Mega Man 1. We All Fall Down

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Megaman.EXE or any aspect of the games. This right belongs to Capcom alone. For those of you who may make the connection, I also do not own the rights to Yan or Incognito from the anime series Hellsing.  
  
A/N: This story is actually a side-story to a much larger set of stories, entitled Saving GameFAQs. It's a prequel of sorts, telling the history of one of the more mysterious characters, Yan Incognito…

* * *

_The year is 33XX…_  
  
_Years have passed since the time of MegaMan.EXE and Lan Hikari. Relative peace and order has been established on the Net and in real-world society. Navis have evolved to a state where they are almost human; they breathe, eat, sleep, bleed. NetCrime is nearly non-existent. All in all, a near-utopian society has been formed. This perfect society, however, is about to change…_  
  
On August third, 33XX, a young boy, sitting in his room, hunched over a computer in a tangle of wires large enough to rival the Amazon, hears the phone ring in his kitchen. With his normal, happy-go-lucky attitude about him, Zean pulled of his goggles, attempted to fix his incessantly frazzled reddish-brown hair and trotted to answer the call.  
  
Two rings. Perhaps it was his parents? He hadn't seen them for a few days now… they were vacationing at the beach. Imagining, Zean saw his parents having the time of their lives. His father, Kintaro, would probably be somewhere near the water. He had always loved it; in his youth, he was an avid surfer and swimmer, and even grew up in a beach house. The sun would be gleaming off his thinning hair, the same color as Zean's, only a little gray around the edges. His mother, Geia, would probably be relaxing under a beach umbrella, either reading one of her favorite novels or sleeping soundly. Without the tan, Mediterranean complexion of the rest of the family, she tended to burn easily. Although she loved the sun, she rarely got out in it, and-  
  
This daydreaming could have gone on for hours, had the third ring of the phone not interrupted. One misstep was all it took to send Zean tumbling down the stairs in a heap, right in front of the phone. One final ring. It was now or never. Had Zean known what awaited him on the other end of the line, he would have chosen the latter.  
  
"Hello, is this the Aberholden residence?" wheezed a tired voice on the other line. Signs of age showed in his tone.  
  
"Yes, Zean speaking. May I ask who's calling?" Zean had always been an incredibly polite boy, almost to a fault.  
  
In this world, nothing can be as deadly or ominous as silence. Silence is unfaltering, does not waver, and does not give any clues as to what may or may not happen. Silence is true fear embodied and packaged into brief, horrendous moments of our life. This was one such silence, during which the entire world and everything on it nearly ceased to exist. Zean heard his heartbeat, his breathing…  
  
Finally, the voice crackled to life. "Zean, I don't know how to say this, so I'll just say it. Your parents… are… they're gone, Zean. They were killed in a MetroLine accident, near their vacation home. I'm sorry, I know this is…"  
  
The rest of the man's words were worthless, trailing over the phone line and bouncing off Zean's psyche like rubber. Gone? Dead? That can't be right. It just can't be right. It wasn't happening. Not to him. It couldn't be happening… thoughts of denial raced through Zean's head as the receiver dropped soundlessly to the carpeted floor.  
  
"Hello? Hello, are you there? Zean…?" 

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The clock struck once… twice… three times, and continued until the tenth chime. Zean had long since fallen asleep in a flood of his own sadness. The night had been a restless one, plagued with tossing and turning. Then, the unthinkable happened. A bolt- not lightning, but a purplish glowing bolt from the heavens –struck a power line outside of the Aberholden residence, cutting all the power in the house. As if haunted by a specter, the computer sprang to life. Bits of data ran across the screen, numbers that seemed senseless and random to the common eye. Zean was wide awake and horrified, staring blankly at his monitor, hoping that this was all a grief-induced nightmare.  
  
Miracles do not have to be an act of stunning kindness or an impossible feat or even happy at all. Miracles are merely there, and whether we believe them to be miracles or not is a matter of choice. They may seem unbelievable, and perhaps even a bit evangelical, but in any case they are there. If you acknowledge them, then you can reap the benefits; ignore them, and they become a simple occurrence, strange, but forgettable.  
  
One could say it was a so-called miracle when Zean found his own steely gaze matched by an equally icy stare. The computer monitor had been filled with the upper half of a NetNavi, one with a muscular frame and a spiked plate on his left shoulder. His body was relatively normal, but what could be seen of his face beneath his sleek helm and above his mask was enough to characterize his entire appearance. His eyes were totally unnerving, sending a shiver down Zean's spine. There must have been an error in the programming. Perhaps the bolt of energy had sparked the incomplete customization process from earlier in the day to life.  
  
Whatever it was, there was no denying the fact that the eyes of the Navi were totally, utterly crimson. 


	2. First Blood

Zean spoke first. His normally bold, youthful voice was stained with trepidation.  
  
"Who… who are you?"  
  
"I believe you know who I am. After all, you ARE the one who programmed me. And now you've activated me, isn't that right?" The NetNavi spoke in a low basso that echoed throughout the house.  
  
"Yes… I mean, no… I mean… oh, why is this happening…?"  
  
"I don't quite understand it either, and you're not helping. Now, either you programmed me or not, it's not a difficult concept to grasp. Answer the question."  
  
"I… yes."  
  
"Good. Now we're making progress." The Navi spoke as if he were Zean's superior.  
  
Regaining his composure, Zean stood, waiting for a moment as his head swirled. Again, the Navi spoke. "So, now that I know my place and you know yours, I believe it's time I introduced myself. I am Yan. You are my creator. Shall I refer to you as master, or just plain sir?"  
  
"My name's…" Zean began, but his mind veered off course before he could finish. Was this really the same Navi he had begun customizing earlier today? Sure, he had expected some difference, but this was insane. Could he trust this…Yan character? Normally, Zean would have passed it off as premature suspicion, but just to be safe, he decided to use a false identity. Now, what was that virus from the history books…?  
  
"Your name is…?"  
  
"Zero. Call me Zero."  
  
"No formal title? It's all the same, I suppose. Well, Zero, this could be the start of something… you should know, being my creator, that I'm not your ordinary Navi… and I have a special talent, perhaps even a sixth sense, that allows me to tell when someone wants something. And you, dear boy, want something more than anything else in the world right now." The Navi's tone had changed dramatically. Now there was a cutting edge added to the solemnity.  
  
"To wake up from this nightmare?" Tried the red-headed teen.  
  
A cackle, vile and piercing, erupted from Yan's gullet. "No, no, not at all. You want revenge. I can taste your heated blood, your rage. You want someone's head mounted on your wall… I can do that for you, Zero. I can do that. All you need to do is release my true power…"  
  
Zean's heart stuttered for a moment. This strange new compatriot was absolutely right. All Zean could think about was getting revenge on those who had caused his parents deaths, and how powerless he was to stop people from losing their lives in NetCrime accidents. Something was amiss, but Zean was far too blinded by his wants and needs to realize it.  
  
"Revenge. I need to get my revenge."

* * *

It was nearly midnight now. One Navi patrolled the edge of the secret alcove in the depths of the Undernet. It was a perfect time to use this secret hideout, especially since the day had been so eventful; a heist, a bounty to rival Midas's cache of gold, and a few less pesky officials to worry about. It was like living a dream. NetCrime had become so hard to pull off that these scores were few and far between, and this particular Navi was milking every second of it. He would be the only one of the bandits to die happy that night.  
  
Aroused by the commotion outside, three other Navis awoke and stepped out to the grisly scene. Their comrade lay in a pool of his own blood, face-down. That is, he would have been laying face-down in it, if he still had a face left. Most of it had been blown away by a high-impact shell. The entire group was silent for a few moments.  
  
Then, out of nowhere, a shadow swooped by. A soft breeze passed the group of Navis. Three words were spoken before chaos began its reign.  
  
"What the hell…?!"  
  
As if on cue, it was at that moment that the offending Navi was literally cut in two, directly down the center. The only possible cause that his allies could have noticed was a clawed hand reaching out from an armored figure, and at that the image lasted for a mere second at best.  
  
The next Navi to fall had only time to form his buster. He was the first to truly witness death coming for him. A Navi with a crazed look in his eyes was charging straight for him with a heavy chain gun outstretched in one hand. Upon further inspection, he noticed something odd about the Navi's eyes.  
  
They weren't eyes at all, merely crimson slits in his face.  
  
That was all he had time to notice. The only remaining bandit gasped and stepped back as the rear of his compatriot's head burst into a bloody spray. Barely breathing, he turned to run, only to meet up with the same exact Navi, staring him in the face.  
  
Four bodies were scattered across the ground. Each had been mangled. Only one body remained standing. That was the one of Yan.  
  
"In the name of God, I have tonight purified the damned. Let their souls be judged."  
  
And with that, he turned and left, vanishing into the bleak gloom that surrounded the Undernet.

* * *

Zean stood for a moment, attempting to catch his breath, which had left him moments before. What had happened? All he remembered was his conversation with Yan, then… what? He just couldn't seem to figure out what had happened. But he knew that those responsible for his parents' deaths were gone; his PET's screen proved it with the four bodies lying on the ground. There was something he needed to do, something of utmost importance… but what?  
  
It was all so vague… so tiring… he couldn't keep himself awake…  
  
In moments, Zean had fallen into his own bed, fast asleep. His nightmare, however, was only beginning. 


	3. A Whole New Life

Zean's eyes fluttered open. It felt as if he'd been simultaneously hit with a truck, a meteor, and a sledgehammer, then dumped into a compactor and hung upside-down for several hours. Needless to say, he had a headache the size of Netopia.

"Finally. Another hour of that incessant sawing, and I may have gone mad." The voice was all too familiar. So it wasn't a dream after all.

"Unngh... what... what happened?" muttered Zean.

"Well, let's see. First, I disemboweled the Navis who arranged your parent's... well, let's not get into that. Your adrenaline rush crashed, and you collapsed onto your bed. You've been snoring ever since, and I was about to try and bridge the gap between the two worlds in order to shut you up. Now, about that-"

"Just leave me alone," Zean started, "You're crazy. That's all there is to it. Insane. Off your rocker. I don't want anything to do with this."

"Yes you do. Think, boy. You've obtained your ultimate revenge, and it doesn't have to stop there. You may believe that this is your tragedy, something that happens only once in an eternity, and, for some reason, only to those who don't deserve it. Think again. Millions of men, women and children are hurting out there, and-"

Zean knew where this was going. This oddball was going to try to convince him to involve himself in another killing. Slim chance of that happening. "No! I don't want to hear any more! I've already killed three Navis, that's enough! I'm just a programmer, a simple, kind-hearted one who's suffering from a very traumatic experience, and I want NOTHING to do with your mindless murder!" Zean leapt for the monitor and picked up his PET, unplugging it and throwing it across the room. For a fourteen-year-old boy, he could be very forceful.

How could this have happened to him? First, his parents are killed, and now a deranged Navi plagued him like his throbbing head; all this, over the course of twenty-four hours. He needed to clear his mind. Gathering his pack, and, just in case, his PET, Zean hopped on his hoverskates and headed into the city.

A walk was just what Zean needed to clear his mind. It was as if the entire world just floated away. No more problems, no more heartbreak, no more errors. It was this kind of thing that truly inspired him, truly made him feel at peace. It was in this fashion that he had gotten into programming.

Zean had always been a dreamer. His thoughts tended to drift from one thing to another, and he never paid attention in school. Of course, he almost never had to: he was light years ahead of his class, acing every test that was handed to him. There was just no challenge, sitting in class, rattling answers off like they were nothing. _Give a detailed description of Gospel, the ancient NetCrime syndicate._ No problem. _A bug-fusion reaction creates ._ Still no trouble. It was like he lived in his own world, and because of this, he had very few social relationships. He instead confided in the programs he created: each one could simulate an area of reality, like friends, surroundings...

"There I go, dazing off again. Dad would've scolded me by now..." Zean said out loud. The mere mention of his father's name was enough to stop his breathing for a moment. He had to move on, but he couldn't. Grieving doesn't solve anything. And now, facing the biggest challenge of his life, Zean had to stay totally focused.

Suddenly, Zean heard a scream. A girl... about his age. Something was familiar about the voice, but he couldn't place it.

Wheeling, Zean turned down an alleyway close to the direction of the scream. Sure enough, the girl was there. Some kind of trap held her in place, almost as if she was numb. An older man, perhaps in his early 20's, was nearby, reaching out as if to grab her. His grin was purely evil; it was the grin that the Navi had worn the other night, patrolling outside of the hideout. It was a look so sinister, so vile that it rendered Zean totally breathless. The exact same smile. It couldn't be.

"But it is, Zean, it is." The deep, sadistic voice rang out again. Zean's PET had been switched on the whole time. "You see what I mean? NetCrime hasn't ceased to exist. Far from it. And the authorities are blind to it. You, my friend, have to be the one to open your eyes. That's why I'm here. To awaken you."

Another scream broke Zean of his stupor. The villain had begun to unzip the front of the girl's leather jacket. _Right, that tears it._ Zean leapt forward, whirling his pack out in front of him and pulling a small circular device out.

The man had only time to look up and blurt his surprise before he was knocked off his feet by a gust of wind from underneath him. Underneath him, a small boy hesitated for a moment. What was he doing...?

Zean pulled a small bar from his bag. So, all those lessons hadn't been totally worthless. The pole extended at both ends, forming into a thin but powerful quarterstaff. Another press of a button, and it began to emit a small pulsating noise, as if there was a current running through it. This, he thought, was not going to be pretty.

* * *

Five minutes later, Zean stood over the man, who had finally stopped convulsing. Again, something inside of him had been satisfied. It wasn't a feeling of revenge; no, it wasn't even a feeling. It was something more primal, embedded deep within him. Was this it? Was this... Justice?

"Is he...?" The girl's voice had been reduced to a squeak.

"No. Probably just unconscious. Probably."

"Th... thank you... I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't shown up. He just came out of no where and..." stammered the girl, on the verge of tears.

"It's nothing, really. No one should have to be terrorized like that." Maybe Yan was right, he thought. Maybe everyone was suffering, and he was the only one to stop it. Whatever it was, he had to take action. Zean turned to walk away.

"Wait!" the girl yelled from behind him, "What's your name?

"My name-" Zean started, then paused for a moment before finishing, "My name is Zero."


	4. Recurrances

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the rights to any- Do I really need to put this? You know that Capcom owns this entire series. I do, however, own the rights to that stupid copy of Command Mission, which is currently sitting at GameStop because I'm too lazy to get my ass out there. $1.89 a gallon sucks.

* * *

"_But it is, Zean, it is." The deep, sadistic voice rang out again. Zean's PET had been switched on the whole time. "You see what I mean? NetCrime hasn't ceased to exist. Far from it. And the authorities are blind to it. You, my friend, have to be the one to open your eyes. That's why I'm here. To awaken you."_

__

The words were repeated, over and over, in Zean's subconscious. It had been three days since they were spoken, and not once had the buzzing left him, like furies dancing about his head.

Zean had not gone to school in days. What was the point? He knew everything that they would teach him. And, if all else failed, he could educate himself. It wouldn't be difficult; he was a fast learner. _Wait... Learning..._

__

"HEY!" Zean exclaimed out loud. He whipped out his PET with lightning speed. Staring back at him were those crimson eyes, with almost no sign of surprise behind them. It was inhuman, and it made Zean falter, if only for a second. Once he had regained his composure, he began his accusations. "You called me Zean!"

"No, I didn't," Yan replied in a gravely, unamused tone. "And I was enjoying the peace and quiet, before you blew a gasket. Now, what in the CyberWorld could POSSIBLY be so important?"

"Three days ago, you addressed me as Zean."

"You said you didn't want a formal title."

"I don't."

"THEN WHAT IS IT?!"

"As far as you're concerned, my name is Zero. I never told you my real name."

"Well, if we're going by distance, I must be miles ahead of you, jackass. I'm living in your PET. Let's go down the list: I could've checked one of your emails, I could've just checked the information of the owner, I could've checked the last login, I could've... You get the point. You're going to have to be a LITTLE smarter than THAT if you want to end global suffering."

The words were cold and biting. There was no need for that. "Whatever," Zean said dully as he switched off the PET, placing it back in his bag. This new Navi was the last thing he had been expecting when he started programming his own customized partner. He had wanted a friend, someone who he could talk with... this abomination was brazen, loud, cocky, and above all else a psychopathic murdering bastard. _He would like nothing more than for me to_ _turn him loose on the Net so he could wreak havoc, wouldn't he?_ Zean thought.

He sighed and flopped down on his bed, for the umpteenth time this week. This was all way, way too much. His parents were gone. His Navi was a nut job. He had beaten a man until he was unconscious earlier this week. Something was definitely changing inside of Zean, and probably for the worse.

Just then, his PET rang out. "I thought I switched you off?" he said, surprised.

"Let's just say you pressed the wrong button, for old time's sake."

"Old time's... what?! We've known each other for less than-"

"You're going to want to see this." Yan opened up a file, obviously from some sort of news site. Something seemed familiar... a beach with waves ten feet high, but somehow serene and tranquil... a lively boardwalk... this was the corner directly outside of where his parents had been staying! And in front of the house... no, couldn't be...

"...And as you can see, multiple cars have been piled here on this seemingly friendly street corner, another victim of the recent outburst of NetCrime. We at Action News 6 would like to inform all of our viewers that the situation is totally under control. Security Navis will be here shortly and..."

Yan closed the file. "Bullshit. Security Navis are weak, and out of practice. They can't do a thing."

It was just plain abnormal. Days after his parents untimely demise, and now another family had crashed? Someone else like him could be out there, mourning the loss of _their_ parents, not knowing what to do...

"Yan, we're leaving. Order me a Metroline ticket."

"To...?"

"You know as well as I do where we're going."

"...I knew you'd make the right decision. Welcome, Zean, to the corner of pay and back."

* * *

Another easy move. It was unlike the syndicate to degrade themselves to such small things as car crashes, but they had gotten the attention of the media. She stood there, reveling in the beauty of the destruction. Now they feared the unknown. Someone was nipping at their ankles, pricking them in the side. She was that low-lying beast. She was that thorn in their side. It wouldn't be long, now...

"Are you done? I thought you said we'd just do this and leave. You're daydreaming again, aren't you? Would you pay me just a minute of your time?!"

"No."

"YOU'RE JOKING. We're getting the hell out of here. NOW. I'm sick of doing this. It's too easy! These computer security devices are a joke! Can we PLEASE move on to the big heist?"

"You're the only joke here."

Another protest began, but she switched off her PET. What an annoyance that one was. Soon, she will have outlived her usefulness, and she could be disposed of. Soon...

Somewhere in the Cyber World, a small, feminine Navi pouted. She had an aquiline face, with large, glistening gray eyes. Her small frame was clad in a red leather outfit, sleeveless, with white gloves that extended almost three-quarters of the way up her arms, which were now folded. She tapped the toe of her glistening silver boot impatiently.

"Honestly, you'd think she'd respect me for everything I do. 'Ceres, go pull of this crime.' 'Ceres, I need you to go and make these cars crash.' It's not even like I get to do anything interesting," the young Navi said, to no one in particular.

This pouting could have gone on forever, if she had not heard something warp in, not far from where she was located. "Oh, damn it, what NOW?!"

She would have probably shouted more obscenity, if she had had the time. Instead, she was forced to spring out of the way of gunfire. Catching a glimpse of the offender, she froze. Crimson eyes; no, not eyes, but rather something that was altogether different. Slits. Crimson slits in the side of the figure's head. Who, or what, was this?

In her stupor, Ceres totally ignored her operator barking at her. "Ceres, what the hell is going on? Ceres? You complain about not being paid attention to, then ignore me? CERES, WAKE THE HELL UP!"

Again, the gun fired. This time, Ceres was prepared. She watched the oncoming bullets speed up, gradually, and then merely spread apart, missing her by inches. Her attacker was only surprised for an instant. Again he leapt to the offensive, this time baring some type of claw-weapon, slashing in a sideways motion, as if to rip her head off. There was no questioning it. This one was going for the kill.

Ducking, Ceres found herself in perfect position to unload on the offender. Forming a large whip in her left hand, she brought it hard upwards, leaving a gaping wound in the attacker's midsection. Timing it to the millisecond, Ceres whirled and brought the whip across the body of her attacker, this time... slicing him totally in half?!

* * *

Yan was shocked that he had let his guard down. Even more shocked was Zean, who was under the impression that Yan was totally invincible.

"Yan..."

Coughing up a little blood, Yan strove to find words. "I...I don't know... how..." he paused for a second, looking down. The gaping wound was healing itself, the tendons stitching themselves back together, bone melding back into its original shape. "How I could've let her think for a minute that she had won." Yan reared back and threw a roundhouse punch, sending the mysterious female Navi spinning across the ground.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" Zean exclaimed. Yan had been dead. He knew it. His vitals had dropped to zero, along with his hit point counter. If he had scientifically tested the data, it would've shown that Yan was totally gone. So, how was it that he had just reformed there and thrown a sensational haymaker?

"Just another perk of being created by someone as skilled as you... hey, where'd she go?"

Zean looked around the scene. The Navi in the red dress was gone, totally disappeared from the scenery. Suddenly a message appeared on his PET, written in all capital letters. Not amused at all, Zean turned and left the scene.

"Come on Yan. We're going home."

"But you didn't even..."

"Yes, I did. We're done here."


End file.

Mega Man, Adventure, Drama