New Megaman Battle Network

A complete reimagining of the universe and stories of Megaman Battle Network.

Story 2: The Sun And The Moon


Chapter 7: The Red Sun

"Well, the good news is that you probably don't have a concussion," a doctor explained, as he carefully inspected Yuichiro HIkari and his injury. "But you should still be careful that you don't make it worse. You'll want to take it easy."

"Sure, no problem," Dr. Hikari grumbled, seated in a chair in his office at SciLab, with his son sitting close by. "Not like I have anything important going on. Never been a better time to take it easy."

"Hey, I'm just a doctor," the physician replied, stepping away. "I can't tell you how to save the Net or whatever it is you're up to. I can just tell you how to keep your brain from swelling."

"Right, right." Lan's father held his head while the doctor stepped away, walking out of the exam room and into a nearby office, as Chaud walked in with a status update.

"They're gone," he reported. "No signs of Chirol or Regal anywhere in SciLab."

"Great..." Yuichiro sighed, equal parts stunned and frustrated. "I can't believe it... I never thought Lucius could do anything like this. We knew each other in college, for Pete's sake."

"I guess you didn't know him as well as you thought," Lan offered.

"I guess not," his father replied. "Like father, like son, I suppose." Lan blinked, curious about this cryptic reply, as Chaud continued.

"The server they were using has been completely cleaned out. As far as Protoman and I can tell, they were using devices to mask and redirect their operations, so it couldn't be traced back to SciLab."

Yuichiro groaned. "We never checked any of the spaces he worked in. He could have done anything he wanted to. We trusted him implicitly. I trusted him." The confusion and the hurt in his voice came through clearly. "I couldn't possibly have imagined… an entire SciLab server filled with Nebula agents."

"Siphoning our computing power, getting into classified resources… and when they're done, they can just throw everything away, because it's not their server to manage." Chaud leaned against the wall, his arms folded. "If you have someone on the inside, like they did, it's pretty much a perfect situation."

"Well, at least they made one mistake." Yuichiro adjusted his glasses. "Iris should help us get some answers... in theory, anyway."

Lan reached for his PET, wanting to ask Megaman what he thought, before he remembered that his Navi wasn't there; he made a note to ask later. At that moment, Megaman was in one of the major SciLab computers, providing the Navi he had rescued with some company. Being taken from the Nebula server and brought to SciLab proper had done little to pacify her paranoia, and she had been extremely reluctant to cooperate, but Megaman's presence seemed to calm her somewhat. She had revealed that her name was Iris, and offered up what she knew of the Cybeasts, but her fear of retribution caused her to keep Nebula's plans secret. After much finagling and persuasion, she had reluctantly agreed to let SciLab examine her.

"Dad," Lan prompted. "What exactly are the Cybeasts?"

"The Cybeasts are… well, exactly what they look like, pretty much," Yuichiro started to explain. "Extremely powerful cyber beings that run around and cause wanton destruction. We thought they were uncontrollable, but somehow Regal's found a way to control them. Honestly, I'm not sure if that makes them more or less dangerous than before."

He stretched his arms. "Not only did they destroy plenty on their own, but to even be near them is risky. You saw what happened to Megaman earlier. Any Navi that stays near them for too long will Beast Out, transforming into a monster themselves and losing all control."

"But... Protoman was just fine," Lan replied. "Even though Megaman was totally helpless..."

"We were prepared," Chaud chimed in. "Protoman was outfitted with a certain protection device that SciLab developed. Now that those creatures are on the loose, Megaman should probably receive it as well."

"He will, definitely," Yuichiro added. "Which doesn't mean you should be going after the Cybeasts. They're far too powerful for you to try and tackle on your own, or even in a group. Not even SciLab could destroy them back in the day; that's why we had to seal them away like we did."

"Wait, you mean SciLab didn't create them?" Lan asked. "I thought that's why they were in the servers."

"What, you think we made those things? What do you think we do here?"

"I don't know!" Lan threw up his hands. "You do a lot of things here!"

His father sighed and shook his head. "No, we didn't make them. The truth is, we don't know where the Cybeasts come from."

Lan blinked. "What? You don't?"

"The Cybeasts first appeared about 15 years ago, in End Net City, but no nation or radical group took ownership for them," Yuichiro continued. "The creatures didn't have any traceable signal or anything like that, either. It's as if they came out of nowhere."

He sat up a bit, holding his aching head again. "We barely knew anything about them, and even now what we know is rather limited. Most of what we know came from a Navi who called himself Colonel, who showed up right around the same time. I don't know what his relation to the Cybeasts is, but without him, we'd never gotten as far as we did. We'll probably be hearing from him again soon..."

"Colonel, huh..." Lan reached for his PET for a second time, before stopping himself, remembering again where Megaman was. When his e-mail alert went off, though, he jumped a bit and grabbed the device, taking a look.

"Hm… oh, wow!" he exclaimed, reading. "The tournament's not cancelled! They're moving on with it today!"

"Seriously?" Chaud's eyebrows raised, before a beeping sound came from his PET as well; he pulled it out and took a look. "Huh, what do you know..."

Yuichiro chuckled. "Well, good for them. It wouldn't look good if Electopia had to drop out, even if Nebula is involved somehow."

"It starts again in one hour," Lan continued. He glanced back at his father, who was still holding his head. "Are you going to be okay if we're not here, Dad?"

"I'll be fine, Lan, don't worry," Yuichiro responded. "I need to stay and wrap things up here for a little bit, since, you know, Cybeasts… but after that I'm heading back to the house. Probably going to work from home for a week or so."

His son nodded. "Alright, well… we should probably get going now, just to be safe…"

"Let me see Megaman before you go," Yuichiro interjected. "I can make sure the Cybeasts don't affect him."

"I'll catch up." Chaud stood up. "Business before pleasure and all that. You and Megaman go ahead." Lan nodded, locating the machine that was housing his Navi and jacking in. Inside the SciLab Cyberworld, Megaman and Iris both looked up as Lan's face appeared.

"Megaman! The tournament's still going on! We need to get back to DenDome!"

"Wow, really? Alright, let's go!" He started to leave, when he heard a whimper from behind; he turned around and saw Iris looking down, rather dejected.

"Er... Iris…" he started.

"No, it's okay..." Iris shook her head. "You shouldn't have to worry about me... I'm not worth fretting over…" She looked away, fearfully glancing over some of the machines that were now examining her.

"Iris..." Megaman walked back toward her. "Don't worry, okay? No one here is going to hurt you, I promise. I'll come back after the tournament to make sure."

Iris looked up a bit, to meet Megaman's eyes, and nodded after a minute. "Alright... I trust you."

Megaman smiled. "Alright. I'll see you later, okay?"

She nodded again. "Good luck..."

Megaman nodded back, right before jacking out. Iris continued to hold herself, praying Megaman wouldn't renege on his promise.


One hour later, Lan and Chaud found themselves back at DenDome, along with five other competitors and a slightly less packed crowd. The stage had been slightly rearranged; instead of two competitors standing on either side of the Cyber arena, all seven were in a circle around a much larger one. They were all focusing on the match, having been briefed beforehand, while the rest of the audience muttered in confusion, not sure what was going on. After a minute, the announcer came onstage, and was met with mild applause.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the International Netbattle Coalition thanks you greatly for your patience in the face of what has happened here today. Despite the disturbances that have occurred today, it has been decided that the Red Sun Tournament will continue until our two champions are found!"

The crowd, easy to please as always, cheered again, as the announcer continued. "Unfortunately, most of our competitors' Navis have become incapable of continuing, having been damaged rather severely by Circusman's antics. As you can see here, seven of our hopefuls remain, and the INC has decided that instead of continuing with the elimination brackets, the remaining contestants will face off in a battle royale! The two Navis that remain standing will go on to the world championship in Creamland!"

Lan grinned at the prospect of traveling to fight the greatest Netbattlers in the world, as the crowd made more noise in support of their nation. The announcer cleared his throat.

"So without further ado, allow me to introduce the prospective champions!" He turned to face the arena; besides Lan and Chaud, there stood a hooded boy with red hair and face paint, an effeminate-looking pink-haired man, a young woman with blue hair in priestess garb, a young man with black hair and a red visor, and an elderly male leaning heavily on a cane.

"You've already met Lan, the sixth-grader from Den City. Also from Den City is Eugene Chaud, operating the blade-wielding Protoman! Going around clockwise, we continue with Dingo and his Navi, Tomahawkman! Viddy Narcy, operating his Navi, Videoman! Lilly, with her cyber mistress of the winds, Gale! Terry of Joumon Electric, operating the electric powerhouse Sparkman! And last but not least, Tensuke, with his geriatric Navi, Topman!"

Each of the Netbattlers took a second to play to the crowd, before the announcer went on. "Aside from the number of competitors, the rules remain the same as before! Who will emerge victorious and take the national title? Let's find out, right now! Are the competitors ready?"

The circle nodded almost as one. "Alright then! Everyone, please jack in your Navis!"

Lan pulled out his PET cord, along with everyone else, and sent Megaman into the Cyberworld. Upon his arrival, Megaman took a look around the arena; the Navi stands had been removed, and the only beings present were the seven battlers. He recognized Protoman right away, and quickly scanned the other competitors, taking them in. He saw a large, yellow-and-black Navi with pointed, sparking appendages; a very old-looking Navi with a cane, whose head was comprised of several large, concentric discs; a shorter, blue, female Navi with strips of blue cloth streaming from her shoulders, elbows and knees; a taller, male Navi holding a tomahawk and wearing a feather headdress; and a green Navi, wielding long strips of black tape and wearing odd goggles.

"All the Navis have entered the Cyberworld! Let the battle begin!"


Lan instantly sent Megaman a Wide Sword and a Vulcan Cannon, as the Navis around him started moving all at once. He dashed toward Sparkman, hoping to take him by surprise, but his foe quickly turned toward him. As his sword met Sparkman's arm, he yelped as a mild shock traveled through him, and he backed off quickly. He barely had time to curse before something wound around his body, rendering him immobile; he looked down to find himself bound by black videotape.

"Gah! This is crazy!" Megaman turned to see Videoman grinning and charging a laser blast, while he sawed away at the tape with his sword; he rid himself of his constraints just in time to dodge the blast. He ran forward, swiping at Videoman's legs, as the Navi jumped up into the air, flipping above Megaman. Videoman threw out another string of tape, hoping to bind Megaman, but Lan's Navi reacted quickly and caught it in his hands. Grunting, he started spinning the tape, and Videoman, above his head, letting him go in Sparkman's direction. Moving on reflex, Sparkman stuck out one of his pointed arms, spearing Videoman on the end and electrocuting him. His operator quickly jacked him out.

"Videoman has jacked out, overwhelmed by Megaman and Sparkman's attacks! That's one Navi down!" the announcer cried out. "But wait! It seems that Topman has just been dispatched by Gale and Protoman! It looks like our competitors are inadvertently cooperating to take down their opponents!"

The audience watched intently, not wanting to miss a moment, as Lan grinned wide. He kept a Barrier at the ready, just in case, as Megaman turned his attention toward Sparkman, firing his Vulcan Cannon as he ran forward. Sparkman held his ground, generating an electric shield to deflect the bullets, which went every which way about the arena. He started focusing intently, his body glowing a light yellow, as he charged up an electric attack.

In another part of the arena, Tomahawkman was taking on both Gale and Protoman, hurling tomahawks as fast as he could generate them. Protoman deflected most of them with his Long Sword, while Gale was able to effectively dodge, using a combination of quick movement and slight changes in the wind. After a minute, she changed tack, creating a small whirlwind in front of her, which caught five tomahawks in its twirling body; two seconds later, she snapped her fingers, and the whirlwind exploded, sending tomahawks flying all over the ring. Protoman, Tomahawkman, and Megaman all managed to dodge, but Sparkman, oblivious and charging up, had one buried deep in his head. His eyes went wide, and he fell to the ground before quickly being jacked out by Terry.

"And now Sparkman is out of commission! What a match! Our seven Netbattlers have quickly been whittled down to four!" The announcer was leaning in close, trying to catch all the action. "Which of the remaining-"

He was interrupted by a loud sound from above that made him jump; looking upward, everyone found that one of the lights on the ceiling had spontaneously burst, and was smoking lightly. A second later, several other lights burst in succession, sending particles of glass raining into the crowd, who began to scream in fright.

"What's going on?!" Lan shielded himself with his arm. "Is this Nebula doing something or what?"

As if on cue, a massive roar sounded through the Cyberworld. All four of the remaining Navis looked around, trying to find the source of the roar, but there was nothing to be found.

"Oh hell, I know that sound…" Megaman gritted his teeth, steeling himself, not sure where he was supposed to look. His attention was quickly diverted, however, when Tomahawkman and Gale collapsed to the ground, holding their heads and crying out in pain. As Megaman watched, he suddenly felt a surge of pain flow through himself as well, and he fell to his knees; a second later, a small, black device attached to his hip lit up, and the pain subsided. He stood up again, his suspicions confirmed.

"Delete them both, quickly!" Protoman called out, running toward Gale. "We can't let them Beast Out!"

Megaman nodded, running toward Tomahawkman, as both Dingo and Lilly tried to jack their Navis out, to no avail. He raised his sword, ready to strike, when Tomahawkman cried out and lunged toward Megaman, swiping with claws that were forming on his hands. Megaman barely managed to dodge, watching in horror as Tomahawkman transformed; his body had grown a purplish-brown fur, and his hands had grown long, pointed claws. While his head didn't change shape, his eyes were glowing a bright yellow, and he snarled viciously, clearly out of control.

"This is really bad..." Megaman looked over to Protoman for assistance, but Chaud's Navi had his hands equally full. Gale had Beasted Out as well, and had grown red feathers and wings under Falzar's influence.

"Amazing!" the announcer exclaimed, excited. "Gale and Tomahawkman have undergone a very strange transformation! I wonder how their operators will use this to their advantage?"

"Are you nuts?!" Dingo snapped. "Does it look like we planned this out?! I can't control him! I can't even jack him out!" He held up the disconnected cable.

"Er... I see..." the announcer faltered, turning back toward the arena.

Back in the Cyberworld, Megaman was barely holding his own against the Gregar-influenced Tomahawkman. His foe's speed and strength had been significantly magnified, even more than his own, and it was all he could do to block the claws with his Wide Sword. Whenever he had a free instant, he fired his Mega Buster to try and do some extra damage. Not a single shot missed, but none of them so much as fazed Tomahawkman.

"Ugh... I can't get any good shots in on him! He's too strong, too relentless..."

Lan pulled out an Area Steal chip. "Maybe we can buy you a minute with this!"

As Tomahawkman charged again, Megaman vanished, appearing behind his adversary and swinging his sword fiercely. To Megaman's amazement, the sword shattered into pieces against his opponent's back.

"Wha… are you serious?!" Megaman backed off, his sword reverting to his hand, as Tomahawkman turned back toward him, growling and angry. "He's that strong?!"

With a powerful roar, Tomahawkman charged again, catching Megaman off guard with a powerful shoulder check, sending his foe flying backward and landing on his back. He sat up quickly as Tomahawkman jumped toward him, paws outstretched. He reached out with his arms, hoping to defend himself, and the two clasped hands, engaging in an impromptu strength contest. Megaman grunted and strained, trying to push Tomahawkman away, but the immense strength of the transformed Navi was slowly forcing him back down.

"Lan, it's no good... he's too strong..."

"Don't give up, Megaman!" Lan encouraged. "We'll figure something out!"

"Well, we better figure it out quick…" his Navi replied, as Tomahawkman continued to bear down. Megaman watched as his opponent's face finally transfigured itself, growing long and forming a wolflike snout. He opened his mouth wide, and a massive plume of fire issued forth, engulfing Megaman completely.

"No! Megaman!" Lan cried out, watching in horror. The audience watched as well, holding their breath, and even the announcer was silent for a moment. As Tomahawkman continued breathing fire, to everyone's amazement, he found himself being forced backward, his opponent somehow getting to his feet. He ceased blowing flame, surprised, and Lan gasped as his Navi became visible once again.

In the past few seconds, Megaman had undergone a mysterious transformation of his own. Instead of his normal blue color, his body was colored red-orange from head to toe. His muscles had grown significantly, increasing his strength, and there was armor on every part of his body, as opposed to just his hands and feet. His buster had transformed completely, changing from a simple gun to some sort of cannon, with what appeared to be fuel lines running across it.

"What... what happened?" Lan muttered, awestruck.

"Yes!" Back at SciLab, Dr. Hikari had cried out triumphantly, thrusting his fists into the air and causing a nearby aide to jump in surprise, as he watched the action unfold on the television. "I am a genius!"

With an almighty yell, Megaman lifted Tomahawkman above his head and threw him across the arena, where he landed hard and skidded across the ground. Megaman looked down at himself, surprised by his strength, and jumped upon seeing what had happened.

"This is incredible! Megaman seems to have transformed as well!" the dutiful announcer related to the crowd. "I've never seen a match like this in all my life!"

Lan grinned wide, deciding to roll with whatever had just happened, feeling excited and optimistic. "Here's our chance! Take out Tomahawkman!"

Snapping out of his reverie, Megaman nodded and dashed forward; nothing much had happened for his speed, but he could feel an incredible strength running through his body. Tomahawkman stood up, angry at being tossed about, and turned back toward Megaman, his claws extended. They dashed at each other, Megaman reaching up to block the incoming claws with his arm; this time, it was Tomahawkman's weapon that shattered, as it collided with Megaman's frame. Lan's Navi followed up with a powerful punch to the face, knocking his enemy down to the ground. As Tomahawkman sat up, he had only one second to watch Megaman come down on top of him, piercing his body with the newly received Long Sword.

The crowd gasped as one as the yellow light disappeared from Tomahawkman's eyes, his body disappearing into the Cyberworld. Lan grinned, highly pleased with his Naiv's new strength, as Megaman turned himself toward the remaining two combatants. Protoman was still grappling with the Falzar-influenced Gale; her powerful wings were only adding to her wind abilities, and Megaman watched as she fired a series of razor-sharp feathers toward her foe.

"Agh!" Protoman fell backward, several feathers sticking painfully out of his body, as Gale moved in for the kill.

"No!" Megaman ran forward, charging up his buster and firing it in Gale's direction as soon as he got close enough. Both he and Lan were surprised to see that instead of an energy blast, a massive plume of flame issue forth from the cannon, one that engulfed Gale completely. She started running in a small circle, shrieking loudly as the flames burnt away at her feathers; her pain didn't last long, however, before Protoman bisected her cleanly with his Long Blade. Her two halves fell to the ground before dissolving away.

Megaman exhaled, relieved to see the two dangerous Navis finally eliminated. "You alright, Protoman?"

"I'll be fine," Protoman replied, plucking a feather from his frame as he looked over the newly-transformed Navi. "What the hell happened to you?"

Megaman looked down at his hands again, studying himself for a moment. "I don't know… nothing like this has ever happened to me before. I bet Lan's dad had something to do with it, though…"

"Amazing! Megaman's transformation has completely overpowered the other two transformed Navis! We have our champions!" The crowd cheered raucously, equally amazed at what had just taken place, as the announcer continued. "Lan Hikari and Eugene Chaud will represent Electopia at the world championships in Creamland! Let's give them a big hand, folks!"

Lan grinned, looking around at the cheering crowd, before his eyes came to rest on Lilly, who was looking rather upset. His expression quickly fell once again, as he stepped closer.

"Lilly, I'm sorry about Gale... we didn't have much choice…"

"No, it's alright." Lilly smiled a bit. "You did what you had to... who knows what she would have done in that monstrous state." She held up her PET, tapping it lightly. "Besides, I backed her up right before the match. We'll be battling again in no time."

Lan grinned again. "Glad to hear it. We'll have to battle again someday!"

He felt a hand clap on his shoulder, and turned around to see Dingo smirking at him. "You'll need to battle us again, too. That was one crazy match, wasn't it?" Lan nodded back at him, glad to see their spirits so high.

"The finalists from all over the world will be departing for Creamland one week from tomorrow," the announcer continued. "They'll receive e-mail alerts with more information the day before, so keep your eyes on your PETs, you two! And of course, we'll be holding an award ceremony tomorrow at City Hall, where the winners will be presented with their prizes!"

As the announcer thanked the crowd for attending, Lan jacked out and turned to the doors, as Chaud passed him by.

"Looks like I'll be seeing you in Creamland after all, Chaud," Lan said teasingly. "And you thought you were going to be rid of me."

Chaud smirked. "You're just lucky the two of us didn't have to fight. It'll be a different story at the world championships, trust me. Now if you'll excuse me, Protoman and I need to check out the Cyberworld, to see if the Cybeasts left any clues behind." He walked out the doors, heading off on his own, as Lan looked down toward his PET.

"How're you holding up, Megaman?" He took a more careful look over his Navi's frame, mystified and intrigued by his fire-based transformation.

"I'm extremely confused, but I'm fine," Megaman responded, running one hand over his arm, feeling the change in his musculature. "This has to be your dad's doing, don't you think?"

"No doubt about that." Lan walked through the doors to the competitor's lounge. "I'm going to head to SciLab now and ask him. He's probably still there. He can never get himself to leave when he wants to."

Megaman nodded. "That sounds like him. Alright, let's go!"

Lan put his PET back into its holster and started running, rather eager to hear more about what had just happened. As he stepped into the DenDome main lobby, however, he was suddenly assaulted by a pair of arms and a mess of red hair.

"Lan, that was amazing!" Mayl declared, hugging him tight. "Congratulations!"

"That was the best Netbattle I've ever seen!" Dex said as he appeared, clapping Lan on the shoulder as Mayl let him go.

"Thanks, guys. I'm glad you all were here to watch."

"What happened at the end, anyway?" Yai's voice piped up, as she stepped forward. "It was like Megaman was a whole new Navi!"

"I have no idea," Lan responded, as Mayl reached down and grabbed his PET to take a look at Megaman for herself. "I was just heading to SciLab now to ask my dad."

"Let's all go together! I'm curious now." Yai started walking off, and the group followed.

"And after that, we need to celebrate!" Dex declared. "You're one of the best Netbattlers in Electopia! We gotta go out and get some food or something!"

"Maybe another time, Dex. It's been kind of a day. I'm worn out."

"There'll be plenty of time to celebrate later," Mayl chimed in, looking away from Lan's PET. "We could do it next week, at my birthday party at Yai's."

"That'd be great!" Yai responded. "We'll throw a mega-party and invite everyone!"

All four of them grinned wide at the thought, as they stepped outside of DenDome, making their way toward SciLab.