Disclaimer:
All official MegaMan characters are property of Capcom.For those of you who still want a winner for the Den 500, fear not! This chapter will reveal the victor!
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CHAPTER 37
Rematch!
"I still can't believe Morty was an agent of the Dark Nation," said Lan.
"Lan, will you just get over it?" MegaMan called to his brother, "He tricked you. There wasn't anything you could do about it, so it's not your fault."
"I still feel bad about the whole thing." MegaMan sighed and opened up Lan's inbox.
"Maybe this will cheer you up," he said, "There's going to be a rematch between you and Chaud this weekend."
"That does make me feel a bit better," said Lan, "Alright, enough moping around! We've gotta get ready to take on Chaud and ProtoMan again!"
"That's the spirit, Lan!"
"When is it?"
"Tomorrow at noon."
"Saturday at high noon. Very appropriate. Well, I'm off to sleep."
"Okay. G'night, Lan." Lan put his PET on sleep mode and set it down on his desk before climbing into bed and zonking out for the night.
o o o
"I hope MegaMan realizes we have a pixelball game next week," said Axl as he bounced his ball around inside his PET the following morning.
"After this match, I'm sure he'll have his mind back on pixelball," said Sean.
As noon drew nearer, people began to gather in the QUAD waiting to see the rematch between Lan and Chaud. Since it was a Saturday, there were several people from quite a ways away. Even Chisao and Mamoru had come to watch.
"Alright folks, welcome to the Den 500 final round rematch," said Ribbita, "This special match has been scheduled due to the events that interfered with the first one. So now Lan and Chaud will have a second chance to battle and see just who will be this year's champion. So without further ado, let the competition begin!"
Just like before, two DNN helicopters appeared in the air overhead and dropped down lines, each with Lan or Chaud clinging on.
"Jack in!! MegaMan, power up!"
"Jack in!! ProtoMan, power up!"
The two Navis appeared before their operators and the buzzer sounded.
"So Lan, what strategy are you going to use this time?" asked Chaud.
"I'm going to match you move for move!" said Lan.
"Is that so? Well let's just see how much good that does you. Sword Battlechip in, download!" Chaud inserted a chip and ProtoMan's hand morphed into his sword.
"Soul Unison: Proto Soul Battlechip in, download!" Lan inserted the chip and ProtoMan's icon appeared on his PET screen. Red light surrounded MegaMan and he re-emerged wearing his own variation of ProtoMan's armor. Clenching his right fist, he held out his hand and morphed it into a sword. Now fully prepared, the two Navis dashed towards one another and swung. Sparks flew as their blades collided. ProtoMan quickly whipped around and swung again, but MegaMan brought up his left arm and blocked with his shield. They pushed off from one another and leapt back to gain some distance.
"You're good," ProtoMan commented.
"What can I say? I got it from you," said MegaMan. The two leapt up into the air and slashed as they passed one another. A small cut appeared on each of their helmets as they landed.
"Your skills have definitely improved, MegaMan," said ProtoMan as he rushed towards his opponent again. MegaMan quickly jumped up the silver-haired Navi's sword came at him and he placed his foot on his shoulder and pushed himself off, propelling himself upward.
"Good move," Mamoru commented.
"Sonic Boom!" MegaMan and ProtoMan drew back their arms and swung, sending waves of energy from their blade towards one another. Both of them leaned very far back and the waves passed right over them. They got back up at about the same time and dashed over towards one another again. This time, though, MegaMan had a different plan. As soon as they were within range of one another, he quickly turned his weapon around and smacked his opponent with the flat side of his sword. ProtoMan, who was expecting MegaMan to cut him with the edge, was thrown off guard and found himself facedown on the ground. He quickly lifted himself onto his hands and sprung back up in time to block MegaMan's next blow.
"Nice strategy," said ProtoMan.
"Thanks," MegaMan said grinning as they locked swords again. This time, ProtoMan was the one with the strategy. He quickly slid his blade along MegaMan's and pushed his away before dropping down and sweeping his leg along it, knocking MegaMan off his feet. He quickly went in for a stab, but the emerald-eyed Navi quickly rolled to the side and his sword plunged into the ground. ProtoMan quickly pulled his weapon out and stabbed again only to miss as MegaMan rolled to the other side. The blunette quickly got back up to his feet and jumped back to gain some distance.
As the match continued, Sean took a quickly break from watching the fight and glanced at his watch.
"Damn, those two are equalling one another in every way," he said.
"At this rate, we could be here all day," said Axl.
"MegaMan, what do you say we kick things up a notch?" Lan asked his Navi.
"I'm with you," MegaMan answered.
"ProtoMan, you know what to do," said Chaud.
"Understood," replied ProtoMan.
MegaMan and ProtoMan got into their ready positions and launched themselves towards each other once again. Their swords collided and they pushed each other off before diving in again, swinging and slashing at one another while blocking and parrying at the same time. MegaMan succeeded in pushing ProtoMan back, but the silver-haired Navi simply flipped around so that he landed on his feet and dashed back into the fight.
"I've had enough of this!" said Chaud, "ProtoMan, Style Change to Muramasa Style now!"
"Affirmative." ProtoMan leapt back and stood up straight. Strong winds blew around his body as he made his transformation into Muramasa Style. Upon completion, he tore his sword from its scabbard and dashed towards MegaMan.
"MegaMan, Sonic Blade him now!" Lan commanded.
"Right!" MegaMan held his sword out and dashed towards ProtoMan, who jumped high into the air and dodged the attack.
"ProtoMan, let's end this now!" said Chaud, "Omnislash!" ProtoMan nodded and held up his arms.
"Come power!" The arena seemed to darken as ProtoMan prepared to unleash his power.
"MegaMan, watch out!" Lan called out just as ProtoMan dashed in and started slashing from every single direction. MegaMan tried to move, but he was completely surrounded. After around seventeen slashes, ProtoMan reappeared overhead with his sword held in both hands ready to deliver the final blow.
"Show me watch you've got!" He came down and swung his sword straight down on MegaMan with full power. The latter's visor, armor, and sword shattered from the full force of the last attack as he fell backwards and skidded along the ground on his back to a stop.
"MEGAMAN!" Lan cried as the buzzer sounded, signalling the end of the duel.
"And with a devastating attack, ProtoMan has won the Den 500!" announced Ribbita. Cheers erupted from a good majority of the crowd. Lan quickly rushed over to his Navi and tried to pick him up, but remembered that he was just a hologram.
"Sorry Lan," MegaMan said softly, "I tried."
"I'm still proud of you, MegaMan," said Lan. ProtoMan walked through him and helped MegaMan to his feet.
"You fought well, MegaMan," he said.
"Thanks," said MegaMan, "You too. Congratulations, ProtoMan."
While the two Navis were shaking hands, Chaud walked over to Lan and extended his hand.
"You and MegaMan did really well today," he said, "Better luck next time."
"Don't worry. We will," said Lan as he took Chaud's hand and shook it just as the Den 500 committee came out with Ribbita and a cameraman.
"Congratulation, Mr. Chaud," said the head, "On behalf of the Den 500 committee, I would like to present you with this trophy and this oversized cheque for fifty million zenny." He handed Chaud a large golden trophy and another committee member handed him the oversized cheque.
"So Chaud, what comments can you provide for all the viewers out there?" Ribbita asked as she held the microphone in front of Chaud's face.
"All I can say is that my best challenge, by far, has been against Lan and MegaMan," said Chaud, "And in all honesty, I think he deserves just as much credit as I do."
"Well folks, there you have it. From the winner of the Den 500 himself. And now we move onto our second place winner, Lan Hikari." Lan turned as the committee head walked up to him and handed him an oversized cheque (actually, it was only about two-thirds the size of Chaud's) for twenty-five million zenny.
"And Lan, congratulations for making second place in the Den 500." He stepped aside and let Ribbita take over.
"So Lan, how does it feel to have made second place in the tournament?" she asked.
"Actually, I feel really good," said Lan, "And I have all my friends and family to thank. Without their support, MegaMan and I would have never made it to the Den 500 finals."
"And there you have it. Congratulations to you both. Well folks, it's been an exciting week here at Den University. We hope you've enjoyed our coverage of the Den 500 and we hope to see you all again next time. This is Ribbita reporting live from Den University signing off."
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Alright, time to announce the results!
Katyboo89 = 29
Zidanet = 22
Zero547 = 21
Gameboyguru = 21
Anime-Master7 = 20
Vokteren = 18
And the winner of the Den 500 bracket contest is Katyboo89. Congratulations. You will receive an e-mail with full instructions on what you need to do in order to receive your prize.
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
I'll be gone at Otakon this weekend, so this fic won't be updated for at least a whole week.