I own no Megaman characters, any familiar dialogue or the main plot. Credits to Capcom.

Before I begin, I would like to say a big thank you to 'shadowmwape' for adding this story to their alerts and favorites.

Reply to Ghost501's review of Chapter 12: I don't know if what you said applies to the Japanese dub of the anime, too. At the very least, the English dub seems more sensitive to violence and death. Ironic, considering how the source material, the games, handled things.

-Chapter 13: Passing The Time-

The Next Friday...

It was after school and everyone except Lan had plans for the weekend, so they split up and headed for home.

"Man, I'm starving!" Lan told Megaman. "I wonder what there is to eat."

"Huh? Didn't you eat just eat lunch at school?"

"Well, I can't recharge once a day like you can, Megaman!"

"Okay, okay... But we better get home! The new episode of 'Midget Monsters' is starting!"

"Oh, I can't miss that!" It was at that moment that the PET bleeped. "Huh? What is it?"

"You've got mail, Lan," Megaman said. "It's from... your dad!"

"Really?" Lan asked excitedly.

"Yeah! It says 'Hey, Lan! How have you been? I'll be seeing you tonight!'"

"Wow! Really!?"

"'That is, you'll be coming to see me.'" Megaman continued to read.

"Huh?"

"'There's a party over at SciLab in Marine Harbor. I'm inviting you and your mom to join me for dinner! Let's meet at seven in front of the TV in SciLab's waiting lobby. Say hi to mom for me and let her know about tonight! -Dad'"

"Alright! We're gonna see dad!" Lan cheered. "And I'm gonna eat 'til I drop tonight!"

"And you said something about being on a diet..." Megaman mumbled quietly. "Well, okay. Let's go home and tell mom about the party."

There were two things Lan was excited for: the new episode of that TV show he always watched and SciLab's party. As fast as he could, he rushed home and switched on the TV. Lan's mom noticed his excitement from the kitchen and went in to see what the fuss was about.

"Oh? Is the new episode of your little show airing now?" she asked.

"Yeah," Lan answered. "Also, mom, dad's invited us for a party!"

"Oh, how wonderful!" Haruka Hikari smiled, delighted because of the invitation. "How sweet of your father to think of us, his family, at such a busy time! So, when and where do we meet, Lan?"

"At seven, at SciLab's waiting lobby."

"Okay! It's half past three now, so we have plenty of time! Well, you do, at least."

"What are you talking about, mom? What about you?"

"It takes plenty of time for a woman to look her best, Lan," Haruka reminded her son. "You'll understand why someday." With that, she went to her room to do just that.

"Maybe that day will come sooner than expected, Lan," Megaman grinned.

"W-What!?" Lan responded, blushing.

"Sigh... I guess I'll tell you another time... Ooh, the intro's done!"

After a half hour of action and antics in that cartoon show, Lan stayed seated on the sofa and watched another show, shifting his position every now and then. Megaman grew bored, so he took a nap in the PET. Eventually, it was half past four and Lan also got bored.

"Man, what else is there to do?" Lan spoke up, waking the napping Megaman.

"Huh? Well, how about doing that homework you got today?" the blue Navi suggested.

"Oh, that math homework is easy!" Lan grinned. "I'll do it on Sunday."

"Really? Well, what's 2/3 + 3/5, then?" Megaman smirked.

"What? You can't add fractions!"

"Yes, you can. You did this in math class today!"

"Huh? I guess I wasn't listening..."

"Sigh... Just do some of your homework now and do the rest over the weekend, so you won't burn yourself out on the last day," Megaman said.

"Fine, fine, fine. But if I'm late for that party, it's on your digital head!" Lan groaned as he made his way to his room. As he stepped in, he threw his backpack over to his bed, then reached inside to grab his equipment and worksheets. He groaned at the two pieces of paper he had to fill in with his answers. There were problems on both sides of each sheet!

"You'll thank Ms Mari later," Megaman told Lan. "Now could you jack me into the computer?"

"What!? You get to have fun?" Lan whined. "You're supposed to be helping me!"

"Well, I can't just stand around in the PET and do nothing," the Navi responded nonchalantly.

"Fine. I'll call you back when I need you," his NetOp sighed, switching on his computer and plugging in the PET.

Man... It must be great being a Navi... No homework, no school, no problems! Oh, if Megaman was human, I would smack him silly if he doesn't help me!

Despite the mean thought, believe it or not, Lan actually made some progress on his own, completing half of the first side of the first sheet without help from Megaman! There was a little confusion on that last question, but Lan realized that it was just like the other questions. Although it was a slow process, Lan managed to get through.

However, as he looked further down the sheet, he realized that he should have paid enough attention in math class. These later questions were the ones to really test Lan, who began to stress out at that point as he scratched his head in confusion.

"Hmm... I don't wanna abuse Megaman's help," he reminded himself. "I guess I'll turn the sheet over." The classic 'go back to it at the end' thing Ms Mari told the class about should have carried Lan through, right?

The boy grew even more stumped on the next set questions.

"Sigh..."

Drumming the table with the flat end of his pen, Lan tried to remember what he learned in class, but nothing important came to him, just the fact that Dex had his first bad hair day. His mohawk was ruined. Yeah, it was pretty embarrassing for Dex. He tried to cover it up with a cap, but it failed. But that wasn't the situation in Lan's hands right now.

Deciding to leave the rest of the first sheet aside, he brought the second sheet in front of him. Looking at the questions only made his mouth gape wider and wider. The second side couldn't have possibly been so much worse, right?

They were.

In frustration, he tossed his pen at the wall, but luckily, it didn't break. After retrieving it, he got back to thinking. But Lan figuring out those questions looked like a caveman trying to use advanced technology. It just wouldn't happen! The computer was on mute, so Megaman's noises wouldn't distract him. However, just looking at the screen was enough to make the boy cringe.

No homework, no school, no problems! Look at that guy, standing there, talking with Roll! I could be out there talking with my friends if they weren't so busy and I didn't get talked into doing this!

Lan didn't want to do this (well, he did), but he had no choice (well, he did). He turned up the volume, cringing at all the noise from the Internet and...

"Hey, Megaman! I'm stumped!"

Megaman apologized to Roll and told her that he had to help Lan. The pink Navi shook it off with no regrets and looked forward to seeing him again. After saying goodbye, Megaman headed back past his Security Gate and into the homepage, to not annoy Lan any further with the noise.

"What is it, Lan?" Megaman asked him. "What do you need help with?"

Lan brought back the first sheet and showed him where he left off.

Megaman brought the palm of his hand to his face.

They were quite simple questions, in hindsight. How did Lan get stumped, anyway?

Regardless, Megaman helped his NetOp out, but the boy grew tired of the work. Giving up, the blue Navi let him put off the homework for the weekend.

They needed to get ready for the party. But really, Lan wasn't planning on wearing anything fancy. He only needed to freshen up with a shower. It was six o'clock by the time he was done and he decided to kill some time by watching another half hour show.

Yeah, it's another filler segment. As I was looking back, I was debating on whether to remove it or not. I decided against it, hence why it is here today. Next time, the main story will continue.

-Have a great day, week, month, whatever, and stay upbeat, y'all!-