Author's Notes: This is somewhat a mixture of the games and the original anime. Rockman and Netto are brothers and share a link etc. :D I've been planning this for a long time now, haha. I cant think of a title though! D: But then, hopefully it's alright! :D ENJOY!
Netto tossed and turned on his bed. Beads of perspiration rolled down from his forehead. Finally, the brown-haired boy jerked up from his sleep, clutching his blanket close to his chest, breathing heavily.
"Netto-kun?" Rockman asked softly.
"Ah…Rockman." Netto turned to his friend and managed a weak smile. "I'm okay… it's just that nightmare again."
"You're having a lot of nightmares recently."
Netto shrugged. "I have no idea why though…but it feels so…real. It's like it happened before…"
"Netto-kun…"
"It's okay! I'm okay. Everything's okay!"
Netto flopped back onto his bed, while staring at the ceiling.
"Netto-kun…if you have that nightmare one more time I swear I'm gonna force you to tell me about it okay?"
Netto smiled to himself.
"Sure Rockman. No problem."
...
The next day, the two were given a mission, which was to investigate the recent release of viruses from the Undernet. Rockman walked slowly and carefully. The whole of Undernet was looking peaceful. Too peaceful.
"Netto-kun, I don't see anything here…"
But there was no response from his operator.
"Netto-kun?"
Again, there was no reply. Worried about Netto, Rockman logged himself out. Unknown to him, someone was secretly observing him.
"Netto-kun, why didn't you reply me? I thought something happened to you!" Rockman chided once he returned to his PET.
"You did? I couldn't hear you." Netto shrugged. "Anyway, anything worth mentioning in the Undernet?"
"It was peaceful…too peaceful. Just like the calm before a storm…"
"You're thinking too much-"
Just then, the alarm sounded and a dimensional area surrounded SciLab. Netto got up on his feet. "What the?"
"Netto!" Enzan(In cross fusion) entered the room. "We're under attack! Quick, crossfuse!"
Before Netto could do anything, the ground shook and thick vines shot up, grabbing Netto and Enzan. Out of shock, Netto dropped his PET.
"Oh Shucks!"
Plantman entered the room and smiled. "Never thought I'd attack in broad daylight huh? Well, I thought by now you'd have realised that the viruses were meant to be a form of distraction so I could break through your security system."
"Weren't you, like, supposed to be deleted by now?" Netto struggled, trying to free himself while reaching for his PET. Plantman noticed that and kicked his PET away.
"I am, after all, a Darkloid. I can regenerate myself from scrap data as many times as I want." He smirked and looked at Rockman. "Perfect timing." He walked towards the PET. "This might be a great time to delete you, Rockman."
Before Plantman could do anything, he felt a sword go through his body. Screaming in pain, Plantman vanished, but the dimensional area was still activated. Netto looked at the person who 'saved' Rockman…
It was Forte.
"Puny plant." He spat. "The one to delete Rockman, and destroy SciLab, would be me."
Netto, now freed from the vines, rushed to Rockman's side. He crossfused and turned to Forte. "I'm not going to let you destroy SciLab!"
"Deactivate your cross fusion, human." Forte said calmly as he grabbed Enzan by the neck.
Netto stared at Forte angrily, but did as told. As soon as he does that, Forte jumped forward and grabbed him by the neck. Netto struggled but Forte's grip was too strong.
"Forte…" Netto gasped, "Let…me go…"
Forte smirked at Netto's helplessness. "So this is what humans are. Weak, and they come begging for their lives when they are about to face death?" Forte swiftly kicked Netto in the stomach and released his grip on his neck. "How pathetic."
"BASS!"
Forte turned around and glared at the person who called. It was Dr. Cossack, his creator, his father, the one who gave him everything.
"Do not call me by that accursed name, foolish human. My name is no longer Bass." Forte scowled at him, eyes full of hatred.
"Your grudge is with me. With SciLab. We have let you down. But that boy has nothing to do with it!" Cossack said sternly. Forte laughed out.
"He is a human. Hence he is involved. And thus he must be eliminated. That's all to it." After saying that, his hand changed into a dark sword and prepared to give the semi-conscious Netto a fatal blow.
"No, Bass…NO!" Cossack shouted, "That boy… HE'S LAN!"
At the sound of that name, as if something struck him, Forte stopped in his actions and stared at the boy in his arms. Slowly, he removed his headband and his eyes widened in horror.
"….you'll pay for this, Cossack. You'll pay for every single thing you've done to me." After saying that, Forte took Netto and vanished.
...
Enzan opened his eyes. He couldn't remember what happened. He could only remember that Forte used him as a hostage to force Netto out of cross fusion…
Damn that Forte!
Enzan rubbed his head and looked around the room. His eyes rested on the Blue and Red PETs on the table. Rockman was silently staring at space.
"Rockman?" Enzan whispered.
"Ah. You're awake, Enzan-san." Rockman forced a smile, but it was not working. Enzan could see through the Navi. The sadness inside of him.
"I…I saw everything." Rockman muttered. "I could see everything that was happening, but yet I could do nothing about it. I was stuck…in this PET…All I could do was watch as Forte took Netto-kun away."
Enzan looked at Rockman and smiled weakly. "We'll get him back, Rockman. I promise."
"Rockman, mind if I ask…" Blues said out from his PET. "Lan is?"
Rockman looked up seriously. "Lan is Netto-kun's name when he was young. Like, a nickname."
Enzan chuckled. "I remember mine. 'Chaud'."
"I was known as 'Hub' then, when I was still Saito." Rockman smiled. "I forgot when we decided to use back our real names."
Blues looked around the room, as if thinking about something. "Did Netto have some kind of past when he was 'Lan'?"
"Yeah." Rockman smiled sadly, "When I was still alive, he came back and cried his heart out, saying that his best friend died, and he was unable to do anything about it."