Chapter 5: Trains, NetNavis and Boulders

A few hours later, school was over and everyone was heading home. Only Lan and the Mew Mews (Renee included) were in Class 5-1 after they resolved the school jacking incident.

Lan sighed and shook his head, muttering "Man… School was rough today…"

"Hey Lan?" Zoey piped up, Lan looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "I have been meaning to ask you something after we met a few days ago. You told us you always walk to school with Mayl. It looks kinda suspicious. Are… Are you and Mayl an item?"

A blush appeared on Lan's cheeks. "W-What do you mean?"

"Well you told us you and Mayl were childhood friends. So that means you have a crush on her." Renee smirked.

"I-I do not!" Lan's face was crimson red with embarrassment.

The Mew Mews except for Bridget grinned mischievously at Lan and surrounded him.

"Ooo… I think Lan likes Mayl." Kikki grinned in a teasing voice.

"S-Stop that!" Lan growled, his eyes closed, face still red and he was gritting his teeth in agvertation.

"Lan and Mayl, sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" The four Mew Mews sang in a teasing tone as a way to make Lan admit he likes likes Mayl.

"S-Shut up! I do not!" Lan has an anger vein on his forehead with teeth grinding and his crimson red face. It's a good thing the class left school, otherwise, Lan would have died of embarrassment.

"Stop that, guys. You're embarrassing Lan." Bridget scolded her friends, they did the same thing to her when she thought she has a boyfriend back in their world.

"Sorry, but it sounded suspicious." Zoey apologized with a cheesy grin.

"Hey! The Metroline is open today! Let's go surprise your dad at SciLab! We can also pick up the PowerUp Program while we're there." MegaMan suggested, a bold attempt to change the subject to save Lan from embarrassment.

"Yeah!" Lan nodded quickly in agreement.

"Well, we always wanted to meet your father." Zoey began with a smile. "You said he's a world famous scientist, right? Perhaps he can tell us more about the Marks of S." Zoey glanced at her hand where her Mark of S is.

"So it's settled then!" Kikki pumped her fist in the air filled with energy. "Let's go to SciLab!"

"Okay!" Lan agreed as well as our heroes exited the school.

However, when they got to the Metroline, they heard a commotion going on. Curious, they decided to get closer and saw people arguing with a train conductor about something.

"What's going on?" Bridget wondered as she stood on her heels to get a better look.

"I dunno." Lan shrugged. "Maybe we should ask someone?"

"Excuse us sir." Renee asked a man amongst the crowd. "Do you mind telling us what's happening?"

"The conductor said a landslide has occurred and some bug has caused it. This is ridiculous, I need to get to SciLab to meet with my girlfriend!"

"I see… Thank you for the information, sir."

Renee walked up to her friends and told them "Looks like a bug is responsible for the landslide. We can't reach SciLab at this rate."

"Looks like we have to jack into the Net to find out what type of bug it is." MegaMan suggested. "Let's head back home and check it out."

"Right." Everyone nodded in agreement as they return to Lan's home.

At Lan's home, Mrs. Hikari greeted them. "Welcome home, Lan!" She then got out a Battle Chip with a picture of some knight looking virus with a sword as its arm on it. "Your dad sent this today as a gift for you. I figure you like to collect Battle Chips, so this is a gift from your dad." She gave Lan the Battle Chip.

"It's called the Long Sword, it can reach a virus even at close range," Mrs. Hikari then added "And he also left this message. 'Use the Sword, WideSword and LongSword together and something special will happen to aid you in busting viruses or winning NetBattles.'"

"Wonder what he means by that?" Lan murmured as he looked at his new Battle Chip.

"I'm not really sure. He wanted me to give it to you since he's too busy to do it himself."

"Thanks Mom." Lan smiled as he placed the Battle Chip into his chip folder. "I'll be on the Net." And Lan and the Mews headed into Lan's room where Lan jacked in MegaMan and the Mew Mews jacked in with their Marks of S.

MegaMan and his team of heroines got to a link leading to where the railroad bug is located. However, MegaMan accessed the link and it showed them this message.

"Dex's PC! Keep out! This means you!"

"That Dex…" Zoey gritted her teeth. "I didn't know he would pull something like this."

"Looks like we need to get a link from Dex to press forward." MegaMan figured as he turned to Lan's screen. "Wanna head to Dex's place?"

"You betcha. But I doubt Dex will give us a link though." Lan has his doubts on this as he jacked out MegaMan.

Lan headed to Dex's house and entered his home. It was a messy room filled with junk, food and who knows what else.

"Dex. Can You give me a link that yiou have?" Lan asked Dex, folding his arms.

"No way!" Dex frowned, then his mood soften and added "But… I can give you the link if you give me a Recover 50."

'Hmm… I know where to get one. I bet Mayl has one in her piano.' Lan thought to himself as he dashed out of Dex's house and headed straight to Mayl's home. He jacked MegaMan into Mayl's piano and after a few seconds, he got what he came here for.

Lan got an email from Dex saying he is ready for a NetBattle and Lan hurried on over to Dex's place.

"Hey! You got it!" Dex gasped in amazement. "I'll NetBattle you for it!"

"Okay!" Lan grinned as he got out his PET.

"Prepare to meet your maker!" Dex challenged as he too got out his PET.

MegaMan and GutsMan appeared in the same NetBattle Arena. GutsMan pounded his chest and taunted with "Guts! I have a few upgrades since our last NetBattle!"

"Let's see if your upgrades can help you this time!" MegaMan countered as he got into a battle stance.

And the NetBattle began. GutsMan slams his fists down and made the Guts Shockwave appear and hit MegaMan for small damage.

"He's gotten stronger since last time." Lan commented as MegaMan fired his MegaBuster at GutsMan, damaging him a little.

GutsMan lunged at MegaMan and attempted to punch him, but the Blue Bomber ducked and did a leg sweep that knocked the yellow NetNavi to the ground.

"Sword! Battle Chip! Slot-in!" Lan inserted the Battle Chip. MegaMan rushed towards GutsMan and slashed him four times.

"Hold still you!" GutsMan growled as he punched MegaMan, knocking him back a little.

"Mini-Bombs! Battle Chips! Slot-in!" Lan shouted as he inserted four Mini-Bomb Battle Chips. And MegaMan threw said bombs at GutsMan, damaging him in a medium level.

GutsMan retaliated by using more Guts Shockwaves, but the Blue Bomber was agile as he did backflips and dodge rolls. MegaMan used his MegaBuster to fire at GutsMan, damaging him a bit.

"Shockwave! Battle Chip! Slot-in!" Lan inserted the Battle Chip into the Chip's slot. MegaMan used the pickaxe and slams it into the ground, making a mini-shockwave that hit GutsMan for small damage.

"Guts! Now I'm mad!" GutsMan clenched his fists as an anger vein appeared on his head as he go on the offensive with lots of Guts Shockwaves, MegaMan had a hard time dodging them, but he managed.

"HiCannon! Battle Chip! Slot-in!" Lan inserted the Battle Chip into the PET's chip slot. MegaMan decided to end the battle by firing his HiCannon at GutsMan. GutsMan groaned as he fell down on his back and jacked out, the words 'GutsMan, jacking out!' appeared in his place.

"We won!" MegaMan did his victory pose. Dex in the real world however, was pale and groaning in pain.

"What's wrong with him? He looks a little pale…" Lan eyed Dex carefully to see if the bully is alright.

""Is he okay? Maybe the shock…" MegaMan was about to make a guess until Lan interrupted him.

"Don't tell me you're not gonna give me a link again?!" Lan groaned, rolling his eyes in annoyance.

"…I can't believe I lost to you! It must be fate!" Dex sniffled as he wiped away his tears. He then smiled softly and added "…But I always keep my promises! The link is yours!" He transmitted the link to Lan's PET though the use of his own PET.

"Thanks Dex! I owe you one!" Lan smiled as he rubbed his nose in appreciation for this act of kindness that Dex has given. Just as he was about to leave, Dex stopped him.

"Wait Lan! Here, take this!" Dex gave a Battle Chip with a picture of GutsMan on it. "You got talent, Lan! Go make me proud!" Dex smiled with admiration.

"I guess Dex isn't so bad after all." MegaMan commented.

"Yeah…" Lan nodded before smiling at Dex and said in gratitude "Thanks Dex!" And Lan headed back home to jack MegaMan back into the net with Dex's link in hand.

Meanwhile, back in the Net, the Mew Mews were still waiting for MegaMan to come back with the link. They decided to have a conversation about Dex.

"I wonder what's keeping Lan and MegaMan so long…" Bridget wondered as she looked at the Net Sky.

"I bet that bully, Dex pulled a prank on them!" Kikki frowned as she guessed that Dex is unwilling to lend them a link.

"I don't think so, Kikki. He wouldn't pull a prank on them that easily." Renee assured the young member of the Mew Mews with arms crossed.

And then, MegaMan showed up. "Sorry we're late, everyone. We had to run an errand for Dex." MegaMan apologized. "But he was true to his word and gave us the link. Turns out he's not so bad after all."

Kikki was confused on what MegaMan meant by that, but after a few seconds, she understands. "I guess I was wrong about Dex."

MegaMan nodded as he used the link to establish a route to deeper areas of the Net. Lan grinned from his screen. "Alright! Let's look for that bug!"

And so our heroes pressed on, they encountered a green NetNavi and talked to him. They learned that a big NetNavi is doing something to the north. That seems a bit suspicious, so our heroes decided to investigate. Along the way, they fought a FireSwordy and managed to delete it. Lan got a new Battle Chip because of that called the FireSword. Eventually, they made it to an area with a cyber-railroad track with a boulder on it and a big gray and purple NetNavi who looks like he is made of stone.

"Out of the way!" The NetNavi said with a menacing tone.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" Zoey frowned as she and her friends got into a battle stance since the NetNavi looked like a threat to them.

"I'm blocking the Metroline's security program so the Metroline won't open!" The NetNavi chuckled darkly at the sheer brilliance of his plan.

"Why would you do that?" Renee glared at the NetNavi suspiciously, he must have a reason for doing such a horrible crime like that.

"To control the net! I'm StoneMan! One of the WWW's best NetNavis!" StoneMan declared as he got into a battle stance. "And if you get in my way, I'll delete you!"

"Oh great, another WWW croney…" MegaMan sighed as he held his head in disbelief, but he regained his serious comporsure. "Lan! Get our Battle Chips ready!"

"Got it!" Lan nodded. "Battle routine, set!"

"Execute!"

(MegaMan and the Mew Mews vs StoneMan)

"Take this, punks!" StoneMan shouted as he slams his arms down, making boulders from the sky appear and fall towards MegaMan and his friends.

"Augh! It's raining boulders!" Zoey gawked as she used her cat like reflexes to dodged the boulders.

"Okay, pal, you ask for this! Heart Arrow!" Corina launched her attack at StoneMan, but the attack did little damage as StoneMan was barely scratched. "W-What?!"

StoneMan laughed darkly. "They don't call me one of the best NetNavis the WWW has to offer! My body is strong as steel! There's no way you can delete me in one hit!" StoneMan fired a laser from his mouth which our heroes had to evade due to its powerful threat level.

"Keep trying! We have to think of something! Silver Slash!" Renee shouted as she launched her attack at StoneMan, but like Corina's attack, it barely did any effort of damage.

MegaMan fired his MegaBuster at StoneMan, but it did no damage at all. StoneMan made more boulders fall from the sky by slaming his arms down. Our heroes were forced to evade his attacks and his laser technique to think of some plan.

"Deep Surge Attack!" Bridget launched her water attack at StoneMan, it did little damage as StoneMan fired his mouth laser at them and they were forced to dodge it.

Our heroes take cover behind some boulders that weren't destroyed.

"What should we do? He's too powerful!" Zoey turned to her friends for answers.

"If only we have a powerful attack that can delete him in one go…" Corina murmured as she ducked her head to dodge one of StoneMan's lasers.

Lan then began his thinking position. Do they have any move that can strike down StoneMan? …Wait…

'Use the Sword, WideSword and LongSword together and something special will happen.' He remembered what his dad's message said about using those Battle Chips together. It's worth a shot.

"MegaMan!" Lan called out to him. MegaMan heard and turned to him with a cofused expression. Lan whispered something to MegaMan and he nodded in understanding.

MegaMan stood up from his hiding spot and faced StoneMan.

"MegaMan?! What are you doing?!" Zoey gawked.

"Sword! WideSword! LongSword! Battle Chips! Triple Slot-in!" Lan shouted as he inserted the three Battle Chips.

"So you come out of your hiding place to be deleted, huh kid?" StoneMan mocked as he gets ready to fire his laser at him. "I'll make your deletion quick and-what the?!"

MegaMan brought his hands together and a powerful purple blade appeared in place of MegaMan's hands. With a mighty yell, MegaMan shouted "LifeSword! Program Advance!" He slashed at StoneMan with a mighty slash. At first nothing happened, but after a few seconds, StoneMan was cut in half.

"Unbelievable…" StoneMan gawked as his data began to deteriorate. "I can't… believe… a punk like you… managed to master the… Program Advance… so quickly…!" StoneMan screamed in agony as he vanished completely, he was deleted.

"MegaMan!" Zoey gasped in awe as she and her friends rushed up to their blue friend. "That was amazing! You used some mighty blade to take down StoneMan in one go!" Zoey looked away, rather flustered with embarrassment.

"Thanks." MegaMan smiled before looking at Zoey in concern.

'Program Advance…' Lan thought to himself in the real world. 'Is that what it's called? Dad, thank you…'

"MegaMan! You know what to do!"

"Roger!"

MegaMan used his MegaBuster to destroy the boulder blocking the security system of the Metroline. "Okay! The Metroline should open now!"

"Great! Let's get that PowerUp Program from Dad!" Lan grinned as he jacked out MegaMan while the Mew Mews did the same.

In the real world, our heroes were riding the Metroline. "Another WWW plot foiled." Lan smiled as he placed his hands behind his head and relaxed.

"But what is their master plan? Why do they want to start the EndGame?" Renee asked with a serious tone.

"Well, as we foil more WWW plots, we're sure to find out! For now, let's get the PowerUp Program for MegaMan. I'm sure Dad may be in his office." Lan reassured her. The other Mews nodded in agreement.

To be continued…

Next chapter: SciLab Sight-seeing!

A/N: It took me awhile to finish this chapter, but I like to work on this story until my interest wanes. See you next time.