Just a note- ACDC Town is inside of Dencity, from what I gather.

Chapter IV – Command

The tiny block of data shook violently as another screech rumbled across the tunnel-like area once again, turning the data's blue-green pearlescent hue into an irritated – but temporary – red-orange. The screech passed just as quickly as the ones before it, and the moment the data block stopped shaking its blue-green hue came right back again. It was at peace again. Around it, the millions of other blocks of data – what we would call its brothers – changed the exact same way and got back to work: making sure the PET they were inside was functioning properly. But another screech shook the community of data blocks out of their work once again, forcing them to – once again – change colors. Just like before, the data blocks shook violently as they changed, and if any Navi had the misfortune to be here with them, they would notice that the shaking community of red-orange data looked like a tunnel of flowing blood.

-Official HQ (Basement)-

The screech reached the PET sound speaker and yelled, "RUN!" It was Protoman, and he sounded angry as hell. Despite this, Chaud – receiver of this message – would not run. What was the point of it? He had no intention of making a fool of himself… As far as he was concerned, they were both dead the moment Protoman got stuck to NTT's wall. Running would change nothing. Running would just be a waste of Chaud's final minutes alive.

"Go," commanded Bass, and NTT suddenly exploded back into Chaud's world. It was then that Chaud noticed from where the blob popped out from. He saw it for less than a second but he saw it nonetheless: a hole in the middle of the air that gave him the impression of a sideways waterfall shaped in a circle.

A waterfall shaped in a circle, thought Chaud, A waterfall that leads into a bottomless abyss, where only the most monstrous of beasts dwell. NTT. Little did Chaud realize that the abyss he was speaking of was none other than the internet itself.

The beast rammed into the roof and sent an earthquake across every floor of HQ, tumbling desks, computers, and employees alike. Chaud thought of those employees – all of them officials – burning.

But these were just Chaud's final depressing thoughts on the situation; his final prideful image of the world he had protected for this long.

"RUN, damn you!" yelled the PET again. On the other side of reality, Protoman was still trapped on NTT's wall, which seemed to have changed into a more metallic color now that NTT was back in the real world. In front of Protoman was Bass, looking as emotionless as ever. "Touch a hair on Chaud's head and I'll skin you alive, Bass!" yelled the red doom-bringer. But the dark Navi didn't seem to hear.

"This is it Protoman. Goodbye, and don't forget to avenge my death," commanded Chaud. "I'm counting on you."

"What! Why don't you just get out! Leave, dammit!" commanded back Protoman. A 'Fisher' – the zombie-like Navis with a tube attached to their heads – suddenly plopped out of NTT and hovered in the air a few dozen feet in front of Chaud. It swayed from side to side like a blue-green ghost and red-orange data dripped out of its caved-in stomach like saliva. Chaud, although a little unnerved by the sight, closed his eyes as calm as he could and waited. He was ready to face death like a man, not like the child his colleagues still thought him as.

"CHAUD! Don't just-!"

The Fisher scrambled forward, slushing gobs of red data as it did, and used its entire body to grab onto Chaud's head, pulling it into the inside of its stomach. NTT pulled on the Fisher's cord and the boy disappeared into the monstrosity with one big plop! and a series of loud crunch!s

"Now, for your true puupose, TNT."

-Between Dencity and Electown (Underground Train Route)-

"I'm hungry!" cried Dex.

"You should've eaten at the train station when you had the chance," argued Yai. "Now you'll just have to wait!"

"Oh, shut up! I would've missed the train if I did."

"And? What's the problem with that?" The four of them – Dex, Yai, Maylu, and Lan, as well as their Navis – were headed off to finally accomplish their flash flood drill. According to Maylu, it was their solemn duty as saviors of the world to follow the rules as they were put, and to do their part in society. In reality, she was just being too cheerful, after finding Roll, there was nothing in the world that could distract her from her glee – annoying emergency drills included. The other three knew this, but didn't have the energy nor the heart to point it out.

"Ok, that's enough you guys," said Maylu. "Here Dex, I think I have a snack for you." She dug into Lan's backpack and brought out a Yumland chocolate bar, which she passed on to the Dex.

"Hey! I was saving that!" pleaded Lan.

"For Dex, I know. You're such a nice person, Lan!" she said with a teasing giggle.

"What?" Lan pulled off his backpack and placed it safely on his lap. "Man, that's so uncool…"

"Thank you, Maylu!" said Dex with pure loving graciousness.

"Your welcome, Dex," sweetly responded Maylu.

"Hey, shouldn't you be thanking me?" asked Lan.

"Why? What'd you do?" Dex responded.

"What'd I do? I-"

A thunderous boom overtook their conversation and shook them all out of their seats, leaving all of them on the floor with their ears ringing and eyes watering. The train suddenly started feeling unusually hot, and as Lan turned to look at the back of the train, he could see an enormous river of flames flowing out from the tunnel behind them. It reached their train within the second and quickly engulfed it – covering the outside windows with roaring, red hot fire. It hurt Lan's eyes to watch it, but there was really little else for him to do – just watch and see if the flames could melt through the windows. Blink and you can miss everything. Still, through sheer will and instinct, he turned away from the windows to see if Maylu was okay, and he was surprised to see her huddled on the floor and hugging onto her PET like a cocoon. Suddenly Lan felt immensely jealous of the Navi inside her PET. For that split second he completely forgot about the flames and whether or not they could break through and burn them all to cinders. But the feeling left in a flash and he quickly grabbed Maylu's arm to drag her away towards the front of the train. Maylu slid against the floor for a second before realizing what Lan was doing and getting on her feet to follow. She unconsciously pulled on Dex and Yai to follow too and they did, making their way closer to the front of the train and hopefully further away from danger.

Lan's past worries came to form a moment later as he heard a window crash open, just barely audible through the roaring of the train and flames. He looked back and there it was: fire gushing into the back of the train like lava, inching closer and closer and taking everything it its path on a trip through hell and back. Lan spurred the other three on and they all continued moving as the flames continued stalking them.

They reached the front of the train soon after that and realized that there was no cockpit to move on to. It was a dead end, so they all turned around to watch as their killer reached them to singe their young helpless bodies into seething piles of burning flesh, hoping against hope that it would just stop and decide to go back as if it had made a wrong turn. But when they turned around they found that the river of fire was already moving back to were it came in. The train was outrunning it. From where they were was less than a minute before, numerous emergency fire extinguishers could be seen painfully fighting back the flames that still remained. They seemed to have been turned on the entire time.

-Electown-

The entire gang lay sitting on the ground with the front of the train to their backs. They were breathing hard and still holding hands, thinking hard about what had just happened and why.

"It came from Dencity," Lan finally said. "Something must've happened… We have to go back!"

"…What?" said Yai. "There's no way we're going back, who knows what-"

"We need to do something!" yelled Lan.

Maylu joined in: "There were still people in Dencity when we left. They might need our help…!"

"C'mon guys, stop playing around…!" said Dex. It can't be anything that big, something just probably overloaded in the tunnel…"

"Enough to cause an explosion like that? C'mon, we have to go!" commanded Maylu.

"Forget it! There's no way I'm going back to Dencity after what we just saw! What if it happens again?"

"I doubt it," said Lan, sounding absolutely sure. "We would just have to risk it anyways." He jumped out of the train onto Electown's train station and suddenly bumped into an attendant.

"Hey, I'm not risking anything! We should just report this and-"

"Fine, we'll go on our own then!" Maylu jumped out of the train after Lan, bumping into him as she landed.

"Hey, are you kids okay?" asked the station attendant. "We all heard a real big boom coming out of the tunnel and thought maybe something happened to the train or…"

"Uh, yeah. We're fine," claimed Lan.

"We really have to go…" said Maylu as she pushed Lan towards the train going back.

"Yeah? Well, if you say so…" The attendant turned away towards Dex and Yai – who were looking rather sullen – and soon noticed the wet burns all over the back of the train. "What the-?"

Yai jumped out of the train as the attendant stepped in and ran after Lan and Maylu's train. "Just wait a sec!" she yelled, but it was too late, the train had already closed its doors and begun to move.

-Official HQ (Basement – Online)-

(My name is Tempo, but I am not the upbeat type. Like the low-lives you can only recognize as humans, I have nothing to live for except for the rules. These rules chain every living being to the system of life they must obey in order to survive. I exist only to follow the rules that someone else has set for me, rules set before I was even born. I exist to follow this system until the system has no more use for me. My system's name is Bass. Bass is almighty. Bass will conquer the humans that invented this system first. He will conquer their system by using a newer system. He will create this newer system, a system where he rules. But just like the previous system before his, Bass's system will cause the birth of another system, which will be used to destroy the same system that created it. It will destroy Bass's system. The cycle will continue. Every new system will destroy every old system, and for reasons unknown, that new system will give birth to an even newer system, which ill exist only to destroy the older system.

(This is just how it works.

(My system's name is Bass. And Bass is the name of my father.

(I wish to create my own system, but I do now wish to create it alone. I wish to create it with Roll. Roll is perfect for it. Roll understands what to create is. We will create an empire together. Roll is perfect for it.)

"They should be arriving soon," commented Bass. "Tempo."

(Yes?)

"Watch them. When they reach the train station, tell me."

(Yes.)

"I want to face them one last time before I continue. They will witness the fruits of my labor and this time, I will conquer Megaman."

(…How do you know they're going to return?)

"…Compassion is their greatest weakness. They have no choice but to obey it."

-Between Electown and Dencity (Underground Train Route)-

"Are you okay? C'mon, we have to hurry!" cried Lan as he put on his roller blades and bladed ahead of Maylu.

"Okay, just don't rush me…" retorted Maylu. She had taken out her scooter and quickly got it ready to go. "Slow down a bit!" She pushed forward and sped away after Lan.

Just catching fire behind them was their overturned train. In front and all around them were the twisted and melted remains of the train's tracks. Above them, the tunnel slowly crumbles away.

"Hurry up!" Together, they sped away deeper into the tunnel with the train's upside-down headlights lighting their way.

-Protoman-

…Idiot! Stubborn… idiot! Chaud! You should've just listened to me and left…!

It's what was deserved!

Lies… He did nothing to deserve something so cruel…

Did he now? What, you think you wandered into this situation on your own? Do you?

It's my own fault I'm in this situation. It's my fault he's…

Dead?

Silence!

That's what they call it, isn't it? When you get killed thanks to your so-called friends you're-

SILENCE! SHUT UP…!

DEAD! That's what you call it, right?

I'LL-

Kill me? Oh ho ho, if only you could! I wonder, are you smart enough to even know who you're talking to?

It doesn't matter! Whoever you are, I'll find you! I swear, I'll shut your blabbering mouth!

Oooh, you so sooo pathetic…! Like you can do anything to me… You can't lay a scratch on me! Not as you are now.

This is nothing.

Is it?

Nothing!

Doesn't look like it! To me, it looks like you're in a bind.

It's nothing…

Like you're trapped. Trapped by the same guy who just killed yo widel loozuh huemen fwend.

Why don't you ever just shut up…

(The darkness throbbed.)

-ACDC Town-

"C'MON!" cried Lan.

"I don't know if we can make it!" cried back Maylu. Daylight was shining out of the end of tunnel like a dying flashlight. The lights at the top of the tunnel were broken, but Maylu was still able to make out what looked like falling dust and rock, the makings of a cave-in.

"We'll make it!" shouted Lan. He reached the station's burned down ticket-receiver and leapt past it enthusiastically, now sorta-somewhat-safe under the roof of ACDC's train station. As soon as he landed he looked back into the tunnel and yelled, "C'mon, you can make it!" Then he heard a thunderous rumbling. Above Maylu, the tunnel was getting ready to fully give out. "HURRY!" Maylu continued scootering like she was on speed.

The tunnel crumbled. Maylu was under it. And then she was past it. She jumped over the ticket-receiver and continued scootering out of the station until she was outside – safe and sound and out of breath. Lan ran out right after her and behind the both of them they could hear the rumbling of a demolished train tunnel. Maylu's body lay sprawled atop the blackened grass outside the train station. She had her eyes closed so she couldn't notice it, but Lan did.

Almost immediately after, she jumped up and socked Lan in the arm.

"Ah." He sounded dazed and far off. Lan was staring at the still freshly burning remains of ACDC Town.

"Oh my god…" exhaled Maylu. She was no longer trying to catch up to her breath. It was gone altogether. What they witnessed was nothing but two colors – burning hot red and rugged ash black. There wasn't a house in their sight that was spared from this description. Every house looked exactly the same.

A familiar thundering noise exploded from behind them. It was past the blackened entrance of the train station that they noticed ACDC Park as it opened up a linear hole and fell through it like a book. The park was right above the tunnel. The almost completely melted remains of the jungle gym disappeared from their view, finishing the cave-in and trapping them in Dencity for better or worse. Past from where the park just was, they noticed their school. Just like the rest of the buildings around them, it was turned an ashy black and its roof was colored in flames.

This is hell, isn't it? thought Lan. If we ever visited hell, this is exactly what we would see. …It all adds up.

Lan looked for his own house. The same. Maylu looked for hers. They all looked the same.

-Undernet-

(They're there.)

"Send them this."

-ACDC Town-

"…Lan." said Megaman. He wasn't sure if it was appropriate to disturb Lan in such a moment, but he had just received something important. "Lan?"

The boy seemed deep in thought, possibly mesmerized by the flames dancing atop his town, dancing like giddy children doing the merry-go-round.

"Maylu?" tried Roll, speaking for the first time since the train ride to Electown. But Maylu, for the most part, was no different than Lan. While Lan thought about his house, his park, and his school, Maylu was thinking about the possibilities. She was more concerned about the people who may or may not have been – or still are – in the town at the time.

At the time of what? she thought.

Were those people still in the houses right now, burning away in the same fashion as the houses surrounding them?

"Lan?" tried Megaman again.

"Yeah…" finally responded Lan. Maylu turned to look at him, thinking he might have been addressing her.

"It's a message from Bass," notified the blue bomber, and therefore set to motion the beginning of the Great War.

Author's Note-
Alright! I know it's a bit strange to suddenly hear from me after… four chapters now? Barely? But I'm here to apologize to any readers for my slow pace in writing this story. Luckily, I have everything plotted out already for this 10, maybe 9, chapter long story so from here on its clear sailing. Rebellare is just two chapters away from being introduced, and the war between man and Navi is about ready to be jumpstarted. I just ask for everyone to be patient with me. And don't worry, our heroes won't be losing forever.

Updates-
-Changed Ch. 3's title from "Team Protoman's Death" to "Deathblow," since neither Chaud nor Proto died at the time. For those who don't know what a 'deathblow' is, according to Webster:

deathblow "n. 1. A blow that causes death." Or in other words, the moment Protoman got trapped on NTT's wall. That move made it impossible for Protoman to win, and made Chaud's death and the destruction of Dencity ultimately inevitable. Depressing, isn't it?

-Changed all internet location headings to "Online," to make it easier to tell whether we're looking at the real world or the internet world.