New Megaman Battle Network

A complete reimagining of the universe and stories of Megaman Battle Network.

Story 2: The Sun And The Moon


Chapter 3: Den City Championship

Lan thanked Mayl as he handed him yet another towel, which he used to continue drying off his hair, as they sat with Yai and Dex in the competitor's lounge. After the intermission, he and his clothes were nearly dry, though he was feeling fairly cold from the soaked fabric.

"So Aquaman trapped you in the bathroom with the water on," Yai prompted. "How did you get out? Megaman?"

Lan nodded. "He managed to unlock the door after a couple minutes, then the water kinda dumped me outside."

"Turned the entire plaza into a puddle, too," Dex added, looking outside and grinning a bit. "Look at that! The water's still running!"

Lan grinned as well. "Guess they don't need to do street cleaning today, huh?"

"Lan, how are you making jokes right now?" Mayl held herself lightly, unnerved and more than a little scared. "This isn't funny. You could have drowned in there."

"What do you want me to do, Mayl?" he replied, glancing over. "I don't even want to think about it in the first place. I'd rather make jokes than stress myself out." She frowned and looked away, wishing she could be less stressed out about what just happened.

"That guy was totally crazy, whoever he was," Yai commented. "Willing to do something like that just to win... the Officials had better take care of him!"

"They couldn't find him," Lan replied. "They looked all over, but he's long gone, probably."

"I hope he never comes back." Mayl held herself more tightly. "What if he's not the only thing wrong here? What if we're all still in danger?"

"Nah, you're reading too much into it." Lan tossed the towel aside, shaking his hair out. "That guy was pretty crazy, but the rest of the tournament has been just fine. And he'll never get near DenDome again, I'm sure. He's out of the tournament now." He slipped his bandana back on.

"Ugh, I hope so..." She cut herself off, as loud cheering erupted from the nearby arena. All four looked up at a television in the corner, to see the announcer declaring the end of the match.

"Looks like Chaud won..." Lan commented; both Dex and Yai grumbled in response, having been defeated rather handily by the young Official. They watched as he proceed to the VIP portion of the stands, joining an older man in a suit. "Can't say I'm too surprised..."

"That means we're up next, Lan." Mayl stood up, taking a deep breath, trying to put her worries behind her, as she glanced over at him. "You ready?"

"Yeah, I am." Lan stood up after her. "Let's go."

"Good luck, both of you!" Yai offered, as she and Dex stood and walked out of the lounge, heading back into the audience. Lan and Mayl walked up to the door leading to the arena itself, waiting for their cue to enter, as they heard the announcer's voice from the other side.

"Eugene Chaud advances to the national tournament! Let's give him a big hand!"

As he listened to the applause, Lan could hear shaky breathing from besides him. He glanced over to see Mayl trying and failing to calm herself, still shaken from what had happened. He frowned, always hating to see her upset or torn up, and he found himself reaching out and placing his hand on her shoulder.

"Hey." She started a bit at his touch, glancing over. Her eyes widened in surprise as he reached out and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a firm but comforting embrace. "I'm okay. Everything's okay."

She closed her eyes and hugged him tightly in response, as if he might somehow slip away if she didn't hold on to him for dear life. "I know… I know."

They kept holding each other for several long seconds, as he felt her relax, her breathing becoming more calm. Soon they heard the applause dying down, and they let each other go as they heard the announcer speaking again.

"And now, for our final match of the tournament, to decide who will be joining Chaud in the Electopian championship!"

Lan looked back at her and smiled. "Good luck, Mayl."

"You too, Lan." She grinned a bit. "Not that you're going to need it." He grinned back at her, glad that she seemed to be feeling better.

"Give it up for our contestants!" the announcer continued. "Both representing ACDC Town, we have Lan Hikari, with his powerful Megaman, battling against Mayl Sakurai, with her lightning-fast Navi, Roll!"

The crowd continued making noise as Lan and Mayl entered the stadium together, separating at the stairs and heading toward their respective positions.

"Both of you, please jack your Navis into the battle arena!"

Mayl grinned as she pulled out her jack-in cable. "You better not hold back on me, Lan! We're pulling out all the stops!"

He laughed in response, as he sent Megaman into the arena. "Don't you worry about that!"

Seconds later, both Navis appeared in the Cyberworld, close to each other. They quickly walked forward and shook hands.

"I hope you're ready for a beating, Megaman," Roll teased, grinning.

Megaman smirked in response. "I'm ready to give one out, if that's what you mean." The two Navis moved backwards, as the announcer called once more for quiet.

"Both Navis are ready! Let the battle... begin!"


Roll immediately dashed forward, on the offensive, barely visible with her immense speed. Megaman braced himself, but she quickly got inside his defenses, punching him square in the gut before leaping up and kicking him in the face. He was a bit stunned but was still able to react quickly, grasping her foot tightly and spinning her around before letting her fly toward a nearby rock. Colliding hard, she quickly bounced up and jumped high over Megaman, avoiding his Cannon fire and letting loose with a flurry of arrows.

"Sword!" Megaman's right arm turned into a blade, which he used to deflect all of the arrows headed toward him. He retaliated with a series of Buster shots, which Roll easily dodged in the air.

"Man, she's quick..." He muttered as Roll landed on her feet, some yards away. Both were grinning in anticipation.

This is gonna be fun, they both thought, as they dashed at each other again.

As the battle continued, the audience watched with rapt attention, oohing and aahing at various maneuvers. Yai cheered on Mayl and Roll, while Dex called for Lan and Megaman's victory. In a VIP box, Chaud sat and watched the battle curiously, with his father sitting next to him. Reginald Chaud was the chairman of the IPC Corporation, which manufactured most of Electopia's PETs and Battlechips.

"That blue Navi, Megaman... he's looking to be quite the fighter," Reginald commented. "I thought he was just strong, but he's still fast enough to stave off that little lightning bolt down there. That Lan boy must be a skilled programmer... or just rich."

Chaud shook his head. "No, he's not rich. That's Dr. Hikari's son, down there."

"You don't say?" His father's eyebrows raised. "No wonder, then. His Navi was programmed by a genius. Anyone could go far with that one."

"I'm not sure about that." The boy leaned forward a bit, as he watched the two Navis firing light arms at each other. "There's something different about those two. Their synergy is like nothing I've ever seen. It's not just any operator that could do that."

Reginald chuckled. "Not worried about your chances, are you, son?"

Chaud smirked. "Not in the least. I'm just intrigued, is all." He looked around for a minute, stretching one arm, when he noticed something in the corner of his eye. He stood up, trying to get a better look, and saw Bruno, Aquaman's operator, sneaking through the shadows of the arena and entering a door.

"What are you looking at?" Reginald wondered.

"Nothing, really… just going to stretch my legs, I think." Chaud walked out of the VIP box and down the stairs, discretely following Bruno through the door, as Megaman and Roll clashed on the screens in the center of the room.


Stepping through the door, Chaud found himself in what looked like an employees-only area; the corridor in front of him was much more rough, the walls made of pure, unpainted concrete. He looked further down the hallway to see Bruno entering another room, one that looked to be underneath the stands. He walked closer, moving quietly along the hallway, only to hear Bruno's footsteps as he immediately walked back out. He quickly ducked behind a corner, flattening himself against the wall as Bruno walked out and down another hall, muttering to himself with an irritated tone.

"What is he up to..." Chaud wondered to himself, as he emerged from hiding and quickly ducked into the area from which Bruno had emerged. He was definitely underneath the stands now, as the cheering was much more audible than before. He looked around carefully, wondering what Bruno could have been doing under here, when a certain object managed to catch his attention. Looking upward, near the short ceiling of this room, was a long, black rectangle, about the size of a laptop computer, affixed to the wall.

"What is it, Master Chaud?" Protoman inquired.

"Found something... he must have placed it here." Chaud reached out to inspect it. "Not sure what it is, though..." He found no buttons on the outside, and tried reaching around to the back; upon touching the back of the device, his hand retracted immediately, as if it had been burnt. He grabbed hold of a nearby pole to pull himself up, inspecting it more closely. He could see the characters "C4" written on gray mounds on the back.

"Damn, I was afraid of this... it's a bomb, and a large one." He took a closer look. "I don't want to know what he's doing, planting explosives..."

"Perhaps he plans to hold them ransom."

"We're not going to take that chance," Chaud replied, finding a jack-in port. Pulling a flashlight out of his belt, he inspected the port carefully, eventually deciding it wasn't booby-trapped. "You're going to enter that device and disable it, Protoman."

"Yes, sir."

He pulled out his jack-in cable and plugged it in, sending Protoman into the bomb's Cyberworld, before slotting a Sword Battlechip into his PET.

"You'll have to operate on your own, Protoman. I've got other fish to fry." He pulled the cable back out, putting his PET back into his belt and dashing out of the room, racing after Bruno.


"Roll Flash!"

Megaman only had a moment to react before a bright light shone from Roll's outstretched hands, forcing him to shield his eyes. Upon looking back, his vision still a bit hazy, he found Roll had completely vanished.

"What?" He looked around, but couldn't find a trace of her anywhere. "Where is she?"

"Did she make herself invisible?" Lan wondered, as his Navi kept looking around.

"No, I don't think so." Megaman answered, assuming a defensive stance; the flash was still affecting his vision, making the Cyberworld around him a bit fuzzier. "I can hear her running, just barely. She's just traveling too fast to be seen. That's amaz- gah!"

He cried out in pain as an arrow pierced his side; looking toward its source, he could see Roll for just an instant before she vanished again, from a combination of her speed and his poor vision. Gritting his teeth, he reached down and pulled the arrow from his side, grunting in pain as he did so.

"Okay, that was less amazing," he muttered. "I need to stop her, but I can't even see her. I can barely just feel her kicking air up around me..."

"Air, huh…" Lan pondered for a moment, before his eyes lit up. "That's it!" He reached into his folder, sending his Navi a Shotgun.

Megaman grinned as it appeared on his arm. "I get it..." He aimed and fired a series of shots in all directions, kicking up a large volume of smoke all around. Looking around, he quickly caught sight of a disruption in the smoke, moving around him in circles at an incredible speed.

"There you are!" He grinned, receiving two Energy Bombs and tossing them directly in Roll's path. She yelped, slowing down and leaping into the air, finally visible again. She quickly looked around, trying to find her opponent; looking behind her, she found Megaman leaping in her direction.

"Got you!" He thrust his arm right into her stomach, firing a High Cannon as he did so. Reeling from the impact, Roll fell quickly back to the ground and hit it hard, as he landed on his feet, his vision starting to return to normal.

Lan grinned. "Nice work, Megaman!"

Mayl frowned, disappointed, but her expression quickly rebounded into a smirk. "Pretty good, Lan, but we're not done yet!" They both looked into their PETs, excited, as Megaman and Roll continued their battle.


Chaud ran down the hallway until he found himself at a split in the path. He looked in both directions, listening carefully, trying to track down the man he was chasing.

"He shouldn't be this hard to find... how many paths can there be around here?" He walked a little ways down one path, then stopped himself when he heard muffled voices from nearby. He started inching toward the sound, trying to get a closer listen.

"...under the stands, as you recommended. I also have access to the intercom, so I can make the announcement anytime I want. It just won't be from the winner's podium like we wanted. We could get billions for all those people..."

Another voice spoke, one that Chaud couldn't understand. He kept moving closer, not wanting to miss anything.

"That's not the..." Bruno said in response to the voice, sounding shocked. "You mean we're really going to..."

"...not the reason we came," the other voice replied, as Chaud came to a stop right outside of the room where they were talking. "The purpose of being here was to establish ourselves in this nation. With this display, Electopia, too, will grow to fear the name of Nebula."

Nebula, huh… Chaud thought to himself, intimately familiar with the criminal organization. Great… so they're expanding operations into this country as well... He pulled out his PET and held it in front of him, a little lower; holding it at an angle, he was able to see a reflection of the room within. Bruno was standing inside, speaking to somebody via his own PET.

"Yes, sir, I understand." Bruno nodded. "We will show these people who Nebula really is... I will not fail you." He turned off his PET and turned around, to find Chaud standing in the doorway.

"I don't know what you're planning, but it ends here," he said defiantly, holding his PET by his side.


Inside the bomb, Protoman was hard at work defusing, using his sword to cut through key wires as he studied them closely.

"Standard fare so far," he muttered to himself. "Only one more to go..."

He walked up to the final group of wires, taking a close look, when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Turning quickly, he saw a large number of dog-like Spikey and pendulum-like Heavy viruses heading toward him, ready to attack.

"Damn it... I don't have time for this!" Protoman brandished his sword, staring the viruses down as they closed in. He dashed forward, ready to strike, as the bomb remained armed and threatening.


"What are you doing here, you little snoop?" Bruno demanded. His eyes quickly spotted the Official insignia on the boy's jacket, and he snorted in amusement. "You pretending like you're an Official or something?"

Chaud stepped forward into the room, used to people underestimating him. "Eugene Chaud, ONB. Nebula won't be causing any trouble here, not on my watch."

Bruno laughed in response, a bit incredulous. "What, they're making kids like you into ONBs now? They must be really hard up." He reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out some sort of remote control device. "Well, whatever. Even if you were an adult, there's nothing you could do to stop me now."

Chaud's eyes narrowed as he focused on the remote, trying not to react and failing. Bruno smirked in response. "You know what this is, don't you? And you know what happens when I press it."

The young Official glanced back up. "What is it that you want?"

"Now you're showing some sense." Bruno chuckled, holding the remote out to his side, taunting Chaud a bit, enjoying the moment of being in power. "Alright, then. What I want… is to show this country the power of Nebula." Without another word, he brought the remote back in and pushed the button on it. Chaud flinched and braced himself, waiting for the sound of an explosion.

Several tense seconds later, neither one of them had heard a sound. Chaud exhaled, relieved, while Bruno quickly became confused and angry.

"What? Why didn't it work?!" He started pressing the button repeatedly with his thumb, as Chaud smirked, standing up fully.

"Looks like Protoman did his job," he commented, his confidence having returned. "You've got nowhere else to go now, pal."

Bruno glared, furious, gritting his teeth. "You little brat… you think you're going to stop me? I'd like to see how you're going to do that, you stupid kid!" He ran directly toward Chaud, his fist raised, before he stopped cold in front of the young boy, his body shaking. Seconds later, he fell backward toward the ground, unconscious and twitching lightly, as Chaud stared down at him. He held his PET tightly in his hand, the top of which had grown two metal points, with electricity sparking between them.

"The same way I stop everyone else," he answered, before touching his PET and activating the phone function.


Megaman and Roll were both breathing heavily, staring each other down in the Cyber arena, after a tough battle.

"Both Navis are starting to reach their limits, it looks like! We might be coming to the end of this battle!" the announcer called out, as the crowd buzzed with excitement.

"He's right... this battle's way tougher than I thought…" Megaman stood up a little, catching his breath. "More power to them, but we could lose if we don't pull something out."

"Then we'll have to step it up a notch," Lan responded, so that Mayl couldn't hear. "We've still got one last good trick up our sleeves... you think you're ready for it?"

Megaman grinned. "Well, if I'm not, we're about to find out..." He extended his arm, focusing intently as a Cannon appeared on the end of it.

"What's he up to...?" Roll wondered, as a High Cannon appeared on Megaman's other arm. Not wanting to take chances, she dashed forward and tried to attack, but he leaped backward and landed on top of a large boulder behind him. He grinned as he put his hands together, and they both glowed a bright white.

"Let's see if you're fast enough to avoid this!" he called out, as the bright light faded, leaving a massive Zeta Cannon attachment on his arm. He pointed it directly at Roll, as the cannon began firing shots as rapidly as a submachine gun. Roll yelped as massive explosions appeared in front of her, and she took off running. Megaman grinned as he followed her with the Zeta Cannon, the cannon blasts following her closely as she ran in a circle, trying to get ahead of them.

"Gah!" She screeched to a stop as an explosion landed right in front of her, losing her footing and falling onto her back. She could do nothing but brace herself as the cannon blasts landed all around her.

When the explosions finally stopped, Roll was still lying back, having summoned a Barrier to try and protect her. She was completely surrounded by smoke, unable to see any other part of the Cyberworld, much less her opponent. The barrier quickly disappeared, having been stretched to its limit; as she tried to get to her feet, however, she saw a blue foot appear from the smoke and come to rest on her torso, pushing her back down as she gasped. She watched with wide eyes as Megaman came into view in front of her, grinning, with one last High Cannon formed on his hand.

"Sorry, Roll," he offered, aiming the cannon down at her as the smoke cleared, revealing the two Navis to the observing crowd. "But that's game."

Roll closed her eyes and smiled, defeated. "I guess so."


"Roll and Mayl have admitted defeat! Lan Hikari advances to the national level with Eugene Chaud!"

The crowd let out a huge cheer, as Mayl pulled her cable out of the Cyber arena, smiling sadly. Lan jacked out as well, walking up to her.

"That was a great fight, Mayl," he offered. "I had no idea Roll could be such a tough opponent!"

"Thanks, Lan." She smiled back at him, offering her hand. "You and Megaman were great. But you better bring it all home after this, understand?"

He grinned and nodded, accepting her handshake. "Yes, ma'am." They started walking down the stairs, back toward the lounge, when he noticed Chaud walking toward the same door.

"Hey! Chaud!" Lan ran over to him. "It's going to be you and me at nationals! How about that?"

"Huh?" Chaud blinked, surprised, having been rather deep in thought. "Oh, yeah… sure..." He kept on walking, going through the doors on his way out of the stadium.

Lan cocked his head. "What's with him? He looks pretty distracted by something."

"I don't know," Mayl responded. "Official stuff, maybe? I thought he'd be happier about winning."

"Lan Hikari and Eugene Chaud are our winners!" the announcer called out. "If both of them would come back up here, we'd like to present them with their prizes!"

Lan grinned and turned around. "Well, whatever. I got other things to think about now."

She grinned as well, giving him a gentle push toward the stage. "Go and get your trophy, Mr. Champion." He nodded and ran up toward the arena again, ready to claim his prize as the crowd cheered for him.