I own no Megaman characters, any familiar dialogue or the main plot. Credits to Capcom.
Reply to Ghost501's review of Chapter 15: Oh, I had a lot of fun writing the next two fights in this chapter, the second one inn particular. I hope that you enjoy!
-Chapter 16: A Double Dose Of Duels-
In The Power Plant Network...
"W-what? What have you done to the generator!?" Elecman shouted, feeling power slowly fade away from him. The alight streams on some of the platforms dimmed slightly and the lightning that crackled in the cyber sky disappeared, leaving behind the darkness and stillness of the clouds. Just when things couldn't get any worse for the World Three Navi, Megaman slowly pushed himself up from the cyber ground, his body tone returning to normal.
"Shocking for you, ain't it?" Megaman taunted Elecman with a smirk. He thanked the scientist who generated power to him afterwards, getting the typical 'no problem' response.
"Megaman! We have to get him while we can!" the blue Navi heard his NetOp call to him.
"Lan! You stopped the generator!"
"Aaahh! You little brat!" Count Zap yelled in rage. "Elecman! Zap that Navi now!"
"But Zap, the power-"
"I don't care!" Count Zap snapped, interrupting his Navi. "They're in the way and Lord Wily said that we must delete all who stand in our way! No matter what!"
"You're right. I won't let some kid and his Navi get in the way of World Three!" Elecman said, charging a blue spark of electricity in his hand. "Electric Boomer!" Thrusting his hand out, he released an energy ball that pulsed with volts, though it seemed slower than Megaman expected. Megaman jumped over the attack and let loose with his Mega Buster.
No longer able to recover damage, Elecman was forced to fight as best as he could. After receiving an Electro Sword from Count Zap, he rushed at Megaman and slashed at him, but to no avail. Flailing his arm around furiously, Elecman swung the blade at his opponent multiple times, only resulting in failure.
"Gaaah! Why do my swings always miss you!?" he screamed, missing with another swing. Eventually, the electric based Navi did hit something, but it wasn't Megaman. Lan sent the blue Navi a Wide Sword, which said Navi used to clash blades with his opponent. In a power struggle, Megaman slowly gained the upper hand, forcing his opponent away. He lunged for him in pursuit and Elecman took a slash to the chest.
Clutching his wound, Elecman's Electro Sword faded away. He fired another Electric Boomer. It traveled slowly, but as it did so, Elecman charged yellow sparks around the same hand used for the previous attack. As he thrust his hand out, a long Thunderbolt stream burst out, piercing through the Electric Boomer, catching Megaman off guard and paralyzing said Navi. Receiving another Electro Sword from Count Zap, Elecman shot out at his opponent and swung the electricity infused blade, but there was nothing left!
"What!?" Elecman growled, frantically turning around. "Where are you!?"
"Right here!" Megaman called out from somewhere. Elecman didn't think he would be there, but he looked upwards. And there he was! "Ha ha! Nice timing on sending me that Area Steal, Lan!"
"Hah! You know me!" Lan responded cockily. "Now, let's finish this! Cyber Sword! Battle chip in! Download!"
As Megaman descended, he received the sword. He raised it high. Just as the Navi was about to land, Elecman swung his Electro Sword at him. Megaman dodged the attack by swerving a little to the left and swung his blade at his opponent, who roared in pain as he tumbled across the cyber ground.
"That's it!" Count Zap snapped. "If you keep this up, all of our work will be for nothing, Elecman! Jack out now and give me the Elec Program!"
"Urgh... All right!" Elecman responded. Addressing Megaman, he vowed, "Listen, you! Now that World Three has all four Super Programs, you're finished! Finished!" Megaman lunged for Elecman, but it was too late. He was gone.
"ELECMAN, LOGGING OUT."
Megaman simply stood there. Was Elecman telling the truth? Would World Three finally win? Lan and Megaman contemplated on this, but they were interrupted by the arrival of another Navi.
"No. Too late."
Megaman turned around. At the sight he saw, he gasped, "Protoman?"
"Grr... Where's Elecman? I heard that his memory data carries the location to World Three's server location."
"Well, he... jacked out."
"What!? I bet you had something to do with it!"
"Well, yes, but-"
"Darn it! If you amateurs didn't get in the way, our plan to lure in World Three with fake data would have succeeded!"
"Fake data?" Lan repeated. "Then, this was all-"
"Hmph. I've had enough of this," Chaud interrupted him. "Protoman, delete the kid's Navi. The two brats have caused us enough trouble as it is!"
"Yes, Lord Chaud!" the red Navi responded, readying his Cyber Sword. The reason for it being purple, unlike the regular blue Cyber Sword, was that it was a trademark weapon customized into Protoman (much like Megaman's Mega Buster).
"Wait, Protoman!" the blue Navi protested, backing away from Protoman. "This isn't the time!"
"Silence," Protoman said stoically. "Prepare for deletion." He lunged at Megaman with his blade, but narrowly missed. Megaman fired shots from his Mega Buster, only to miss each shot. The two Navis clenched their free fists and threw them against each other's, the force of the punches recoiling them away slightly.
Megaman fired at his opponent again, only to have the attack dodged and Protoman taunting him by saying, "Nice try, but you're gonna have to do better than that!" Lunging for Megaman, Protoman slashed his sword once more, damaging the blue Navi's chest.
"Urgh, this guy's serious, Lan," Megaman told him, clutching where he was hurt.
"I know, but we can't give up now, not after saving the power plant!" Lan responded.
"If you just stayed out of the way, I wouldn't have had to do this!" Chaud reminded him.
"What's with you, anyway!?" Lan snapped, as Megaman and Protoman continued to fight.
"What's with me? What's with you!? I was just doing my job and you got in the way!"
"Grr! Megaman! Get that guy's Navi! Cyber Sword! Battle chip in! Download!"
Megaman received the blade. Protoman rushed at him and swung his own sword, but Megaman jumped out of the way. Whirling around, Protoman swung his blade again. At the same time, Megaman tried to slash at Protoman, but the purple blade clashed with it and a power struggle ensued. The two Navis pushed themselves forward, in hopes of toppling over the other. However, no one was going anywhere. The two Navis were evenly matched.
"Not... bad... for an amateur," Protoman growled.
"I'm... just... getting started," Megaman assured him.
"We'll see about that!" Protoman and Megaman each took a small step away from each other. They swung their blades at each other's and pushed them through to their lefts. There was a pause. Swinging their blades once more, they brought them back to their rights. There was another pause. Another swing. Another pause. A swing. A pause. Then, Megaman and Protoman rushed past each other, smashing their blades against each other's.
It was still an even match. Neither Navi showed any signs of giving up. Megaman's Cyber Sword faded away, leaving him with his regular arm. Taking the chance, Protoman shot at Megaman and slashed upwards at him, finally doing some damage. As the blue Navi flipped about in the air, Lan sent him a Hi Cannon (a chip Lan's father sent him a while ago), which transformed Megaman's arm into a navy blue cannon. Since Megaman noticed that Protoman was a quick fighter, he figured that a change of tactics wouldn't hurt. He landed on his two feet. He brought the side of the Hi Cannon to his chest.
"Hmph. You think that will work?" Protoman sneered, readying for Megaman's attack. Rushing ahead, Megaman pointed the Hi Cannon at Protoman, but he immediately leaped upwards and landed behind him. Afterwards, he whirled around, swinging the Hi Cannon at Protoman's stomach area. Afterwards, he fired it for a solid amount of damage. The Hi Cannon disappeared and Megaman's arm returned.
"Yeah! We got him now!" Lan cheered.
"Hah! Don't get so cocky, kid!" Chaud growled. "Protoman! Fire Sword! Battle chip in! Download!"
"That's how you wanna play! Megaman! Electro Sword! Battle chip in! Download!"
Protoman somersaulted and landed on his two feet, receiving his Fire Sword in the process. His default blade changed from purple to orange as flames burned around it. Megaman's arm formed into his Electro Sword, electric sparks flying around it. Once again, the two fighters rushed at each other and clashed blades with each other. Like before, they were still evenly matched. However, Protoman decided to play dirty. He clenched his fist. As fire and electricity struggled to topple each other's wielders, Megaman noticed what Protoman was doing and clenched his own fist. The two were thrust at and collided with each other, separating the two Navis apart. In desperation, they rushed at each other again, smashing their blades against each other. Little sparks of fire and electricity flew out as the Fire Sword and Electro Sword were constantly being swung against each other.
As the swings came and went, they began to slow down. Megaman and Protoman were getting exhausted. As if they responded to it, the Fire Sword and Electro Sword disappeared, the Navi's arms reforming in their places. The Navis stepped back. As they panted, Protoman only had one thing to say.
"H-How...? How... can a civilian Navi... be equal to an Official? That's impossible!"
"Officials can fight alone, can't they?" Megaman asked him.
"Huh?"
"I'm a civilian Navi, so I can't fight by myself," Megaman continued, a smile pulling across his face. "Lan's here to back me up and we're so close to each other, we might as well be brothers!"
"That's right!" Lan grinned. "The better friends you are with your NetOp, the better you'll fight."
"Friends...?" Protoman had to admit that the little brats had a point. Was Protoman as close to Chaud as he thought he was? On one hand, he followed his NetOp's orders and never complained once. Chaud was content with it and so was Protoman! On the other hand, was it enough? Was their relationship merely a 'master-servant' one?
"D-Don't listen to that garbage, Protoman!" Chaud grunted, interrupting his Navi's thoughts. "Jack out!"
"Please wait, Lord Chaud!" Protoman protested. He said to the other Navi, "Hey, you're... Megaman, right?" Megaman nodded. "Just tell me one thing. Are you really that close to your NetOp?"
"Of course," Megaman smiled. "I wouldn't have said so if it wasn't the truth!"
"Friend... Brother... Huh, to be honest, I never thought about that until now..."
"Let's go, Protoman! Jack out now!" Chaud commanded, an impatient tone in his voice.
"Yes, sir," Protoman replied solemnly, doing as he was told.
"PROTOMAN, LOGGING OUT."
By Megaman's suggestion, he and Lan left the scene, too.
"MEGAMAN, LOGGING OUT."
At the Restaurant...
After Lan flipped the generator switch open, light returned to the power plant, the entire building and all of DenTech City. He made his way down to the restaurant to see how his mother was holding up.
"Lan! You're alive!" Haruka gasped in relief. She rushed to her son and wrapped her arms embarrassingly tight around him, sobbing slightly on his shirt. "Where were you? I... I was so worried!"
"Uh, sorry about that, mom," Lan responded. "But I'm fine, see? And so is Megaman." At that moment, the PET rang. There was a message from Lan's father. It read 'That was a long blackout! You okay, Lan?' To this, Lan laughed, "That's good ol' dad for you, mom!" He typed up a message of his own. He was to send this to Yuichiro: 'Hey, dad. I'm fine. Mom's here for me, Megaman's here for me and I know you're there for me!'
"Well, I guess the party's over," Haruka sighed, noticing everyone take off for the elevator. "Should we go home, Lan?"
After typing up and sending his message, Lan replied, "Yeah, but can we stop for something to eat on the way? I don't remember the last time I ate! I'm starving!"
Laughter came from Lan, Megaman and Haruka. DenTech City was at peace once more.
At A Faraway Mountainside...
Inside the checkered floored base stood Lord Wily. Neither Mr Match, Maddy nor Count Zap were present and Yahoot just left the scene. The elderly man stood in front of the four small platforms, each of which held an orb. They contained data that Wily desperately needed.
"Wonderful! Simply wonderful!" he cackled. "I have them all! I have all four Super Programs! Fire, Wood, Aqua and Elec! Ho ho ho ho ho! By combining them all, I can finally create it! And once I do, I can delete the world! No more annoying machines! Finally, my revenge is at hand... Wah hah hah hah hah hah!"
Ah, Happy late Valentine's Day, everyone! I hope that you all had fun with your girlfriend or boyfriend (or even your spouse!), because you won't get another day like it!
Actually, you do. Every single other day of the year! Seriously, they make a day dedicated to loving your special one, but you should be doing that everyday.
Anyway, thanks for reading, everyone. I plan to upload the next chapter early, on Saturday (February 22nd), because that day is very important for me. It shouldn't be so hard to guess why. ;)
-Have a great day, week, month, whatever, and stay upbeat, y'all!-