I own no Megaman characters, any familiar dialogue or the main plot. Credits to Capcom.
Reply to Ghost501's review of Chapter 8: Looking back at my story as a whole now, I'll admit that I put an emphasis on having helper Navis alongside Megaman. If I feel like writing novelizations of the rest of the Battle Network series, I'll tone it down if people aren't fond of it.
-Chapter 9: Friend As Foes-
Lan and Maysa were devastated at the sight they saw at the Waterworks' pond. They noticed that while there was water, it was not clear and clean, but a putrid purple.
"It looks really nasty..." Maysa frowned, then took a closer look at the gunk. "Are those little chunks of garbage floating about!?"
"Eeeww!" Lan groaned, disgusted at the sight.
A passerby crawled along the ground beside Lan and Maysa. Apparently, he was on the verge of fainting, due to a lack of water. But what would happen to him? Well, he found something to drink, but after he took the liquid to his lips, he could only grunt before finally falling unconscious. To Lan and Maysa's defense, they did warn him that it was bad water, but it was too late.
"You've really done it now," a voice said to the two from behind. They turned around.
"Chaud!"
"Now people will be drinking this 'water', not knowing that it's polluted! The real problem was in the filtering program! This is your fault, Lan!"
"..."
"And you," Chaud continued, now addressing Maysa. "You just had to get involved in this, didn't you? If only you stayed out of it, you wouldn't have been to blame, too! I would stay here, but I have to get back to work. Now, out of my way!" Chaud left the scene.
"Grr... Who do you think you are!?" Lan shouted at him. "Some nerve you have!"
"Lan! Shouting won't fix anything!" Maysa told him. "Try to calm down, will ya?"
"Sigh... You're right."
"Now, let's go and find that filtering program!"
"Right!"
But there was one problem. Where in the Waterworks Network was the filtering program? Sharkman reminded Maysa of that tap without the handle they saw earlier, to Lan and Megaman's shock.
"You saw it, too?" Lan asked him.
"Yeah," Maysa answered. "And I have a hunch that the filtering program is past that! What we need to figure out now is how to get there..."
The two returned to the Waterworks and Maysa showed Lan the basement he was talking about; the entrance was hidden under one of the plants kept in the building. Lan followed Maysa down the steps, to find himself greeted by a dimly lit room. At the far corner, there was a monitor with some jack in ports. Opposite that was a locker. What that was used for was unknown. Lan assumed that it was used to store some sort of equipment. From there, he couldn't help but hear a noise. At first, Maysa couldn't hear it, but his ears picked it up a few seconds later. He recognized that noise.
"But you didn't do anything about it?" Lan sighed.
"I-I thought it was a ghost!" Maysa blurted out.
"You still believe in them, Maysa?"
"I'm telling you, I did see something outside my window that night! I swear on my life!"
"Sigh... Let's just open the locker." Lan was about to reach for the handle, but noticed a padlock around it. "Drat. Now, we need to find a key... Maybe the guy who locked whoever's in there dropped it somewhere."
Lan and Maysa found difficulty in searching for the key. The darkness didn't help much. The only decent source of light was the working monitor. Lan decided to check under it. He heard a jingling sound as his hands felt along the floor. He grabbed whatever the object was and pulled it out. What Lan saw were keys.
"Ah, found it!" Lan grinned.
"Now why would they put the keys in there?" Maysa wondered aloud, questioning the sense of logic the guy had.
Regardless, Lan inserted the key in the padlock and twisted it around. The lock was released and the doors could be open. There was a man inside the locker. He looked like he could have been in his late thirties and wore a blue work attire. From the look on his face, he recognized Lan.
"Oh, you must be Tory's friend! Thank you for saving me!"
"No prob," Lan replied. "You must be Tory's father."
"Ah heh heh... I would have helped ya out there," Maysa laughed sheepishly. "But I thought it was a ghost, so..."
"Oh, don't worry about it," Dr Froid chuckled. "Although I did hear some weird voices from inside."
"Our voices, right?"
"No, they were from before you came to rescue me..."
"See, Lan? It's not just me who believes in them!" Maysa bragged. "Now, pay up!"
"Uh, we never made a bet," Lan said. "And he could have been joking about the ghost thing."
"Dang it!"
"But now's not the time for jokes," Dr Froid stated. "We've got to stop my son from helping World Three!"
"What!?" Lan gasped. "So that's where he was!"
"Here, take this," Dr Froid said, handing over a chip. But it didn't look like a battle chip.
"What is this?"
"You can download a handle for taps in the Waterworks Network. I've heard that World Three broke one off, so this might help."
"Oh, that tap!" Maysa realized. "We'll get right to fixing the filer program now!"
"Iceman might be there," Lan assumed. "We have to stop him! Let's jack Megaman and Sharkman in now!"
"Right!"
"Thanks for helping us out, mister!" Lan said to Dr Froid.
"It was the least I could do," he smiled. "I would stay here, but I have something important I need to do. Could you give a message to my son for me, if you see him?"
"What's the message?"
Dr Froid typed up the message on Lan's PET and saved it, saying to Lan and Maysa, "I'm sorry that I can't do anything more."
"Don't worry about it," Lan smiled. "We'll get Tory back before you know it!"
Back In The Waterworks Network...
Luckily, the jack in ports in the real world took Megaman and Sharkman to the point the Piranhas attacked Megaman, making going to the tap without its handle easier. The two Navis retraced their steps to the tap and arrived there without any problems. There were a wave of viruses or two, but they were taken care of easily.
"Well, Lan. I think it's time to put that handle back," Megaman said.
"I agree. I'll send it to you now."
The chip was slotted into the PET and in Megaman's hands was a tap handle, one which resembled the others. The blue Navi had no problem fitting it in and turning the handle, so the way was cleared easily. Megaman and Sharkman continued along the maze, walking along winding paths and deleting any viruses that came their way. Eventually, they came across an area in the network filled with crossroads, dead ends and paths which would take the two Navis back to the beginning. They tiptoed across the ice, so they wouldn't slip and end up in the wrong places, but the sheer amount of times they had to do so and the amount of time each trek took drained away their patience.
"Uuuurrrrrgh! How long does this thing go on!?" Sharkman groaned.
"Even if it is to protect the filtering program from intruders, isn't this a bit much?" Megaman even groaned also.
"C'mon, now! Remember who you're doing this for!" Maysa reminded them in an attempt to perk up their spirits. It definitely didn't make the two Navis feel that much better, but it got them going nevertheless.
Eventually, after what seemed like forever, Megaman and Sharkman finally caught sight of the filtering program, albeit it was frozen. Suddenly, the sounds of combat shook them awake. A thud was then heard. The two Navis didn't hesitate in rushing forward. They found Iceman down! A blade was pointed to the little Navi. It was Protoman's Cyber Sword!
"It's over," he said to Iceman before catching a glimpse of Megaman. Turning to him, he sighed, "You again?"
"I told you not to interfere!" Chaud growled.
Iceman, still on the cyber ground, saw an opportunity to attack Protoman. Getting up, he shot his trademark Ice Slasher at the red Navi, but the shard of ice was barely dodged.
"So, you still have some fight in you, huh? Well, how about-" Protoman suddenly stopped. He felt something. "Lord Chaud, it seems you have mail from HQ."
"Hm?" Chaud decided to check it out. He let out a growl afterwards. "We've been had, Protoman. You've been fighting a decoy! There's a World Three Navi somewhere in here and they're after the Aqua Program!"
"The Aqua Program?" Lan repeated. From the sound of his voice, it was clear that he had heard of it before.
"We need to find this Navi and stop him!" Chaud told Protoman.
"Yes, sir!" With that, Protoman's Cyber Sword turned back into his arm. Carrying out his orders, he left the battlefield.
"Iceman! Why are you doing this!?" Megaman demanded to know after he was gone.
"I'm sorry, Megaman..." the little Navi responded sadly.
"What are you talking about?" Sharkman asked.
"World Three has my father..." the sound of Tory's voice answered. "If I'm going to get them back, I have to do as they say."
"Tory! You have to listen to me!" Lan shouted.
"I'm afraid I can't," Tory responded. "I have to protect my father!"
"But Tory!"
"Lan, he's not gonna listen anytime soon," Maysa told Lan. "We'll have to fight your friend to get him back!"
"But-"
"Sharkman! Get him!"
The shark Navi immediately lunged for his opponent, despite Megaman's protests, and slammed his shoulder at him, following up with a Fin Cutter. After taking the hit, Iceman somersaulted and landed on his two feet, shooting Ice Slashers at his enemy, but the ice shards were dodged.
"Hah! Is that all you got!?" Sharkman taunted him, firing another Fin Cutter. To counter, Iceman shot another Ice Slasher. The two projectiles exploded on collision.
Even midst the cyber smoke, the fighters still fired volleys of Fin Cutters and Ice Slashers, which all collided and broke apart. When the smoke cleared away, Sharkman and Iceman rushed at each other and traded blows in rapid speed. Meanwhile, Megaman, standing by the sidelines, only watched in horror. Ice Punch chips were given to the fighting Navis by their NetOps and the large fists collided with each other. The force from the Ice Punches pushed the Navis away from each other. It seemed like an even match, but Iceman saw an opening and gained the upper hand by shooting an Ice Slasher right at Sharkman's stomach. Sharkman was knocked back and took the combined force of several more Ice Slashers. It was then that Sharkman began to struggle and not be able to keep up with the speed of Iceman's attacks. Megaman couldn't watch anymore. He lunged ahead and tackled Iceman down to the cyber ground.
"Well, well. Look who finally decided to make a move," Sharkman smirked.
"I don't want to do this to you, Iceman," Megaman told Iceman, ignoring Sharkman's comment. "But you just won't listen to me!"
Iceman remained silent. He remained silent as he leaped away from Megaman and fired another Ice Slasher at him. He then tackled the blue Navi in the stomach, then beat him down with a flurry of punches.
"It shouldn't have come to this," Megaman said after recovering. "But it has. Sharkman! You ready?"
"You bet!" Sharkman grinned.
"Now we're talking!" Maysa grinned also. "Aqua Tower! Battle chip in! Download!"
"Electro Sword! Battle chip in! Download!" Lan shouted.
While Megaman's right hand turned into a sword with sparks surrounding it, Sharkman slammed his fin like hands down, summoning a pillar of water rushing at Iceman.
"That won't work!" Tory said. "Ice Tower! Battle chip in! Download!"
Iceman slammed his right hand down to summon a towering icicle to rush at Sharkman. The two attacks crashed into each other and a mist burst out, covering everything around it. As soon as it disappeared, a huge icicle towered over the Navis around it. Megaman then rushed in with his Electro Sword and slashed it away. Afterwards, he lunged for Iceman and swung his blade at him, only to have the attack dodged in a backflip. After landing in his feet, Iceman placed a cupped hand to his mouth and breathed his Cyber Blizzard. Megaman leaped upwards, avoiding being frozen by it, raised his Electro Sword high and swung it downwards at his opponent, who screamed in pain after taking the slash. Iceman keeled over his right hand supporting him from falling down. Sharkman got ready to rush at him to finish the job, but Megaman stopped him.
"You alright, Iceman?" he asked.
"Megaman..."
"Here, read this," Megaman said, a slip of paper appearing in his hand. Iceman took the slip of paper to find a message written from Dr Froid.
"This... This is from my father..." Tory realized.
"Do you get it now, Tory? Your father's safe," Lan assured him.
"Man... After all I've done..." Everything he did do came crashing down on his mind. He put everyone's lives at risk for his father, when Dr Froid was just fine! Tory couldn't believe what he put everyone through. For nothing! All he could do, however, was set things straight. "Iceman, unfreeze the filtering program."
"On it."
Iceman stepped towards the frozen program. After exhaling once more, he took a deep breath in, chipping away the ice covering the structure. Bit by bit, the ice chipped away, until there was none left.
"Iceman, jack out," Tory said, after having nothing to say for what felt like a minute.
"ICEMAN, LOGGING OUT," a computerized voice declared, as the winter Navi disappeared from the area in a blue light.
Suddenly, an alarm blared! Megaman and Sharkman frantically turned around for the source of it. After heading back the way they came, they found Protoman confronting another new Navi. This one was resembled a clown, but he bounced on a ball that took the place of where legs would be. For his structure, this multicolored Navi had tall and skinny arms.
"Put down the Aqua Program, or else," Protoman threatened him.
"Now, now. We don't have time to play with you right now," he responded in his wacky clown like voice, juggling the blue orb that was the Aqua Program. "But you will face me soon! Time for me to jack out, Maddy! Ho ho ho ho ho!"
"COLORMAN, LOGGING OUT."
Protoman, noticing Megaman again, turned to him and groaned, "You again..."
"Why were they the Aqua Program, Chaud?" Lan asked.
"Why would I waste time talking to you?" Chaud snarled. "We're out of here, Protoman. Jack out."
"Roger."
"PROTOMAN, LOGGING OUT."
"I wonder why World Three wanted the Aqua Program," Megaman said.
"I'm not sure," Sharkman grunted, taking a step away. "I'll see you again soon."
"SHARKMAN, LOGGING OUT."
"Megaman, let's go see Tory," Lan said to him.
"Yeah."
Later, At A Faraway Mountainside...
Somewhere unknown to ordinary citizens was a base. In that base was a checkered room with a board at the front. To its left were four platforms, which were green, red, yellow and blue. Directly in front of the board was a table, where an elderly man with an optic stood. His right hand man, Yahoot, stood by and there were three other people that had gathered round: Mr Match, Maddy and an electricity lover called Count Zap.
"All our plans in DenTech City have failed recently!" the elderly man growled. "This will slow down the entire plan to control the Net! What is the problem!?"
"Our apologies, Lord Wily!" Mr Match spoke up. "It's just..."
"What? Speak up!" Lord Wily commanded him. Maddy and Count Zap turned to Match.
"There's... There's this one Navi-Operator team who-"
"Hmph! An Official Net Battler, I assume?"
"N-No! It's just a boy! By the name of Lan, and he has this powerful Navi called Megaman! We can't do anything with him around!"
"World Three's Navis can handle anything!" Wily shouted. "No excuses!"
"But-"
"Silence! Silence!" Wily roared, repeatedly slamming the table down. "No more failures! Delete everything in your way!"
"Heh. Leave it to me, sir," Maddy grinned, bowing to her leader. "I have a plan."
"Then what are you waiting for? Get to it!" With that, Lord Wily took off, along with Yahoot, who remained silent throughout the conversation.
"Must we get every Super Program by ourselves?" Maddy sighed behind their backs.
"It's for that thing," Count Zap told her. "That thing we're not even supposed to know the name of. It's too much of a shocking secret, after all!"
"I know, I know," Maddy groaned. "But it would be nice if those two actually did something, instead of lounging around all day. Oh well, back to work."
The date I am uploading this chapter is December 29th. Since we are nearing the end of the year, I would like to wish all of my readers a happy late Christmas (or whatever you celebrate, if anything) and best wishes for the new year!
I have no plans for to update this fic just before the turn over the new leaf, so I'll be returning next week, on January 5th, to continue. Unfortunately, the next chapter will be relatively short. However, I'm sure that the next few afterwards will make up for it.
Regardless, until we meet again, stay safe!
-Have a great New Year and stay upbeat, y'all!-