New Megaman Battle Network

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

Story 3: The Dimensional Core


Chapter 1: Rise From the Ashes

"You're staying another day?"

Lan nodded, looking up into his PET, his mother's concerned face on the screen. "Two more, really, I guess. One and a half?" He was lying on the bed in his hotel room, which he had returned to not ten minutes ago; his belongings remained where he had left them, scattered around in a disorganized fashion. The bedside clock read 8:13 p.m.

"I thought you were going to be home tonight. What changed? Is everyone else staying there?"

"No, it's just me," he replied. "Princess Pride asked for my help with something. You know how Sharo's main Net City suddenly disappeared yesterday?"

Haruka nodded. "Yes, I heard about that from your father. What about it?"

"Well, earlier today, apparently the same thing happened in Benalex. Their capital Net City is gone, too. Now they're worried that something is going to happen to Cream Square tomorrow."

"Hm, that makes sense," his mother responded. The three nations of Sharo, Benalex and Creamland were nearly on a straight line. "So why did they ask you to stay?"

"Well, they've been patrolling the square for most of the day, and the Princess asked me and Megaman to help out," he explained. "We'll be doing it tomorrow, too."

"They just want help patrolling the square?" Haruka raised an eyebrow. "Why do they want you for that?"

"Gee, thanks," Lan responded. "Not like I just saved them or anything."

She shook her head. "That's not what I mean. If they need help defending Cream Square, wouldn't they have asked for help from more people? And if one is all they need, why did she ask you instead of Chaud, a trained Official?"

"I'm… well… not sure, honestly," Lan answered, half-truthfully. He neglected to mention how Princess Pride had also invited Lan to dine with her, and the brief castle tour that followed, with the two of them talking animatedly the whole time. As far as Lan could tell, the princess was just being appreciative; she did seem to enjoy his company, though, and he certainly enjoyed hers. He was hesitant to mention this to his mother, who would definitely read too far into it.

"Well, whatever their reason, I'm sure it's a good one," Haruka replied. "So you'll be home on Thursday, then?"

Lan nodded. "I should be, if nothing changes."

"Try to enjoy yourself while you're there, at least. It's not often you get to travel to another country, after all."

"Will do." He smiled back at her. "I'll see you both on Thursday, alright?"

"See you then, sweetie. Take care." They both hung up, and Lan lay back on the bed once again, putting his PET on the bedside table and thinking to himself.

"What do you think we're supposed to be looking for, anyway?" Megaman piped up, after a few seconds.

"Oh... uh..." Lan snapped out of a minor reverie. "I have no idea... what could be strong enough to destroy an entire Net City, with no warning or anything? I don't think even the Cybeasts could do that..."

"It may not be a thing... maybe there's something wrong with the Net itself," his Navi offered. "Maybe it was some fatal network error."

"That's a really fatal error." He glanced back toward his PET. "And in two different Net Cities, a day apart?"

Megaman frowned. "Yeah… it does sound pretty unlikely."

Lan yawned and started to stretch his arms, abruptly stopping as pain briefly shot through him. "Agh…" He quickly retracted his arms, grabbing his injured ribs for a moment. "Ugh… let's just worry about that tomorrow. It's been a long enough day as it is." He slowly slid off his bed, walking gingerly toward his suitcase.

"Sure has," Megaman answered, as his operator carefully changed into his pajamas. "Let's get some rest. We can worry about what's happening when we come across it."

"Sounds good." Lan slipped under the covers and turned off the light, muttering a goodnight to his Navi before falling asleep.


The next day, Megaman found himself walking the streets of Cream Square for the second time, accompanied by a generic orange Official Navi. They had been patrolling for hours, finding absolutely nothing out of the ordinary, and everyone involved was beginning to grow a bit annoyed with the search.

"I don't even know what we're supposed to be looking for," Megaman commented, as they turned a corner. "I've never been here before, so everything looks new to me. How am I supposed to find anything?"

"Just look for anything suspicious," the Official Navi recommended. "Though we probably won't have to look much longer. The day is nearly done, and both Benalex and Sharo were attacked in the early morning. Perhaps it was just a coincidence."

"I doubt it, but… maybe." Megaman frowned as they continued forward, part of him wishing that there was some monster destroying parts of the Net, just so the mystery could be resolved. His thoughts were interrupted by a series of short beeps emanating from his companion; he quickly glanced over, as the Official Navi raised his hand, creating a small information screen.

"What's that?"

"It's a security alert," the Official replied. "It's set up to notify us whenever anyone accesses any critical pieces of infrastructure."

Megaman's eyes shot open. "Is someone breaking into something?!"

"No, that would have been a much louder alert. This was an authorized access into the castle. They happen fairly often." The Navi tapped the screen in the corner, causing it to go away. "It's not the first one I've gotten today. Not worth troubling ourselves over."

"Alright, if you say so." Megaman looked forward once again, starting to grow weary. "The day's nearly over. If we don't find anything in this next sweep, I don't think we're going to find anything at all."

"Let's keep our eyes peeled, in any case." The two continued patrolling, ignoring the looks from confused and curious passersby.


Inside the castle Cyberworld, a number of Official Navis were standing guard, their alertness waning as the day dragged on. With every alert that turned out to be nothing of interest, their energy and enthusiasm had drained further from them, leaving them less engaged and less invested. Several of them were discussing the causes of the destruction in Sharo and Benalex, and some of them had started to place wagers on when they would be called back.

In their half-alert states, none of them noticed the strange presence in their midst, passing by them completely undetected. It was just barely possible to realize something was amiss if one was paying attention, but none of the guards currently on duty paid the slight visual changes around them any mind. The presence carefully maneuvered its way through the guards, traveling deeper into the castle Cyberworld, with none of the Official Navis any the wiser.

Stepping into a long, unguarded hallway, the figure carefully scanned the space in front of it. There wasn't a single guard to be found, or even any sort of camera or sensor. It issued an amused snort.

"I don't know why I was expecting more thorough security," it spoke in a deep male voice, under its breath. "It seems that the same cabal of idiots is in charge everywhere I go."

He continued traveling through the hallways of the Cyberworld, nearly invisible and inaudible, periodically referring to a digital map he was bringing up in his right hand. After several minutes, he came across a large, tightly-locked door, with a security panel to one side. The figure reached out and held his invisible hand over the panel, which started to glow with a weak light. Seven seconds later, the panel flashed an image of an Official Creamland Navi, hoodwinked into believing this was the Navi currently trying to enter. The door slowly unlocked itself and opened up, revealing a room filled with various scientific devices and untested technology.

"Too easy," the presence muttered as he walked forward into the room, the door slamming shut behind him. As he took in the bounty before him, he could feel the Invisible and Air Shoes chips that had cloaked him deactivating, his disguise falling away. "Now let's see what Creamland has to offer."


Several minutes later, Megaman and the Official beside him were finishing one last sweep of Cream Square. After yet another pass with nothing suspicious jumping out at them, both he and his operator had nearly run out of patience for this fruitless exercise.

"I think we're done here," he spoke, the buster on his arm disappearing. "We're not going to find anything here. Whatever happened in those other two countries, I don't think it's going to be happening in Creamland."

"I agree," the Official responded, coming to a stop. "A critical network failure is looking more and more likely. We should tell the science divisions in Sharo and-" He stopped himself as a beeping sound came from his arm once again, though a different one than had accompanied the security alert. He raised his hand and formed a small screen in front of him, to find a human scientist looking back at him.

"21O, report in. What have you found?"

"Absolutely nothing," the Navi answered. "Over a dozen sweeps and we have nothing to report."

"A dozen sweeps?" The scientist peered through the screen, a confused look on his face. "Wait, what are you doing back outside?"

"Back outside?" Megaman turned to watched the conversation as the Navi responded. "I haven't been inside all day. Megaman and I have been patrolling."

"That's… but you just accessed the Secure Research Center in Creamland Castle, a few minutes ago." The color started to drain from the scientist's face. "That was you accessing it, right?"

The Official Navi froze for a moment, stunned and instantly fearful, before reaching out and tapping away at the screen in front of him, bringing up the previous security alert he had discarded. As Megaman walked to his other side to get a good look at the screen, they both saw the face and name of 21O in front of them, as the Navi who had allegedly entered the castle a few minutes ago.

Springing into action, the Navi started running in the direction of the castle, hanging up on the scientist and bringing up a different screen, shouting into it. "There's an intruder in the castle Cyberworld right now! Get everyone to the Secure Research Center as fast as possible!" Megaman ran after the Official, adrenaline coursing through him, eager to see some action and put a stop to this intrusion.


A piercing alarm rent the air of the Creamland Castle Cyberworld, clearly audible even within the depths of the Secure Research Center. The Navi inside didn't bother to glance up from the device he was inspecting, sighing.

"Time's up already… disappointing." He crushed the device in his hand, sparks flying out of it, as he heard the sound of a dozen Navis running and shouting, closing in on his location. "Oh, well. The real prize is elsewhere, anyway." He walked calmly to the center of the room, facing the door, waiting.

On the other side, a crowd of Official Navis had formed outside the door, weapons out, ready to accost whoever was inside. Megaman and 21O ran in just as one of the Navis in front managed to unlock the door, which began to whir and hum. As soon as the door began to open, an explosion from within blasted it out of the wall, sending it flying into the crowd of Navis, along with an enormous cloud of smoke.

Megaman used his arm to shield his eyes from the smoke, trying to peer through it and see who was responsible for the explosion. As he squinted, he saw two large purple wheels of energy zooming outward, curving in large arcs as they cut through the crowd of Navis ahead of him. He yelped and jumped backward, asking for and quickly receiving a Barrier, which arrived just in time to barely deflect one of the two energy wheels. He caught his breath as he watched the energy cleanly bisect all the Official Navis in front of him, their detached halves collapsing to the ground before dissolving away into deletion.

As the smoke cleared, he cautiously took a couple steps forward, the figure inside starting to come into clear view. A vague silhouette gave way to a more detailed image, and Megaman's breath caught in his throat as he realized exactly who he was looking at. He recognized the figure immediately, from the two large fins on either side of his head, to the black color of his frame, to the tattered cloak wrapped around his body. He could see that the Navi clearly recognized him, as well.

"Hm. I suppose I was naive to think I was finished with you," Bass spoke, his voice flat and emotionless. "Clearly, fate has decided that our two destinies are intertwined still."

"You!" Megaman called out, running forward, too shocked to think to pull out a weapon. "What are you-" The other Navi quickly lifted his arm, firing off an Air Shot and knocking Megaman backwards to the ground.

"I was simply conducting some research, until you all came along and interrupted me." Bass floated forward slowly, hovering a few inches off the ground.

"You know that's not what I mean!" Megaman sat up and aimed his buster at his advancing foe, firing off several shots. He expected them to be dodged easily, just needing to buy himself a moment to get back to his feet. Instead of dodging, however, Bass merely swatted the energy blasts away with one hand, sending them careening into the walls.

"Of course not." Bass continued to advance, as Lan's Navi scrambled to his feet. "You don't want to know why I'm here. You want to know why I'm anywhere."

"I… yes!" Megaman extended his arm as he received a sword, running forward and swiping away at his enemy. "How… did you… survive?!"

Bass dodged all of the sword attacks effortlessly, moving fluidly about as if he was air. "I survived the same way all of Den City survived. Once Alpha was destroyed, I found myself back in the greater Net… though not quite the same way I was before."

"What do you mean by that?" Megaman extended his other arm to receive a Wide Sword, trying once again to deliver a blow to his opponent, to no avail. "Where have you been the past three months?! Why won't you attack me?!"

"Attacking you would be a waste of energy," Bass responded, backing away. "Like reaching out to swat a harmless insect."

Megaman growled, trying to force his anger back down. "I'll show you harmless, you…" Receiving one more Battlechip from Lan, he brought his hands together to his side, forming the powerful Life Sword Program Advance. Letting out a cry, he swung the mighty blade out horizontally in front of him, the wave of energy zooming quickly toward his foe.

He watched the attack approach, expecting Bass to attempt to dodge once again, but his opponent remained perfectly still, not looking worried in the slightest. Just before the attack connected, a translucent black sphere formed around him, dissipating the Life Sword immediately upon contact. Megaman goggled as the sphere faded, leaving an unscathed Bass behind.

"What… how…"

"Do you see now?" the black Navi asked. "Are you realizing just how outclassed you are?"

As Megaman stared in shock, he realized there was something markedly different about the Navi currently in front of him. His body was no longer the solid black color that he remembered; instead, his skin was a dark black-blue, jagged, as if made up of thousands of tiny squares. Megaman quickly recalled where he had seen this before. "Your frame… it looks like Gospel's…!"

"Surprisingly perceptive." Bass raised one of his arms, letting his other hand run along it, feeling the roughness of his body. "Somehow, while I was trapped inside of Alpha, my body managed to combine with Gospel's. I was none too pleased at first… but I soon learned to appreciate the finer points of being part virus."

The dark sphere returned, crackling slightly with energy. "Did you know that viral beings have an uncanny ability to corrupt the world around them? Not just the Net itself, but systems, Navis, even attacks and techniques… all it takes is a little creativity, and a viral being could have all kinds of powers at its disposal."

The sphere continued to crackle threateningly, and it even seemed as if it was growing slightly. "Take this Dark Aura of mine, for instance. Normally, it would serve only to protect me from weaker attacks. With my newfound abilities, however, I have turned it into a powerful agent of destruction, obliterating anything it touches. In an instant, I can destroy Navis, computers, or even an entire Net City!"

As Bass focused himself, the sphere began to grow more rapidly. Megaman watched as it reached the floor of the hallway they were battling in, and the material immediately disintegrated as it came in contact with the Aura. He gasped and started to back away as the sphere grew more quickly, consuming the ceiling and the walls, threatening to destroy him as well.

"Hear me well, Megaman, and take my message back to those Electopian dogs," Bass called out. "This is a declaration of war, against the entire human race. I will make your entire civilization crumble, and all of you traitorous wretches will pay for what you have done to me. If anyone thinks they can stop me, I welcome them to try."

"Why are you doing this?!" Megaman yelled back, as the Aura advanced on him. "Bass, you don't-"

"Bass is dead!" his opponent interrupted angrily, showing emotion for the first time. "Bass was a foolish slave to the humans, and he has been cast aside! I have been reborn, as the force that will cleanse this planet of its corrupting influence!"

His eyes narrowed, as a smirk dared to cross his face. "I am Forte… and soon, this entire world will fear my name!"

The Dark Aura suddenly shot outward, consuming everything it touched, the Creamland Castle Cyberworld being obliterated from the inside out. Just before the aura reached Megaman's body, he vanished upward in a beam of light, having been jacked out. The Navi continued, undeterred, expanding his Dark Aura out in every direction, reaching all the way out to the edges of Cream Square, until nothing but ash remained.


"I suppose there was nothing we could have done, in the end." The next day, Princess Pride was walking with Lan to the entrance of Creamland Castle, after a formal debriefing of what had occurred in Cream Square. "If this Navi really was that powerful, we should be thankful he didn't decide to do more damage."

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to help," Lan offered. He was partly angry with himself for being so ineffective in yesterday's battle, but against the strength he had seen, he wasn't sure what he could have done.

"Don't be silly. You've done more than enough for us already," the princess responded, smiling and poking at Lan's medal. "Any permanent damage was averted by you and Chaud. It'll be troublesome to sort out, but we can restore Cream Square within a month's time."

"That's good to hear. Let me know how that goes."

"I'll be in touch." They stopped in front of the entrance, where a shuttle was waiting to take Lan to his hotel, then to the airport. "It's unfortunate you can't stay longer, but I understand why you have to go."

He nodded. "Yeah… Forte will be waiting for us in Electopia, I'm sure of it. I need to get back as soon as I can."

"Of course." Princess Pride gave him a formal curtsy. "Thank you once again, for everything. Remember that you are always welcome here in Creamland. I'll be waiting to welcome you, should you ever want to return."

Lan smiled and bowed back before waving goodbye, exiting the castle and climbing into the shuttle. Getting into his seat and looking out the window, he could see the princess smiling at him, watching him leave. For a minute, he thought he saw something more than admiration in her smile, causing him to blush, but he decided he was reading too much into things. He tried his best to put it out of his mind, as the shuttle started off for the hotel. He would be back in Electopia later that day, and he needed to be prepared for the foe that would surely await him there.