New Megaman Battle Network
A complete reimagining of the universe and stories of Megaman Battle Network.
Story 5: A World Outside of Time
Chapter 3: Foresight
Mayl was the first to arrive at the arcade after school that day. She walked in purposefully, moving past the crane games and rhythm titles and toward the back of the room, where the Netbattle machines resided. Several of them were in use already, but plenty of them were unoccupied, so she'd have no trouble finding a machine when Dex arrived. She leaned against the wall and grabbed her PET, double-checking various settings before pulling her Battlechip folder out and going through it, having absolutely no desire to lose this match.
Lan arrived next, a little under five minutes later, mimicking Mayl's path through the arcade. She glanced up as he walked into the Netbattle area, and their eyes met for a moment. She quickly frowned and looked back at her Battlechips without a word, trying and failing to be less irritated with him and the situation they were now in. Lan looked down at his feet, walking in another direction and leaning against a different wall. He hoped that Dex would arrive quickly, not wanting to experience this nervousness and dread any longer than he had to.
"Well, glad to see you didn't run away!" Both of them looked up as Dex strolled in confidently, a smug smirk plastered on his face. "Alright, Mayl, you ready to battle? Or do you need more time to steel yourself so you don't cry when you lose?"
Mayl glowered at him, putting away her Battlechips as she marched up to the nearest Netbattle machine. "You won't be so cocky after this, Dex. Just wait and see." She pulled out her PET and attached the cable to the machine, as Dex walked over to the opposite side. Lan stood in between them, ready to watch.
In the Cyberworld arena of the Netbattle machine, a pink beam of light shot down from the sky, hitting the ground and erupting in a burst of light; when the light faded, Roll was standing where the beam had hit. A few seconds later, another beam of light brought in Dex's Navi, Gutsman. Unlike earlier in the day, where the Navi had occupied a Copybot, Gutsman was able to take on his normal form, as a tall Navi with a heavily oversized top half.
"You can do this, Roll," Mayl offered as encouragement. "He's big, but you're fast. We can take him down, no problem."
Roll nodded, dropping into a battle stance. "Leave it to me, Mayl. Gutsman won't know what hit him." She grinned. "He won't be able to see it."
Gutsman entered a battle pose as well, as a timer in the arena started loudly counting down; seconds later, a buzzer sounded, indicating the start of the match. Immediately, Dex's Navi raised his fists above his head, before slamming them forcefully into the ground. The force of the impact shook the entire arena, causing Roll to stumble and fight to keep her balance.
"Whoa, whoa!" Roll managed to get steady on her feet, bringing her focus back to Gutsman, her eyes widening as she saw him charging, only a few feet away from her. She yelped and jumped away, just in time to dodge a powerful swing from his fist.
"Whoa, fast… Gutsman, again!" Dex called out. His Navi once again raised his fists and brought them down, just as Roll was landing again. Expecting her to lose her balance, they were both surprised as she immediately leaped into the air again, rushing toward her opponent with incredible speed. Before he knew what was happening, she formed a High Cannon on the end of her hand, slamming it into his face before setting it off. The explosion knocked him flat onto his back, dazing him for a moment. He was brought back to reality as Roll landed on his face before jumping away again.
"Yes! Good shot!" Mayl cheered, pumping her fist once before returning her hand to her PET. Dex grumbled in response, as Gutsman got painfully back to his feet.
"This won't be as easy as I thought…" He smirked, reaching into his chip folder and pulling out a couple of choice Battlechips. "But we've got some tricks up our sleeve, right, Gutsman?" From inside the arena, his Navi nodded, pounding his fists together.
Roll grinned, feeling good after that last shot, forming a crossbow on one arm and taking aim at her opponent. As she prepared to fire, however, she paused as a strange apparition appeared in her vision. It was as if a translucent, ghostly version of Gutsman, barely visible, was rushing toward her at a high speed. She watched curiously, not sure what sort of attack this was supposed to be. As she kept watching, the vision of her opponent became more and more solid, until she could clearly see Gutsman dashing at her, steam shooting out of his feet.
Roll yelped and quickly dodged to the side, rolling out of the way of the apparition. A second later, the real Gutsman zoomed past her, moving even faster than she had, powered by a pair of Air Shoes. He turned to look back at her as he sped past, incredulous and baffled.
"Wh… how'd she know?" Dex exclaimed loudly, his fingers flying over his PET. His Navi screeched to a stop, turning back around to face Mayl's Navi again, as she started getting to her feet. Before he had even turned around, another strange vision appeared in front of Roll, as a translucent image of Gutsman's fist rocketed toward her. As it became more solid, she carefully turned and twisted out of the way. Less than a second later, Gutsman swung his arm in front of him, causing his fist to fly off and through the air, following the exact path that Roll had seen moments before. She watched the fist fly by in amazement, a bit dumbstruck, having no idea what was happening or what she was seeing.
"What's going on?!" Dex demanded, gripping his PET with both hands, staring at the screen. "How the heck did she know he was going to do that?" He glared up at Mayl, looking for answers that she didn't have. She had no idea how Roll was reacting so quickly, but she hid her confusion with a confident smirk, glancing back down at her PET without saying a word.
Dex growled and pulled more Battlechips out of his pocket, slotting them in, determined to catch Mayl's Navi off guard somehow. Back in the arena, Roll took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, despite her alarm. She dropped back into a battle stance, pushing her concern out of her mind; whatever was going on, she was at least going to try and use it to her advantage.
As the battle resumed, Dex and Gutsman tried pulling out trick after trick in their attempts to catch Roll off guard. Whatever they tried, it was of no use; Roll continued to dodge with ease, able to see the attacks coming for reasons she didn't understand. She followed up with plenty of attacks of her own, each one landing cleanly, slowly whittling away at Gutsman's health. Mayl was ecstatic at how the battle was progressing, while Lan, watching from the side, was getting excited and hopeful. Dex, on the other hand, was growing ever more frustrated, his fists clenching.
"Getting upset, Dex?" Mayl taunted, glancing back at him. "If you don't like how the fight's going, you can always quit."
"Not a chance!" he shot back, teeth gritted, before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, trying to clear his mind. He looked back down at his PET, thinking to himself, muttering under his breath. "Alright… if Roll can see our attacks coming… time to be a bit unpredictable!"
He carefully input a series of commands, and Gutsman slowed to a stop as he processed his new orders. Roll stopped running around as well, preparing another cannon shot, when she suddenly saw a number of different Gutsman apparitions in front of her. Her eyes widened as she looked around in surprise, as Gutsman appeared in at least four different positions in front of her, giving her no clear idea on how to dodge. As she pondered what to do, one of the four apparitions suddenly became solid, and before she knew what was happening, Gutsman was standing right in front of her, swinging his fist in her direction.
"Gah!" Roll tried to back away in time, but she ended up getting clipped by the giant fist coming at her, knocking her away. She managed to land on her feet, holding her side, as Mayl gasped.
"Hah!" Dex's chest swelled with confidence, for the first time since the battle began. "Randomized movements! That'll keep you from figuring out where he's going!" He returned his gaze to his PET, inputting more commands, as Roll started running again inside the arena, not wanting to be caught off guard a second time. As she circled around Gutsman, however, she saw another group of ghostly figures appearing in front of her, causing her to screech to a halt. She whirled around, planning to back away, but her eyes widened as she found herself surrounded. She looked around at the various apparitions, none of them filling in, not sure why it was suddenly so unclear what Gutsman was going to do.
As she spun around in confusion, she gasped as the real Gutsman suddenly showed up in her vision, having leaped into position. Before she could get her bearings, he brought his fists down painfully on top of her head, staggering her. As she wobbled, dazed, Gutsman reared back and hit her with a powerful haymaker, sending her flying across the arena.
"No! Roll!" Mayl exclaimed as her Navi landed and skidded across the floor of the Cyberworld, groaning in pain, barely moving. Lan watched as well, eyes wide, as she lay unmoving for several long seconds, before a buzzer sounded from within the arena. Roll had been unresponsive for too long, and had been automatically declared the loser of the battle. Both Mayl and Lan felt their hearts drop into their stomachs.
"Boom! One shot, one kill!" Dex laughed triumphantly, as he reached down and jacked Gutsman out, disconnecting the cable. He placed it in the holster at his side, looking up at the shocked expressions of the two in front of him. "Better dress up nice, Mayl! I'll be looking forward to it!"
Lan watched as Dex turned and started walking out at a leisurely pace, clearly pleased with himself; Lan, for his part, was feeling sick. He turned to look at Mayl, seeing a look of utter despair and even fear on her face, at the idea of having to date this jerk. As he watched her, he was surprised to feel his own despair slowly being replaced with anger. He turned toward Dex, watching him walk away with a confident swagger, and he felt his fists clench involuntarily.
Dex was just about to walk out the doors of the arcade, when a voice caused him to halt in his tracks. "Hold it."
He raised his eyebrows in surprise and turned around, seeing Lan looking back at him with an unusually determined expression on his face. "We're not done yet." Mayl quickly ran up behind him, wanting to hear what this conversation was about.
"What are you talking about?" Dex replied.
"I challenge you to a Netbattle, Dex," Lan responded, surprising himself with the words coming out of his mouth. "If I win, you leave Mayl alone and things go back to normal. Got it?"
Dex laughed again, highly confident after his win. "You think you're going to beat me, huh? So what do I get when I win?" His eyes lit up as he got an idea, and he leaned in closer. "When I win… you have to give me your entire Battlechip collection!"
Mayl's eyes widened. "Lan, no, don't!"
"I accept," Lan replied without a moment's hesitation. "Go and get Gutsman healed up."
"Nah, that'd just be a waste of time. I'm not gonna need it against a pipsqueak like you." Dex walked past the other two on his way to the back of the arcade, closely followed by Lan. Mayl bit her lip and followed, even more worried now than she was before. Lan's extensive Battlechip collection was one of the things he was most proud of, and the thought of Dex winning that as well filled her with disgust. There was no backing out now, however. At their age, a verbal agreement might as well have been a contract written in blood.
The two battlers moved over to the same machine that Mayl and Dex had just fought at, both of them quickly pulling out their PETs and jacking in, not wanting to waste time. Gutsman was the first to appear, still scuffed up from his last battle, but filled with energy all the same. Seconds later, a blue beam of light brought X into the arena, and he quickly fixed his gaze on his opponent, not one to waste time. Dex's Navi pounded his chest, psyching himself up as they both waited for the buzzer to signal the start of the match.
Right as the battle began, Gutsman reared back and fired a rocket punch in his opponent's direction, hoping to catch him off guard. X deftly dodged out of the way, whipping out a Cannon and firing it at Gutsman just as the fist passed him by, and the blast caught his foe square on the chin. He ran forward, taking advantage of the opportunity to pursue another attack, as his enemy came to his senses. Gutsman quickly shook off the blast, raising his fists and slamming them into the ground, trying to unsteady his opponent. X quickly jumped into the air, coming back down on top of Gutsman and ramming a Gold Fist into his head.
Dex growled a bit, annoyed that he was starting on the back foot for the second time. He glanced up toward his opponent, hoping to intimidate him with a glare or mean remark, but Lan was laser-focused on his PET. Dex grumbled and looked down as well, continuing to battle. Mayl watched carefully, eyes darting around the dome-shaped display, and as she watched X continually evade Gutsman's attacks and deliver damage, she allowed a bit of hope to take root. Then again, the fight with Roll had started out the same way.
Several minutes later, X still appeared fresh as a daisy, as Gutsman was looking rather unsteady after the beating he was taking. The large Navi punched the ground several times, hitting it diagonally and sending out a number of shockwaves in X's direction. Lan's Navi jumped over them easily, getting closer and closer before leaping fully into the air, ready to deliver a powerful Cannon blast.
"Now!" Dex suddenly shouted, much to the surprise of the other two. As soon as he heard the command, Gutsman stretched his arms out to either side, and his upper half started spinning around rapidly, like a top. X tried to somehow twist out of the way, but to no avail. One of Gutsman's arms slammed into him at a high speed, knocking him away. He rolled along the ground, getting back to his feet as fast as possible, but as soon as he looked toward his foe again, all he saw was two enormous fists rocketing toward him.
Lan's eyes widened, and Mayl gasped, as X took the full force of the attack, flying across the arena and landing hard on the ground. Dex watched and smirked for several long moments, all three children watching Lan's Navi as he lay still, bruised and sore.
"Hah! Second verse, same as the first, Lan!" Dex boasted, already declaring himself the winner in his mind. He counted off the seconds in his head, knowing exactly how long it would be before X was disqualified. With six seconds to go, however, Lan's Navi coughed and stirred, slowly getting onto one knee.
Mayl breathed a small sigh of relief, as Lan stayed focused on the battle. Dex frowned a bit, having hoped for a quick knockout, but he quickly looked back down at his PET. "Come on, Gutsman, let's finish this!"
Gutsman grunted and nodding, locking his arms to his sides as his operator fed him another Air Shoes chip. Seconds later, a huge burst of steam issued from his feet, and he rocketed toward his opponent, ready to end this battle and claim victory. X watched from one knee, breathing heavily as Gutsman barreled toward him like a freight train.
Just before the Navi made impact, Lan's hand suddenly flew over his PET, rapidle inputting a handful of commands. In response, X quickly started to stand, having been much less hurt than he had let on. In one fluid motion, he stood fully, moved slightly to the side, summoned a Long Sword to his arm, and held it directly in Gutsman's path. His opponent panicked, realizing what was happening far too late to stop it. He flew full speed right into the blade, collapsing to the ground several feet father. His body had been nearly severed in half, the top of his torso barely attached to the bottom.
"Gutsman!" Dex yelled reflexively, shocked, as X turned to look at his opponent, keeping his Long Sword out just in case. Seconds later, Gutsman disappeared in a beam of light, having been jacked out and returned to Dex's PET to recover. Detecting the jack-out, the arena quickly declared X to be the winner of the battle, emitting a victory chime.
Mayl exhaled slowly, her tensed body finally relaxing, unable to believe her good fortune. Lan disconnected his PET as well, before looking back at the larger boy he had just bested, thankful that his impulsive actions hadn't cost him his Battlechip collection.
Dex glowered back at Lan, his confidence having been replaced with anger. "That wasn't a fair fight." He marched past Mayl and right up to Lan, appearing to tower over him, making himself look as large as possible. "Gutsman was hurt, and X wasn't. I want a rematch."
Lan looked back up at him, feeling his legs start to shake, knowing he could never win in a physical fight if it came to that. He swallowed once before responding. "You had the chance to heal Gutsman before we started, and you didn't take it. This is… this is what you agreed to." The two boys stared each other down for a few moments, neither one backing down. Lan barely breathed, growing more and more scared that Dex was going to lay him flat; Dex, still stewing in anger, was seriously considering it.
After a short but tense standoff, Dex snorted and turned to leave. "Whatever." He practically threw his PET back into its holster as he stomped his way out of the arcade, turning right and heading back toward his house. Lan let out a shaky breath as he left, looking down at his PET to check on X for a moment.
"Lan…" Mayl began, not sure what exactly to say. Inside her mind, a strong relief was being tempered by amazement at Lan's sudden confidence, as well as annoyance from his former lack of it. She eventually settled on gratitude. "Thank you, Lan, really."
"I should be the one thanking you," Lan replied quietly, putting his PET away. "How is Roll? Is she going to be okay?"
"Oh!" Mayl quickly grabbed her PET, having nearly forgotten about her Navi's painful defeat. She moved to the Navi status screen, seeing Roll conscious again, the device quickly restoring her health.
Roll looked up as she realized she was being studied. "Mayl! Is everything okay? I… I didn't ruin everything, did I?"
Her operator shook her head in response. "It's fine. Lan won the next battle, so I don't owe Dex anything." Her eyes carefully ran over Roll's frame. "How are you feeling? Are you still hurt?"
"I'm still pretty sore, but I think I'll…" Roll drifted off, her eyes widening and her breath catching in her throat. As she looked up at her operator, she could see a faded but clear vision before her eyes, one that made her heart stop. She saw a sudden explosion, followed by Mayl crawling along the floor in an unfamiliar place, before a cracked and broken ceiling came crashing down on top of her.
"Roll?" Mayl prompted, seeing the look of horror in her Navi's eyes. "Roll, what's wrong?"
Twenty minutes later, the front door of Dex's house flew open, as he stomped his way inside, still fuming. Seconds afterward, a Copybot, which was currently occupied by a generic pink Navi, walked over and closed the door.
"Stupid punk… shouldn't have been so cocky…" he grumbled to himself as he walked into his living room, sitting down in front of his TV. "He won't get away with that again…"
"Is everything alright, Master Dex?" the Copybot inquired.
"I'm fine!" he barked, not wanting to discuss it. "I'm just going to watch TV and take my mind off things. I'm fine."
The Copybot walked toward the living room as well. "You seem upset. Perhaps you will feel better after you have eaten," it continued, picking up a nearby flower vase.
"Yeah… yeah, probably," he agreed. "Whip me up something good, would you?"
"Right away, Master Dex," the Copybot responded. "I'll make you your favorite meal." The Navi walked up right behind Dex, before bringing the vase down forcefully on top of his head.
