Rockman.EXE:The College Years-3-82:Great Battle of Light(sp)

[Anime Master ZERO]

SearchmanX: The side effects of the Crest of Arcadia will be revealed later.

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CHAPTER 3-16
Parents’ Weekend

At the Hikari residence in ACDC Town, Yuuichiro was checking his e-mail and came across one that snagged his interested.

“Haruka, come and have a look at this!” he called to his wife. Haruka Hikari soon came and walked over t o her husband.

“What is it, dear?” she asked.

“Listen to this,” Yuuichiro told her before he began to read the e-mail out loud, “Dear parents. You are cordially invited to come to Den University this Thanksgiving weekend. This year, we have arranged a Parents’ Weekend to take place at the same time of this holiday so students can celebrate in the company of their families. We hope to see you there. Signed, the Den University administration.”

“The Thanksgiving weekend?” Haruka asked, “That’s next week.”

“We should definitely go,” Yuuichiro replied, “I think Lan would be surprised and I’d like to see how he’s been living.”

“Well then, let’s go,” Haruka said excitedly.

Meanwhile, there was a similar buzz going on around Den University as students read the bulletins about the upcoming Parents’ Weekend. Some were excited that their parents were coming. Others were horrified by the idea. Overall, there were mixed feelings everywhere. At the house where Lan and his friends lived, though, the feelings were all fairly much the same.

“This is great!” Lan cheered as he sat on his bed holding one of the Parents’ Weekend flyers he had snagged off one of the bulletin boards in the CAB, “I was actually planning to go back home for the long weekend, but this works out even better!”

“I’m happy, too!” MegaMan replied with a big smile etched across his face, “It may be a week away, but there’s a lot we have to do to get ready so we better get started.”

“Right.”

While everyone else was excited about their parents coming over, Noah laid on his bed up in his room with Chaud sitting on the floor just next to it.

“My parents hated me so much that they disowned and forgot about me,” Noah muttered as he pressed his plushie against himself.

“My mother is dead and my father is too busy to even bother coming,” Chaud sighed. The two of them picked up the cans of pop they had been drinking from and clanked them together.

“Here’s to another family-less holiday,” they chorused glumly.

* * *

During the time that he was in Electopia, Laika had made arrangements to stay with one of his relatives until the whole job had been completed. He was checking his e-mail when he came across a letter from Lan. It was to invite him over for a Thanksgiving potluck dinner. He quickly typed up his response and sealed it up inside a digital envelope.

“SearchMan, deliver this to MegaMan,” he ordered.

“At once.” SearchMan saluted before logging onto the net. As soon as he had left, a small boy holding a brown stuffed bear walked into the room.

“Hello, Uncle Laika,” he greeted. Laika turned around in his chair and smiled.

“Hi, Alexis,” he greeted back as he picked up his nephew and sat him down on his knee.

“Alexis always likes it when you come to visit,” a woman at the door said. Laika got up with Alexis still in his arms and walked over to her.

“And I always like to see my nephew whenever I get the chance,” he replied as he handed the boy over to her, “Of course I haven’t been able to see you as much when you and Yuri moved here, Ayla.” The two of them went downstairs and sat down into the living room.

“Even when we were kids, you were always so serious,” Ayla said, “You wanted to be a soldier just like Papa so badly that you never had time to have fun. It’s good to see you loosen up every so often.”

“When I grow up, I wanna be just like Uncle Laika,” Alexis piped up. Laika just smiled and ruffled the boy’s hair.

* * *

“So how many people have we got coming?” asked Dex as he turned to Sean, who was sitting at the kitchen table doing some math.

“Let’s see,” he replied as he took a look at his figures, “There’s eight of us and we all have two parents minus Chaud and Noah, so we factor them out for now. So that would be twelve parents. Then there are other family members like Chisao and Takato. Take into account that Laika’s coming and he’s going to be bringing his sister, her husband, and his nephew, that’s four more people. Now we factor back in Chaud’s father and then add us eight…”

“It’d be a lot easier if you just told me how many people.”

“It’d say twenty-five people give or take a couple. For safety reasons, we better hope there’s enough food for thirty people. We’re probably going to need two turkeys. Maybe three, tops.”

“No need for that,” Yai interjected as she walked into the kitchen, “I just had two turduckens ordered.”

“Well that solves the bird problem.” Sean got up and put the pen and pad of paper he had been using back into the kitchen drawer he had gotten them from, “Now we just have to figure out seating arrangements for dinner and what everyone will be cooking. There’s no way we can fit everyone into the kitchen.”

“And only four of us have a good handle on cooking,” Dex added.

“Don’t worry,” Yai said, “I’ve got my dish covered.”

“Instant meals don’t count, Yai,” Sean replied flatly.

“I can’t cook!” Yai protested, “I’ve always had servants cook for me.”

“Well then, it’s high time you learned. Everyone’s putting something in, even Noah, and he’s just eight years old.”

“Eight years old with a Masters’ Degree in everything,” Yai muttered.

“That’s not the point.”

“Fine, but you’re going to have to teach me.”

“Well how hard can it be?”

“Trust me, you don’t want to know,” Dex mumbled under his breath.

Meanwhile, MegaMan had gone to Park Area 2 to speak with the master of the cooking dojo.

“Well,” the cooking master began, “first you start with a hummingbird…”

“I’ve heard it already,” the blue Navi interrupted, “I need something else. Unique, yet easy to prepare for someone with little experience in the kitchen.”

“That really puts a limit on possibilities. What HAS your operator prepared before?” MegaMan raised his hand and started counting his fingers as he listed off the things Lan had “cooked”.

“Toast, sandwiches, cold cereal,…” He went on for another half-minute or so before stopping, “And that’s only what he’s made without it turning into a burnt disaster.” The cooking master rested his chin on his hand and sat down.

“This could be a problem.”

“You’re telling me.”

* * *

“So Noah, have you cooked before?” asked Maylu.

“When I was at Mugen, we had a kitchen staff that always fed us,” the boy genius explain, “Sometimes, I used to sneak into the kitchen and watch them cook whenever I needed to get my mind off something. Then after I had formed VILE, Interface, Venus, and Terabyte made my meals for me. But occasionally I’d make myself some ramen whenever all three of them were out doing the assignments I had given them.”

“So did you pick up anything when you watched the cooks back at your old school?”

“Nothing that the others would enjoy, at least.” Noah took another bite from his starfruit and went deep into thought about what he could make. Maylu looked at the fruit in his hand and an idea came to her.

“I think I know what you can make.”

“Please enlighten me.”

* * *

While the others were still busy planning, Dex and Tory were out shopping for ingredients for their respective dishes.

“How many potatoes are you getting, anyway?” Tory asked as the two of them went through produce.

“Enough for my dish,” Dex answered. After they had gathered all the fruits and vegetables they needed, they headed to the dairy aisle where Tory got a block of mozzarella cheese.

“So what exactly are you planning, anyway?” the chestnut-haired teen inquired.

“Curry,” answered Dex, “What about you?”

“Not sure yet. Come on. Let’s hurry up before the check-out lines get too long.”

* * *

The Saturday signaling the beginning of Parents’ Weekend came swiftly. About half of the students at Den University greeted them with open arms. The other half went into hiding and were hunted down by their parents. For Lan and co., though, their families wouldn’t be coming until the next day, which gave everyone time to make final preparations for the dinner on Monday.

“How’s the cooking lesson going, Sean?” asked Lan as he poked his head into the kitchen.

“You don’t want to know,” was the reply. The headbanded Net Savior sweatdropped and retreated back into the living room.

“The very fact that Sean was holding a fire extinguisher makes me worried,” he said as he walked over to the couch and sat down.

“She’s hopeless without people waiting on her,” Chaud mumbled as he went back to the book he was reading, “So Lan, your family is coming for the weekend, right?”

“Yeah. Fortunately, even Dad gets statutory holidays off.” Lan grabbed the remote from the coffee table and started flipping through the channels.

“At least your father gets time off. Mine’s always too preoccupied with work to have time for family affairs.” Lan said nothing as he turned off the TV.

* * *

Monday came quick and everyone was busy. Since the kitchen could only accommodate a few of them, the rest had to use one of the university’s cooking facilities save for Dex, who had gone to Maha Ichiban to use their kitchen and other resources. Maylu, Chaud, and Noah stayed behind while the others went out. The skunk-haired Official was busy working by the sink while Maylu was at the stove, but occasionally checked to see how Noah was doing.

“Maylu, how much sugar should I use?” the prepubescent prodigy inquired.

“Just a spoonful should do it.”

Meanwhile, things were just as hectic where the others were. Lan had jacked his Navi into the stove’s system and MegaMan had donned a chef’s hat and was holding a kitchen knife in one hand. In the floor in front of him was what appeared to be a cooking pot.

“You ready for this, MegaMan?” asked Lan.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” the blue NetNavi replied, “Let’s go!” Lan gave a reassuring nod and started depositing his ingredients into the pot. Inside the system, food began to drop into the pot and MegaMan swung out with his knife, cutting up the vegetables while letting the pre-cut meat fall in. Occasionally a virus would get mixed up in the ingredients and he would just blast it away with his buster. Next to them, Sean was viciously stir-frying some food in a wok while keeping an eye on Yai to make sure she at least didn’t start a fire. Surprisingly, her dish was on its way to becoming something somewhat decent. Tory was still in a rut as to what he would cook, but he finally gave up and began to mix things in at random.

* * *

At four-thirty, everyone regrouped back at the house with their dishes. While the majority of them had been out, Laika and his family had come with a large pot. At the moment, Laika was helping set up the dining arrangements with Chaud and Noah was playing with Alexis.

“I see you had no trouble finding your way here,” Lan noted.

“I was here last week. I doubt I would forget that easily,” the blue-haired soldier replied. As he had the day off duty, Laika was wearing casual clothes as opposed to his uniform. Shortly after everybody had gotten back, Sean’s foster family arrived. While Sean was showing Mr. and Mrs. Kinamoto around, Takato joined Noah and Alexis in the game they were playing.

“So what are the dining arrangements?” Tory asked as Lan took everyone’s coats and tagged them before hanging them up.

“Seeing as the kitchen can’t accommodate everybody, we’ve decided to have dinner like a buffet,” Chaud answered as opened a package of paper plates and set them on the counter.

“And the turduckens?”

“In their final minutes of cooking.”

“That’s good.” The doorbell rang again and Tory went off to answer it. He was pleasantly greeted by his parents and welcomed them inside. Next were Dr. and Mrs. Hikari.

“Hi, Lan,” Yuuichiro greeted, “It’s good to see you again.”

“It’s good to see you again, too,” Lan greeted back with a smile, “Let me show you around the house.” While he was giving his parents a tour, the doorbell rang again. Chaud went to answer it and came upon a most surprising sight. The tall man standing outside the door looked down at him with a stone-cold stare.

“Well?”

“Sir!” Chaud stiffened straight up.

“You look surprised to see me.”

“I’m sorry, sir,” Chaud hastily apologized, bowing, “I was not expecting you to come.” There was an awkward silence between the two.

“Are you going to let me in?”

“Yes. Sorry, sir.” Chaud took a step back and held the door open as his father walked in. Not long after Shuuseki had arrived, the Sakurais came followed by the Oyamas, who had also brought along Chisao. The Ayanos were the last to arrive, much to Shuuseki Chaud’s well-concealed dismay.

“I guess that’s just about everyone,” Tory thought out loud as he hung up the last coat.

“Then that means it’s my cue.” Sean placed two fingers in his mouth and whistled, “Dinner is served.” Everyone immediately stopped what they were doing and began to enter the kitchen. The table and counters were covered with the various foods everyone had prepared and brought. Aside from the standard pot of rice that stood in its usual place, there was also Dex’s pot of curry sitting on the stove right next to it. Sean had made stir-fried chicken while Tory had concocted a thick chili. Since she still hadn’t managed to figure out how to work a stove, Yai had made a decent garden salad. Another pot of curry sat on the stove next to Dex’s, but this one was concocted up by Lan. Maylu had prepared some fish steaks, which were sitting beside Chaud’s mashed potatoes. Placed away from the others was a starfruit pie that Noah had made with Maylu’s help. Beverages stood next the fridge. A carving station had been set up at the end where Dex was standing with a chunk of roast beef to his left and one of the turduckens on his right.

While their food occupied the counter, the guests’ dishes had all been placed on the kitchen table. Laika and his family had brought a large pot of borscht. Mrs. Hikari had made spaghetti topped with her best sauce. The Ayanos had had their chefs prepare some extravagant dishes. Mrs. Froid had made some scalloped potatoes that she knew Tory loved so much. Sean’s foster parents had brought a cake that had been set next to Noah’s pie. The Oyamas had brought sushi and the Sakurais had brought a large corn dish.

The sight itself was enough to cause anyone’s mouth to start watering. The only thing holding everyone back was a strip of police line Sean had placed across the doorway. However, it wasn’t long before he removed it and everyone filed in and started gathering food onto their plates and taking them either into the backyard where folding chairs had been set up or into the living room.

“Keep the line moving!” Noah yelled from atop a chair.

“Things seem to be going rather well,” Chaud noted as he appeared next to the boy.

“Yeah,” Noah agreed, “Somehow makes you get the feeling that something wrong is going to happen.”

“You, too?”

“Uh-huh. That’s why I’ve had Lumine keep all the systems in the house under surveillance.”

“Good call,” Chaud commented, “You know, Noah, you might make a fine Net Savior one day.” When he looked back at him, he saw the boy staring at him with bright shining eyes.

“You really think so?” Chaud jumped back in surprise at Noah’s emotional outburst. However, nothing more could be said when the prodigy’s PET beeped.

“Lumine, report.” Noah brought up his wrist and looked at his Navi on the PET screen.

“We’ve got a virus invasion,” Lumine reported.

“Chaud,” Noah whispered, “how discreetly do you think we can pull this off?”

“As discreetly as possible.”

“Lumine, where are the viruses?” Noah asked as he turned back to his PET.

“The stove.”

“Got it.” Being as discreet as possible, Chaud slipped his PET out from its case and jacked ProtoMan into the stove. When the silver-haired Navi arrived, Lumine was already there. Before them was a hungry pack of Garum viruses. Standing behind them was a blue Navi. Judging from the design, the boys guessed that it was a standard off-the-shelf Navi, but its face only had a single red eye. Without a moment’s hesitation, ProtoMan formed his sword and pointed it at him.

“Who are you and why are you here?” he demanded. The blue Navi answered with a series of beeps and whistles.

“Say what?” Chaud asked. The Navi repeated the same series of beeps and whistles. The Net Savior turned to look at Noah, who just shrugged.

“Sorry, I don’t speak R2-D2.” As they returned their attention to the matter at hand, the Navi began beeping again and more viruses appeared, this time including Bombnets and Condoroids. The two Navis facing them took up their battle stances and prepared for the worst. They watched as their opponent pointed forward and beeped. Immediately, the viruses attacked.

“Sonic Boom!” ProtoMan swung his sword and it sliced through several of the viruses, deleting them instantly. A targeting lens slid out of Lumine’s headset and covered his left eye. Several dots appeared and crosshairs locked onto all of them.

“Heaven’s Judgement!” Lumine jumped into the air and six white mechanical angel wings sprouted from his back and unfolded before unleashing a hailstorm of feathers, which sliced through a good percentage of the airborne viruses.

“Nice move,” Chaud complimented. Noah said nothing in response as he inserted a chip into his PET.

“BatCannon4 Battlechip in, download!” As Lumine landed back on the floor, his wings disappeared and his hand changed into a BatCannon. He aimed at the Navi in the back and fired. His shot struck it in the chest, but did little damage.

“CustomSword Battlechip in, download! FastGauge Battlechip in, download!” ProtoMan’s sword changed into a CustomSword and he dashed towards the viruses as its power rapidly increased.

“Take this!” The red-armored Navi swung his blade just as it reached its maximum strength and cut down several Garums. The blue Navi beeped some more and more viruses closed in.

“Otenko Battlechip in, download!”

“Otenko!” A projection of Otenko appeared on the field and both ProtoMan and Lumine began to radiate with sunlight.

“This should do just fine.” ProtoMan smirked as he felt his strength increase tremendously.

“Then let’s finish it,” Chaud declared, “Sword Battlechip in, download! WideBlade Battlechip in, download! LongBlade Battlechip in, download!” ProtoMan’s right hand changed into a Sword and his left into a WideBlade. He brought them over his head and fused them with the LongBlade to create a powerful glowing sword.

“LifeSword!” He grasped the hilt and swung down. His blade sliced through all the remaining viruses and deleted them before cleaving through the one-eyed Navi. It let out one final beep before it was deleted.

“System secure,” ProtoMan reported.

“Good job, ProtoMan,” Chaud congratulated.

“You too, Lumine,” Noah added.

* * *

It was ten-thirty by the time all the guests had left. Dr. and Mrs. Hikari were the last to leave as Lan was saying good-bye to them.

“Study hard, Lan,” Yuuichiro urged.

“And stay safe,” Haruka added.

“Don’t worry about me,” Lan reassured them, “I can take care of myself.” Haruka gave her son a parting kiss before she and her husband left. Lan watched them until their car was out of sight before he closed the door.

“Well, everyone’s gone,” he said.

“That was an interesting Parents’ Weekend, wouldn’t you say?” MegaMan piped up.

“Yeah, it was. Well, let’s help everyone finish cleaning up and then go to bed. We’ve got midterms next week.”

“Sounds good.” Lan locked the front door and walked off to the kitchen to help everyone with the clean-up.

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End of chapter 3-16.

CHAPTER PREVIEW
Lan: Well we got through the exams just fine.
MegaMan: Now it’s back to more classes and more battles.
Lan: I think we can relax for a bit and throw a party.
MegaMan: Don’t get caught up in it. There’s still a lot that needs to be done.
Lan & MegaMan: Next time on Rockman.EXE: The College Years, “Cosplay Party”.
Lan: Let’s get this party started!
MegaMan: I’m not going to comment on this one.
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[SonicNigma212]

Well, I got to say that this is one of the most interesting chapters that I've ever read. I mean, just reading it makes me hungry. With all of those different dishes and food. Who wouldn't drool over those different dishes? Now, I've got to say that I didn't quite expect Chaud's dad to ever appear in Thanksgiving Dinner. But I guess it's like the old saying goes: "Like father, like son." Now, I've got a question: what in the world is that Otenko Battlechip anyway? Is it one of those new chips that I've read about in the new games or one that you made yourself? What does it exactly do? Well, that's all for me. I'm going to start on with my own college classes and then continue on with my stories. Later and keep up the good work.

Maurice A. Nigma :grr:

[Midnight]

Yargh.

This one was just...well...completely useless to the storyline as a whole. It's one of those filler chapters, but it didn't seem to make up for its shortfall in plot with character development at all. It seemed that none of the characters were developed any further. The combat situation was also poorly placed, and could have been omitted altogether.
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Today, these three players are after Big Bucks! But they'll have to avoid the Whammy, as they play the most exciting game of their lives! From Television City in Hollywood! It's time to 'Press Your Luck!'--Rod Roddy

The Kingdom of Loathing: An Adventurer is You! // I ♣ Seals

Avatar by Spork. I very much appreciate it! <3

[ForteZero.EXE]

This was a nice chapter. It was good idea having everyones families be there for the Thanksgiving weekend, besides Noah. Seeing Chaud's father come was a surprise to me, even though he's a cold hearted man... I also noticed you used the Pantheon enemy for the blue standard Navi, am I right?

At SonicNigma212: The Otenko Battlechip appeares as a Mega Chip in the EXE5 game. While Otenko is on the field, whatever Battlechips you selected with it will get a power boost of +50, plus it can't be destroyed like regular field objects.
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ForteZero ~ The White Shadow

[Abiisan]

That chapter may have been somewhat random, but I think you did a good job of pulling it off. I do feel that it would have been interesting to show the interaction between parents and relatives, but I still think it was a good chapter.

All in all, I think that this story is on its way to being on par with some of its early chapters, if not better.

By the way, I'll take your word that the CoA will have side effects and go back to waiting until then.
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Formerly known as LunarSun

Banner and icon by Xhunter17

[Lan1220]

Indeed. This is a good chapter. Great job.

[Mistress Leviathan]

[Blue Bommer]

Man this chapter made me hungry. Any way, it was a good idea to bring up the cooking master, but wouldent his son be better? He should understand by now.
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[Anime Master ZERO]

CHAPTER 3-17
Cosplay Party

Lan sighed heavily as he walked out from his last midterm. The past few days had been struck by a freak heat wave, making it hard to concentrate on studies. Lan was currently wearing a thin T-shirt, a pair of shorts, and sandals along with his headband and was cooling himself off with a small handheld electronic fan. Fortunately, since his exam had taken place during his last class of the day, he headed back home, grabbed a box of Oreos from the pantry, and immediately crashed onto the couch.

“I’m glad that’s finally over,” he groaned, “Those exams were tough. Plus I don’t think this heat wave over the past few days helped.”

“I found mine to be pretty easy.” Lan around and saw Noah coming from the kitchen clad in a white tank top and a pair of dark blue shorts. His Sabata plushie was in one hand while his other hand carried a large glass of milk.

“Well not everyone is as smart as you are,” the Net Savior shot back.

“If you think my workload is easy, you must be delusional,” Noah replied as he sat down next to Lan, “It’s tough when you major in everything. I’ve got more classes than everyone in this house.”

“Take my advice: go into life with low expectations. That way you’ll never be disappointed,” Lan responded as he took out a cookie.

“Can I have a bit of that?” Noah asked, eying the Oreo.

“Sure.” As soon as Lan had handed over the cookie, Noah twisted it open and licked off all the cream before putting the two halves back together and giving them back.

“You know what? Just take the whole thing.” As Noah finished off the cookie, Lan picked up the remote and switched on the TV.

“…and due to the disaster brought about by Hurricane Catherine, all neighbouring countries are rushing aid to the area,” Ribbita announced, “In other news, the date for the upcoming tournament has officially been announced. The tournament officials say that it will take place sometime early next year. We’ll have more details for you when we have more information.”

“Well, at least that’s some useful information,” Sean commented from behind the two on the couch wearing his own combo of shorts and T-shirt to accommodate to the heat.

“When did you get here?” asked Lan.

“That’s irrelevant. Right now, I need some ideas for the party we’ll be having next week.”

“Isn’t Halloween next week?”

“Bingo. And that usually means one thing.”

“Cosplay!” Noah cried happily.

“Sorry Noah, but you can’t attend,” Lan apologized.

“I live here too, you know.”

“Tell you what, Noah,” Sean offered, “Before the party starts, I can take you trick-or-treating. We can stop back here on occasion to drop off your load and then head back out for more. How does that sound?” Noah thought about this for a moment and finally gave his response.

“Okay! I haven’t gone trick-or-treating since…” His voice trailed off as he tried to recall the memory.

“How’s never sound?” asked Lan.

“Yeah, that seems about right.”

“So why are you here, anyway, Sean?” Lan inquired.

“I was about to go to the rec center for a swim to get away from the heat,” Sean explained, “I was wondering if you guys would like to come.”

“I’m in!” Lan quickly answered.

“Me, too.” Noah added.

* * *

“Greg, for the love of God, close the fridge!” Waya shouted over his shoulder.

“Well you guys won’t buy an air conditioning and Diana’s hogging the fan to herself, so what else have I got to work with?” asked Greg as he stood in front of the fridge with his head inside the freezer compartment.

“Well you should be happy to know that the weather should improve in about two days,” Saiba informed his subordinates as he checked the newspaper.

“That’s two days too long,” Greg groaned.

“Is there anything you DON’T complain about?” asked Nicol.

“Not really. Pretty much everything sucks in life.”

“Maybe you can spice things up by pulling off a few Halloween pranks,” Waya muttered. Greg thought about this for a moment.

“That’s not a bad idea. I always did enjoy having fun at the expense of others.”

“Buy your own supplies because you’re not nicking anything from this apartment,” Saiba commanded.

“Fine.” Greg turned and headed to his room. But as soon as he reached the door, a thought hit him.

“I’ve got an even better idea,” he said to himself with a devilish grin.

* * *

By the beginning of the next week, the heat wave had finally died down and things resumed as normal. However, the everyday normality didn’t last long and October 31st finally arrived. Den University was bustling with all sorts of holiday events that day. Several students attended classes wearing costumes while others would wear theirs at the parties that were happening all over campus. Even a number of the professors had dressed up. Some were even tossing free candy out to their classes. Lan himself had spent the whole day wearing an Edward Elric costume. He had dug out his black pants and a black tank top and he borrowed a red coat from Chaud. He had bought a black jacket secondhand and removed the zipper only to replace it with a silver clasp in front of the neck. The hair he had gotten from a costume rental shop somewhere slightly off campus and he had borrowed a pair of white gloves from the NetPolice. As he sat in the CAB while on one of his breaks, he was approached by Tory, who was wearing a black school uniform. His head was covered with a thick mass of black hair and a pair of wolf ears.

“Who’re you supposed to be?” Lan asked.

“I’m Kotaro from Mahou Sensei Negima,” Tory answered as he unslung his bag and sat down.

“Doesn’t look that much different from your old werewolf costume.”

“Believe me, there’s a difference.” A new voice interjected. Lan and Tory turned around and saw Takuya dressed as Hikaru Shindou from Hikaru no Go.

“You’re in the anime club, aren’t you?” Lan asked.

“That’s right,” Takuya answered, “So, I heard you guys are having a party at your place tonight.”

“That’s right,” Tory confirmed, “You’re free to come if you like.”

“I’ll be there. Now I’ve gotta hurry to my next class so I’ll see you later.” Takuya bid farewell and quickly headed off in one direction.

“What are you eating, anyway?” Tory asked, suddenly noting the bulge in Lan’s mouth.

“Jawbreaker,” the Net Savior replied, “Dr. Anderson was throwing candy out in class today.”

“None of my profs did that today.” Tory then got up and picked up his backpack, “Well, I’m done for the day so I’m going to head home and help finish up with the preparations for the party.”

“Okay, I’ll see then.” Tory slung his bag over his shoulder and left, leaving Lan alone.

“I love this holiday,” MegaMan piped up.

“Me, too,” Lan answered as he picked up his PET. He yelled out in surprise when he saw Dark MegaMan occupying the screen.

“Looks like you’ve fallen right into my hands,” he snickered.

“MegaMan, cut that out.”

“Aww, you’re no fun.” MegaMan double-clicked his icon and his colors returned to normal.

“After that incident, I would prefer not to think about it,” Lan groaned.

“Dark MegaMan’s dead, Lan” the blue Navi responded flatly, “At least let me wear the avatar for today.”

“No.”

“Please?”

“I said no.”

“Fine, then I guess I’ll just have to post your ninth grade ID photo on the net.”

“Don’t you dare!”

“Then let me keep the avatar.”

“Alright, fine.” MegaMan smiled as he downloaded his Dark MegaMan avatar back on and his smirk changed into a maniacal grin.

* * *

“How long is he going to keep doing that?” Chaud asked as he looked through the kitchen window into the backyard.

“He’ll be finished soon,” Sean replied as he searched through the drawers for a large spoon and a few knives. The kitchen table was covered with newspaper and three pumpkins sat on top of the sheets.

“He’s been screaming ‘Taiyohhhhhhhhhhh!’ at the top of his lungs for the past thirty minutes.”

“Just let him be.”

“By the way, what are you supposed to be?” Chaud questioned as he looked Sean over. The crimson-eyed teen was wearing a loose-fitting white shirt with a black belt over the front around his waist, black pants, a magenta tie, and a green Sherlock Holmes style cape. His hair had been sprayed with temporary green dye.

“I told you this morning. I’m Lyserg Diethel from Shaman King,” Sean replied as he finally found the utensils he was looking for and took them to the table. As he did so, Maylu entered the kitchen dressed as Sakura from Naruto.

“How are things doing here?” she asked.

“Well,” answered Sean, “Everything’s all set up. We just need Chaud to get into costume and we’ll pretty much all set.”

“I’ve already outgrown Halloween,” Chaud muttered.

“You can never outgrow any holiday,” was Sean’s response. With everything set up, he walked to the window and opened it.

“Noah! Time to carve your pumpkin!” A few minutes later, the boy genius came in through the backdoor dressed as Django the Solar Boy with his Otenko plushie in his hand. He quickly put on the labcoat he wore for his science labs and waited for Sean to cut open one of the pumpkins before starting to help scoop the insides out.

“So what are you planning to carve?” Chaud inquired.

“I’m going to carve the Count,” Noah replied.

“The Sesame Street guy?”

“No. He means the Count of Ground-Soaking Blood,” Sean corrected.

“I’m out of here,” Chaud mumbled as he headed out.

“At least be on door duty,” Sean called after him before turning to Maylu, “So, got any ideas on your pumpkin design?”

“I was thinking a cat,” replied Maylu.

“Cat’s good.”

A few hours later, everything was ready for the party. The living room furniture had been moved to the sides and food was laid out on the table. Noah’s and Maylu’s jack-o-lanterns sat on top of the piano facing the window alongside the vampire face one that Lan had carved as soon as he got back. Before long, the rest of the gang appeared downstairs. Yai was once again wearing her Strawberry Princess costume. Dex had agreed to do a theme with Lan this year and was dressed up as Alphonse Elric.

“When does the party start again?” asked Dex.

“Six,” Sean replied, “And that’s when Noah and I leave.”

At exactly six o’clock, Sean and Noah left the house. Five minutes before they left, though, Takuya arrived. But no sooner had the two of them gone, others started coming. Zack was dressed up as Roronoa Zoro. Nick arrived wearing blue Halo2 armor.

How fitting, thought Zack, “He’s dressed as Caboose from ‘Red vs. Blue’.

“Does nobody ever dress up as a non-copyrighted character anymore?” Chaud exasperated.

“Most don’t but some still do,” Yutaka answered as he entered the door dressed as a classic vampire.

“Hey Yutaka! Glad you could make it!” Lan greeted. While everyone was gathering in the real world, all their Navis were jacked into the TV and were busy interacting one another. Everyone in the gang’s clique was standing around MegaMan and making comments on his avatar.

“That’s just plain creepy,” IceMan shuddered as MegaMan displayed another of his deceased evil counterpart’s grins.

“That’s the idea,” the blue Navi replied.

* * *

Sean followed Noah with a large duffel bag over his shoulder and watched him as he ran from one door to the next receiving candy from the people inside.

“Trick or treat!”

“Trick, then treat.” Noah grinned as he shifted his load into his other hand and raised his arm over his head.

“TAIYOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”

Sean couldn’t help but let out a bit of a giggle at the boy’s actions.

“Look at him, Axl,” he said to his Navi, “He’s having so much fun.”

“Well what did you expect? He’s just a kid,” Axl replied, “But I’ll admit, it’s nice to see him so happy. Especially after everything he went through.” There was a pause.

“Kind of like you, Sean.” This last part, however, went unheard as Sean turned his gaze towards a figure standing on top of a streetlamp.

“Sean, I’m ready to move on now,” Noah informed the crimson-eyed teen as he ran back to him.

“Noah, stay back!”

“Huh?” Without warning, a glowing blue shuriken flew down and struck the ground near Noah’s feet, causing him to jump back. The projectile quickly flew up and returned to the figure on the streetlamp. The silhouette caught the weapon and immediately jumped down into the light.

“We meet again.”

“Greg Gospel.”

R Phantom smirked as he stood up.

“Nice night for an outing, wouldn’t you say?”

“What the hell are you doing?” Sean demanded.

“I thought I’d cause a bit of Halloween mayhem,” R Phantom replied, “But there wasn’t enough time to make a costume. So I thought, why not use Cross Fusion instead? So here I am.”

“You’ve just given me another reason to hate you.”

“Well if that’s how you’re going to be about it, perhaps we can settle this in the usual way.” R Phantom brought up his arm and brandished his shuriken. Almost on instinct, Sean drew his PET and clicked it onto his wristband before slotting in his Synchro Chip.

“Synchro Chip, in!”

“CROSS FUSION!”

As soon as the Cross Fusion sequence had completed, R Axl drew his pistols and began firing. R Phantom smirked as he leapt up and backflipped a few meters.

“How about a little off the top?” The Cross Fused ninja Navi brought his arm back and threw his shuriken at his opponent. R Axl quickly dropped onto the pavement and the spinning projectile flew over his head. It arced upward into the air and flew back into its owner’s hand.

“I should’ve fought you at night the first time,” sneered R Phantom, “Darkness works wonders for those whose strength lies in stealth.”

“Can it! WideShot3 Battlechip!” R Axl’s right pistol transformed into a wide blaster and he fired off a wave. R Phantom raised his shuriken and brought it down, slicing the wave in two.

“Don’t like it when I taunt you? Don’t mind it. I do it with all my opponents.” R Phantom laughed and activated a Katana3 Battlechip. He clipped his shuriken to his belt and his hand transformed into the samurai sword. Now armed with a new weapon, he dashed towards his opponent and swung. R Axl jumped back as the sword came at him and ducked as R Phantom swung in the other direction.

“LongBlade Battlechip!” The crimson-eyed Net Savior’s wide blaster quickly reverted back into his pistol and transformed into the long red-bladed sword. He raised his weapon and blocked the next slash.

“Why are you doing this, anyway, Greg?” R Axl demanded.

“Just for the hell of it,” R Phantom answered.

“You’re sick.” R Axl shoved the barrel of his other pistol against his opponent’s stomach and unloaded an entire volley of plasma bullets. R Phantom, caught by surprise, was unable to counter it and took the full force of the attack. Their swords slid apart and he stumbled back with a hand over his abdomen.

“Impressive. You still have some of the ruthlessness and deviousness from your Gospel days,” the fanatic noted.

“I’m not like that anymore! StepCross!” both of R Axl’s weapons transformed into a pair of swords and he teleported towards his enemy. As he made his pass, he swung both blades and landed a few feet behind him.

“Looks like the joke’s on you!” R Phantom laughed as his body changed into a dummy and the real R Phantom appeared overhead and launched a trio of shurikens into his opponent’s back.

“AntiDamage. Damn!”

“Things only get better from there.” R Phantom teleported closer to R Axl and struck him with both his Katana3 and his shuriken, causing him to fly forward and skid along the pavement. He walked towards the fallen Net Savior and placed his foot on top of his head.

“This is why you should never have given up on Gospel so easily,” R Phantom chided in a mocking tone, “You had power then. Now, you have nothing.”

“I don’t need power as long as I have those whom I can trust by my side,” R Axl groaned.

“You’re a disgrace to the organization you created. I should just end it for you now.” R Phantom raised his shuriken over his head and prepared to strike, “Goodbye.” His arm came down.

It happened in a second and no one knew how it had happened, but the next thing R Phantom knew he was rubbing the exposed area of his face.

“What the hell was that?”

“That was me!” Both Cross Fused NetBattlers turned their heads and saw Noah standing on the sidewalk reeling in a wooden red yo-yo, “He’s open now, Sean! Strike!”

“Roger that!” R Axl turned around and leapt onto his feet. He faced R Phantom and thrust a punch against his face.

“GoldFist!” His arm quickly became encased in gold armor and he swung again.

“Damn you!” R Phantom retaliated by swinging his Katana3. The weapons connected and the sword shattered against the fist a split second before it connected with his face and sent him flying backward down the street.

“No, Greg,” R Axl said breathing heavily as his GoldFist disappeared, “You’re the disgrace. Program Advance! Cannon, Hi-Cannon, Mega-Cannon!” His pistols morphed into the first two respective cannons and he raised them over his head, where they fused together with the third to create a large five-barrel cannon. His new weapon now fully formed, he brought it down and pointed it at his opponent. His visor slid down over his eyes and auto-locked the target.

“Zeta Cannon!” R Axl pulled the trigger and a storm of energy blasts erupted from all five barrels and impacted against R Phantom with incredible force. The speed at which the shots came was too much for the fanatic to handle and he was soon forced out of Cross Fusion. Without saying another word, Greg grabbed his PET and Synchro Chip off the ground and ran swearing loudly as he left. With the battle over, R Axl crossed out and Sean put his PET and Synchro Chip away.

“Well, that was a waste of a few good minutes.” He turned to Noah, “Ready to continue?” The white-haired boy nodded and they resumed their activities.

* * *

Amidst the loud music and the nonstop chatter, Chaud heard the doorbell rang for the nth time that night. He sighed as he picked up the large bowl of candy sitting next to him on the stairs and went to answer it.

If it’s another pack of rabid sugar-high kids, I’m going to kill myself, he thought. To his relief, it was just Sean and Noah coming back from their nighttime excursion.

“Oh, it’s just you guys.”

“Happy Halloween to you, too,” Sean replied sarcastically, “I see the party is still going on.”

“As you can see.” The three of them slipped past everybody in the living room into the kitchen. Noah brought up the pillowcase he had used as a candy bag and emptied its contents onto the table. At the same time, Sean opened up his duffel bag and dumped out everything that was inside. Chaud just stared at the massive pile of sweets.

“How…?” he began.

“Somehow, he just managed,” Sean answered.

“Can I join the party?” Noah asked as he looked up at Chaud with big sad puppy eyes. The skunk-haired NetBattler sighed as he covered his eyes.

“I guess so,” he said, “We had a door check to make sure no one was bringing alcohol, so I guess it’s safe.”

“Yippee!” Noah ran into the living room and pounced on top of Lan’s back, who in turn, hoisted him onto his shoulders.

“Go on and join the party, Chaud. I’ll take door duty,” Sean offered.

“Alright.” Chaud left the kitchen and walked over to the snack table to grab himself some punch only to fall victim to the fake eyeballs floating around in it. Sean let out a small laugh as he walked over to the candy bowl near the door.

“Some people just need to loosen up,” he thought out loud as he popped a Skittle into his mouth.

-------------------------------
End of chapter 3-17.

CHAPTER PREVIEW
Lan: The second half of the term’s been pretty uneventful.
MegaMan: It’s nice not to have to deal with evil schemes for a change.
Lan: I can finally live like a normal person for a while.
MegaMan: Enjoy it while it lasts.
Lan & MegaMan: Next time on Rockman.EXE: The College Years, “The Calm Before the Storm”.
Lan: Pixelball?
MegaMan: Oh yeah!
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[SSHiei]

I'm sorry, but this is just getting duller and duller. You need something more than just randomly placed skirmishes between people! Why don't you work on either LanXMaylu again, or LanXthat older woman. Or at least go on with the plot. ENOUGH FILLER CHAPTERS! :poof:
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Credit goes to Hikari Angel for the sig!

[LgacyDX]

Your story is awesome alright. R Phantom was incredible. I wonder... when will you plan to read my story. I wish to see what you think of it because I need some inspiration and your work gives me the strength. ^_^

P.S. - The Cosplay idea must definitely come from Anime Conventions, right?
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Mega Man: New Generation *Updated to Chapter 1-14*
Wanna join Hi5? Click here.

[Flame Buster]

Bland Bland BLAND! You really should've taken more than a day to do this, the battle wasn't so great, and your stooping to Stream level with your filler chapters. Meh, I give it a 6/10.
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[Malik]

Flame Buster, please tell him why it was so terrible other than just saying that it was. If you want to constructively critisize it, point out what parts are bland. Otherwise it's a flame. I think

Though, it's not like he'd actually READ and FOLLOW it XD
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[Malik]

Flame Buster, please tell him why it was so terrible other than just saying that it was. If you want to constructively critisize it, point out what parts are bland. Otherwise it's a flame. I think

Though, it's not like he'd actually READ and FOLLOW it XD
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[SonicNigma212]

I'm going to try to make this as short as possible. Well, the thought of having Noah going Trick or Treating for the first time is something that I've never expected. As for the battle in this chapter, it was so-and-so. Oh, and MegaMan cosplaying as Dark MegaMan, I've got one word to describe it: creepy. Well, as for the rest, I guess that it's okay. I'll expect to see a new chapter coming and one more thing: "Why change a good thing?" Later!

Maurice A. Nigma :grr:

[Midnight]

Sigh.

Two fillers in a row. The combat situation was far too linear--nothing about it stood out, whether it be clever tactics or unexpected twists in the fighting. As much as I like seeing more light-hearted situations in a story, this does NOTHING to add to the storyline, except for adding to Noah's character a touch. Beyond that, there's really nothing else to say.
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Today, these three players are after Big Bucks! But they'll have to avoid the Whammy, as they play the most exciting game of their lives! From Television City in Hollywood! It's time to 'Press Your Luck!'--Rod Roddy

The Kingdom of Loathing: An Adventurer is You! // I ♣ Seals

Avatar by Spork. I very much appreciate it! <3

[LgacyDX]

I don't really care about fillers. I just love the story. I really like your story very much, dude. You have potential man and I wish to see more of it soon.
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Mega Man: New Generation *Updated to Chapter 1-14*
Wanna join Hi5? Click here.

[ForteZero.EXE]

Nice chapter AMZ. The thing about Noah trick-or-treating was... cute. *gets stares from other readers* The battle between R Axl and R Phantom seemed more thrilling this time... but it's great.

I wonder when Saiba will be able to challenge the Net Saviors... we'll just have to wait for the next chapter upload. *wonders about hsi suspistions on Saiba's Navi*


~ ForteZero.EXE - The White Shadow
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ForteZero ~ The White Shadow

[Lan1220]

Another filler chapter, how long'll this go on? And, i'm surprised. Sean alone actually managed to deafeat R Phantom for the first time. very surprising....Good job.
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Sig credit goes to Hikari Angel

[Abiisan]

For a filler, that was a pretty good chapter. It would have been better if you had left crossfusion out. By the way, I was happy to see "dark megaman" return. I would actually be pretty happy if you brought him back as a solo navi like Forte.
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Formerly known as LunarSun

Banner and icon by Xhunter17

[Mistress Leviathan]

That would be good, but D. MegaMan is dead... that would put the story to a different POV if that happened...