The Secret Epilogue

To my readers: If you were still wondering about how this ties into the Megaman Battle universe (and missed all the Megaman cameos, which I give you my word are in there), maybe this will shed some light on the situation.

ZAP! ZAP!

Win was woken in his usual rude fashion on the first Monday after his triumphant victory against the NetDoom Cult. Server City Middle School had finally been repaired by this point, and classes had finally resumed on this very same Monday. However, after an exhausting weekend of interviews, autographs and public appearances due to his recent victory, Win was so pooped-out tired that nothing; not even shock coils, could wake him up that day. Consequently, the male parent in the household, Netto Safari (who had not yet returned to the World Server Facility) took upon himself the wearisome and sometimes impossible task of waking his son up.

"Wake up, hero," he said. Netto had taken to calling his son 'hero' ever since his victory against the NetDoom Cult. "You don't want to end up like your father and arrive to class late every single day."

As Netto gave this small speech, Win's eyes flicked open. As Netto smiled contentedly, Win yawned and groaned, and, at length, he began to speak.

"Speaking of which…" he paused here to yawn again. "There's still something which I don't get."

"What is it?" Netto asked.

"You," Win said, un-sticking his hand from his mattress long enough to point at his father.

"How so?" the father asked, cocking his head sideways.

"Before I left for the last fight, you kept telling me that I reminded you of a younger you. Not to mention that your Navi called you "Lan" when you first introduced me to him. What is that Navi's name, anyway?" Win asked, speaking directly from his stream of consciousness (or lack thereof at this time in the morning).

Netto's face darkened at his son's question. With a completely different, darker voice tone, he eventually responded to his son's question in a curious way:

"You deserve to know, but I warn you, if I tell you about myself and my Navi, you may never look at me the same way again."

"Oh, cut the drama, I'm not wide awake enough for it," Win said, waving his hand. "Just tell me that Navi's name."

Netto drew a heavy breath. "Megaman…" he muttered

"Huh?" Win pressed.

"The Navi's name is Megaman. And my true name isn't Netto Safari: it's really Lan Hikari."

Win's eyes widened and he fell back in his bed, totally and completely amazed and unable to think. Now, of course, everything made sense. Lan Hikari had once been a famous celebrity; known worldwide for his amazing NetBattling skills and Virus Busting skills. Together with his Navi Megaman, Lan had thrice battled and thrice bested a criminal organization called World Three or the "WWW" for short, he had had a bout with the NetMafia Gospel, and several skirmishes with the terroristic Nebula Syndicate. What was more, however, Lan had done all his battling when he was the same age as Win. Together with his own group of friends (named Maylu, Dex and Yai), Lan and Megaman had rid NetSociety of chaos and crime over and over and over again until he was so well known that he had to go into hiding in order to escape his rabid fans. Even in hiding, however, Lan's exploits were made into movies, TV shows, and multiple videogames, which Win had spent many hours playing. Nobody knew what had happened to him after he hit age twenty, however. He just seemed to mysteriously disappear. "Lan sightings" would occasionally make into tabloids, but other than that, the once-famous boy's location had remained a complete secret.

"M…m…my god…."Win stammered, dumbstruck. "My father…Lan Hikari……how…why…" Win had the acute sensation that the room was spinning, even though he knew that the house was safely anchored to hard ground.

"Yeah," Netto, or rather, Lan continued after Win had calmed down a bit. "The world government decided that it would be best if everyone involved in the World Three incidents went into hiding. So, since I was interested in computing tech and designing a new net, the Prime Minister arranged for me to direct the World Server Facility, and they shipped me over to Netopia…"

"Netopia…???" Win asked, still confused.

"Yes, the world was still divided into quasi-countries when I was a kid. Where we live was called "Electopia," and the former countries of China and Japan were called "Netopia." He clarified. "Anyway, since my Netopian name was "Netto-kun" to begin with, I just had it changed to "Network" in Electopia, and changed "Hikari" to "Safari."

Win blinked in his bed, staring intently at nothing while the world continued to spin.

"Why did you never tell me any of this? I've played your games and watched your movies…why couldn't I know who my father truly was?" Win asked incredulously.

"I did that to avoid…well…this!" Lan said, gesturing towards his starstruck son. "I wanted you to have the benefit of growing up without thinking that you had to live up to being the son of a legendary hero…" Lan paused, apparently having thought of something funny. "Of course, you did anyway… that's why I kept saying that you reminded me of me."

Win nodded in understanding.

"Now, I think that I can hear Maylu cooking your breakfast downstairs, so you'd better get going." Lan began anew.

"Maylu…?" Win asked, feigning that he had heard that name before.

"Yes, that's your mother, silly!" Netto…or rather, Lan said. "Of course, you didn't know it, because she changed her name along with me, but Maylu is your mother."

Win smiled smugly to himself, remembering the parts from Lan's movies where his father and his friend Dex would fight for Maylu's affections.

"So…" he said mischievously, "You finally got hitched with Maylu after all, huh."

Netto chuckled quietly and nodded.

"Poor Dex…" said Win mockingly. "Whatever became of him?" he asked his father.

Lan's face darkened and his voice dropped to a whisper. Although it was almost impossible to hear what his father was saying, Win did pick out one word: "EndGame…"

"Huh?" Win asked of his whispering father.

"Oh, it's nothing…" Lan said, straightening up. "Now, you'd better go and eat your breakfast… isn't your own girlfriend waiting?"

"Oh, yeah! Shoot, I forgot what time it is!" Win said, jumping out of bed. "Oh, man, I've gotta get going, or I'll be late for the first day back.

Netto…or rather, Lan whistled softly. "Now there," he said, smiling openly, "is a boy after my own heart."

The Further End