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 'ShadowDusk94' for adding this story to their alerts and favorites.
Reply to Ghost501's review of Chapter 16: Now that I think about it, I kinda feel bad for Protoman, in the first game, at least. All he did was follow orders, like a dog that is in the family for the sake of it.
Reply to ShadowDusk94's review of Chapter 16: I took a look back at Lan getting zapped by the generator in the game. It was more painful than I remember.
As far as I'm aware, there's no NetNavi counterpart to Crashman. A shame, considering that would have completed the entire line of Megaman 2 bosses!
-Chapter 17: Where In The World Is World Three?-
The Next Morning...
"'Lan, you're friends with that Chaud boy, aren't you?'"
"What!? The one that tried to delete Megaman!? Yeah, we're the best of friends!" Lan snarled. "I don't mean to be rude or anything, but what was dad thinking sending me that message, Megaman?"
"Hold on, there's more," Megaman told his NetOp. "'I see him at the lab sometimes, but this time, he seemed a little blue. Maybe his job as an Official isn't going too well? In any case, could you try talking to him for me? I would do it myself, but I have a job to do. Thanks!' Well, Lan, guess we're gonna see Chaud."
"Do we have to?" Lan groaned, making his way out.
"It's the right thing to do," Megaman said.
"Fine... But if that guy gets on my nerves again..."
Well, something got on his nerves, that was for sure. But it wasn't what Chaud said. It was the fact that Chaud wasn't at SciLab at all! After deciding to ask one of scientists where he went, Lan found out that Chaud went to DenTech Town.
"He said that he heard that a World Three member is there!" the scientist added.
"What? Well, what's he trying to do with them?"
"I heard that he's supposed to find World Three's address. I guess that's why he's looking for members."
"Man... Who knows what World Three's up to there!? Let's go, Megaman! Thanks, mister!"
In a rush, Lan headed for the Metroline and entered the train, barely squeezing through the train's closing doors. After getting off at DenTech Town, he made his way round the hustle and bustle of the busyness and citizens. He searched all over the Center, but when Lan headed for the entrance to the East, he found a boy with black and white hair talking with a normal looking woman.
"Chaud?" Lan gasped.
"If you're with World Three, you should know about the Undernet!" Chaud told the female in front of him. "Tell me where it is! Now!"
"I told you! I don't know anything about World Three!" the 'citizen' continued to protest.
"Darn! Another false lead..." Chaud growled. "How will I get to the Undernet...?" As the woman walked away in frustration, Chaud turned around, catching sight of the annoying brat again. "You? I'm busy, so leave me alone!" he snarled.
"What's with you!?" Lan snapped back. "Dad told me that you were having problems, so I just came to help!"
"Hah! Why in the world would I need help from the likes of you? Out of my way!" Frustrated, Chaud brought his right arm up and shoved Lan to a building wall. Crossing his arms, he stormed away.
"Stupid Chaud..." Lan muttered as he pushed himself off the ground.
"Lan..." Megaman spoke up. "I know you don't wanna help Chaud, but we have to stop World Three's plan, even if it means helping that guy!"
"I know... We can't let them get away with their plans. Let's try to find their server address first."
"But before we do that, we need to get into the Undernet," Lan's Navi reminded him. "Chaud said that any World Three member should know how to do it, but asking them in front of their faces won't work."
"Hmm... Do former World Three members know how to get in?" Lan questioned.
"Possibly. I assume that the first thing they get when they join World Three is how to get to the Undernet."
"Well..." Lan thought hard about who to ask and what to ask the person. In his train of thought, he found himself at DenTech Town's Metroline. "Let's go back to ACDC."
"Huh?"
"I think I know who to ask."
At ACDC Town, Lan started to look around. The guy had to be somewhere! Eventually, though, he did find someone outside a building. This certain someone was a familiar face. His slightly scruffy suit, his overly fuzzy hair and the way he adjusted his glasses gave it away.
"Higsby!"
"Wha?" Higsby frantically turned round, not catching onto the fact that the boy who called him was right behind him! "Lan! Nice to see ya again!" the man smiled. He took a glance at the building. It was his chip shop, which was built and started up not too long after the school jacking. As a way to redeem himself, he decided to start his business of selling chips to the public. It was quite a success and no one hissed at Higsby for what he did anymore. He and Numberman were relieved to find that the whole thing was forgiven and forgotten by the public (but the two knew that they themselves would always remember...). Lan stopped by every now and then. As Higsby unlocked the doors to his shop, he asked Lan, "Well, what will it be?"
"Um, actually, Higsby, I need to ask you something," Lan answered, closing the door behind him.
"Huh? What is it?"
"Um..." Lan ushered Higsby behind the cardboard cutout of Numberman, for he didn't want anyone else to hear what he was about to ask. For good measure, the two crouched down. "Um, this is a strange thing to ask," Lan began in a hushed tone. "But... Well, you were once... Uh..."
"Yes? Yes?"
"Do you... know anything about... how to get to the Undernet?"
"..."
"Uh..."
Higsby, suddenly cracking into a smile, said aloud, without minding the volume of his voice, "So, you wanna get inside the Undernet, eh?"
"Higsby!" Lan sighed. "Don't be so loud!"
"Oh, sorry there." He took a peek at the shop from the Numberman cutout. Luckily, the doors were still closed and no one entered the shop. Crouching once more, he looked at Lan. "Anyway... I'll get you in. Thanks to you, I learned the error of my ways and left World Three, so it's the least I could do! Just hand me your PET and I'll do the rest."
Lan did as told. Then, Higsby entered a bunch of codes into the PET at quite a pace. If anyone else were to in the shop, they would have heard all the clicking. In a few seconds, a beep was heard.
"Alright. I sent some codes into your PET," Higsby said. "Get to the Central DenTech Area, find a large 'W3' symbol and use them to enter."
"Gotcha. Thanks, Higsby!" Lan replied.
"But, Lan, why do you need to get in?"
"Huh? Oh, we're trying to find World Three's server address."
"What? The server's deep in the Undernet!" Higsby told him. "But there are three locks, one after another, which need to be unlocked."
"Do you have any idea how to open them?"
"Unfortunately, I don't."
"Man..."
"But one of my old World Three partners is at SciLab now. He left and regrets having worked for them. He might be able to help you out."
"So, before we get into the Undernet, we'll need to know how to open the three locks in it, huh?" Lan said to Megaman.
"It would seem like the best solution," the Navi replied.
"Sigh... But we don't have any time to waste! Thanks, Higsby, but we need to get going now!"
"Alright, my friend! Good luck!" Higsby cheered.
And so, Lan and Megaman headed for SciLab once again, only this time, there was no Chaud to deal with. Thank goodness for that, Lan figured. Regardless, there was a mission that needed to be accomplished. After Lan arrived at SciLab, he asked each scientist if they knew a man called Higsby. He could have plainly asked them if they were former World Three members, but that would have made him look suspicious. One of the scientists Lan asked knew who Higsby was, so he asked Lan why he needed the information. Lan explained everything, leaving little details behind, and the scientist was following what he was talking about.
"I see... Many people like Higs and myself quit World Three for different reasons," he told Lan. "I'll give you a code for one of the locks, but I'll need your PET." After receiving it, he entered another code on it and handed it back. "The other locks can be open with more codes," he said. "Two other ex members of World Three should have them. Remember, look out for a young lady and an old man."
With these clues, Lan set out again. However, the problem was where to find a young lady and an old man. By Megaman's suggestion, Lan headed back to DenTech Town to find the young lady. The one Chaud questioned seemed like the woman the scientist was talking about. However, she was nowhere to be found, even after a thorough search through all five sections, even after repeated thorough searches. During another cycle, there was one woman which piqued Lan's interest.
"Ms Mari!?"
"Ha ha! Not quite," the woman chuckled. She had the same hair, skin, eyes and even voice! However, what made her different was her attire. "I'm Mari's twin sister, Yuri! She only wishes she was as good a teacher as me!" Lan chuckled at the joke, but the laugh died down rather quickly because he had something important to ask her. She may have been the wrong person, but it was worth a shot.
"Um... You wouldn't happen to know about... World Three, do you?"
"M-Me? I don't... know what you're talking about!" Ms Yuri laughed. Like Lan's laugh, her's died down rather quickly, as well. "Wait, let me see that Navi of yours, boy." She took a look at Megaman, who gasped at her resemblance to Ms Mari. Then, she sighed. "Mari told me about this Navi..." Turning to Lan, she said, "You know, I've been waiting for someone like you to appear. Yes, I'm an ex member of World Three. I've been playing the fool trying to hide from them... But enough about me. Why do you want to find ex World Three members, hm?"
"Well, you see, I need to get into the Undernet," Lan began to explain. "But I learned that there's locks that need to be opened to get to World Three's server and that three ex members have them. Are you one of them?"
"Yes, I am. Hand me your PET." Lan did as told and saw Yuri enter something on it. "You know, I wouldn't give this to just anyone, but I suppose you're ready. Here. I entered a code for the second lock you need. I have faith that you can stop World Three."
"Thanks, ma'am," Lan simply said before taking off. Man, if Ms Mari found out that Ms Yuri once worked for World Three, she wouldn't know what to do!
There was one more ex member that had a code. Bearing in mind what the scientist from SciLab had said, Lan returned to ACDC Town. There was an old man there that recently moved into the town.
"He never said why he moved in," Megaman said to Lan on the train. "Who knows? Maybe World Three is linked to it."
"Hm, he always did get more stressed than usual when he heard that World Three was up to something," Lan mused. After a good thirty five minutes, Lan got off the train and went around to find the old man. When he found him, he asked about the lock and if he knew anything about World Three.
"So, you think I know something about World Three, huh?"
"Well, not really 'know' about them, but..."
"Ah, who am I kidding?" the elderly man interrupted the boy. "No point being senile anymore. Yes, I was a member, but not just any member. I was Wily's assistant!" Lan resisted the urge to gasp. "But I'm no longer with World Three because that Yahoot fellow took my place. I've been replaced, you see."
"Man. That stinks," Megaman frowned.
"You bet your data it does," the man said to him. After asking Lan to hand over his PET and after receiving it, he entered the third and final code for the third lock. "Perhaps the one to stop the EndGame will be you, my boy, and not an Official! Heh heh heh!"
"Hah hah. I'll be sure to save everyone from them!" Lan smiled. After that conversation, he headed for home.
Lan's mother was just about to leave for some shopping and the two of them said their goodbyes. This left Lan alone in the house and no one to stop him from entering the Undernet. Lan heard rumors of an 'Undernet' before in school, which made claims about it being extremely dangerous, a one way ticket to deletion for a Navi. But that didn't stop Lan and Megaman from entering.
Another year gone by in my life, but not much has changed. Maybe it's best this way. If you couldn't guess already, it's my birthday today. Once again, I've turned a year older! Hurray! But here I am, giving something to you guys: the next chapter a day early! Updates will resume on Sundays, starting next week.
Gameplay wise, all Lan does at this point is go back and forth from place to place. I've changed things, so Lan and Megaman received the Memos before they find the Undernet, so I didn't have to write Megaman going in, out, then back in. It's easier for me. :)
Anyway, folks, thanks for reading. I'll see you guys next week!
-Have a great day, week, month, whatever, and stay upbeat, y'all!-