Disclamier: The character Drake.exe was added as a character not created by Capcom. He is a new navi included in the story starting with this chapter. All other new characters are property of Capcom.
GS: Okay, quick update, so that anyone skipping (or has read) the prolouge can actually read a bit of the story. Hope that you all enjoy the first chapter of the story!
Chapter 1: Last Day Break!
A teenage boy lay still on his mattress for a few moments, his brown hair resting on the mattress above his blue bandana. He wore a pair of slightly large faded jeans and a white shirt tucked in, along with his worn out orange roller blade shoes. Lan hadn't been outside in about a week, too busy with preparations for the new school year. This was his last year before entering High School, so it had to be a better year than some in the past. Still, he hadn't gotten over his old problems. Late sleeping, procrastination and the like bit at his heels the year prior, and he didn't want it to happen again.
As he slowly sat up, there was a chip from the other side of the room, followed by a familiar voice. "Lan, you've got mail!" The blue navi leaned against a wall in the PET's cyberspace, waiting for his NetOp to come check the message.
"What's it say Megaman?" The teen let out a yawn, standing up and stretching his arms to the ceiling. Too long of a rest, he thought.
Megaman quickly opened the message and began to view it. "It's from Mayl. She has invited you and Dex to come to a small picnic before school starts up once more. It's scheduled for this afternoon, so she must have expected you to be free. Got anything to do?"
Lan sat there for a moment thinking about his day's agenda. Finally, he replied. "I've got nothing. I'll just tell Mom and we can leave whenever to get on our way. See if you can send a message back to tell her."
"Roger that." It took a moment of processing until Megaman told Lan the post was sent as he said. Lan gathered up the PET and darted down the stairs, flying into the living room. He screeched to a halt next to his mother, who was cleaning up the kitchen.
"Heading out, Lan?" she asked, glancing up from the table she had just sprayed to wipe down.
"Yup. Mayl has invited Dex and I to attend a small picnic to kick off the new school year. It sounds like it'll be fun, so I'm heading out. I'll be back this evening, after we're all done!" With a wave, Lan flew out the door, snapping his feet out to convert the shoes back to their popular style, the roller blades.
ACDC Town hadn't changed very much in the last few years. Higby's chip shop had been remodeled to be two stories and hold a massive stock of PET appliances, and the elementary school had undergone a few changes, but that was about all. Lan rode down the street, carried swiftly by the contraptions upon his feet. Within a few minutes, he had arrived at the park and quickly walked over by the squirrel statue. He promptly closed the roller blades, converting his shoes back, and then sat softly on the grass.
'Such a nice day…' Lan thought, closing his eyes and listening to the breeze. The sun was shining brightly down and the trees swayed lightly in the wind. He took a deep breath and placed his hands behind his head, leaning against the statue and waiting until Dex and Mayl arrived.
"So now you're sleeping during the afternoon instead of sleeping in. That's a bit of an improvement I guess." Lan opened his eyes to see Mayl standing next to him, holding a basket. The teenage girl was dressed in a blue skirt and white shirt with a khaki vest over it. The was also a small clip in her hair which held it up. She kneeled down beside him, opening the wicker container and pulling out a large blanket upon which to sit.
"Nope, still sleeping late. I barely got your e-mail this morning." Lan sat up and moved over to the blanket. "When do you think Dex'll be here?"
Mayl let out a sigh. "I'm not sure. You know him, he's got no concept of time whatsoever, so he probably won't be showing up for an hour or so. How have things been Lan? I haven't had the chance to really talk with anyone for a while."
"Pretty good. I mean, I've just been getting ready for yet another long year at school, brushing up on my netbattling and such…"
"What he's trying to say Mayl," Megaman interrupted, "is that he's been sitting on his behind surfing the Net everyday."
"No I haven't! You're just trying to make me look bad!" Mayl giggled.
"Looks like you and Mega are getting along just fine as always. Maybe Megaman would like to talk with Roll for a bit." Mayl took out her PET and aimed it at the statue. "Jack in Roll!" A flash of light shot out, hitting the network port and allowing Roll to log in. Lan followed suit, sending Megaman to the Net alongside Mayl's navi.
"So Mayl, what's been up?"
"Nothing really. I just heard back from Yai, I sent her a message the other day. She said she plans on dropping by in a few days so we can catch up. I can't wait to see her, she hasn't talked to us since last winter."
"Yeah," Lan said sorrowfully. "I haven't heard back from Chaud yet. I sent a message for him to Netopia University, but I'm not sure if he got it. It's been a bit slow around here, with Yai, Mick, Tab, and Chaud living far away."
"Well then, maybe we can try to get everyone together during our breaks in school. All of them around here are on the same schedule, so it should work out."
"Sounds like it'd be fun." Lan stared at Mayl, losing focus for a second, looking to the side when he came to. Dex was rushing down the road, a bit flustered by something. He'd grown a bit over the last three years, but besides that, nothing really changed. Behind him trailed his younger brother Chisao, quite different than he used to be. The boy had grown to about twice his size from years before, and wore a baggy yellow T-shirt with blue shorts. Chisao seemed to be worried, rushing to catch up with his brother before they arrived at the park.
"Lan!" the boy shouted when he noticed. "Lan, we've got a bit off trouble. Dex decided to…"
"Hey, it wasn't MY fault! Your navi's the one who broke the link gate!" Dex retorted, sounded frustrated at his brother's 'mistake'.
"Whatever! The point is that some viruses have gotten into our home system and now whenever we try to log in, our navis are getting ambushed! Even Gutsman has to log out immediately. Please, can you help?"
Lan jumped up, pulling out his PET. "Mayl, we'll be back in a sec, I've got some viruses to bust!" The teenage girl smirked, giving him a thumbs-up for good luck. Lan jacked Megaman out of the statute and rushing to the street, switching to his rollerblades. He was off like a rocket, zipping around the corner and stopping with a screech at Dex's door. He quickly rushed in, sending his navi to the net as the door flew open.
"Megaman! Jack in!" In a flash of light, Megaman appeared in the center of Dex's homepage. The second he could, he jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding a shockwave attack. The blue navi landed on his side, immediately eyeing the Mettaur who had just struck at him. Megaman hopped up, charging a shot in his Megabuster and firing off as he moved. The shot contacted the Met, causing it to instantly shatter into junk data. There was a yip behind Mega, and as he turned, another shockwave rushed at him, slamming flat into his body and sending the navi flying. In quick recovery, Megaman managed to land on his feet and one hand.
"Megaman! I'm sending you some back-up!" Lan reached into his pocket, pulling out a ShotGun and a Cannon chip. He swiftly slotted the ShotGun in, causing Megaman's arm to shift into a larger blaster.
"ShotGun Activate!" Megaman's new arm cannon began to glow, causing a sudden light burst after it shot off. The Mettaur launched back, breaking apart before it hit the wall. Slowly standing back up, the blue navi scanned the area, no longer seeing any threats. "Jack me out Lan, we're done here." In a brilliant flash, Megaman returned to his PET in Lan's hand.
"Great job Mega. Let's head on back."
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Lan slid back into the park, seeing Dex, Mayl, and Chisao gathered around waiting. He quickly ran over, hopping down onto the blanket beside them. "All taken care of Dex, you should be able to get back on anytime. Same for you Chisao."
"Thanks a lot Lan," Chisao replied, reaching into the basket Mayl had brought and pulling out a sandwich.
"Yeah Lan. Thanks I guess." Dex stared at his PET, not wanting to admit it. Lan pulled out his PET, looking at Megaman before sending him into the statue, where Gutsman, Roll, and Chisao's navi, Drake.
"So, what's up?" Lan asked the trio. He'd already talked with Mayl a bit, but besides the computer problem, he had no idea what was up with Dex or Chisao. The four began talking over lunch, discussing their plans for the new year.
Megaman stood on the network, looking at Gutsman and Drake while Roll clung onto him, as per usual. "How's everyone been? Wish we could meet up more often, but Lan's not online very often over the summer. He and I just got back from our trip in fact."
"Well, Mayl and I have been finishing up our summer studies." Roll patted Megaman on the back before continuing on with her answer. She's taking a class that requires some reading and research, and we're ready for the 9th grade. I'll bet Lan isn't ready, is he?"
"No, not at all. But I am, so I hope he'll be fine."
"Dex and I have been smashing viruses, yup," Gutsman cut in. "Smashing them ta lil' bits!"
"And Chisao's just been hanging around, doing his usual net hunting with me," the dark red dragon-like navi said. "We've been out searching for data scraps we can use to build new chips. It's quite an adventure."
"Sounds like you have all had a great summer," Megaman finished up. "Here's to the new school year," Megaman called, lifting up a cup of cybercoffee.
"Here's to the new school year!" Lan said, popping the the top of a soda can along with his friends. Everyone agreed and took a drink, ready to start their new school year.
---End---
GS: There we go. Chapter 1! The next chapter will be up at the end of the week, provided my house doesn't get struck by lightning again... then again, my luck is that bad.