NE::Megaman NT Warrior: Memories

by Litintha

Dr. Hikari has invented a way to have Navis appear in the real world. Megaman is the first successful test, but Lan gets Amnesia! Can Megaman's love help Lan get his memories back? LanxMegaman yaoi. Chapter 17 is up. Please R & R and vote in the poll!

15. Chapter 15: Depressing Days

Hey Readers!

Here is Chapter 15 for your reading pleasure!

Once again, sorry for the long wait. It's just been one writer's block after the other, and it has been getting frustrating. But, rest assured, I WILL finish this story, one way or the other!

I just wanted to make a quick note before we begin: If you ever want to just have a chat with me, visit my profile and shoot me a Private Message! I'll be more than happy to response!

With that out of the way, let's see what Lan and Megaman are up to this chapter! Note that in this chapter, things are going to take a bit of an unexpected twist!

Story, START!

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Chapter 15 - Depressing Days

-Monday-

-Lan. Wake up. You don't want to be late for school again-

Mrs. Hikari's voice could be heard from Lan's alarm clock. It was a sound that the boy heard each and every morning. It was something that his mother had designed in hopes that it would help him wake up on time so that he wasn't late for school. Unfortunately, it rarely, if ever, worked.

The real job of waking Lan up in the morning belonged to Megaman.

"Lan! Wake up! You only have 30 minutes before school starts!" The Navi's voice was nagging, like he normally was. It was a voice that Lan was use to hearing...and use to ignoring. One would be able to attribute this to his consistent tardiness.

"Megaman...just let me sleep a little more."
"You wouldn't have to sleep so much if you actually went to bed on time."
"But...I did go to bed on time."
"Lan...going to bed at midnight on a school night is NOT going to bed on time."

The boy simply rolled over, facing away from his computer deck, where his PET resided. Megaman sighed, knowing that he had to find some way to wake Lan up so that he wasn't late for school...again. He knew that the boy had to be sick and tired of hearing Ms. Mari's tardiness speeches day in and day out. Even he was starting to feel that they were becoming extremely repetitive.

But, Megaman pressed on in his morning ritual of waking his NetOp up. "LAN HIKARI! WAKE UP!" The Navi's voice was literally screaming now, something that seemed to work most of the time. And, true to it's effectiveness, this morning was no exception. Lan's body immediately came out of sleep, much quicker than he would have wanted. In fact, the shear volume of the noise caused the boy to quickly roll over again...this time, onto the floor below the bed.

Holding his head from the impact, Lan got up, glaring over at the source of the yelling.

"Megaman! You know that you don't have to do that to wake me up!"
"But, it works better than all of my other attempts."
"Yeah, but still...yelling isn't always the best solution."
"It may not be the best, but it is better than everything else."

Lan simply looked away from the device without saying another word, walking towards his closet to get a change of clothing for the upcoming school day. Like always, he found a white shirt, orange vest, and a pair of black shorts to wear. Megaman couldn't believe how consistent the boy was when it came to his clothes. The Navi knew that Lan had many other kinds of clothing inside his closet, but, for some reason, the outfit he normally wore was his favorite.

Megaman had never addressed that thought, and figured that now would be a good time to. "You know, Lan. It never hurts to have some variety in the clothes you wear." Lan's head emerged from the closet, looking over at the Pet on his desk.

"It's my favorite outfit. I don't look good in anything else. Is it such a crime to want to not look ridiculous in public?"
"Everyone needs to take a break from their norm once in a while."
"When I get tired of my 'norm', I'll let you know."

Walking over towards his bed, Lan set his change of clothes down. Looking at the nearby clock, the boy knew that he wouldn't have time to take a shower, let alone get a full breakfast for that matter.

Deciding that he was going to be late no matter what, instead of getting ready in a timely fashion, Lan got dressed in his clothes much more slowly than Megaman thought he should. Something inside the Navi told him that he had to nag Lan about this, that he had to tell his NetOp that if he didn't hurry up, that he would definitely be late, and that Ms. Mari would be upset.

"Lan, you should get ready faster."
"I'm going to be late no matter what, Megaman. So, why rush it?"
"Because if you do rush, you won't be AS late as compared to if you didn't rush."
"The end result is just gonna be the same. There's no point in rushing."
"If you rush, Ms. Mari might think that you are..."

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~~!~~

"Megaman? Are you awake?"

The Navi was pulled out of his daydream by his NetOp's sudden voice. Looking around from Lan's shoulder, Megaman noticed that they were already halfway to school. Peering at a passing clock, the Navi took note that Lan was actually running earlier than he usually would. 'Well, that's one positive side to his Amnesia.' Megaman's somewhat dark and sarcastic remark almost struck a nerve in him, but such sarcastic remarks seemed to be the only thing that was keeping the Navi sane.

Taking another quick look around, he finally replied. "Oh, sorry Lan. I was daydreaming." The boy looked at the hologram on his shoulder with a somewhat confused looked on his face. Megaman saw the look, and knew it well. It was the look that Lan had whenever someone was trying to explain something to him that he just wasn't going to understand right off the bat. "NetNavis can daydream?"

"Yeah. Actually, I was more or less remembering what your school mornings were really like."
"What they were really like? Were they not as good as this morning?"
"Not really. They normally consisted of me yelling at you to wake up or you would be late for school, to which you would ignore me until the very last moment."
"I couldn't have been THAT lazy...could I? Wait. How do I know you aren't making that up?"

Megaman looked at the boy, almost shocked to hear those words. However, he noticed that Lan had a hint of a smile on his face. He could only guess that the smile was Lan's way of trying to be sly, almost teasing the Navi. Still, Megaman decided to play along. "How could you think that, Lan? I wouldn't lie to you about that. You're my NetOp and my Boyf..." The Navi stopped himself mid-sentence. He knew what he was going to say, and he wanted to say it. But, it wasn't the time, and it DEFINITELY was not something that Lan needed to hear so early in his recovery.

"...Megaman? What were you going to say?"
"Huh? Oh, I was going to say that you are my...best friend! I couldn't lie to my best friend!"
"Relax, Megaman. I was just kidding about it, you know, like you said we do."

Megaman thought for a moment, soon realizing what Lan was referring to. "...Right! It's good to see that you remembered that!" The boy let out a small laugh, which the Navi joined in on shortly thereafter.

However, the laughing didn't last long.

Lan came to an abrupt stop on the sidewalk, for what seemed to be no apparent reason. Megaman looked straight ahead, then at the boy's surroundings. The Navi wasn't sure if Lan had stopped because they were at a crosswalk, if he wasn't feeling good, or if he spotted something so surprising that it forced him to stop dead in his tracks.

"...Lan? Are you..."
"Megaman...this spot..."
"What about it?"
"..This is where I meet up with Maylu and the others..."

Megaman's eyes widened. 'He's right! Could he have...?' The Navi's mind started racing with all kinds of thoughts. Some of them were almost completely irrelevant to the situation, while others popped into his head because of the current situation. However, amongst them all, there was one thought that stuck out the most.

With his eye still dilated, Megaman finally spoke the one thought that trumped all others. "Lan...you...you remembered!" The Navi knew that he didn't tell Lan about this place. He knew that he never mentioned Lan's meeting spot. He knew that he never told any stories that included Lan meeting up with his friends at this spot. The only possible explanation was that the boy finally remembered something on his own, and that, in itself, was one of the most joyous things Megaman could have expected that day, or any other day for that matter.

"Yeah...I...remember. We would meet here so we could talk on our way to school."

"Lan...that's right! You did remember!" Megaman felt like throwing his arms around the boy and giving him a warm embrace, happy and content knowing that Lan was started to make some noticeable progress in his recovery. Unfortunately, still being confined inside the PET, with only the holo-projector as a means to interacting face-to-face with his NetOp, the feeling Megaman had to hug Lan was quickly washed away.

Before either of them could say another word, they both heard another voice, a little bit off in the distance. "Hey, Lan! Wait for us!" The boy turned is head to the left to see Maylu, Dex, Yai, and Tory all walking to the spot where he was standing. Megaman, too, saw the four of them. Even though he was bummed about not being able to give Lan a hug, Megaman was still excited to see what reaction Lan's friends would make when he told them the good news.

"Thanks for waiting, Lan."
"Sure, anytime."

The children looked at Lan, a little curious as to what he was doing out. Tory would be the one who would ask. "Were you going to school today, Lan?" The boy was a little bit surprised by the question. He thought that they would know that he was going to be going to school, on a school day, no less.

"Of course. It is a school day, right?" The other children looked at each other before Yai responded. "Well, we all figured that you were going to stay home today." Lan looked at his friends, not completely sure as to why they would think that he would be staying home. He did remember that Megaman said it was a school day, and he knew that going to school was something that he had to do, since he was a kid, after all. And, he knew that going to school was what kids did.

"Well," Maylu began to speak. "It's good that you are out and about, Lan. So, since we are all here, let's head to school."

Another voice was heard immediately after Maylu stopped talked. "Maylu, just remember that you have a Piano Lesson after school today." Roll appeared on the girl's shoulder, making sure that her NetOp was reminded of the scheduled event. Maylu looked at her shoulder to see the now holographic NetNavi standing there. "Thanks, Roll. I almost forgot about it."

She quickly glanced at the rest of the group. "Sorry, guys. Looks like I won't make it to Yai's house after school."

"That's ok. We can get together another time." Yai chimed in.
"She's right. It's not the end of the world or anything." Tory agreed with Yai.
"Wait! That means I can't NetBattle Lan!" Dex, like usual, was the most upset.

"Oh, Dex. Give it a rest. It isn't like you won't see Lan for the rest of your life. It's only one day," Yai said, with her more-than-obvious outspoken tone of voice. Of the entire group of friends, Yai was the most outspoken and sarcastic one of them all. Whether it was because of her status in the world as the daughter of a multi-billionaire company owner, or because she just felt like it, was not known to the group.

Megaman listened to his friends chat, but he knew that he could hold on no longer. He had to tell them that Lan remembered something on his own. It wasn't something that he wanted to keep hidden. It was something that needed to be said.

Without even knowing what he was doing, Megaman simply blurted out to the group. "Lan remembered where you guys normally meet!"

The four children walking with Lan looked at the transparent NetNavi on the boy's shoulder. They weren't exactly sure what Megaman would blurt something like that out. All of their faces had looks of confusion and puzzlement on them, until they finally realized the significance of the NetNavi's statement.

"Lan! That's...That's wonderful!" Maylu, naturally, was the first to speak.
"Amazing!" Tory was almost at a complete loss for words.
"This is great news, Megaman!" Yai had to agree with Maylu and Tory.
"Does that mean our NetBattles will be more of a challenge?" Dex's one-track mind never ceased to exist.

Maylu, completely aware of the statement that Dex had just made, impaled her elbow into his side, causing a sharp pain in his abdominal region. "Dex! Be more considerate!" Maylu tried her best to whisper to command to Dex, hoping that Lan and the others would not hear her. It seemed to have worked, as they only looked at Dex and not at her.

"Sorry...It's great you remembered where we meet, Lan."

"Guys...it isn't that big of a deal, really. It's just a little thing." Lan wasn't sure what the big deal was. Then again, since his Amnesia, he couldn't make heads or tails of most of his friends' reactions to a lot of what he did.

Megaman was able to say something when a black van pulled up to the curb. The 5 children were made aware of the van's presence when it honked it's horn a few times to get their attention. They all looked at it in confusion.

"Who do you think that is," Maylu asked the rest of the group. All of them shook their heads from side to side, indicating that none of them knew who was in the van, let alone who it belonged to. Not more than a second after the group walked up to the Van, the driver-side window was rolled down, revealing the person who was controlling the vehicle.

Lan was the first of the children to get a look at the man. He didn't remember ever seeing the man before. One of the features that stuck out about him was that he was wearing some kind of weird pair of glasses.

However, the rest of the group instantly recognized him, and blurted his name out, in unison. "Mr. Famous!"

"Just Famous." Famous' customary retort to having "Mr" put in front of his name resonated in the children's ears. No matter how many times he man told them not to use "Mr" in front of his name, they never ceased to use it. The only one who ever seemed to grasp the concept was Chaud. Famous could only be thankful that someone actually listened.

"Hey, your the guy that Chaud told me about. You work with my dad, right?" Aside from the greetings, Lan was the first to make another statement. Famous looked at the boy, and somewhat tilted his head to the side. "Yes, that's right, Lan. I work with your father at SciLab, mostly as an assistant, but my primary function there is NetNavi Recovery."

Megaman was the next one to speak. "Yeah. He is completely unmatched in his knowledge of NetNavis and their coding, along with ways to repair them and get them fully functional again. Mr. Famous is an essential part of SciLab." Lan looked at his shoulder, noticing that the Navi was still standing there as a hologram. Soon after, he shifted his view back onto the man inside the van.

He was about to say something when Famous interjected.

"Lan, before you and your friends head off to school, I need to take your PET to SciLab."
"My PET? Is there something wrong with it?"
"I don't think so. Your father, Dr. Hikari, just wants to upgrade the software, clean up the database, and run a few tests on Megaman. It shouldn't be anything to worry about."

Maylu and the others overheard the conversation, listening to every word that was spoken between the Lan and Famous. However, Maylu wasn't able to just listen anymore after the last statement that Famous made. "How will Lan carry out stuff at school without a PET?" Maylu hasn't realized it, but she, unintentionally, blurted out what she was thinking.

Famous simply smiled and chuckled lightly. "No worries there. Lan will get a SubPET so that he can still manage school for today. Everything that needs to be done to his PET will be done by the time school lets out. When Dr. Hikari is done, He will simply bring the PET back to Lan. No trouble at all."

The children all looked at the man, impressed that such a well thought-out plan was in place to get Lan through the day, but also get his PET back up to speed and Megaman checked out. Although, while they did not say it to each other out loud, they all agreed in their minds that they wished Famous wouldn't talk so much. They were all thinking and coming to the conclusion that he could have said what needed to be said in just a sentence or two, not making an entire speech or novel out of the explanation.

Lan shifted his view back onto Megaman's hologram. His eyes seemed to ask an unspoken question, which the Navi quickly caught onto, giving the boy a smile and nod. "Don't worry about me, Lan. I'll be fine. After all, you don't want to miss school on account of me."

With a quick nod of his head and Megaman's hologram disappearing, Lan handed his PET to Famous, who, in turn, handed the boy a SubPET. He looked at the new device, noting that it was about the same size as his PET. He wasn't sure what a SubPET could do, but he could guess that it did almost everything a regular PET could do, at least, without a NetNavi present.

"There you go, Lan. I'll get this to Dr. Hikari at SciLab. Make sure you aren't late for school."
"Alright. And thanks, Mr. famous."
"Just Famous."

As Famous rolled up the window, a thought crossed his mind. 'Maybe this time, his Amnesia will help him remember to leave out Mr.'

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The bell for school to start sounded not too long after Lan and company walked into the classroom. Their encounter with Famous almost made them late. Luckily, Yai called in for one of her many limos to pick them all up and get them to school on time. All of the children were in agreement, both spoken and unspoken, that Yai was definitely a lifesaver to have around, even if she did have a bit of a temper problem from time to time.

As they took their seats, Lan was confused as to where he sat. "Hey, Lan. That's your desk there." Maylu was quick to notice Lan's confused state, and was the first to point him in the right direction.

Happy with knowing where to go, Lan took his seat and, along with the rest of the class, awaited the arrival of their teacher.

Not too long after, if only a few seconds later, the door to the classroom opened, and in walked Ms. Mari.

"Good morning, class!"
"Good morning, Ms. Mari!"

The teacher continued to walk to the front of the classroom, taking her usual spot behind her desk as she set a stack of papers down. Naturally, her demeanor consisted of a smile on her face and plenty of grace as she walked. All of the students in her class could never figure out how Ms. Mari managed to always stay in such a good mood. Rarely, if ever, did they see her in a gloomy state of mind.

She looked around the classroom, noting who was present and who was not. Her facial expressed changed when she saw that Lan was in the class. Ms. Mari was at the hospital the day that Lan was released, and heard the news, as well as the doctor's orders about getting Lan back into his normal routine.

As she finished taking attendance, she knew that the rest of the students needed to be informed.

"Alright, class. Before we begin today, there is something you need to know and keep in mind for the next few weeks." The student looked at the older woman, knowing that her seemingly important statement was most likely going to get even more important.

She continued on. "As you know, Lan was in the hospital for a week after suffering a very bad hit to the head. What you don't know, is that this caused him to enter into a state of Amnesia, which means he is very forgetful, and has a lot of trouble remembering things." Several of the students looked over at Lan's desk, expressions of surprise were on them all.

And, true. The class did know what happened to the boy. His friends had been in school while he was in the hospital, and they told everyone what was going on. Lan's teachers and most of the social staff at the school also knew about the situation, as well as the administrators and counselors. They were all informed about Lan's current state, and of the doctor's orders regarding the situation.

"Now, this may sound bad, but it really isn't. According to the doctor, if we get Lan back into his normal routine, then he will start to remember things more easily, and he will get over his Amnesia. So, what I want everyone to do is make sure you go about your day the way you normally would."

All of the students nodded in acknowledgment.

Lan, on the other hand, was a little embarrassed about the situation. He had found out what Amnesia meant, and finding out that he had it was something that didn't sit well with him, in one way or another. But, to have everyone in his class know about, and told that they had to act a certain way around him, made Lan feel like he had to be treated special. He wasn't sure, but he felt like he didn't need to be treated differently from everyone else. It was really annoying to him.

He slowly sank into his seat as the rest of the class looked in his direction. Soon after, Ms. Mari started class for the day.

"Ok. Let's begin today with some algebra..."

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"Thank you, Famous."
"Not a problem, Dr. Hikari."

Famous arrived at SciLab not too long after he talked with Lan and his friends. He immediately handed the PET over to Dr. Hikari, who was ready to bring the device to one of the labs and begin the maintenance he was planning on.

While walking past the lobby and into the rest of SciLab, Megaman spoke up from the PET. "Dr. Hikari...I wanted to let you know something." The older man holding the device started to walk a little slower. Normally, when Megaman needed to tell him something, it wasn't for the better, and he knew that by now.

"Sure. What is it, Megaman?"
"Well...I think there might be something wrong with the M-Program."
"How do you figure?"
"I noticed that it has gotten a little harder for me to refocus myself on the NetLine and get back to the PET."
"Hmmm...What about getting out of the PET? Any problems there?"
"No, not really. It just seems to happen when I want to get back into it. It's like...there is some kind of delay, or lag..."

Walking even slower, Dr. Hikari tilted his head downward and grabbed in chin, more or less in a thinking manner.

"Since the M-Program wasn't properly tested, there may be some aspects of it that we don't know about yet. I was hoping that with it being installed in you, that nothing would go wrong in the long run. However, if what you tell me is true, then we have to keep you here a little bit longer than we thought in order to figure out if there really is a problem with the M-Program."

Megaman's hologram appeared on Dr. Hikari's shoulder. He looked at the older man with his emerald green eyes, trying to see if he was thinking of anything that might come to an answer that would fix almost everything. It was a rarity, but Dr. Hikari would, on occasion, come up with a solution that would fix a problem in it's entirety, with absolutely no catch. It would just be fixed, and everyone could go on with their lives, as though nothing happened.

They continued down the hallways until they came to one of the work labs, which were labs that didn't hold much significance, as they were just used for general work, such as cleaning up a PET's database or doing regular maintenance on a NetNavi. Dr. Hikari wanted to make sure that he worked on the PET first before he started to work on Megaman.

"Here we are. Laboratory #4."
"Hmmm...you are going to work on the PET first?"
"Yes, Megaman. Actually, I am going to be working on both you and the PET at the same time."
"Really? How?"
"Simple. I'll transfer you to the SciLab computer, where I will look at your programming, as well as the M-Program. While I am doing that, I will run the database cleaning and defragmenting on the PET, since I don't actually have to be present for that. So, in a sense..."

Megaman interrupted, as he knew what Dr. Hikari was going to say, and he wanted to cut a long speech short, "...you'll be killing two birds with one stone?"

The older man looked at the hologram and smiled. "Exactly. No sense in wasting time on one when you can do both at the same time." Megaman knew that he could agree with that. It was something that, every once in a while, he would try and get Lan do it...most of the time it was always something that had to do with his homework, or even the occasional NetSaver mission. However, Lan didn't seem to be the kind of person that would multitask. But, Megaman knew that if Lan tried...

'Lan...when will you be back to normal?' The Navi's thoughts shifted back to what was happening with Lan, as well as the situation that came about the day before at the NetPolice Headquarters.

Dr. Hikari noticed that Megaman's hologram looked distracted, and soon spoke up. "Are you ok, Megaman? You look a little distracted." The Navi soon after came out of his thoughts, looking at the older man, who was apparently ready to start working on the PET. Megaman noticed that the device was already inside the terminal compartment, ready to have it's work started on it.

"Oh...it's nothing. I'll transfer to the SciLab computer now."

Disappearing from Dr. Hikari's shoulder, Megaman's NetNavi data was sent from the PET into the SciLab computer system, where he found a set of diagnostic rings waiting for him. "Ok, Megaman. Just step next to the rings. You know the rest." The Navi could hear the reassurance in Dr. Hikari's voice, and figured the older man was smiling as he made his statement.

Silently nodding his head, Megaman walked over to the rings, which wrapped around him. Not too long after, the rings created a type of anti-gravity around Megaman, thereby lifting him up off his feet and slightly into the air, still in the center of the two rings.

The rings started to rotate on invisible axises as Megaman fell into sleep.

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Lan and his friends were leaving the school's courtyard, their day of learning at an end until tomorrow. For Lan, it was a difficult day, trying to remember all kinds of things that he needed to know to get through the day. There was so much for him to take in, there were times when he felt as though he wouldn't make it, or he would just give up altogether. Luckily, his friends and classmates were there to help him every step of the way.

Maylu turned to Lan, the feeling of exhaustion evident in his face. "You should probably rest when you get home. You look really tired, Lan." The only response the boy could provide was covering his mouth with his hand and letting out a large yawn. The other three children simply nodded their heads in agreement.

"Yeah. I am really tired...*yawn*...Some sleep will do me good."

The shorter of the two girls spoke up. "Hey! I know. I'll get one of my limos to drive us home today. That way, Lan won't have to walk home and get even more tired."

"Hey, that's a good idea, Yai." Dex chimed in.
"He'll be able to rest up a bit so he won't be too tired. Good thinking, Yai." Tory was next.
"Alright. We'll all go and take Lan home." Maylu concluded, agreeing with the other three.

Lan looked at his four friends, giving each a smile. "Thanks, guys. I really appreciate it." No sooner did he and his friends start walking, a van pulled up to the curb of the street. The children were taken aback slightly by the sudden appearance, and their surprise could be seen on their faces. However, Lan and Maylu were the first to realize that it was a van that was sent from SciLab.

This guess was proven true as the window was rolled down, a sight showing that Famous was driving the vehicle. "There you are, Lan. I wanted to catch you before you got home from school today." The boy gave off a somewhat perplex looked, only to have that same look disappear as the proverbial light bulb lite up over his head. "Oh! You brought Megaman back! Is his alright? Is there anything wrong with him?"

Famous tried to hold his laugh in, but it still came out, only slightly. "No need to worry, Lan. Dr. Hikari didn't find anything seriously wrong with Megaman. In fact, he found that Megaman's NetNavi program is working perfectly. He's as fit as the day he was programmed and brought online." Famous reached out of the window of the van, handing Lan's PET to him, giving off a reassuring smile, while taking back the SubPET, as well.

"Well, I best be off. I need to get back to SciLab so your father and I can work on a few projects."
"Ok. Thanks for the help, Mr. Famous."
"Famous. Just Famous."

Lan simply nodded his head as Famous rolled up the SciLab van window, put the vehicle in drive, and left the children.

Excited to have his NetNavi back, Lan turned the PET on, bringing it out of Stand-by mode. He heard a few noises come from the device. They sounded familiar, but he couldn't place what they meant.

He heard another noise. This time, it came from his shoulder. Looking to his left, he saw Megaman's hologram, looking and smiling at him. "Hey, Lan. How was school today?"

"Megaman! You're ok."
"Yeah. I'm just fine. Your dad said that nothing was wrong. And, the PET's database is cleaned up. So, it should run faster."
"Faster? It was running fast before. How could it get faster?"
"Giving devices proper maintenance is essential to keeping their performance at it's peak. Cleaning up a PET's database is one example."
"Oh, I see. My PET was running fast, but not as fast as it could have been."
"Exactly."

Lan and Megaman's conversation was cut short, as the both of them heard tires squealing against the pavement of the street. Covering their ears, the two of them looked at the street, immediately noticing a pink-colored limo had pulled to the curb of the street, had shifted into park, and had it's passenger doors open.

Taking their look off the limo, both Lan and Megaman looked in Yai's direction, who had just put down a cellphone. "Ah. They got here early this time. That's good." The other children looked at the girl, giving off nervous smiles. 'Got here early? She just called it.' All of their thoughts were almost exactly the same. However, for everyone, such a comment was common when it came to Yai. There seemed to have been nothing that money couldn't get the younger girl.

Pulling themselves out of their thoughts, the driver's door opened, a man dressed in a suit stepping out. "Miss Yai. Here is the limousine you requested. Shall we take the normal route back to the mansion?"

"Not today, Ulrick. We're going to be driving my friends home today."
"Very well, Miss Yai. Shall I make the regular food and drinks available?"
"Please do. An afternoon snack sounds good right about now."
"I'll get right on it."

Yai turned to the rest of the group. "Come on, everyone. Let's go!"

~~!~~
~~!~~

"Thanks for the ride, Yai."

The girl simply smiled at Lan as he got out of the limo and stood by the still open passenger door, which was being held by the driver, Ulrick. He bowed to the boy as he closed the door, went over to the driver-side door, got in, and drove away.

Giving off another yawn, Lan walked up the path and opened the front door to his house.

"Welcome home, Lan! How was school today?"
"It was...*yawn*...tiring. There was so much work and catching up to do."
"Oh, I hope you didn't try to catch up on everything in one day."
"No, I didn't. But, I did catch up on a lot of stuff, and it really drained me."

The boy lazily walked into the living room as he dropped his backpack by the front door. His mother could see that he was exhausted, deciding not to tell Lan to put his backpack upstairs in his room. She knew that if he didn't do that, he would normally forget to do his homework. 'Oh...why did I just think that?' Her last thought brought about a few bottled up emotions over the boy's accident.

Snapping herself out of her thoughts, Mrs. Hikari looked to see that Megaman was trying to wake Lan up, above all things. 'I guess he really is tired.'

"Lan, wake up. You don't want to be asleep when dinner is ready."
"But, Megaman...I'm so tired...and I wasn't sleeping. I was just...resting my eyes."

"Oh, don't worry about it, Megaman. Lan's had a hard day. We should let him sleep a little bit." She walked out of the kitchen and into the Living Room, looking directly at Megaman's hologram, then back to Lan, who was starting to fall asleep again. Looking back at Megaman, she took her index finger and motioned for the Navi's hologram to follow her.

"Wake him up again, and see if you can get him upstairs."
"Upstairs? To his bedroom?"
"Yeah. That way, I won't wake him if I make too much noise. And, his bed is more comfortable than the couch."
"But, what about his dinner?"
"Don't worry about that. It won't be ready for another few hours. He can take a short nap until them."
"Yeah. That sounds like a good idea. He was really tired on his way home in Yai's limo."

Nodding her head, Mrs. Hikari went back into the kitchen, while Megaman went back over to Lan, who had completely nodded off on the couch. 'He really is tired. I guess I better try and wake him up.' Trying to think of a way to wake Lan up was something that would normally come naturally to the Navi, but Megaman wasn't sure if his normal methods would work, or if they would scare the boy more than help him wake up.

'Well, here goes nothing.'

"Lan. Wake up. Let's get you to bed."
Lan didn't answer.
"Come on, Lan. It will be more comfortable for you."
Still no answer.
"Please, Lan. Wake up!"

This time, Megaman shouted a little, which seemed to jar Lan out of his state of sleep. His eyes, more or less, popped up, and he also fell off the couch and onto the floor. "Megaman...I'm awake. You don't have to...*yawn*...yell." The Navi snickered to himself, seeing that his NetOp's reaction was just like...

His smile quickly faded, as his own memories about Lan before the accident came into his mind. Lan's constant protests to the Navi's methods of waking him up was something that Megaman liked...and, truthfully, missed.

"Megaman...what were you saying again?"

Lan's voice brought the Navi out of his thoughts. "Oh. You should go upstairs to your room and take a nap there. Dinner won't be ready for a few hours. So, you can rest up then." Megaman was content with his suggestion to Lan, but still waited for the boy to make some kind of protest.

"Yeah. That is probably a...*yawn*...good idea." Even though he still felt tired, Lan walked over to the door, where he dropped his backpack, and picked it up. Megaman didn't think much of it, until he realized that no one had to remind him that he was suppose to bring his backpack upstairs when he got home.

Immediately, Megaman had to say something. "Lan...did you remember to grab your backpack on your own?" The Navi looked at his NetOp, hoping that the correct response would be given...the response that Megaman was hoping to hear.

And, it came to pass.

"Well, yeah. Mom always tells me to bring it up to my room after school."

Megaman looked at Mrs. Hikari, who was preparing dinner, but still listening to their conversation at the same time. The statement Lan had made caused her to turn in his direction, with a look of surprise on her face. "But, Lan...I never told you about that after you got out of the hospital."

Both Megaman and Mrs. Hikari looked at each other, fully aware of what was going on. It was completely apparent to both of them that Lan had remembered something that he was told about numerous times before the accident.

However, it would be his mother and not Megaman that would be the most vocal this time. "Oh, Lan! You remembered!" The older woman ran over to his son, putting him in a warm and tender embrace. Lan, who was not fully aware of what was going to happen, didn't know how to react to the situation. Luckily, his mind was able to pick up on it, figuring out that he was being hugged.

"It isn't that big a deal, Mom."
"Of course it is, Lan! Remembering anything right now is a big deal!"

He didn't quite know how to respond to his mother's comment. However, he figured that accepting the hug and giving her a smile was all that was needed.

Finally composing herself, Mrs. Hikari gave her son a smile, made her way back into the kitchen, and continued to prepare dinner. Lan, finally feeling that he could fall asleep at any moment, picked his backpack up, which he had dropped when his mother came over to hug him, walked up the stairs, and went into his bedroom. Not knowing exactly where to put it, Lan lazily tossed the book-bag to the left side of his desk.

"Hey, Lan."
"Yeah, Megaman?"

"Well, I..." The Navi wasn't sure how to go on with his statement. He wanted to tell Lan everything about them. It was almost killing him on the inside that he couldn't tell the boy. Ever since earlier that day, Megaman wanted to tell Lan about their relationship, and how it was more than just friends. But, He knew that he couldn't tell Lan...not yet, anyway. And, if things actually went the way Megaman was hoping for, Lan would remember on his own.

Snapping out of thoughts, remembering that he still didn't finish his statement, Megaman continued. "Well, I just wanted to say 'sleep well,' and I'll wake you up when dinner is ready."

"Ok. Thanks...*yawn*...Megaman."
"Good night, Lan. Sleep tight."
"Night, Megaman."

The Navi didn't say anything else as he watched his NetOp fall fast asleep on the bed.

~~!~~
~~!~~

I know that baby, you tried
To find me somewhere inside of you
But you know you can't lie
Girl, you can't hide the truth
Sometimes two hearts
Just can't dance to the same beat
So I'll pack up my things
And I'll take what remains of me

~~!~~
~~!~~

-Tuesday-

"You, Roll, and the others are going to NetCity today?"

Lan was sitting in his classroom during lunch. Megaman's hologram was sitting on his desk, explaining what he and his Navi friends had planned out for the day.

"Yeah. We are going to see some battles at the Net Coliseum, and probably hang out for a while."
"Sounds like you are going to have a lot of fun."
"I hope so. It's been a while since I went to NetCity"
"Well, don't let me hold you down. Go and have fun, Megaman."
"Thanks, Lan. I will."

Megaman's hologram disappeared from Lan's desk. The boy knew what to do, as he jacked Megaman into his desk, which the Navi could then use as a means to get to the school's main computer and make his way to NetCity.

Before heading off, he met up with the rest of his NetNavi friends.

"Hey, Megaman! Ready to go?" Roll was there to greet the other Navi, as well as Iceman, Glide, and Gutsman. They were all gathered in their usual spot, getting themselves ready for their trip to NetCity and planning out their visit. "Yeah. I'm ready to go when you guys are."

"But, Megaman. Do you think Lan will be ok without you?" Iceman stated his worry. Megaman, however, was getting more and more confident in Lan's abilities to manage himself at this point. "He should be fine. After all, he did go all of yesterday without me. So, another day shouldn't be too much of a problem. And, if he needs me, I can always return to my PET."

"I do say, Megaman. That is a good idea. Very well thought out." Glide chimed in with his own opinion before quickly changing the subject. "So, where shall our visit take us today?"

"Gutsman wants to see some NetBattles, guts guts." Gutsman put his suggestion in.
"We can just go for a nice walk, maybe shop a little." Roll made her opinion heard.
"What about going to the Cyber Beach? That's always fun." Iceman was the last to speak.

They all sounded like good ideas. And, they all silently agreed that they would do them all, except they weren't sure which order they should go. They wanted to do them in an order that would get them all done in the least amount of time, since school was going to be letting out in a few hours for their NetOps.

"Hey, I know!" Megaman's blurting out caught the attention of the other Navis around him. They all looked in his direction, wondering what he was talking about.

"We can go to the Coliseum to watch some battles, then go to the beach. On our way to the beach, we can do our walk, and get a little shopping done. It's like killing two birds with one stone."

"Hey, that's a good idea!" Roll chimed in first, happy with the suggestion.
"Indeed. It is a good idea." Glide was next to speak, as happy as Roll was.
"Gutsman approves, guts, guts." While still trying to some some superiority, Gutsman agreed.
"Cool idea, Megaman." Iceman was last, but just as excited and happy as the rest.

All five Navis were in agreement on the plan, proceeding to the link in the school's mainframe to transfer to the NetCity computer system.

As they walked towards the computer's exit link, there were many other NetNavis in the area. Many of these Navis were those of the teachers and faculty. They were walking around and, basically, making sure that programs were running normally for classroom lessons, planning new lessons, grading electronic homework, and doing many other tasks. There was a designated area in this section of the mainframe's Cyberworld where the teacher would work, and another area where student NetNavis would be able to hang out, as well as link out to the rest of the Net.

Each of the five Navis entered the link, applied the proper routing protocol, and thereby were transported through the Net to NetCity. It was a routing path that all of the NetNavis were use to, and they were always happen when they got to use it.

Soon after, the link disappeared, and the five were standing on a street in NetCity.

"Ah. It's great to be in NetCity again," Megaman exclaimed. It has been a week or 2 since he was last in NetCity. He was normally there almost everyday. However, after his and Lan's last encounter with Cannonman, he hadn't been there for a week and a half. "Alright, then. Shall we make our way to the Coliseum?" Glide was ready to get the day's events underway.

The other four Navis nodded their heads in agreement and started walking.

~~!~~
~~!~~

"Those were great battles, guts, guts." Gutsman was content with the NetBattles he had seen at the Coliseum. There were many familiar faces there battling it out, most notable, and surprising of all, was Protoman, who battled it out with Whaleman, utterly defeating him in the process.

While walking, Megaman couldn't help but think about how Lan was doing. Even if he wasn't going to admit it, he was a little worried as to how the boy would do without him. The Navi knew that Lan would have a few problems as the day progressed, but he was confident enough to hope that the boy would be able to work around and overcome them. That, and Megaman knew that Lan's friends would be there to help him if the need came up.

Putting his doubts out of his mind, Megaman concentrated on enjoying the time he was having.

"Hey! Let's stop at Higsby's. We can see Numberman." Roll spoke to the group, who all appeared to be in agreement with the pink-colored NetNavi. "Yeah. That sounds like a good idea." Megaman agreed.

The group continued to walk down the streets of NetCity, taking in the sights, as well as the various skyscrapers, shops, businesses, and a host of other functions. Since it's conception only a year ago, NetCity had become just as important in linking businesses and people as the invention of PETs and NetNavis.

The group was finally close to Higsby's Chip Shop, only several stores away, actually. "There's Higsby's. And, it looks open. Numberman must be working," Roll observed. The other Navis nodded their heads in agreement and continued on their walk. However, they were not exactly the only ones heading in that direction.

"Megaman. There you are." All of the Navis in the group, including Megaman, turned around to see the source of the voice. It was very familiar, and all of them had heard the voice before. All of their eyes were set on Protoman, who was standing behind the group, fairly close to them, actually.

"Protoman! What are you doing here?" Megaman, who was the most surprised of all, was the first one to speak out of the group. The others simply looked at the red armor-clad NetNavi, who's facial expression always seemed to be the same; indifferent.

"Hey, Protoman! That was the great battle." Iceman stated.
"You made it look so easy, Protoman." Roll was the next to speak.
"And, you still showed great sportsmanship." Glide spoke.

Gutsman, however, wasn't sure what to say. He could have just said what the other three did, but he decided to just keep it simple. "Protoman did a great job, guts guts." That was the only thing that came to the hulking NetNavi's mind.

"Thanks for your words. Now, if you will excuse me, Megaman and I need to talk in private." The red Navi stared at the group, waiting for them to continue on their way while Megaman stayed behind. They were all use to that stare of his. Almost all the time when they would see Protoman, his facial expression would never change.

All of the Navis, save for Megaman nodded their heads and went inside Higsby's Chip Shop, where they saw Numberman working and started up a conversation. Megaman wished he could have been inside with them, hoping that he would be able to just completely avoid Protoman altogether. After what happened at the NetPolice Headquarters, Megaman didn't feel like dealing with Protoman, Chaud, or anyone else from the NetPolice, including Commissioner Keifer.

An awkward silence fell between the two of them. The tension in the air could be felt by both Navis. It finally got to the point where Megaman couldn't take it any longer, giving the ice-breaking first comment. "So...you wanted to talk?"

"I did. I wanted to ask about Lan."
"What do you want to know?"
"Just the basics, such as how he is doing."
"I'll let you know if anything important happens."

Megaman didn't want to, but his last statement was drenched in resentment. He knew that Protoman had nothing to do with the argument him and Manuela got into a few days ago. He knew that Protoman was only trying to look out for Lan. He knew all those things. However, he also knew that Protoman was Chaud's NetNavi, and Megaman's mind and regard for the other Navi turned to "guilt by association."

Protoman looked hard at Megaman, staring at the other Navi's face. "Look, Megaman. I didn't have any part in the decision Chaud and Manuela made about Lan being a NetSaver. I wasn't even..." Megaman quickly interrupted Protoman.

"Protoman. Just...don't say anything else. I don't want to deal with that right now."
"Megaman...you know I respect Lan as a NetSaver. If it were up to me, I wouldn't remove him at all."
"Then why didn't you tell Chaud that?"
"Because he never was one for taking my opinion on situations unless it was a NetBattle. You know that."

Megaman sighed, hanging his head. "You know, Protoman. I have learned a lot from you. Battle tactics, taking situations more seriously, a lot of things." He raised his head up, a very stern and commanding look on his face, a look that the other Navi had never seen before. The look actually took him aback a little, more so from the surprise that Megaman was actually capable of even being commanding or stern rather than from the surprise of being lecture by another NetNavi.

Megaman continued to speak. "When Lan doesn't know what to do, or even when he does know, I still give my opinion, whether he wants it or not. Time and again, he listens, and things turn out for the best." Protoman was simply staring at the blue-armored NetNavi in front of him, trying to hold back whatever emotions were threatening to spill out.

"Maybe it is time that you learned something from me. Maybe it is time you starting voicing your opinions to Chaud, whether he wants to hear them or not."

Whether Protoman wanted to admit it or not, Megaman was right. There were many times when Protoman wanted to voice his opinion to his NetOp, but he was trained not to, an old habit that was drilled into him back before the first N1 Grand Prix. In those days, at least to him, the notion of a NetNavi voicing an opinion to their NetOp was very...tactless. That was something that Chaud drilled into Protoman's head, and it was a habit that stuck with him.

The look on the red-armored NetNavi did not change. "Either way, I just want you to know that if you need to talk to me about anything, just talk. Keep in mind this isn't something I offer to any NetNavi. So, I suggest to take advantage of it."

With that, Protoman disappeared from sight, obviously logging out of NetCity and heading back to Chaud's PET.

Megaman sighed and lowered his head again. 'This is just so much...' The Navi was feeling completely overwhelmed by everything that was happening. Between Lan getting Amnesia, the hassle of helping Lan remember his past, and the situation with the NetPolice, Megaman was feeling too overwhelmed, not to mention that he still couldn't let Lan know about the M-Program. He was even beginning to think that something was going to give soon...

A familiar noise was heard by the Navi. He looked around to see that Lan had opened a video link. "Hey, Megaman."

"Oh, Hi Lan. How is school going?"
"It's lunch right now."
"Have you had any trouble today?"
"Actually, it's been going pretty smooth. Maylu and the others have helped me out a lot."
"That's great!"
"It's been a long day. I just hope it will be over soon."

Megaman smiled at Lan though the link. "Don't worry about it. Every school day seems long. It's just something you will get use to." The two of them stared at each other, both showing content looks on their faces. Megaman was happy that Lan was having an easy time with school today, and Lan was happy that Megaman was at ease over everything that seemed to have happened.

However, as Megaman look as though he was ready to say goodbye and let Lan eat his lunch, the boy kept on staring. The look on Lan's face showed the Navi that there was still something on his mind, and it was making Megaman curious as to what it was.

Finally, after several moments of silence between the two, Lan finally spoke. "Hey, Megaman. Is Roll or anything else around?" The Navi was a bit intrigued as to why Lan would ask where they were. However, it may have just been concern of some kind. "They are in Higsby's Chip Shop here in NetCity. Why do you ask, Lan?"

"Well, I wanted to talk to you about something...privately."
"Sure. You can talk to me about anything."
"You're sure that you are alone? It's kind of embarrassing."

Knowing that Lan wouldn't talk about something embarrassing if someone else was around, Megaman nodded his head and walked into a small alcove on the street, where he knew no one would be able to hear them talk. "Alright. No one is around. So, what did you want to talk about?"

Lan's face started to grow a little red, but not quite to the point where he was completely embarrassed. "Well...I wanted to ask you something. What's my...relationship with my friends?"

Megaman had a perplexed look on his face. "Well...they are your friends. Do you need to know something more?" The boy tried his best to keep his face as straight as possible, hoping to control the blushing on his cheeks.

"I mean...what is my relationship with each person?"
"Lan? Oh...you mean what they mean to you, right?"
"Yeah. That's it."

Megaman thought for a moment, trying to recall how everyone in Lan's group got to know the others.

"Well, you have known Maylu since you and her were younger, and have been close friends ever since. Dex use to be, and he still thinks he is, your greatest rival. Yai always helps you out when you need it, and doing so shows how much of a true friend she is. And, Tory is always there to give you any advise you need when you need it."

Lan looked at his NetNavi. "So, they are all special in their own way?" Megaman looked back at the boy through the video link. He wasn't really surprised that Lan came up with something that, as the Navi had come to expect that he would. "Exactly, Lan. Each one of your friends helps you in their own way, and that is why they are all important to you."

"Is there anyone that is...more than just...special to me?" Megaman was thrown aback by Lan's question. He actually, for a NetNavi that could read his NetOp like an open book, didn't know what Lan was referring to. In all honesty, he didn't know what the boy was talking about. 'Is this what he is embarrassed of?' Megaman's mind had a few ideas, but he couldn't figure out which idea was the one that would be what Lan was embarrassed about.

"More than special? Such as...?"
"Well...it has to do with Maylu, actually."

"With Maylu?" Now, things are starting to veer towards the "making sense" conclusion. Megaman wasn't a hundred percent sure as to where this conversation was going, but given the question that Lan was presenting, the Navi could make an educated guess...and would probably be right.

Going against his better judgment, Megaman asked the question he could only guess would piece together everything. "What about Maylu did you want to know?" After hearing the question, Lan slowly looked away from the monitor of his PET, tilting his head to the side and hiding half of his face from the Navi on the other end of the communication. Megaman could see that Lan was started to get even more embarrassed about the situation, as the boy's face was growing redder with embarrassment by the second.

"Well, I...I..." Lan didn't know how to say it. The tension building up inside him to know the truth was starting to become too much. And, just like he would before he got Amnesia, Lan finally just blurted out what was on his mind. "Were Maylu and I boyfriend-girlfriend?"

There. He said it. It was the question that had been bugging him since he started school that day. Lan knew that he couldn't ask Maylu, seeing that he thought she might take offense to the fact that, if they were boyfriend-girlfriend, he didn't remember it. So, his only hope was to ask the only other person who had been helping him since he left the hospital several days ago; Megaman.

However, Megaman froze. He wasn't sure how to answer the question. Sure, if he told Lan the truth and said that him and Maylu were not boyfriend-girlfriend, it wouldn't have been a heavy burden on his conscience. However, if he did tell that, Lan's next question might have been if he was in a relationship with anyone at all. Then, Megaman would have to lie about that, which was something the Navi was not fond of to begin with. He hated lying. Whenever he did lie, it always weighed heavily on his mind and conscience.

Luckily for the Navi, his logical side still had some dominion in him, and he just went with what he thought was the best answer. "Ummm...well...not really, no. You and Maylu weren't boyfriend-girlfriend before the accident. Sorry, Lan."

"Oh..." Lan looked back at the PET's monitor, and Megaman could see the dejection in the boy's eyes. He really didn't want to tell Lan the truth if it was going to make him feel the way he was now, but he couldn't just tell a lie without feeling like he just betrayed his best friend.

"Well...what does Maylu like?"
"Lan?"
"I'm just curious. Do you know what she likes?"
"Well...she likes dogs, for starters. Oh, and she is really into the piano. She is also into fashion. She isn't into NetBattling too much, but she is good at it."
"Wow. Sounds like she is into a lot of things."
"I guess you can say that. So, why did you want to know?"

Lan had hoped that Megaman wouldn't ask that question. He just wanted to get the information he wanted and hoped that the Navi would drop the subject after he said what needed to be said. However, it wasn't that simple, apparently. Lan was just too embarrassed to keep asking Megaman questions or answering the Navi's own questions.

Still, he had to answer the question, or else Megaman might figure out something was up. So, just like most times when he is under pressure, Lan blurted out what was on his mind.

"Well, I was going to ask Maylu...out on a date this Friday."

Date...date...DATE? Megaman couldn't believe the words that just came out of Lan's mouth. He could have imagined Lan asking Maylu out on a date about a year ago, before the battle with Dr. Regal, but now, of all times?

The words came as a stab in Megaman's heart. He still loved Lan with every fiber of his cyber and living being. He couldn't imagine loosing Lan to someone else. It was just something that the Navi couldn't fathom. And, considering the stress from everything that has been going on, from Lan's accident to his argument with Chaud and Manuela, the hope that Megaman held inside him, the hope that Lan would remember that they were a couple, was one of the only driving forces left for the Navi.

And now...now, Lan was starting to have feelings for Maylu. And, top it all off, he wanted to ask her out on a date. A DATE. And, it was suppose to be this coming Friday.

"Megaman...are you ok?"

The Navi snapped out of his thoughts, and he didn't realize it, but he facial expression still showed signs of shock and awe. The amount of weight Lan's statement had placed on Megaman was enough to almost completely devastate him.

"Oh...I'm...fine..."
"Are you sure? You don't look too good."
"It's nothing...really. No need to worry, Lan."

Lan stared at Megaman though the video link. Whether or not the Navi wanted Lan to see it, the boy could tell that there was a certain degree of worry in Megaman's eyes and face. He was no mind reader, but he could tell that there was something on the Navi's mind, and, for whatever reason he had, did not feel like sharing such thoughts with his NetOp. Needless to say, this fact annoyed Lan a little. He was told by Megaman that they could talk about anything that Lan needed to talk about. So, he could only wonder if Megaman's mind and thoughts were off-limits.

-bing, bing, bing, bing-

"Oh...it sounds like lunch is over, Megaman."
"Yeah. You should probably get back to class."
"I'll talk to you later, Megaman."
"Ok, Lan."

The boy closed the video link, disappearing from the sight of the Navi. Megaman wasn't sure what to think anymore. Between the accident, his fight with Chaud and Manuela, and the stress of Lan's recovery, Megaman couldn't keep a focused mind on what was even in front of him, let alone anything else.

Not too much longer after his communication was cut short, Megaman heard Roll's voice. "Hey, Megaman. Are you alright?"

"Oh, I'm fine, Roll. Just thinking about things."
"What did Protoman want to talk to you about."
"Ummm...nothing, really. He just wanted to know how Lan was doing and when he could start his duties as a NetSaver again."

Another lie. Megaman hated lying. It was something that was either programmed into him, or something that he developed in his conscience.

"Oh, I see."
"Yeah. Just the normal Protoman stuff."
"Well, the others and I are ready to head to the beach."
"Alright. Let's go."

With feigned interest, Megaman tried to set his mind straight as he followed Roll.

~~!~~
~~!~~

"Well, I'll see you guys later. I had a great time!"

Roll was happy with the way things played out in NetCity. After the NetBattles, the shopping, and the fun at the beach, she was extremely content with the way the day went.

"Bye, Roll, everyone. See you tomorrow." Iceman said his goodbye.
"Ohh. Gutsman wants to do this again, guts." Gutsman chose his own words for goodbye.
"I do agree. This has been a terrific day." Glide was the last to speak.

"Yeah...It was nice to just get out and do stuff. Thanks for having me come along, guys." Megaman was happy that everything went well. Once at the beach, he was able to put his mind to rest a little about everything that had happened, especially the news about Lan wanting to ask Maylu out on a date. Above all else, that was the one thing that weighed so heavily on the Navi that he felt as though he wanted to just be put into a sort of hibernation until everything was over.

However, he still had his logical side with him, making him realize that such a thing would only serve to complicate his life in the long run.

"Don't mention it, Megaman. It's always great having everyone around to do stuff with." Roll seemed to still be happy after the day's events. Megaman nodded at Roll, who simply smiled back.

"I guess I should be going, as well. Bye, Megaman!"

The blue Navi looked at all of his friends; Roll, Glide, Gutsman, and Iceman, as they all logged out. Megaman was now alone, thinking that he should also logout, since Lan was probably going to be out of school for the day soon. And, he would probably be asking Maylu out on their...

...date...

The word resonated in Megaman's mind. The thoughts, weight, and dejection came back into his soul has he remembered what Lan was planning on doing. 'Yeah...asking Maylu out on a day...' The Navi, no matter how much he wanted to, couldn't put the thoughts and emotions out of his mind. It was just something that he knew, deep down in his soul and heart, that they would be with him for a long time...at least, until he finally accepted whatever path Lan choose when it came to love...even if it meant that it wasn't the Navi.

He slowly started to walk down the street, thinking of what he could say to Lan before the day was finally over, more or less about stuff he could possibly...suggest when it came to Lan's date with Maylu.

As much as he didn't want to give advise on how Lan should be on his date, where to go, what movies to see, what food to eat...he knew that he couldn't be selfish.

If going on a date was what Lan wanted, and it would make him happy, then Megaman would help.

Suddenly, a loud explosion was heard by the Navi. He was immediately jarred out of his thoughtful state and started to look around the area. 'What happened? Is NetCity under attack,' Megaman thought, running towards the direction where he thought the explosion came from.

"Ahh! Run away!"
"Save yourselves!"
"The city is being attacked!"

Many different NetNavis were running in the opposite direction that Megaman was. There were all screaming, almost at the top of their lungs, about NetCity being under attack. Megaman wasn't sure if this was the work of some stray NetNavi or if the UnderNet Mafia was behind it.

Either way, he knew that he had to make his way over to the source of the explosion.

Without realizing where he was going, Megaman rammed into another NetNavi, a generic one, to be exact.

"What are you doing? You are going the wrong way, man!"
"Calm down. What is happening?"
"There is some crazed NetNavi blasting away at others!"
"Do you know what his name is, or where he came from?"
"How should I know? I just want to save my data!"

Without another word, the generic NetNavi got up and ran around Megaman, disappearing from sight, most likely logging out before anything else happened to him.

Getting back on his feet, Megaman continued to run in the opposite direction as every Navi that passed him, making sure that, this time, he didn't run into anyone else. The last thing that he needed no was to be delayed even more. And, given the answers that he got from the NetNavi that ran into him, he knew that everyone else was most likely going to be giving him the same answers as the first NetNavi did.

"Woah..."

Megaman finally arrived on scene, only to have his sight get greeted by the visual of a large cloud composed of who knew what. All he could do was stare at the cloud as it seemed to start and get thinner, which he could only help was a good thing. The odd part about the cloud, was that it had several different colors in it. It was something that Megaman had not seen before, and it made the Navi worry too much for his taste.

Slowly, but steadily, the cloud became less dense as it started to clear up. Megaman focused his vision on it, and, to his surprise, was able to make out a silhouette of someone on the inside.

Without warning, Megaman heard the figure speak.

"So, we finally met, Megaman."
"I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage, seeing as you know me, but I don't know you."
"Ahh, you are correct. How rude of me. I am Eclipse, Head Intelligence Officer of the UnderNet Mafia."
"Did you just say the UnderNet Mafia?"

As the cloud completely disappeared from sight, Eclipse became perfectly visible to Megaman. He saw that the NetNavi standing in the center of where the cloud use to be, his armor, or rather, lack thereof, somewhat puzzled Megaman. However, Eclipse was not entirely without anything on.

His was wearing what appeared to be very long black shorts, going just past his knees and halfway down the rest of his leg. His feet had folded black boots, almost like that of a pirate. He also had on long gloves, just as long as Megaman's were, and they too, were colored black. His chest was covered in a black sleeve-less tunic, made in such a fashion that it looked like a very short robe. Over his face and neck was a mask that seemed to wrap about his head entirely, leaving only his eyes and hair visible.

While Megaman was inspecting the UnderNet agent, Eclipse simply laughed at the other Navi's comment. "Yes, I did. It's my job to gather intelligence and then pass that along to the rest of my group. Needless to say, it was me who tipped off Blademan on what you looked like in the real world." Megaman's eyes widened, remembering the fight with Blademan, and how he knew what Megaman looked like without his Navi suit.

"Well, getting back on topic, I am not just an intelligence agent. I also am formidable on the field of battle, as I am about to demonstrate." Without warning, Eclipse charged at Megaman with almost blazing speed, catching him off guard and striking the blue Navi in the chest with his fist.

Megaman cried out from the pain of the impact, which also sent him several feet back from where he was standing. He landed on his back, but not as hard as Megaman thought he would. He could only be thankful that the punch didn't do as much damage as he thought it would based on how fast Eclipse moved.

"Hey...You're pretty good. I'll give you that."
"You sure do have manners, Megaman. I can respect that."

Without anymore hesitation, Eclipse smiled, unexpectedly charging forward again to make another assault on Megaman. However, this time was different. The Navi didn't let his guard down, and he was able to block Eclipse's attack with his deployed MegaBuster. Luckily, the MegaBuster's armor coating was strong enough to withstand the blow without any damage.

Taking advantage of the situation, Megaman bent down and leaned to his right side, attempting to use his left foot to kick his enemy. Fate would seem to have been on his side as his left foot made contact with Eclipse's upper chest, sending a reasonable amount of force into him, causing almost as much pain as he caused Megaman.

A good distraction. Eclipse fell to the ground trying to ward off and get his pain under control. However, Megaman wasn't going to wait around for that. Taking advantage of the distraction in his opponent, he jumped to the top of small building nearby, putting some distance between him and Eclipse. He was hoping to buy some time to call for help.

And, he knew just who to call.

~~!~~
~~!~~

"Hey, Maylu. Wait up!"

Lan was skating at a quick pace, trying to catch up to her before they both got home. He still needed to ask Maylu his question, and he didn't want to put it off too long because, if he procrastinated too long, she might make plans for Friday, and then he would be out of luck.

"Oh, hey Lan. What's up?"
"Well, I...wanted to ask you something."
"Really? Well, ask away."

Lan's face started to turn a little red, as he was a little embarrassed about asking Maylu out on a date, and, for all he knew, she was the first girl he ever asked out on a date. Needless to say, the situation was a little stressing at the moment. "Maylu...umm...are you doing anything Friday after school?" Lan tried to keep his face from blushing profusely. He didn't want the girl to think he was shy. He wanted to be confident in his question, although even he could see and hear that he was not confident at all.

"Well, I have a piano lesson right after school, but I am free in the evening."
"That's great! I mean...that's great."
"Was there something else you wanted to ask me, Lan?"

"Well...yeah, there is. I was wondering if..." Could he finish his sentence? Did he have the courage and fortitude to complete his statement and ask Maylu out on the date? Even he wasn't sure. For all he knew, he could have asked her sometime before and got rejected. If that was the case, he would be walking right into another rejection.

However, he already started to talk, and he had to finish it. "...if you wanted to go out Friday night." Ok. There we go. Everything is out in the open. 'You asked the question. Everything's ok...right?' Lan's mind was running in circles. He couldn't concentrate on one thought at a time, and it was starting to make things harder than they already were. And, to make matters worse, as he finished his sentence, he lost control over his cheeks, causing him to start blushing profusely.

But, fortune would be on Lan's side as Maylu didn't notice he was blushing. Instead, he looked at her and saw that here eyes were lit up like tiny Christmas lights. "You mean...you want to go out on a...date?"

"No, no. Nothing like that. Just..." Now, things were going bad. Lan was panicking, and that wasn't a good thing. He was saying stuff that he didn't mean to be saying, and saying such things could potentially ruin the entire conversation. He had to think quickly on his feet. "...ok. Yeah. I am asking you out on a...date."

"Oh, Lan. That is so sweet of you! So, where are we going?"

Where were they going? Lan hadn't thought that far ahead yet. He just wanted to ask Maylu first and then plan everything later. Now, his "plan," using the term loosely, required altering thanks to an unexpected question from the girl standing in front of him.

Lan was about to say something basic, like the movies, when he heard his PET beeping. Somewhat frowning a bit, Lan took the PET out of it's holder on his shoulder and held the screen up to his face.

"Lan! I need help!"

The boy's expression immediately changed from a slight frown to one of surprise and shock, not to mention worry, given that his NetNavi just asked for help, almost screaming in the process.

"Megaman. What's wrong?"
"NetCity is under attack by a NetNavi from the UnderNet Mafia."
"What's the UnderNet Mafia?"
"It's an organization that wants to take over the world. I can't explain more. I need some help!"
"Right. I'm on my way."

Lan turned to Maylu, who had heard every little detail of their conversation. The look on her face was one of concern for her friend and his NetNavi, knowing full well that it was time for the both of them to exercise their duties as NetSavers in order to save NetCity.

"Sorry, Maylu. But, I have to go."
"Don't worry, Lan. You need to help Megaman."
"Thanks, Maylu. I'll catch you later!"

The boy quickly put his skates on and went off towards what he thought was the closest place to find somewhere to jack-in. Maylu wanted to help Lan as much as she could, but she knew that he couldn't do much to help. Without any type of commission from the NetSaver to use BattleChips in NetCity, there wasn't much damage Roll's default attacks could do to whoever was putting the cyber-ized city under siege.

All she could do way hope that the both of them would be alright.

~~!~~
~~!~~

"Don't think running will save you, Megaman. Solar Darkness!"

Eclipse's words spawned what looked to be a large sphere in the sky. It was large enough to have been the size of the Earth's moon. And, it started moving in a way that began to block out the light from NetCity's artificial sky.

Megaman looked up at the impending eclipse, and looked at his adversary. "Just what you are planning to do, Eclipse?" The other NetNavi simply laughed, looking on while the moon-sized sphere starting to fulling create an eclipse.

As the sphere got into position, a beam of darkness came down from the moon, enveloping Megaman in the process. "Ahhh!" The blue Navi screamed out in pain, the beam from the eclipse causing a lot of stress on his data structure. But, there was also something more that the darkness seemed to be doing. As Megaman felt more pain, he also felt his body becoming more and more heavy. He felt his chest and arms become so heavy, that he was about to collapse under his own weight.

He fell to his knees and only had his arms supporting the rest of his body. Eclipse looked on and laughed some more. "Do you like this attack of mine? Not only does it disrupt your data over time, but it also drains your strength. It is quite the strong attack for such a natural occurrence in the human world." Megaman lifted his head up, just enough to see Eclipse standing in front of him.

"I...can't stay...up..."
"Of course you can't. That's the whole point."
"Lan...where are...you..."

Eclipse was about to deliver a swift kick into Megaman's head...

"LifeAura, BattleChip in. Download!"

Within an instant, Megaman was surrounded by the glow of the LifeAura BattleChip, sending Eclipse back several yards, as well as protecting Megaman from the effects of the Solar Darkness attack that was affecting him. Slowly, but surely, Megaman started to regain his strength in his legs, arms, and all over the rest of his body. The pain from the attack was also disappearing as the protection from the LifeAura remained constant.

Eclipse got up from the ground where the feedback from the LifeAura has sent him. He looked over at Megaman, still seeing the aura glowing brightly. "So, your NetOp has come to your aid. How rude. This was just a battle between you and me, Megaman."

"Lan and I are part of a team. If you fight one of us, you fight us both."
"Teamwork is for those who cannot do their tasks on their own. You know that as well as I do."
"You're wrong, Eclipse. Teamwork is where real power comes from. You know THAT as well as I do."
"Perhaps you are right, Megaman..."

Eclipse paused in the middle of his sentence. Megaman could see the other Navi starting to sport a grin across his face. He wasn't sure what Eclipse was planning, but from what Megaman could judge from the grin on his face, it wasn't something that was going to make this battle any easier. Not by a long shot.

"...but, when a team member goes down, the power is severed!"

Lan was watching the battle from the PET's holographic pop-up screen. "Megaman. Stay on your toes. I didn't like the sound of that last comment."

"Don't worry, Lan. We can do this."
"You're right. Samurai Sword, BattleChip in. Download!"

Without any warning, Megaman started a full-frontal assault on Eclipse, even before the sword was even done downloading. Eclipse, who was not fully prepared for such an onslaught, could do nothing more than take up a defensive position until the right time came for him to counterattack. However, given the shear volume of Megaman's attacks, Eclipse knew that his window of opportunity to make an effective counterattack wasn't going to be very big. He had to time it just right if he wanted to make sure that Megaman sustained the highest amount of damage, making the fight a lot easier in the long run.

Dodge after dodge, parry after parry, Eclipse could do nothing but keep his defensive position in tact. However, he noticed the pattern in the attacks, and saw just the right time to make his move.

"What's wrong, Eclipse? Can't fight back during a fair match?" Megaman was starting to grow confident in his and Lan's fighting abilities, so much that he even spoke during his onslaught. Unfortunately, to Megaman's dismay, Eclipse was also focused enough to speak during the assault. "You call this a fair fight? It's far from it. If you want a fair fight, I would be happy to oblige!"

As swift as his movements, Eclipse got his leg in-between Megaman's arm, using his knee to impact the blue Navi's stomach.

"Uhhh!" Megaman nearly doubled-over. The force from the impact caused him to involuntarily stop his attacks and use both of his hands to clinch his stomach. However, this turned out to not be a good idea, as he was then sent flying backwards from what turned out to be a charging kick from his opponent. Megaman screamed out in pain from the kick, and again when he landed on his back and slid several feet.

"Megaman! Are you ok?"
"I'm...fine, Lan."
"Here. I'll send you something else."

Lan looked at his armory of BattleChips, many of them he remembered thanks to Megaman's help before he fought Dex for the second time a few days ago. But, he wasn't quick enough in deciding on a BattleChip to use.

"I don't think so! Megaman wants a fair fight. So, I will be the gentlemen I am and grant his request," Eclipse stated as he tossed his hands into the air, concentrating what would soon, at least, in his perspective, be the final addition to the battle, and ensure his victory. "Behold, the power of space itself. Enshrouding Nebula!"

All around Megaman and Eclipse, all kinds of gases and clouds began to form and condense. All different colors started to appear. Megaman had seen this before. It was what he first saw when he came into the area. 'So, that's what it was. A nebula.' Megaman started to stand up, slowly. He turned his head around, scanning the area. The cloud became more and more dense, making it hard to see outside.

"Mega...n! Can...ou...ar...me?"
"Lan? Lan! Say something!"

As the cloud became more and more dense, Megaman had come to a frightening realization. 'Oh, no...This nebula. It's...'

"I can see it in your eyes, Megaman. And, you are right. The different particles and gases in this nebula are interfering with you and your NetOp's ability to communicate."

Now fully standing, Megaman looked directly at Eclipse, or what he thought was his silhouette. "So, you want to fight dirty?"

"Fight dirty? Far from it. I was fulfilling your request for a fair fight."
"How is this fair? I can barely see you."
"Yes, but that is the penalty for getting assistance from your NetOp. In here, he can't communicate with you, or send you any BattleChips to help you. This is strictly one-on-one. You should be happy that this is a fair fight."

Megaman let out a low growl under his breath. If what Eclipse said was right, then he would be on his own. All he had was his MegaBuster and whatever punches and kicks he could throw at the other Navi. Right away, Megaman knew that this wasn't going to be an easy fight to win. The only thing that he could think of that would save him would be to find a way to turn one of Eclipse's own attacks against him. That would be his only, surefire attempt at winning and getting out of whatever trap this was.

Without warning, or even any sign of movement, Eclipse charged at Megaman, putting his elbow into Megaman's chin. Soon after, another strike was felt on the Navi's right side, and another on his left side.

From everything he felt, Megaman knew this wasn't going to end well.

~~!~~
~~!~~

"Megaman! Megaman! Come in, Megaman!"

Lan looked at his PET screen, only seeing the snow-ish look of static staring back at him. He knew that something was up when he didn't get a response from Megaman the first time he called out to him. Now, after several minutes of trying to get into contact with his NetNavi, Lan knew that something was disrupting the signal.

"Great...how can I help him if I can't get a message to him?"

Unbeknownst to his surroundings, Lan had shouted his last comment, causing several pedestrians to look at him, each with their own guesses as to why the boy just yelled something at the top of his lungs. Still, they just brushed it off and continued on their way.

Then, Lan got an idea. It wasn't something that was favorable, but he knew who to call.

"Chaud. Chaud! Answer me, Chaud!"

Lan pushed a few buttons on his PET, trying to see if he could get a connection between his PET and Chaud's PET. He could only be thankful that Megaman had showed him several PET functions before the day started. And, the Navi was impressed that Lan committed all of them to memory rather quickly. He actually thought it would have taken a little longer before Lan could remember such things.

The boy kept trying to get a connection to Chaud. Fortunately, after a minute or two, he finally got Chaud on the other end.

"Lan? What is with the yelling?"
"Chaud! I need your help."
"What's up? Is something wrong?"
"Yeah, big time. Megaman is under attack in NetCity, and I can't send him any BattleChips or even talk to him!"
"What happened? Tell me!"
"Some NetNavi called Eclipse attacked Megaman and put up some cloud-thing and now, I can't see what is going on or talk to Megaman at all!"

Chaud tilted his head downward in a thoughtful manner. "Hmmm...it must be the UnderNet Mafia. They are the only ones who would go after Megaman in NetCity, and out in the open." Chaud didn't move his head from it's position, as he kept on thinking about the situation. However, Lan didn't think that it was the right time to be just thinking about it. He knew that action needed to be taken.

"Chaud! We have to do something!"
"Lan, I'm sorry, but I can't get Protoman to NetCity right now. I am in-flight and on my way to Netopia. There isn't anywhere I can jack in!"
"What? Oh, man..."
"I'm sorry, Lan. But, you are on your own. I'll call Commissioner Keifer and see if he can send something."
"...Ok. Thanks, Chaud."

As Chaud closed the communication down, Lan just stared at his PET screen, knowing that he couldn't do a thing to help Megaman right now. It was killing him on the inside that he couldn't help his best friend. However, he was not without all hope. Lan soon got an idea, hoping that it would be worth it. 'I'll just have to try.'

And so, Lan skated down the sidewalk, on his way to SciLab.

~~!~~
~~!~~

The nebula had reached full density. Megaman knew this much, even as he was being beaten left and right by Eclipse. The Navi couldn't even she his opponents outline anymore, not even when he was a foot away.

But, the strange thing was that Megaman knew he was better than this. After every fight he had gotten into, every enemy he had defeated, every organization he took down, his senses got sharper. There were times when he didn't even need to visually see an attack coming to know that it was on it's way. Something was certainly distracting the Megaman, but he couldn't put his finger on it. What could...

"Ahhh!" The Navi received another blunt hit to the head from Eclipse. Megaman noticed that as the fight progressed on, Eclipse's attacks seemed to have been gaining strength, or he was losing strength and they seemed to be hitting harder than they really were. Either way, he was feeling more pain than he wanted to, and it was making it a lot harder to concentrate on the fight at hand.

"What's wrong, Megaman? Are you feeling weak? Perhaps you should rest...for eternity"
"What makes...you think I am...feeling weak, Eclipse?"
"From the sound of your voice. It stutters and shakes."

'He's right. My body can't take much more of this,' Megaman thought to himself. Sure, he had been in tough battles before, and this was no exception. However, in almost all of those battles, he had Lan with him, as well as the occasional help from Tory, Yai, Maylu and...

Megaman's train of thought derailed. He was already on his hands and knees, trying to stay up off the ground when it finally hit him. The Navi was finally able to figure out why he was so distracted and unable to focus in the battle. He was still thinking, either consciously or subconsciously, about Lan asking Maylu out on the date. The thoughts about it and the emotions attached to it were causing him to be completely unfocused, and, unless he found a way out of it, it could cost him his life.

Another swift kick into Megaman's chest, sending him flying into the air, only to be greeted by another attack from Eclipse, elbowing him in the back and sending the Navi crashing into the ground below.

This time, it was too much. The final attack caused Megaman's body to go completely limp.

"Well, Megaman. It looks like this where I bid you, adieu."
"I'm...not...done...yet..."
"I beg to differ. Bon Voyage."

Raising his arm into the air, Eclipse was charging up what was to be the killing blow on Megaman. A large grin appeared over his face, knowing that this was going to be the final time that he could have to face off against Megaman, even though it was the only time he has so far.

However, his overconfidence was starting to grow too much. Eclipse hesitated in delivering the final blow. "Tell me, Megaman. How much pain are you in right now?" The Navi couldn't move any part of his body, much less actually talk with his oppressor.

"I've...had worse..."
"Oh, really? Is that true? Then, I guess it would be awfully rude of me to keep you in such pain."
"For someone...who...prides themselves...in being...a criminal...you sure have...a lot of...manners..."
"How very observant of you, Megaman. And, with that, I shall put an end to your suffering."

Megaman's dark form of sarcasm was the only thing that he could grasp at the moment. There wasn't much else that he could do, say, or think that would help make the situation any less dismal than it already was. He knew that the nebula they were surrounded in was only goes to hasten his deletion unless he could think of a way to get rid of it, and quickly, or at least weaken it enough to allow him to contact Lan for help.

Unfortunately, the pain from the continuous onslaught was causing too much distraction for Megaman to even thought. The only thought that was resonating inside his head was the fact that Lan was asking Maylu out on a day...and that thought alone was the reason Megaman was in the situation he was in right now.

Eclipse looked down at the other Navi, grinning widely and with glee. "Time for you to be deleted, Megaman. Solar Beam!" Eclipse charged up an attack from one of his hands. The attack was drawing in it's energy from the surrounding nebula, gaining strength the more he charged it. Eclipse knew that if he was going to delete Megaman, he would have to use an attack with a lot of power, lest he chance the blue Navi surviving the encounter. But, Eclipse was not one to let anything chance.

His attack was ready, aiming his hand at Megaman's body, ready to strike...

"Wrath of Thunder!"

A large dragon of lightning appeared around the nebula encasing Megaman and Eclipse. The energy being released by the attack was immense, so immense that the shear magnitude of the attack started causing the deterioration of the nebula.

"What? What is happening?"
"It's called a rescue."

A large explosion occurred, causing the nebula to completely disappear, the gas and particles scattering into the wind. The explosion caused a large amount of force, knocking Eclipse off his feet and catapulting him into the air, unable to control his movements, as well as causing his charged up attack to dissipate.

Megaman turned his head from side to side, slowly looking around to see if he could spot the person who had just caused the explosion and elimination of the nebula. He remembered the voice he heard. He also remembered the name of the attacked that was used, as well as it's look and function. There was only one NetNavi who had that kind of attack, voice, and power.

Thunderman.

Happily knowing that his life was spared by his Netopian friend, Megaman's mind and body finally shut down, falling completely unconscious, totally unaware of the battle that was soon ensue.

Not too long after, Eclipse finally fell from the sky and landed on the ground, causing a crater to form at the point of impact. He slowly stood up, not only wonder who could have caused his nebula to disperse, but who also had such an attack that it was powerful enough to even damage him in the process. But, his answer was soon to be answered.

"Well, picking on one of my friends is grounds for a battle."
"How rude of you. I was in the middle of a battle, which you had no right to interfere with!"
"Don't give me that, Eclipse. You know as well as I do that it was all a trap."
"How perceptive of you."

Eclipse laid his eyes on the Navi in front of him. The only way he could describe him was a mummy wrapped in bandages with a spike on his head and green eyes. He thought that the Navi looked rather weird, but knew that not all NetNavis looked as they fought.

"You have me at a disadvantage."
"I am Thunderman, and I am here to make sure that Megaman stays alive."
"You talk tough, but are you able to back it up?"
"Why not see for yourself."

The circle of disks appeared from out behind Thunderman, his trademark objects. Without much effort, Thunderman focused his energy, causing lightning to jump from one disk to the next, then the next, and so on. In no time at all, each disk was connected to 2 others through a constant stream of lightning. Eclipse didn't know what was about to happen, but his overconfidence was still evident, as he found the display more amusing than threatening.

He looked at the wrapped Navi, smiling widely and with glee. "Such a nice display of lighting effects. Well demonstrated." Eclipse laughed, caught up in his own joke in that moment. However, Thunderman was not amused by the display, and continued to concentrate on getting his attack ready.

And, it would seem as fortune would smile on him.

"This is where you take your final bow. Thunder Nova!"

A ball of lightning appeared in Thunderman's hands, which he immediately launched into the direction of Eclipse. The attack shined brightly, just like if it were a flash of lightning, but a hundred times brighter. If anything, Eclipse was only impressed with the visuals of the attack, but felt no threat from the actual attack. This was shown as he simply stood his ground and waited for the attack to reach him.

"A ball of lightning? That will not work!"
"It isn't just a ball of lightning. It is much more."
"It's nothing I can't deflect or repel. You have failed!"

The ball of lightning finally reached Eclipse, who put both of his hands out in an attempt to deflect the attack into another direction, preferably at either Thunderman or Megaman. But, to him, any direction would be good, seeing any any direction would cause damage to the city.

In an instant, the attack made contact with the UnderNet operative's hands, staying in place while his movements did nothing to deflect the attack. "Like I said, it isn't just a ball of lightning. It is much more. Detonate!"

With wide eyes, Eclipse looked on as the orb of lightning started to glow even brighter, beams of light emitting from it in all different directions. He didn't know what was happening at the exact moment, but he could guess and probably guess right at what was going to happen, knowing the word that Thunderman spoke was clue enough.

But, it was too late.

The ball of lightning exploded, causing a large release of energy, right in front of Eclipse, more specifically, right in front of his face and hands. The energy released came in the form of a half-sphere shape that started expanding outward as the ball of lightning exploded. The shear amount of light that emanated from the energy explosion was almost blinding. Luckily, Megaman wasn't looking in the direction, and Thunderman was already use to bright stuff.

Soon, the light cleared up, showing the results of the explosion. Thunderman looked on with glee as he saw the aftermath of his attack. There stood Eclipse, with both of his hands blown completely off, as well as several injuries on his arms and face where data was slowly leaking out, bleeding, if you will.

He soon lost strength in his legs, collapsing to the ground. The little nubs on his arms and his still in-tact knees were the only things keeping his face from being completely embedded in the ground. "Your attack...was...quite impress...ive."

"Do not underestimate me again. Be thankful that my new ultimate attack did not delete you."
"You still...don't get it...do you?"
"There isn't much to get. You are part of an organization that is out to take over the world. There is nothing more that I need to understand."
"Your brave...words will not keep...you safe. I bid you...adieu."

With his last breath, Eclipse quickly logged out of the NetCity server, leaving Thunderman's visual sight.

"Mega...man. Come in, M...aman!"

Thunderman looked around as he heard a familiar voice. The static from the signal was starting to lessen as Lan's PET was getting a more stable connection to the NetCity mainframe, enabling him to finally communicate with Megaman, who, unbeknownst to Lan, was completely unconscious.

The other NetNavi was looking at Megaman when he saw a video screen appear next to the blue Navi. He slowly walked over, knowing that he was going to have to explain exactly what happened since Lan wouldn't have a clue.

"Megaman! Megaman! Answer me!"
"Lan, Megaman needs to get to SciLab."
"Who are you? Are you the one who did this to Megaman!"
"I could never do this. I am Thunderman, Raoul's NetNavi."
"Who is Raoul?"

Next to Thunderman, a video screen appeared. Lan looked from his screen to the one that was next to the mummified NetNavi, and got scared when he saw the image that appeared. Lan had never seen anyone who looked like this Raoul did. His face was very stern, almost scary. The boy didn't even have any words to describe the visual effect the hairstyle had on the man's overall appearance.

Needless to say anymore, Lan was a little spooked by the image.

"Lan. We can't talk like this right now. Megaman needs major repairs and healing."
"Just answer my question first. Who are you?"

Raoul knew Lan was stubborn, and he knew that the boy wouldn't do anything unless his question was answered.

He sighed. "Hump. I guess you are not over your Amnesia yet. My name is Raoul. I am Thunderman's NetOp, and I live in Heaven City in Netopia. You and I met after you came in second place at the first N1 Grand Prix. We have been friends ever since, but we have also been rivals, to an extent."

Lan looked at the stranger. "So...Are you my biggest rival?" Lan tilted his head in a thoughtful manner. However, Raoul knew that time was of the essence in the situation like this. If Megaman didn't get repairs soon, he might have permanent damage.

"Lan, we don't have time for more questions. We need to get Megaman to SciLab so your father can start repairing him. If we don't get him there soon, he may suffer permanent data damage, or even get deleted."

Lan, who was still thinking, instantly derailed his train of thought as he remember that he lost all contact with Megaman not too long ago. He looked at his PET's holographic screen to see that Megaman, indeed, severely damage. In fact, Lan didn't remember Megaman getting this bet up during his fight with Gutsman. Then again, Megaman barely got a scratch from that fight.

Finally wrapping his mind around the situation, Lan looked at Raoul and spoke. "Alright. How are we going to get him there?"

"It would be quicker if Thunderman took Megaman there via the Net."
"What about me?"
"You get to SciLab on foot. That way, you can get there to explain anything I leave out."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Well, I will have to explain what Thunderman and I saw when we found Megaman. However, it will be up to you to fill in the blanks we leave."

Lan nodded his head in understanding. While he didn't remember much about it, the boy did hear a few things that Eclipse said after he had finally gotten the call from Megaman for help. So, there wasn't much that he could fill in, but he would try his best. As for getting to SciLab, Lan recalled the direction it was in, thanks to Megaman's help earlier in the day.

Without another thought, Lan holstered his PET and skated off.

~~!~~
~~!~~

Have ever had to love someone,
That just don't feel the same?
Tryin' to make somebody care for you,
The way I do,
Is like tryin' to catch the rain.
And if love is really forever,
I'm a winner at a losin' game.

~~!~~
~~!~~

There we go, everyone! Chapter 15 is done!

Ok, I will admit that the part where Lan asked Maylu out on a date was the unexpected twist. However, given everything that has happened so far, I guess it wasn't all that unexpected. Still, I hope that you enjoyed the chapter!

Tune in again for the next chapter: Days Go By!