Activation!
By StarWulf.EXE
Chapter 17: Path of the Twilight
Last time on Activation! ...
"We can catch him!" Lan smirked. "MegaBooster BattleChip, in! Download!" MegaMan sweatdropped as the power pack on his back started to glow. A small moan escaped his lips. "Oh no…"
At breakneck speeds, MegaMan unwilling launched forward after his rival. Wulf and ProtoMan stood there for a moment before chasing off after him.
"Lan, turn this thing off!" MegaMan yelled, flying past raw code. "I can't fully control this yet!'
Meanwhile, Lan franticly searched through MegaMan's armor data. "You're running out of energy too quickly! I can't find the off switch!"
"Let me try." Wulf offered. In one quick movement, the wolfish-Navi leaped into the air and sunk his claws into MegaMan's power pack. The Blue Bomber gave a nod of thanks as the BattleChip's power drained, shorting out the booster.
The head-banded brunette quickly rummaged around his PET case for anything that would help. "Double Jump BattleChip, in! Download!" The soles on Navi's boots glimmered for a moment only to crack and sputter.
Cannot activate BattleChip data. Navi code is currently unstable.
Just as MegaMan was about to crash to the ground, ProtoMan made a desperate attempt to catch him. Lan, Chaud, and Chris could only grimace as the rescue attempt failed and MegaMan plowed into the ground below.
"MegaMan, answer me!" Lan shouted at the lifeless Navi. "MegaMan!"
- - -
One hour later…
Dr. Hakari brushed off his brow as he stepped out from his lab. His uncombed hair was matted against his scalp and his glasses rested awkwardly on his face. Halfheartedly, he slowly walked over to a teen sitting in the waiting room.
"How is he, Dad?" Lan asked, a worried expression spread across his face. It only became worse when sadly shook his head.
"Something got into his Soul Unison program. It's rewritten the data, making it impossible to figure out what caused it."
Lan frowned. "Can I go see him?"
The doctor nodded and Lan ran into his father's lab. Across every computer screen in the room the words 'ERROR' flashed except for one that displayed a heavily damaged MegaMan. Three red rings rotated around him, scanning his data.
"MegaMan…"
"L…Lan?"
"MegaMan, how do you feel?"
"Like I was…hit with a truck." Lan forced a weak smile.
FATAL ERROR! Immediate shutdown in T-minus twenty seconds.
MegaMan's eyes quickly snapped closed and his icon started to fade. "Dad, get in here quick!" Lan yelled franticly. Instantly, Yuichiro and several other scientists came running in the room. "It's MegaMan! I don't think he's gonna make it!"
MegaMan's armor started rapidly changing colors schemes and differently Navi icons flashed around his own. Then, as soon as it started, it abruptly stopped. Everyone was shocked as they took in the sight before them. MegaMan had transformed
Data Bug Integration complete. MegaMan Twilight Mode.
The Navi's gloves, boots, and helmet had turned a bright orange. His hair, now poking out from the front of his helmet as well as the back, was a silvery grey.
Dr. Hakari gasped. "MegaMan…he's developed some kind of…new battle form!"
Lan cautiously walked over to what he presumed was still his Navi. He reached out a placed his hand over MegaMan's heart. Reaching out with his mind via the Link, he tried to contact his brother. Hub, can you hear me?
No response.
Come on, Hub! You can pull through this! We've been in tougher situations before!
MegaMan stirred slightly and opened his eyes. Relived, Lan let out a huge sigh.
Twilight Mode deactivated. MegaMan EXE Mode.
MegaMan's old armor returned and his hair became its normal length.
"Thanks, Lan" MegaMan said. "I wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for you."
"Hey, what are brothers for anyway?"
Everyone stood silent, taking in the touching moment. However, this moment would have been a lot better if Dan hadn't come barging in with the rest of the Net Saver team.
"Lan, we heard Mega had an accident, so we decided to cheer you up with some curry-flavored doughnuts we bought!"
"Wait," Pride butted in. "What do you mean by 'we bought'? No one else knows a place to get curry-flavored doughnuts! In fact, no one even wants to know where to get them!"
Lan and MegaMan burst out laughing, soon to be followed by everyone else. Even Chaud and Laika gave a chuckle or two. Everyone was about to jack in their Navis to keep MegaMan company but Dr. Hakari stopped them.
"MegaMan might still have a data bug. I don't want to risk getting everyone else infected. Let me run a quick scan just to make sure"
Yuichrio started busily typing at a keyboard along with the other scientists. The three red rings appeared around MegaMan and started circling his body. A short while later, the scan concluded that there was no trace of any problems.
"Jack in, KnightMan! Power up!"
"Jack in, SearchMan! Power up!"
"Jack in, Chaos! Power up!"
"Jack in, ProtoMan! Power up!"
"Jack in, Wulf! Power up!"
The Navis landed in the SciLab computer next to MegaMan who signaled them it was all right to come over.
After a few minutes of talking, the blue Navi's face became serious as he turned to Wulf and ProtoMan. "Did you find Forte?" he asked.
Both Navis shook their heads in defeat. MegaMan sighed loudly. "We really need to work on our apprehension strategies."
- - -
A heavily damaged Navi lazily floated through the Undernet, gathering up data in his right palm.
"He was there….I must find him…"
Star's Notes:
...Still got my little flu virus. Apparently, it isn't going down without a fight.On a happier note, I'll be attending the Video Games Live concert sometime in November! Yay for me!