It took time to finish the alterations to Rush's program and code so he could use the code fragment to track down other bits and bytes that possessed the same coding signature. They knew they'd need to gather quite a bit before they'd be able to accurately trace the hacker back to his home system. Then came the time to decide who would go. Since Stan had closed the arcade and was keeping it closed until everything was resolved, they could take anyone.
Eventually, it was decided that the team would be small with heavy hitters. A large group would draw too much attention to the amount of data flowing through the net. Even a single sprite read as an unusually large data packet when moving on their own. Rush had to come along to lead the way, as did Wily, since he was the only one who knew enough about the net to handle things once they got to the other end. Ralph insisted on going along, as did Nightmare. Felix wanted to go along as well, but it was eventually decided he had to stay behind to help stabilize Moony.
"Things will be...different on the net," Wily explained. "I've managed to design some gear that will help us maneuver on the net, and handle everything we'll encounter. However, it's untested."
"Where'd you get the idea for these things?" Felix asked curiously.
Wily grinned as he passed out the data-suits. "Peeking at the security cameras," Wily replied. "Lauren had her GBA with her one day, and was playing a...rather interesting game. Everything it presented seemed designed for us." He glanced out of the computer. "By any chance, Stan, did you get that game for her?"
Stan rubbed the back of his head. "Nope, not me. Total coincidence that."
Wily chuckled. "Well, it's still helpful."
"Dad!" Zero called out, coming forward. "I'll go too. If you're worried about anything you'll have to come across on the internet, you'll need an extra fighter. Besides..." He swallowed convulsively. "If worse comes to worse, I'm just one of many fighters in my game. If someone has to throw themselves on the virus bomb..." His voice fell silent.
Wily stared at Zero for a time. "...alright," he said at last, handing him a data-gear. As Zero took it, he pulled the reploid into a hug. "But don't be reckless, son."
"Alright," Ralph said as the pair stopped hugging. "It's time to wreck it." He slammed his clenched fist into his palm. "Rush, lead the way."
Rush barked, sniffing the air as he leapt through the internet connection, Ralph, Nightmare, Zero, and Wily following behind him.
Once on the net, they saw various paths going here and there, back and forth, interconnecting all the various computers, websites, and everything else under the sun. Also following the path were data packs, emails, downloads, and the occasional viral program.
"If we run into any virus programs," Wily began, "let me guide you in how to fight on the Net. It won't be exactly the same as in the games."
Nods greeted him, and they all began to follow Rush's nose as he headed out and around the various paths. Before long, his nose led him right to the first group of viruses.
"Alright everyone," Wily called out. "Get ready to fight. Your normal combat methods will be somewhat limited on the net...but I have a few things here that might help there."
"I'm gonna wreck it!" Ralph roared, punching the first virus dead on, knocking it back and doing a good amount of damage. The virus beside it leapt to the attack.
"Ralph! Catch!" Wily hurled what looked like a computer chip at him.
Reaching up, Ralph caught it in his right hand, where the data-gear had been focused. A massive mettaur shield appeared over his right arm, deflecting the virus' attack. "What the?"
"Battle chips?" Zero asked, raising an eyebrow. "Really, Dad?"
"What?" Wily asked. "You saw the game, too?" He threw Zero one.
Catching it, Zero hurled the large bomb it contained, destroying the remaining viruses. "Hope you brought enough," he replied, shaking his head.
Wily merely smirked. "I have enough."
Rush barked, sniffing around the destroyed viruses until he revealed another code fragment that bore the same scent as the one he'd been equipped with. Wily quickly installed it, and they followed the new trail.
It took a great deal of time to find enough code fragments to get a more accurate read on where the hacker's base of operations was. At long last, Wily needed only one more fragment to finish the map to the source. "We're almost there," Wily grunted.
"But we're taking too long!" Ralph grunted. "What if we don't make it in time?"
"Don't worry," Wily promised. "Rush has a homing function. We'll make it back to the arcade much faster than it took us to get here. We'll make it in time."
Rush began barking, pointing. A massive virus beast could be seen, eating away at a defunct website. The beast was shaped like a misshapen wooden horse.
Ralph swallowed as he stared at it. "Is...is that where the last code bit is?" he asked.
"Yes," Wily replied, seeing a spot of the beast's code glowing blue to his goggles. He pointed to the spot. "There."
"Do we have enough battle chips to take it apart?" Nightmare asked.
Wily checked his reserves. He had two healing battle chips, one shotgun, and one attack boosting chip left. "...no..."
Zero grabbed the goggles, putting them on his head. "We just need the glowing part, right?"
"Yes," Wily replied, "but-"
Without waiting for further words, Zero leapt towards the beast. It rounded on him, snapping him out of the air in its jaws.
"Zero!" Wily screamed, lunging forward, only to be held back by Nightmare.
The massive beast let out a roar, then began to jerk and writhe. A green energy beam cut it open from the inside, and Zero crawled halfway out. "Catch!" he shouted, hurling a code fragment to the others.
Ralph managed to catch it before it fell off the paths. "Zero, get out of there!"
Zero smiled softly. "Save Moony, Ralph. ...save your little girl..." The writhing mass inside the beast dragged Zero back inside as it slowly fell off the paths into the ethereal abyss of the net.
"ZERO!" Wily screamed in pain, dashing to the edge of the path and reaching after him.
Ralph stared in shocked silence at the gap that had swallowed his friend, and now swallowed Wily's tears. Rush howled in grief.
Nightmare stepped forward, placing his non-mutated armored hand on Wily's shoulder. "He gave his life for Moony, and all of us," he growled deep in his throat. "We must not let it go to waste. We must make haste."
Nodding, Wily turned to Rush. Taking the code fragment, he added it to the map data, getting the completed route to the hacker's home base. "Let's go..."
After a time, they came to a rather heavy firewall protection. "What's this?" Ralph asked.
"It's the entry point," Wily explained. He examined it for a time, then began to cackle. "Well, what do you know? Our hacker lives in a Smart House." His laughter became mad, maniacal.
"And that is good?" Nightmare asked.
"It means every device in the house can be manipulated via the net!" Wily cakcled. "By us!" His grin became even wider. "We're bad guys, right? Let's show this bastard what that means! He hurt Moony! He cost me my son!" He pointed to the barrier. "Ralph...wreck it!"
Pulling back his fist, Ralph let fly, shattering the barrier.
*Grins maniacally* Cue The Music, bitches!
I see what you did there.
Poor Zero made such a sacrifice that he now drove Wily into his default state of madness.
....I actually fealt pity for the person in the house... for all of 45 seconds.
The Trojan Virus!? Are you serious!?
RUsh had to come along
1. Extra capitalisation.
The Defecation is about to make violent contact with the hanging air circulation device, isn't it?
...
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...
...
...
I have no pity for the poor fool. Let him die in pain.
6176452 eeh, he's had worse.
6176554 Well, this time he had a reason to fight. As opposed to himself in X4
Battle routine, set! EXECUTE!!
...So, uh...someone brought BackUp Chips, right? ...Right? ...RIGHT!?
Pity no Tron games were in that arcade... they're old hats at infiltrating other electronics. (Or at least, they are in-setting...)
Yay for updates!!
Oh boy, this is gonna be good!I can picture it now:
Mr. Hacker is sitting in his house, munching on something greasy and watching a taped broadcast of E3 or something. Suddenly, his screen flickers. Frowning he hits the remote on the table as if expecting that to have some sort of effect. He tries some vocal commands, but the TV remains unresponsive, flickering into static like no plasma screen rightly should. He hears a garbled voice. Slowly, the static clears itself to reveala highly well rendered Dr. Wily standing on an otherwise blank screen. His face is set in a grim smirk.
""Wahahahaha! Ladies and gentlemen, your attention. please. The name's Wily! The one and only -- the brilliant scientist, Dr. Wily!" He announces, in a tone that feels so very scripted.
The hacker curses, confused, and verbally wonders why some ancient lame game has started up. He activates his phone, planning to call his friend who he assumes is pranking him. There's no signal. The phone vibrates a bit, indicating, somehow, he's received a text. He opens it, only to find what seems to be a gif of Ralph. The gif takes over the whole screen of his phone and it becomes unresponsive. Ralph declares his intention to wreck it, and punches the screen, causing the phone to spark and shock the hacker who drops it.
Slightly more scared than confused now, he proclaims how everything is busted. He stops mid-rant as Wily diverges from his script to ask: "Who you calling busted, buster?!"
"That's right. I'm talking to you (insert hacker's full legal name here)."
Hacker begins hyperventilating.
"We don't like being hacked." Wily continues, keeping a grim monotone "Especially when you hurt one of our own. When you attacked out little Moon, you made a grave miscalculation."
"W-W-We?" the hacker manages to croak out.
"That's right, fool. The sprites."
He runs for the door, only to hear Wily speak again from the TV.
"Now, now none of that. You had us captive within our games. It's only right we extend the same courtesy."
With that, every lock in the house snaps shut, the curtains draw, and the shutters close.
"Now, where was I..." Wily begins, "Ah yes: Ahem! Anyway, to begin... (hacker's name)! I'll be taking your precious robots!!"
With that, everything in the house seems to come to life. The lights dim and brighten randomly, the room drops to icy temperatures, flames spew from the stove. Every speaker in the house comes alive, shouting with the voices and catchphrases of every character he's ever heard of and hundreds more. He screams, but there's nothing he can do. He's trapped in a horror house of the future.
"This is what happens when you hurt one of our own, when you meddle where you should not." Wily continues, unfazed by the chaos. "Because when you do... we find out. We sprites... can see everything... and we're very unhappy."
A scream is heard as the lights cut out.
Hmmm... perhaps not the best ending for this little scene but it's fully played out in my head now and I like how it looks. By the way, can anyone guess what film/scene I'm referencing here? 10 Moony points if you do.
6176664 Toy Story?
Zero lives up to his name...
A Trojan Horse? Really?
Megaman.exe! *fanboy squeee* megaman.exe is best megaman!!!!!
6176708 yes what happen to sid in toy sory
A Trojan virus. I approve.
Another enjoyable chapter. Great job.
*laughs maniacly when man with claimed schitsofrenia (don't know proper spelling, sry) is dragged away in cop car because 'sprites' attacked the now burning in ashes house*
*schizophrenia, fwiw
Anyone else getting a dungeon crawler vibe?
Is it wrong for me to say that it's time for Ralph to... Wreck house?
Wait... *Looks at chapter title*...
... When people talk about which is the superior Mega Man, you will hear different answers. Some say the classic version is the greatest for being the originator. Others say that X is better due to the gameplay and darker plot. And still others say that Zero is the greatest due to following ARGUABLY the second-greatest Mega Man character of all time... but to everyone who says that, I have one thing to say.
It's first from the left.
i.ytimg.com/vi/FNx1HiFIoRk/maxresdefault.jpg
They brought back Iris and the Colonel.
s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/75/9c/05/759c0595e6648c263b9896a6b83b03f3.jpg
It is:
wiiudaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/mega-man-battle-network-1920x1080-wallpaper-pvayd3.jpg
Mega Man Battle Network: The greatest Mega Man series of all time... for nostalgia reasons, of course.
Please, you're just butt-hurt that you were only a part of Transmission and part of the anime.
... You see, this is why we ALWAYS grind for bug frags so you can trade to get the FoldrBak chip.
... Nothing more to say, except... Why didn't he equip the "Undershot" program?! He would've been left with 1 hp!... Oh, and I'm sorry for your loss, but don't worry, he will return.
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/77/Zero-mmz.png
And even if he were to be killed by Douche-that-shall-not-be-named, he will return again... kinda.
fast1.onesite.com/capcom-unity.com/user/blackace2010/blog_photos/ae44b23b337801b6bade44a8f2f7b5c6.jpg?v=139251
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As long as the world is in danger, he will continue to fight for peace, even in death... much like a certain Blue Bomber we know.
I dunno... I felt it went by kinda fast. Both the fighting and Zero's sacrifice. I guess action scenes aren't your forte? It's okay, though. I'm still enjoying the story.
6176424 Ah, memories of brutally deleting Beastman.EXE for a second time: What a rush!
6176554 Yeah, remember the time he had to fight his potential girlfriend to the death much like Roxas did in Kingdom Hearts?
6176664 Toy Story... You know, I wonder whatever happened to Sid.
6177216
They definitely aren't.
Oooohohoho, this is going to be very interesting~ :D
Nice work on this mate!
Zero has a habit of coming back from the dead... SO HE'D BETTER COME BACK!!!! Though if he fell into the bowels of the net I can totally see him running from a bunch of aggressive porn adds in the shape of naked ladies who want to get their hands on his hair.
6176664 Just make sure he lives to regret his decision and spends the rest of his life in a padded room.
6177222 He ended up a garbage man
6177330 ... Ah, I see what you did there; NICE!
6177271
you go ahead and cry, thems is manly tears, aint nothing wrong with that.
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ZERO!!!!!!!!!! YOU GAR SOB
Okay, they can fight viruses by Megaman Battle Network rules. But how will they handle an anti-virus, firewall, Dáta Execútion Prevéntion and other features legitimate programs use for self-defense.
Not to mention "emergency switch" that can cut energy flow and thus disable all devices at once.
Just make sure the hacker can't get to the household breaker box. That'll still be manual, and shutting the power down would paralyze our heroes inside his network and give him a chance to escape or isolate the problem.
6176472
*whistle*
Wow, beat me out by about... 42 seconds I think
Let him burn
If they are on the internet, can they bring a PC game character back? Someone like the dovahkiin, or the courier, ect ect. They shouldn't have the problem of going missing or Turbo, because PC games use multiple save files instead of the arcade's one life reset kind of systems. For example, on the same playthrough, the courier of save 10 is a competent merc with a laser rifle, while the courier of save 100 is the reincarnation of Lex Luthor with his own army of deathbots, but you can still load the courier of save 10 and play with him. If you look at it like that, the interior of a PC games would look like a cloning facility, with each "pod" containing a clone of the protagonist at the time of saving, so if one of them leave, it would just cause a save corruption, so common no body actually care,
Speaking of that, can they access modding sites and take god weapons from there? Because the way the data is distributed, there should be an infinite supply of nuclear miniguns waiting for someone to grab
Too bad Mario didn't go with them, or else they'd have this for that damn hacker:
i3.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/753/226/0c9.jpg
6177809 Well you beat me by seven!
6176594 Yes, pity that.
Dammit, heroic sacrifice... I didn't expect that.
... Hey Nightmare? Care to pull off some impossible resurrection afterwards?
Also, this guy isn't really smart to hack while in a smart house.
Hmmmm.... I wonder if there is an entire steam library in there.... And what kind of hellish toreture they go through at the whim of this hacker...
6178330 What do you expect? he decided to hack a Arcade for some reason. No idea why, he could have went for a small bank. Well now he fucked up CAUSE RALPH'S GONNA FUCK HIM UP
6178808
More specificaly... He's gonna wreck his ass
6178972 Ralph: I want your ass, Wanna know why? 'CAUSE I'M GONNA WRECK IT!
6179028
LOL nice one! got me under my table
Zero? Zero's dead? NOOOO! He's like one of the coolest characters of all time! DAMN IT! REVENGE!
i.imgur.com/iaXgq.gif
6178808
Hmm, indeed, seems a little weird... I bet it's a Nightmare Moon fanboy.
6177144 That pun .... it causes physical pain. I take zero comfort in that one. Surely you can come up with something more wily than that one? :O