Ch. 1: The Musical Change
Lan Hikari sat daydreaming as he woke up that morning, about his beloved Maylu Sakurai. It's been about 6 years since the N1 Grand Prix. Lan Hikari had changed a lot since. He had grown into a tall, strong, and, as a few girls hinted to him, handsome teenager. He still wore his blue headband (with his icon) and vest. He sighed at his once normal attire…
Lan thought of something and cried a little before saying; "I love Maylu with all my heart. But I still fear for her future. Maybe I'm not meant to be with her."
Lan looked at an old Music Chip case, showing a picture of a cool male singer on it. Music Chips are like Battle Chips, but are mainly used for listening to a collection of different musical songs you like. Then an idea struck him! He took off his headband and––
"Maybe there's another side of me that I haven't found yet."
He looked at his Net Navi, MegaMan, who's asleep, even though it's a day off from high school; Lan felt he should go out.
An hour later in the park… the women seemed to notice a young and handsome man with shoulder-length brown hair, placing it in a ponytail tied off by a particularly wide blue hair-band with a red icon on top and a knot on the bottom, he's wearing a blue & white Hawaiian shirt slightly open at the top, he's also donning a pair of loose-fitting white slacks with many pockets, plus a dark-tinted pair of sunglasses, and orange sandals. He's got a pair of blue headphones on, connected to his blue P.E.T., listening to music.
As he got up to go and get lunch at the restaurant, #1 Curry (where the former members of WWW retired), even Maddy was enchanted by his presence. But it didn't take long for her to recognize the young man.
Maddy asks herself, before brightly blushing and smiling, "What's this? Lan Hikari in a slacker getup, but displaying the newly grown-in goods? Aye-yi-yi-yi."
As Count Zap looked upon the new Lan, "Who are you? And welcome to #1 Curry." Lan asks the electric rock player, "What's so different about me, Count Zap, aside from my new getup?" Count Zap barely recognized the voice, "That's funny. I know I heard that particular voice from somewhere."
Maddy helped the rock player, "It's Lan Hikari."
Zap looked at Lan carefully… and then said, "Since when did you dress up for the weather? It is hot outside you know. And you look so cool!" Lan shook hands with him saying, "Thank you dude. The usual order, please. But this time add more spice."
Yahoot notices Lan's getup, "Why are you doing this to yourself, Mr. Hikari?" MegaMan spoke from his P.E.T., "I asked him the same thing, and all he says is 'I'm trying to do something different now, just to find another 'me'.'' Mr. Match comes in, hearing the story, "Another you, Laddie? What do ye mean?" Yahoot explained, "I sense that he's feeling troubled and he decided to move onto something other than Net-Battling and eating." Count Zap added in, "And that upped his style a lot!"
On the other side of Dentech City, Maylu was enjoying her shopping time with the girls, Yai & Shuuko. Maylu Sakurai had changed a lot; The beautiful 17 year old is wearing a pink tank top, a pair of tight light blue jeans, a red P.E.T., and she still had her Roll symbol barrette in her now long red hair. She had grown a lot and all the men around at the time were glad with the change... even if they had never known her before. She had grown to be a 40 DD. Shuuko Kido grew out of the "bad luck girl" she used to be and into a blue-haired Venus de Milo. Yai Ayano is still as she was as she was long ago; she's still into cute dresses, a student prodigy, "richer than Richie Rich" rich, and cute.
Then they heard something from other girls gossiping–– "Did you hear? Some really hot guy just came by at the park. He has his hair tied up in a ponytail with a blue bandanna instead of a hair-band!" "No way! I did hear! I wonder if he's single, or temporarily taken." "I seemed to notice that he's wearing headphones listening to music. In that slacker-like getup, I can see that he's a really sweet man."
Maylu sighs, "That kind of reminds me of Lan."
Yai shrugs it off "Come on, there's absolutely no way someone like Lan would––" she stopped in mid-sentence when she saw Lan, but didn't recognize him, she slowly spoke and felt extremely smitten, finishing the sentence. "Dress… like… that." Shuuko got curious and asked her friends, "You don't think that is Lan, do you?"
Dex Oyama and his little brother, Chisao, and his friend, Tory Froid, are walking toward the arcade when they noticed Lan, but didn't recognize him either! Chisao shouts out, "He's so cool!" Dex, not recognizing Lan anymore now, asks, "Who is that guy?" Tory felt the same as Dex, "I don't know." Lan noticed them not recognize him and held out his hand to greet them.
Lan held up his hand and coolly smiled, "Hey, dudes!" Dex asks in curiosity, "Who are you?" Lan held out his ponytail displaying his former bandana's icon and his P.E.T. with MegaMan before saying; "Doesn't this icon give you a clue? Or perhaps do you remember this Net Navi?"
After about a minute, even Dex remembered him! "Lan? What happened? When did you dress into that design?" Lan calmly said, "This morning, why?" Dex arrogantly says, "I bet those new looks will just slow you down in Net-Battling!" Lan calmly responds, "I've got a different idea."
At the arcade, a lot of the girls there paid total attention to the new Lan. Chaud took a gander at Lan's new look, "This should be amusing to see Lan get creamed; soon he may give up Net-Battling for good."
As the sign, "Battle Start", showed… the match started! GutsMan shouted out, "GutsMan pound the ignored MegaMan!" MegaMan punned, "I've got a Guts instinct that you're going to be wrong!" The Net Navi was right and it started when Lan called out, "'Hey Driver' Music Chip in, Download!" The song played out!
During that time, video images from the Ayano Cyber-Race Grand Prix appeared around the arena along with the very song playing in the background! That distracted Dex and GutsMan greatly! Lan inserted another Chip, "Gotcha! Double Soul: Planet Soul Chip in, Download!"
Rings surrounded MegaMan, encasing him in planet-like orbs like Planet-Man, but more to MegaMan's fitting! Gray sphere-shaped shoulder guards each with solitary silver spikes, yellow orb-shaped boots, an Earth-like piece of body armor, yellow orb-like gloves, and a black orb-like helmet with a lower face-cover. "Planet Soul!"
Lan calls out, "Hit him hard, MegaMan!" MegaMan lifts up his hands and calls out, "Aqua Planet!" A blue orb flew from MegaMan's orb-like helmet to right above GutsMan, blasting a spray of powerful water onto him! At that GutsMan turned into the words "Log Out!"
GUTSMAN LOGGING OUT
Dex weeps, "GutsMan, no!"
Even Chaud was impressed! Using a non-Battle Chip in a Net Battle, and a particularly entertaining one at that, Lan was able to pull a victory from that hat! He quietly says, "Incredible!" ProtoMan agrees with him, "Chaud, maybe there's a Program Advance within those Music Chips." Chaud was still recovering from surprise, "So it may seem, it was proven that every Chip has a particular Program Advance, whether they're Battle Chips or not."
Dex started complaining to Lan, "That was so not fair! Where did you get that Planet Soul Unison Chip?" Lan simply said, "Every Net Navi has memory of whom they encountered." MegaMan added, "He accessed into my memory of Planet-Man and copied that exact power into a single chip." Lan said, "I never really imagined that galactic Net Navi would actually come from another planet not known to us, hence his name."
Dex stood there gaping, at that he fainted! Yai responded, "I'm impressed. Remind me to ask Ayano-Tech to try to try that too." Chisao was confused, "Can you run that by me again?" Shuuko was enchanted by this new version of Lan Hikari, "Beneath that new, cooler, and sexier exterior of Lan's beats the heart of a true scientist."
Lan thought up something interesting–– "Maybe we can have an N1 Net Music Grand Prix. Where we can get to sing and listen to those Music Chips, as well as battle." Chaud now calmed down at hearing this, "Just my idea exactly, Lan." Everyone, but Lan and MegaMan, looked at Chaud with curious faces. Chaud continued, "Seeing how you also wield non-Battle Chips as Battle Chips as well, I will order an N1 Net Music Grand Prix. Expect the rulebooks within a week everyone, if you intend to join. And Lan, I will find a Program Advance for Music Chips." Lan held his fist and boldly said, "As will I!"
Maylu cried out, "Expect me as well!" Everyone now looked at Maylu, she seems really determined for something. Maylu thought to herself, "Maybe if I could win this Grand Prix, the old Lan would come back."
To be continued…
(A/N: I'm so sorry that the lyrics had to be deleted, but you can look up the lyrics to each song; but I've got this tournament on Tournament (http/