Chapter One: Introductions
Roll looked down at Maylu through the screen of the PET. The pink-haired girl lay asleep on the hospital bed that she had been on since the ambulance carried her away. This was too close. I should have seen this coming. This was hardly the first fire; I should have known it was only a matter of time. I should have cancelled today's lesson… Roll sighed as she kicked herself for letting Maylu get hurt by World Three.
Her thoughts turned to Lan and his new NetNavi. They really came through for us… Roll smiled as she remembered the battle in Maylu's oven. That boy may be a dense and lazy student, but he's one heck of a NetBattler. And his Navi…he's definitely something else. "He had good timing, that's for sure. If Lan hadn't gotten him today, we would have definitely been goners…"
Earlier that Day
Maylu was sitting in her chair, diligently preparing her homework to hand in. Ms. Mari hadn't come in yet, so the classroom was as quiet as a Ratton. Sadly, the peace would not last. Both Lan and Dex burst through the door, having one of their typical Net Battle arguments. "Yeah right, Lan. You really think that you can beat me? After I've beaten you a dozen times in a row?"
"You bet I can, Dex. Thirteen's MY lucky number, and this time, I'm gonna win!"
"Thirteen's an UNLUCKY number Lan. All that means is I'm gonna beat you with one punch!"
Maylu sighed as she got back to file organization. Yep, just another day in the life of DenTech Elementary…
She had seen this play a thousand times, and so had Roll, as she piped up from the PET. "Another Net Battle today?"
"Yep. Lan seems to think thirteen is his lucky number. You mind pushing my homework back a half hour so I can bring him home when he wallows in self-pity afterwards?"
Roll nodded, accessing the schedule and moving the homework block forward a half hour. Right after it finished, Maylu piped up "Hold on, this is getting interesting…"
Both Maylu and Roll listened intently as Lan held up his PET and proclaimed "My new NetNavi MegaMan is gonna pulverize your GutsMan the same way he deleted the viruses in my mom's oven, Dex!"
Dex scoffed at the insinuation that anyone's Navi was tougher than his own. "Dream on, Lan! By the time I'm done with him, you'll have to change his name to MicroMan!"
Maylu ceased eavesdropping and turned her attention back to Roll. "That's interesting; Lan has his own custom NetNavi now. Looks like you might have a new friend, Roll."
Roll rolled her eyes and exclaimed "I just hope it's not another schmoozing womanizer. One GutsMan is bad enough, I don't think I can handle two!"
Maylu smiled optimistically and replied "Well, don't judge him before you meet him. Speaking of which, can you change that half-hour from comforting Lan to meeting the new Net Navi?"
Roll sighed and replied "Oh alright…" She swiped her finger across the menu and changed the task description. "There, it's done; right after your piano lesson. Now if you'll excuse me, class starts in ten, and I've got to prepare the automatic no for Dex's date proposal of the week."
Maylu giggled and replied "Alright, Roll. Good luck." Her attention turned as Lan sat next to her, launching into a happy rant about his new Net Navi MegaMan.
As expected, Dex sent GutsMan to ask Maylu out, and upon being rejected GutsMan then asked Roll out, much to her disgust. Only a well-timed Roll Blast drove the robotic gorilla away, causing a scene that caused almost the entire class to laugh at Dex. The rest of the day went off with little excitement, and when Ms. Mari dismissed class Maylu shouted quickly "Bye Lan! I'll come by after my piano lesson to introduce Roll to MegaMan!"
Maylu hurried home and had Roll set the alarm clock on her PET before playing the piano piece that her online instructor had sent for her to practice. Meanwhile Roll relaxed on the couch in Maylu's PC, her mind wandering to the new NetNavi Lan received. Despite her earlier comments and pessimism, she had to admit having a new friend made her curious. I wonder what he'll be like. I suppose as long as he keeps his space, we'll get along fine.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a feminine screech coming from the kitchen. "Maylu!" She brought up the video feed form the house kitchen to find a fire blazing from the kitchen, smoke blinding Maylu and causing her to cough uncontrollably. Roll instantly jacked in to the oven, finding an army of viruses causing damage everywhere. Before she could even send an attack, three Mettaurs swung their pickaxes, creating shockwaves that joined together and hit Roll causing her to screech and throwing her backwards. She checked her HP and found that it had been decreased by half. I can't delete all these viruses by myself. I need help. But who would possibly have a Navi strong enough to take on an army? Wait a Minute! Her mind flashed back to Lan's taunting conversation about beating Dex with his new Navi. Lan's Navi MegaMan and GutsMan are having a battle today. I've got to get to the school network.
Jacking out, she traveled across the internet, and when she located the signatures from Dex and Lan's PETs, she screeched as loud as she could "Someone Help!" She zapped down between the two rivals, her eyes frantic as she caught a glimpse of the new Navi; a relatively short and lean Navi about her height covered from head to toe in blue. She was drawn in by his green eyes that were similar to her own. Not bothering with an introduction, she ran up to him and pleaded "It's Maylu. She's in trouble!"
"Maylu? What kind of trouble?"
She pulled up a video file and said "Here's the uplink; everything just exploded into flames!"
Lan wasted no time in urging MegaMan to cyberlink to Maylu's oven. MagaMan nodded in affirmative without a moment's hesitation. "Alright, Roll. Let's do this!"
Roll nodded as she took his hand, disappearing in a swirl of data bits as they took the link to Maylu's oven, with GutsMan quickly behind. She looked up at him on the way through the cyber tunnel, noting the determined expression on his face. So this is MegaMan. I hope you're up to the task, MegaMan…
When all three Navis reappeared in the flaming oven, MegaMan cringed back, exclaiming "Talk about a firewall!"
MegaMan and GutsMan went to work eliminating the viruses from afar with Mega Buster and Shockwave Attacks respectively. Roll just stayed between the two of them in an effort to stay out of their way. With my HP so low, I'm practically useless right now…Roll clenched her fist in frustration as she watched MegaMan make quick work of the viruses. He's good, better than any Navi I've seen before… she thought in admiration as she saw him delete the last viruses.
"Those were the last two" MegaMan remarked, to Roll's relief.
Glad the fire wasn't severe enough to burn down the entire house, Roll exclaimed "You stopped them just in time, MegaMan!"
Suddenly Roll felt an arm around her waist as MegaMan jumped with her in his arm, narrowly missing a very large fireball. Great job Roll; you jinxed it. If MegaMan hadn't grabbed you and jumped away, you both would have been deleted!
She looked up at him for a moment, blushing softly before hearing MegaMan remark "Who is this guy?"
The flame cleared away to reveal a Navi that looked like a giant industrial torch, appropriately named TorchMan who after giving a cheesy one-liner aimed his Fire-Arm at the two of them. MegaMan threw her to the side as he yelled "Get Back!"
She watched at TorchMan threw Fireballs at MegaMan and GutsMan. MegaMan jumped back and tried to use his Mega Buster, but they just bounced off of the arsonist Navi. With no way to get close, and ranged attacks being ineffective, the two Navis were easy targets for the World Three agent. She couldn't believe her eyes as MegaMan was thrown about like a ragdoll, and GutsMan was forced to log out.
Lan thankfully came to their rescue just in time. After jacking in, MegaMan loaded a Blaster chip, which MegaMan wasted no time in using to stun and damage TorchMan. Seizing the opportunity, MegaMan then used a CyberSword chip to zip across at lightning speed and slice TorchMan's Fire-Arm off, forcing the Navi to log out. MegaMan smirked at the arsonist's defeat. And don't come back. Nobody hurts my NetOp's friends.
Staring in awe at his awesome comeback, she found the strength to get up and tackle him in a hug of gratitude and amazement. "You did it!"
End Flashback
As she stood in the hospital's network, she came to a realization about the new Navi. He helped me without a second thought, and he didn't even know me before. She realized that she had never actually introduced herself to him, and she felt a burning desire to be the blue Bomber's first real friend on the Net. It's time I introduced myself.
After a short walk through the DenTech City pathways, she found herself at the door that had formed at the entrance to Lan's PC. Despite her convictions about coming, she couldn't help but feel a little nervous about going to meet him. Get a grip Roll; you're just going to introduce yourself. Just don't go overboard and you'll be fine.
Swallowing her nervousness, she raised her hand and knocked thrice. A few seconds passed before the door opened, during which she heard an annoyed voice almost yell "No Lan, for the last time, I Am NOT Doing Your Homework FOR YOU." Hearing a visual menu close, the door opened to reveal the familiar blue helmet peering out to see who was there. He looked ahead to see a familiar pink Navi staring back at him. "Hello. You're Maylu's NetNavi, right? Roll was it? I think that's what Lan said your name was…"
Roll shyly nodded. He remembered my name… Megaman frowned and asked "Is something wrong Roll? Did something else happen to Maylu?"
Roll shook out of her almost trance and berated herself Focus, Roll! Remember what you came here for! She shook her head replied "No, Maylu's fine. I was just wondering…could we talk for a minute, please?" She finished with a cute smile, trying to make a good impression.
MegaMan had a confused look on his face but shrugged and replied "Sure." He opened the door fully and finished "Come on in."
She walked in as he waited for her. After she came through the doorway, it disappeared into data streams whilst MegaMan quickly made a couch appear from the inactive data flying around. He took off his helmet, allowing his spiky blue hair to be revealed to his guest as the helmet disintegrated into data. He kind of looks like Lan. If he were human, they could pass for twins… He took a seat on the couch and gestured for Roll to sit next to him. Smiling, she walked over and took her seat. He's quite the gentleman. More so than GutsMan anyways…
A surprisingly comfortable silence remained until the blue Navi broke it. "So what's on your mind?"
"A couple of things, really." She took a breath to steady her thoughts, and continued "I wanted to thank you for saving Maylu. It was very brave and kind of you, to come to our rescue like that." She blushed softly, remembering how cool she thought his battle performance was. "Maylu owes you her life, and I couldn't be more grateful that she's safe."
MegaMan smiled at the praise and replied "It was nothing; Lan and I couldn't let Maylu or anyone else get hurt by TorchMan's rampage. We did what was necessary, and besides, friends look out for each other."
Friends…Roll smiled and closed her eyes in response to his gesture of humility. "There's more, though…" She opened her eyes and looked directly at MegaMan, then continued "It made me realize, that I never properly introduced myself to you; that you came to my aid before even knowing my name. I want to be your friend, MegaMan, and I think it's time we had a proper introduction, if that's alright."
She looked at him with an almost pleading expression, trying to convey to the Blue Bomber that this was something she felt she needed to do. MegaMan smiled and replied "Sure thing; you go first."
Roll took a deep breath and began "My name is Roll. I am Maylu Sakurai's Net Navi and I help to manage her schedule, and if necessary battle for her. My favorite color is pink and I use these yellow ribbons on my helmet to attack and scan for information." Halfway through, Roll realized she was rambling, but couldn't think of a better introduction and closed her mouth before she said anymore.
"I thought this was a basic introduction, not a Dungeons & Dragons character bio!" MegaMan chuckled. Roll looked away, her face the color of her body armor due to embarassment. Don't go overboard Roll; you can't go detailing every bit about yourself the first day you talk to the guy! What if he thinks you're weird and doesn't wanna be your friend? Before she could continue, MegaMan murmured "So I guess it's my turn huh?" MegaMan pretended to ponder and think for a minute, keeping his guest in suspense. Finally he stated "My name is MegaMan; I was specially created by Dr. Hikari to be Lan's personal NetNavi. I'm supposed to be his alarm clock, but we'll see how that works out…" This caused Roll to giggle as she knew from Maylu's constant waiting how hard it was to wake up Lan. "Anyways…" the NetNavi continued "as you can see, my favorite color is blue, and if Lan had his way I'd be doing his homework too."
"I can tell; I kinda overheard you telling Lan you wouldn't do his homework. Thanks, MegaMa…Mega…" Roll started to ponder. "Yeah; that's good!" She exclaimed without thinking, grinning in a way that made MegaMan slightly nervous. "From now on, you're Mega! Isn't that such a cute nickname?"
"Wha…What?" MegaMan stuttered. He wasn't sure how he felt about any nickname, let alone the one that Roll had so easily made up for him. He opened his mouth to ask if it was a little early to be making up nicknames. But one look into her eyes made him realize that the pink Navi was too enamored with it to let it go now. Closing his mouth and smiling in defeat, he said "Alright, fine. Mega it is. But YOU'RE the only one who gets to call me that."
"Deal" Roll said as she was filled with happiness. MegaMan absentmindedly started to remove his gloves and boots, intending to prepare for shut-down after his guest left, but stopped when he heard Roll gasp and saw her expression change from one of glee to one of shock. "Mega, your hand. What happened?"
"Huh?" MegaMan looked over his bare hand and saw a small but noticeable scorch mark on it. "Must have been from when Torchman was attacking while Lan was helping Maylu out of the house. It's no big deal really; it'll be gone by tomorrow" the young Navi reassured her.
"Mega…" she murmured. I was right there; how did I not notice? And this was my fault; I have to do something! Silently making a decision, she turned to her newfound friend and held out her hand, saying only "Give me your hand." Seeing his confused expression, she encouraged "It's alright, I'm not gonna hurt you or anything. Do you trust me?" MegaMan slowly nodded, giving the cute Navi his hand as a symbol of trust and friendship. Calling upon her special ability, she had her ribbons bend and twist so that they rested on his burn mark and glowed pink for a few moments. When the glow was gone, the burn had also vanished leaving MegaMan to stare in awe. Moving her loops back to their original shape, she said "Now we're even."
"Thanks, Roll" the Blue Bomber murmured, before looking at the clock. "It's getting late; you should get some rest."
Roll nodded, standing up and facing MegaMan. "It was great meeting you, Mega. I'll see you tomorrow!"
After shaking Roll's hand, he watched as she materialized a door and walked out, leaving MegaMan to get ready for shut-down. On the other side, Roll closed her eyes and held her hand over her emblem before jacking back in to the hospital system, falling asleep as she sat on the floor near Maylu's screen, dreaming about her new friend.
A/N: Edited – Rearranged the beginning to show a flashback to relevant parts of the pilot episode and added some dialogue.