GT: Here it is…possibly one of the biggest chapters. It's one I've had to work and rework several times over. Having to constantly revise and go back to. I really hope things are well planned out and you all enjoy this first half of the finale to the first Arc.
"Hee, hee, hee... Gwa-ha-ha-ha-ha! We did it! We did it! Alpha is ours at last! How I have dreamed of this day! The end of the Net society is finally at hand!" Wily cackled, "Gather to me once more, my WWW operators! Hee, hee, hee… Gwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!"
Several minutes passed before Mecha, Metal Sonic, Match, the girl that had found Metal Sonic, and a man in white and purple robes stood before Wily. The girl looked around before tilting her head.
"Um…Lord Wily? Where are Inukai and Sunayama?" she asked.
"Inukai has been Deleted for his failures and exposing us to the world before we were truly ready, Anetta," Wily scowled, "As for Sunayama, he was killed by a brat."
"Killed?" the robe-wearing man repeated in surprise.
"Ja, Rei Saiko," Mecha confirmed as Mecha displayed Chaud, "This one, Chaud Blaze, struck him down for the Roboticization of his father with the very method he used to do so."
"Interesting," Rei noted.
"Ah! That fiend! How dare he wear fur!" Anetta growled.
"Calm yourselves. Today is our glorious day! While I begin to decrypt the Alpha, you will be training under Mecha and Metal," Wily ordered, "You will be working under what we call a Dimensional Area."
"The thing that made SciLab all colorful?" Match pondered.
"Indeed! It breaks down the barrier between Earth and the Network, allowing NetNavis to materialize here," Wily explained, "You will be learning FullSynchro, the ability where you and your NetNavi become 'one' and make their power all the greater!" he waved an arm out, "Your new mission, my followers, is to protect Alpha... Protect it from those Net Society fools! A new world awaits us! And it will stand upon the ashes of Net Society! It is time to crush Net Society with an iron fist of our wrath! Delete it!"
"Delete it!"
"Delete it!"
"De! Lete! It!"
"Muwahahahahaha!" Wily cackled before turning to Metal, "Has everything been set up?" Metal gave a thumbs up, "Wonderful!" he pushed a button and a camera emerged from his desk, aiming at him and the screen behind him, "Ah, ahem... Attention, fools who depend upon Net Society! I am Dr. Albert Wily! Leader of the WWW! Very shortly, we will conduct an assault on the Network! Our assault will destroy all Net society functions! Army systems will start wars around the globe! This is a declaration of War! There is nothing you can do to stop us! The only thing in your future is...Destruction! MUWAHAHAHAHA!"
"Mmm…N-No…" Megaman mumbled, his stirring body waking up the pink NetNavi sharing his bedsheets.
"Mmm…? Wh-What's goin'...Mega?" Roll pondered before yelping as Megaman shot up, wide awake and panting heavily.
Megaman rapidly patted himself until Roll presented him his dream journal. Megaman quickly accepted it while getting his pen, "'October 17th, the hedgehog and a female Mobian, I think a bat based on her wings, team up together outside a pyramid that was actually a base for Eggman. They fought through the systems to find a rocket that took them to a space station above the planet. On it, the hedgehog does battle with a black hedgehog-couldn't see their face-on a narrow strip outside the space station to get to a massive cannon on it while fighting each other. Just after the black hedgehog struck the blue hedgehog with an attack made of a yellow energy, the bat lady tells him to stop as she has found a video that he should see. They watched it and the black hedgehog agrees to work with the blue hedgehog. Later, the two are aboard the ARK in a room with some sort of shrine in it along with the seven different colored emeralds. A huge beast appears and they fight it until it disappears in a flash of green light and Rouge tells them it has merged with the space station's cannon, forcing it to start falling to the planet. The hedgehogs then use the emeralds to transform into golden hedgehogs and begin to fight the monster, destroying it. They then use that strange light technique to put the place back into orbit, but the black hedgehog then starts to fall to the planet. The blue hedgehog tries to save him, but the black hedgehog stops him and falls.'" he wrote before grimacing, "That shouldn't be right. The other dream with the aliens showed the black hedgehog safe and sound…"
"Hub?" Megaman looked up at the worried expression on Roll's face.
"...It…It's fine, Roll," Megaman assured, looking down at the new entry, "I…I think this dream may be foreshadowing trouble ahead…"
"Are you okay?" Roll asked, cupping his cheek with concern in her eyes.
"..." Megaman shook his head, "I don't know anymore, to be honest."
"What was that just now?" Roll asked.
"A stronger dream," Megaman explained, "The ones with the more intense emotions in them. I always either shoot up or fall out of bed when I have those. They…They feel so real, even if I can't see some things or anyone's faces…" Roll held him close as he shivered, "It's worse because some things from my dream have been coming here after us. Metal Sonic, the SWATBots, even Knuckles! I just…I don't know what's going on anymore…" tears prickled his eyes, "I don't get these dreams. They're all random in when they take place a-and they're nothing but fighting…it's always when he's doing something that involves destroying robots, fighting other humanoid animals, saving lives…it's like he just fought all the time…"
"...Have they been happening more often?" Roll asked in concern.
"No. They still happen every few days, but they stick to me," Megaman grimaced, "It's like they're more than dreams at times."
"...Your blue energy," Roll spoke, earning his attention, "Remember what I told you about what Nicole said? How your power belonged to a friend of her princess friend? What if the power is showing your key memories of its previous user?"
"But…But he's never used them," Megaman argued, "Not once in the dreams has this electricity come off him. Not until…until…" his eyes widened, "...he was racing to reverse the machine making a black hole."
"Oh my…" Roll gasped.
Megaman shook his head, "I…I'm scared…"
"...Hub," Roll spoke, earning his attention as she reached out and gently cupped his cheek, her thumb lightly wiping the tears he had started to shed, "We'll get through this together. Like we always do." she sat in his lap, putting her free hand on his shoulder while he wrapped his arms around her waist, "You are never alone."
"Roll…" Megaman whispered.
"Wherever you go, I'll go. We're a team and no one can beat us when we work together," Roll went on.
"...How did someone like me ever get an angel like you for a girlfriend?" Megaman softly asked.
"By being yourself," Roll replied, releasing his cheek to wrap her arms around his neck and the two shared a small, tender kiss, "...Hub?"
"Hm?"
"Do you want to try to make a timeline for these dreams?" Roll asked.
"Would help to be honest."
Lan blinked a few times, seeing nothing but darkness all around him, "Hello?" his voice echoed within the void, "Okay…This is freaky."
"Knowledge curses all, young one."
"Gah! Wh-Who's there?!" Lan demanded as he quickly looked around.
"You have been chosen to share the secrets of the past and a vision of the future," a voice overlaid in three different voices echoed.
"Gha! Wh-Who said that?!" Lan asked, looking around until the void was filled with an emerald-green light, "?!" the light gave way to stars, "Whoa~"
"It all began with the birth of existence: the Big Bang. With it, the 'soil' of existence was laid and from it grew the Prime Tree," the unified voice spoke as the stars faded to reveal a massive landscape of earth with a massive tree growing from it, "From the Prime Tree, acorns fell, growing new trees." acorns began to fall, growing smaller trees of various sizes and heights, "While many were small, isolated, others grew large and encompassed others. Often, these smaller trees would have branches grow out and entangle a branch with another, producing acorns that grew smaller trees in turn."
"What's with all the trees?" Lan pondered before yelping as one grew under him and he blinked, finding himself in a city, "Huh?!" he looked up to see something falling from above, "What the…?!" his eyes widened as the bomb crashed down and exploded, leaving him unharmed as it just phased through him like he was a ghost, "WHOA!" he blinked again and saw nothing but a ruined world, "Oh…Oh gosh…"
"In one world, humanity fell into near-extinction due to the actions of darker souls, resetting the lands above to give rise to a new race," the voice spoke, "Life evolved slowly until the first walker emerged from the primordial ooze that was made from man and animal regressed by alien forces." time seemed to accelerate in Lan's eyes as he witnessed sludge-like creatures emerge from an ooze until they turned into dinosaurs of varying colors, "Centuries passed and creatures continued to develop, ushering in the Saurian Age. A brutal balance was struck and this simple society thrived…until the sky above turned as green as the Big Bang!" the skies above turned green as a massive fine-cut emerald with thousands of smaller ones rained down upon the land, "Beauty and terror combined as the heavens opened up and the hard hail fell upon all! Those who survived witnessed the coming of…The Master Emerald and the Chaos Emeralds!"
"Chaos…Emeralds?" Lan repeated, finding the word familiar to his lips, "Chaos…" he closed an eye while holding the side of his head, "Gh!" he stumbled and fell to his knees, strange figures that looked like they were made of water with a strange stone in their chests walking by him, vanishing as they did and leaving behind seven smaller versions of the massive emerald in different colors.
"Over centuries, these crystals have inspired many cultural wonders: pagan worship, technological advances capable of driving those who harnessed it mad…" Lan tensed as he blinked and saw Eggman sneering while holding a Chaos Emerald, the light it gave off far darker than it should've been to the boy, "...and in the hands of pure evil, they can be corrupted into Weapons of Destruction! But absolute energy cannot be created or destroyed…" Eggman vanished as the seven Emeralds circled Lan, "...The Infinite Power of the Chaos Emeralds shall realign for a higher purpose! You will know the time when these will be needed, young Netto."
"N-Netto?"
"Never lose these. Keep them with you always until the time comes for their power to be used," the voice went on as Lan caught all seven, "The Servers are the Seven Chaos. Chaos is Power. Power enriched by the Heart. The Controller is the one that Unifies the Emeralds."
"..." Lan looked down at the emeralds, "What was that?"
"A prayer. One passed down from generation to generation. Never forget it, Netto. You and Rockman…you and your twin Saito…have a Destiny that is to be fulfilled in these two worlds."
"Hey, wait! What are you saying?!" Lan asked, looking around, "Hello?!" the area turned back into a dark void, "Ah! Not again!" he started skating, but never got anywhere, "Hey! HEY~! Who are Netto and Saito?!"
"Lan…Lan…"
Lan's eyes snapped open and he sat up, nearly making Maylu fall off the bed with a yelp, "Gah! Huh? Whuzza? Huh?!"
"Lan…?" Lan looked at the concerned look Maylu was giving him, "Are you alright? You were saying something weird in your sleep."
"H-Huh? Sl…sleep?" Lan pondered.
"It was really weird. Kinda sounded like a prayer and two names," Sean noted, "Netto and Saito, I think."
"Ugh…I…I don't know," Lan replied as he pulled the sheets off him…and blinked a few times at the seven fine-cut emeralds in his lap, "Uh…"
"What the…?!" Maylu gawked.
"Lan…" Sean began.
"I have no idea where these came from, I swear!" Lan quickly replied.
"I've never seen gemstones like these before," Chaud noted as he picked one up, "?!" he quickly dropped it, "Wh-What?"
"Chaud?" Lan pondered.
"What was that just now?" Chaud asked, narrowing his eyes as he looked at the emeralds.
"Huh? What was…?" Sean began as he touched one, "?! Whoa now! Wh-what?!"
"What? What?!" Lan demanded.
"Lan…aren't you feeling it?" Sean asked.
"Feeling what?!"
"The energy coming off those things," Chaud replied.
"Energy?" Maylu repeated as she picked one up, "...Um…I don't feel anything."
"Me neither," Lan added, picking up the rest.
"...Is it something hedgehog and fox or cat Mobini can't feel…o-or are they so used to it that it doesn't feel like anything to them?" Sean hypothesized.
"We'll think about it later," Chaud replied, "I just received a call from the commissioner. We are to report to SciLab immediately."
"Huh? What's going on?" Maylu asked.
"The army has been mobilized and every single nation is under martial law," Chaud informed.
"Are they preparing for an attack by Alpha?" Lan asked.
"Yeah, I guess... The army showing up like this can mean only one thing... The situation has gotten very dangerous!" Maylu noted.
"Wow…" Lan whispered before looking down at his feet, "None of this would have happened if I had gotten Alpha! I've got to do something!"
"You mean we have to do something," Maylu corrected, "And we are by going to SciLab to see what's going on."
"...Right," Lan nodded before everyone blinked and saw he was already dressed and ready to go aside from the toothbrush in his mouth.
"...Okay. Moments like this are where I'm jealous of that speed of yours," Maylu admitted.
An uneasy silence filled the air of SciLab's conference room. Maylu fidgeted in her seat, looking around at the older people in the room, until Lan held her hand and softly squeezed it. She looked at him and he gave her an assuring smile. The doors opened and Keifune entered with a scientist. He walked to the podium set up at the end of the large table and looked out at the people gathered with a serious expression on his face.
"I'd like to discuss what we plan to do about Alpha. But first, now that the WWW has stolen Alpha, I need to tell you all what it really is…" Keifune informed.
"What it really is...?" Lan softly repeated.
"SciLab created Alpha a decade ago in a top secret project. It was developed as the basis for our Net community... It is the primal Internet…" Keifune began.
"The primal Internet…!? We thought it was a monster, but... It's the Internet?" Chaud asked.
"That is correct. The original form of our current Network. We tried many things to create the Network that we know today," the scientist informed, "One day, all of the devices connected to Alpha malfunctioned. At the time, our researchers thought the problem was the 'AutoNavi,' which was developed at the same time. We at SciLab reacted...strongly...against the man who developed the AutoNavi, and decided it must be deleted. He was held in custody, and the Navi Elite Corps...deleted his Navi." Maylu and Lan softly gasped at that, "We thought that would be the end of it... But after that, the worst net-accident in history occurred."
"An accident?" one officer asked.
"All devices connected to Alpha were destroyed," Keifune informed.
"So the AutoNavi wasn't responsible after all?" Maylu asked.
"Precisely, Agent Sakurai," Keifune confirmed.
"Alpha itself caused the accident. Unknown to the Alpha team, it was riddled with bugs," the scientist informed, "It gained a level of intelligence, around that of an amoeba. Well, perhaps not intelligence. More like...instinct."
"I can't believe that the Internet could become self aware!" Roll awed.
"Using its newfound instincts, Alpha crept into all devices connected to itself. It absorbed all manner of NetNavis, programs, everything. It was as if a giant amoeba was devouring all of Cyberworld," the scientist went on while Megaman and Roll held one another as they shivered at the thought of that happening to the other, "A week later, it had devoured everything, and SciLab took advantage of its bloated state to capture it. Alpha had finally been captured, but for six months, all of Net society was brought to a halt... This event is known today as 'The Alpha Revolt.'"
"Back then, only a few devices were hooked into Alpha. But if Alpha were to return today, with all that's online…" Keifune spoke before shaking his head, "There would be nothing we could do. It would be the end of all Net society. And now that Alpha is in the hands of the WWW...It must be deleted!"
"It won't be easy," Chaud noted, "We'll have to deal with these SWATBots of theirs, the gynoid Mecha, and Metal Sonic along with the human agents they'll have and their NetNavis."
"There's also the matter of finding the base," Sean added before alarms began to blare.
=Whoot! Whoot! Whoot! Emergency! All AutoTanks on patrol have gone berserk! They cannot be controlled! Civilian casualties possible!=
"AutoTanks? Like the ones that were in Green Hills?" Lan pondered before Maylu gasped.
"They may be in ACDC, too! Dex and Yai!" Maylu realized.
"Quickly, everyone! We'd better go!" Keifune ordered, "Scramble! I want an agent at each scene pronto!"
"Roger!-!"
"Eek!" Yai yelped as she and Dex were backed into a corner by a bulky blue tank-like machine on four mechanical legs.
The machine let out several beeps as its cannon aimed at them, a light growing inside of the barrel. It prepared to fire when an orange and brown ball and a blue and red ball coated in magenta flames rammed into it, knocking it away from the two. The balls bounced a few times before uncurling and landing on their feet, revealing them to be Lan and Maylu.
"Lan! Maylu!" Yai cheered.
"Dex! We'll take care of this guy! You get Yai to safety!" Lan ordered.
"L-Lan! You be careful! This tank is serious!" Dex warned.
"Leave it to us! Now, get going!" Lan ordered.
"Lan! Look out!-!" Maylu called as the tank got up and deployed machine guns.
"Yikes!" Lan yelped as he began to run about, making the gunfire focus on him, "Dex! Hurry!"
"OK! Yai! Come on! Lan! Maylu! You'd better run if things get bad!"
"We will," Maylu assured as Yai and Dex ran off.
"So now, how to deal with this thing...?" Lan pondered before looking at its feet, "Oh! Maylu, the first attack by those SWATBots!"
"Got it!" Maylu replied as the tank beeped at them.
"Come and get me, ya rusty hunk of junk!" Lan taunted as he ran around the machine, throwing rocks when he could pick one up.
"Lan, now!" Maylu called, a ball of flames in her hands.
Lan jumped and Maylu slammed the ball onto the road, unleashing a wave of flames that engulfed the road beneath the tank. It lifted a leg to move forward towards her before it started to sink into the tar. It struggled to get out, only for some of the tar to splash up and hit its guns, gunking them up. Maylu held her hands out and the heat of the tar came right to her palms, forming another ball of flames she quickly dismissed.
"Nice work!" Lan cheered before they looked at the tank as it still struggled, "Okay! Let's take care of whoever's behind this!"
"Right!" Maylu nodded.
"Jack in! Megaman/Roll! Power Up!"
Within moments, Megaman and Roll appeared in a militaristic-looking network. They looked around before Roll gasped and pointed out ahead. Megaman looked and the two took notice of what Roll found. It was a strange red slime creature that seemed to emerge from a ring of green data. It had a single pink 'eye' and tiny metal 'fins' on the sides of its head.
"A virus!? Looks like it's making the tank go out of control!"
"I've never seen one like this before," Roll noted.
"Megaman, Roll, you've got to delete that virus and stop the tank!"
"Gotcha!" both replied before yelping as they barely avoiding its leap at them.
"Did it just try to hug us?!" Roll asked.
"Look at the ground!" Megaman gasped, causing Roll to look to see the spot they had been on had become covered in the data the virus had been coming out of.
"What is it…?" Roll pondered before both dodged again, quickly firing their weapons at it only for its body to repair itself in seconds, "It's regenerating faster than our normal weapons can deal damage with!"
"Lan, heavy hitters!" Megaman called.
"You got it! Freezeman V3, Download!"
"Mistman, Download!"
Megaman and Roll held their hands out and transparent images of the two NetNavis appeared. Freezeman created three large spikes of ice that he shot out at the virus, tearing into its body. Mistman created two purple clouds before and behind the virus as it started healing only to appear from both clouds and slammed a spiked fist into the virus's head, shattering its 'eye.' It let out a screech as its body dissolved into data while the transparent NetNavis vanished.
"Great! We stopped the tank! Wow, that was a powerful virus... Are you guys okay, Megaman?"
"Yeah. But was that just a virus running that tank?" Megaman pondered.
"What do you mean?"
"That it wasn't just a normal virus. It seemed to be trying to...absorb us!" Roll replied.
"Absorb you? A virus?" Maylu pondered.
"Yes. Usually viruses just attack and try to delete Navis... But that virus's attacks were meant to absorb us…" Megaman grimaced.
"It's using hugs for evil!" Roll fumed.
"A virus that absorbs Navis... It'd be serious trouble if those things multiplied! Hey! I wonder how the Officials are doing? Megaman! Time to jack out!"
"You too, Roll!" Maylu ordered before the two were jacked out and Jensen approached with Chaud.
"Are you okay, Lan, Maylu!?" Jensen asked in concern.
"Yes. We stopped the tank. How are things there?" Lan asked.
"The Officials have managed to stop the other tanks. However, we now know that the situation is much worse than we previously predicted!" Jensen replied.
"Wh...What do you mean?" Maylu questioned.
"The reason that those tanks went haywire…"
"You mean the virus?" Lan asked.
"That was no virus. The force running those tanks...was AlphaBug!" Chaud replied.
"AlphaBug!?" Lan and Maylu repeated.
"Yes. It seems that one of the bugs from Alpha managed to infiltrate one of the Army systems. That means that Alpha has escaped from somewhere... It seems that Wily has started decoding Alpha!" Jensen explained.
"We don't have much time left. We must find the WWW base and delete Alpha...and fast!" Chaud growled before Jensen's PeT rang.
"Yes...?" Jensen answered, "...What? You mean...? ...Understood. I'm on my way!"
"What happened!?" Chaud demanded.
"Seems that AlphaBug has broken into Army systems everywhere. Military hardware around the globe has been taken over," Jensen explained.
"Could this mean...War?" Chaud asked.
"War!?" Lan and Maylu freaked.
"If this situation isn't dealt with immediately... It could lead to a war that envelops the entire Earth!" Jensen replied as he sent out a mass call, "Officials! Quickly jack in to all Networks around the globe! Access the Army systems, and destroy AlphaBug! Chaud, come with me! Lan, Maylu, get back to Green Hills and make sure AlphaBug isn't in the machines there!"
"Yes, sir!" Chaud replied as they went off, leaving Lan and Maylu alone.
"A war...What will happen if Alpha reaches full power?" Lan pondered in worry.
"Nothing good," Maylu gulped before Lan's PeT rang.
"Lan! It's a phone call from Mama!"
"Hello? Mama, what's wrong!?" Lan asked, seeing the worried, almost panicked, expression on his mom's face.
"Lan, help me! It's your father!"
"Mama, calm down! What about Papa!?"
"He's...He's...disappeared from the hospital! He's in no condition to be moving around...Oh… Where could he be?"
"What!? I'm on my way! You wait there!" Lan replied as he hung up, "Megaman! We have to get to the hospital!"
"Roger!"
"I'll come, too," Maylu offered.
"Right!" Lan nodded, picking her up and running off.
"Mama!" Lan called, running into the bedroom with Maylu.
"Kids!"
"Have you found Papa!?" Lan asked.
"No, not yet... And it's almost time for him to take his medication! Oh, what shall we do?" Haruka pondered, fear in her voice.
"Medication?" Maylu repeated.
"Yes. Yuichiro has been taking pain medicine every day... Without it, he isn't able to even get out of bed! But he's run off somewhere without taking it!" Haruka explained.
"So, if the effects of his last dose run out…" Lan trailed off as his eyes widened, "Oh, no!-!"
"Lan! We have to find dad!" Megaman ordered.
"But we have no clue where he could be!"
"Well, let's start by searching this room, top to bottom! Maybe we can find some sort of clue!" Roll advised.
"OK! Mama, don't worry! I promise that I'll find Papa!" Lan swore.
"Lan…" Haruka smiled gently before gasping, "Oh, here! Take this! It's your father's pain medication!"
"We'll make sure to get it to him," Maylu promised.
"Come on, Megaman! Let's look for clues!" Lan grinned.
"Roger!"
The two girls blinked before jumping as several afterimages of Lan went off about. One nearly fell out the open window, another two were rummaging through the cabinets, and another was on a ladder looking at the top of the bookshelves and devices. The one by the bed was tossing things off it before they all became Lan, holding up a letter and a cardkey.
"I found this under his pillow! It's a letter," Lan noted.
"What's it say?" Maylu asked.
"Let's see...'I have to go search for Alpha. Sorry for worrying you.' Papa…in his condition...!" Lan whimpered before shaking his head, "Guys, let's find dad!"
"Right!" Roll pumped a fist.
"Uh...But where did he go?" Megaman asked.
"He'd have gone somewhere having devices to locate Alpha. So let's check SciLab first!" Lan ordered.
"Gotcha! Let's go, Lan!" Maylu encouraged before hugging Haruka, "We'll find him, Mrs. Hikari."
"Thank you," Haruka nodded, returning the hug before Maylu climbed into Lan's arms and he ran off.
Lan gulped as he and Maylu stood in the elevator. He didn't want to be here…not with what he did. Maylu's hand closed around his, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Lan managed a shaky smile before the elevator opened and they walked out. Lan blinked a few times, seeing the hole in the floor covered by a few thick planks. Maylu blushed as she sheepishly scratched her cheek. The two went past the hole and approached a sliding door with a scanner. Lan pulled out the cardkey and swiped it over the scanner. The door hissed before sliding open, revealing an office with a metal desk combined with a supercomputer…with Yuichiro working at it.
"Papa!" Lan called as the two ran over.
"So you followed me…" Yuichiro noted, looking up from his work.
"Dr. Hikari, you have to get back to the hospital!" Maylu pleaded.
"I can't just lie in bed. Not when Alpha is in the hands of the WWW! Right now, I'm tracing the path of AlphaBug's attack. It could lead us to the WWW base!"
"But you're in no condition to be doing that! Let's just leave it up to the Officials!" Lan argued.
"I can't do that. I must delete Alpha with my own hands," Yuichiro argued before he and Maylu jumped when Lan slammed his hands on the desk, the metal warping a little under his fists.
"Why!? Because Alpha was created by SciLab? But why do YOU have to take on that responsibility!?" Lan demanded.
"..." Yuichiro looked away to a photo frame on his desk, "...20 years ago, a promising scientist came to SciLab. He used the latest tech to create the basis of the Net. A prototype of the Internet...'Alpha!'"
"..." Lan slowly took his fists off the desk.
"That scientist was a man who I respect very deeply. It's my duty to delete Alpha for him!"
"...I understand that a great man may have created Alpha! But not why you have to put yourself in such danger!?"
"That scientist's name was...Tadashi Hikari. He was my father."
"What!? Gramps created Alpha!?" Lan gawked.
"Yes. And that is why I must delete Alpha with my own hands. And now is the only time that I can! When he stopped the Alpha Revolt, Pops installed a program, 'Guardian,' into Alpha's core. So long as it isn't deleted, Alpha can't fully recover. It's one of Pop's programs, so it can't be deleted easily... Not even by Wily," Yuichiro explained before the computer went off, "Ah, the computer has finished tracking the WWW's base!" He turned to it before collapsing to a knee, "Gh...Argh!-!-!"
"Papa! Papa!-! Are you okay!?" Lan panicked as he ran over to his side.
"Lan, the medicine!" Maylu reminded.
"Oh right! Here's your medicine!-! Mama gave it to me!" Lan spoke, giving Yuichiro the medication.
"Th-Thank you...Urgh!" Yuichiro grunted, managing to swallow it before Lan flickered and had a cup of water in hand that his father drank, "I'll be okay...in a moment…"
"...Papa, tell me where the WWW's base is! I'll delete Alpha for you!" Lan offered.
"What?!" Maylu gawked.
"No... It's too dangerous…"
"I can do it! After all, I'm your son! And I have Megaman! As long as we're together, we can do anything!" Lan argued.
"...Lan, I can see that you're growing up now. I knew that there comes a day when the son exceeds the dad... But I never knew yours would come so quickly…"
"Papa…"
"According to the data, the WWW's base is at…" he trailed off upon seeing the location, "What...!? The Demon Waters!?"
"Demon Waters?" The two repeated.
"That part of the ocean is known for its ferocity. It's full of 'Demon Currents,' spinning waters strong enough to create whirlwinds. To approach it is certain death!" Yuichiro explained, causing Maylu to shudder and move closer to Lan.
"Demon Waters... How can that area be approached?" Lan asked.
"It would have to be by boat. The turbulent air above there would crash any plane. But if you were to go by boat, it would have to have a very powerful engine to avoid being pulled under the waves!"
"So we need a boat with a huge engine to get to the base…" Maylu noted.
"Papa, I'll do it! I'll delete Alpha for you!" Lan declared.
"No, Lan, you mustn't think of it that way. The battle you are going to face isn't for me. It's your battle! Yours and Megaman's! You must fight for all those that you love, and our future! Lan, Megaman...No, Hub! Fight together to stop the WWW's plan!"
"Roger!"
"We will!"
"Be careful...All of you!"
"We will," Lan nodded as Maylu typed something.
"Um…What are you doing, Maylu?" Yuichiro asked.
"Sending an Email to Mrs. Hikari," Maylu replied…before a SubPeT on the desk rang, "Oh, that must be her."
"..."
"Bye, Papa!" Lan quickly spoke, answering for him before grabbing Maylu and running off in a blink of an eye.
"YUICHIRO HIKARI!"
"YIKES!" Yuichiro yelped.
"You need a boat?" Sean pondered, looking up from his laptop, "Well…Why not the one used for the N1 for the contestants to get to Hades Island?"
"Huh?! You sure they'd let us use it?" Lan asked.
"Couldn't hurt to ask," Sean replied.
"Right. Sean, on my back," Lan ordered.
"Wait, what?"
"We're going the fast way," Maylu explained.
"Um…Alright. Can I get my stuff just in case?"
"Sure," Lan replied.
Ten minutes later and the trio skidded to a halt at the dock outside of the TV Station. The trio looked around before Maylu pointed at the dock at an older boat. Sean nodded before the trio walked over to it.
"The engine looks pretty old… It will need a new engine to get to the WWW base…" Megaman noted.
"Hmm…Give me a day and I can make this better than anything they've got," Sean spoke, writing on his tablet once more before Lan's PeT beeped, "Sent the list of supplies I need."
"I'll grab them," Lan replied as he ran off, running past Chaud as he was disabling another tank.
"Hikari?" Chaud pondered before nearly spinning around from Lan zipping by him, "What the…?" he ran towards the docks to see Lan with a large wagon full of supplies that Sean was looking over, "Hey!" the trio jumped and saw him approach, "What are you doing?"
"We've got the location of the WWW's base!" Lan beamed.
"Seriously?"
"His dad's in trouble with his mom for sneaking out of the hospital," Maylu supplied how they got it.
"I'm gonna be upgrading the boat here. Specifically the engine of it to handle the waters," Sean explained, "Maybe make it more fuel efficient, too."
"Just focus on making it stronger than the currents," Lan advised, "Tomorrow is gonna be a long day."
"Excuse me?" Chaud asked.
"Well, the plan is that tomorrow we head out to take the fight to the WWW in person," Lan replied, "Alpha is my family's responsibility."
"Not going to try to convince folks not to follow you?" Maylu asked.
"Why'd I do that?" Lan asked, "I'm fast and good at NetBattling, but this is the WWW we're talking about. I needed a lot of help the last time we went to them. Plus, they have all those robots now like Metal Sonic and the Terminator Lady! I'd be an idiot if I didn't ask for help for something like this!"
"That's honestly mature of you," Chaud noted.
"Hey…I can grow up when I wanna," Lan pouted.
"Focus, everyone," Megaman spoke up.
"Hope, sweetie," Eggman spoke up.
"Hm?" Hope looked up from the ice cream she was eating.
"Dear, I need you to come to the EggNet immediately," Eggman explained, "It seems the connection we've established has, well…I have Viruses in here and need you to Delete them."
"Okay, Daddy!" Hope beamed, "Do I come back to help Delete intruders?"
"No, Hope. You need to stay in the EggNet and away from the Network for a few days. Alpha won't hesitate to absorb you."
"Huh?! B-But why?"
"Mmm…Think of it as…a very bad pudding. Yes, rotten and moldy an-and not at all good for a growing girl like yourself," Eggman explained, "So please, sweetie? Come to the EggNet and stay here until the plan is done with?"
"Okay, Daddy," Hope replied as she walked to the link to the EggNet before glancing to the distance, thinking of Megaman again, 'I hope you survive…'
"This is it! The day we put a stop to Wily's plans!" Lan declared.
"We have to or the Alpha…" Maylu frowned.
"It uses hugs for evil! No mercy for it!" Roll interrupted with her declaration.
"I thought everyone was joking about you developing a problem with hugging!"
"I don't have a hugging problem! Everyone else has a hugging problem!"
"C'mon! Let's get to Beach Street! Let's go save our future!" Lan cheered.
"Roger!" Megaman replied before the PeT went off, "Lan! You got mail from Papa!"
"Huh?" Lan pondered as he opened the EMail, "'Lan, you are heading for the toughest battle you've known. I can't stress how powerful Alpha is...Install this program into MegaMan. This will let you find Alpha where he hides in Cyberworld. I'm sorry that this is all I can do. Please forgive me. The fate of the world is in your hands, my sons.'"
"A program that lets you find Alpha? What does that mean?" Roll asked.
"...I think it means because Alpha is the Network, the parts he controls are able to blend in to grab any unsuspecting program," Lan realized, "Think Sean can do a rush job for everyone?"
"It's Sean," Maylu replied, "You may be all around fast, but his program skills rival it."
Lan nodded, sending the program to Sean with an explanation, "...Last chance to stay?"
"We're stronger when we work together. I'm not leaving your side," Maylu replied.
"..." Lan nodded, the two sharing a hug before heading out with their hands held in the other's.
"What the…?" Lan gawked upon seeing maids working on putting supplies on a much larger boat than the one that Sean had volunteered to stay at to work on.
"H-Hey guys…" Sean sheepishly greeted…while several maids were petting his head and tail.
"What's going on?" Lan asked.
"Us, of course!" Yai's voice spoke up as the trio turned to see Yai and Dex approach.
"What the…What's going on?" Lan asked.
"The engine blew up," Sean sighed, "That earned the attention of Yai who was here to get a special strawberry milkshake sold only in one restaurant here. She asked me what I was doing and I told her I was going to improve it to traverse the Demon Currents and next thing I know, they got me to spill the beans and we have a better boat with an engine far stronger than before that I further upgraded. I gotta thank Nicole for helping as well."
"Nicole?" Maylu repeated.
"In here," Nicole's voice came from a speaker on the boat, "Chaud requested us to come to assist with the assault."
"You mean he requested Zero and me," Knuckles's voice corrected.
"We are willing and able to assist in the assault upon World Three," Zero informed.
"I'm surprised you haven't tried saying otherwise on anything, Lan," Dex noted.
"You guys really think I'd be able to do it on my own? Nope! I need help if we're ever gonna beat them and destroy Alpha," Lan replied.
"I'd like to go, but given the situation…" Yai grimaced, "Daddy refuses to let me go anywhere without my maids right now and there's a limit to the number of people able to get on."
"...I need to stay behind," Sean informed.
"Huh? But with Freezeman…"
"I know he'd be great for it, but…" Sean blushed, "I get seasick…really bad seasick."
"S-Seriously?" Lan gawked.
"Why do you think I got an ice-related NetNavi? He can freeze water and not get seasick." Several drops of sweat went off at that, even from the maids, "But I can deploy a Dimensional Area to your location the moment you need it."
"That's good to hear," Lan nodded before looking at Maylu, Chaud, and Dex, "So it's just us?"
"Looks like it," Dex replied, banging his fists together.
"You sure you can handle this?" Chaud asked, looking at Dex.
"I may not be a Mobini, but Gutsman and I are really strong!" Dex assured, "We even figured out FullSynchro!"
"So that's how Gutsman was so strong!" Megaman realized.
"Now I'm really excited for NetBattling you after all this!" Lan grinned.
"Easy, Lan," Maylu advised, putting a hand on his shoulder, "Set that for later; focus on the now."
"Right, right," Lan nodded.
"I have the coordinates put into the navigational systems," Nicole informed as the four kids got onto the boat, letting the ramp fold into the boat, "With the improvements Sean made to the boat's engine, we will be there in an estimated ten hours. Please use this time to revise your Folders and get some rest."
"S-Seriously?" Lan gawked as the boat took off.
"The Demon Currents are far away from here. We wouldn't have a successful port if they were close to here," Chaud replied.
"...So…wanna NetBattle, Dex?" Lan offered.
"You're on!" Dex beamed.
"I challenge the winner!" Knuckles declared.
"You're on!" both boys agreed.
"Boys…" Maylu sighed.
"Ugh…Are we there yet?" Lan whined.
"Hikari, I swear to all the Gods that if you repeat that one more time…!" Chaud snarled.
"I see it!" Knuckles called, "Land ho!"
Everyone ran out and looked out ahead. Amidst the whirlpools they were navigating around, a modestly large island stood out amongst the sea. It was barren, barely any plant life upon its shores. It was likely from the purple sludge pouring down a river in the middle of it all. Several pillars as thick as a spaceship stood in several places, each one ending in an ominous skull with glowing red lights in their eye holes. In the center of it all was a massive stone skull with a set of three Ws carved into its forehead.
"Okay…I have gotta ask this. Why does this guy love making skulls?" Dex asked with a shudder.
"Probably the same way Dr. Eggman likes to add 'Egg' to the names of his creations. He has a motif and he will use it how he wants to," Nicole replied as the boat soon reached a small dock.
"So this is the WWW base…" Lan observed.
"Lan, there's no time to waste. Let's get moving! There isn't much time left. Every second counts!" Chaud ordered before running down the dock.
"Chaud! Wait!" Maylu shouted before Dex ran after him.
"Just you wait, Wily! It's time for a knuckle sandwich!"
"Boys…" Maylu growled, embers coming off her before Lan started to scratch her ear, "Mmm~ No fair~"
"C'mon, Lan! Let's get moving!" Megaman spoke.
"You, too, Maylu!" Roll added.
"Right!" Lan nodded, "Zero, you, Nicole, and Knuckles can use my PeT if you want."
"Thank you, Lan," Nicole thanked.
The two Mobini were the last ones off the boat and walked down the dock to a pair of doors Chaud was forcing open with a grunt of effort. The group followed Chaud into it and looked around. All that was inside was a series of computer monitors with a series of thick cables connecting to a bulky metal throne of sorts with a helmet of sorts on a mechanical arm attached to the top of it. Everyone looked around with Lan holding his PeT up.
"What is this thing?" Chaud pondered, looking over the chair.
"This is some computer! Better than SciLab's, maybe?" Maylu pondered.
"I hope not," Roll replied.
"Lan! Check this out! It's a human body... What could Wily be intending to do?" Dex asked as Lan walked over to the screen showing it.
"Hmm…This is interesting," Nicole noted.
"I have no idea what it is saying," Knuckles admitted.
"It looks to be a way to transfer one's consciousness into a…" Nicole trailed off as her eyes widened.
"This elevator doesn't seem to work…" Maylu noted, pushing the button on it and hearing nothing on the other side.
"Find some place to jack in! I'll check the elevator!" Roll declared.
"...One issue, Roll. This elevator doesn't have any place to jack in!" Maylu replied before turning around, "Hey! Do any of you see any place where we can jack in?"
"No, not at all!" Dex replied.
"Not here, either!" Lan added before zipping around, "Nope! Nu-uh! Nada!" he halted before her, "This room looks like some kind of lab... But there's no place to jack in anywhere!"
"All of the monitors are connected to this chair... What could that be for?" Chaud asked.
"It's a Pulse Transmission System," Nicole informed, "It allows organic beings to directly enter the Cyberworld."
"Humans? In the Cyberworld? How is that possible?" Lan asked.
"To be precise, it sends their 'brain waves' here. Brain waves are really just a type of electric pulse. The system converts brain waves to data, and sends that," Nicole explained.
"So what happens after that?" Dex asked.
"The brain wave data enters the Net as a new 'self.' Everything you sense there is sent to your brain. Your senses thus work just like in the real world. So if you are hurt there, that data goes to your brain... So your body in the real world will be hurt, as well!"
"Oh shit…" Knuckles whispered under his breath.
"That explains the injuries that appeared on your body," Rotor realized.
"S-So... what would happen if you died in Cyberworld...?" Dex asked.
"Then your real-life body would of course be affected as well."
"Ulp…" Lan, Maylu, and Dex gulped.
"This was developed at SciLab, but it was just too dangerous... I'm sure that Wily got the tech when he worked at SciLab."
"How do you know all this?"
"...Because I am one who is currently using it," Knuckles informed.
"Huh?!" Lan gawked.
"Wait…Back in the EggNet, you said 'my people' when he showed those EggGrapes," Maylu recalled.
"You're a Mobian?" Chaud asked.
"Yes. I am indeed a Mobian. I came here because of Megaman to ask for his aid with fighting Eggman, and yet not once have I been able to do proper battle with him!" Knuckles replied as he began to fume, "Delay after delay! Even on the boat, we were attacked by a Virus swarm before we could do battle!"
"I'm lost here," Dex admitted.
"The reason the Mobini had animal traits are because of humans mating with Mobians," Chaud explained, "Knuckles is a Mobian that came to our Network through a Pulse Transmission System in his world to find Megaman to get his help with fighting Eggman."
"Oh. So how does this work?" Dex asked.
"You sit in it, attach a PeT to that slot on the armrest, then push the button to turn it on. You will be brought into the Network, but you can only return to your body through the way you came in," Nicole informed.
"..." before anyone could move, Lan was in the chair and plugging his PeT into it.
"Lan?!" Maylu gawked.
"I'll pulse into the Cyberworld and start the elevator. Pulse in!" Lan declared, turning the machine on.
"Dammit, Hikari!" Chaud snapped as the helmet engulfed Lan's head before he slumped in the chair.
"Look!" Dex pointed at a screen, showing the Network being a small blue rectangle with a computer system set up on one end.
Four beams shot down on the entry pad and Megaman, Knuckles, Nicole, and Zero appeared and stepped off it. A moment passed before Lan appeared on it, a faint aura on his body acting as an outline of sorts. He opened his eyes slowly and looked around before spotting Megaman.
"L...L...La…" Megaman gulped before smiling, "Lan!"
"...Megaman!" Lan cheered as he hugged the blue NetNavi, "So the Pulse Transmission worked! I'm in Cyberworld! I've never been able to look at you like this! This is great!"
"I agree! It is!" Megaman nodded.
"It's almost like...a dream…" Lan noted, his eyes starting to water before quickly rubbing his eyes with a sleeve.
"Lan? What's wrong?" Megaman asked as Lan stepped back.
"No, nothing. Nothing important. We gotta get the elevator moving! Let's go save the world together!"
"Yeah!" Megaman nodded.
"So this is our heights…" Knuckles noted, comparing himself to Lan, "Well met."
"Nice to meet you, Knuckles!" Lan beamed, offering a hand.
"Ah! Wait a…" Zero began before Knuckles shook it.
"Owowowowow! Are you kidding me here?!" Lan yelped, holding his throbbing hand.
"Same reaction as Megaman, too," Zero sighed, facepalming, as Nicole walked over to the 'computer.'
"Hmmm. This seems to be the elevator control program…" Nicole noted as she typed on it for a few moments until a ding went off, "There we go. Okay! You should be able to use the elevator now!"
"So a puny human dares to come into my world... Have you come to die?"
The area shook and Lan quickly went into FullSynchro with Megaman. Zero readied his sword as Knuckles moved Nicole to behind him and Zero. Slowly floating over, Bass kept his focus on Megaman.
"B…Bass!" Megaman gasped.
"..." Bass looked at Zero, "You."
"Bass," Zero nodded.
"You know this one?" Knuckles asked, keeping his focus on the RobianStyle NetNavi.
"Yes. I'm surprised you're allied with the WWW and their plans," Zero noted.
"I have no interest in that fool's plan! There is only one thing that I desire! Absolute power! Power to destroy all humans!" Bass declared.
'S…Such power…!' Nicole thought, feeling the pressure in the air from his very presence there.
"On that day that the Navi Elite Corps attack me, I crawled, near deletion, through the Internet...Behold!" Bass declared, lifting his cape and exposing a vicious scar over his emblem, "This is the wound they inflicted upon me! As I began to fade, I swore revenge on the humans! And I survived...Thanks to the 'GetAbility Program' Cossak installed into me!" he lowered his cape, "Day after day I was attacked by hordes of viruses... Occasionally I fed upon the remains of fallen Navis... I gained this power through trials that not one of you can imagine!"
"All of that, just for revenge on humans?" Lan pondered.
"All I see is a wound you've suffered because you had no one there for you," Megaman pointed out.
"You dare…?" Bass growled before a MiniBomb hit him in the face and went off.
"Hurry!" Nicole called, the four managing to Jack Out before Bass erupted from the smoke, arm crackling with power as he looked around.
"...Tch!" Bass grit his teeth.
The helmet rose up and Lan got up, holding the side of his head, "Ugh…Remind me to be careful using those…"
"Lan!" Maylu called out as she hugged him, worry and anger in her eyes, "Y-You jerk!"
"Sorry," Lan quickly apologized, seeing the look, "B-But we got the elevator operating!"
"Mmm…"
"Sakurai, deal with it after everything is said and done here," Chaud ordered, "Everyone make your way up now."
"Oh, this is brilliant! Reminds me of my time before I Roboticized myself and came here," Eggman chuckled, watching the kids enter the elevator on a few monitors, "Oh ADAM~"
"Yes, Father?"
"It's…Showtime!" Eggman grinned as he snapped his fingers…before cameras lowered from the ceiling and rose up from the ground while a greenscreen dropped down behind him.
"Understood, Father."
A large tree stood proudly within a large building, a glass ceiling placed above it. The reason for this was quite obvious in the form of all the various monitors and screens that were connected to it that showcased a myriad of images, data, and even television shows. The screens all flickered before suddenly changing to show Eggman standing in a multicolored background, the words 'ROBOTNIK,' 'EGGMAN EMPIRE,' and 'DR. EGGMAN' scrolling by behind him as he let out his laugh as rock music played.
"Ladies and gentlemen of Earth and Mobius, lend me your ears!" Eggman laughed, the various screens and PeTs all across Beach Street showing the same feed, "My name is Dr. Eggman and I introduce to you all a glorious broadcast!"
"Broadcast?" Yai pondered, sitting at a cafe with Sean and her maids and looking at a large screen.
"It seems a group of little interlopers…Freedom Fighters if you will…are trying to invade our glorious base of operations to stop Alpha!" Dr. Eggman laughed before snapping his fingers and the screen changed to show Lan's group.
"Ah! Lan! Chaud! Dex!" Mamoru gasped, many people in Yoka gathered at the Ura Inn to hunker down for the dangers going on.
"It's quite surprising, no? Children are our heroes in this endeavor!" Eggman chuckled as Keifune narrowed his eyes, his assistant standing beside him in concern in Famous's hospital room, while Famous frowned.
"Kids…" Yuichiro whispered, sitting on his bed in another room…with several straps on his legs to keep him from getting out of bed.
"Oh my goodness," Haruka gulped.
"So…Let's make things a little more interesting!" Eggman held up a hand and snapped his fingers.
The moment the elevator doors closed behind them, the area shook. Slowly, multicolored pillars rose from the tops of the towers. A beam of light shot out from each one and collided at the top of the island…before a Dimensional Area formed.
"No way…A…A Dimensional Area?!" Lan gawked.
"Meaning they were expecting us," Chaud frowned as their NetNavis materialized.
"This isn't good," Maylu gulped.
"Stay close," Chaud advised.
"He's right," Dex advised, quickly entering FullSynchro with Gutsman, "While you guys have your abilities, I'm still a regular human, so I'm staying in FullSynchro with Gutsman to stay safe."
"We'll be yer heavy hitters, guts!" Gutsman bashed his fist on his chest.
"OH-HOHOHOHO!"
"Eggman!" Lan exclaimed.
"Well hello to you as well!" Eggman laughed as another Dimensional Area formed around the center skull, "You want in here to stop my good friend? You'll have to beat our best troops here at the top of the towers! Have fun~!"
"We can just blast the Dimensional Area until it shuts down," Chaud pointed out.
"You do that and I'll deploy Metal Sonic and Mecha to slaughter everyone between them and your families and friends," The group tensed at that as Chaud snarled, "So…let's play, hm?"
"A typical ploy of his," Knuckles scowled, "It would be best to destroy the two before this place is taken care of. Eggman is dishonorable and will send them out anyway if he loses to be petty."
"We will need to split up to tackle each of the four towers if we want to lessen the time they have left to decode Alpha," Nicole noted.
"Protoman and I will handle the north tower," Chaud stated, walking off to the north tower with Protoman, the two entering FullSynchro before shooting off.
"Gutsman, Dex, would you accompany me to the east tower?" Knuckles asked.
"You betcha!" Gutsman banged his fists together.
"I will take on the south tower," Zero stated.
"May I come with you?" Nicole asked.
"Of course," Zero replied.
"Guess that leaves us with the west tower," Megaman noted.
"Seems like it," Roll agreed.
"Let's get going!" Lan grinned.
"Here's to us stopping WWW in time," Maylu noted as the two entered FullSynchro with their NetNavis before racing off.
"So…what's this Mobius place like?" Dex asked as they approached the tower.
"Ah…Unfortunately, I was inflicted with amnesia due to an incident when I first arrived," Knuckles admitted, "But from the memories I've gotten back…it is both a paradise and a hell at times."
"Paradise?" Gutsman repeated.
"There are lush forests, stunning oceans, wonderful views…I live upon a floating island, actually."
"You do?"
"Indeed! My people have lived there for centuries, perhaps millennia even!" Knuckles explained, "There are so many things there that we've never uncovered them all!"
Gutsman scratched his head, "Why do ya say it's paradise…but also hell, guts?"
"Eggman," Knuckles replied, "Many places were destroyed by him and his actions for well over a decade. While his actions led to the return of my people, it also resulted in so many others losing their lives. Most through the process known as Roboticization."
"Isn't that what caused Chaud's dad to…?"
"Yes. From what I understand, humans need to willingly be Roboticized in order to move at all. Otherwise, they are nothing more than metal statues," Knuckles replied, "Mobians seem to have little to no trouble moving even if it's against their will. Likely because it was made with Mobians in mind since the inventor was a Mobian who had his device stolen and twisted."
"Yikes…" Dex and Gutsman cringed.
"Fortunately, no one needs to worry about that anymore. Someone not only cured the Robians, but also made it so no one can become infected anymore," Knuckles noted, "I…don't fully remember the story. All I know is that there was a cure, it was distributed without notice, and only a few were left untouched due to either needing to stay Roboticized for medical reasons, were only partially Roboticized and had those parts replaced with new parts, or were unnoticed by pure accident."
"Well dat's good ta hear! Maybe it can work on Chaud's old man, guts!"
"Now if only I could remember it…" Knuckles muttered.
"Er…We…honestly have no clue how they were cured, Knuckles," Tails noted, "Everyone woke up one day and the Robians were back to being Mobians aside from Uncle Jules. The only thing we know that works is using the exact same Roboticizer that was used to Roboticize someone, like how we did with you when Nack the Weasel took Sonic to be Roboticized by Robotnik and you used the one we were using to figure out a mass De-Roboticizer to turn into Mecha Knuckles to fight Mecha Sonic."
Knuckles scowled as he narrowed his eyes, 'Far more trickier than expected.' he tensed when Gutsman grabbed him, "What is…?"
"You were about ta step in Alpha, guts," Gutsman replied, his eyes glowing softly as he saw a large dark-red puddle before them.
"Ew…That is nasty," Dex cringed.
"What? What is it? I do not see anything," Knuckles argued.
"Dat's because youse ain't got da NaviCust program," Gutsman replied.
"Oh right! Because you're just a mind turned digital, you're incompatible with that NaviCust program," Rotor realized.
"Better stay on Gutsman until we get to the top," Dex noted as Gutsman put Knuckles on his shoulder.
"An excellent idea," Knuckles agreed as he pointed ahead, "Onwards!"
"Dat's where da puddle of Alpha is," Gutsman deadpanned.
"I remembered that."
"Suuure ya did…" Dex chuckled as they soon entered the top of the tower and spotted Rei standing beside a humanoid NetNavi donned in a black bodysuit with navy-blue and white armor with a clear yellow casing on parts of his armor and helmet, "Gah! This guy!"
"You know him?" Knuckles asked.
"Dis guy hypnotized Dex and Yai at school, guts!" Gutsman growled, "They were stuck as a train and ballerina fer hours!"
"We got into so much trouble, too!" Dex groaned.
"Alright, ya jerks! We're gonna smack ya around dis time!" Gutsman declared, pointing a finger at the two.
"Hmm? Ah…You're one of the two kids who spotted me at the school. Was a pain in my backside when you two described me to the police and I had to go into hiding," Rei noted, "Flashman, let's deal with this one quickly."
"Indeed, sir," Flashman replied before the two entered FullSynchro, "Prepare to be blinded by the light!"
"I must thank Sean for this upgrade later," Nicole noted as she and Zero walked around another puddle of Alpha as they headed up the stairway.
"Indeed. This NaviCust he created is quite beneficial," Zero agreed, "Even making it compatible with one such as myself…"
"It shows that you're far more than what you originally thought you were," Nicole noted with a small smile.
Zero nodded before grabbing Nicole and jumping back to avoid several vines that had tried to ensnare the duo. The two looked ahead to see the orange-haired woman standing beside a tall, slender NetNavi with a green carapace and a white bodysuit that reminded the duo of a leek with two large orange 'petals' acting as the collar of the bodysuit and two long vines spiraling down the back of his shoulders. His face was pitch black with solid green eyes, all covered by a pale pink and magenta helmet shaped like a morning glory.
"Well, well…A pair of Net Society spies!" the girl declared.
"Huh?" Nicole pondered.
"Spies? Wrong," Zero replied, shaking his head, "We are here to provide assistance in destroying Alpha."
"No! You won't get to the Alpha! With its power, Mother Nature can take the world back from you Net Society monsters!" the girl declared.
"You'd be assisting in wiping out humanity," Zero pointed out.
"Some sacrifices must be made to preserve Mother Nature. That's what Lord Wily always says! The WWW will destroy the Net society! It's the only way to preserve nature!"
"It's like looking into a twisted mirror of what the Freedom Fighters stand for…" Sally compared, giving a worried gulp.
"Preserve nature!? You're wrong! Wily is just using you! Eggman especially! He doesn't care for nature! He prefers to destroy it, convert it into machinery!"
"Anetta, do not be fooled. Lord Wily warned us, 'Net society people are all liars,'" the NetNavi advised, moving to stand in front of the woman.
"I know, Plantman! I won't let these monsters fool me!" Anetta declared.
"Wily has her completely brainwashed," Nicole frowned.
"Plantman, FullSynchro!" Anetta ordered before both glowed and combined into FullSynchro, "Prepare yourselves, Net Society Spies!"
"I shall enjoy plucking the petals from the wilting flowers that are your lives!" Plantman declared.
"Well we tried," Nicole noted as Zero deployed his Z-Saber.
"All we can do now is deal with this and destroy the generator in here," Zero advised.
Nicole nodded as she deployed a MiniBomb, "He looks to be a Wood-Attribute, so Fire-Attribute would be best to use in this battle."
"Damn machines," Protoman growled, slicing through the SWATBots with a WideSword while charging through the onslaught of laser fire brought by them.
"A benefit to having these traits from the pulse Megaman unleashed," Chaud noted, "We were able to hear them long before they could attack. VariSword."
Protoman jumped into the air and swung his blade…unleashing four different slashes in different colors from it. As each one sliced through a SWATBot, the split halves either sported melted, fried, cleanly cut, or even frozen spots where the blades had met depending on their color. As the last of them collapsed into pieces, Protoman resumed his run up the stairs towards the top before gritting his teeth while narrowing his eyes.
"I vas wondering who would come here," Mecha noted as she looked over Protoman while he assumed MuramasaStyle.
"This will be a first," Protoman calmly noted, fingering the handle of his blade, "You fought my partner, but this time you fight me."
"This will be interesting," Mecha noted, "You vill fall to my power and your programming sent to mein father."
"Your father?"
"Dr. Eggman."
"The creator of that damnable pair of gloves…" Chaud snarled.
"What is wrong vith them? They worked as expected," Mecha replied.
"You…!" Chaud growled.
"Easy, Lord Chaud," Protoman warned, "She's trying to rile you up."
"Oh come now! It's honestly an improvement," Eggman chuckled as he appeared on a screen, allowing Chaud and Protoman finally see the tall, ovoid, bald mad genius with his large orange mustache, "Organics are so out of date." he frowned, "Lousy BEM Deroboticizing me. I hate having to eat…and sleep…and use the bathroom…ugh. So inefficient."
"You were Roboticized?"
"Yes~! But the difference between me and the two you've met? I willingly did it to myself. By doing that, I retained full control of my body!" Eggman replied, "The body you see me in now? It's actually the fifteenth body I've had since I came to this version of Mobius, having uploaded myself into it after my original body was long destroyed."
"This version?"
"But of course! The multiverse is infinite! I won in my old Zone by nuking them all from orbit, but I got so bored that I just had to come to the Prime Zone when I learned my counterpart here was atomized!" Eggman replied, "Ah…but enough chit-chat. Mecha, take them down!"
"Ja, father," Mecha complied, cracking her knuckles as her eyes glowed ominously behind her sunglasses.
"Protoman…no mercy. When you rip her apart, make sure to recover her memory data," Chaud ordered.
"Understood," Protoman replied, assuming a drawing stance.
"Hey, Mega?"
"Yeah, Roll?" Megaman asked as the two sped along the spiral staircase they were on, rising up to the top of the tower while shooting at the SWATBots in their way before they could open fire.
"Doesn't it feel…warmer…as we're getting higher?"
"...Yeah. It does," Megaman replied, narrowing his eyes, "That means…"
"Yeah," Roll agreed as they stopped and glared at a sneering Match and growling Flameman, "Them."
"These two…!" Lan growled.
"Hah! No need to get all hot under the collar! Thanks for the other day! You really were a help with SciLab!" Match thanked.
"Match! Have you any idea how many people you hurt!?" Megaman demanded.
"We're just doing our job! It doesn't matter how many people are hurt! Right, Flameman?"
"Grrrahhhh!-!" Flameman bellowed.
"My heat is fueled by pure passion! Flare away, Flameman! And let's burn together! FullSynchro!" Match declared as they entered FullSynchro.
"Gwaaaargh!" Flameman bellowed as his flames flared stronger.
"Let's go! Battle Routine Set!" Lan declared.
"Execute!" Megaman confirmed.
"Lousy! Rotten! Dishonorable!" Knuckles grunted between punches on the deleting Flashman as Saiko was knocked out and his head rammed through a wall, "How dare you attempt to hypnotize us!"
"With all the training Gutsman and I have done…he wasn't as hard as we thought he'd be," Dex noted, a drop of sweat going down Gutsman's head.
"Right. Let us go and deal with the system," Knuckles stated, walking away from what remained of the WWW NetNavi.
"Smashing time!" Gutsman cheered as he followed Knuckles over to a large computer.
Both reeled a fist back and roared before throwing the punches. Their fists smashed into the machine before the wall behind it shattered as the computer was sent through it and crashed into the dome covering the entire island. Both nodded at the other before turning around and heading back down.
Protoman grunted as he skidded back along the floor before falling to a knee. Mecha growled as she glared harshly at the red NetNavi, her skin and clothes once more gone.
"Why is it that you NetNavis have done the one thing no other Mobian has done once…but thrice now?!" Mecha snarled, "Stop ruining my clothes!"
"..." Protoman smirked as he slowly stood up once more, "I think you've taken more than enough…don't you…Muramasa?"
"Muramasa?" Mecha repeated before taking an involuntary step back as a menacing violet aura erupted off Protoman's blade.
"My sword is unique…" Protoman explained, pointing it at her, "The more you harm me…the greater its power gets. I'm not reckless enough to willingly be harmed just to make it stronger, so for you to help me feed Muramasa…" he bared his fangs as he entered a sword fighting stance, "...is the folly that leads to your demise in this world, Mecha Robotnik."
Mecha snarled as she fired her eye lasers at Protoman, only for the red NetNavi to reflect the lasers away with the flat of his blade. He turned into a blur the moment the lasers stopped and Mecha raised an arm to block it. Her optics widened when Muramasa cleaved through her limb like it was semi-melted butter. Behind her, Protoman calmly approached the computer that was apart of the Dimensional Area array for the center of the island. He flicked his wrist holding Muramasa before slowly sheathing it. The moment the blade was fully inside its casing with an echoing 'click'...Mecha collapsed, sliced apart in numerous places before exploding. He held up his hand and caught Mecha's head while his other arm turned into a HiCannon that he used to blow up the computer.
"You little…!" Mecha began before Protoman ripped her voice box out along with her lower jaw.
"We don't need to hear you speak; all we need is your memory data," Protoman stated as he removed a clear cylinder with a glowing red crystal within from an exposed part in the back of her skull, shutting the head down, "?!"
"This thing…"
"Ah. It feels like those strange gems Hikari has," Protoman agreed before walking off.
"What do you think this energy is?"
"Unsure," Protoman replied before looking at the skull in his hands, "But I think we have someone who does."
Nicole grunted, keeping up with throwing various bombs at Plantman, who was producing vines that quickly blocked the projectiles only to be sliced apart by Zero's Z-Saber. Plantman grit his teeth before slamming his hands on the floor, causing the burnt grass around them to be restored before two large flowers erupted from the ground before blooming into yellow and red flowers that began to pour out a copious amount of pollen at the two. Zero grabbed Nicole and barely avoided touching the yellow pollen only to get a spray of red pollen into his face…before he smacked himself into the face.
"Zero?!" Nicole asked.
"Ugh…E-Everything…ugh…" Zero groaned, shaking his head, while Nicole's eyes flickered as she scanned him.
"You're under the Confusion Status," Nicole noted.
"Rose Needle!" Plantman shouted, firing a barrage of thorns at the two.
"Ah! Guard!" Nicole called, summoning a Mettaur helmet that blocked the shots and sent a shockwave back at Plantman, who dodged with a simple twirl only to be knocked into the computer by a shockwave that shot out of the pickaxe Nicole had slammed into the ground, "Oh, I have to have to give a lot of BugFrags as thanks to Crea and Prea for providing these BigWave and ShockWave BattleChips…"
"How dare you! Defiler of plants!" Anetta snapped.
"You're going to hate this even more," Nicole noted, "Look to your left."
Plantman looked to his left to see a semi-transparent Roll with a blue aura to her. Before he could react, she slapped him several times with her antennae and tail before teleporting over to Nicole. She presented the lynx a heart before she gestured to Zero. Roll nodded before giving it to Zero and vanished.
"I hate confusion…" Zero grumbled, gently nudging Nicole behind him, "I'm also rather upset with your constant accusations on my friend and her companions." a vine began to grow to ensnare him only for Zero to grab it with his free hand, "No…I'm not upset…" he pulled and dragged Plantman through the floor and put his face to his, letting NetOp and NetNavi see his eyes were glowing with anger, "I. am. Angry."
"?!" Plantman froze as Zero tossed him a bit into the air.
"RYUENJIN!" Zero roared, swinging his Z-Saber upwards before it erupted into flames.
"?!" Plantman's eyes widened as he froze in the air, a glowing red line going over him while sparks came off him, "Wh…What?"
"It…It's so hot…b-but I feel cold…" Anetta choked out.
"Even if you can beat us…you'll never defeat…Alpha!" Plantman declared before he split down the middle, the spot on both halves he had been cut into ignited as he began to explode, "Araaaaagh!-!"
The explosion ended and left behind Anetta, a line of burns going down the same area the cut delivered to Plantman had been. Nicole knelt down and looked her over. It wasn't as deep as Plantman, but the damage had been dealt. She gently closed Anetta's eyes before walking over to the computer with Zero. She typed on it and nodded before typing down a series of commands. She smiled before nodding to Zero as she produced a large black bomb with a blue band around it. She dropped it before the computer and Zero lit the fuse with his still burning Z-Saber. The two ran out as the fuse went into the bomb.
"HAAAAAAH!-!-!" Megaman and Roll roared, firing a pair of bulky blasters filled with bubbling water.
"GWAAAARGH!" Flameman bellowed as he unleashed a blast of flames from his jaws.
Two tiny spheres of water met a massive stream of flames before a massive explosion of water, flames, and steam erupted. Megaman and Roll swore they heard a second explosion in the middle of it all. Slowly, the steam dissipated and both tensed, seeing Flameman sporting a green aura as several cracks and injuries on him faded away. Megaman and Roll fired their weapons at the two candles behind Flameman-one lit with green flames and the other red flames-only for a blur to zip by and destroy the attacks. Megaman cried out as the blur slammed into him, knocking him away from Roll and causing the seven gems to pop out of his body.
"MEGA!" Roll exclaimed before crying out as the blur rammed into her…before Metal Sonic grabbed her by the neck while he hovered several feet into the air, "GACK!"
"What? Did ye think we'd be fighting you alone?" Match asked, a sneer evident in her tone.
"Maylu!" Lan exclaimed.
"Roll!" Megaman grunted before screaming as a fireball slammed into him, knocking him into a wall, "GAH!"
"M-Me…ga…" Roll choked out, struggling to get out of Metal's grasp only for him to squeeze tighter, "Hurk!"
"Attaboy, Metal!" Eggman hooted, "Delete this little brat before him! And once you do that, give him hell, Mr. Match, Flameman!"
"Graaa…" Flameman growled as Megaman managed to get to his knees, burns on several parts of his body.
"Stop it!" Lan shouted.
"L-Lan…" Maylu gasped out.
"M-Mega…" Roll whimpered, two trails of tears coming from her eyes.
"?!" Megaman tensed as, inside of the FullSynchro, he felt Lan doing the same.
"If they even try and go HUBStyle, kill her immediately!" Eggman ordered.
'O…Our ace…' Megaman thought, managing to get to his feet.
'Maylu…Maylu's going to die…' Lan mentally whimpered, 'No…no no…nonononononononono…'
'They're not going to get away with this…' Megaman growled, clenching his hands into fists so tight that data began to leak from them, 'Not again…'
'Never again…' Lan agreed.
'We're going to kill them…' both darkly thought in unison.
"...What's wrong? Afraid to be burned?" Flameman growled.
"..." Megaman trembled, his eyes shut and shadowed by his helmet.
"These lads are scared stiff! Heh. Typical heroes. Threaten their lover and they break…" Match began before a dark aura erupted off Megaman, "...d-down?!"
The spikes on his helmet curved upwards as all the colors of his armor darkened until they were a deep midnight blue that seemed to turn pitch black depending on the angle. His mask slid over his mouth and nose while the emeralds on his body turned pitch black and glowed ominously as the scattered Emeralds turned pitch black. His eyes snapped open, revealing them to be a solid white, focused entirely on Flameman.
"Mega…?" Roll whispered as Metal Sonic released her.
=Scanning…= Metal Sonic spoke.
"BURN!-!-!" Flameman bellowed as he let loose a stream of concentrated flames at Megaman…who simply raised a hand and backhanded it away like it was nothing.
"What?!" Match gasped before Megaman was right before him, his arm transformed into a Longsword but the blade had become serrated and a menacing crimson and violet coloration, "?!"
Megaman vanished. Flameman looked around before Metal Sonic deployed his shield…only for it to be cut through and sliced Metal Sonic to pieces. The explosion made Roll and Maylu yelp and cover Roll's head as smoke covered a small part of the base. Flameman looked around and began to charge up a fireball only for Megaman to erupt from the smoke and his arms turned into blurs. Within a second, Flameman and Match screeched in agony as Flameman's body was crushed and mangled from the blows until a final punch tore Flameman apart and Match's bruised and battered body fell into a ditch. Megaman looked at the man…who somehow survived the onslaught. He turned his right hand/arm into the MegaBuster and began to charge an ominous crimson/violet energy in it, aimed right at Match.
"STOOOOOOOOOP!-!-!-!" Two voices shrieked before Roll and Maylu grabbed his arms.
"Hub, stop! Please!" Roll begged.
"Lan, this…this isn't like you!" Maylu pleaded, "Snap out of it!"
"You won," Roll added, "They've been beaten and you two won."
"You don't have to do this…" Maylu spoke, "Please…just stop this."
"For us?" both begged, none of them noticing the black Emeralds changing back to normal.
"..." slowly, the dark aura dissipated as his colors and irises returned, "..."
"Lan/Hub…" the girls whispered before Megaman separated from Lan and hugged them, "..." the two just returned the hug, whispering softly to their respective boyfriend as the boys trembled and mutedly cried into them, 'What was that form…?'
"I am so glad I put a scanner in their PeT to track Megaman's energy readings," Sean muttered, typing away on his laptop.
"What was that?" Yai asked in concern.
"Okay…looks like it was a massive influx of a negative version of the energy those gemstones Lan has gives off, like it was being boosted by the negative emotions they were feeling and amplifying them in turn," Sean noted, looking over the data, "An energy that is influenced by one's emotions?"
"Gemstones?" Yao repeated as Sean held up his PeT and showed a photograph, "Emeralds?"
"Emeralds?" Sean repeated.
"I know my gemstones. Despite the colors, those are all showing signs of being emeralds."
"Huh…Emeralds…" Sean looked at the photograph.
"Considering their age and the situation…They must have tapped into the negative energy of the Chaos Force," Rotor noted.
"Can ya blame them kids? They're feelin' guilty fer what happened at SciLab when they were hornswaggled by th' varmit and then their girlfriends were about t' die," Bunnie spoke.
"I've never seen a Dark Super Transformation before," Tails gulped.
"At least they had those girls to help snap them out of it," Sally noted, concern in her tone, before gasping, "The floor!"
"Huh? Wait! Th-Those are…!" Rotor gasped.
"How did they get Chaos Emeralds in that Zone?" Tails asked.
GT: …Evil. This chapter…was evil, ladies and gentlemen. I…I can't even begin to explain! I knew I was throwing the original plot out, but seriously! It was so damn hard to figure things out! And I'm already dreading part 2 of this! It's only a third of the way done with the beginning and end, but the middle is nothing short of a nightmare! But I am determined to get this whole first arc done before the Battle Network Legacy Collection comes out on April 14th, 2023! Still…thanks for reading this chapter, folks. I'm really sorry for anyone who's also read my other fics that I published that are related to Megaman back in May of 2022. I am honest in that I am working on them. My goal is to try to get at least one, maybe two chapters posted before the Legacy Collection comes out. Because I'll be honest: I'm going to be focused more on playing that than writing solo projects like this and the other Megaman stories on my page for April and May.