"All of them gathered in one spot. It's too perfect."

Magicman rubbed his hand together as he, Yahoot and Bass looked at the live feed they were observing from their hiding spot.

"Lord Wiley will certainly be pleased if we can take out X, the Guardians and Megaman in one fell swoop." Yahoot chuckled. "It would make take over too easy."

"That is not our mission." Bass spoke, startling the two.

"Always surprises me when you speak." Yahoot scowled. "Come now, I'm sure we can-"

Bass gave a glare with his red eyes.

"X, Zero, the Guardians and any other net navis from Sci-Labs are for Lord Wiley to deal with. As strong as we are, we are no match for them. Only Lord Wiley's virus will be able to take them out. Our goal is to break their spirits." Bass had the footage focus on Megaman. "And to do that, we must focus on the target at hand. Understood?"

Yahoot sighed, shaking his head.

"Understood..." He smiled, noting that while Megaman had time to rest, he still showed visible signs of exhaustion. "This shall be over in 10 minutes."

Bass gave a small laugh, lifting his hand up, a portal gate opening before him and Magicman.

"5 minutes... nothing more or less."

oooooo

"That will be all." X gave a salute. "Everyone, we shall begin training immediately. Dr. Hikari, please take the agents to the labs for synchro rate testing."

"Yes, X." Yuichiro looked to the teens. "Come, let's-"

"SECURITY BREACH DETECTED. SECURITY BREACH DETECTED."

All straightened up at the sound of alarms blaring along with the announcement.

"What!?" X looked around. "But we're on tight lockdown! There shouldn't be any means of-"

"Doesn't matter." Fefnir cracked his knuckles. "I can finally get some frustration out."

Leviathan drew out her spear, narrowing her eyes.

"Whoever they are they're going to regret having ever stepped foot into-"

Within a matter of moments the Guardians were frozen in place by purple electricity, all crying out in pain.

X gazed upon this in horror.

"Leviathan! Harpuia! Fefnir! Phantom!"

"Don't worry, they are merely just paralyzed."

X whirled around, his eyes meeting with the amber eyes of navi behind him.

The navi was decked out in light blue armor that mimicked a robe with runes decorating the edges, a wizard hat sitting on the navi's head.

He grinned as he tipped X's chin up.

"Must say, I was expecting more from the great warrior who was... how did everyone put it... the savior of navi and human kind?"

X summoned his blaster, attempting to fire at the navi only to be encapsulated by the same lightning as the Guardians.

"AAAAAUUUGH!"

"Shame how the mighty have fallen."

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!"

The navi smirked as he noted two navis coming for him. Zero and a navi that bore a striking resemblance to him. Both were ready to strike with their respective cyber swords.

"Ah, Zero and Omega." The navi flew over them, waving his hands as both became encased in lightning as well.

"AUGH!"

"Ngh!"

Yuichiro let out a curse.

"ZERO!"

Zarek looked at Omega in horror.

"No…"

"For veterans, you're too slow to catch up." The navi tsk'd, looking at each of them. "Hm… Four Guardians, two hunters and… oh yes. The throwaway. Hm now where-"

There was a crackle of electricity behind him as another navi, wearing a set of armor, his long blond hair flowing behind him appeared.

"Get… away from THEM!"

"And Girouette. The full set."

Giro growled, lunging upwards… but like the others, he was struck down in a matter of moments, frozen and paralyzed.

No way…

It's not over that fast right?

"Lan."

Lan looked over to Chaud. He held up his PET, nodding to the screen.

"Right." He looked down at Megaman. "You think if you and Protoman work together you can slow them down?"

"We can do our best… Are you sure about this?"

He narrowed his eyes.

"More than anything in my life." He aimed at the nearest jack in port.

"Megaman, jack in! Power up!"

"Protoman, jack in!"

The two navis appeared in an instant, weapons ready as they stared down the invading navi.

The navi looked at them, chuckling.

"And now we've resorted to the young. How charming."

"You're gonna regret doing what you did." Megaman growled. "Whoever the heck you are."

"Ah, where are my manners?" The navi gave a sweeping bow. "I am Magicman. Proud member of WWW. Honor to be graced by the presence of the one who's been getting in our way... and by the infamous Protoman." Magicman chuckled. "You know, I've always been curious why you got to have the name. You weren't the first after all. Sure, first of the new navi generation but I seriously view that as giving you too much credit."

Protoman growled.

"Your head games won't work on me. I'm not ashamed of how I got my name." He smirked. "I feel bad for you though. Magicman? What? Your netop run out of ideas?"

Oof… Megaman winced.

He growled.

"Silence!" He raised his arm upwards, sending a bolt of lightning towards Protoman. "I will not be taunted by a CHILD!"

They both leaped out of the way, skidding across the floor.

… They're here for me…

Megaman sighed, before taking in a deep breath.

"HEY WWW!" He called out. "You want a really powerful navi? Forget him and come after me instead!" He motioned towards himself. "You wanted power right?"

In the real world, Lan's eyes widened in horror.

"What are you doing!?"

"Coming up with a plan! Adapt!" Megaman called back, taking off running in the opposite direction. "Sides… I got a plan…" He smirked. "Remember that night we trained with Zero?"

The old war move…

"Cyber sword, wide sword, long sword… While there's many forms of it, the first program advance is a good way to weaken your enemies. However, do NOT rely on it. It's not the end all be all attack. Attack smart."

"Is that how you fought?"

"Yes."

He's acting like Zero…

"Alright, I'll work with it!"

As he ran he noted… Magicman wasn't going after him. He was focusing only on Protoman, as the red navi became a blur around the battlefield, dodging around the frozen navi's.

"What the…?"

Why isn't he going after me?

"Just like we planned."

Megaman jumped, dodging a buster shot at his feet. He looked up, as a new navi appeared before him…

They wore a long cloak, covering their dark bodysuit. They wore a helmet with fin designs on it, their red eyes burning with rage.

"Who are you!?" He called out, firing a return shot with his mega buster.

The navi dodged around the shot, flipping backwards, glaring at Megaman.

"The one SciLabs tried to forget." He growled, firing another shot, causing Megaman to stumble back. "The one no one wants to remember."

Megaman tried to land another shot, only managing to nick at the navi's cloak.

"I've kind of had it up to here with dramatic monologues!" Megaman hissed. "Just get to the point!"

The navi chuckled, stopping on top of a structure.

"Straight and to the point? I can do that." He threw his cloak back, revealing their armor to be of a grey, gold and black color scheme with purple accents. "I am Bass."

"Bass huh?" Megaman narrowed his eyes. "Well, whatever it is you and Magicman are planning to do, I won't be letting you get away with it."

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Blue Boy."

Megaman growled.

"Lan, let's give it our all."

"You got it. Full out barrage!"

Lan got his battle chips ready.

"Battle routine set!"

"Execute!"

The first battle chip was inserted, a blaster forming on Megaman's right arm.

Steady… Focus…

Lan inserted the second chip… as a second blaster formed on Megaman's left arm, Lan could practically feel the weight of it. He adjusted his hold on his PET.

"Ready?"

"Ready."

He inserted the last chip, as Megaman brought his arms together, a massive cannon forming.

"Program Advance! High Cannon!" They called out.

With that, a barrage of shots began firing, as Bass rushed to dodge around them.

Everywhere he turned, there was another shot, aimed directly for him.

Megaman smirked.

"You scared?" He and Lan asked in unison.

"Don't make me laugh." He fired back, lunging upwards.

"Again!"

Lan selected three more chips, inserting them at once.

"Elec Sword, Fire Sword, Bamboo Sword!"

As the cannon faded away, Megaman's hands were replaced by a shining blade, as he aimed it upwards… unbeknownst to him, Lan was unconsciously mimicking his actions.

"ELEMENTAL SWORD!"

SHING!

As the blade cut downward, a massive blast shot out, cutting through the terrain. Dust kicked up all around them, clouding their vision.

For a brief moment, Yuichiro shifted his focus from the screen, towards Lan… The boys' eyes were narrowed in focus, but… there was something else.

He's moving in sync with him… Of course.

They're still brothers, their synchro rate would go off the charts.

"Come on!" Megaman called out. "Stop hiding and FIGHT me!"

"Area steal!"

Megaman barely got out of the way as a barrage of blasts hit where he had been standing.

"Phew… good shot." He laughed.

"Heh. Just keep going, I got chips for days."

Bass growled.

"You think your chips will save you from me?"

"Hm... " Megaman smirked. "I think so." He narrowed his eyes. "What did SciLab ever do to you anyway? I've been around here a long time… I think I'd have remembered such an angry navi."

Bass snarled.

"You… IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"

He lunged forward, replacing his buster for a sword.

"SciLab's perfect navi. Perfectly mild…"

SHING!

"AUGH!"

Megaman wasn't able to dodge this time, stumbling to the side, bringing an arm to where the injury was.

Lan let out a sharp gasp of pain, nearly doubling over the table.

No…

Megaman looked up.

"LAN!"

"And of course, made for the golden child!"

SHING!

"AUGH!"

Megaman was sent flying, trying to get to his feet. He panted, glaring Bass down.

"And… Even with the ultimate program and powers… They were afraid of me… But yet, YOU got to live!?"

But I didn't…

"Hub…"

I DIDN'T GET TO LIVE!

"JUST SHUT UP ALREADY!"

Megaman attempted one more blast with his mega buster, missing as Bass disappeared before the shot could hit him, the navi reappearing in front of Megaman, grabbing him by the throat.

"Let everyone here remember this moment." Bass growled. "For this is my message to SciLabs. This is payback for abandoning your own!"

Bass formed a sword with his free arm, jabbing it right through Megaman's crest.

Megaman let out a gasp, his eyes glazing over.

"Don't worry, you'll have a chance to say goodbye." Bass set Megaman down gently, retracting his blade. "I'm not a monster, like they are."

Bass looked at the humans from the monitors above, glaring at them, his eyes landing on Yuichiro.

"Lord Albert Wiley sends his regards, Yuichiro Hikari."

Yuichiro went pale at this.

"No..."

Bass turned away from him, looking to Magicman who had managed to knock Protoman to the ground.

"Let's go, Magicman. The deed is done."

Magicman nodded.

"See you all very soon, SciLabs."

They were gone within moments, X, the Guardians, Zero, Omega and Giro being set free from their lightning prisons. No one wasted a second to hurry over to Megaman, circling the young navi.

"Megaman? Can you hear me?" X asked, cradling him in his arms. "Please, answer me!"

Megaman was quiet, his eyes blank, his body unmoving.

"Come on..."

"Megaman!"

All looked to the screen above, a distraught Lan visible, tears streaking down his face.

"Lan..." X whispered.

"Megaman! Wake up! Please!" Lan cried out. "You got to!"

Megaman remained unanswered.

"No... No..." Lan let out a cry. "MEGAMAN!"