It had been a while since Model X hadn't felt the presence of another Biometal with him.
'Vent! Trust Model Z!' Model X called out. Model Z was his best, and greatest friend. He knew he could pull through. Vent shifted his stance.
"Alright." he said. Model X gazed at the Chosen Ones. Model Z shone, and paralyzed them all.
'I know more about the Biometals than anybody else.' he said. Even more than he did. Model X frowned in his mind.
'Now, Vent! You can go rescue Ashe!' he said. Vent turned around.
"Got it! Model Z, be safe!" he said. Model X was certain his old friend smirked at those words. Vent charged down hallways, up walls, and through teleporters. He charged up a buster shot, and Model X slammed it forward. "Ashe!" Vent yelled, looking around. Model X stared at the sky. It was torn, shattered, like a million fragments of glass.
'Vent, something is wrong.' Model X said. Vent nodded, and Model X could feel the worry growing inside of him.
"I can feel it too, partner. Hopefully the Guardians have decided to back off. Things are about to get even uglier." he said. Model X nodded, agreeing to that. He saw Ashe the same moment Vent did. "Ashe!" Vent sprang from the ledge overhead, twisting aside as a piece of debris almost hit him. "We're falling!" he said, not so much an observation, but thoughts becoming words. He landed, and hoisted Ashe into his arms.
"Model F and Model L would be teasing me so much right now." Vent mumbled. Model X felt a twinge of laughter in his Biomatch's core. He chuckled. Vent dashed down the railings, springing up and over debris seemingly floating to the sky. But that was just because they were falling. The rend in the sky split again, rumbling low and deep. Model X could feel the power racing through his form.
'Vent, we don't have a lot of time.' he said. It may have just been a whisper, because Vent didn't seem to hear him. Something was cancelling out the Megamerge, something was tearing him apart from Vent. There was a ripple of power, a breath of a pause, then a rolling wave, like an explosion. Model X cried out, knowing he was being thrown, but he wasn't sure where. It had to have been hours, even days before he awoke again. It was dark, it was cluttered, and Model X was certain his body would have been covered in microfractures twice over if he were Reploid.
He tried to get enough energy to move, but his form didn't respond. Model X turned his gaze to the sky. It was covered in stars, but not the ones he knew. Skyscrapers from ages long by dotted the horizon, and trucks with steel frames rumbled down an overpass. Model X stared, for it was all he could do.
'Where...am I?'
Many years later...
"Megamerge!" Model X's eyes gleamed.
'MEGA System, online.' he said. Lan and Megaman waited for the feeling to race through. Just like always, Model X's unlimited energy flew through their bodies. Lan grinned, feeling armour coming on, and Megaman stood on the edge of leaving the PET. As soon as the light died down, Megaman pushed his way through the screen, and landed in the real world. He landed lightly on the ground, and spun around.
"I'm ready!" he said. Lan grinned, clenching a fist to let the X Buster appear.
"Yeah!" he said.
'It's just training. Please, do not get too reckless.' Model X said, voice ringing in their heads. Lan nodded, smiling wide.
"I know, I know." he said. Megaman pulled out his X Buster in a swift, smooth motion. He and Lan turned in unison to a pile of rubble. Lan set his hand on his buster, and Megaman simply just held it. They charged up a shot, and launched it at the rubble pile. Bits of it flew away, and two small craters were on the edge. Lan frowned. "Ah! I was aiming there!" he said, pointing to something. Megaman shrugged.
"How close were you?" he asked. Lan stared, narrowing his eyes.
"I guess pretty close." he said. He glanced at Megaman. "What about you?" he asked. Megaman opened his mouth, then stopped.
"Ah, I don't think I picked an exact target." he said. Lan frowned.
"Aw, come on!" he said.
'Training.' Model X said, a little more forceful. Lan and Megaman glanced aside.
"Sorry." they said in unison. Model X glowed warm.
'It's alright. Just don't stay up too late this time.' he said. Lan shrugged. Megaman raised an eyebrow.
"You still have your final test to hand in, Lan. It's going to be important on your report card!" he said. Lan frowned.
"It's not gonna change my grade any..." he trailed off, aiming a few smaller shots at the rubble. Megaman sighed.
"You're impossible. Please, don't try to put the blame on me this year. The grades are entirely your responsibility." he said, picking a few targets to hit. Lan dashed up, ready to try a wall jump.
"You help me with math." he said. Megaman dashed up.
"Helping is different than doing the work!" he said.
'You are the one putting the work into the assignments.' Model X added. Lan got to the top of the old wall, and sat down at the top.
"C'mon, stop it." he said. He grinned a bit. "I just know that my Virus Busting grade's gonna be great!" he said. Megaman got to the top, landing lightly.
"That I can agree with. We certainly got a lot of practice against the WWW." he said with a smile. Lan smiled back, then stared into the distance. Megaman sat down too. Lan leaned back.
"Ne, what kind of report card do you think you'd get, Megaman?" he asked. Megaman leaned back, staring at the sky.
"Well... I can't really be sure. I think I'd at least get a consistent grade." He laughed a little. "You should be a little glad that I don't bring back a card. Then Mama would have to compare them." he said. Lan blanched.
"Hey! That's not fair!" he said. Megaman chuckled a little, and just let himself enjoy a bit of time in the real world with his NetOp.
Lan was lying on his desk, face first. His report card was held out. Megaman honestly was a little concerned.
"It can't be that bad, can it, Lan?" he asked. Lan just groaned, and put it into his bag. Model X yelped out in surprise.
'Lan! I thought you said you did your homework!' he said. Lan winced.
"I did." he whispered, and swung his backpack over his shoulder. Dex looked glum too, and he and Lan shared a wince. Yai sighed and walked right past.
"I'll see you guys later. I'm going home to take a nice, long bath for the start of my vacation." she said. Maylu followed her out.
"Roll and I were going to do some shopping at the Square. See you later." she said. Dex dashed away.
"Gutsman and I are goin' to the Square too! Can we come with you?" he called out as Maylu went down the hall. Lan pushed himself away from the desk, and groaned.
"Why does summer vacation always have to start out this bad?" he asked. Megaman glanced up.
"You might want to just show the report card to Mama to get it over and done with." he said. Lan groaned again, and dashed away from his desk.
"Mama's not going to be happy."
She was not.
"Lan Hikari! What do you have to say for yourself?" she asked, flipping the report card around to face Lan. Lan backed up an inch. He glanced down at the PET.
"Let's get out of here, Megaman." he whispered. Megaman crossed his arms.
"Don't you dare, Lan!" he said.
'Lan. Apologize to your mom. Maybe you could get a start on your summer homework?' Model X suggested. Lan flinched.
"Model X..." he mumbled silently. He slowly glanced up at Mama. She still looked upset. Lan stuck his hands behind his head, not meeting her gaze. He really didn't like making Mama upset, and he really didn't like getting a punishment from her. Like, not being able to go on the Internet punishment. And it was even worse because Megaman, politely, complained. "Sorry." Lan mumbled. Mama's gaze softened, and she sighed. She bent down to his level.
"I'm glad that you passed your courses, just barely. But you really, really need to put more effort into studying. Before you decide to do anything today, I'd like you to review your summer material. Alright?" she said. Lan winced slightly.
"Okay." he mumbled. Mama smiled a little, then glanced up at Megaman.
"Make sure he gets it done, alright, Megaman?" she said. Megaman smiled bright.
"Of course, Mama!" he said. Lan glared at him. Traitor. Mama smiled back and left the room. Lan groaned and sat down at this desk.
"Why does summer vacation always have to start like this?" he asked. Megaman crossed his arms.
"It's because you never take your schoolwork seriously. If you put a little more effort into it, this wouldn't happen every single year." he said. Lan glared at his Navi. Model X hovered over, 'nodding.'
'I'm afraid he's right, Lan. The good new is that the more effort you put into your schoolwork, the more time you'll have to do the things you-' Model X suddenly gasped. Lan stiffened.
"Model X?" he asked. Megaman looked at the Biometal worriedly.
"Model X what's wrong?" he asked. Model X pulsed and glowed irregularly. He caught on a breath, and shook his 'head.' Lan's eyes widened, hearing somebody talking distantly.
'It's here! They've been activate- augh!' Megaman jumped.
"One of the Biometals." he said. Model X shook his 'head.'
'Model Z... What happened to you?' he mumbled. Lan and Megaman looked at Model X worriedly.
"Is he alright?" he asked. Model X turned to face him, glow brightening slightly.
'He always manages to be, somehow.' he said. He looked back at Lan. 'Now don't worry. Focus on your work for now.' he said, and settled down on the desk. Lan gave a sideways glance.
"Okay..." he said, and turned his attention towards his homework. He could hear Model X whispering something faintly though.
Megaman wandered around the square. It was pretty nice out today. And there were a lot more NetNavis too. Probably because school had just let out.
"Mega!" Megaman glanced up, seeing Roll and Gutsman up ahead. He waved.
"Hi, guys!" he called, and went up. Roll took out a small program and activated it.
"What do you think, Mega?" she asked, spinning around. With a shower of data, a summery red dress appeared over Roll. Megaman smiled.
"I think it looks great on you, Roll!" he said. Roll blushed.
"Maylu and I were looking around. We're thinking of matching!" she said, squealing a bit. Gutsman scratched his head.
"I don't get it, guts." he said. Megaman shrugged a little too.
"It's just something girls like doing I guess." he said. Gutsman lifted his head up, and suddenly seemed to remember something.
"Guess what, guts? The BBS says something about people being given City NetBattler Licenses, guts!" he said. A screen with Lan's face suddenly popped up.
"City NetBattlers?!" he exclaimed. A screen with Dex's face appeared too.
"Yeah! After you blew up the WWW, the Officials wanna have more people that can deal with NetCrime!" he said. Lan grinned wide, and pumped a fist.
"Awesome!" he exclaimed. He looked at Megaman. "Megaman! Let's check that out right now! I wanna be a City NetBattler!" he said. Megaman turned around.
"That does sound interesting. We'd at least have an excuse to legally deal with all the NetCrime we seem to come across." he said, rubbing behind his head.
'I agree. You'll have more strength to deal with evil if you're with a team.' Model X said, voice ringing in Megaman's head. Lan's grin got wider.
"Alright! Let's do this!" he said. Megaman smiled wide and started running towards the BBS boards. Without warning, Glide appeared in a burst of pixels.
"Everybody! Miss Yai's in-" he pressed a hand to his forehead and stumbled to the ground. Megaman dashed over.
"Glide!" he said. Roll gasped. "
What happened to you?" she asked, trying to heal him. Glide winced.
"Miss Yai is in trouble. There's a gas leak in the house, and ventilators aren't working. She's trapped in her bathroom." he said. Megaman looked up at Lan.
"We'll need to put getting the license on hold." he said. Lan nodded.
"Definitely. Our friends come first. Get ready to jack-out, Megaman!" Lan said. Megaman nodded, then looked down at Glide.
"We'll help Yai, alright?" he said. Glide nodded, sucking in a breath.
"Please hurry. I can't bare the thought of Miss Yai dying like this." he said. Megaman nodded, and let Lan jack him out.
They had to battle a NetNavi named Airman to rescue Yai. Lan gritted his teeth as he walked home after the whole thing.
"I can't believe his NetOp wanted to hurt Yai just because she was rich." he said, looking at Megaman. Megaman nodded in agreement.
"There was something, ominous about this whole thing. Didn't Airman's NetOp mention something about being part of a group?" he asked. Lan paused.
"Right." he said. Model X floated out of Lan's backpack.
'This sounds like the WWW all over again. I think it would be best to get those liscenes sooner rather than later.' he said. Lan looked at Model X.
"Even though you don't like fighting?" he asked. Model X glowed a bit.
'While we all must try and strive for peace, we also can't stand by when we can be helping. Besides, the two of you have good hearts. I know you won't misuse your strength.' he said. Lan smiled.
"Thanks, Model X." he said. Megaman nodded.
"Yeah. We won't let you down." he said. Model X turned towards him, and Megaman was certain he was smiling.
'And I know you won't.'
Another Time, Another Place...
Lan was used to the weird dreams of somebody calling out for him. Most of the time it was that gentle, powerful voice that made him think of Papa. He heard a rough voice once, yelling. He heard the other voices a lot more evenly. There was the one that had a voice like him, but maybe more breezy. There was the giggling voice, the one that teased him. Lan's favorite voice was the wild one, always sounding fired up. The quiet voice made him think of Megaman, if Megaman voice was deep. One night, he found out Megaman had the dreams too. And he could remember what they said clearly!
"I'll write them all down for you, Lan." he said.
'I'm still tired, but I'll wait for you.'
'I can feel hope and justice in your heart.'
'I feel like you would be good friends with me!'
'Your blazing fighting spirit, it burns hotter than a volcano!'
'Complete, utter devotion. Yes, I believe we should meet.' Lan propped his chin up on his hand.
"They're all so excited." he said. Megaman nodded in agreement.
"I really do want to meet them. It's like, I guess old friends reaching out with a handshake." he said. Lan grinned.
"Then we're going to find them!" he cheered, pumping his fist up into the air. Megaman scratched his cheek. They were only seven, and who knew where those voices could be?