GT: Here we go! The end of the first Round of the N1GP!
Oda stifled a yawn in the early morning before taking a sip of coffee. He didn't focus on Ciel as she walked out and soon sat down across from him with her own cup, hers being hot chocolate instead of coffee. Oda grasped half of a berry and cream danish while Ciel took the other half. The two sat in content silence as they ate and drank.
Ciel finished her drink and put it on the coaster, "Daddy, who was Mikhail Cossack?"
"? Why are you asking?"
"Famous told me to look into him yesterday. My credentials aren't high enough to access everything that piqued my curiosity," Ciel replied.
Oda sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "Of course he did…" he looked at Ciel, "Ciel, there are many…and I mean many things about that man that people don't want escaping. The only reason I know is because I was the officer who had taken him away to be exported back to Sharo and he told me as a way to confess his perceived sins and failures."
"What did he do?"
"That's the thing: he was blamed for something he didn't do," Oda replied, annoyance and frustration heavy on his face, "The people higher than any of us chose to blame him for the worst calamity and the NetNavi he made when it was a different NetNavi and a bug that were the cause. Something Tadashi Hikari himself was willing to take all the blame for."
"What?!" Ciel gasped.
"I feel you, Ciel," Oda grumbled, "I hate it, but…" he shook his head, "Cossack is a good man, like Yuichiro Hikari."
'...What did Cossack do?' Ciel pondered, maintaining her curious expression.
"He'll be allowed to leave Sharo later this year, but he's been banned from ever customizing or creating NetNavis," Oda went on, "He's quite skilled with robotics and has gotten offers from Cyber City to move there once his ban is lifted."
Ciel nodded, "I hope I can meet him."
"Hah!" Oda laughed with a smile, "He'd be excited to meet you and your creative mind, my little genius! When he does, I'll personally go out of my way to have a meeting set up!"
Ciel beamed at that before giving him a disc, "Thanks, Daddy. I finished this last night before bed. It's a tracer that can be attached to the ElecCode." She frowned, "I couldn't make the fake code. The ElecCode is just too complex to duplicate to not be as powerful without a NetNavi noticing that it isn't one of the Elemental Codes."
"It's alright, Ciel," Oda assured, gently patting her shoulder, "The tracer alone is brilliant. If WWW is successful in stealing the ElecCode, we'll be able to find out where they took it and will likely be where the other three are as well."
"I suppose so," Ciel noted, still looking disappointed with herself.
Oda chuckled, "Don't worry now. You're brilliant and you have a great future ahead of you. Just look at what you've done so far. Quite a few different product in IPC have your fingerprints on them with a far better quality to them than other competitors, leader of an up and coming organization to protect people through the use of the Network and the bonds between NetOp and NetNavi utilizing gadgets you've built that have done wonders for them." he did a small cough into his fist as he adopted an embarrassed blush, "Especially the disguises what with Masa's idea for them all…"
Ciel could help but nod in agreement, 'All it was were masks and capes…and their civilian outfits…'
"Plus, you got recognized by the Ministry of Science for what you've done so far, even if a few of them are a bit miffed that they way you made some things can't be made Network compatible," Oda went on.
"Of course I made them incompatible. Reading not just your case files when you closed the cases, but also from personal experience, too much Network compatibility is why we get such major issues from small things," Ciel replied, "Just imagine what happens when a terrorist organization or a simple virus outbreak messes with the toilets."
"Yeah…That…That is why I don't buy the current model of toilet," Oda grimaced, "I'd be flushed with embarrassment over what'd happen there." 'Especially when you both start going through puberty…'
"...Daddy~!" Ciel groaned, putting her head on the table as he started to chuckle.
"What? Got no interest in some potty humor?"
"Ugh…" Ciel groaned further, yet had a smile on her lips at the warmth in her from the parental affection.
"You holding up alright, Numberman?" Ashe asked, the trio of NetNavis aware of Vent's status sitting together with the two reincarnations.
"I believe if life were an animation from the mid to late 1900s Ameropa, I'd still be pulling splinters of varying size out of my backside," Numberman admitted, "However, this does mean that Higsby will be working alongside Ribitta and myself with Toadman on explaining any BattleChip usage in the tournament. With how diverse the competition is, it will be rather riveting to partake in giving out trivia we've gathered over the years on several of them."
"Like how what may be rare in one country, it may just be common in another, right?" Vent guessed.
"Indeed," Numberman replied.
"I'm dreadfully ashamed I could not obtain a victory yesterday for Lady Yai," Glyde noted with a frown.
"Youse at least got ta fight wit' yer all. Lousy sand NetNavi and his SetSand field…" Gutsman grumbled, "Couldn't do a thing 'cept fer punching."
'It's strange to see Desertman having a NetOp when I remember he was a Darkloid last time,' Vent thought, 'Will the other Darkloids be different somehow?'
"Hey, there is one upside to it all," Ashe noted, earning looks from the two, "If I get to fight the ones ya lost to, I can get an A-Trans outta them and you can practice with me for a rematch!"
"Nice," Gutsman chuckled, giving a thumbs up.
"Oh, yes, Ashe. I believe I may have a lead on your origins," Numberman spoke up.
"Huh?" Ashe looked at the green NetNavi.
"Last night, I received this email addressed to me about a post I put on a programmer board," Numberman replied as he brought up an EMail.
"'My NetOp recognized this kind of programming. If your friend you're doing this for is interested in knowing a possible connection to their creation, at noon tomorrow I will be waiting in a training simulator in the Beta Dome at the N1 Grand Prix,'" Ashe read.
"Do you have a match at that time?" Vent asked.
"No clue," Ashe replied before her eyes glowed for a moment, "Oh! EMail for Maylu." she checked it, "And perfect timing!"
Vent's eyes glowed for a moment as well and he quickly checked Lan's EMail, "It's the roster for the next set of matches for the first round."
"Hell yeah!" Ashe whooped, "Looks like I'm fighting Desertman today, guys!"
"Good luck out dere, Ashe," Gutsman warned.
"And whom are you facing, Sir Vent?" Glyde questioned.
"Magicman," Vent replied, causing them all to tense.
"Vent…You need to be careful," Numberman warned, "Magicman is the most dangerous of all of the NetNavi is WWW for valid reason. He's why Lan and Maylu needed that surgery."
"I know," Vent replied, scowling as he remembered he had been affected this time by the hypnosis, 'Am I…more human this time because of my last life? Just what else is going affect Ashe and I when it comes to things we used to be immune to but are vulnerable to now?' "What else does he have up his sleeves?"
"His namesake for one," Numberman replied, "Magicman can create elemental attacks such as tidal waves, mystical flames, lightning bolts from the sky, or even spikes from the ground. He can use runic arrays to manifest Viruses for him to swarm his opponents with, leaving them vulnerable to retaliation from him. Invisibility, levitation, teleportation…and, of course, hypnosis that only affects humans."
"He's also good a rhymin', guts," Gutsman added, "From da TV and even hearin' 'im fightin' dat Protoman guy he wouldn't stop usin' dem."
Vent frowned as he nodded, 'Seems to be his regular setup…but he's stronger in this timeline?'
"Aw shoot," Ashe frowned as she looked at the schedule, "Vent, you're fighting when I have to see that NetNavi."
"Come to think of it, have ya told Maylu 'bout dis?" Gutsman asked.
"...Um…" Ashe began before a ringing went off from Vent.
"Huh? Phone call for me?" Vent pondered as he answered it, "Hello?"
"Megaman, help!"
"Papa?" Vent pondered, "What's wrong?"
"I was working on some vital data for SciLab when a group of strange NetNavis stole it! Please, you have to help! I was able to track them to near your homepage!"
"So glad I got that bookmark for here," Vent noted, "I'll be right on it. Lan may need to be woken up, though, if I want to be at my best."
"Your mother says she's on it," Yuichiro replied, "Please hurry!"
"Well duty calls," Vent noted as he got up, gave Ashe a kiss, and ran off.
"Mmm…" Ashe began to follow when Numberman beeped with an email notification.
"Ah! Ashe, wait! They had to reschedule! They're available in the lobby of the hotel Network in five minutes!" Numberman yelped.
"Ugh…Of course," Ashe sighed.
"Go! Go! Go!"
"I don't wanna die!"
"Oh crap!"
Three tall and lanky NetNavis ran around a corner, all similar in appearance. Each one had black bodysuits with a brownish gray armor over their bodies with a skull-like helmet over the upper halves of their heads with jagged 'teeth,' red eyes, and three spikes jutting out of the sides and top. All three were also littered in burns, bruises and holes in their bodies. Megaman Model X dashed around the corner, firing several Buster shots at them and answering at least one question and possibly the others as well. The trio soon came upon a condensed sphere of black, purple, and blue energy and quickly jumped through it save for the last one.
"So long, copper!" he mocked before jumping through it with the pilfered data…but not before a Charge Shot hit him in the rear, "FUCK! MY ASS!"
"Get back here!" Megaman X snapped.
"Hold on! The readings from that sphere match that of the thieves," Yuichiro advised, making Megaman X skid to a halt, "Give me a few minutes to analyze it in case it's a trap."
"Gh…" Megaman X grit his teeth, 'This never happened either…'
"Is this a mass of condensed EM Waves?"
"!?" Megaman X looked at the sphere, hearing a voice on the other end.
"Is it some sort of enemy?"
"...Hey!" Megaman X called out to the sphere, "Is anyone over on the other side of this thing?"
"Hey, can you hear it? There's a voice coming from the other side…!"
"Oh good. You really can hear me then," Megaman X sighed in relief, "Hey, listen! Right now, this sphere is being analyzed for me to safely go through. However, we don't have time! I don't know who you are, but I feel like you're someone who can help us! This thief stole vital data from SciLab! They were strange, as if they were here but also not at the same time. They bypassed the security with others that I managed to take down, but he escaped into this sphere and to your side of it. Please, help find the data for us!"
"Well…helping others out is pretty much my thing…I don't think this voice is the voice of a bad person."
[Seems they're talking to someone on their end] X noted.
"Okay. I'll help you," the voice assured.
"Thank you," Megaman X thanked.
Ashe looked around, "So…where is this guy?"
"We're meant to meet him in this area," Numberman replied as he looked around as well before spotting a large NetNavi made of a red alloy with their limbs made of steel cables and a metal orange mohawk approaching them, "Hm?"
"Yo," the NetNavi greeted, "So yer Ashe, eh?"
"Yeah…That's me. Who's askin'?" Ashe questioned.
"Name's Punk," the NetNavi replied, "My NetOp asked ta talk to ya."
A screen popped up and Ashe quirked a brow in recognition of the brown-haired, sunglass-wearing man on the screen, "Hello. My name is Meijin Kawaguchi. But people prefer to call me 'Famous.'"
"Nice ta meet ya," Ashe replied, 'He never had a NetNavi back then. Gotta let Mega know later.'
"I'm curious to know why you asked a former WWW agent to post questions about your origins."
"Well…That's because I have zero clue," Ashe replied, "The first thing I ever remember is meeting my adorable and strong little sister Maylu six years ago for our birthday. It was her insistence that we share it."
Famous nodded, "I see. So you have no clue as to your origins."
"None whatsoever," Ashe huffed.
"Yeesh…That sucks," Punk noted.
"Indeed. With how unique her coding is, we've had little leads on it," Numberman noted.
"Well…In that case, I do have one idea," Famous replied, "The best lead you'll get is to speak to Raika and Searchman about a man named 'Mikhail Cossack.'"
"Cossack? Why would a disgraced scientist have to do with Ms. Ashe?" Numberman pondered.
"Who?" Ashe tilted her head.
"Raika is working with security here on orders from Sharo to keep note of people of interest," Famous informed, "He owes me a favor, so I'll send him a message."
"Ah! W-Wait a sec! I…haven't told Maylu I was looking into my origins," Ashe admitted.
"Seriously?"
"I want to learn it first in case it's anything bad," Ashe replied, "I'd rather her hear it from me if it's bad than anyone else."
"Quite noble of you," Famous commented.
"Thank you, sir," Ashe thanked before noticing the time, "Ack! I gotta get going. Just tell Numberman here about the deets!"
Once she left, Numberman looked at Famous, "Isn't Cossack banned from working on NetNavis due to…"
"I'm surprised you're aware of that information."
"WWW had people inside of several high places. Roze and I were able to provide several key pieces of detail for their removal and detainment."
Famous nodded, "He is, and if he was involved with Ashe's creation…"
"The analysis is complete!" Yuichiro informed, "It's unstable and will likely collapse after two trips through. This is because it's composed of compressed electromagnetic radiation trying to exist inside of a digital landscape."
"So the other side is likely a space made of the stuff?" Megaman X assumed.
"Most likely."
"You may have to suit up with Model Z to be safe, Vent," Lan advised.
"Gotcha," Megaman X replied, "Model X! Model Z! Double MegaMerge!" in a flash, he switched to Megaman ZX and looked at the sphere, "Okay…"
"Hey! Can you hear me? I've got the data back!"
"Really?! Ah, that's so helpful!" Megaman ZX sighed in relief.
"So how do I give this to you? Should I go through or…?"
"No need for that. I'm coming through to you," Megaman ZX replied, "Stand back now, alright?"
Megaman ZX took in a deep breath before jumping through the sphere. A moment passed and he landed on his feet on the other side of the sphere…and blinked a few times. He looked around before his eyes settled on a boy before him. He looked no older than Lan was with spiked up purple hair. He was donned in a navy bodysuit with lighter blue armor over the torso and shoulders. His right hand had a dark blue glove with blue armor up to the elbow with bulky blue armor on his lower legs and feet. He wore a blue helmet with spiked antennae on the sides with a maroon visor over his eyes. The oddest thing, though, was the right hand…which was the head of some sort of angular creature with green plasma coming out of the back like fire.
He mentally chuckled, 'He sorta looks like me in my original life as a NetNavi.' he gave him a calm, gentle smile, shifting his body into an eased position, "Hey there. Thanks for your help."
"You're…" the boy began before the sphere began to shake and distort.
"Shoot. It's already destabilizing!" Megaman ZX tensed before the boy ran up and handed him the stolen data, "Thanks for getting this back for us." he looked at his right hand before smirking and held it palm up, forming a sphere of data, "I'll give you this in return for your hard work. I hope you use it well."
"Th-Thanks, but, um…who are…?"
"Ah. Where are my manners?" Megaman ZX chuckled, "I'm Megaman, Megaman Model ZX. My NetOp is Lan Hikari."
"M-Megaman?!" the boy gawked.
"Yep. Take care now," Megaman ZX nodded before jumping through the sphere once more, landing on the other side and turned to see it fizzle out into nothingness, "...Well that was something."
[It's strange…] X noted [That boy seemed so surprised when you introduced yourself.]
"Seemed that way to me, too," Megaman ZX agreed, "...Think we'll meet him again someday?"
[Possibly] Z replied [For now, though, let's get this back to your dad and wait for the others to arrive.]
"Right," Megaman ZX nodded, changing back to Vent and logged out, "We've got the data back."
"Oh thank goodness…" Yuichiro sighed in relief as he pulled out a SubPeT and transferred the data over to it, "This is pretty vital stuff."
"What is it?" Lan asked.
"It's research data on a phenomenon in NetNavis that occurs when they reach a certain pinnacle of their current power that we've started to call the StyleChange," Yuichiro explained.
Vent smiled a little, fondly remembering those times when he had that power before adopting a thinking posture, 'Do I still want that power or is my body too far advanced that StyleChange wouldn't work for me anymore?' he closed his eyes, his mind flashing to massive fangs, programming bugs, and a tiny Lan clenched in his right hand, before opening them, 'I'd rather find a different solution to that this time.'
"Hello from the Beta Dome, kero! It's Toadman, reporting to you all!" Toadman beamed, "The last day of the first round is upon us, folks, and the next round is Tory Froid and his NetNavi Iceman facing Jasmine Jūnyī and her NetNavi Meddy, kero!"
Jasmine smiled across the field at Tory, "May we all have fun, Tory."
"Same here, Jasmine!" Tory replied, "Win or lose, let's try our best!"
"I wish you the best in our match, Iceman," Meddy noted, shaking hands with the tiny NetNavi.
"Same to you, Meddy!" Iceman beamed.
"So who do you think will win?" Alouette asked, looking up at Lan.
"Mmm…As much as I'm rooting for Tory and Iceman…I think it'll be Jasmine and Meddy," Lan replied.
'It's really surprising. Originally, this NetBattle was Roll and Iceman,' Vent thought.
[Who won?] Fafnir asked.
'Roll, of course, but…we never watched it,' Vent admitted, 'We were more focused on mastering the LifeSword and didn't pay attention to it. It was a major difference from how we do it now since we didn't have FullSynchro back then.' he felt a chilling glare aimed at him, 'I apologized! I apologized!' He gave a mental sigh of relief to himself when he felt it vanish, 'Trust me, Roll and Maylu were both miffed at us and took until our tag team match for them to forgive us.'
[Glad it wasn't longer] Phantom noted.
'We were 11 at the time. Kids tend to flip flop on what they can hold a grudge over,' Vent shrugged.
At the signal, both began their battle. Meddy charged only for Iceman to let loose a blast of chilling air that froze the ground. A Buster formed resembling a yellow starfish and let out a large bubble at the slipping Meddy.
"What's that BattleChip?" Lan pondered.
"For those unaware, that BubbleStar1 is a unique BattleChip one can only find in Electopia's Cyber City and coastal regions of Ameropa…except in the state of Washington. Oddly, not found there," Numberman noted, sitting beside Toadman in the commentator's booth's Network.
The bubble nearly reached Meddy only to go through her as she vanished from sight. Iceman gasped before several sharpened poles of bamboo shout out under him, knocking him into the sky. Several hand-sizes pills with white and purple halves struck him, creating several explosions. A burnt Iceman fell to the floor and slowly got up, his face flushed with a purple tint.
"Ah! What's…?! Why is your HP going down so fast?!" Tory gasped.
"That's a Medi Capsule," Jasmine explained, "The purple ones give NetNavis who get hit an HP Bug."
"An HP Bug?!" Tory gasped, "Iceman, we have to do this fast! Icecubes, Download!"
Iceman swung his hands out, making a rain of giant blocks of ice the moment Meddy reappeared. The nurse-like NetNavi began to sprint, weaving through the cubes falling down at her until she slipped on a frozen patch of ground. A cube nearly got her only for the girl to teleport out of the way with an AreaSteal, appearing behind Iceman. She swiftly kicked him into the air and delivered several swift strikes, a final blow sending him flying and Logging Out.
"And it's over, kero! The winners are Jasmine and Meddy!" Toadman cheered.
"Quite a splendid battle between them," Numberman complimented.
"I really need to invest in an IceStage," Tory sighed as Jasmine walked up to him.
"Using Iceman's breath like that was quite interesting. If I didn't have an AreaSteal, you would've gotten a good hit in," Jasmine complimented.
"Thanks. And Meddy was pretty awesome, too. That capsule giving an HP Bug was impressive."
"Thanks! I have a few others, too," Meddy giggled, "May I take a few minutes to help heal up Iceman? My primary programming is for helping NetNavis and people to get better, even if I do enjoy a good NetBattle or two."
"Mmm…Sure. Thank you for helping him," Tory thanked.
"No problem," Jasmine assured as they left the field for the next battles.
'Huh…Seems meeting us sooner was better for us all,' Vent thought, 'Especially between Jasmine and Maylu.'
[What? Did Jasmine want Lan, but Lan was too dense to realize he likes Maylu?] Fafnir asked before seeing Vent look away from the orange Biometal [...Oh my god…Yeah, we are doing a better job now than you did back then]
[Focus. We're up next] Zero reprimanded.
'Right,' Vent agreed before the PeT rang, "Phone call, Lan."
"Huh?" Lan pondered as he went out to the hallway and answered it, "Hello?"
"Hey, Lan," Maylu greeted.
"What's up?"
"Ashe and I are in the Alpha Dome for our match. I wanted to call and wish you good luck," Maylu explained.
Lan chuckled, "Aw thanks, Maylu. Good luck to you, too. Vent, the Biometals, and me are gonna give it our all against whoever we're fighting."
"Same with Ashe, Axl, and myself," Maylu smiled before the call ended.
Lan pumped a fist, "Man…I'm so excited! Let's do this!"
[Attaboy, Lan!] Fafnir whooped.
'Hey, um…Can we keep going with your history? I mean, how do you know all that stuff from before you two were made?' Lan asked as he began to make his way to get ready.
[X's gramps told us] Zero replied.
'Huh? But…wasn't he dead?'
[Yes. He had converted his mind into a digital being. What you call a 'Network Navigator' these days, we called 'Cyber Elves'] X explained [He was always there for me once I had to go and find these capsules containing armor pieces he had made for me that my parents never knew about]
'Whoa~! Wait…'had to go?' Why?'
[That's…sorta my fault] Zero admitted.
[A hundred years passed for Zero and myself instead of the thirty as intended] X explained [A man that I saw as a father figure, Dr. Cain, discovered the ruins of where I had been sealed away into and awoke me. Using my body as a basis, they began to create robots that had free will known as Reploids. Of course, with free will comes the choice to become good or bad. When that happened, we called them 'Mavericks.' Reploids were made to combat these Mavericks, forming a group known as the Maverick Hunters. I didn't want to be part of it at first, just stay with Dr. Cain and help him]
[But then…they found me. I was still under the control of the virus Al installed into me and ended up killing several Maverick Hunter teams…until their leader was deployed. His name…was Sigma. The Reploid was tough and tenacious, a father to his troops. My systems detected bits that recognized Tom's designs in them, yet all the other bits were causing issues and conflicts in my programming that were also scrambling the virus. This was both a great benefit…and a horrific detriment] Zero went on [With one punch form his remaining arm, Sigma destroyed the housing unit for the virus, freeing me from its control…but infecting him with the virus]
Lan barely hid an audible gasp at that, 'You mean…?'
[A year after Zero was recovered, he had been enlisted into the Maverick Hunters. Due to the rising threat of them, Dr. Cain and Sigma convinced me to join as well. I…wasn't good at it, especially when my fellow Hunters got caught and used as shields] X turned to look at Lan [Sigma told me this: 'There are times when we Maverick Hunters cannot afford to hesitate in pulling the trigger. We must become both sword and shield for those who cannot protect themselves: that is our sworn duty']
'A sword and shield…like what our group is doing to protect everyone, right?'
[In a way] X chuckled before 'looking' somber [But…no one knew that Sigma had been infected. He was able to keep his act up and infected several others under his command, including a friend of Zero's named Storm Eagle]
[He let loose a dangerous Hunter named Vile to distract us, made us believe Vile was behind the Mavericks that had been increasing in number and occurrence, but…no. He led X and myself to a power plant…which he had converted into a missile launch base] Zero spoke [He stabbed me and threw me to the side before beating down X and forcing him to watch as Sigma fired nukes on Abel City] Lan couldn't stop the gasp that escaped him or the stumble from the horror of what Zero just said [Much of Abel City was destroyed…and countless lives lost both human and Reploid]
[He seemed so focused on turning Zero and I into Mavericks] X added [And I couldn't stand what he had done, so I went out to fight. I would defeat my former allies and take their powers to help protect those they once did. As I did, I found capsules containing the armor parts and what I thought were messages from Grandfather that turned out to be his Cyber Elf]
[We never figured it out until I found one and he recognized me as a work of Al's] Zero added [It was quite the surprise, I tell you what]
[Sad we never realized it until the planet's surface became the same way that it was when the dinosaurs went extinct] X sighed.
'WHAT?!' Lan thought.
[Sigma fused with the virus, living through it. No matter how many bodies we destroyed, he'd always come back, always desiring turning X and I Maverick] Zero explained [He was the one behind the colony drop]
'A space colony?! If it wasn't for the destruction that happened, it'd be awesome that we had that.'
[I know, right?] X chuckled, enjoying the sheer awe Lan had and the surprising level of understanding [Still…It was Grandfather's suggestion that we study Zero since he had the virus originally to come up with the cure and even made blueprints to make Zero a second body to still be active]
'Phantom told me what happened. The Elf Wars.'
[Those were terrible times. Not even the colony drop was as horrific due to the mass genocide that occurred. Tom was a blessing during that time, able to unlock all of X's potential hidden in the black boxes in his system. But doing it…drained him]
'Drained?'
[Cyber Elves can live for almost an eternity…so long as they don't use their powers. Tom used every ounce of energy he had that let him live as a Cyber Elf to let X fight with all his power and let us overcome Omega] Zero replied [We held a funeral for him for everything he did for us and humanity and machinery. I still miss him since he was like family, too]
[He told us all the stories he knew. Fortunately, his dementia didn't follow him into his life as a Cyber Elf so he remembered it all with clarity] X spoke.
'He sounds amazing, guys.'
[He was a genius and an amazing person] Zero fondly spoke [He may be unknown now, but X, Axl, and I will never forget him or what he did for everyone]
[He always dreamed of a day where the cybernetic and organic would walk hand-in-hand as equals] X spoke [An Era of Peace]
[At least he lowered his expectations of Everlasting Peace]
'Huh? Why?'
[Everlasting peace is too much of a good thing. In life, there has to be balance] X explained [Too far in the good and corruption sinks into it and forces the balance to shift. In one case, the rise of Reploids being integrated into society was an era of peace and Sigma destroying Abel City was the needed shift of balance]
Lan grimaced, 'That's sad…'
[Life is like a roller coaster, Lan. It has its ups and downs. All we can do is not puke over the side] Fafnir huffed.
[We've arrived] Phantom informed.
'Aw man…'
Vent chuckled, "Well…We just gotta beat this guy, Lan. No worries."
"Right," Lan grinned.
"You ready for this?" Ashe asked, Maylu sitting by the entry to the stage.
"Mostly," Maylu replied.
[What's up?] Axl asked.
"I'm nervous. This doesn't feel like the other three we've faced," Maylu admitted.
"True. This guy's living sand for crying out loud," Ashe agreed, "But we've fought weirder. Remember Gummyman?"
Maylu nodded, "That was a hard fight back then. We barely won."
"And we've only improved since then!"
[Plus, we have our A-Trans and our BattleChips! Let's make like a beach bully and kick down this WWW Agent's sandcastle!]
"Right," Maylu nodded, taking in a deep breath and exhaling slowly before she made her way to the terminal.
"And now, ladies and gents, it's a fan favorite all the way from ACDC Elementary! The fiery redhead Maylu Sakurai and her bombastic gunner of a NetNavi Ashe!" Ribitta declared as Q emerged from the opposite end of the arena, calm and collected, "And her opponent! Name, nationality, and just about everything else about them is unknown! From only where they know is NetBattler Q and their NetNavi, the ever shifting, all encompassing, warrior of the sands Desertman!" she looked to her side at Higsby, sitting beside her, "Any thoughts on this coming battle, Higsby?"
"Ms. Sakurai and her NetNavi are regulars at my store over in ACDC. They're quite varied in their BattleChip usage utilizing a diverse collection of them. Their opponents will have to be just as creative as them to handle this. Meanwhile, Desertman is quite fearsome on his own. His body composition makes it difficult to make any lasting damage stick, huh."
"Oh, that's getting my blood pumping! NetOps, please Jack In your NetNavis!"
"Here we go! Jack In, Roll, Power Up!" Maylu declared as she sent in Ashe.
"MEGAMERGE!"
Q hissed as a cable came out of his sleeve and shot out to the Jack-In Port, "Jack In, Desertman. Devour your foes."
Roll A landed in a crouch on the holographic display. She smirked before doing a backflip, avoiding the waves of sand as the SetSand Program triggered with Desertman's arrival. The silicone-based NetNavi let out a bellow as two sandy hands emerged from the ground to join the head.
"Think you'll be able to copy his data?" Roll A whispered.
[I can try, but don't count your BattleChips before the Viruses are all Deleted] Axl replied.
"You will be consumed by the sands of this era's sins against our leader," Desertman rasped out.
"Like I haven't heard a variation of that almost every other day," Roll A rolled her eyes.
"Whoo! Things are getting feisty and we haven't even started yet! Alright! Desertman VS Ashe! Battle Routine Set!"
"EXECUTE!" both declared.
"I must say that this battle will be one of great interest for myself," Numberman admitted.
"Really?" Toadman pondered.
"Yes, I know both of the competing NetNavis," Numberman replied as Lan and the disguised Yahoot approached their places, "Magicman is a powerful and skilled NetNavi that embraces his namesake on a level unheard of before! Meanwhile, Vent is terrifying to battle against when he goes all out. I have no idea who will have the advantage or disadvantage!"
"Amazing~!" Toadman awed, "NetOps, please Jack In your NetNavis, kero!"
In beams of lightning, Megaman X and Magicman appeared across from one another, the field having taken on a mixture of a high tech forest and a mystical castle ruins. Lan did a small double take on seeing the bits of electronics within exposed parts of the plantlife. Megaman X looked around before offering his hand to Magicman.
"Here's to a good NetBattle," he spoke.
"Hoh? Showing this level of a polite word? Mayhaps you believe me to be a tattletale bird," Magicman noted.
"Nope. Just offering my hand as a sign of fairness between you and I," he replied.
Magicman chuckled before accepting the handshake, "Very well, Megaman, I shall agree to this hand. For today, your end comes around as the way of the Beatles band!"
"We'll see if that's true or not. So until the announcers tell us to start, I'll depart," Megaman X replied, walking back to where he had arrived.
"What an amazing display of camaraderie between two opponents, folks! Let's not waste anymore time! Magicman VS Vent! Battle Routine Set!"
"EXECUTE!" both shouted as, in a flash, Megaman HX was upon Magicman, who swiftly blocked the blades with the orbs that made up his hands.
"Burn from heat most dire! I cast Magic Fire!" Magicman roared, letting loose ghostly green flames from the orbs and forcing HX to rocket back to avoid the attack, "Hmm…Your speed is swift as lightning is bright. A golem, I summon, to be your blight!"
A runic array appeared beneath Megaman HX, who jumped out of the way of a massive stone hand trying to grab at him. With a roar, a large stone golem emerged from the array. Its arms twitched and shuffled its rocks before firing a barrage at HX, forcing the Green Mega Man to start dodging the barrage.
"AreaSteal!" Lan called out, allowing HX to teleport to behind the golem and, in a flash, FX roared as he swung and shattered the Virus.
"What powerful might that punch now gave. Aqua, oh aqua! Here comes a tidal wave!" Magicman casted, creating another array and unleashed a massive tidal wave.
"Oh geeze!" FX yelped before switching to LX and jumping into the attack, the turbine in his 'ponytail' letting him shoot through the water and jump out at Magicman, halberd ready to stab, only for Magicman to use AreaSteal to avoid it, "Gh!" a blast of lightning shot out of the sky and slammed into him, "GYAAARGH!-!-!"
"GAH!" Lan cried out, stumbling a bit from the pain of the attack.
"You chose to fight in FullSynchro?" Yahoot questioned.
"Gh…O-Of course. I don't hold back against bad guys like the WWW," Lan replied, glaring at the disguised Yahoot.
"I see…In that case," Yahoot spoke before Magicman began to glow for a moment, "FullSynchro."
"?!" LX tensed.
"You've impressed my partner, now face this oncoming storm. Be devoured by this massive Virus swarm!" Magicman declared as multiple arrays appeared and a swarm of several Viruses erupted from them, all looking like different colored versions of Viruses he's seen before.
'Shit! Those are the strongest variations!' LX thought in shock.
[Why do we always deal with Mettaur?] Zero questioned in exasperation.
A-Iceman blasted a wave of icy breath and slid down the frozen trail, followed by two lion heads made of sand. He spun around and, in a flash, a humanoid magenta and yellow hornet-like Pseudoroid shot up into the air on green plasma wings, letting the heads collide with one another and crumble into a pile of sand before lightning slammed down on the sand pile from A-Elecman. Desertman reformed as Roll A landed atop the mound of glass and the two glared at one another.
"This battle is getting intense! Neither one is able to really get a hit in on the other!" Toadman exclaimed.
[The frog's right! When we get a shot in, he just dissolves into the sand and lets his hands do the attacks! And when we destroy those, he makes more!] Axl complained [What do we do?!]
'Think, think, think…' Maylu thought, biting her thumb, 'All this sand and…and…wait…' her eyes widened as an old memory tickled her thoughts.
-flashback-
Maylu stuck her tongue out in thought as she watched as A-Buckfire dashed about, kicking up the sands on the battlefield in the latest battle they were in. The opposing NetNavi, looking like he had propellers on his wrists and plane wings on his shoulders, smirked.
"You may be fast, Buckfire, but you can't dodge this! WIND!" the NetNavi roared as he summoned a large box-shaped fan with a red switch on top.
The switch flipped and a powerful blast of wind roared from the device. A-Buckfire tensed…before grunting as the sand stage began to pepper him with a barrage of chunks of sand. Maylu stifled a gasp as she saw her NetNavi's HP draining from the barrage. She checked her BattleChips and quickly inserted an Invis, letting the barrage phase through false Pseudoroid as they turned invisible. The NetNavi tensed, looking around quickly, before screaming in fright as the fan was crushed by something before Buckfire reappeared, slamming his 'fists' into the NetNavi's gut. With a gag, the NetNavi's eyes went wide as a burning pain erupted from his body from the six flaming arrows that tore him apart, forcing him to Log Out. As everyone cheered, Maylu lightly scratched a small itch that formed on her arms.
"Oh geeze! Book it! Officials!"
The NetNavis panicked, scrambling about before managing to Log Out most before several police-themed NetNavis charged into the area, lead by Japanman and Sharkman. Maylu sighed in relief, having been one of the first to pull their NetNavi out.
-end-
Maylu's eyes widened, 'Axl! Switch to Aeolus! Use the wind and blow the sand at him!'
[Say what?!]
'Trust me!'
[Errr…Okay, Maylu. I'm trusting ta] Axl replied [Ashe, swap for Aeolus!]
'Right!' Roll A agreed, flashing into A-Aeolus and shooting up into the air.
"Blow the sand away, Roll! Tornado, Download!"
"Blow the…Ohh~!" A-Aeolus realized as winds gathered around his blades.
Desertman roared as several condensed cubes of sandstone rose from the stage and fired at the flying NetNavi l, who nimbly dodged and weaved around them. With a roar, A-Aeolus swung his blades, unleashing an electrified tornado from them. Desertman prepared to throw more sandstone only to freeze up as he noticed the sands being pulled into the tornado. Desertman's roars gave way to horrified screams as he was sucked up into the tornado. In a flash, A-Atlas landed on her feet.
"HeatShot, Triple Download!" Maylu declared.
A-Atlas's gauntlets shined brightly as both realized what it was. The girls grinned as the NetNavi of the duo aimed her guns at the tornado.
"Program Advance! HeatSpread!" A-Atlas roared out, unleashing a massive stream of flames that collided with the tornado, creating an explosion and flash of light that sooned settled, revealing a frozen reverse spiral of glass with a glass Desertman frozen within.
In a flash, Roll A lunged at the sculpture and, with a roar, swung the HeroSword Maylu sent her and cleaved it in two. Desertman's form glowed before he Logged Out. Q stumbled back in stunned shock as his masked face focused on Maylu.
"It's over! In a stunning shocker, Maylu and Ashe move on to the next round, kero!" Toadman cheered.
"Remarkable! Simply remarkable! I never expected to witness a HeatSpread Program Advance to appear this early on!" Numberman exclaimed in shock, "For those unaware, a Program Advance is where you use a combination of three to five BattleChips in a sequence that creates a power far greater than before! But knowing the combination is only half the battle to achieving the power to use one. You must have a close bond to your NetNavi and them to you."
'Here's hoping Lan's handling his fight,' Maylu thought, waving bashfully at the cheering crowd.
Megaman X panted, looking around at the derezzing Deleted Viruses surrounding him along with all the fresh new ones, 'Looks like we're gonna need to use ZX…'
[True. I was hoping to keep it secret from WWW until we were fully ready to confront them, but…] X agreed.
[But desperate times] Zero noted.
Megaman X nodded. He charged at the Viruses and, in a flash, ZX cleaved through a gray and silver Mettaur before shooting several plasma shots at a black and crimson Swordy. He became a blur, ripping into several more powerful Viruses.
'Interesting…He's never used this one before,' Yahoot thought.
In the crowd, Maddy grit her teeth as she growled under her breath, "That brat was holding back on us…"
"Yikes, that's a real shocker," Zap gulped while sitting beside her, "And this one seems to be his strongest yet. Look at it shredding those Viruses!"
"Aye," Match agreed, making the two look to see him walking over, "Just got here. The lassies turned Desertman into glass."
"Desertman lost?!" Zap gawked.
"Surprised me, too, but the lassies made a tornado that sucked him in then used a HeatBurst Program Advance to turn him into glass," Match explained.
"...S-Seriously?" Maddy asked after a moment of disbelief.
"The scariest NetNavi next to Magicman in the team…and wind is what we needed?" Zap pondered in disbelief.
Back in the fight, Lan sent in several MiniBomb BattleChips that ZX let loose, shooting them in the sky if a Virus moved out of the way and ended up caught up in the explosions instead. It was also creating a smokescreen that left Magicman narrowing his eyes.
"Now that's a new way to use one of the most common ones, huh," Higsby noted, "It goes to show that even the most simple of BattleChips can cause devastating effects if you know what you're doing."
"A pox! A pox, I say! Be blown away with the Magic Hurricane!" Magicman declared, letting loose a powerful blast of winds, revealing ZX gone, "What…?"
Yahoot grimaced, feeling the blood from the small cuts on the back and front of his body. Magicman choked as he slowly looked down at the ZX-Saber going through his back and through his emblem. He quickly Logged Out to avoid Deletion, leaving Megaman ZX standing alone.
"And it's over! After a relentless assault of the elements and Viruses, Lan and Vent have emerged victorious!" Ribitta cheered.
Vent sighed in relief as he collapsed on his bed in the PeT, 'God that was harder than before…I wasn't expecting him to have FullSynchro or a stronger skill with elemental 'magic.''
[It must be a rubber band effect going on here] Phantom noted [You and Ashe are far stronger than you were before, so it's causing people you could've fought easier before to become more of a challenge]
'Should've guessed…' Vent thought as Yahoot gave a bow to Lan, the boy returning it before making his way away from the man.
"...Whew…" Lan sighed in relief, "That was tough!"
"Given he's one of their top agents, I'm not surprised. How are your injuries?" Vent asked.
"Already scabbing," Lan replied before his PeT went off, "Huh?"
"EMail for you, Lan. It's from Papa," Vent informed.
"What's it say?" Lan asked.
"He's congratulating us on winning…and-oh! There's a party going on tomorrow at SciLab and he's inviting all of us!" Vent beamed.
"Nice!" Lan beamed.
'Huh…Guess this is replacing the one we were meant to have before today where Lan and I first used the LifeSword Program Advance,' Vent thought.
[Tomorrow will be a busy day, it seems] X noted.
"And now our last match of the day! Chaud and Protoman VS Madam Rose and Woodman!"
"Huh?!" Lan gawked, spinning to a screen to see Chaud and Sal in her Madam Rose disguise at the Beta Dome, their NetNavis already logged in.
Woodman slammed a hand down on the ground, letting loose a barrage of WoodTowers at Protoman. The red NetNavi deployed his sword and began to swiftly move about, slicing through the oncoming sharpened pillars of wood with ease. Woodman swung his hands outwards and logs bounced over him and rolled towards Protoman, who began to jump along them until getting to the last one and began to run backwards on it, causing it to slow and start heading for Woodman. Woodman yelped and quickly sent up a WoodTower to block the log and delete both attacks. A WoodSword was deployed to parry Protoman's sword, sending sparks flying. Madam Rose raised a brow behind her visor, realizing…Protoman wasn't finishing this as fast as he was earlier.
"Oh~!" Alouette awed, stars in her eyes, as she held her doll and SubPeT tighter, the screen facing the battle, "So co~ol!"
"Guess he listened to you and Beep, Alouette," Roze chuckled.
"Yay~!" Alouette cheered as Oda chuckled.
"He's a stubborn boy, but he's also your friend so of course he'd try to listen," Oda noted.
'Guess he listened to you wanting to see more of Protoman and you fight, Chaud,' Ciel thought, seeing how the crowd was cheering at the battle, witnessing the way Woodman and Protoman were going at it.
"VarSword, download," Chaud instructed.
"A VarSword?!" Higsby gasped as Protoman's left glove turned into a bronze and teal LongSword part yet without a blade, "That's one of the hardest BattleChips to master for a NetNavi and NetOp! It is a blade that will always produce a Sword unless you are capable of manipulating the data fast enough in the materialization to create a variety of effects! It's on the top of the list of 'Most Frustrating BattleChips to Master!'"
Protoman swung his sword and four different-colored shockwaves roared out of the weapon.
"Woodman!" Madam Rose panicked.
"Leaf Shield!" Woodman shouted, swinging his hands out ahead of him, creating several massive leaves of plasma that quickly layered over one another to form a leaf-shaped shield.
The first shockwave, blazing red in color, incinerated the shield, allowing the blue, yellow, and green ones to strike Woodman, knocking him back with a grunt from him and Madam Rose. She inserted a BattleChip and the damages he had been inflicted with healed up. He slammed his hands on the ground.
"DeathForest2!" Woodman roared before the ground erupted as several WoodTowers erupted from the ground, rapidly bending and twisting to rush at Protoman.
"StepSword, HeroSword, StepCross, Download," Chaud instructed.
Protoman shined before he took a step and vanished before the attack could strike him. Woodman looked around rapidly, sweating a little.
"Program Advance…" Protoman's whisper made Woodman look down in fright, seeing him right before him…with a new curved scimitar-like blade replacing his left glove and two more emerging from his elbows.
"EvilCut," Chaud intoned, clenching a fist as Protoman was now behind Woodman as the larger heavyset NetNavi was crying out as his body was sliced into eight pieces that were quickly Logged Out.
Madam Rose grunted, feeling several small papercut-like marks on her skin where Woodman had been sliced through, "S-So fast…"
"A-Amazing! An EvilCut here?! That's an incredibly rare Program Advance that not many can get the Chips for! HeroSword is one of the rarest BattleChips globally, huh!"
"Whoo! What a way to end the day then! Chaud and Protoman in a spectacular show with their opponents Madam Rose and Woodman triumph and move on to the next round!" Ribitta cheered.
Ashe waited until she was completely sure Maylu was sound asleep. Once she was, Ashe left and headed down the Network and entered a larger expanse of it with benches and chairs for NetNavis to sit at. Vent waved over at her, pausing in conversation with Searchman, Gutsman, Glyde, and Numberman.
"So you're the NetNavi who is curious about Mikhail Cossack," Searchman spoke, looking Ashe over.
"I'm more looking into my origins," Ashe admitted, "Right now, that man seems to be my best lead."
Searchman nodded before a beam came out of his lens and scanned her, "...You were made two months prior to his arrest. That's good."
"Huh?" Ashe raised a brow.
"By law, if you were built in the last ten years by him…I would have no choice but to Delete you and my partner would have had to arrest your NetOp," Searchman warned, making everyone tense.
"Good sir, why would you have had to perform those actions? Lady Ashe…" Glyde began.
"Because Mikhail Cossack is banned from working on Network Navigators due to an incident ten years ago," Searchman informed, "I do not know all the details about it, but the disaster is known as one of the worst events in the world and nearly ended the Network Era before it could begin."
Most of them tensed on hearing that. Vent raised a brow as thoughts of a land of sands came to mind. A screen popped up, showing Raika.
"Mikhail Cossack was a SciLab scientist who created the world's first AutoNavi, a NetNavi who does not need a NetOp and installed with BattleChip data they can access at any time," Raika informed as a screen was brought up, showing a middle-aged man with blond hair and a scraggly beard that hid his mouth, "This is a recent photo taken due to needing to update his files due to his travel ban being lifted this month."
Ashe stifled a gasp, 'Wh-What? Why…Why is my body reacting like this?'
"He looks sad, guts," Gutsman observed.
"He lost his credentials, credibility, and his creation and the right to make NetNavis. Of course he would be depressed," Numberman reminded the biggest NetNavi of the group.
"More than that. Six months before his arrest, he became a divorced man due to the loss of their daughter from a brain tumor," Searchman spoke.
"What the hell happened in a past life for him to have all this happen?" Vent asked in surprise.
"Who knows. We've told you all we know," Raika replied.
"Ah! W-Wait a sec! Where's his ex wife?" Ashe asked.
"Deceased as of last year," Raika replied, "Tuberculosis. She was buried in the same plot as her daughter Kalinka."
"There goes that angle of asking her," Ashe sighed before bowing to them, "Thanks. Even if it was just this much, it's a big lead for me."
Searchman nodded, "You are not the first, nor the last, NetNavi that will grow curious on their origins. It's a part of the Sharo Military's training to provide assistance to NetNavis with this kind of situation, even if yours is a bit more…circumstantial…than others."
Ashe nodded, giving a bow. Eventually, they split off to head back to their duties or NetOps. Vent and Ashe walked along a path back to the hotel's Network, the former walking with his hands behind his head as Ashe was in thought.
"Well…This is interesting," Vent noted.
"Yeah…When I saw that picture of him, I…I think I felt something," Ashe agreed, "Like a…a longing to know them, y'know?"
"I do. It was the same for me when I'd see pictures of Lan," Vent replied, "He may very well be your maker, Roll."
Ashe nodded, "It's funny…in my last life here, I didn't give two Zenny 'bout who made me because I had Maylu and everyone. But…But here I am, now looking for them."
"Back then, neither of us were affected by Magicman that day," Vent pointed out, "Whatever is going on this go around…it's harsher for our status."
"..." Ashe nodded, a troubled look on her face.
"...Roll?"
"Sorry, just…thinking," Ashe replied.
"On who your human DNA Data comes from?" Vent guessed, earning a nod, "...It won't matter to me." he smiled at her when she looked at him, "Roll, I love you because you are yourself. I don't care what others may think or what your origins are. To me, they don't matter." he cupped her cheer while holding her hand, the silverette looking the brunette in the eyes, "I love you with every bit of my existence."
"I…I…" Ashe trembled.
[Vent…you need something more than just words for this] Phantom spoke solely to Vent [Is there something from your past life as a NetNavi that would prove you mean it all?]
For a few moments, Ashe swore she saw a deep fear in Vent's eyes and worried, 'Oh god…Did I do something to ruin us again? Wh-What do I…? How can I…?'
[Psst! Ashe! Make something from some data!] Axl suggested [Make something to be a proof you love him even if you don't always show it!]
'But…But what can I…oh!'
The two looked away from the other. With a shaky breath, Vent made the necklace appear. He turned and blinked a few times. Ashe gave a nervous smile, holding up a sun and moon-shaped locket on a silver necklace. Her eyes went wide on seeing the necklace in his own hands, a look of worry on her face.
"H...Hub, I…" Ashe began.
"The one good thing about things made of data is you can repair it if you remember it all," Vent explained, "You apologized for it several times, but I wanted things to be over with involving Duo because, at the time, it didn't feel right to add this to all that." 'And my own actions that I did to myself kept me from putting it higher when I should've.'
Ashe gulped, a mixture of a painful stab and a blossoming warmth filling her core. She shakingly reached out to it before dropping her hand.
"C…Could you put it on me? Please?" Ashe asked, a plea in her tone Vent heard as clear as air.
"Yeah," Vent replied.
Ashe turned around and moved her hair out of the way. With a nervous breath, Vent undid the clasp and moved his arms around her. He slid it on her, pausing to gently kiss her neck. Ashe stifled a shiver of delight at the affection while Vent finished putting the necklace on.
"Could you…do the same for me?" Vent requested.
"Y-Yeah," Ashe nodded.
The two turned around and Vent moved his hair. Like him, Ashe couldn't keep her hands from trembling as she worked to release the clasp keeping the chain together. Once she did, with a shaky breath, she moved closer and gently put her hands over his shoulders and began to put the necklace on him. Unlike Vent, Ashe leaned in and gave a few butterfly kisses to his neck, earning a few small pants from the brunette. She finished getting it on and backed away, making sure to keep her hands visible. Vent turned around and smiled, showing his own. A few moments passed before Ashe quickly hugged him, Vent feeling his jacket getting wet as the top of her head was starting to get wet as well. Nearby, the Biometals hovered as Vent returned the embrace.
[Did we goof up?] Axl asked, keeping it away from the two.
[No. Both need to do this if they truly want a healthy relationship] Phantom replied [Ashe was trying too hard and Vent was overthinking everything. Neither has really addressed it properly and this will either make or break their relationship]
GT: This one took a bit, mainly for the fact that Archive removed the Japanese Dub of Megaman NT Warrior with the English subtitles from its site for some reason. Had to scramble to find them all over again because I didn't download the vids in time. Hopefully, someone who did download them will put them back up. I should also let you all know that the final chapter of the N1 Arc is completed…just not everything in-between yet. Some backstory stuff is going to happen over the course of this arc for some characters, so hope you'll like those.
As for the backstory X and Zero are telling Lan, the Dr. Light bit is actually from the final issue of the Mega Man comics produced by Archie Comics prior to the contract ending alongside Sonic the Hedgehog. In that final issue, Dr. Light ends up seeing images of the future and showed a moment in the Elf Wars where Weil and Omega are facing X, Zero, and Axl…along with a Cyber Elf Dr. Light. To me, this made me believe that Dr. Light uploaded his mind and became a digital being before his passing in order to safely watch over X. This can also be evident given when Zero interacted with a capsule from Dr. Light in one of the X games (can't remember off the top of my head while I'm writing this, but it did happen), and how Dr. Light seemed to 'sound' sadder as X found the capsules in later games.
And for said background, I tend to prefer combining materials from different media when I write Mega Man fics that better make up the lore of the world. In this case, the Classic era uses the Powered Up game as the events of the first war against Wily meaning Time Man and Oil Man were enemies Mega Man fought and is also the game that implied Roll was really in love with Rock alongside a few images CAPCOM has shared such as one for MARVEL vs CAPCOM where Roll is hugging Rock's arm while giving Morganna of Deathstalkers a fierce, possessive glare. For those who enjoy the X era, you'll recognize the history X and Zero shared today as the Day of Sigma OVA from Maverick Hunter X and the X Legacy Collection. As for Vent, well…he went through a combination of the Megaman ZX game and the Megaman ZX manga (props to them using Vent and not Aile for the manga. We need more love for the boy).