up and helped Yai up. "Yeah" she responded, opening the steel closet door.
Lan and Yai found their friends (and rival) and tried to explain the situation. But when it came to the part about Maylu being kidnapped... Well... Let's see for ourselves...
"LAN, YOU IDIOT! YA LET MY MAYLU-CHAN GET KIDNAPPED BY A BUNCHA GOTH FREAKS WEARIN' ARMOR AND MAKEUP! I KNEW MAYLU NEEDED A REAL MAN TO DATE HER!" ranted Dex, angered that Lan was the favorite of Maylu yet he couldn't protect her. Tory and Chaud held him back, since he was struggling to give Lan a serious thrashing. Lan just sighed, feeling like he just had salt rubbed in his mental wounds. Yai, frustrated by Dex's rage and the ruckus he was making, stood up, marched to the fat teen, and slapped him across the face. "YOU INSENSITIVE JERK!!! Don'cha know that Lan was doing his very best to protect her!?! He was fighting monsters out there! Monsters! Not gothic humans in costumes! AND, he was completely outmatched, so it would be extremely difficult to fight all those steel freaks with nothing but fists, tables, and chairs! I can't believe you, Dex! Besides, Lan swore that he was gonna get every hostage back, including Maylu!" Yai snapped, her braided ponytails standing straight up in anger.
"But... But" Dex stammered, but Yai just grunted before sitting next to Lan, trying to calm herself and seeing if Lan was ok. "Dex, you really have gotta get over Maylu..." Chaud muttered, humiliated that he had to be witness to the fat dork's rants. "What'd you say, skunk-hair?!" Dex growled. "Ya heard me... Find another girl to obsess over" Chaud responded. "Guts no like what Skunk-Hair is telling Dex!" threatened GutsMan, only to receive a glare from ProtoMan. "Well, Dex did start it" IceMan said, as if the most obvious thing in the world. "If everyone would please calm down..." Glyde said, trying to reason with the two Navis, but failing. "What would you know about getting girls?! What? Do ya spray 'Ode de Skunk' cologne to go with your hairstyle?!" Dex snapped, proud of that joke. "How long did it take you to come up with that one? Your brain as slow as your feet?" Chaud countered, scoffing at GutsMan's NetOp. Dex and Chaud, along with their Navis, ended up in a glaring contest, making everyone else feel annoyed or uncomfortable. Yai's annoyance was building again, as anyone looking at her could tell with her face giving off a look of a flunked anger management patient. "HEY!!!" Tory shouted, shutting everyone up. "Thank you, Tory..." Lan said, his head pounding from the racket.
And so, the explanation continued, Lan and Yai telling them about Wily's involvement and his alliance with Dracula and what other info Miyu had told Lan. After the whole mess was straightened out, Yai stood up, borrowed Lan's PET, and used both the device and her computer to produce a projection of Miyu's map, showing the location of Wily's castle. Then, she started the briefing, a la drill sergeant. "Listen people, Dr. Wily has succeeded in his ambush, but odds are that during today, the base's guard might be down due to the attack force recovering from the strike by reorganizing themselves, stocking supplies, putting hostages away, possibly celebrating, etc., etc. If we arm ourselves with the weapons from my armory, take one of my jets, fly out to the area, and land a few miles away from the enemy base" she then pointed out an area a good distance southeast from Castlevania. "we can possibly sneak into it and start causing chaos until we find the captured women. We will also hack into the base's network so that our Navis can search for any captured Navis, defeating any virus in their path. Our objective is to first rescue the prisoners and grant them a safe passage out of the base. Then, we find Wily and Dracula and teach them a lesson for good! Understood!?" she snapped, taking her role as drill sergeant a bit too far.
"Ma'am, yes ma'am!" Lan, Tory, and Dex saluted. Chaud just nodded, still disliking her. With that, the briefing ended. "Alright... Follow me to the armory and I'll show ya the weapons my family has stored up" Yai ordered, walking to the double-doors and opening them, the others following her. 'Dr. Wily will pay. We will make sure of that... I just hope this situation doesn't get any worse than this' Lan thought as he walked with the others, following Yai to prepare once again to be the hero and kick around World 3.
But now that World 3 has the advantages of a devastating first strike and a good number of hostages, can the NetSaviors live up to their title once again? Or could this latest adventure lead to their downfall?
Ryu-san: Whew!!! Long chapter this time... Guess that's what I get when I get ideas and run with 'em. I hope you all enjoyed this chappy. Please review and tell me what y'all think. To those that voted for MegaMan to win the battle against Agent Smith, don't worry. They'll cross paths again later on.
Coming Attractions-The gang of heroes choose their weapons, get some new chips from Higsby's, and fly out toward Wily's base, Castlevania. MegaMan is finally repaired and operational, but that piece of good news is drowned out by a 'S.O.S.' email Lan receives from a familiar face, giving the NetSaviors more grief. As they land and sneak toward the castle, even more mystery presents itself as a mysterious figure is following them. What will happen as they try to get in through the front gate? What evil will they face inside? What can their NetNavis expect to face when they are jacked into the dark network? What is going on in the deathly corruption that is the mind of Wily? And whatever happened to the Ex-World 3 agents after the invasion? Chaos, counterstrikes, and conspiracies ahoy on the next chapter, 'Approaching Castlevania', coming out as soon as I can.