Darkness in Dentech City
Ryu-san: ::reads all reviews:: Not to sound egotistical, but... Wooooo! I'm still doin' good! I guess I know how to write a fight scene after all. Sorry if ya wanted MegaMan to win the Mega vs. Smith match. But hey, ya can't beat a Matrix Agent that easily. Besides, Mega'll have a chance at vengeance later. Anyways, sorry if I took so long updating. I needed time to get myself inspired as to how I was gonna start this chappy. Now I have a pretty good idea, so the wait should be worth it (I hope).
Also, some sad news... A friend of mine betrayed me... Well, not exactly a betrayal as in he tried to kill me or somethin'. He just suddenly didn't wanna be my friend anymore for some reason. That got me down in the dumps for a while... Anyways, now to reply to those that reviewed (like always), especially a few people that were cool to me. Cool as in awesome, that is.
Windwingxs-Nice to see that you're excited about Lan being the new owner of the hunter's whip, the Vampire Killer. Wait 'til ya see what the other NetSaviors get. Thanks for the compliment.
MD 1428-Thank you for your sage advice. I totally agree with you about those who flame others' fics. As for your offer, I might just take ya up on that. Thanks again.
Star ATJ 84-Van Helsing rocked! You just might see some of the V.H. weaponry in here, starting with this very chappy. As for the idea of someone taking the role of Carl the Friar, I might have to do some more thinking about who to use... Thanks for the Rockman site. I now know the full extent of how US editors and censors messed up Rockman.EXE and turned it into the childish NT Warrior (The episode summaries was one of the segments I looked at).
Rock Raider-Nice ideas, but remember, I've only seen MegaMan NT Warrior, the US dub on the WB. I can't find a way to see the original (unless it's out on dvd in the USA, but I don't know if it is or not). I have seen Kid Grave, the Gospel Virus Beast, and Forte (aka Bass) and I know some things about them. Old man Gauss I've definitely seen before. Freakin' gay crossdresser... Eww!
Jill-Maria and Alucard might appear...sorta... More on that in later chapters. Don't wanna spoil things now. As for Lan's mother, I'm not sure if I want to give Lan more grief than he already has. Maylu's gone, Roll's gone, Mega's been literally disarmed by Agent Smith, the cities (Dentech and Net) are in chaos, Yai's mansion is a mess and her maids were taken, and he has to somehow beat the King of Vampires along with Dr. Wily. Whoa, that's a lotta pressure... And I already have one more piece of bad news to add to Lan's burden in this chapter. Maybe I could add his mother in as a 'last straw' kinda thing. And about the muse idea, you seem like a cool person, so sure, why not? Now if you could tell me how this works here, the muse concept... I am new here, ya know. (This is my second fic) Thanks a lot, Jill.
Ryu-san: Ok. Intro comments, check. Review replies, check. Am I missing anything? Nope. Doesn't seem so. And so, with that... Let Chapter 5 begin!
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Chapter 5: Approaching Castlevania
In one of Dentech City's upper-class neighborhoods, there was a mansion owned by the very rich and very famous Yai Ayano. However, the mansion currently looked like an army of angry, muscled drunks had thrown a huge riot and turned it into the city's largest broken-down flophouse. Almost every room was trashed with broken items, papers everywhere, debris lying around, and very misplaced furniture. Occasionally, a bloodied body of a male servant could be found lying in the middle of a corridor or in a corner of a room, which saddened Yai greatly when she and her friends did find a corpse of one of her respectable employees on their way toward the Ayano Armory.
One of Yai's closest friends, Lan Hikari, mentally vowed revenge on his enemy, Dr. Wily of World 3, for the hundredth time that day. 'Curse him! How dare Wily do this to Dentech City, to my friends, to me! Won't he ever quit!? Feh! Now, his minions are killing people... How far will he go to conquer the world, that scum...!?' he thought, his friends noticing the frown etched on his face, something that Lan rarely shows.
"Lan?" Tory said, trying to snap him out of his thoughts. No response from the addled teen. "You gonna be ok?" IceMan's NetOp asked, concerned. Lan said nothing again, but he let out a stressed sigh. "Let him be. His girlfriend was kidnapped, his navi was trashed, the city's in turmoil again, and Wily made a powerful new 'friend'. Guess he needs a little more time to get over the shock of what happened" said Lan's rival, Chaud, who wasn't in the mood to start fights this time.
Although Dex was jealous at the fact that Maylu, who he had a huge crush on, loved Lan, he was concerned for his friend. 'He must be really wasted by this. Normally, he'd be full of confidence that he could save everyone. Then again, I don't think Wily had ever pushed the stakes up this high. Trashin' half the city with undead, kidnapping women... What's that old geezer thinking?' wondered the pudgy NetOp of GutsMan.
Yai was trying to stifle her tears as images of her fallen butlers came to her mind again, like fresh wounds. 'I've been saving all this weaponry for great emergencies like war or somethin'... Well, if this isn't a great big mondo emergency, then I'm some cashless girl who drinks non-imported chocolate milk!' she thought, letting out a long low growl as she imagined herself beating the junk out of Dr. Wily by herself. She marched faster, anxious to get to her supplies of ammo and firepower.
Soon, Yai led them to a large portrait of her grandfather, who was a noble Colonel in the last war. She then pressed and held down a hidden button on the plaque which read her grandfather's rank and full name. The hidden button was actually the 'A' in Ayano. Then, she said her full name and then "Secret weapons under Dentech", the password for the secret armory. The section of wall containing the Colonel's portrait slid open to reveal a hallway leading into a huge room. "Here we are... The armory" the rich girl said, walking down the hallway, the others following.
Inside the huge room lay lots and lots of different weapons. Pistols, machine guns, submachine guns, semi-automatics, shotguns, sniper rifles, rocket launchers, etc. But there were also some other weapons, somewhat different than the modern weapons of today. One weapon was a combination between a crossbow and a machinegun, which fired arrows at a fast rate. Another weapon was a multi-purpose grappling hook. Yet another was a pair of handheld circular blades. These blades, when activated, would spin around at a high speed, giving one's punch a cutting edge. Also included were old-fashioned weapons, like broadswords, katanas, spears, crossbows, axes, and lances.
"Alright, boys. Arm yourselves. I'm betting that this is gonna be one hell of a rocky road trip. One that'll have many, many obstacles in our path..." Yai said, placing a pair of katanas at her sides as well as a sniper rifle. Chaud took a fancy to a machine gun and the machine-crossbow. Tory took a lance, a pistol, and some jewel-encrusted gauntlets he found. Dex drew a shotgun and the handheld buzzsaw weapons. Lan took the grappling hook, which he noticed has a piercing drill attached to the hook part. He also took a fancy broadsword and a pair of pistols. Everyone took a lot of ammo for their chosen guns and pocketed them.
"One more thing, guys. During one summer vacation, I had a lot of free time on my hands. So I decided to make some battle outfits for ya. My maids helped me, so you'd better appreciate the effort we put into these get-ups" Yai said, walking over to six suitcases with a name on each of them. She started handing out the cases to the appropriate person, leaving Maylu's case behind. "Ok, go change and let's see what I've done" she said. "This is no time for a fashion update, moron" Chaud said, a frown decorating his already sour face. "Chaud, just do it. You might like what I did" Yai suggested, her hands clenched tightly, as if trying to hold back her fury. With that, the gang, except Yai, left to find bathrooms to change in. Yai just changed in the armory.
Lan came back in first, wearing a black overcoat, a black shirt underneath, black pants, an equally black fedora hat, black boots, and a necklace with a cool-looking, silver cross on it. "What the heck am I, Yai-chan? A goth Christian?" he asked, fidgeting with his necklace. "Thought it'd look cool. It's especially fitting, since we're fighting ghouls and vampires and all that" Yai replied, wearing what appears to be a camouflage-style green bodysuit with brown boots. Dex came back, grumbling. "Why do I have to look like a friar, Yai!?" Dex asked, wearing a friar's robe that actually fit him. "Think of it this way, Dex. The undead might fear a holy man, especially one with a shotgun and buzzsaw blades" Yai grinned. "Oh. Riiiight" Dex said, remembering the part about ghouls being weak against holy things.
Chaud came back, wearing a gray jacket, the back of which billows out like a cape as he walks, a shirt underneath, jeans and black boots. (A/N: Think Seto Kaiba's Battle City outfit) "Nice..." the jerk said, not bothering to insult her this time. "Why thank you, Chaud. It doesn't hurt to not taunt somebody, does it?" sneered Yai. Chaud grunted. Tory came in, donned in what appears to be a heavy, dark blue vest, bulletproofed by Yai. He also wore blue pants, also bulletproofed for protection from anything. "Am I supposed to be some a SWAT team member on Casual Friday?" the short teen asked, referring to the vest and pants. "At least you'll be well protected, Tory" Yai answered, packing her weapons. The others armed themselves with theirs.
"Are we set?" Yai asked, as everyone gathered around her. "Yep. As armed as we can be for this" Tory replied, holding his lance like a walking staff. "Good. Now, let's see if we can get some rare chips from Higsby's before we go. Chances are, we're gonna have to send our Navis to the enemy network" Yai said, going back to her strategist mode. "Good idea. With this chaos, he might give a few for free if we promise to stop Wily" Dex said, as a mental image of a whining Higsby trying to part with a rare chip came to mind. "Well, let's hurry. Maylu and the others don't have all day. We should be flying off now" Chaud criticized, which resulted in Yai snarling at him, like usual. "You two can argue all ya want once the Doc is trashed!" Lan stated impatiently, mainly to Chaud. With that, the group of NetSaviors left the mansion and took one of the remaining limos to the resident chip nerd's shop.
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Higsby, who nearly had a break-in by the rampant undead, was installing locks, deadbolts, chain locks, and a security device in an attempt to protect himself. After he put on the last lock, he let out a sigh of relief and finally relaxed. However, it had barely been 2 seconds when he heard a knock from the other side of the door, making him jump. "Yaaaah! Monsters! Go away!" Higsby shrieked, running upstairs to his living quarters, cowering.
Hearing the nerd's freaked reaction, Lan knocked again. "Argh! He must've seen those freaks too. He never did have much courage with these things..." Lan groaned, giving up on the knocking. Yai, knowing that delays would only serve to annoy, took matters into her hands. "Higsby! It's us! Now open up! We need some chips!" she snapped, as loud as she could. A few moments and a few clicks later, Higsby opened his door.
"Thank God it's only you... Last night was nuts! Some costumed nuts came around the neighborhood and kidnapped any female they could see! I bet you all heard about it..." the chip shop owner said, walking to his counter. "Some of us experienced it..." Lan said, noticeably unhappy. "Uhh... Say, where's Maylu? She sick today?" Higsby asked, looking around. Lan frowned. The others were hesitant. "What's wrong? Man, you all look beat, especially you, Yai. Can someone please explain? And what's with the outfits? You goin' on some mission?" said a confused Higsby. Finally, Chaud spoke. "Maylu was kidnapped by those freaks, Yai's mansion was almost destroyed, and World 3's behind the whole thing" the skunk-haired boy said, his usual frown on his face.
"World 3 again...? Why does it always have to be them!? I am so sick and tired of those morons! Every time they do something involving the city, I end up getting bashed, smashed, and trashed! A man can only rearrange his supply of rare battlechips in alphabetical order after every disaster for so long...!" he ranted. A sweatdrop mark appeared behind the heads of the NetSaviors at the last comment. "Speaking of rare battlechips, ya got any? We might need them to rescue everyone" Lan asked, going to one of the stands and rummaging. "Of course I do. In fact, I just got a few new ones this morning, after the attack. They appeared mysteriously, for some odd reason. Let me show ya" he said, ducking beneath the counter, looking for something among his hundreds of chips.
He resurfaced a minute later, carrying a small package. He beckoned them to gather around before opening the unmarked box. Inside were a handful of chips, which appeared to look like old pieces of technology. "I figure that these were among the world's first battlechips, possibly released when battlechips were first introduced to the world 63 years ago, just 3 years after NetNavis were introduced. (A/N: Not sure when BattleChips and NetNavis were introduced to the world in the Rockman.EXE universe, so I'm making it up here.) Let's see... We got the Axe, the Holy Water, the Knife, the Crucifix, the Holy Book, the Time Stopper, the MagiCrystal, and the Angel Dust. Wait a minute... Holy water, crucifix, holy book...? What a coincidence that the undead rage in NetCity before I got these... NumberMan could've used these" Higsby said, thinking of his wounded NetNavi, which was ambushed by a strange cloaked Navi with a scythe when the first wave of enemies attacked the cybercity.
"Don't tell me yours got beaten too!" Lan said, again mentally ranting about Wily. "Yeah... Huh? Did MegaMan run into trouble?" the nerd asked, catching the way Lan asked his question. "Yeah... A rogue program got him and kidnapped Roll..." Lan said, his voice quieting down as he got his PET out and checked MegaMan's condition. "Huh? Hey! He's almost healed! Only 2 minutes until he's a-ok" he said, at least glad that the lost arm was repaired without any complications. "Healing programs, don't buy a PET without one" Higsby said, checking his own PET.
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MegaMan was tormented by the sounds of Roll's cries and Agent Smith's cold laughter as he began to stir within his home page. He opened his eyes and shook his head, determined to get that Agent's laugh out of his head. He saw Lan looking at him and gave a weak grin. "Lan? You're alive?" asked the navi, remembering Smith's taunts about Lan's supposed death. "Why wouldn't I be?" Lan said, wondering what's up with MegaMan. The Blue Bomber began explaining his encounter with Agent Smith.EXE and Roll's kidnapping. In turn, Lan explained about the invasion, Dr. Wily's hand in it, and Maylu being taken. "So... I guess it's time to go stop World 3 again, eh?" MegaMan said, as if he was expecting the evil organization to strike yet again. "They'll never stop, ya know" Lan replied, his anger toward Wily subsiding for now. "Well then...Let's go kick some ass!" the navi said, smirking as if the whole thing was a minor offensive. Lan knew Mega was trying to cheer him up, despite that he was nearly killed by some thug in a suit and his own girlfriend was taken.
In rough times like this, Lan always felt like his job as NetSavior was easier with MegaMan around to help. Then again, his close friends also had something to do with that feeling of confidence. Dex the pudgy comedy relief, Yai the warm-hearted spoiled brat, Tory the brave midget, Chaud the emotionless nemesis, and of course, Maylu the girl next door. However... who said killing Dracula was an easy job?
"So can we have those old chips?" Tory asked Higsby, curiously. "Only if ya pay me" the nerd said, reminding him that although he's a friend to them, this place is a place of business. "That's my department, Tory" Yai said, stepping in. "Yo, guys! Any other chips ya want or shall we just take Higsby's latest?" she asked before taking out her wallet. With that question, the gang looked around for any chips that might be worth getting. Of course, they all took a few of Higsby's many rare chips instead of the more common ones, which added up to be quite an expensive shopping trip. "Yikes! Jeez, guys! Ya think ya really need all this?" she asked, worried that she won't have enough cash on her. "Well, this is an important rescue mission, ya know" Lan answered, giving her an apologetic look. "Sigh... I had to ask if you all wanted more chips. I just had to ask..." Yai grumbled, checking her wallet.
Higsby, after a moment of thinking about what they're using the chips for, decided on something. "Alright... I'll give ya guys a 90% off deal on these chips, but only because you're going on a dangerous mission that could get you all killed. Ya know, I worry about ya sometimes. You guys are always goin' out there, fightin' off every organization that dares challenge ya. If you guys come back dead, I'm gonna snap!" Higsby said, reducing the total price to a very reasonable price for Yai. "Alright already... We'll be careful then" Dex said, now realizing that his family might be worried about him.
"Thank you so much, Higsby. As I told everyone else I met today, we'll get everyone back" Lan said, smiling thankfully at his nerdy friend, who nodded at him with a look that silently said 'Good luck'. And with all said and done, they all said a good bye to Higsby and went back in Yai's limo, which drove off toward Yai's personal hanger, where her AyanoJet was located...
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Lan and his friends weren't the only ones that were planning on investigating the invasion. Somewhere on the south side of Dentech, a curry delivery truck was driving along, its inhabitants clearly disturbed by the attack. Count Zap claimed shotgun and Yahoot ended up driving. Maddy lay in the back, wounded by a sword-carrying zombie that bit her a couple of times and an imp that tried to burn her to death. Blood was flowing freely from the bite wound on her right arm. Her boyfriend, Mr. Match, was sitting beside her prone form. He had saved her from being taken by a vampire minion.
"Who th' bloody hell would do somethin' like this?!" raged Mr. Match, punching the wall of the truck, denting it. "Hey! Calm down, Match! We're as clueless as you are!" Count Zap snapped, now groaning that he'll have to buff that dent out. "His mind is clouded with rage. But it is understandable. All they wanted was a nice evening to themselves on a first date, but chaos would not allow that, sadly..." said Yahoot, driving. "Yeah. Guess you're right. They wanted to screw when they got back to their room later, but the invasion happened" Zap said, guessing what the monk meant. "Zap!!!" Match snarled. "Oh, did I guess wrong? Ok, I'll try again. They wanted to make love when they got back!" Zap taunted, trying to lighten things up, completely unaware of the Scot trying to resist the urge to strangle him on the spot. "Count Zap, you are perhaps the most insensitive person I have ever met. The undead have revolted and attacked poor Maddy and all you can think of is what she and Match would do had the date been successful" Yahoot said, a hint of iciness in his voice. "What?! Oh come on! She'll get better! She's too stubborn to die from a few bites from some nutter from some psycho cult! The undead... Please!" Zap countered, clearly not believing Yahoot's bit about undead actually existing.
"Zap... I believe what he's sayin'... I saw th' thing that bit me Maddy. It wasn't even alive! Its skin was peelin' righ' off, it didn't bleed when I cut it with me knife, and it took a whole lot o damage to bring that sucker down... It was horrible, lad... Then there was that imp... Ugly li'l punk... Took me a few minutes to punt it to th' next county. And then... it came... I believe it was a vampire, judging by its fangs it bared at Maddy. It tried to bite her, so I fought it wit' me own strength. As you can see, what you see is basically how we ended up after that fight... You found us a while afterward and here we are, drivin' around like this" he explained, his tone strained. He fell silent, staring at his girlfriend again and praying that the zombie bites had not poisoned her or whatever zombie bites are supposed to do...
"Hey, doesn't that limo look familiar?" Zap asked, looking at the vehicle ahead of them. Yahoot looked closer at the limo. "Yes... It does... It is one of Yai Ayano's limos. It looks like Lan and his friends are up to something. I wonder if they were affected by the attack too" the monk said calmly. "Let's follow them, see what they're doing" Zap suggested. "What about Maddy and finding a hospital that hasn't been trashed?" the monk retorted, glaring. "Relax, friend. We have a pretty good first-aid kit and Mr. Match would do just about anything to keep her alive. She's in pretty good hands" Zap said, looking back at the couple. "Fine then. But if anything happens to make her condition worse, it's on your head" Yahoot declared, driving after the limo.
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The limo drove past Lan and Maylu's neighborhood. Lan saw that a couple of the houses had suffered some damage. "Wait! Hold on! Stop!" Lan cried, which caused the limo to screech to a halt. Lan ran out and sped toward his house, hoping that his mother wasn't among the captured. Yai got out and ran after him, realizing why he stopped the limo. "Feh. Mama's boy..." Chaud huffed, still thinking that they should just fly to Wily's immediately. "Don't you have a family?" Dex glared, utterly appalled by what the skunk-haired rich boy had just said. "They're safe. No zombie could break my mansion's security, unlike Midget Girl's place..." replied Chaud, without so much as a grunt of annoyance. Tory and Dex just sighed, fed up with Chaud's arrogance.
Lan burst through the front door and looked around. "Mom? Mom! Where are you!" he cried as he looked through the undamaged house. Unfortunately, there was no response, no sound of any movement other than Lan's. "Where'd she go...?" he sighed, double checking his mom's room. Yai caught up to him. "Don't worry, Lan. The house doesn't appear trashed. Maybe she didn't get taken" she suggested, taking a look around and wondering how average teens could live in 'dumps' like this. "Yeah... Maybe she was out and she avoided the whole attack. Yeah. Those freaks did hit only half the city. Yeah! She must've been running a night errand. But... Where is she now...?" Lan wondered, his sudden relief put out.
Yai couldn't think of where Mrs. Hikari could've gone. The two stepped out and started back to the limo when they heard a door opening next door. It was the front door of Maylu's house. Two women stepped out, crying, their husbands trying to console them. "Huh? Mom? Dad? Hey!" Lan called, stopping the women from crying. Faster than you could say 'Mama's boy', Mrs. Hikari ran over and clung tightly to Lan. "My baby! My dear Lan... You're ok... I'm so glad you came home..." Lan's mother sobbed, refusing to release her son, despite his struggling for air. "I'm... choking...!" Lan gasped, his face a vivid blue. "I'm sorry!" Mrs. Hikari said, loosening her grip. Then, she got a look at him. "What's with the black clothes, dear?" she asked, wondering if it has anything to do with the attack the night before.
"Lan...? Where's Maylu...?" Mrs. Sakurai said, looking at him in a concerned way. Lan felt a wave of guilt wash over him again. Again, the realization of letting his best friend's mother down hit him like a sack of steel bricks. "Was she...?" she stammered, trying to stay composed. "Was she... taken by those... things...?" she finally got out. Lan found the ground a more interesting sight at the moment. His mind absolutely refused to go through with it and save himself from the scorn and the blame, but his heart knew that he had to tell her, blame or no blame. "Y...yes... We were attacked during dinner... I tried to defend her... I was beaten easily... She was grabbed... I'm sorry I couldn't do a better job protecting her... I really am sorry..." Lan explained, bracing himself for a mother's rage, his eyes tightly closed.
But the yelling did not come. Instead came more sobbing. But Mrs. Sakurai wasn't done talking yet. "Lan... Thank you for at least trying to help her... Considering that those... things... were probably very strong, you put your life at risk to save Maylu..." she sniffled, flinching at the though of the monsters she saw on the morning news and the crashes and screams she heard the night before. "Maylu'll come back... I'll make sure she does..." Lan said, the gentle redhead flooding into his mind again.
A few minutes later, Yai and Lan said their goodbyes to the Sakurais and the Hikaris, promising to help Maylu. But on the way back to the limo, they heard the sound of voices arguing. "What's going on?" Lan asked as they saw a curry delivery truck parked next to the limo. "World 3!" Yai cried, pointing out the familiar forms of an old, thin monk and a blond, crazy-looking rock guitarist. Chaud, Dex, and Tory were arguing with them. Lan and Yai ran toward the scene. Lan announced his presence by tackling Count Zap and beating the snot out of him. "Like we really need trouble from you now!!!" Lan snapped, strangling the rocker. "Let... me... go!!!" Zap coughed out, trying to shake off the wild NetSavior.
"Lay off, Lan! They weren't picking a fight! We were just arguin' about our curry tab! Apparently, they miscalculated" Dex shouted, trying to get through to the crazed Lan. "Oh... My bad..." Lan said, letting go of Zap and backing off, now embarrassed. "Well, you guys are such pigs! Ya eat more than you can pay for!" Zap said, fuming. "Look, we'll have Yai cover for us, ok?! Let's just calm down and see what we can do about your wounded!" Tory countered. "Huh? Who's injured?" Lan and Yai asked.
"Maddy... She got bit a couple of times by a zombie and burned by an imp with a temper, so says Mr. Match. He's in the back of the truck with her..." Zap said, losing the attitude. 'One more person to avenge...' thought Lan, remembering the time when the pink-haired spitfire saved him from one of Magnet Gauss' traps. Lan silently walked to the back of the truck, which was open, and looked in. "Lan" acknowledged Match, staring at Maddy, not even bothering to ask about Lan's different outfit. Lan nodded and walked toward the girl, cringing a little at the sight of her ravaged arm. "Feh... You're not the only one with girl troubles, buddy..." Lan said, explaining his story.
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In the cyber world, Glyde and MegaMan also encountered a huge argument. ProtoMan was beating up a soaked FireMan, IceMan stood near a frozen WackoMan, and GutsMan hammered his point to both MagicMan and ElecMan. "Enough already!!!" shouted MegaMan, stopping the entire NetRumble. "Guts was just taking care of business" GutsMan said, annoyed that Mega stopped the fight. "What's going on here?" Glyde asked calmly, breaking WackoMan free from his icy prison.
"They came, we talked, the subject of the money we owe came up, we fought" stated ProtoMan, acting cool as usual. "Well?! Whaddya expect?! Your NetOps are just a buncha curry hogs!" FireMan bellowed, still trying to dry himself off from an attack from IceMan. "Even I couldn't eat as much as your NetOps!" snapped WackoMan, burning with rage over what happened to his NetOp. "I thought we had this settled by now! You must've added somethin' wrong!" IceMan retorted. And so the argument continued, leaving Mega and Glyde helpless to stop the argument. "Man, will we ever get along with these guys? Wily goes necromancer and they argue about debt..." Mega said, getting a headache. "I'm not sure. At least they don't attack us much anymore" Glyde remarked. "True" said the Blue Bomber.
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"This is too depressin', lad... Wily did some terrible evil wit' Grave wit' that digital hell hound, but now he's messin' around with necromancy?" Match growled lightly. "Dr. Wily controls those undead...He'll be a real menace to all of mankind if he keeps doing things like this..." Lan said. As he did to everyone else, he told Mr. Match what Miyu had told him. "Ya gotta be pullin' me leg, laddie! A vampire lord helping Wily! Ha!" began the Scot. But then he remembered that the zombies and imps were real. What right had he to laugh about possible vampire kings after what he went through? "D'oh! Ne'er mind me taunt. Anyways, ye sure ye can put a stop to all this before the undead strike again?" he asked. "Dead sure" Lan responded, not laughing at his own unintended pun. "We're definitely gonna stop Dr. Wily" Lan said.
At that moment, outside the curry truck with the others, Yahoot remembered something, something that happened around a month back, something involving a dark altar and a back beam of energy. "Zap... Remember a month back when we went spelunking for rare chips and we accidentally released something? When you were hallucinating about an apocalypse to Dentech?" Yahoot suddenly asked, just as Dex was about to snap from one of Zap's verbal jabs. "Huh? Hmm... Now that you bring that up, yeah. I remember. Oh! I get it! Whatever was in there must've finally struck. Damn! How could I forget that?!" Zap said, slapping himself on the forehead. "Oh yeah. Match was on the news that day, trying to warn us all..." Tory said, recalling that day when he witnessed that black beam by looking out a window at the school.
"But how does that prove they pay cheap?" asked ElecMan, the navis listening in when Yahoot interrupted the argument. "Wrong topic, man. Anyways, if it's that sealed thing, then we should go after that!" FireMan agreed, finally igniting his main burners. "That 'sealed thing' formed an alliance with Wily. It is actually Count Dracula, Lord of the Night. Lan heard this from Miyu, the city's best psychic" Yai said, finally getting somewhere with this conversation. "I've heard of her! About 90% of the things she predicts come true. Could it be true that she's seen somethin' about this alliance?" Zap asked Yahoot. "Very possible, my friend. Remember when she fought Lan in the N1 Grand Prix? The only thing she got wrong was the fact that she lost and how she lost. Everything else came out as predicted. We should tell Mr. Match about this development" advised the monk.
And so, Zap and Yahoot informed Match about what happened a month ago. "Shoot! How could I've forgotten about that incident! Sigh... I guess my warning went unheeded..." Match said, thinking of the few deaths he'd seen while trying to get Maddy out of the chaos. "Well, your warning was pretty out there, man..." Lan said, thinking. "By the way, Match. About Wily-" Zap said, before being cut off. "Yeah, I know about his alliance wit' th' King of Vampires, thank ye very much" Match said,
At that sentence, Lan decided that it was time to continue the trip to Yai's personal jet. "We're outta here, then. Sorry about Maddy..." Lan said, stepping out of the truck. "I think there's a working hospital a couple miles northeast of here. Take Maddy there and tell 'em that Yai Ayano will pay for her care. They know me over there. It's the least I can do for ya, since you all haven't been causing any trouble lately" said Yai, getting a glimpse of the fallen woman and shuddering. "And you guys have great curry!" said Dex, adding in his two cents. "Thanks..." said Match, bowing a little. "Your charitable help is certainly appreciated" said Yahoot. Then, the Ex-World 3 went back in the truck and drove off toward the hospital.
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Less than a half hour later, the AyanoJet was boarded and in the air, headed toward the modified castle known to some as Castlevania. The group spoke little, anxious about the upcoming mission. They know that despite the fact that they're well armed, they're still in danger of a serious beatdown or even death. However, that didn't stop MegaMan from alerting Lan about an email that he didn't even notice all this time.
"Yo Lan, ya got mail!" Mega called, snapping the teenage hero out of his thoughts. "Huh? Mail? Now?" he asked. "Hmm... Actually, according to this, it came during the attack. It's from Brightland" the navi said, scanning the mail. "Princess Pride? Open the mail" Lan said immediately. "Ok, Lan" Mega responded. "It's a visual message, by the way" he added before the PET screen went blank. Then, an image started to appear with a familiar blonde in it...
"My dearest knight, Lan Hikari! If you're getting this, and I really hope that you do, please come to my aid!" cried Princess Pride, as an explosion was heard. "My kingdom is under attack! My guards tell me that the enemy consists of zombies and gargoyles and giant spiders and...!!!" she was interrupted as a nearby wall broke away, revealing a giant demon. "No...! No!!! Please! Stay back! Don't come any closer! I'm unarmed...! No! Don't grab me! Lan-kun!!! Please help me!!! Kyaaaaaaaa-" the screen turned to static mid-scream. "Princess!!!" Lan cried, hoping against hope that Pride somehow escaped. Mega had done the favor of showing the others the email so that everyone wouldn't ask a thousand questions.
"Pride too? Damn..." Dex said, frowning. Tory remained silent, a little scared of the giant demon. "Princesses, they always get kidnapped..." Chaud said, keeping his cool. "Lan...? It'll be ok... I bet Wily hasn't done anything to her yet. I bet she's just imprisoned, like Maylu-chan..." Yai said, looking at him. Lan growled, imagining Wily laughing in his face and rubbing in the fact that he's got to yet another of his friends. "Pride-chan... That's it...! Wily's gone too far now!" Lan snarled loudly, glad that he had vented some of his rage at Count Zap earlier. "Someone needs anger management..." Chaud said, annoyed by his nemesis' temper. "Look who's talking, Mr. 'I'm-better-than-everyone'..." stated Dex calmly. Chaud growled in warning. "Ok, people. That's enough. Remember our plan of attack. Land a few miles out and make a beeline to Castlevania. Let's hope there's a way to sneak in. If not, then we just attack and storm the place" Yai commanded, back in Drill Sergeant Mode. "Got it, Yai" they all said, making sure they have all their weapons ready.
"Look at us. We're like a small SWAT team or something. Ha, always wondered what this would be like, going into enemy territory, armed and ready to fight..." Dex mused, clicking his shotgun. "You play too much SOCOM II, buddy" Lan replied, calm again, his new whip in his hand. "You guys ready to rescue some NetWomen?" Tory asked the navis. "Oh yeah!" they all said. MegaMan thought of Roll again. GutsMan hoped that when this mission ends, he'd at least have one girl that likes him. "There it is! Let's find a clearing and land this thing before we're detected" Yai said, killing the mood.
The castle known as Castlevania was a metallic monstrosity. A huge, black behemoth of a base, it had a menacing look to it. The heroes couldn't figure out what was more threatening, the sharp, blood-covered spikes protruding throughout certain areas of the walls and roof, the tall thin towers that looked more like devil horns than anything else, or the size of the place, which looked like it could take up a few blocks of Dentech City. They were silent as the pilot found a clearing a couple of miles from Castlevania and landed. "Ok. Nina, for your safety, you may want to lock yourself in after we exit. Who knows what's out there now... We'll contact you through radio when we need to get on board" Yai said, talking to the female pilot, the last remaining servant of the Ayano Mansion. "Yes, Miss Yai. I really hope you succeed..." Nina said, worried about this whole fiasco. "Thanks for the concern. We'll see you later" Yai said, praying that her last servant doesn't get killed out here.
The hatch opened, revealing the forest beyond. Lan stepped off the plane first, whip at the ready. Yai followed, then Chaud, Dex, and lastly Tory, all with one of their weapons ready. "I know this ain't SOCOM, but we should at least remember some of the strategies we planned in the game, in case we have to fight out here" Dex remarked, looking around for trouble. "Maybe... Let's keep moving. That way, right?" Tory said, walking in the direction the plane was facing. "Yeah. Move out, people!" Yai barked, sending everyone walking with Tory. The others thought that her army camouflage outfit was perfect for her current attitude.
They walked deep into the forest, no one speaking. A path was found, leading toward Castlevania, so they started down it. All of them were alert, ready for anything. But something caught Lan's ears. He looked back to see what the noise was. Nothing. Shrugging, he resumed walking. But the noise was heard again, like feet accidentally rustling grass. He looked back again. Then he saw something that looked like a human running into the mess of trees. He couldn't tell who it was, it was too fast. "Huh?" Lan uttered, staring at the place where the figure disappeared. "Somethin' out there, Lan?" Dex asked, wondering why he keeps looking behind. "I think so. I saw someone running into the trees there. Could be an enemy or somethin'..." Lan said, looking at the area for a few more moments before walking again. "We're already spotted? But we just got here" Dex said, wondering if Wily will know of their presence soon. "That jerk may have a lot of guards out here. If one doesn't want his ass kicked again after a long losing streak, he would play very defensively after an attack" said Yai, grimly.
But they hadn't run into any guard at all. Soon, they found themselves at the end of the forest, the abomination of a castle in plain view. Yai looked at the entrance area through a pair of binoculars. "Strange... I don't see any guards at all. Is Wily being lax on security today?" Yai asked. "I thought you said that Wily's forces would be recovering from that offensive" Chaud said, smirking at the fact that Yai has been proven an idiot. Or so he thought. "I did say that, but even if most of his army is reorganizing themselves, that doesn't mean that he couldn't have some form of security. However, the drawbridge is up, so we'd have a hard time entering anyway" she snapped, glaring at him. Chaud still thought of her as an idiot.
"Should we try to get across the moat?" Lan asked. "If we had a raft..." Dex said, agreeing with Lan. "We don't know if that's water or cleverly disguised acid" Yai said sharply, causing the two to abandon that plan. Lan walked toward the entrance, looking at the drawbridge, thinking. "Lan! Hey! Get back here!" Yai said, running out after him. The others followed. Lan then looked down at the moat. Indeed, it looked like water, but was it water...? He didn't dare try to swim in it. "Lan! Are you nuts!? We could be spotted out here!" Yai snapped, glaring at her friend.
Suddenly, they heard Dex gasp. "Guys...! Was that big eye always there!?" he stammered, pointing toward a red eye that had opened up on the drawbridge. The eye had a vertical slit for a pupil. "This castle's alive?!!" Tory said, his hair standing on end. No one had time to answer as the moat suddenly became as wild as the most dangerous rapids. From inside the moat came the skeletal remains of a giant sea serpent, its head still wrapped in its flesh. It had terrible, sickly-green eyes, a mouth with razor sharp teeth, and a dragon-like nose that kept spouting toxic smoke with every breath. It roared at its new opponents, who all frantically drew a weapon.
The roar, however, wasn't just to intimidate the NetSaviors. As soon as Lan and co. drew their weapons of choice, the ground inside the forest began to erupt, zombies bursting free from their confines. The heroes turned at the shaking of the earth, seeing the hidden army of undead showing themselves. Each zombie, after freeing themselves, started trudging toward the 5 heroes. To make matters worse, the zombies were all extremely hungry...
"Uhh... Are you happy now, Yai...? You got your security..." Dex said, unsure of whether to aim his shotgun at the dead sea serpent or the small undead army.
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Inside Castlevania, at the top floor, there were 5 people in the large throne room, 3 of these people were tied to black crosses that were nailed to the wall. The young woman in the center of the imprisoned trio was Maylu Sakurai, who was frightened ever since she showed up. But scared as she was, she never stopped hoping that Lan and the others would show up and beat up Wily. The woman at Maylu's left was none other than Princess Pride, who was unconscious from fright. Maylu thought of how she always had to compete with Pride over Lan, but she still considered her a friend. To Maylu's right was her own NetNavi, Roll. She had been given the ability to cross over to the real world, like Rush, thanks to Agent Smith.EXE. Roll was awake, glaring at the hoverchair that held Dr. Wily. The maniacal doctor was sitting next to the throne of Dracula, who was contemplating the next offense and which female out of all their prisoners should be his first meal.
Suddenly, an alarm went off and a huge monitor appeared, showing Wily, Dracula, and the girls an image of Lan, Dex, Tory, Yai, and Chaud, all in dark outfits, being sandwiched between the moat monster and a big gang of zombies. "Lan!" cried Maylu, immediately worrying about her crush. Wily just laughed loudly, causing Maylu and Roll to glare at him. "I knew Lan Hikari and MegaMan couldn't resist trying to save everybody, especially their 3 girlfriends! Hahaha! They probably didn't expect this trap!" gloated the mad doctor. "My minions will crush these pitiful intruders, Dr. Wily. You can be sure that they won't ever enter this castle... unless they're undead first..." snickered Dracula, which caused Maylu and Roll to worry more about their friends. "Please survive, guys... You can do it..." muttered Maylu, watching the tense situation.
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The battle had started when Dex had fired the first shot, knocking the arms and/or head of three of the trudging zombies. The rest of them ran toward them in a clumsy fashion, attacking. Dex kept shooting and reloading, occasionally punching out one that happened to come across his path. "Never cross a dirty friar!" he spat, smashing another zombie's face in. Chaud calmly took out his Uzi and started mowing them down while standing his ground. Tory drew his lance and started to hack through the dead denizens, being careful to watch out for biting zombies from all sides. Yai, like an expert lady shinobi, drew her katanas and chopped the head off the first one she was attacked by before going on to the next one, jamming both blades into its gut.
Lan, determined to save the world from this latest evil, uncoiled the Vampire Killer and started bringing down zombie after zombie, tearing an arm or leg off, throwing one in the moat or at an attacking group, or just whipping them to bloody shreds. But as the battle continued, the undead moat serpent grew bored of sitting on the sidelines, watching the wimps get their butts burned. The skeletal serpent drew in a breath and prepared to unleash a blast of unholy fire. Luckily, Tory noticed this after he gutted another zombie in the throat. "Everybody scatter!!!" he cried before breaking through a mosh pit of undead. Yai jumped on the heads of a few zombies, Mario-style, trying to get away. Chaud walked quickly forward, still mowing down the pushing opposition. Dex just ran frantically, not wanting to risk accidentally shooting a friend while running. Lan flung the whip to a nearby tree branch and swung away, just as the serpent breathed black fire upon the left behind undead.
The stumbling zombies were burned to ashes by the dark flames of the angry serpent, who now regretted his actions. "We have to fight that now?!!" Yai cried, scared of the moat monster's 'fire power'. "I'm afraid so, Yai-chan!" Lan answered as the flames died down, along with the remaining zombies that were still on fire. The serpent roared madly, infuriated by his own impatience. "Oh man... We're screwed!" Dex griped, starting to think that his shotgun is useless.
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The sound of Dr. Wily's laughter began to scare Maylu, Roll, and the now-conscious Princess Pride as the female trio watched as Lan slowly walked on the burnt ground toward the monstrous water dragon, whip in hand. The serpent was apparently watching the teen approach, wondering how strong he is. Dracula's face was grim, recognizing the whip as the same one that the Belmont family used many times before to foil him and his insane schemes. But the vampire was also curious, as the new owner of the whip was not a Belmont, according to Wily. He began to wonder about the kid's chances of beating the moat monster, coming up with the result that Lan's totally screwed.
"Lan-kun..." Pride said, her face full of concern for 'her most precious knight'. She was amazed at Lan's bravery and mentally added one more reason to the list of why she has strong feelings for him. Roll watched on as Chaud, Tory, Dex, and Yai followed Lan onto the battlefield. "C'mon, guys... Don't get killed!" she said, rooting for them all the way. If her arms could move, she'd be moving them like an over-excited cheerleader by now. "You can do it!" the pink navi cheered. Maylu was scared out of her mind. No, she wasn't afraid of her own death. She was afraid that all of her best friends would have their lives cut short by some undead sea monster. 'C'mon, Lan...' she thought, watching the screen intently, her eyes on Lan the Vampire Hunter.
"This is great! They'll die before they can even set foot in here! Man, how do we come up with such grand defenses?" Wily said, completely ecstatic about the whole scenario. "I don't know, but at least the world will be ours for the taking" replied Dracula, still focusing most of his attention on studying the young man with the Vampire Killer. "Let the games begin, my friends..." sneered Wily to the group of NetSaviors, just as the serpent dove toward Lan, its mouth wide open...
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Ryu-san: Another cliffy, I know. Just thought that'd be a good place to leave on. Hope this was worth the wait from that delay. Keep the reviews coming. Flames may be annoying, but acceptable. By the way, can someone give me a list of viruses that I can use for cannon fodder against MegaMan and the other Navis? I haven't played the Battle Network games, but I don't want to make things seem unspecific, like for example... 'A bunch of different viruses appear. Mega blasts them to pieces.'. But I will if I must.
Coming Attractions: Will the NetSaviors even make it inside Castlevania? If so, what awaits them inside besides Wily and Count Dracula? What will Wily's next move be? What's the deal with that mysterious figure that followed them in the forest? What will the NetNavis encounter when they're jacked into the Dark Network? What's happening back in Dentech? Will the NetAgents and Ex-World 3 get involved? And what the hell have Gauss, Kid Grave, and Bass been up to since that mess with the Grave Virus Beast? Look out for the next chapter 'The Many Roads to Death', coming out as soon as I can get it done.