"Tadashi, that boy of yours brings more trouble than he's worth…"
The man looked up, giving his friend a warning look.
"Pick your next words carefully. I have four boys, human and navi."
Albert narrowed his eyes, pointing to the screen in front of him, showing X's stats.
"HIM. If we had just focused on robotics first over this AI, none of this would've ever happened!"
"X didn't do this… Right now, he's trying to stop all of this."
"AND HOW MANY MORE PEOPLE HAVE TO DIE FOR IT!?"
"Please, don't do this…"
Pharaoh Man sighed, he remembered that day all too well… The day his netop abandoned his career forever…
He hadn't been the same since the war but this… His morals were conflicted. On one hand, he lived to serve his netop… On the other hand, he supposed that the same question could be asked now.
"My Lord…"
Lord Wiley looked away from a monitor, raising an eyebrow.
"What is it?"
"I… am concerned about our compatriots' decision the other day. Do you believe an assault like that was needed?"
He had to choose his words carefully. Lord Wiley rarely decided his words meant anything worthwhile these days… If he had his attention, then he needed to use it wisely.
"Absolutely. That brat was in our way."
"That boy, Albert, was a child. On top of that, now you likely have an entire army of Megamen ready to end you if X decides pacifism isn't his method anymore."
Lord Wiley looked back to the monitor, containing the image of the virus he had been creating… It was nearly complete.
Floating in the network, inside an orb, powering up, a wicked beast laid within…
"If X was never born, we wouldn't be having this discussion. Perhaps Yuichiro should've learned all those years ago that keeping him around would only bring misfortune."
"His children do not deserve that… Yuichiro didn't deserve that. Don't you think he's been through enough-"
"SILENCE!"
Pharaohman flinched, bowing his head.
"I… apologize, My Lord. I stepped out of line."
"Keep our system safe and remain silent and stay out of the virus' way. Understand?"
"Yes."
"Good. You're dismissed."
Pharaohman left without another word… Though not before grabbing something from a monitor, disappearing in a burst of data.
Lord Wiley grinned as the beast's eyes glowed an eerie yellow, signaling its activation.
"It's time…"
Sorry you won't be here in person to see this Tadashi but wherever you may be now, may you feel the same pain as I did all those years ago.
It's time you Hikaris burned!
"Life Virus! The net is yours! Go and seek out destruction!"
oooooo
A loud inhumane roar echoed throughout the digital world. Navis froze in place, panic going through their systems. Though it wasn't just limited to the digital world.
The roar came out of speakers and various other sound devices throughout the human world.
It was then… all could see it.
A beast that was large in stature. It was a sickly green color, its appearance being humanoid on top and bug-like on the bottom with its long spindly legs. It reached its clawed hands to the sky, its yellow eyes glowing brightly as it let out another roar.
A roar that to many navis and humans… brought back memories of a time they would rather forget.
"So… this is your creation."
X was standing at the top of the server of Sci-Labs, observing the beast.
"I won't deny… you've really done your work well, Dr. Wiley… a little too well."
"You can say that again."
Zero was beside him, his arms crossed.
"Brings back a lot of bad memories…"
"Yeah… More than I'd like." X narrowed his eyes. "We're going to give it everything we got. Just like we did before."
Zero smiled, nodding.
"Even if we're not at the front of the line, we can most certainly make sure our warriors win this fight. For everyone's sake."
"Citizens of Earth and the digital world!"
X and Zero looked up as a video of Lord Wiley came online, a sneer across the man's face.
"I present to you WWW's proudest creation. The beast before you is what is known as the Life Virus. Despite its name, it certainly is not here to bring life but rather… to take it. Today, you will all be begging for mercy. Submit to WWW and maybe I'll consider calling it off. Any who dare oppose, be prepared to surrender your life. And most importantly… To the Hikari family. This is for all the pain you caused during the war. May you all burn as I did!"
The connection cut, soon followed after by another sickening roar from the Life Virus.
Zero summoned his Z-Saber.
"I'll handle evacuating navis. X do us a favor and try not to get knocked down to a backup."
X charged his buster, giving a smirk.
"Right… Do me a favor and don't get knocked down to your latest one."
"One time!"
With that, they were off.
Lan, Hub, you two better be careful.
oooooo
"So… am I the only one severely disturbed by all this?"
Yahoot, Count Zap and Mr. Match winced at hearing Maddy say this. They didn't want to say it out loud… but they could silently nod in agreement.
"A little…" Mr. Match rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean… I know we were in it for the control and power but this… this isn't what I imagined."
"Something like this will most certainly come at the cost of the digital world… and possibly our own." Count Zap lowered his head. "I didn't think we would…"
"Start another war as bad as the one from years before?" Yahoot finished. "I certainly wasn't expecting this… Maybe… we've gone too far."
Maddy brought a hand to her face.
"I feel REALLY stupid right now."
"I think we're all feeling foolish." Count Zap grimaced. "Our lives, our navis lives are all going to be over shortly."
"Like you did anything that did real harm, I almost drowned that kid! You just stole a game-"
"Kill each other later, solution, now." Mr. Match cut in, "We messed up, great, we can cope with that when we're not dead in prison or therapy or both later."
"He has a point." Yahoot got up, crossing his arms. "If I'm right, I'm sure Sci-Labs will be launching a counter attack at any moment. They're not ones to go down without a fight. The best we can do is help in weakening the elements the virus is feeding off of. It's how we built it in the first place."
"Let's go raise some heck then." Maddy smirked. "I'd rather go down guns blazing rather than watch the world end."
"Let's electrify them all then."
The group nodded in agreement, booking for the exit of the hide out.
They knew what they were doing would incur the wrath of Lord Wiley without a doubt… but at this rate, it was already happening.
What would a little more be?
oooooo
"Lan, Hub, I'm not going to sugarcoat this. This will be the most intense fight of your lives. You will be deciding the fate of our world."
"No pressure."
"I'm telling you this because I want you to know - I have every faith in you."
Lan looked around the room he was in now. It was one of the original meeting rooms from when the war first happened, monitors at every seat giving a readout of the network and their navis.
Megaman gave him a reassuring look as Rush rested his chin on the boy's leg.
"It's okay Lan. We're gonna be just fine."
"You say so confidently." Lan swallowed hard. "This is going to be way different than even fighting Bass was - and what if he comes back?"
"That's what the bait is for." Chaud murmured, referring to another line of communication…
"... Chaud, I'm not sure how to feel about you calling Axl bait."
"I'm not wrong. Bass shows up, Axl shoots and gets his attention while we keep fighting." He cracked a grin. "Just trying to keep calm too."
"Right. You're not scared are you?"
"Me? Never."
"Heh… right." He looked around the room one last time. "Are we ready?"
Yuichiro was at a monitor on a platform above them, monitoring the status of X and the Guardians in particular.
"Your best shot will be while the net's being evacuated… and please… be safe."
"We'll do our best, Dad."
Yuichiro smiled.
"Good luck, all of you."
He looked to his monitor, watching as the Life Virus began to wreak havoc on the digital world.
"Let's show WWW what we got!"
And like that, everyone was off.
Megaman at the front of the team and everyone else following close behind.
No turning back…
He glanced to the side, seeing Lan's monitor appear beside him, the boy giving him a smile.
"We got this."
"Right."
Megaman drew out his Mega Buster, jumping to the top of a structure, aiming for the Life Virus.
Let's settle the score.
One last time!