I own no Megaman characters, any familiar dialogue or the main plot. Credits to Capcom.
Before I begin, I would like to say a big thank you to 'Ghost501' for adding this story to their alerts and 'Stardustwarrior' for adding this story to their alerts and favorites.
Reply to Stardustwarrior's review of the Prologue: Hmm... I don't watch any abridged series, so I wouldn't know what would make a good one.
Yes, I think that MMBN still has this charm to it today. I hope I can do the game justice with my novelization. Ha ha, 'legendary' might be a bit of a stretch, though!
Reply to Ghost501's review of the Prologue: Well, the wait is over. Here's the chapter!
-Chapter 1: A NetNavi And His NetOp-
Ten Years Later, In The Year 200X...
"Lan! Wake up!"
"Zzz..."
"If you don't get up, you'll be late for school!" the child's mother warned her son.
"Zzz..."
In the opposite corner of the sleeping boy's bed was a drawer. On top of that was an object that became a common household item: a 'Personal Terminal' (PET). Essentially, they were glorified mobile phones, but with a lot more features. 'Net Navigators' (NetNavis) reside in these mobile devices and assist their 'Net Operators' (NetOps) in many ways.
This particular PET flashed and a news bulletin appeared on the screen.
"PET NetNews! 'World Three crime on the rise!' World Three might be starting their plan to control the net!"
"Urgh... Let me sleep..."
"You've got mail from Dad, too!" the NetNavi told him. "Look: 'Sorry I couldn't get off work yesterday. I'll be home soon. Here's a present for you!' There's some battle chip data attached, too!"
The brown haired child yawned. Reluctantly, he got up, complaining that he was having a great dream.
"Just get dressed," the Net Navi ordered him. "Even if you are late, it's no excuse to wearing your PJs in school!"
"Fine, fine, fine..."
It was a time consuming procedure, but eventually, the boy, Lan Hikari, was able to change out of his blue and white striped pajamas and into his usual attire. After he fitted into his white shirt and black shorts with yellow stripes down the sides, he wore his orange vest over his shirt, put on his black socks, and snapped on his blue headband. It had the Hikari family logo on it: a yellow circle which was black on the inside. Inside the circle were two red hexagons meeting each other on their sides. Lan put on his backpack and was almost ready to go.
He put his battle chip sack in one of the side pockets of the backpack. From his drawer, he picked up his PET and greeted his NetNavi good morning, who responded with the same greeting. 's jumpsuit was a darker shade of blue than his helmet, gloves and boots, and had cyan lines down the sides and yellow shoulder pads. The helmet also had cyan lines down the sides, but also had a thick yellow rectangle down the center, a yellow square below it. On Megaman's chest and on where his ears would be lied the Hikari family symbol.
Taking an empty battle chip from the drawer, Lan slotted it in the PET, asking Megaman to download the data to it. An image appeared on the white space on the chip: a silhouette of a warrior with a neon scarlet energy sword for a left arm in front of a red themed background.
"Fighter Sword! Cool!" Lan grinned.
"Wait, Lan," Megaman said. "There's some more data. Do you have another empty chip to download it?"
Lan reached for his drawer again and found one. Again, he slotted it into the PET and Megaman downloaded the data to it. The picture that appeared this time was a silver weight with a face in front of a blue background.
"Eh. Quake's not as strong as Fighter Sword," Lan admitted as he placed his two new chips in his sack. "But it's still pretty cool. Thanks, Dad!"
"Now, we better get to school," Megaman told Lan. "We don't much have time left."
Lan left his blue carpeted room and headed downstairs.
"Morning, Mom!" Lan called out.
"Good morning, Lan!" she responded. "Do you have time to eat? There's some breakfast on the table."
Just then, Lan's stomach growled.
"Hmm... Can't go to school on an empty stomach! I'll chow down!" he said as he sat down on the chair.
"Alright, Lan, but be quick," Megaman sighed, for he feared Lan would be late again. It was a recurring theme in ACDC Elementary, no, all of ACDC Town, for Lan to be late.
After scoffing down his cereal, Lan said bye to his mother, slipped on his shoes (which could convert into roller blades, should the time call for it) and left the house. Outside, he found his childhood friend and neighbor, Maylu Sakurai. The magenta haired girl was also in her usual attire: a pale green shirt under a blue vest, a pink skirt which reached halfway down her thighs, dark knee length socks and dark red shoes. Her hair ornament was pink, with a slice of it being an amber orange.
Megaman pointed out for Lan that Maylu wasn't happy to see her friend up so late again. In her mind, she told herself to leave without Lan more often. She also told herself to actually start doing that at all!
"You're late again, Lan!" she sighed as the two began to walk.
"Hmph. No one asked you to wait for me anyway," Lan mumbled.
"What was that?"
"Why do we have to walk to school together all the time?"
"Silly!" Maylu giggled. "It's because we have so much to talk about!"
"She means SHE's got a lot to talk about, Lan," Megaman told his NetOp. "All you do is listen and never say a word..."
"Quiet, you!" Lan hissed.
"So, Lan. Have you heard of what's been happening with people's ovens?" Maylu asked Lan, ignoring what he and Megaman just said.
"Yeah. They've been spitting fire all of a sudden!" Lan replied.
"I bet it's another one of World Three's viruses!"
"Maybe... Can't people do anything about it, though?"
"I don't know..."
A few minutes of talking later, Lan and Maylu arrived at the open school gates to ACDC Elementary. After heading inside and after a walk up the stairs and across the corridor, the two entered their classroom: Class 5-A. Like the others, this one had a generic layout. It had a generic checkered floor, a generic set of lockers and generically arranged seats, to name a few generic features. What did stand out, however, were a few of the students: Lan's more closer friends, one of them being Maylu, of course.
There was also the rather round and boastful Dex Oyama, whose hairstyle was that of a mohawk. He was in his usual green t-shirt (with a green cross inside a black circle), blue shorts and shoes and gray socks. For the longest time, he held the belief that he was the best Net Battler in the world. Though he showed concern for his friends when needed, that didn't stop him from sharing a rivalry with Lan.
Next was the very rich and intelligent Yai Ayano, a little girl in a red dress with a white stripe down the bottom, white socks, red shoes and blond hair in a ponytail. Being younger than anyone else in fifth grade, she skipped ahead for her intelligence. Her father was the owner of the video game company AyanoTech.
Finally, there was the quiet and calm Tory Froid, wearing his usual maroon shirt under his beige hooded jacket (at the back of it was a blue circle with a cyan star like shape in it), blue shorts and ordinary shoes. He didn't have a particular hairstyle, though his brown hair was closest to that of a bowl haircut. His father, Dr Froid, was an employee at the Waterworks, the company responsible for keeping the water in DenTech City clean. Sometimes, Tory himself would help his father out.
By the blackboard, Dex was standing there, waiting for Lan.
"There you are!" he said once he found him.
"What is it, Dex?" Lan asked him.
"I challenge you to a Net Battle! Your little Megaman vs my Gutsman!"
"Um, I don't think that's a good idea, Dex," Tory told Dex as he heard in on the conversation. "I heard that they've banned Net Battles in school now."
"Well, who cares?" Dex smirked. "We're gonna battle anyway, right, Lan?"
"About that-"
Before Lan could answer, the school bell rang, signalling that class was to begin.
"Aw man!" Dex moaned. Then, he turned to Lan. "But we'll be Net Battling after school, Lan! At the squirrel statue! Be there!"
"Hah! You know it!"
Everyone took their seats and awaited the teacher's arrival. Ms Mari entered the classroom in her teal braced skirt over a lilac shirt, long purple tights and teal boots.
"Good morning, class," the teacher said.
"Good morning, Ms Mari," the class replied together.
"Let's begin our first period: 'Virus Busting'. Who here has read this morning's NetNews?"
"I did!" Tory called, putting his hand up. "It said World Three net crime was rising."
"Very good, Tory!" Ms Mari praised him.
"Of course, you should know, too, Lan," Megaman whispered to him.
Not hearing this, Ms Mari continued, "It's important that we all know how to fight viruses because..."
While she was going on about that, Dex whispered to Lan, "I'd like to see a World Three virus take me and Gutsman on!"
"You always go on about your little Gutsman..." Yai sighed.
"You be quiet!" Dex snapped back.
"Relax!" Lan said. "Why would World Three bother you anyway, Dex?"
Taking it the wrong way, Dex growled, "Why you..."
Unfortunately, Ms Mari caught them, scolding them, "Quiet when I'm speaking!" To everyone else, she said, "Today, we'll be using a common virus called the 'Mettool'. Everyone, jack in your NetNavi to your computer so it can access the net."
"Well, let's do this," Megaman said.
"Okay," Lan replied. "Jack in, Megaman! Execute!"
Stretching the cord from his PET out, he plugged it into the computer, sending Megaman into it, as did the other students with their NetNavis.
Lan was seated in the front left of the classroom. Next to him was Maylu and next to her was Tory. Behind Lan was Dex and next to him was Yai, with everyone else taking up the other seats. As such, the NetNavis stood behind corresponding desks in the 'School Computer Network'.
In The School Computer Network...
Most of the students owned normal NetNavis, which were green and yellow overall. At the front left desk was Megaman. Next to him was Roll, Maylu's pink NetNavi, with two transparent energy ribbons from her helmet that formed a 'C' behind her head and flat, but long and blond, hair, with a green ribbon on it. On her chest and ears were shapes that resembled Maylu's hair ornament. Because Lan and Maylu were best friends, Megaman and Roll were equally as close to each other.
Next to Roll was Tory's NetNavi: Iceman, a dwarf sized figure in a teal hooded snow jacket and brown gloves and boots. At the front of the jacket lies the star like shape that Tory possessed on his jacket. Like Tory, he was usually calm, but at the right times, he could be serious.
Behind Megaman was the hefty Gutsman, a yellow Navi with enlarged hands and feet and quite a rectangular head. His chest, however, was red, and had the same cross as Dex had on his t-shirt. He wasn't not the smartest or the quickest to think, but made up for it in dedication for his friends. Because Dex and Lan were rivals, Gutsman and Megaman shared the same relationship.
Next to Gutsman was Yai's very tall butler like NetNavi, Glyde, a brown and yellow Navi overall with a set of wings on his back. On his chest was a symbol Yai possessed on her backpack: a black circle with two yellow triangles next to each other and a red diamond in between them. At first, he came off as very snooty (taken from his NetOp, Yai), but was able to make friends with Megaman and the others.
"Okay, it looks like everyone's online," Ms Mari noticed. "Now, we'll need a volunteer for these demonstrations." It was hard to pick with everyone holding their hand up, but she chose Lan.
"So, what do I do?" Lan asked his teacher.
"The first demonstration will be on basics," Ms Mari said, taking out her battle chip sack. "Here, I have two Cannon chips I would like you to take out." Lan did as instructed. "The stars you see on them represent their rarity and attack power," she explained.
"Hmm... Cannons are only one star each," Lan noted.
"Yes. That means they're quite common, but they're pretty weak when compared to other chips. However, Mettools are the weakest viruses anyway, so it won't matter. All you have to do is simply slot in your chips to your PET and your NetNavi will download the data. Cannons are basic damage dealing chips, but they can't take the force of one shot, so they disappear upon use. Did you get that, Lan? Are you ready?"
"Yep."
"Okay, release the Mettools," the teacher instructed her Navi.
The female normal Navi held up a cage, which held two Mettools, looking pretty angry and ready to delete. But being in a controlled environment meant that no one had anything to worry about.
"Ready, Megaman?" she asked.
"Ready. Okay, Lan. Send me the chip data!"
"Right! Cannon X2! Battle chips in! Download!"
Megaman's hands turned into two green Cannons. As soon as Megaman stepped up as told to and Ms Mari's Navi released the Mettools, he fired the Cannons at them, immediately deleting them. However, he noticed that the Cannons disappeared and his arms returned to normal.
"Excellent!" the teacher Navi prasied Megaman. "Remember, you don't have to use battle chips to delete viruses. You can use your default weapon you've been given."
To this, Megaman turned his left arm as his trademark Mega Buster, then turned it back into his hand.
"Any questions?" the teacher's Navi asked the class.
"I have one," Iceman said, holding his hand up. "Is there a limit to the amount of chip data we can download at a time?"
"We can only download data from up to five chips at a time. As NetNavis, our bodies can't handle any more chip data than that."
"Got it."
Meanwhile, in the real world, Ms Mari warned Lan that Megaman would be deleted if too much damage is taken, while everyone took notes on what they were learning. Afterwards, the teacher proceeded with the next demonstration: support type chips.
"Not all battle chips are weapons," Ms Mari began to tell the class. "Lan, take out the Area Steal and Wide Sword chips." He did so and showed them to everyone else. "Area Steal allows your Navi to warp closer to or further away from your enemy. The Cyber Sword chip and other variations, like this Wide Sword here, are weapons for close combat. In case you don't want to risk rushing up to the enemy to strike, use this combo. When my Navi releases the Mettools, slot the chips in, Lan."
In the School Computer, Ms Mari's Navi released another two viruses from a cage. Megaman was in the field for battle and awaited orders.
"Area Steal! Wide Sword! Battle chips in! Download!" Lan called out as he slotted the two chips in.
After Megaman got into a fighting position, he suddenly disappeared, leaving the two Mettools confused. The NetNavis laughed at their confusion. The Mettools didn't know that Megaman then appeared right behind them and that he had a Wide Sword for a right hand. A swing with the sword and the Mettools were 'brown bread', an idiom Navis knew humans used for 'dead' or deleted'.
Alright, I think that'll do for now.
I should probably make a mention of what you'll see in this novelization. You will see quite a number of changes, including, but not restricted to, these:
Removals include the removal of the Add feature, the Custom Gauge and the Chip Code system. In short, when you imagine the scenes playing in your head, think of it like an episode of the anime. After all, a open field battle is faster paced than a battle in a 6x3 grid!
Speaking of the anime, I'll be calling the locations, attacks and human characters by their anime names, instead of their game names (e.g. 'Maylu' instead of 'Mayl', 'DenTech City' instead of 'Den City' and 'Area Steal' instead of 'Area Grab'). However, I'll be retaining the game names for everything else. Inconsistent, I know, but you should still get what I mean.
Also, there'll be some little item changes and dialogue changes here and there. It's no fun to stick exactly with what you've got, after all.
Every Sunday, this fic will be updated. I'll try to fit in more updates if I can, but that won't be every time. Besides, I'm juggling two novelizations at once!
-Have a great day, week, month, whatever, and stay upbeat, y'all!-