Lord Cynic: "And here is the finale at last. Sorry for this being so short, but I'll offer a suggestion at the end of the fanfic. Now, with that out of the way let's get to reviews."
"Shadow Dark-Blade"
I feel appreciated, especially as a Megaman novice (relatively). It took me a while to interpret the Japanese names, but a site called Absolute Anime helped me with that.
Thanks for the typo check. I guess I was in a hurry to type the rest of the chapter within 45 minutes... eh...
"Blue Bommer"
Erm... I guess that's a good thing?
"Midnight Critic"
Aww, okay, I fess. I study Psychology in my final year of school before University. Seriously. I think I'm focused in the right cerebral hemisphere... if you can understand that you know as much as I do. If not, well...
Once again I feel flattered you give so much praise for my work. I guess I can empathise with how Lan feels, so I can write accordingly. Poor bloke... still, it's not over yet. I'm in the upper echelon, yes! Two fanfics and I'm on top!... now only if my favourite sports teams could do that too...
Yeah, I get a few criticisms about the lack of chapters in my Megaman fanfics. Refer to the end about that.
"A fan of megaman"
Oh, yes... Mary and Ring are extremely annoying with their Jealousy chip... still, a few rounds and they're toast. I'm neutral on Chaud/Anyone couplings, EXCEPT /Maylu and yaoi fanfics. I could try though... maybe Yai vs. Mary... muwahahahahaha!
Yes, I did ask if I did a bit too much 'Lan-bashing' in the last chapter... like I said, poor bloke. Eh... he'll get his babe in the end. Believe that, playa! Holla, holla, holla!
"Esty-chan"
If they can, you'll see Megaman and Roll a bit more in this chapter. Not too much, depending on how much they get past the security. It's a bit tight about here...
I'll take your request seriously, and try to shorten the syllables of the words I use. I like using big words; it's sort of a habit. However, I shall attempt to make things easier to understand. Maybe I should start now with this reply... Innocence is a virtue, but one that doesn't affect me. So...
Afternoon: It comes down to this
Lan arrived at the classroom sooner than anyone else. He had to make sure that firstly, he remained as hidden as possible, and secondly that he'd have enough time to do what he hoped to do. It was just a matter of convincing Megaman that he needed his help.
"Megaman!" he whispered. "Megaman, where are you?"
Lan waited impatiently for the blue navi to appear. When he did, Lan breathed a sigh of relief, provoking Megaman to raise an eyebrow.
"I take it you can't do this on your own?" he asked. Lan became slightly irritated.
"I know what I have to do," he said. "I just need your help with something. Listen -"
Before he could finish, at that moment the rest of the class and Ms. Mari filed into the room. They were surprised to see Lan as the first inside, but their stares were firmly returned with a withering glare.
After receiving the glare, they merely mumbled quietly and sat at their desks. Last of all was Maylu, but when she shuffled into her seat Lan didn't even look up. She thought this unusual, but her attentions were switched as Ms. Mari started speaking to the class.
"All right, class," she began. "I know this is a little unorthodox, but now we're going to practise Netbattling."
The class gawked at her, but she continued casually.
"I know it sounds highly irregular," she explained. "However, after the World III attacks I thought student awareness was better than obeying simple school rules. Also, I want to see how you all work together. As such, I will be pairing people up to Netbattle against one another."
Students groaned quietly, but Ms. Mari ignored this as she started selecting partners.
"Natasha and Crystal, Tony and Josh, Tory and Christy..."
Tory Froid, a brown-haired boy who was the NetOp of Iceman and a friend of Lan and Co, glanced a few desks to his left to a brunette girl sitting not too far away. She giggled and winked at him, causing him to blush lightly.
"Steve and Connor, Randy and Rick, Hannah and Flora..."
Lan and Maylu weren't really paying attention to anything; let alone Ms. Mari, so they jumped when their names were called.
"... and that leaves Lan and Maylu. Any questions?"
Students looked at each other uneasily, and Lan and Maylu sat stunned on their seats. However, no one was willing to comment or object to Ms. Mari's choices, so she took the silence as a no.
"Okay, then. Pairs line up in front of the blackboard. Battles will be fought for at most five minutes. Now, who's first?"
"We'll go!" Dex boomed, and he and his battle partner (a timid blonde boy by the name of Andy) stepped up to the blackboard. The rest of the class lined up in pairs behind them, with Lan and Maylu bringing up the rear.
"All right, begin the batt -"
"Mouseman, logging out!" an electronic voice said. People stared bewilderedly as Andy yanked his PET out of its socket and retreated to his seat.
"Oh yeah, I am the man!" Dex hooted, pumping his fists in the air and almost taking a few unfortunate kids with him.
"Well, that was certainly fast," Ms. Mari remarked, smiling sheepishly. "Who's next?"
The battles proceeded rather smoothly, and they were much longer than the first speeding bullet 'battle'. There were only two exceptions: Yai's opponent (another blonde slightly taller than her, whose name was Tina) was forced to logout within 45 seconds with a well-timed HeroSword attack. Tory on the other hand couldn't concentrate for some reason when battling Christy. Iceman noticed this and logged out quickly before things could get messy.
Eventually, Lan and Maylu were the last pair to battle. Students watched, keen with anticipation as the Netbattlers approached the blackboard. In the heat of the excitement, everyone had forgotten about the events of the morning. Instead, their attention was now focused on the upcoming battle.
However, the Netbattlers themselves could not share the same enthusiasm. On the contrary, Lan and Maylu weren't looking too thrilled to fight each other. Their eyes did not meet each other's, and their navis seemed to pick up on this.
"Tell me what you want to do," Megaman whispered. Lan stared down at him emotionlessly.
"Let Roll hit you, then logout," he whispered back. The blue navi stared back at him curiously, but nodded understandingly.
"Do you want to go through with this?" Roll asked her NetOp. Maylu looked at her, then sighed and nodded.
"I must. I'm still mad at Lan, so this will soothe my anger," she reasoned.
"Okay, let's go!" Ms. Mari yelled, signalling the start of the battle.
"Megaman, jack in! Power up!"
"Roll, jack in! Power up!"
The navis teleported into the CPU of the blackboard at the same time. However, while Roll was preparing herself for the fight, Megaman was staring at the floor and kicking the dust data idly. He was thinking about Lan's instructions, and how best to make it appear that he was defeated.
"What's up?" Roll asked suddenly, causing Megaman to jump in shock.
"Oh, it's... it's nothing," Megaman said shortly. "Are you ready?"
Roll opened her mouth to speak, but a "Let the battle begin!" from Ms. Mari cut her short.
"Well, no choice now," she said jokingly, smiling. Megaman smiled back, then assumed his battle position.
'Let Roll win,' he kept telling himself. 'Let Roll win...'
"Roll blast!" the pink navi cried, knocking Megaman onto his back with her antennae. (I think)
"Oof!" Megaman wasn't badly hurt, but surprised by the strength of his navi friend. "Whoa..."
"Aqua Tower!" Roll shouted, and a torrent of water surged towards the blue navi.
From Roll's perspective, she knew he was agile enough to avoid the attack. When it hit him full force, she was shocked to watch him logout in midair.
"Megaman, logging out," an electronic voice said.
"... I can't believe it," Roll muttered softly, then she angrily logged out herself.
"I didn't expect that," Ms. Mari said as Lan pulled his PET out of the blackboard and slumped back into his seat.
The class was just as shocked at the result of the battle as the teacher. One half watched Lan talk to his PET like nothing happened, while the other half watched Maylu coldly withdraw her own PET from the blackboard and slip into her seat.
"Okay, well, that was great, class," Ms. Mari began again. "We all learned something from that experience, didn't we?"
The class mumbled yes's and uh huh's, and Ms. Mari returned to her regular lesson plan for the rest of the session before the end of school.
Satisfied over the results of the Netbattling, Lan resumed talking to Megaman.
"The thing is," he started, "I just need help ironing out a few things. Do you mind?"
"Well, I guess not," Megaman said rationally. "What do you have in mind?"
They discussed Lan's plan, unaware that a navi was streaming towards Megaman at incredible speeds.
Roll was still furious over the easiness of her victory over Megaman. She knew darn well that one Aqua Tower would never be enough to down him. Heck, he'd taken so much damage in fights against World III's agents that water would be like taking a cyber bath. So why did he surrender so easily?
"There he is," she muttered as she streamed through the Net. "Now for some answers."
"Well, that sounds all right to me," Megaman said as Lan finished explaining his plan. "I don't see anything I need to - AHH!"
"What's wr - Roll!"
"Lan Hikari, is there a problem?" Ms. Mari asked, placing her hands on her hips and glaring at the boy. He smiled sheepishly.
"N-No problem," he said, then whispered, "Roll, just what ar - why are you strangling Megaman?"
"You threw away the battle! Why?" Roll hissed wringing Megaman by the neck. His cyber oxygen was quickly getting sapped so he struggled to reply.
"It... was... Lan... wanted... me... lose... please... stop..." he gasped. Roll frowned, then released her grip on the poor guy. He stumbled around, grasping precious air, then dropped to one knee. "Man... you're... rough..."
"You're lucky I'm not doing more," Roll said, remembering an incident that caused her to turn into "Empress" and almost destroy Megaman. (A.N.: "While I'm typing from here I've just watched "Evil Empress Roll" parts 1 and 2. Those episodes were kinda fun, and there were some good couplings moments. Heh heh...") She gained the minimum amount of satisfaction from the memory but checked herself.
"Okay... okay... I get it..." Megaman breathed, still catching some cyber O2. (A.N.: "Second typo in two chapters... meh... thanks Midnight Critic.") He climbed to his feet gingerly as Roll started rubbing the back of her head and blushing in embarrassment.
"Sorry about that," she said sheepishly. "I guess I forget my own strength at times."
"No big deal," Megaman said, smiling. "But why did you come in such... a rush?" he asked tentatively, trying to find the proper word to use.
"Oh, that," Roll said timidly. "I was just wondering why you threw the match just then. I know my attack was never going to be enough to defeat you, so what's the deal?"
"Who... who says it wasn't?" Megaman stuttered, hoping not to lure himself into a dead end. "Like you said, even you don't know your own strength sometimes."
"Well... okay," Roll said slowly. "If you're sure you didn't log out on purpose."
"I'm sure." However, not even Megaman could believe that. Nonetheless, Roll seemed to trust him and she logged out with some satisfaction, leaving the blue navi to ponder exactly what he just said.
"Are you okay, Megaman?" Lan asked from outside the PET.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm all right," Megaman said shortly. "So, what were we talking about?"
A few hours later, the bell rang for the conclusion of the school day, and everyone scrambled to escape the clutches of the education building once again. Everyone, that is, except for Ms. Mari, Lan and Maylu, who stayed behind to discuss the details.
"Okay, you two," Ms. Mari began, "your detentions will be for 15 minutes. They're usually 30 but today I'm feeling generous."
Lan and Maylu glanced at each other nervously due to the irony of Ms. Mari's statement. However, their better judgement prevented them from making any unnecessary comment. They nodded silently and took their regular seats.
"Now, I won't be supervising you, but the security system will make sure you stay here until the 15 minutes is up," Ms. Mari explained. "Have fun," she added as an afterthought, then she left the room.
Lan and Maylu stared after her in disbelief, but when they noticed what they were doing, they immediately gazed in different directions. Tension wasn't as high between them as it originally was, but they were still uneasy around each other.
Lan hoped that, if his plan succeeded, the tension would be lost forever, and in return, love would be gained. However, that's if everything went as smoothly as it should. For Lan, things had a tendency to mess up and as a result, he ended up in worse trouble than when he began. If he had his way though, this wouldn't be one of those times.
When he was certain Maylu was preoccupied, he started speaking to Megaman again.
"Are you ready?"
"Yeah, I am. Want me to send the email now?"
"Sure. Remember to do what I told you too, as well," Lan said, frequently side glancing at Maylu to check if she was listening.
"Yeah, I know." Megaman vanished into the Net, and Lan sighed and slouched in his seat. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Maylu bent over a crumpled piece of paper, but he didn't dare bring it up. Instead, he waited to see if Megaman could complete his messenger navi job.
Maylu's picture was extremely crumpled and faded by now. Nonetheless, the bright faces of the people drawn on it continued to smile cheerfully from the page at Maylu. The words "Lan and Maylu Hikari" were starting to fade, but they were still clear enough to figuratively shout out at Maylu like taunts.
It seemed to have their desired effect on the redhead girl, whose sorrowful face could tell many a sad tale. She couldn't help it, but every time she made to throw away the picture, her body wouldn't allow it. It was as if her heart was communicating with her mind and telling the muscles not to let go of her dream, no matter how distant it seemed. In the end, she knew it was a sign, so she kept the picture in her pocket until she knew it either come true or end up in failure.
Her thoughts were interrupted when she received a message from Roll.
"Maylu," she whispered. "There's something coming."
"Huh?" Maylu snapped out of her daze and looked down at her PET. "Oh, er, let it through. It might be important."
Roll complied, but when she opened the email, a strange navi appeared.
"What th -" she began, but the navi held up a hand to stop her.
"Relax, fair and beautiful navi," he said suavely, making Roll blush in embarrassment. "I am simply here to pass on a message from my NetOp to yours, in the form of a poem. If I may be allowed to do so, I shall recite it now."
The navi cleared his throat, then letters started appearing on the screen on Maylu's PET. The letters combined into words, and Maylu's widened as lines took shape. The navi started reciting the poem as the lines fully appeared on the screen.
My heart's beating faster than it has before
And I don't think I can hold it anymore
Your love and care is what I need
Love that will forever set my heart free
Until the day it can beat no longer
So let me tell you what's burning been inside
And all the feelings I could no longer hide
Kisses I could give, gentle and deep
Until the moon shines and together we fall asleep
Round the clock, day by day
Always will I feel this feelings yearn to say,
I love you, and my love will forever grow stronger.
Maylu was speechless, and her face showed it. Roll couldn't believe it either, and she stared up at Maylu with her eyes widened. Maylu simply stared back in disbelief, but that's when they noticed the navi preparing to disappear.
"Wait!" Roll called. "Who are you?"
The navi turned around just for a second, and a familiar symbol on his chest gleamed briefly. However, he turned his back to them almost as quickly.
"I think you know who we are," he said matter-of-factly. "My NetOp and me." He disappeared into the Net, leaving a very flustered pink navi and her NetOp to ponder.
"I... who could love me that much... to say all that?" Maylu asked. She seemed still in self-pitying denial.
"Well..." Roll pondered for a second. (A.N.: "What am I doing? Roll already knows... oh well. Bear with me, please.") Suddenly, she remembered the navi's symbol that flashed briefly before he vanished. "I... I think the navi was Megaman..."
"Megaman?... then that must mean..." Maylu glanced at Lan who seemed to be sleeping, still slouched in his seat. Her eyes sparkled with light tears, and all her feelings of hatred and resentment towards Lan disappeared instantly. They were replaced by overwhelming feels of gratitude and love that could only be expressed in one way.
"Zzzzzzzzz... gaaahhhh! I'm being attacked! Someone help, please! Help - Maylu!"
Lan calmed down to realise Maylu was hugging him tightly (or glomping if you use the anime term). Her cheeks were flushed red and a giant smile was on her face, which meant only one thing for Lan: It worked! But did that also mean...
"I love you too, Lan," Maylu sighed dreamily.
Well, there's his answer. Gently he lifted her chin so they were eye level with each other, and then he drew her in for a gentle kiss. He planned to release the kiss shortly afterwards, but Maylu didn't let him as she intensified the kiss. Soon their hearts melded into one as did their lips.
Megaman and Roll settled onto the floor of Megaman's PET as they watched the blossoming love between their NetOp.
"I knew he'd be able to do it in the end," Megaman said quietly. Roll looked at him strangely.
"What did you say?"
"Oh, nothing," Megaman said quickly. Roll continued staring at him, then a smile spread across her face.
"So, you really think I'm and beautiful?" she asked coyly. Her smile grew wider as Megaman began stuttering nervously.
"Well... that is... I... you're... um..." Megaman was shushed when Roll placed a gentle finger on his lips.
"I still don't believe I beat you in the battle," she said in a hushed voice, "but you've made it up with all of this. Thank you."
She kissed him on the cheek, provoking an increase of cyber temperature in the blue navi. She giggled and cuddled up to him, and when he didn't offer any resistance, she sighed happily.
Lan and Maylu's lips were still locked as the 15-minute mark passed. However, neither was in any hurry to leave. They didn't need to, they had all they needed right there.
Maylu's picture floated carelessly onto the floor of the classroom. When it rested on the soft carpet, the creases were smoothed and the picture looked brand new. The faces of the people on the picture smiled warmly and waved as the screen faded black, signalling the end of the story.
The End. (Duh)
Lord Cynic: "And there you have it! Phew... I'm kinda beat... oh well. I hope everyone liked it. Now I can try writing a Megaman/Roll one-shot, a Golden Sun one-shot and prepare for 14/2... shudder...
Okay, time for some business. I am aware of how 'short' my fanfics seem. However, both have been over 10,000 (or at least 9000), so they're not as short as they probably could be. Nonetheless, I think my lack of chapters is the problem. With that in mind, I pose a question. How many words do you want chapters to have in the future?
a. 1000-1500
b. 1500-2000
c. 2000-2500
d. More than 2500
That'll help me in the future and hopefully please people. Okay, enjoy! Lord Cynic, logging out!"