Nebula Saga Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Tough Love

Last time, Lan and Baryl board the Queen Bohemia to retrieve Ubercorp's booster system before Nebula can get their hands on it. However, the booster system was not stolen by Nebula, but two NetBattlers named Fyrefox and Dingo in which the latter seeks revenge on Ubercorp. Protoman and Colonel fights their Navis Napalmman and Tomahawkman and defeats them. Afterward the two joins the Navi Liberation Team to fight Nebula to improve themselves. Now they prepare to head towards End 2 to liberate the area and save Megaman.

The ship returned to port with the party cancelled, and the Nebula agent who was trying to steal the booster system was arrested. Lan along with Baryl, Fyrefox, and Dingo witness the agent being taken away by the Officials.

"Alright, now that we have prevented Nebula from getting the booster system it is time that we begin our mission to liberate End 2." said Baryl.

"Yeah... Fyrefox, Dingo. Have Napalmman and Tomahawkman ready and send them to End 1." said Lan.

"Okay! We'll be seeing you on the Net!" Fyrefox said, and Lan nodded as he prepares to leave for home.

"Lan wait..." said Baryl as he stops Lan.

"What is it Baryl?" Lan asked.

"We both know who you are going to face once you reach End 2." said Baryl.

"Yeah..." said Lan as he knows he is going to fight his own brother Megaman who has now become Dark Megaman.

"Whatever Megaman has become, I don't think he is not the kind you save, he's the kind you stop." said Baryl.

"I don't know if I could do that Baryl." said Lan.

"He might not give you a choice. The Dark Soul has most likely taken complete control of his body now. The Megaman you knew, might be not come back." said Baryl.

"I don't believe that. No matter what you think, Megaman will come back..." said Lan as he leaves.

(In Lan's Bedroom...)
Lan jacks Protoman into the Net. Protoman makes his way towards the entrance of End 2.

"There's the entrance, be ready Hikari." Protoman told Lan as he continues forward.

"You never learn do you?" said the Master HeelNavi who turned Megaman into DarkMegaman appeared along with the 50 HeelNavis, "You can't pass here! And don't think we'll go easy on you because you alone."

"We're not alone. Because we have strong allies on our side. Napalmman! Tomahawkman! It's your turn now!" said Protoman, then Napalmman and Tomahawkman jacks in.

"You want us to take all these guys out? No problem!" said Tomahawkman.

"This will be a piece of cake." said Napalmman.

"You can't win on your own, so you brought backup?! So even if there are two more at the party, you will still lose!" the Master HeelNavi said.

"Hah! We'll see! Napalmman? Tomahawkman?" Lan asked.

"No need to ask. We know what to do! They're history!" Napalmman yelled as he begins charging up his cannons.

"Yeah! I'll use them to sharpen my tomahawk!" said Tomahawkman as he charges up his axe.

Tomahawkman yelled out a battle cry and slashed the MasterHeelNavi and his men combined with Napalmman's cannon fire, the Master HeelNavi and the 50 HeelNavis were about to be deleted.

"This... Cannot be... D-Dr. Regal... Forgive me!" the Master HeelNavi screamed as he and the 50 HeelNavis were deleted.

"That's it?! Talk about weak!" said Napalmman.

"There will be some more challenging bad guys later right?" asked Tomahawkman.

"There will be..." said Protoman.

"Well I can't sit around here! I want more!" said Tomahawkman.

"Me too! I wanna fire off a few more rounds. We'll be up ahead." said Napalmman as he and Tomahawkman enters End 2, then Colonel jacks in.

"I contacted the rest of the team, they're on their way right now." said Colonel.

"Good, there is not a moment to lose. And Lan, we'll try to recover Megaman without deleting him. But you've got prepare for the worst..." Protoman warned Lan.

"OK... Let's do it guys!" said Lan as Protoman and Colonel enter End Area 2.

Inside End 2, Magnetman, Knightman, Gyroman, and Shadowman jacks in.

"Sorry, I ran into a bit of turbulence on the way here. Are we late?" Gyroman asked.

"No, you're just in time." Colonel said.

"Everyone, this is Napalmman and Tomahawkman. They are in charge of offense." Protoman introduced the newest members of the team.

"Be careful, because I'm playing with fire, baby!" said Napalmman.

"Whoa, dangerous! Nice to meet ya!" Gyroman introduced himself.

"Any idea about of our enemy?" asked Knightman.

"The Darkloid in charge of the area is in that fortress waiting for us. You'll be surprised on who he really is." said Colonel.

"Well there is no point in just standing here." said Magnetman.

"Agreed.... Gyroman, you and Shadowman search for the Barrier Keys to shut down the Barrier Panels. We will take care of the HeelNavis and viruses." Protoman said.

"Understood." said Shadowman as he and Gyroman scout the area for Barrier Keys.

"Alright team! Move out!" Colonel said as the team goes around the area to fight the Nebula forces around the area.

Napalmman encounters a group a of HeelNavis approaching him.

"Looks like some chumps came to play! Show them what you can do Napalmman!" Fyrefox shouted from his screen.

"Leave it to me! Vulcan Gun!" Napalmman shouted as he fires his guns at the HeelNavis deleting them.

Tomahawkman then approaches more HeelNavis with their swords drawn.

"These Nebula guys think they're tough, but they're pretty weak." said Dingo.

"Yeah! I'm gonna show them what real power is! Tomahawk Swing!" Tomahawkman shouted as he swings his axe and slashes the HeelNavis deleting them.

As Gyroman and Shadowman find the Barrier Keys, they see TinHawks approaching them.

"Tinhawks coming at us at six o clock!" said Shadowman.

"Leave them to me!" said Gyroman as he turns around and flies towards the TinHawks.

The Tinhawks soar towards Gyroman but the Helicopter Navi uses his agile movement to evade them.

"Gyro Vortex!" Gyroman shouted as he uses his propeller to fire a vortex of wind which envelops the viruses, then he switches to Navi Mode.

"Gyro Cutter!" Gyroman shouted as he throws his propeller at the TinHawks deleting them.

Shadowman is then approached by some BigBrutes and they shoots balls of fire at him, and when they hit, in its place is a dummy of Shadowman instead.

"Kiwami!" Shadowman shouted as he throws several shuriken deleting the BigBrutes, then he retrieves one of the Barrier Keys. "Nebula should learn to keep their mutts on their leashes."

Magnetman and Knightman faces off against two large Swordy viruses called Bladias.

"These new viruses seem to be like much larger version of Swordys." said Pride.

"Well they shouldn't be a problem for us!" said Tesla.

The Bladias unleashes heavy sword attacks against Magnetman and Knightman.

"MagnetBarrier!"

"Stone Body!"

Magnetman and Knightman use their defensive techniques to block the attacks.

"Now it's our turn! MagBolt Battlechip in download!" Tesla shouted as she drags and drops the chip on her holographic screen. Magnetman them forms a Magnet in his right arm and draws in one of the Bladias towards him and Knightman.

"Drill Arm Battlechip in, download!" Pride shouted as she drags and drops the chip on her holographic screen. Knightman then forms a large drill in his right arm and pieces it through the Bladia deleting it.

"Here comes the other one!" Knightman shouted.

"Got it!" shouted Magnetman as he pulls in the second Bladia and Knightman deletes it using his Drill Arm.

Protoman and Colonel approaches the Dark Hole and destroys them before any viruses come out.

"The Dark Holes are gone now. We won't have to worry any more of those viruses coming during into this area." said Protoman.

"Look the Barrier Panels are disappearing." said Colonel as he pointed the to disappearing Barrier Panels.

"Looks like Shadowman and Gyroman found the Barrier Keys." said Protoman.

"We sure did." said Gyroman who reverts from Gyro Mode to Humanoid Mode, "Those HeelNavis guarding them weren't even a problem."

"And it looks like everyone hear handled the enemy forces without breaking a sweat." said Shadowman as the rest of the team appears.

"So the Darkloid is inside that fortress. Let's go inside and greet him." said Napalmman.

"That won't be necessary." said a voice, the group turns revealing to be Dark Megaman, "I was getting bored, so I decided to come out and play. And I see you got two more members to join your little team."

"Is that Megaman?!" Pride gasped.

"So that's what they did to him!" Charlie growled.

"Megaman! Please Wake up! Can you hear me!" Lan pleaded.

"You're wasting your breath Lan. A Dark Soul fills this body now! If you want to beat me, you'll have to delete the body too!" Dark Megaman said.

"There's no other choice. We've got to fight, Lan!" said Protoman.

"Delete the body...? But... Megaman..." Lan said worriedly.

"Enough talk! MegaBuster!" Dark Megaman shouted as he fires his MegaBuster at the team damaging them.

"Hmph! So you wanna fight huh! Okay then, bring it!" Napalmman shouted as he charges towards Megaman.

"Hey don't leave me out of the action!" said Tomahawkman has he follows Napalmman.

"Napalmman! Tomahawkman! Wait...!" Lan shouted from his screen.

"Dark Wide!" Dark Megaman shouted as he forms a trident in his right arm and fires a dark wave of water at Napalmman and Tomahawkman which damages them both.

"But how?!" Protoman gasped.

"He used a Dark Chip?!" Lan gasped from his screen.

"Dark Meteor!" Dark Megaman shouted as he summons a large group of black meteors which makes their way towards the two.

"They're in trouble. Magnetman! Knightman!" Colonel shouted.

"Leave it to us!" said Magnetman as he and Knightman stands in front of Napalmman and Tomahawkman and uses their defensive techniques to block the meteors.

"Thanks for the save." said Napalmman.

"But wait? How was Megaman able to use Battlechips without me operating him?" Lan asked.

"How quickly you forget Lan, a Dark Soul inhabits this body, and it records chip data of every Battlechip you used. However, thanks to the Dark Chip implanted inside me by Master Regal, I now have the power to use any Dark Chip at my disposal without being infected by the bugs that will affect my data." said Dark Megaman.

"So now he has the power to use all of the Dark Chips at his disposal." said Colonel.

"That's right Colonel, and this is where the team will fall! Dark Spreader!" Dark Megaman shouted as he forms a spreader gun and fires an explosion of dark shots at the Navis which damages them, then Megaman laughs evilly.

"Lan, we can't hold back against him. He's determined to delete us. If we can't defeat Megaman, there won't be anything else to do to save him." said Protoman.

"I understand... Listen everyone, we can't hold back against him. That maybe Megaman right in front of us, but we have fight him no matter who he is." said Lan.

"We understand Lan... Knightman!" Pride shouted.

"Yes Princess... Kingdom Crusher!" Knightman shouted as he fires his mace at Dark Megaman.

"Alright! Let's go Magnetman!" Tesla shouted.

"You got it Tesla! Magnet Missile!" Magnetman shouted as he fires a magnet at Dark Megaman who dodges it and the mace.

"Dark Vulcan!" DarkMegaman shouted as he forms a machine gun in his right arm and fires rapid shots at Magnetman and Knightman which hits.

"Tornado Arm!" Gyroman shouted as he forms a fan in his right arm and fires a vortex of wind at Dark Megaman.

"Dark Tornado!" Dark Megaman shouted as also forms a fan and fires a tornado which blows way the vortex and blows away Gyroman.

"Kage no Bushin!" Shadowman shouted as he creates two clones and he charges for Dark Megaman with their swords drawn.

"Dark Circle!" Dark Megaman shouted as he forms a dark looking Circle Gun in his right arm and aims at Shadowman, and through the screen as the markers cross, he fires at Shadowman who dodges it and tries to slash him with his katana.

"Dark Sword!" Dark Megaman shouted as he slashes Shadowman and the clones damaging him.

"Let's see if you can handle this! Napalm Bomb!" Napalmman shouted as he fires a bomb towards Dark Megaman.

"Dark Bomb!" Dark Megaman shouted as he throws a bomb at Napalmman's which results a massive explosion which pushes Napalmman back.

"Tomahawk Air Raid!" Tomahawkman shouted as he throws his axe towards Dark Megaman.

"Dark Lance!" Dark Megaman shouted as he slams his palm onto the ground causing black bamboo lances to appear from the ground and block the axe, then they make their way towards Tomahawkman who dodges it, then Protoman and Colonel charge for him.

"Sonic Boom!"

"Screen Divide!"

Protoman and Colonel fire their their swords attacks towards Dark Megaman which hits, but he was able to block it.

"Is that all you can do? How pathetic! Dark Thunder!" Dark Megaman shouted  as he forms two sparking prongs and fires a dark ball of lightning towards Protoman and Colonel who dodges it.

"None of our attacks seem to be working. We need a new plan of attack." said Protoman.

"Program Advances may be the best thing to use against them, but we need a way to keep him in place for them to work." said Lan.

"Leave it to me. I'll try to keep him from moving. But I need to get in close to him." said Colonel.

"In that case we'll cover for you. Let's go everyone!" said Protoman as he and the rest of the team charge for Dark Megaman.

"It's futile! No matter what you try, nothing can defeat me. Dark Cannon!" Dark Megaman shouted as he forms a large Dark Cannon in his right arm and fires a dark cannon shot at them in which they dodge.

"Boomerang Battlechip in, download!" Dingo shouted as he inserts the chip, then Tomahawkman replaces his axe with a boomerang and throws it at Dark Megaman who swats it away easily with his arm.

"Asteroid Battlechip in, download!" Fyrefox shouted as he inserts the chip, then Napalmman holds out a wand and summons a barrage of meteors which make their way towards Dark Megaman which hits.

"Hammer Battlechip in, download!" Pride shouted as she inserts the chip, then Knightman forms a hammer in his right arm and he tries to strike Dark Megaman with it.

"Dark Drill!" Dark Megaman shouted as he forms a drill in his right arm and dodges the hammer and strikes Knightman with the drill dealing heavy damage.

"ElecSword Battlechip in, download!" Tesla shouted as she inserts the chip, then Magnetman forms an ElecSword in his right arm and tries to slashes Dark Megaman, but he blocks the sword with his drill and strikes Magnetman with it.

"Let's go! WideBlade and LongBlade Battlechips in download!" Lan shouted as he inserts the chips, then Protoman and Colonel forms a WideBlade and LongBlade respectively and charges for Dark Megaman.

"How predictable... Dark Sword!" Dark Megaman shouted as he forms a Dark Sword and clashes with Protoman and Colonel's blades and slashes them, the Colonel appears as a dummy in his place. "What?!"

"Shadowman! Gyroman! Now!" Colonel shouted, as he Gyroman and Shadowman get behind Dark Megaman and grabs a hold of him.

"Darn it! Let go of me!" Dark Megaman seethed in anger as he tries to break free from their grasp.

"Now's your chance everyone!" Gyroman shouted.

"Hurry before we lose our hold on him!" Shadowman shouted.

"You heard him guys! Let's do it! Sword, WideSword, and LongSword Battlechips in, download!" Lan shouted as he inserts the chips, then Protoman forms a Sword and WideSword and combines them into one blade.

"Spark Shake Battlechip in, triple download!" Tesla shouted as she inserts the chips, then Magnetman summons a horde of Sparkies.

"Cannonball Battlechip in, triple download!" Pride shouted as she inserts the chips, then Knightman summons two Cannonballs in his hands.

"HeatShot Battlechip in, triple download!" Fyrefox shouted as he inserts the chips, then Napalmman forms two flamethrowers and combines them into one.

"CactiBall Battlechip in, tripe download!" Dingo shouted as he inserts the chips.

"Program Advance!" the Navis shouted.

"Life Sword!"

"Shake Parade!"

"Zeta Cannonball!"

"Heat Spread!"

"Cactus Dance!"

The Navis unleash their Program Advances, then Colonel, Gyroman, and Shadowman lets go of Dark Megaman. Multiple Cactis fall from the sky landing on Dark Megaman, then Knightman throws multiple cannonballs as Magnetman unleashes a horde of Sparkies and Napalmman firing a massive blast of flames, then Protoman unleashes a powerful slashing wave. All of them hit resulting a massive explosion which damages the fortress.

"We got him!" said Lan, but when the smoke clears, they see Dark Megaman still standing, but barely.

"No way! We hit him with all those Program Advances! And yet he's still standing?!" Tesla gasped.

"Ngwoar...! The likes of you could never defeat me!" Dark Megaman growled.

"Megaman, snap out of it! You can't let the DarkPower control you!" Lan pleaded, then Dark Megaman started to feel pain in his chest and starts flashing.

"W-What is this?! I can feel it welling up inside...M-Megaman?! No...! You should be firmly sealed in the dark!" Dark Megaman growled.

"L-Lan..." Megaman said weakly.

"Silence! I will make the darkness swallow you again!" said Dark Megaman as he glowed with a dark aura.

"The Dark Power has increased! He's at his limit!" Protoman gawked.

"Hah hah, Ha Ha Ha haah... The dark has him now!" Dark Megaman laughed, it sounded like three of him, "Fools! You would have won if you'd finish me before. You won't get a second chance!"

"Such power! He's a completely different league now!" Colonel yelled.

As a reward for making it this far, I'll make this quick and painless as possible. Dark Cannon!" Dark Megaman shouted as he forms a large dark cannon in his right arm and aims it his former team.

"Stop! Megaman! Can't you hear me?! Are you lost in the Dark Power forever!?" Lan cried.

"Don't do this Megaman, we all know you are stronger than this!" Tesla yelled.

"That's right. You wouldn't let something like the Dark Power control you!" Pride shouted.

"That's right. Regal is using you like a puppet. Would you want to be like this forever?" Charlie asked.

"If you are really Megaman, we all know what that answer is!" Dark shouted.

"You heard them! It's time to wake up!" shouted Fyrefox.

"Yeah! Because everyone wants you to come back!" shouted Dingo.

In the Nebula Net Prison, Roll is in her cell along with Gutsman and Glyde. Even when she is apart she can still feel Megaman's soul.

"Megaman... Don't give up..." Roll said quietly.

At End 2, the voice of Roll reaches inside of Dark Megaman, then Dark Soul Navi glowed in blue energy.

"Arrgh! Megaman?! You're a persistent pest...!" Dark Megaman snarled.

"I won't... give in... I just heard Roll's voice... and I can still hear Lan... and my friends... calling out to me... I won't give in... to the Dark Power...!" Megaman said as he regains controls.

"That's right Megaman! You can overcome it! Megaman!" Lan cheered.

"Wh...what is this?!" Dark Megaman growled as his whole body glowed with blue light, "He's breaking out?! B... but how?! Love and friendship!? Unbelievable! GAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" and that was the last anyone heard of Dark Megaman was the whole area flashed in blue light.

In the Nebula Net Prison, Roll senses Megaman returning to normal.

"Megaman..." she smiled quietly.

As the light at End 2 died down, the area was back to normal, and so was Megaman.

"Megaman?" Lan asked.

"...I'm back, Lan! It was you... and everyone's voice... that let me... come back... I even... heard Roll... calling to me..." said Megaman as he collapses and falls asleep, then the team runs up to him.

"He's fallen asleep. But it looks like he beat the Dark Power." said Colonel.

"Megaman is back now. I'm transferring him to your PET, Lan. Megaman, Transfer!" said Protoman as he transfers Megaman back to Lan's PET.

"Thanks you guys, you've been a real help." said Lan as he logs off, and so did the other operators.

Moments later, Protoman and Colonel talks to the team.

"I owe you all an apology. As soon as Megaman lost his self will, I should have shut him down... If Megaman hadn't managed to fight his way back before, you all would have been in real danger. As one of your leaders I should have been tougher..." Protoman apologized.

"There is no harm done Protoman. We liberated this area and got Megaman back too." said Gyroman.

"I respect what you did, Protoman. Anyone could have shut down Megaman before. But you didn't let the danger sway you. You believed Megaman would win through in the end." said Knightman.

"All's well that end's well. Megaman's real tough for beating the Dark Power like that." said Napalmman.

"Yup! 'Victory comes to those who believe in their allies.' That's what they say. And it sure is true! Megaman's faith in his friends really impressed me." said Tomahawkman.

"Gee, you're a soft touch too!" said Magnetman.

"He he he... Looks like one of our bosses has lost his bite, Protoman!" Shadowman teased.

"Watch it you two!" said Protoman.

"Anyway, we should jack out and rest. It has been a really long day for all of us." said Colonel, the team nodded and jacked out.

(At the HQ in SciLab...)
Lan is with Baryl and Chaud as he transfers Protoman back to Chaud's PET.

"There, Protoman is back inside your PET now." said Lan.

"Thank you Lan. And I'm glad you finally got Megaman back." said Chaud.

"Hey Lan..." said Megaman as he came up on a holographic screen. "I just wanna say, I'm sorry."

"What are you apologizing for?" Lan asked.

"I wasn't strong enough to overcome Dark Soul's power. Because of that, I was forced to fight you and our friends. I'm sorry you had to go through all of that." said Megaman.

"It's not your fault Megaman. I didn't like having to fight you either, but to honest any of us would have shut you down if we lost you. Protoman, Colonel, and the others feel that way. But the important thing, is that your back with us and we will stop Nebula no matter what." Lan reassured his brother.

"Thank you little brother..." Megaman said.

To Be Continued...