Disclaimer: I do not own MegaMan, or any related characters within the story.
Claimer: Kicker.EXE, however, does belong to me; so if you want to use him a fic, you'll have to ask me and I'll let you use him.
MegaMan Network Transmission Hunter
Chapter 2: Birth of the Net Saviors
"C-Commander K-Kifune?" Chaud gasped. "You know him, Chaud?" Lan asked. Chaud snapped at that point, "How could you be an Official, and NOT know who he is?"
Kifune merely laughed heartily and raised his hand, "It's alright, Chaud. I'm very sure you know who Baryl is, right Lan?" Lan nodded.
"He's the Amerouppan Official Commander, remember?" MegaMan said. Lan nodded, "Of course, I remember. So that would mean that Kifune is the Commander here?"
"That's correct. I suppose you're wondering why we called you. There are two reasons, and we'll start with the background first. Ms. Manabe?" Kifune gestured to his assistant. "You see, there have been three reports of Navis being seen in the real world," Manabe explained, "Two of them were, according to records, are independent Navis who apparently go by the name of CutMan and BubbleMan."
"CutMan and BubbleMan? I thought they were deleted!" Lan uttered. Jasmine faced him with concern, "Do you know them, Lan?"
"Yeah, CutMan worked for the Net Mafia Gospel, while BubbleMan worked for World Three. CutMan was no problem, but BubbleMan almost got Mayl and Ms. Mari killed." Lan growled, "What THEY doing still alive?"
"The Navis only appear for a few seconds and then vanished; and they haven't attacked anything, so we don't have to worry right now. Now the other one who was spotted in Africa has an Operator and has been around for while now; however, he has been living among the people, so I think it is safe to that he's friendly."
"What does he look like?" Lan asked, and Manabe handed him a picture of the mystery NetNavi, "That's BeastMan!"
"Hmm… According to records, he goes by the name of SavageMan."
"Inukai must have changed his Navi's name," Chaud added, "Usually a human could move to another continent without any problems with his criminal record, but if he or she has a Navi… well, that's another story."
Kifune then explained that they also know what the source of the Navis' unexplained entry to the human world is, and that it came from a reliable source who had come into Official Police network recently.
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Meanwhile, in the Official Homepage…
"Gutsu-kun, what are we doing here?" Kicker asked the larger gold Navi. "Beats me," was GutsMan's simple reply.
"Commander Kifune said a Navi was able to witness first-hand a powerful force come into existence," ProtoMan answered.
"I wonder who it is?" Roll asked.
"Perhaps I could answer that question," said a voice from behind the group. Everyone turned around and saw Bass standing there.
"It's Bass!" "What are YOU doing here?" MegaMan inquired.
Bass chuckled, "That human did mention a Navi had seen a powerful being, right? So I-"
"You destroyed him, didn't you!"
"WHAT? NO! I-"
"You liar," Medi interrupted, "I bet you forced that poor Navi to tell where it was so you could fight it yourself, and then you deleted him, right? Well let's see how you like it! CAPSULE BOMB!"
The nurse Navi tossed a few Medi Capsule at the red-eyed one. He raised his arms and put a barrier to protect him, but MegaMan quickly broke it with a well-aimed Charge Shot, leaving Bass open for an incoming Guts Punch. Feeling the full effect of the attack, he was sent back a few yards, which left MegaMan a tad dumbfounded. As Bass got up, Roll made her move and teleported in front of him. "Heart Flash!" Bass didn't have any time to evade it and was struck down with it.
The black Navi kicked her away and jumped to his feet only to get slashed by ProtoMan's Hawk Cutter attack. The next to attack was Glyde his Glider Wing attack, yet surprised MegaMan even more with the damage he made. GutsMan came in again and this time used his Guts Hammer attack. Bass managed to dodge it directly, but was still hit by the shockwave. The tiny Navi Kicker who was watching the battle, looked on in admiration, for GutsMan.
"Wow! If Big Brother could beat that bad Navi, then maybe I can too!" the little Navi thought to himself, and then rushed in to attack.
"Kicker! STOP!" MegaMan, Roll, Medi, and GutsMan shouted, but the eager Navi ignored it and kept on. When he was close enough, Kicker made his move. "Swift Kick!"
MegaMan and the others feared the worst…
But the only who needed to fear the worst was BASS! Kicker's kick sent him at least ten feet into the air before he crashed into the ground. The other Navis were left speechless. GutsMan, being the loose cannon he was, thought little of the BIG picture and rushed in to deliver the final blow. MegaMan, who finally realized what was going on, intercepted him by catching the big Navi's fist before he could do any more harm.
"Whoa there, big guy!" said MegaMan.
"MegaMan? Why'd you stop him?" ProtoMan asked.
"Oww… What is WRONG with you people?" Bass grunted as he got up, "I didn't delete the informant!"
"You didn't?" asked GutsMan.
"NO, you degenerate ape! I AM THE INFORMANT!"
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"WHAT?"
See, Bass had yelled so loud that even the humans heard him, so this naturally startled everyone except the adults. "Wait. I'm confused." Dex said exasperatedly, "What exactly is going on here?"
"Isn't Bass usually the bad guy?" Yai deducted.
"He is… well, usually," Lan's Navi answered, "That's how I figured out that he didn't cause any trouble this time."
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"You could have figured it out sooner and saved me a big headache, Sherlock," said Bass. Over a few yards from the others, ProtoMan leaned on a wall with his arm crossed, not knowing how to make heads or tails of the situation. Roll casually walked over to him, "Hey ProtoMan," she began, "Does Bass seem a little more… I don't know… livelier than usually." She was as confused as the red raider Navi (or everyone else, for that matter).
"Yep."
"…So when Kicker actually got a hit off, it was then that I knew that Bass couldn't have done wrong this time, MegaMan continued his explanation, "There was no way he could have made even a scratch on him otherwise. No offense, little guy." Kicker, who was perched on GutsMan's shoulders, simply gave him a raspberry.
Bass thus begin his detailed explanation from when he entered the Data Grave Area, to his defusing with Gospel (who he had told to stay hidden until now), to his encounter with the Dream Virus, Alpha, and Nebula Grey, to his escape from Bass DS; without leaving out any important details.
"So now that that's out the way, what do we plan on doing about Dark Soul Bass, Commander?" Lan asked.
"We need as many talented Officials as possible to deal with this new threat," Kifune answered, "and I'd like for all of you to apply for the Net Saviors."
"That's great in all," said Lan, "but I'm already an Official."
Lan showed the older man his PET, to which the police chief rubber his chin, "It appears that you license had expired four months ago."
"What?"
Chaud laughed at his rival's carelessness, "You should have been on top of things, Lan. I renewed my license ahead of time."
The two-tone haired boy then took out his PET and put it in Lan's face, but the brunette boy only grinned in response, "Yours is expired too."
"WHAT? Let me see! Yesterday!" Chaud shouted in shock, "ProtoMan. Weren't you supposed to handle that?"
"Um… yeah…" ProtoMan said, as he scratched his helmet, "I ran into a little problem and well… Sorry, Master Chaud."
"… ProtoMan, I'm going to close my eyes. When I open them, you had better not be in that PET… (He hid in another PET behind another Navi, but not I'm saying who, but here's a hint: llor)… Good."
Mayl, Jasmine, and Yai sighed, looked at each other, and shrugged their shoulders.
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An hour has passed, and Lan and his friends had already earned their Class-B licenses, and were awaiting their next assignment for Commander Kifune. (A/N: I didn't feel like going through the other ones. They aren't important.) Meanwhile in the Internet, their Navis were speaking with his own Navi, a Navi that strongly resembled Colonel, except he had no cape; Colonel's gray lines were yellow on him; he had a blue 'multi-arm' on his left arm; his facial marks were blue; and his beard… goatee… thing was black.
"Good mourning, cadets," said the Navi, "I believe this is the first time we have meet, so I'll introduce myself. My name is Signas. I will be instructing you for the next portions of the exam. You have now qualified to take the high-level tests. There are four higher ranks: Class A, AA (Double A), AAA (Triple A), and Class-S.
"Each exam will test the bond between you and your operators," Kifune continued, "The Class-A exam is a series of Net Battles that will see how your operator handles heavy pressure; and because these battles will be harder, unlike the previous battles, you will be allowed to recover HP. The first three battles will be normal; but the last two will be timed, like Liberation operations, where you will have 30 seconds to delete the viruses. With that said report to you designated areas immediately."
"Yes sir," the teams chorused. Just then Jasmine's PET rang. As she picked it up, her grandfather's face appeared on the screen.
"Ah Jasmine, good to see you," he greeted her, "I hope I didn't interrupt any important, but I need your help at the pharmacy."
"Well, you did, kind of," she replied.
Kifune chuckled, "Don't worry Jasmine, you can continue anytime you can. Family comes first."
"Okay Grandpa, I'll be over there in a little bit," she said and then Lan faced her, "I'll see you later, Jasmine."
"Bye, Lan. I know you'll ace the exam." She kissed him on the cheek, and said goodbye to everyone before she left.
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"Well, wish me luck, Medi," said MegaMan. In return, the nurse Navi playfully hugged him, "You don't need luck, silly."
"I think I'm gonna puke," Kicked retorted, with GutsMan nodded in agreement.
Mayl and Roll were having their share of doubts that they could succeed; but Chaud had seen the red-haired girl's worried expression, he decided to comfort her, "Don't worry, Mayl. You'll do fine." While Roll was looking down at the ground, a gentle hand had touched her shoulder. When she looked up she saw ProtoMan, and he smiled at her, silently assuring her that she will make through the exam. Both girls smiled in return and went to their assigned jack-in room.
"Let's give it all we got, MegaMan," Lan said to his Navi brother.
"Roger that, Lan!"
"Jack in, MegaMan! Execute!"
"Jack in, Roll! Execute!" said Mayl, "Are you ready?"
"You bet I am!" Roll replied.
"Jack in, ProtoMan! Execute!" said Chaud, "You ready to slice and dice?"
"Oh yeah! I got this one," ProtoMan added.
"Jack in, GutsMan! Execute!" said Dex, "Time to pound some viruses!"
"I'll smash them good! Guts! Guts!" GutsMan said beating his chest.
"Jack in, Glyde! Execute!" said Yai, "Let's put our strategy to work!"
"As you wish, Miss Yai."
"Here's a stool for to sit on so you to see, little guy," said a female attendant.
"Thank you, ma'am. Jack in, Kicker! Execute!" Chisao shouted, "We'll make Dex and GutsMan proud!"
"I'm ready to kick some virus butt!" said Kicker.
Kifune's voice came in a speaker in each room. "Battle routine! Set!"
"EXECUTE!"
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(A/N: We'll focus on Chisao and Kicker for this one. On another note, the story format changes to RPG-style when an important battle is going on)
At least a dozen Mettaur EX 3's appeared in front of Kicker with their pickaxes ready. The ones in the front made their moves first and struck the ground creating multiple shockwaves. "This is easy!" said Chisao, "Battle Chip, Area Steal! Slot-in!"
Kicker warped and appeared behind the viruses and kicked a few with his Swift Kick attack deleting them. Noticing him behind them, the others turned around and were ready to strike again. But Chisao thought ahead and downloaded an Air Shoes Battle Chip, propelling his Navi into the air where he dropped a Quake 3 on a few more Mettaurs. For Chisao and Kicker's last trick, the little operator downloaded a Step Cross sword chip. Kicker, using his gained speed, sliced the remaining Mettaurs.
Chisao: "All right!"
Kicker quickly called his attention back to the battle. Three Champies EX 3s entered the fray, and one of them quickly nailed the little Navi with a one-two punch.
Chisao: "Are you okay, Kicker?"
Kicker: "I'm okay, Chisao! We can't get caught off guard again!"
Chisao: "I got an idea! Battle Chip, Wide Shot! Double Slot-in!"
The same Champy that attacked before had tried again, but this time its attack was halted when Kicker countered with the first Wide Shot blast, and then kicked it to finish it off. Since Champies don't have peripheral vision, they have to see someone directly ahead of them in order to fight them. This gave Kicker the advantage; with the viruses unable to see him, he could hit both of them with a powered-up Wide Shot. He launched the attack, and sent the viruses into oblivion.
This time, Chisao remained alert on the battle, as he should have, because a Big Brute appeared already moving around the battlefield, not allowing Kicker to focus his Swift Kick! By the time he could, however, the beast virus had done his attack, burning the little Navi. Chisao was concerned for his partner, but vowed not to lose his cool. That's when he saw Recover 120, two Cannons, a Hi-Cannon, and a Mega Cannon! Seeing a golden opportunity, he downloaded them all. The latter three cannons combined to form a Zeta Cannon Program Advance.
First, he healed his Navi; then he waited till the right moment to blast the Big Brute, paralyzing it; finally Kicker fired the Zeta Cannon, destroying the virus completely.
Chisao: "The next battles are timed, so we have to be faster!"
A Tin Hawk appeared in front of Kicker and immediately swooped down at him. He narrowly dodged the assault, but didn't time to strike back.
Chisao: "We don't have any chips that work right now, but I got an idea. Charge up for a Shockwave, and wait 'til it swoops down again."
Kicker: "Gotcha!"
As the Tin Hawk readied its talons for the next strike, Kicker built up energy for his own attack. The bird virus had come down, but the little gold Navi dodged it, causing the Tin Hawk to strike the ground instead; then Kicker summoned his pickax and drove it into the ground, creating the shockwave that struck the bird virus.
Chisao: "Yeah! Ten seconds have gone by! Battle Chip time!"
Kicker: "What have you got?"
Chisao: "Just what we need! Battle Chip! Gold Fist, Mega Cannon, Long Blade! Triple Slot-in!"
The Tin Hawk swoop down again, but Kicker evaded it and countered with the hardened punch attack. While the virus was paralyzed, Kicker shot it with the Mega Cannon and sliced it with the Long Blade, deleting the virus.
Kicker: "Four down, one to go!" Just then, GutsMan appeared. This surprised the little Navi. "Gutsu-kun? Are you my opponent?"
(A/N: Oh, I should tell you all that everyone's battles until now were the same, except they used different strategies, MegaMan's opponent is VideoMan, ProtoMan's opponent is BurnerMan, GutsMan's opponent is FlashMan, Roll's opponent is MegaMan, and Glyde's opponent is SparkMan.)
Chisao: "Kicker, I don't think that's big brudder's GutsMan." He was right. It was just a data copy of him.
Kicker: "So I have to be better than Gutsu-kun, to be like him?"
Chisao: "I think so."
Kicker: "Hey Chisao! Remember when, the other day, when you asked me what 'irony' meant, and I said…"
Chisao: "KICKER! LOOK OUT!"
Kicker: "No I didn't! I said – AAHHHHHHH!" He failed to notice GutsMan come down at him with his Guts Hammer, and was blown back by the force of the attack.
Chisao: "Now who needs to pay attention? I'm sending you a couple of Battle Chips!"
Kicker's left hand became a Katana, while his right hand became a Wide Blade. He looked up at his operator with confusion.
Chisao: "We need to counter more. Use the Katana first."
Kicker waited until GutsMan was close enough, then he hit the larger Navi with the double sword attack while he tried to use Guts Punch. While GutsMan was stunned, Kicker sliced him again with the Wide Blade's doubled attack power. Chisao then told him to keep using Shockwave until he could use more chips. When the time came, Chisao download three Spreader Guns that formed a Program Advance.
Chisao/Kicker: "Hyper Burst!"
With a mighty blast, the Program Advance shot right through the GutsMan copy, deleting him.
Chisao: "We did it!"
Kicker: "Yahoo!"
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When Chisao stepped out of his NetBattle room, he saw the others already sitting down. Apparently, they were waiting for him. Dex, of course was the first to greet him. "Hey, little bro. How'd it go?" (A/N: hey that rhymed)
"Awesome! I beat you and those viruses good," Chisao said joyfully.
"What do you mean ME?" he asked.
"He meant he fought a copy of GutsMan," Yai answered as-a-matter-of-factly, "Goodness, don't get so bent out of shape, Dex."
"Well done, all of you," said Kifune, "I'm especially impressed by little Chisao's techniques."
"Yeah, he's chip off the old Oyama block!" said Dex.
"And as reward for your efforts, I present to you all the Z Saber Battle Chip and the Class-A license. Consider yourselves Net Officials."
"Thank you, sir!" the Net Battlers chorused.
"Now for the next part, each of you will be sent into a building where you have to navigate your way out, but your Navi can't help find the exit," Manabe explained, "however, you will be given a special sensor that will guide you to a special door. Once you reach that door, you will need you Navi to delete viruses in order to unlock it. The sensor will beep giving you the doors' general locations. The closer you are to each door, the more it will beep, but the farther you are, the less it will beep. In other words: it's a maze. Each maze will differ according to your individual skills.
"Oh! And one more thing; you only have ten minutes to make it through the building maze. But after watching your previous battle, I believe you all will make it through. Now, if you will just follow, I take you to the helicopter."
"Are as excited about this as I am," Lan asked the others.
"You bet!" (Mayl) "Yep." (Yai) "You know it!" (Dex) "As I'll ever be." (Chaud) "Yeah!" (Chisao)
To be Continued…
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Navi Profile
Name: Kicker.EXE
Navi Gender: Male
Physical Age: 6
Operator: Chisao Oyama
Element: Ground
Signature Chip: Gold Fist
Attacks: Buster, Swift Kick, Shockwave, Guard, Headbutt
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MegaMan: "Lan and the other continue the exam and find that it nowhere near as easy as they may have thought."
Lan: "Navigating mazes, running from viruses! It's crazy!"
Yai: "I shouldn't have to deal with this!"
Chaud: "You signed up for it."
Mayl: "Who came up this idea anyway?"
Chisao: "The author did."
Dex: "I say we beat him up for that."
"Yeah!"
Lan/MegaMan: "Next time on MegaMan NT Hunter! Field Training! Battle routine, SET!"