Author's Note: Another new chapter! See? I'm finally catching up! Small preview of next chapter will be at the bottom!

And yeah…embarrassing. This chapter is WAY WAY overdue…was supposed to be in by Christmas…yep, folks. This fic should currently be on chapter 18, had things gone on a more proper schedule irl. Anyway, plugging away! About 43250946871 gazillion years behind, but I can make this up! -Look of determination- I hope…-sweatdrop-

Just got a new job, new scheduling, and tons of hw...soooo...I died. But now I'm trying to revive my writing bug! So overworked! (Next year, I'm laying off the writing classes...)

Disclaimer: Refer back to the prologue.

Warnings: Slowly going to lead into a relationship! -BIG smile- WaTCH out!

Fic Note: Yeah, I know, I'm drawing this out-but since it isn't summer, I couldn't reduce the fic chapters. Sucks for me too, as much as you guys. I usually try to avoid making fictions this long…I pray this is the longest I ever make a fic. I'm still havin' fun though! Hope you all are!

No One to Call

"…and Yaten Kinomoto. The Trojan trials are set for the week of the New Year. What a great way to end the holiday season and kick-off with a morbid start. In other news…"

Lan drowned out the anchorwoman's voice. Shivering, he shoved his hands in his pockets and walked away from the televisions in the display case of the television store. He was relieved. There had been no mention of his name nor Farel's on the long list of Trojans awaiting their trial dates. Chaud had kept his promise. That was all that mattered.

"Merry Christmas!"

Chaud groaned as he threw a pillow over his head. The holiday fever had started yesterday and the words "Merry Christmas" were yelling at him left and right since Christmas Eve the night before. Chaud could never stand the holidays. The only one that gave him tolerance was unavailable at the moment. Right now it was midnight and the obnoxious neighbors next door to his apartment, which he only lived in if he didn't have time to go to the mansion and back to the office again, were apparently holding some kind of party.

Chaud eventually fell into a deep sleep, only to be jerked awake quickly by the sound of his telephone ringing. Chaud groaned and looked at his digital clock, blearily. 3am. Annoyed, Chaud answered the phone. "Hello?" he croaked.

The person on the other end remained hesitant. "Hello?" Chaud repeated, rubbing his eyes.

He checked his clock again. 3:05. Chaud felt a bit irritated, not feeling the mood to humor a prank call this early in the morning, not that he ever was in the mood to humor such a moment. "Look, if you're giving a sales call, you're insane. It's three in the damn morning."

A muffled sob stopped Chaud from hanging up. Chaud blinked. "Hello?"

Chaud reached for his PET and tapped Protoman awake. Used to being woken up early-usually because of one of Chaud's important business calls, takes only a few seconds to get reoriented and ready for action. As soon as he had Protoman's full attention, Chaud swirled his finger around, silently asking his navi to trace the call. Protoman raised an eyebrow, but nodded in affirmative, and began the trace.

"Hello…?" Chaud began again a bit more softly.

A choked sob. "Nevermind…I'm sorry." Click.

He had failed to catch the other when he recognized the voice. "Lan? Lan!"

All he was met with was a dial tone. Chaud looked at Protoman. "Did you get it?"

"Yes."

Chaud was relieved. "Good. Print the location out."

"Lan, what's wrong?" Megaman mumbled.

Lan sighed. "I just did the strangest thing…"

"What?"

"Called Chaud."

"Called Chaud? Why is that so strange, Lan?"

"First of all, Megaman…do you know what time it is?"

A momentary pause. "Oh."

"Yeah..." Lan didn't know why he had dialed Chaud's number, of all people. Within logic, Chaud was still his enemy-in fact, everyone was his enemy now.

Though his identity wasn't clear even to the former Trojans, he had turned them in. Therefore, going back was no option. As for his parents, he was not a wanted convict of some sort, so going back easily had become a conflict. Though he always knew, the true reality of the past catching up with the present and biting down hard was starting to burn.

Megaman looked up worriedly as he saw water droplets falling on the PET. "Lan, is it raining?"

"Lan...?"

He sniffed and tried to wipe his tears away, but they kept on coming. He knew exactly why his fingers had numbly dialed Chaud's number on their own. He had wanted some kind of solace. He needed a friend.He wanted to go home, as childish as that notion was.

Megaman merely let Lan cry, writing it off as rain-for both their sakes. Exhausted, he sat quietly in the PET, watching what appeared to be rain. It was times like this Megaman disliked his limited existence. There was only so much comfort pixels in an electronic device could give.

Chaud had arrived in Electopia. The place had developed even larger than he had last remembered it. It was nothing like the town of his and Lan's youth, but now it was more like an enormous city. Of course, pushed far off were the old silent neighborhoods, but that was the unique feature of this particular suburbia; the urban and rural areas were strictly seperated.

Taking out his PET, Chaud half-smiled at Protoman. "All right, Proto...tell me where to go."

Short, I know. Lol. -BIG sweatdrop- I need to step on that gas pedal! (And believe me, you guys are not the only disappointed ones...unless I'm flattering myself...probably. So that means that I'm the only totally disappointed one on how slowly I'm plugging away! Gragh!

-SaiKenYuu