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A/N: Well, here is Chapter 4, the last of the 20XX focus before we switch to Geo and Omega-Xis. You'll see why, soon enough.
Chapter 4: VS ChronoMan
Great Clock CC
'Temporal Scythe!'
ChronoMan rushed forward, prepared to strike with his scythe. Luckily for MegaMan, Lan yelled, 'Sword Battle Chip in, download!' MegaMan's right arm turned into the traditional blue Cyber Sword he was used to, allowing him to block the scythe pushing down on him.
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'MegaMan, even you cannot fight fate!' ChronoMan said. 'Death is inevitable for all life forms, even us Net Navis. And even if you delete me, MegaMan, you'll only delay the inevitable! In the end, you'll only be forgotten by an ungrateful world!' MegaMan pushed back and slashed ChronoMan away his arm returning to its original form. ChronoMan slashed up the sand again and stopped it.
'Like I told MegaMan and I'll tell you,' Lan replied, holding up two Vulcan 1 chips, 'not if we can help it! Vulcan 1 Battle Chip in, double download!'
MegaMan's arm turned into a machine gun, and fired upon ChronoMan a few times, piercing the sand. The old Navi growled in pain after being countered, but noticed Lan and MegaMan were in Full Synchro. Before he could move, a second barrage of Vulcan fire hit him, doing more damage.
'You are strong, MegaMan,' ChronoMan said. 'But you will have to do better to have any hope in defeating me. Sand Panels!' MegaMan noticed that three Sand Panels appeared on each area of the field, both sets in no particular order. ChronoMan then slashed the sand beneath him, disappearing under it. MegaMan looked around, trying to find his opponent.
'Where did he go…?' the blue Navi asked.
'Temporal Upper!'
The ground beneath MegaMan burst open, and the blue Navi was sent flying by ChronoMan's upwards scythe slash. When MegaMan sat back up, ChronoMan raised his arm, summoning a large hourglass. He then threw it over MegaMan, where it stopped in midair and the sand began trickling down to the bottom.
'Get out of there, MegaMan!' Lan ordered. The blue Navi nodded, getting from where the aged Navi had set up his trap. Meanwhile, ChronoMan drew his scythe and rushed with a Wide Sword ranged Temporal Scythe. MegaMan moved out of the way while Lan pulled out a Cannon Chip. 'Cannon Battle Chip in, download!' A green cannon manifested on MegaMan's right arm, and he blasted ChronoMan back. The hourglass, now out of sand at the top, fell down, harmlessly shattering on the ground and spreading the sand.
'Had enough, yet?' MegaMan asked. Charging up his Mega Buster, he warned, 'I don't want to have to delete you if I don't have to! Just surrender, shut down the clock's power, return Wilshire Hills to 22XX, and bring Cyber City back!'
'I'll shut down the clock, alright,' ChronoMan agreed. 'I have no intentions of destroying the city. But surrender and return Wilshire Hills and Cyber City? I'm afraid I can't do either of those! Sand Wave!' He then shot out his own Sand Wave from the sand hitting MegaMan and blinding him. 'Now, Sand Rain!' The time slowing sand pelted MegaMan from above.
'Processes… slowing… down…' MegaMan said before freezing.
'And now, to finish this,' ChronoMan's voice declared. 'Hourglass Drop!'
While his vision returned, MegaMan watched helplessly as ChronoMan summoned an hourglass above him. When the sand ran out, the blue Navi was crushed under the weight of the hourglass. MegaMan, once his processes returned to normal, managed to free his right arm, but the old Navi stepped on it before it could become a Buster. ChronoMan held his scythe to MegaMan's neck, the blade gleaming.
'Well, I must confess that I underestimated you,' ChronoMan said. 'But, in the end, we all are mortal. Any last words before I delete you? I'll be sure that they are recorded in history.'
'I have some,' Lan spoke up, holding up a Mega Chip. 'Roll Mega Chip in, download!' A copy of Roll appeared next to ChronoMan, and slapped him with her energy ribbon antennas before healing MegaMan. Lan then held out three familiar looking Battle Chips. 'Sword, Wide Sword, and Long Sword Battle Chips in, download!'
'Wait, isn't that the formula for the Life Sword Program Advance?' ChronoMan asked. He was answered by a bright light piercing the hourglass pinning MegaMan down, and a huge blade of energy overtaking MegaMan's right arm. The older Navi was blown back a few feet, allowing MegaMan to get up with no problems.
'Yes,' the blue Navi answered, his mask forming over the bottom half of his face. ChronoMan readied his scythe.
'Settling this with one final attack?' the old Navi asked. 'Very well… I'd rather not delay this for much longer. Farewell, MegaMan! Temporal Scythe!'
'Life Sword!'
Both Navis ran at each other and slashed past each other. Both of them looked back at each other. MegaMan collapsed onto one knee, exhausted. However, it was ChronoMan who collapsed in defeat, sparking with electricity from where he was slashed: his chest.
'We… we did it!' MegaMan breathed, surprised that he managed to beat a Navi that could control time.
'Yeah, but you're not looking so good,' Lan said. 'Still, good job, MegaMan… now stop the Great Clock!' MegaMan got up and pressed a button that deactivated the Great Clock.
'It's off… the Great Clock is no longer in danger of overloading.'
All of the sudden, a round of applause flooded the air. 'What's that…?' Lan asked.
'Such heroics!' Hyde's voice said. 'Such bravery! That was truly amazing! You played the role perfectly! And we caught it all on film!'
'Wait, what?' Lan asked. 'You mean this whole thing… was televised?'
'Exactly!' Hyde answered.
-LH-
Wilshire Hills
Lan looked to see Hyde and Cain, the former with a wide grin, the latter standing in front of a smaller Copy Bot. 'Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for your heroes!' Hyde said. 'Lan Hikari and MegaMan… of 20XX!' Throughout the city, the applause died, and the townspeople looked confused while Lan's friends and family all stopped outside the Shopping Plaza.
'Where do we go from here?' Yuichiro asked the kids.
BEEP-BA-BEEP! BEEP-BA-BEEP!
'Mayl,' Roll said, 'you have an e-mail, but I don't know who the sender is!'
'So do you, Dex!' GutsMan added. 'Roll, does your e-mail say something like 'Please come to the Plaza Stage', guts?'
'I sense that's also the e-mail Miss Yai received,' Glyde agreed. The group all looked at each other.
Looking at a nearby Air Display, Yuichiro spotted Lan confronting Cain and Hyde. 'That is where we need to go. Let's go!'
Meanwhile, Lan looked at the two adults, confused. 'How did you know about what happened to Wilshire Hills?' Lan asked.
'Well, I don't want to spoil the surprise until all of the players are present,' Hyde answered.
'But you promised you'd tell us what you know!' Lan demanded.
'Ah, ah, ah, hero,' Hyde declined. 'The exact script was that Cain promised to tell you what he knew. I was never cast in an expository role!'
'Lan!' Mayl called. Lan turned to see his friends and parents running into the Plaza Stage.
'Mayl, Yai, Dex, Mom, Dad,' Lan breathed. 'Are you guys alright? MegaMan and I stopped ChronoMan!'
'Wilshire Hills is alright,' Yuichiro told his son. 'You two did very well.'
Haruka chided, 'But you shouldn't have run off like that, Lan. You could have been hurt!'
'Thank goodness you and MegaMan are alright!' Mayl smiled.
'Mayl,' Dex said, 'It's Lan and MegaMan. Those two handle big things like this all of the time!'
'Still, Mayl has all right to worry,' Yai said. 'Lan, it's really rude to make ladies like Mayl and I this concerned!'
'You guys…' Lan chuckled.
'And here is the rest of the cast,' Cain smiled. 'Cut the feed.' All of the cameras in the Plaza Stage turned off, leaving Cain and Hyde with the group. 'And close the doors.' The Plaza Stage's entrances suddenly sealed. Haruka turned towards the doors. As much as she pulled, they would not open again.
'It's no good,' she said. 'We're trapped in here!' Yuichiro joined her in pulling, but neither adult could open it.
'You're right… we're stuck in here!'
'I'm so glad everyone could make it,' Hyde chuckled. 'This next scene is an exclusive performance with a special cast… it's not for the public to see.'
'So this was a trap!' Lan accused.
Cain ignored him and pulled out a black and red Hunter-VG, and looked at it. 'Wish Genie, for my next wish: restore ChronoMan to his full vitality. He's weak, but with the Oasis Water you've provided us, he should recover.'
'Understood, Master Cain,' a female voice spoke up.
-HH-
Great Clock CC
MegaMan looked behind him in time to see a purple light touch down next to ChronoMan. The light faded, revealing a dark brown skinned female Navi… at least, MegaMan thought it was. She appeared to be about Roll's height and around his age. Her hair was dark red in a long, thin ponytail, and her eyes were a chocolate brown. A purple veil covered her mouth, but he could make out the shy frown. She was dressed in a purple top-like chest armor that would have exposed her midriff if not for the gold wrap around her left shoulder and right hip, a long open purple skirt over a pair of white harem pants, gold gauntlets, and a pair of gold pointy shoes. Around her neck was a gold collar that had a purple Ν tag hanging from it. In her gold gloved hands was a purple and gold pillow with a pair of golden goblets and a fancy clear bottle containing water on top.
'Hello, MegaMan,' the female figure bowed. 'It's an honor to meet the legend of 20XX. I just wish it were under better circumstances…'
'Who are you!?' MegaMan asked. The girl knelt down, gently placing the pillow down before removing the goblets and setting them aside. She then grabbed the bottle of water and opened it, pouring it into the goblets.
'Genie,' she whispered, 'come forth, please.' A purple and gold energy creature manifested itself next to her. It looked like her, only with a white energy-like body where the purple and gold clothing didn't cover and a wispy tail. As MegaMan stared at the creature, the girl picked up one of the goblets and presented it to him. 'Here… take this Oasis Water.'
'Oasis Water?' MegaMan asked. 'Aren't you here to fight?'
'No,' the girl answered while the being next to her flipped over ChronoMan. 'I do not want to fight you. I have only been called to heal ChronoMan. I have not been wished by Master Cain to fight you, but Master Cain never wished for me to not heal you, as well. This water is from an oasis in YumLand's Desert Ruins that will heal grievous injuries and purify the body of any unnatural threats.' As if to prove her trustworthiness, she held up ChronoMan's head and poured the water down his throat. ChronoMan's injuries healed, allowing the old Navi to awaken. He coughed at the water going down his throat, but he seemed to be no worse for wear.
'I was careless…' the old Navi said. 'I shouldn't have engaged in a Net Battle immediately after disposing of those two intruders… MegaMan wouldn't have defeated me so easily.'
'Nonsense, ChronoMan!' Hyde said from the real world. 'You performed spectacularly! You may not have defeated MegaMan, but you certainly put on a show as the villain!'
'You should jack out, ChronoMan,' Cain advised. 'I have plans for you.'
'…Very well…' the old Navi said before disappearing in a flash.
The girl once again offered MegaMan the Oasis Water, who took it. 'Um… thanks…?'
'I'm sorry that we have to be enemies, MegaMan,' the girl said as her companion disappeared in the same digital way she appeared in. 'You are a good Navi, I can tell… that's why I'm a fan of you.'
'A fan?' MegaMan asked.
'However, I have my reasons for following Master Cain.' She then looked up, and said, 'Master, I have done as you have requested.'
'Thank you, Wish Genie. That will be all for today. You may return to what you were doing until I call on you again.'
'Take care, MegaMan,' the girl known as Wish Genie said to MegaMan. 'I have a feeling we'll meet again…' She then disappeared in a purple flash.
'What is a nice girl like her doing with Cain?' MegaMan asked.
'MegaMan,' Lan yelled, getting his brother's attention. 'we're trapped! Jack out, we may need you!'
'Roger!' MegaMan said before jacking out.
-LH-
Wilshire Hills
When MegaMan returned to the PET, he found that his and Lan's friends and family were all locked in the Plaza Stage room with Cain and Hyde, the latter applauding.
'Bravo, bravo!' Hyde declared, clapping loudly. 'You all make excellent actors! You followed the script exactly as I wrote it—more so than those lousy 22XX cast members! I mean, just look at what happened when ONE of them showed up—the plot nearly unraveled, and ChronoMan was forced to expose his powers early to return the show to its script!'
'Script?' Yai asked. 'Is this whole thing a play or movie stunt?'
'Perhaps I should explain since you'll never be able to stop me,' Cain said, dropping his smile. 'Mr. Hyde, while not in the proper mentality, is a director… an excellent director who helped plan my return, to a time that has no record of the Cain legacy. You've probably guessed by now, but ChronoMan… is my Net Navi.'
'ChronoMan is your Net Navi!?' Yuichiro asked. 'Then that means you attacked your own presentation on top of faking your rediscovery of Net society!'
'And don't forget my favorite part,' Hyde said. 'After all, it's not every day that a Navi equipped with EM Wave technology and powered with enough Crimson can control his powers enough to actually rip open distortions in space-time, allowing us to replace cities!'
'Cain, what do you get out of switching a city from the present with a city of the future!?' Yuichiro asked. 'I know you wouldn't act without a goal in mind… just like how you tricked me into giving you the ExaMem program you used to modify CircusMan to capture the Cybeasts!'
'Simple, Dr. Hikari,' Cain answered. 'As you know, I am a vengeful man. Your sons Lan and MegaMan understand that better than anyone, and you know my grandfather went down in infamy because of the Cybeasts. Using the technology of the future—courtesy of Mr. Hyde, here—and my own political knowledge, I will have my revenge on both Cyber City, the next-generation society that rejected my family's right to be heroes… and you, the Hikaris, for dooming my family to becoming villains for generations! And once I have finished my revenge and my feud with the Hikaris has come to an end, I will use the power of ChronoMan and his ability to manipulate time as EM Wave Navi to establish Chromos as a superpower organization and rule the world for all of time.'
'Rule the world for all of time!?' Mayl asked.
'You guys at Chromos are crazy!' Yai declared. 'It's one thing to try to take over the world, but try to rule for all time!? Nobody can rule the world forever!'
'True, humans are mortal,' Cain realized. 'But once I've exacted my revenge, I will look into finding a way to surpass that…'
'If you want revenge on someone,' Lan scowled, 'then it's me who you want! Leave Mayl, Dex, Yai, and my parents out of this!'
'But it's the ENTIRE Hikari family who has wronged me,' Cain answered. 'You, Lan, exposed me as a criminal in an attempt to save MegaMan before I could get my hands on him and his Cybeast. MegaMan, it was you who helped delete both of them before I could escape from custody and take my birthright back from Wily! Dr. Hikari, it was you who foiled my plans to obtain the Cybeasts from the beginning by allowing MegaMan to have the capabilities to seal a Cybeast inside of him. And it was Dr. Tadashi Hikari who created the Underground which buried my grandfather as a devil by an ungrateful society!' Composing himself, Cain continued, 'I've already gotten my revenge on Cyber City by abandoning it in a time where its technology is obsolete. All that's left is you all.'
'You won't get away with this!' Dex scowled. 'We'll stop you!'
'Ah, you are so naïve in your role in this script,' Hyde said. 'You are not the hero of this story. And even if you were… you cannot save the day.'
'What Mr. Hyde means to say is no matter what you do or what you know, it doesn't matter to me,' Cain said. Looking at the normal-sized Copy Bot next to him, he asked, 'I'm sure you're all familiar with the Copy Bots?'
'Wait… that's MegaMan's Copy Bot!' Lan realized. 'Give it back!'
'If I did, Lan,' Cain said, 'then ChronoMan wouldn't be able to do this.' ChronoMan's form overtook the Copy Bot, scythe and all.
'Lan Hikari,' the old Navi breathed. 'We meet in person. You, your family, your friends… and the person you could not live without.'
'That Copy Bot has been customized for power use, ChronoMan. Freeze them.'
'Very well!' ChronoMan yelled, slashing the sand on the ground, and forming the rain. 'Sand Rain!' He launched the first collection of sand at Yai, but Glyde blocked it, getting the sand on him.
'Glyde, are you okay!?' Yai asked.
'Yes… Miss… Yai…' Glyde said as his processes slowed. Yai activated her PET, and returned Glyde to it, leaving her Copy Bot empty. When she checked on him, he was still partially frozen.
'What did you do to Glyde!?' Yai demanded. 'His movement processes are frozen!'
'He won't be deleted by that,' ChronoMan answered. 'I've only slowed down his body… just like you will be!' He launched a second Sand Rain at her, this time slowing her down.
'Can't… move…' Yai whispered.
'Guys, don't let the sand get on you!' Lan yelled. However, Dex was hit with the time-slowing sand.
'Too… late… for that…' Dex groaned.
Yuichiro blocked a sand rain meant for Haruka, but she too was hit. This only left Lan and Mayl as the ones who weren't frozen.
'Ah, the hero and his lovely heroine,' Hyde chuckled. 'Quite romantic.' While Lan scowled, Mayl could not help but blush by Hyde's comment. ChronoMan turned his attention to her, and prepared to slice the ground again for his sand. 'The last two left standing. What will you do hero? Will you attempt to save yourself, leaving the lady to her doom? Or will you sacrifice yourself to buy the heroine time? Either way makes a good tragic ending to this script!'
'…Lan…' Mayl breathed. Despite being scared of the Navi, she tried to stand strong. 'Forget about me, Lan! Save yourself and MegaMan!'
'I'm afraid that you won't escape,' ChronoMan said. 'Sand Rain!' Mayl closed her eyes as the sand storm began to fall--
Only for a sudden weight to push her out of the way. She looked up to see Lan, his arms extended, standing in front of her. He was covered in sand.
'Lan, no!' Mayl cried.
'Mayl…' Lan told her, his body slowing down because of the sand's effects. 'Get… out of here…'
'Ah, so the hero DOES care about his heroine,' Hyde chuckled. 'And here you told me he was dense.'
'He still is,' Cain said. 'His grades, if I remember from being his principal, were lackluster. However, he does care for his friends… her in particular. Behind MegaMan and his parents, he goes the farthest for her, if studying his past adventures has served me well.' He noticed ChronoMan walking over with his scythe, prepared to start with the reaping process. 'ChronoMan, stay your blade. I want Lan Hikari to watch what we'll do to his loved ones, and her fear will be greatest.'
'If you do not wish for me to destroy them,' ChronoMan asked, 'then what do you wish for me to do?'
'You should have fully recovered from last night's move and your battles with those two intruders and MegaMan thanks to the Oasis Water that Wish Genie gave you,' Cain said. 'I'm sure you're capable of opening Time Waves?'
'…Very well,' ChronoMan said. 'Time Wave Slice!' His body then shone bright green before slashing the air several times, opening several clock-shaped Time Waves.
'Lan, I know you can hear me,' Cain taunted. 'Watch what we do to your loved ones.' Turning to ChronoMan, he ordered, 'Send them away.'
'Understood.' ChronoMan then snapped his fingers, and Dex began being pulled towards one of the Time Waves.
'No… don't…' Lan begged. 'Don't… hurt them…'
'It's far too late, Lan,' Cain said. 'This is my revenge on you: making you live with the fact that your friends and family are gone, and there's nothing you can do to bring them back!'
'GUUUUUYYYYSSS…!' Dex yelled, falling into the Time Wave.
'DEX…!' Yai, Mayl, and Lan yelled. Dex's Time Wave closed.
'Please… stop… Cain!' Yuichiro pleaded.
'Don't… do this…' Hakura begged. 'They're… only children…'
'I… can't stop… moving…' Yai breathed. Being smaller and lighter than the rest of the group, she was pulled to a Time Wave faster. She managed to gain control of her arms, pressed a button on her PET with her right hand, and reached out to Lan and Mayl with her left… but to no avail as she fell into her Time Wave.
'CHECK YOUR PETs—!' were Yai's last words before the Time Wave slammed shut.
'Yai, no…!' Mayl breathed. She turned to Cain, Hyde, and ChronoMan, enraged tears in her eyes. 'You monsters! You… you killed Dex and Yai! What did they ever do to you!?'
'You should not worry about them,' Cain said. 'I can assure you from experience that death is not immediate upon entering a Time Wave. How long they survive in their new locations, however, well… that depends on them.'
'The script may call on them again,' Hyde added. 'So they've just been… misplaced for now.'
'Please…' Haruka called. 'Bring… those children… back!'
'No can do,' Hyde wagged his finger. 'They're already gone, recast by history. Even we have no clue wherever and whenever they will act out their new roles, but they'll never be seen or heard from again! And soon, so will you!' Haruka was about to ask what that meant when she felt her body moving backwards, being pulled in by the next Time Wave.
'Mom…!' Lan cried out.
'Ha… Haruka…' Yuichiro breathed. He managed to regain control over his limbs in time to run over to his wife, embracing her. However, he realized that he too was being sucked into the Time Wave and was too close to resist the pull. 'Lan, MegaMan… no, Hub!' he yelled at his sons. 'We'll find a way back to each other, I promise! No matter what happens, we'll get through this! Until then, Lan, Hub… take care of yourselves!'
'Lan… Hub…' Haruka whispered, tears running down her face. 'Watch over Mayl and Roll, okay?'
Lan watched in horror as Yuichiro and Haruka stopped resisting the Time Wave and allowed themselves to be sucked in together. The Time Wave slammed shut, leaving Lan and MegaMan's parents' lives in the hands of fate.
'This script's tragedy writes itself,' Hyde laughed. 'Such sad final words between parents and children!'
'Goodbye, Dr. Yuichiro Hikari,' Cain commented. 'You were quite the worthy adversary in terms of the sciences, even if you did not know my skill with technology. It's a shame that I knew that you would never agree to help control the Cybeasts… otherwise I would be reluctant to have disposed of you. If only you lacked the morals that held you back, then I could actually see us being friends.'
'Please, enough!' Mayl demanded from Cain. 'Haven't you caused enough pain!? Can't you bring them back!?'
'Like I said,' Cain replied, 'this is my revenge to Lan Hikari for what he's done. He exposed my ties to the WWW, cost me my control over Cyber City, destroyed the Cybeasts, and ruined any chance at restoring my family's honor. Those four were to bloody him. Now, I will break him, ending with you... Miss Mayl Sakurai.'
Mayl gasped, surprised that Cain actually KNEW her name. He knew Lan and Yuichiro's, but he never implied that he knew HER. And he just mentioned that he was going to make Lan finish suffering with her. Who knows what these monsters would do to her.
'No…' Mayl heard Lan whisper. 'No!' Lan broke free of the sand's effects, and rounded towards Hyde, Cain, and ChronoMan. 'I don't care how strong you are, Mayor Cain! You're not laying a finger on Mayl or anyone else! You will bring Dex, Yai, and my parents back right now!'
'He's not the one you should worry about, Lan Hikari,' Hyde grinned, stepping in front of Cain and ChronoMan and pulling out a black Hunter-VG that looked rather old. 'While in the Cyber World, you and MegaMan are virtually unstoppable… in the real world, you are nothing compared to me! Wizard On!' A red EM Being appeared in front of Hyde, looking somewhat like a ghost with a white smiling mask and a large black collar.
'Is it our time to shine, Hyde?' the ghostly Wizard asked.
'Yes it is, Phantom,' Hyde grinned. 'EM Wave Change! Hyde, On the Air!'
Hyde raised his Hunter-VG in the air with his left hand, and slammed his cane down with his right while Phantom flew at him, entering his body with a red flash. Hyde's Hunter-VG disappeared, allowing him to place his left hand to his face, which seemed to be gaining Phantom's mask. His body was enveloped in red flames before dying down, revealing his new form. His face had turned dark green under the white mask while his eyes became a sinister red. His blonde braids of hair turned wild. Beneath the black and red cape his clothes became a dark tuxedo-like armor, and his white cotton gloves turned silver and metallic. Completing his ensemble was a black top hat and his trademark cane, which had a sleeker bird head.
'What the…!?' Lan asked.
'He transformed…?' Mayl questioned. 'By… merging with his Wizard!?'
'Yes,' Hyde answered. 'Just like the interfering fool who was quickly removed from the stage, I too can EM Wave Change with the help of my ally, Phantom, the last UMA of his kind! But in this form, I am known as the Dark Phantom! And considering how limited your technology in the past is… you have no means of countering my power in the real world!' As if to prove his point, a group of witch hat wearing ghosts popped up next to Lan and Mayl, causing both to scream in fear and Mayl to unconsciously grasp Lan's arm.
'Where did these ghosts come from!?' Mayl asked.
'I don't know,' Lan answered, 'but for them to have come up here… is this that Dark Phantom guy's doing!?'
'These aren't any ordinary ghosts, Lan!' Vic-Vac said from Lan's Hunter-VG. 'They're EM Viruses based off ghosts!'
'Who was that!?' Mayl asked.
'Oh, Vic-Vac!' Lan remembered, holding out his Hunter-VG. He pressed Vic-Vac's pop-up, allowing the Matter Wave vacuum to digitize in the real world, on Lan's back. 'Mayl, this is my Matter Wave friend, Vic-Vac!'
'Charmed, miss!' Vic-Vac breathed. 'So, Lan, is this your girlfriend or what?'
'Vic-Vac, not now!' Lan scowled, ignorant of Mayl's blush. However, he was blushing himself.
'Sorry, sorry,' Vic-Vac chuckled. 'She just seems close to you, Lan. So, we should probably stop gawking and start dusting to save her, huh? Don't worry, these viruses have two fatal flaws on them… they're EM Wave beings, which I can handle, and they're ghosts. And before all of this… I was a ghost duster! This is right up my alley!'
'Alright, then,' Lan grinned, 'let's dust these ghosts!' Lan turned on Vic-Vac's suction abilities, absorbing the ghost viruses… but Dark Phantom was unaffected.
'Is that really the best defense you have against me?' Dark Phantom laughed. 'A full Matter Wave Vacuum?'
'Full?' Lan asked, looking at Vic-Vac. Indeed, the vacuum was overstuffed thanks to the EM Viruses. Vic-Vac stopped, too exhausted to continue, and returned to the Hunter-VG.
'No can do, kid,' Vic-Vac apologized. 'While I am a ghost duster vacuum, I don't think I can dust THAT ghost! After that Cyber Core and those last ghosts, I'm way too weak…'
'Oh no…' Lan breathed, realizing that without Vic-Vac, as long as Dark Phantom and ChronoMan were both in the real world, he was defenseless. He stood in front of Mayl, determined to at least prevent her from being hurt. 'Let Mayl and Roll go, at least! It's me and MegaMan you want, right?'
'He has a point, Master Cain,' ChronoMan admitted. 'We're only here for MegaMan. The girl and her Navi are not important…'
'Ah, but ChronoMan,' Cain replied, 'if we let Mayl Sakurai go now, there is no telling what she'll do. She may attempt to expose us to the Net Police and the Officials. I cannot risk the idea of them actually believing her, no matter how powerful you are and how impossible this situation would sound.'
'Not to mention that she makes for an excellent leading lady!' Dark Phantom grinned. 'Don't you Miss Sakurai?' Lan still stood in front of Mayl, not letting Phantom get near her. 'Are you sure you wish to challenge me, hero? This particular scene won't call for a happy ending for you.'
'I don't care!' Lan scowled. 'Leave her alone!'
'Very well, hero,' Dark Phantom shrugged. 'But don't say I didn't warn you! Phantom Claw!' All of the sudden, a dark hand rushed out from Dark Phantom's chest and punched Lan in the face, knocking him on his back. Before Lan could move, the same dark claw grabbed him, and slammed him into the ground twice before coming in front of a semi-conscious Lan, and smacking him with his cane, sending the boy to the ground.
'Lan!' Mayl breathed, rushing to his side and kneeling down. 'You… you didn't have to do that…!'
'Mega,' Roll asked, 'are you and Lan alright!?'
'Mayl,' MegaMan advised from Lan's PET, 'watch out!' Before Mayl could react, Dark Phantom disappeared, reappearing behind her and grabbing her by the back of her blue vest with his cane. Mayl screamed.
'Are you watching, Lan Hikari?' Dark Phantom asked, holding the girl in front of a recovering Lan, almost taunting Lan with her safety. 'The poor heroine is screaming out for you. What will you do next, hero?' Despite his injuries, Lan sat up, holding his side. Mayl's face was full of tears. Whether they were for him being hurt over her, the realization that she was being held hostage by a dangerous monster like Dark Phantom and there was nothing she could do, or the fear that just about everyone she cared for was gone and she would soon share their fate, Lan did not know nor care. He couldn't lose her… he shouldn't have to lose her.
'Let… her go...!' Lan demanded once again. Dark Phantom seemed to comply, leaning Mayl down in front of him. Lan and Mayl reached out for each other… only for Dark Phantom's face twisted into a crazed, sadistic grin. He pulled Mayl back mere seconds before their fingers could connect.
'Very poor choice of words, hero,' he answered before whipping around and throwing Mayl, her hand reaching out for Lan, into a nearby Time Wave.
'LAAAAAAAAAAANNN!' she yelled right before entering it. The last thing Lan saw before the Time Wave slammed shut was the fear and tears adorning Mayl's otherwise innocent face.
'Mayl…' Lan breathed, collapsing in shock.
'Roll…' MegaMan added.
'And exits the heroine, thus breaking the hero in a way he's never been broken,' Dark Phantom said. 'And thus concludes the tragedy of Lan Hikari. Although, to be fair, he never specified where I was to let her go.'
'First Pat… then Dex and GutsMan,' MegaMan recalled. 'Then Yai and Glyde. Then Mom and Dad… and now Mayl… and Roll.' MegaMan scowled from the PET. 'Mayor Cain, I knew you were rotten, but this was all too far!'
'I told you that I would take my revenge,' Cain said. 'And now, it's all but complete.'
'If you want revenge, I'm right here in Lan's PET!' MegaMan said. 'Take me in their place! Do whatever you want with me, but have ChronoMan bring them back!'
'MegaMan…' Lan gasped.
'Lan, our friends and family are worth more than ten—no, a thousand of me!' MegaMan answered. 'If I have to be deleted just to save the world, then you'd know I would sacrifice myself to do it to save all of you!' ChronoMan walked forward, grasping Lan's PET and shutting it off.
'It's about time we finish this,' ChronoMan said. 'We'll talk again when it's time for your execution, MegaMan.'
'You're powerless to make any demands in exchange for your life, MegaMan, anyway,' Cain said. 'Seeing how defeated Lan is, however, you are no longer useful to me.'
'I was told his data was essential to the plans of Chromos!' ChronoMan recalled, turning to his Net Op. Cain shook his head.
'I thought so, too, until I remembered something,' Cain replied. 'MegaMan, despite all of his power, is but one young Navi. The data we're looking for in him would more than likely be in several places around the world throughout the next two hundred years, and there are parts of our plan for which his data is useless at best. While it would be even more convenient to harvest what we need from him right now, the data we would obtain from him that would be essential to us is too weak to follow through with our final plan. And considering how dangerous I just proved that I am when I have nothing left to lose, destroying MegaMan at this point would only encourage Lan Hikari to meddle even more just to stop us, and we would risk exposure.'
'Besides,' Dark Phantom said, 'why not let our fellow Chromos members have some fun throughout time? I have several scripts written for them, and it would be a waste if I didn't get to at least try them out. It'll give us more time to prepare the grand finale.'
'Excellent point, Hyde,' Cain said. ChronoMan scowled, but stood down, throwing the PET back to Lan. 'You're in luck, Lan Hikari and MegaMan. We've come to the agreement on letting you live… for now. A word of advice, however: do not attempt to interfere with my plans. Do not attempt to find your way back here—stay where you're sent and let me reshape the world. If you do, you may find yourself without a future, and your loved ones—wherever and whenever they are—will suffer the consequences.' A final Time Wave appeared behind Lan, dragging him and MegaMan towards it. 'Farewell, Dr. Lan Hikari.'
Lan entered the Time Wave, which slammed shut.
'Annnnnnnnnnnnnd cut!' Dark Phantom grinned, clapping his hands. 'That was a wonderful performance, Mr. Cain! The actors were great, the emotion was superb, the cameo by Wish Genie could not have been better timed, and we have actually defeated MegaMan! But that final line you gave… 'Farewell, Dr. Lan Hikari'! That was brilliant, especially considering who he was to become! Well, it looks like we'll have to recast the man who established EM Wave society… and right now, you're the perfect candidate.'
'Yes, yes,' Cain chuckled. 'But it was thanks to you and ChronoMan that this was all possible, Hyde. Your EM Wave technology has made ChronoMan capable of such power, and we've crushed my enemies and have all but taken control of the most important city in Electopia's future that easily. Thanks to you, I now have one of the most powerful Net Navis in the next two hundred years… and all of the time in the world to plan our next move.'
'Speaking of which,' ChronoMan asked, 'what shall we do now that our enemies are scattered throughout time? They may find a way back to 20XX to stop us. No doubt the amount of Time Waves I've opened has done so throughout the rest of time. They may attempt to open them and use them to return here. If we don't do something about them…'
'You have a point, ChronoMan,' Cain said. 'We're risking a lot with this, even if it buys us more time to perfect our final plan. And its doubtful Lan will heed my warning.'
'Not to worry, Mr. Cain,' Dark Phantom said. 'I've actually thought ahead in case you'd ever enact this script, and I've cast the role of 'the hunter'. The hunter is currently collecting Crimson to help increase ChronoMan's power and fuel our grand finale, but he's willing to take a second role. Also, the scientist, the captain, the doctor, and Wish Genie are all on standby waiting for their next task… as is the commander.'
'Very well,' Cain nodded. 'Tell the commander he is to remain on standby and command our Navi and Wizard forces with their missions. The scientist is to prepare for work, as we'll be gathering the necessary components for the master plan in the long-term. As for 'the hunter', tell him I have his first mission: we don't know if the Hikaris will heed my warning. In the realistic chance that they don't, he is to briefly stop his Crimson hunt and eliminate MegaMan.'
'And the other actors, Wish Genie, the doctor, and the captain?'
'I plan on informing them myself,' Cain finished. 'In the mean time, we should clean this up… and continue our plans.' ChronoMan knelt down, exhausted. Looking at ChronoMan, Cain asked, 'How much Noise built up in you?'
'Quite a bit, actually,' ChronoMan said. 'As an EM Wave Navi, I'm more suspect to it than ordinary EM Wave Beings like Dark Phantom.'
'Ah, the fallback with being an EM Wave Navi,' Dark Phantom sighed. 'You're incredibly powerful since all Navis have combat capabilities to start with—how much depends on the Navi's customizations—but your old technology cannot adapt to the new concept of Noise very well.'
'If I keep using my power to create Time Waves like this... even with Wish Genie's healing Oasis Water, I fear I'll self-delete before we see our plan bear fruit.'
'We'll get our hands on the Noise Control Program that Dark Phantom talked about, I promise,' Cain said. 'When we do, we'll be able to use your powers far more freely… and you'll become strong enough to enact our master plan.'
'Indeed,' Dark Phantom said. 'So, while we send the hunter after MegaMan, what scripts should we put in action?'
'Do you have one for the Noise Control Program?' Cain mused. 'I need to know the components for it so our scientist can construct it. Who knows? With the right tools, the scientist can also work the Noise Control Program on our final plan... help me succeed where my grandfather failed.'
'Why, what a coincidence,' Dark Phantom smirked. 'I do have a new script just for obtaining the blueprints for it. I even know where to get them! And I also know the time…'
Unknown Location
Lan's vision blurred as he lied on the ground. His body was in so much pain from his beating at the hands of Dark Phantom and being thrown through time, he couldn't tell which was up or down. MegaMan being trapped in a shut off PET also didn't help. Floating in and out of consciousness, he could barely make out the figure of a girl around his age walking towards him. The girl gently knelt down, looking at Lan with sad brown eyes.
'You must press on, Lan Hikari,' she whispered, placing her dark brown skinned hands on his chest. A bright blue light shined from his chest, while seven other lights—one pink, one green, one yellow, one black, one white, one brown, and one purple—shined in the distance before fading. The pink one notably lingered the longest. 'Your loved ones… you must find them before its too late, Lan and MegaMan. I cannot protect them… but I can protect the two of you.' A purple figure manifested itself next to her.
'When and where are we going to take them…?' the other person asked.
'…Our time,' the girl answered. 'They will have better luck there. And I know where help for these two lost souls will find them… let's hope that it's not too late.'
'…But… our enemy is…'
'I know,' the girl said. 'And I know that our Master will not like it, but we have no choice. Time has already been damaged by a dangerous man because of a Navi. If Lan Hikari and MegaMan are not reunited with their loved ones, NO one will have a future… not even us. Please… call her… she's the only one we can trust.'
As two set of hands grabbed him, Lan's world turned dark.
Kingdom Rider92's Notes: And thus ends the Wilshire Hills chapter of this, and with a 'grim dark as heck' ending.
Before anyone comments, saying that I cheated Lan there at the end, I'm going to be honest… yes, I did. I couldn't spring the heroes out of defeat as long as Dark Phantom was around in the real world, since the technology capable of defeating him doesn't exist yet and I had to get rid of Pat and Rey in order to get away with this. I just wanted to establish that no matter how skilled of a Net Battler Lan is (and why the heck are he and MegaMan not Officials yet? Look at how many criminal plots they've thwarted!), he is still a kid and has very little if any real life combat training in the real world, so he'd be powerless against the EM Wave Change beings like Dark Phantom if he was facing them in the real world at this point. In fact, at this point, they'd be more-or-less outside-context villains for Lan and company.
As for Wish Genie… I'm going to be honest; I really, really, REALLY need help naming her properly. I feel that 'Wish Genie' is bland. Her name would have been 'Ring Genie', but there is the Navi known as 'Ring' from Mega Man Battle Chip Challenge, and I didn't want them being confused… and 'Bottle Genie' was kind of weird and despite the Oasis Water, she doesn't use just water attacks…
Ghost501: So, humanoid final bosses like Duo (hard as hell guy), and Le/Ra Mu (seriously, screw that god of EM Waves), huh? …I'm not saying much more about the final bosses (and yes, there is more than one) other than you would slightly hate me... but I'm not doing .
SubaruTC003: I'm going to talk about this for everyone so we don't have to go through the process of answering 'when Lan and Geo will meet'. In Chapter 8, Geo will meet , a.k.a. 'Hub'. Lan and Geo will actually have a full conversation, however, for the first time in Chapter 9. With that said, ladies and gentlemen, please do not ask this question, I'm building a plot.
Matteso585: I was just going to have to remember that when there are chapters that both Mega Men are involved, I'd call the SF Mega Man 'Geo', and BN MegaMan 'Hub'. Your option is also noted, however. So, by default, Geo would be called 'Mega-Star' by Hub?
Devil's Den: That's exactly my point with why Regal dropped the ball in kidnapping MegaMan's friends in BN5—MegaMan is more reluctant to seriously battle GutsMan, Glyde, and especially Roll than he would be ProtoMan, and Roll as Empress proved to be dangerous and memorable with the fans. I know the anime is an adaptation of the games, but Roll DS would have been an emotional boss fight and would have pumped the player up to 'I'm going to freaking kill Regal' levels. But then again, Capcom would have been forced to kill him at that point since sparing Regal after forcing you to fight and possibly delete Roll, GutsMan, and Glyde would have been a massive middle finger.
And don't remind me of the 100 Warriors… while an awesome concept of Lan wielding a wooden katana and defeating 100 warrior dolls, it's not exactly the best level in practice... and this is from someone who just recently did it. However it gives me a great idea of a Matter Wave item… now, it's just a matter of how to implement it.
Oh, and speaking of the Matter Wave items, I know nobody has mentioned it so far, but I feel I need to explain why I chose to bring them back. I felt they were underused in Star Force 2 (The Sky Board could have been useful for fast travel- especially in the Sky Waves. I think I showed how the Vacuum could have been used in the dungeon-crawling. The Skis were used to get around Grizzly Peak's ski slopes and in that dungeon, showing it could be done. The Dive Machine was great for an underwater level, making Loch Mess one of the very few water levels I LIKED. However, I can't really think of how the Eating Machine, the Cooking Machine, or the Projector could have been better used other than one-off items unless a dungeon required you feeding a hungry security guard and requiring you to use the Cooking Machine to fix a dish for them and then use the Eating Machine to help them eat it. Projector is still useless unless a dungeon required you to use it to memorize a certain pattern. The Guide, however, would have opened a dungeon map so you could at least have some way of knowing where to go. Did I miss any of the Matter Waves?
Ryuuto Raizel: Thank you very much!
Kameo1: I really regret doing that to Pat and Rey. However, the plot required me to prevent them from saving the team… but Gemini Spark will be back and they will have revenge on Chromos. Also, as for the bad guys leaving him alone, MegaMan is a trouble magnet. Geo, too. No matter where Lan and Geo go, villains seem to pop up. The fact that Cain wanted revenge on Lan in this case scenario doesn't help… and Hyde has some motivations, but they're unknown for now...
And that's it! So, we're ready to move play from Lan and Hub to Geo and Omega-Xis! Well, actually, I'm going to update my other stories first, then come back to this. Oh, and if you're wondering about the lack of Chaud and ProtoMan, we'll see them eventually... just not right now.
Farewell, my subjects!
I can't register a hotkey with a program because 'other programs are using it' In this case 'Print Screen' and 'Ctrl + Print Screen' and every other combination of Shift, Alt, Ctrl, + print-screen.
How can I tell what hotkeys are in use and what programs are using them?
I've seen similar questions:
And they suggest using a program called Hotkey Explorer but that program doens't run correctly on my system (Windows 10 Ent x64).. in fact here is a warning: DO NOT RUN THIS PROGRAM ON WINDOWS 10. What a nightmare.
Also I don't have Dropbox installed (other questions said it might use the print-screen buttons)
Community♦
AaronAaron
2 Answers
Sorry I can't suggest an alternative to Hotkey Explorer for Windows 8 or 10. It's a godsend on Windows 7.
I can only offer you the most primitive way of handling this problem. First, close all your running programs (including stuff in the system tray), one by one. Make notice of what you close and every time (or every once in a while) test if your program (is it Greenshot?) can now use that hotkey.
If everything is closed but the problem persists, open the Processes tab in the Task Manager (or better yet, download the Sysinternals Process Explorer). Sort processes by user and start killing user (not system) processes one by one. Again, keep checking if the hotkey becomes available. Sooner or later you should find the offending process. In my case,
CSRHarmonySkypePlugin.exe
(part of CSR Harmony drivers for a CSR Bluetooth 4.0 USB dongle) was grabbing Ctrl+Alt+Up and Down and a few others - with no UI to configure that or turn off!This kind of problem is extremely annoying. Happy hunting!
Gene PavlovskyGene Pavlovsky
A small extension to Gene Pavlovsky's answer: in Sysinternals Process Explorer you can activate Views » Scroll to new processes
Sometimes, the assigned application will be highlighted as soon as you press the hotkey :-)
TomTom