Lord Cynic: "At last, the conclusion to my first Megaman fanfic! Once again I have to thank my readers and/or reviewers, and to be honest I didn't expect more than 5 reviews in total. Still, proves me wrong, doesn't it? There are lots more Lan/Maylu and Megaman/Roll supporters than I know of, at least. Okay, the replies to the reviews first, then let's bring this baby home!"

Seeiko: Oh man... for a review that's one of the funniest I've ever read in my life... oh man... thanks for making my day, I mean it. Phew... okay, let's see...

The crowd roars with tremendous force, blowing the frail sea craft off its course!... er, yeah. This was quicker than you expected? Wow, someone as lethargic as me... must be a purple moon. I challenge you to a yawning contest! Be warned, I can be awake for 10 hours and still yawn like I've been awake for 3.

Maylu's drawing will also be revealed in this chapter... well that is kinda obvious if you think about it. I can't draw... I tried, but my pencil tried to eat me. Hey, don't look at me like that, it really did! It was... disturbing... Although I have to disagree with you about pens. They're cool, but when you're sprawled on your bed writing fanfics with black and blue pens, it's hard to keep both in your sights. Seven times I've misplaced and relocated my pens this week alone. So what if it's Saturday where I am? It just proves my point.

I'm not into French, but I think it's 'adieu'... it sounds like a noise someone makes when they sneeze. (sweatdrops) Me, I'd prefer to learn Italian at the first chance I could get. It has nothing to do with Nintendo and Mario, I swear! I just love pizza, that's all... heh heh... suckers...

No, no, stay. I'm lonely, and my alter ego's setting fire to my papers again... (turning around to find the alter ego holding drafts of his to-be-submitted fanfic) HEY! THAT'S MY NEW FANFIC!!! You torch that and I swear I'll make up an imaginary girlfriend!... (to audience) Er, excuse me...

Tsuki Tamer: Thanks dude, means a lot.

The D.J. C.J: Ahaha... I see someone else shares my view on the current onslaught of yaoi/slash fanfics. I'm not going to criticise people's choices in fanfics though... each to their own as I said. Anyway, thanks for the compliments.

a fan of megaman: I assure you, Megaman would be very reluctant to go through with the plan. However, as a member of the Makeshift Matchmakers he must carry on until his mission is complete. Lan and Maylu shall be together! Muwahahahahaha!!!... oh, um, anyway... that's very hefty praise you've delivered, especially for a Megaman 'novice' such as myself. I appreciate it though, thanks a lot. Yeah, sorry for delays if there are any. It's not as easy as it sounds, you know... but damn this chapter should be large enough.

dreamz-of-hope: Aw, I'd know how that is... I once had to go a month without it because I was failing a class I sucked at anyway. The conspiracies of school... and no worries about the shortened chapter thing. Although, that said I might have to apologise for this chapter then. It's over 3000 words... eepness...

Esty-chan: Hey againness. Yep, I seem to be pumping this story out as fast as I possibly can while maintaining at least 2500 words a chapter... heh... before my Valentine's Day fanfic I might find another fanfic to write, so we may see. It's great to be someone else's inspiration for once. Most of my fanfics are written after reading other people's stories, so they influence and inspire me to write my own work. "Rock&Roll" - that's really clever. It took me a few seconds to work it out, but that's brilliant. Made me laugh for once. Thanks.

Lord Cynic: "Megaman and Megaman NT Warrior don't belong to me. But look, it's a Pokemon bobble head toy I got from a vending machine!... moving on..."

Chapter 3: Impossible desires

Lan and Maylu walked home together after school. Maylu had told Lan that Dex and Yai didn't have the time to wait ten whole minutes for Lan to wake up, so they went ahead without them. In fact, even Ms. Mari had left the classroom before Maylu had finally awoken the sleeping beast. However, for some strange reason it seemed that Maylu knew that she'd be able to wake the boy with enough perseverance. It was just in her nature, she supposed. Many years of waking Lan for school almost every morning gave her enough experience to get through anything.

However, Lan was still lethargic as he and Maylu strolled home after school. It wasn't so much as the residue of his slumber, though. It had more to do with the bizarre dream he had during class. Who was that person, he kept asking himself. Why does it seem like I've seen them before? What could it mean?

Lan found himself in a dark forest. There was dense purple fog all around him and no one in sight. He was completely alone; not even Megaman was there to accompany him. He thought that rather strange, and swore he was wearing his PET on his waist. He checked, but to his surprise there was nothing there. Very strange, he mused to himself.

'Oh well, guess I should look around,' he finally decided, and proceeded to trying to navigate his way through the think fog. However, when he tried to walk to his east a barrier kept him from advancing. 'This doesn't mean sense,' he thought, confused, and tried again to walk in the same direction. Unfortunately the barrier once again prevented his progress, and he settled on trying a different direction. However, when he attempted to walk to the west of himself the barrier halted him once more.

Lan was about to give up when he heard a soft voice break through the force field.

"Lan," it said in a melancholy tone. "Lan, please hear me..."

"Who is that?" Lan cried out in a panic, spinning around in all directions to try and spot where the voice was calling. "Who are you? How do you know my name?"

"Lan," the voice moaned, "you know who it is... it's me... it's me..."

"I don't understand," Lan yelled out. "Who are you? I don't recognise you."

"You know who I am... you know... you know..."

The voice faded into the darkness, and Lan was left to be alone once more. Frustrated, Lan broke into a run and charged towards the barrier that barred his progress.

To his surprise he passed straight through it and found himself in an old-fashioned building. He glanced backwards to see if the forest was still there, but to his shock there was nothing but stonewalls. Perplexed, he took a stroll around the building.

The building was almost empty, albeit for a few moth-eaten tables and broken armchairs. The walls were bare, and the windows were dusty and in immediate need of attention. In fact, the whole building looked in desperate need of renovation and redemption from the brink of collapse. The ceiling had one solitary chandelier, and this feature dimly lit up the building in a pale blue light.

'At least I can see through this,' Lan thought in a slightly amused manner. He took a turn around the building, wondering where he now was and where the forest went. And the voice, who was that? Why did it cry out to him, and why did it say he already knew it? The questions were becoming numerous, too much so for Lan to handle.

He sat heavily on one of the armchairs and stared at the wall in front of him. For some reason he felt fatigued, as if his energy had been sapped out of him by some unknown power. The wall he was staring at became blurred, and his eyelids grew heavy as he struggled to maintain his strength. Slowly his energy slipped out of his body, and he knew that it was a matter of time before he entered unconsciousness.

However, it never came. Lan opened his eyes wearily and discovered that someone was floating in a mist in front of him. He sat up with a start and rubbed his eyes in disbelief, yet the person was still there, albeit hidden faintly by the light smog. Lan climbed out of the armchair and gingerly stepped towards the person, but as he grew closer a strong feeling washed over him. It felt warm and comforting, as if the person in the mist was emitting a tranquil and strangely familiar aura. As Lan edged closer to the mist the feeling grew stronger, and he could swear he recognised the entrancing scent, but not where from.

Lan was now in clear sight of the person in the mist, but could just barely see their faint outline. However, his eyes caught a strange circular symbol on the left side of the person's hair. A memory clicked in his mind, but for the life of him he just couldn't form the memory into a mental image in his head.

A sharp cry awoke Lan from his mental stupor, and he turned his head to find the person moaning softly. It was as if the person was in pain, and Lan's sense of morality couldn't bear the thought of someone being in peril. He charged forward to try and help the person, but every step he took brought him further to the person, even though he was still approaching the mist. Eventually the figure disappeared into the unknown, and Lan was swept into the mist, where he fell through a deep hole and into the unknown...

A concerned Maylu, who was staring at him curiously, eventually waked him from his stupor. He stared back at her with a confused look on his face, until pain registered and he shot into the sky in agony.

"Owww! Oww! Owwwwww!!!" He landed back on the ground with a thud and rubbed his sore backside.

Maylu smothered her laughter as Lan unsuccessfully attempted to extract thorns from his rear. He scowled at her, and she apologised sincerely and offered to pull the thorns from his pants. Immediately he hesitated, but the pain was too unbearable and he accepted her assistance. The navis watched on with increased interest as Maylu tentatively began yanking the thorns out of Lan's backside.

After yelps of pain and plenty of wincing, Lan was free from the defences of the rose bush he'd walked into. He was still rubbing his backside though and Maylu began giggling again. Lan was going to scowl at her again, but like Megaman with Roll he couldn't muster up the facial expression. Instead he grinned sheepishly and laughed.

"I guess it is funny in a way, isn't it?" he remarked, becoming amused at the thought. Maylu nodded after catching her breath, and the two friends resumed their walk home.

The kids' navis were watching the events with amusement, from Lan's belated response to his predicament to the laughter between the friends. Roll never felt prouder in her life, but she knew there was still work to do. And with her operator's crush's navi (who was her own crush) working with her, she knew she couldn't fail. She glanced over at the aforementioned blue navi, but found that he was lying on the back of the bed in his PET, his eyes focussed on the ceiling. He seemed deeply immersed in thought, and Roll teleported from her PET to his to investigate.

"Hey, what's up?" she asked cheerfully. Megaman snapped out of his train of thought and tilted his head in her direction.

"Oh, hey," he said quietly. "Nothing much, just thinking about something."

"Oh?" Roll made to sit next to Megaman, and he politely shifted his body so she could squeeze on the bed. "What are you thinking about?"

For a moment Megaman couldn't answer her, and Roll's eyes narrowed in frustration. Eventually Megaman answered her question, but there was still a lost expression in his eyes as he spoke.

"I was watching Lan sleep during school today," he explained. "For a while it was just to make sure I could wake him up when class was over for the day. Then, he started muttering and moaning in his sleep. He's not known for sleep talking, and I should know, so it was really disconcerting. I started to listen more closely and discovered that he kept muttering the same things: 'Where am I?' 'Who is that person?' 'Do I know that person?' 'How do I get out of here?' It was lucky no one but me heard him."

"Wow," Roll said, surprised. "It sounds like an intense dream."

"Yeah," Megaman muttered, then he started scratching his head. "The thing was, there was one name he kept mentioning: "Maylu, are you there?" "Help me, Maylu! I don't know where I am!" "I need you, Maylu! Please!" Like he was in some sort of danger."

"Whoa..." Roll was left speechless, and Megaman stared at the ceiling again. "Well, if it's any consolation I managed to sneak a look at something Maylu was scribbling in class."

This peaked Megaman's interest and he scrambled to a sitting position next to Roll. Roll smiled, knowing this would perk his ears up.

"What did you see?" Megaman asked, filled with curiosity.

"A very interesting illustration," Roll explained slowly, her smile growing wider. "It involved her and Lan skipping through the park together. There were love hearts dotted around their heads, a smiley sun and the biggest smiles you've ever seen on their faces. Down the bottom it read: "My dream with Lan". I almost hugged myself with pride... hey, what's so funny?"

Roll frowned when she saw Megaman trembling and smothering his hand on his mouth. She glared at him furiously, but this only broke his dam and he fell off his bed laughing. Unfortunately, this attracted the attention of their operators, who stared down at them with confused faces.

"What's going on?" Lan asked, eyes furrowing. "Megaman? What's wrong?"

"Why's he laughing?" Maylu asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"Hehehe hahaha... oh man..." Megaman gathered himself up and stared up at Lan. "Oh, sorry, I guess your laughing rubbed off on me."

This raised a few eyebrows and suspicious stares from everyone and he sweatdropped nervously.

"Is that like a delayed epidemic or something?" Lan asked, clearly confused. "I mean, even Maylu didn't laugh for that long."

Roll still wasn't impressed at Megaman's lack of compassion, so she decided to throw him in deep water.

"He was laughing at your leotard from school today," she said, her eyes turning into slits. A small smirk crept on her face when Megaman's eyes widened and his face froze in horror.

"No! That wasn't it, I swear! She's trying to frame me!" he pleaded desperately to his operator. He sweatdropped, shrank and backed away when Lan's face covered his viewing screen with a look of rage covering his features. "H-Hey, have a sense of humour... wait, no, that's not what I meant!"

"I'll deal with you later," Lan muttered in a low, dangerous voice through clenched teeth. Megaman laughed nervously while Maylu and Roll watched on with increasing amusement as Lan continued glaring at the blue navi until he remembered they were yet to reach home.

Lan turned to continue walking home, but Maylu suddenly jumped on his back, almost knocking him over. "M-Maylu? What the?"

"C'mon," she begged, beaming, "gimme a piggyback ride home. I think I need to keep an eye on the two navis, so I can't be walking or what happened to you will happen to me."

"Oh, come on, Maylu," Lan said, but he sweatdropped when Maylu began a puppy dog routine.

"C'mon, Lan, pwweeaaasseee?" she pleaded through large puppy dog eyes. Her lips were quivering in a feigned pout, like an infant who mastered the sin of greed, and she stared at Lan with the puppy dog eyes. It didn't take long for Lan's defences to crumble.

"Oh, all right," he mumbled, but he was nearly knocked over again when Maylu gave him a crushing hug while clinging to his back.

"Thank you, Lan-kun!" Maylu yelled ecstatically. (A.N. - If I've used the wrong suffix please mention it or I'll look stupid.)

Lan shook his head, but for the second time in 10 minutes Maylu's high spirits won through and he smiled sheepishly. However, Maylu's close proximity was making him blush, so he had to hide his face from her to prevent her seeing his red face. This produced some problems with vision, as more than once he accidentally bumped into people on the footpath, almost sending him and Maylu, and the person to the ground painfully. Maylu therefore became the navigator, but even then it still took half an hour to get home.

It was four in the afternoon when Lan (accompanied by the hitchhiking Maylu) finally arrived at his house. Upon reaching the front door, Lan bent down so that Maylu could detach herself from his back. When she did she thanked him and flashed him a smile, which was returned with a grin from the boy. Net Operators and Net Navis bid goodbye to each other, and Lan entered his house as Maylu quickly walked the rest of the way to her house to take her piano lessons.

When Lan strolled into the kitchen he found the place absent of people. There was no one in the living room, or upstairs for that matter.

'Huh, no one must be home,' he mused to himself. 'I might as well grab a bite.'

Just as he re-entered the kitchen his stomach growled angrily. He yielded to its demands and conjured himself a triple-decker subway sandwich supremus maximus, just as an afternoon snack. (A.N. - "For those who are wondering... yes, I made all that up.") He also plundered a soda from the fridge to wash the snack down with, and ignoring Megaman's lectures about ruining lectures before dinner, sat in the living room to enjoy his munchies.

Ten minutes later, Lan stretched and yawned tiredly, then patted his stomach.

"Man, I'm stuffed!" he moaned, then he accidentally let rip a humungous belch. "Oops, pardon me."

"I'm surprised alarms aren't going off outside," Megaman remarked from the PET.

"I said pardon me," Lan said irritably, but then he yawned again. "I must be really tired after school today."

"I don't see why," Megaman said. "You slept all the way through school today."

"I deserved it," Lan growled defensively. 'Besides, that dream I had really exhausted me...'

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

"What is it, Megaman?"

"What were you dreaming about today? You really worried me."

"My dream?..."

"You know who I am... you know... you know..."

"I don't understand! I don't know who you are!"

"Search your heart, you will find the answers you need... your heart..."

"It... it was nothing," Lan said quickly. "Really, nothing to worry about."

"Lan..."

"I mean it, it was nothing," Lan said exasperatedly. "Please, let it drop."

"I heard you mutter in your sleep for Maylu," Megaman said softly. "You like her, don't you?"

Lan paused, and Megaman saw a sorrowful expression on the boy's face. With a hefty sigh Lan sank into an armchair and stared down at his navi.

"Okay, I admit it," Lan said at last. "I like Maylu more than a friend! I love her, even! Even if she will never return my feelings, I will always think of her as something more than just a friend! However..." Lan stopped in mid-sentence and heaved a sigh. "I don't know whether she feels the same way. If she doesn't, I'd never make her... I'll be happy just knowing she's happy with whoever she loves... even if it's Dex."

Megaman nodded solemnly, albeit shocked at Lan's formal outburst of love for Maylu, and Lan took this time to interrogate his interrogator.

"What about you and Roll? Do you have feelings for her?"

"I... I guess do," Megaman said, looking down at the floor. "It was so subtle I hadn't realised it, but I think I've fallen for her." He noticed the rings under Lan's eyes and said, "You really need some sleep. When we get to your room, jack me into your computer. I need to log on to the Net."

"A-A-A-A-All right," Lan said, stifling a yawn for all he was worth as he stumbled his way up the stairs to his room. His mind was still swimming with the idea of his fallen in love with his childhood friend, and the confessions of love from his navi for hers.

When Lan reached his room, he jacked Megaman into his computer, then crashed onto his bed for a nap. Megaman cruised through the Net, headed for Roll's homepage, as Lan entered a deep slumber.

Maylu had reached her house about 15 minutes ago, and was practicing on her piano in her room. Roll was jacked in to the computer next to her, and was watching her operator with an amused expression on her face. Maylu was engrossed in her piano-playing to notice, but when she did she shot Roll a suspicious look.

"What's funny?" she asked. "Don't tell me you think my piano playing is funny to you."

"Oh, no, of course not," Roll said, shaking her head. "I was just remembering you and Lan playing piggyback. So kawaii!" Her eyes turned into mocking love hearts. making Maylu blush with embarrassment. "Just like a married couple!... Well, if he was carrying you in his arms, I mean... heehee..."

"It wasn't like that!" Maylu cried, halting her piano playing and looking at Roll head on. "I was just tired, that's all."

"Uh huh, right," Roll said sarcastically. "Between the two of you, I thought Lan should've been the one riding on your back. He looked exhausted."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Maylu grew a worried expression on her face. "He looks very tired, like he had a restless sleep. I wonder what's wrong with him."

"You worry about him, don't you?" Roll asked seriously. Maylu looked at her curiously. "You do, right?"

"I... of course I do," Maylu said, flustered at such a direct question. "I mean, we've been friends for so long, and Lan's been known to get into dangerous situations."

"But Lan being tired isn't a dangerous situation, is it?"

"No, but still..."

"You love him, don't you?"

"No! I... I..." Maylu was taken back by Roll's sudden question, and found herself at a dead end for words. Finally she sighed and said, "Well, yes, I guess so. I mean, I care for him dearly, and I'd hope one day we could be more than just friends. Knowing he feels the same way would be a dream come true... but not all dreams come true."

Roll was speechless, and started to regret forcing Maylu to spill the contents of her heart. However, guilt instantly became determination - determination to succeed in her mission to unite the pre-teen lovebirds and bring about love to the two oblivious kids.

She was about to say something when she received a request to enter her homepage. She took a look at the sender, and glanced back at Maylu who was staring at the sky in lost thought. Roll was grateful for Maylu's distracted mind, for it was Megaman who was requesting permission into the homepage. She glanced quickly at Maylu again, then vanished into her homepage to await the blue navi.

When Megaman appeared on the homepage, Roll strolled up to him with her hands on her hips.

"What took you so long?" she interrogated the new arrival. Megaman sweatdropped uneasily.

"I wanted to talk to Lan about his dream," Megaman replied, scratching his head nervously. "What I got instead would make you ecstatic... but I'm sure you don't have to guess to know what it was."

"Hmm?" Roll was confused. "What did he say?"

'I guess you do,' Megaman thought. "He admitted his feelings for Maylu," he explained aloud. Roll nearly started bouncing around with joy.

"I knew it! I knew it!" she cried, although she was careful to maintain a hushed voice. "Maylu has feelings for Lan too, this is perfect! Now I know the plan will work!"

"Yeah, but are you still sure about this?" Megaman asked. "I don't want to be altered if it goes pear-shaped."

"Don't be such a cynic," Roll said reassuringly. "It'll be a snap, you'll see."

"Okay, well Lan's taken a nap, so we probably have an hour or so to make this work," Megaman said, placing his chin on his head in thought

"Perfect," Roll said, rubbing her hands together. "Roll and Megaman, the Makeshift Matchmakers, are on the case!"

She started laughing triumphantly, leaving Megaman to ponder the repercussions of whatever scheme she cooked up for Lan and Maylu. He liked himself the way he was, and only hoped everything would be smooth sailing from hereafter.

Lord Cynic: "Okay, okay, I guess one more chapter will have to suffice before this is over. I think I set the mood too much for everything to be finished in this chapter. Besides, it lets people relax their eyes after reading... well, a moderate amount of typing. I hope everyone who've read this have enjoyed the story so far. The next chapter will be the last, I swear. Bring on the finale!... for next time...

Oh, before I go, there's the other Megaman fanfic I've been writing. Since I've been typing this story I've only accomplished one chapter for now, but if anyone wants to beta read it and gimme some feedback it wouldn't go unappreciated. I've never really asked for this before, so it's new to me. If you want to comply to this, send me an email instead of a review. Name the email title as "Re: Megaman fanfic beta" or thereabouts, but make sure I know what the email is about or it'll be treated as junk mail. My email address(es) is in my bio if you want to read it. Okay, later dudes and dudettes. Lord Cynic, logging out!"