Axess: The other history
By Zoram Selrof
Chapter 1: Cross Fusion!
14:19 PM (Japan Time), Saturday February the 4th, 2005…
"… Stone Cube! Hora~h!"
"Break Hammer!"
Two Net Navis with hostile look to them and colored red and green while using similar body models (as if hinting at being part of some league or another) were battling someone in the Internet City's Coliseum: one of them formed several "Stone Cubes" which he sent flying on forward while the other hit the grassed floor with the "Break Hammer" to form a shockwave spreading across the length of the stadium.
"Huh!"
Rock Man EXE jumped over the shockwave and landed back to see a pair of "Stone Cubes" incoming from his right flank and left flank in a synchronized manner but he jumped into the air with the right timing and both blocks just annihilated each other.
"Rock Buster!"
He drew his default weapon and shot two precise shots at the ground of both adversaries who weren't intimidated yet the flashes and dust did hinder their sight for a few instants: the green guy began to chuckle in a smug manner.
"Heh, heh, heh! That thing's so cheap: it won't even scratch me!"
"Man! It's a tough fight for that chibi fella…" A spectator muttered as he leant the right hand on the grades' stone handrail.
"The opponents are the Strength Pride Brothers Combination… Fat chance!" The other muttered next.
"Wrong!"
Both turned around to see Roll EXE sitting on one of the grades and looking calm and confident.
"I wouldn't call it a thought battle. It's rather entertaining!"
The green guy suddenly gripped Rock Man's right arm while towering over him with a bully-like smug smile.
"Gotcha, chibi guy!"
He threw Rock Man into the air in an effortless manner but he wasn't surprised or scared.
"… Rock Man! It's already OK! I've figured out these guys' fighting pattern!" Hikari Netto's voice called out.
"Well then! Transfer a Chip, Netto – kun!"
"Playtime's over! Let's cut in one blow!"
"OK!"
"What's with that chit-chat?" The green guy grumbled.
"I'll flatten you yet! Stone Cube! Crazy shooting!"
An army of "Stone Cubes" began to form around the sky.
"Oh!"
They all dropped one after the other on Rock Man's position who only had time to gasp and look up to them: they formed a pile and dust scattered around them while the two cocky guys laughed.
"Hah, hah, hah!"
"Heh, heh, heh!"
"Huh! Above! Aniki!" The green guy realized.
"What!" The red guy gasped.
True: Rock Man was dropping from the sky while keeping his arms spread and his legs slightly open as if to have a better aerodynamic pose.
"Battle Chip! Long Sword! Yo-yo! Slot In!"
Rock Man drew the Long Sword on his right forearm (the sword arm) and the Yo-Yo in the left forearm: the Yo-Yo shot and impacted the red guy who didn't see it coming or was too slow to react: it travelled up his body for a second before being pulled back: the red guy recoiled from the sudden blow while the green guy gasped.
"Aniki!"
The red guy was forced to automatically "log-out" and Rock Man, taking profit of the green guy's distraction, ran over the field while aiming the sword NE: he then made a clean sweep by aiming SW and split the green guy's waist while letting inertia propel him past the opponent: this guy was forced to automatically "log-out" too: Rock Man cancelled both weapons and a buzzer rang out: he turned around half-way and looked amused at his victory: the audience went mad and exploded into cheering and clapping.
"W-whoa! Man…!"
"One blow and they got logged out…!"
"Right?" Roll grinned.
"Plug Out!"
Rock Man broke down into basic data to then reform inside of a small square LCD screen with a menu interface occupying the left and upper corners of it: the main background color was a bright shade of green which turned less brighter as it descended: a matrix was set as a background and the word "Rock Man EXE" in English and using a white font automatically scrolled across the screen from right to left: Rock Man was on the right side and only his upper body and forearms were visible.
"Good job!" Netto praised.
"Heh, heh, heh…" Rock Man closed his eyes and was slightly amused.
Netto lowered a blue plastic cover above the gray metallic frame surrounding the screen of a new-model PET.
This new-model PET had a main square body but the lower half adopted a curved shape while the right side had a slightly irregular-shaped metallic handle to it: the emblem was set just below the screen.
Two golden lines formed parallel to the screen and travelled down until they drew a circle around the emblem: the lower section had seven stroke-shaped objects built into it.
Overall, it looked more practical than the previous bulky PETs and it easily fitted in one's hand: Netto placed his right hand's index finger on the handle's space and spun it around before he stuffed it into black plastic couch with reddish edges and a frontal pocket which looked like it'd been affixed using four small screws and a central bigger one: this pouch was attached to the right side of his classical shorts.
Netto kept on sporting the same clothing as always: his blue bandana with the Hikari family emblem on it, the orange sleeveless vest over a white long-sleeved shirt plus his black shorts with a pair of yellow vertical stripes running down the sides.
As for footing he sported those orange and black sneakers.
He also wore his black schoolbag with a green band half-way across its length and circling three-quarters of its cubical shape.
His face hadn't changed much in the less than two months ever since the defeat of "Gospel" the previous year's December: his chocolate brown eyes displayed his usual optimism while his hair kept on being messy as seen from behind.
"We did it, Rock Man!" Netto congratulated.
"Yup. We sure did, Netto – kun." He calmly nodded in agreement.
"Alright! Let's go!"
"We need to meet up with Meiru – chan first, right?" Rock Man recalled.
"Yeah… So let's get moving!"
"You don't want to be late!"
14:38 PM (Japan Time)…
"… A new "something" is on the move! New-Model 2.51, Ultra TFTXGA Monitor, with IPC Inc.'s new and revolutionary Ultimate Molecular Chip: equipped with 450 GHz! This high-speed Chip promises to be the world standard in Personal Terminals. This future is in your hand…"
"Plug – In…your heart!"
A TV screen built on the front of some building was displaying what obviously was an ad for this new-model PET by IPC: this model was red and had Blues EXE's emblem on it so it surely was Ijuuin Enzan's very own model: Ijuuin Enzan then formed one on his right hand and smiled at the screen before he faded to give way to a picture of the PET and the logo "IPC" on the lower right corner floating against a stark white background: the logo then grew in size and got relocated to the NW corner while the PET was displaced at the SE corner: some black font text began to list the technical aspects of the device, and, for some reason, instead of 450GHz, it read 150MHz: it most likely was an overlook by the typing responsible: the tech listing also stated that the resolution of the screen was 5 inches: some tune began to ring out as well.
"… My bad! But you go and prolong Net Battles in purpose!" Meiru was complaining.
"The attacks were simple and the opponents were cheap! If I'd smashed them right away that'd been boring, wouldn't it?"
Netto was discussing with his neighbor and classmate Sakurai Meiru who also remained unchanged: she kept on sporting clothes which looked like an imitation of Netto's: the blue navy sleeveless vest over an azure t-shirt, a short pink skirt, tall black stockings and pink shoes.
She sported a pouch for the PET on the right side of her waist attached to it and hanging over the skirt: the PET's color was pink in her case.
Netto was rollerblading down the street while Meiru followed him riding on a kick scooter while looking somewhat annoyed: Netto played the offended.
Rush, the dog-shaped program, was riding along with Meiru on the kick scooter too.
Netto also carried a bag or suitcase with a black handle on his right hand but wasn't paying attention to that.
"Wait, Netto!" A voice commanded.
Both stopped, surprised.
"Aup, aup!" Rush barked.
Ooyama Chisao happened to be blocking their way: he hadn't changed and kept on being the short guy who was around Rush's height: he couldn't possibly be taller than a meter and ten or so.
He kept on sporting the yellow t-shirt with green bands on the cuffs and neck plus Guts Man's emblem (the green cross against a black background and having a metallic circular edge) together with blue shorts and green boots.
His brown hair aimed upwards and his face displayed what could be an attempt to pass as annoyed.
"That's my Meiru – chan, so stay away from her! Netto! The one who is gonna beat ya will be the great me! … That's a message from Dekao – niichan, who's in Jawaii Island… Chu!" He smiled.
"Heh, heh, heh…"
"Hah, hah, hah…"
Both Netto and Meiru looked slightly uneasy and laughed but without being really amused, more like somewhat resigned.
"Where are ya two going to? Chu?"
"The Science Labs, you see! To bring a package to Papa, see." Netto admitted as he showed him a sports bag with black edges and a main body colored in a bright brown color.
The Science Labs… Yes, I knew that already…
None of the three spotted a man standing close by and apparently concentrated on writing some notes down on a small notebook using a pencil.
This man appealed as being around 25 or 26 years old and past a meter and eighty in height.
He wore a brownish trench coat over a black suit with a brown tie, black pants and brown shoes plus a brown hat having a black band circling it atop his head: a pair of sunglasses covered his eyes.
"The Science Labs, eh? Chu!"
"Wanna come 'long with us?" Netto invited.
"Really? Yeah!"
The group continued their path while the trench coat man closed the notebook and stuffed it on the right pocket of the trench coat: he began to follow them while looking at a chronometer.
It'll be a matter of a few hours by now… If all goes according to the schedule I have on mind…
Netto and company made it to the Science Labs and came inside of the lobby where several scientists where chatting: the man in the trench coat slipped into a staircase and headed up one floor: he then took out a set of keys from his pants' right pocket and came inside of a small office room which only had a desk and a chair plus a half-empty bottle of water on the NW corner of the table: he locked the door and opened a drawer with another key to take out a laptop which he booted: he interacted with it and brought up feed from a camera somewhere in the lobby aiming for Netto and company from behind.
I prepared in advance during last month.
Hikari Yuuichirou, Netto's father, and a famed scientist, came out through a pair of automated metallic sliding doors: he wore his usual coat over his brown and orange vest with the crest on the right side of the torso.
His other clothes included a pair of bluish jeans and brown shoes.
He sported glasses over his eyes and he had some stubble indicating that he hadn't shaved for a few days: he was currently going over some documents in a clipboard.
"Papa!"
"Huh? Netto! Hiya, Meiru – chan!"
"Good morning, mister!"
"Chisao – kun came along too?"
"Here, Papa. This is from Mama." Netto told him as he handed him the sports bag.
"Thank you."
"… Mister! You've returned to the Science Labs, haven't you? Did you stop being an adventurer?"
"Until our current research ends… I'll be taking a break from being an adventurer…"
"Hikari – hakase!" One of the scientists called out.
"Going ASAP! I'm going to run an experiment so why don't you go to the 2nd floor and have a look?"
"Alright, Saito – niisan… Let's go!" Netto whispered.
"Chut! Not so loud… Netto – kun!" Rock Man warned.
"Don't worry!"
"Nobody is supposed to get a hold of that, you know! That I am your big brother…" He lowered his voice.
"Roger!"
Netto and the group headed up to the observation floor and then had a look at the experiment room with obvious curiosity and surprise: they barely noticed a dragonfly flying over them.
"Wow."
The room contained several kinds of terminals, consoles and computers linked to a pair of machines which had cylindrical shape: one contained a Net Navi's hologram.
This Net Navi was tall: he clearly was about a meter and eighty in height too and he had a look of being a serious type.
His face was protected by purple armor built around it and they had no mouth and nose but a pair of red-colored pupils shaped like pyramids aiming downwards set over a black background.
His main bodysuit color was a shade of white-toned brown yet he had purple armor over his upper torso and shoulders.
Two lances reminiscent of missiles had been attached to the outer edges of his shoulders' armor.
The chest armor contained the emblem which had brownish edge: the drawing was a set of three red thin lines forming an Alphabet "V" character when seen from the right and with a blue pyramid popping out of the left edge the peak of which was set on the middle of both pathways: the whole drawing was set over a white brown color.
His forearms' armor was also purple in coloring and protected great part of the hands leaving only the fingers (covered in black "skin") sticking out of the armor.
The boots began over the knees and used brown as the main color with purple for the part over the foot's front and the soils: a line travelled up the length of the boots until it spotted short of the knees: two metallic prisms aimed upwards from the knees' spot.
Overall he looked strong and agile and was currently standing firm without making any noise inside of the hologram-projecting equipment like a soldier waiting for orders.
Where is the gentleman I'm looking for in this huge room?
Yuuichirou was speaking with a man wearing a weird suit and standing inside of a structure built with a metallic frames and glass walls.
The man's suit consisted on a greenish metallic helmet covering the whole of his head with some weird cylinders popping out: three were set in a radius of 180º in the forehead while another two stuck out of the SE and SW corners.
The rest of the suit completely covered all of his skin and left nothing exposed save for the face skin: it was black in coloring with a pair of red shapes near the waist and the sides of the torso: two pouches were attached to a belt.
His face depicted the man as being on his late 20s and having brown irises yet no trace of beard or moustache: Yuuichirou was telling him something but the compartment apparently could muffle sounds: Yuuichirou checked some spots of the suit and seemed to be giving instructions to the man given how he nodded in understanding.
Hum. That's the man.
Presently, Yuuichirou came out of the box while the man checked his gloves as if to make sure they were properly fitted or secured: Netto and the others looked on from the observation floor while sticking their hands to the window so as to lean forward and look.
"What cool devices…!" Meiru muttered.
"What kind of experiment is gonna start? Chu?"
"An Operator's and a Net Navi's fusion!" A voice rang out.
"Meijin – san!" Netto exclaimed.
Meijin, the programmer who'd helped them during the "Gospel" campaign, was there: he sported his usual shirt, coat and jeans plus fingerless gloves over his hands.
His hair kept on being glued to aim backwards and his glasses hadn't changed either.
"… San wa iranai."
"An Operator's and a Net Navi's fusion…?"
"Hikari – hakase has succeeded in pseudo-materializing data from the Cyber World… By applying that concept… And by employing an Operator's flesh as a physical manifestation… We can materialize a Net Navi in the real world. In short: "Cross Fusion"!"
"Materialize Net Navis?" Meiru asked.
"…"Cross Fusion"…?"
"Have a look!"
Meijin stepped over to them and signaled a terminal with a drawer which opened to display a row of what seemed to be several new-gen Chips aligned there.
"A miraculous Chip which makes the fusion between Operator and Net Navi possible…"
An automated pincer descended and picked one to turn it 90º to the right: the Chip had a green crystalline dome on its center surrounded by a black edge plus a line extending in an irregular manner across the left flank of it: the Hikari family crest was set just below that black line: the color of the Chip was a metallic blue and it included the contacts on the lower edge of its body.
"The "Synchro Chip" which Hikari – hakase has developed!" Meijin announced.
"By using that "Synchro Chip"… Rock Man and I could also do that "Cross Fusion" thing, you mean to say? Meijin – san?"
Bravo, Mr. Hikari Jr.
"… San wa iranai. Currently, though… It's impossible to materialize except within a special space labeled "Dimensional Area"… But in the near future we should be able to undergo dangerous activities like disaster relief or operating in outer space…" Meijin explained to them.
"Dimensional Area: deploy." Yuuichirou commanded.
"Dimensional Area: deploy." An assistant confirmed.
He pulled up a lever on a terminal and a set of three cylinders with blue transparent glass and having complex circuitry boards close to them turned on: blue energy began to draw patterns across the circuitry boards as they turned on.
Hum! It's begun.
Some loose and sometimes fused hexagons of varying colors formed inside of the structure where the main in the suit was standing at: the structure included a metallic round platform colored green with three rectangles expanding from it atop a black ground: the hexagons began to slowly rotate clockwise and the man looked towards Yuuichirou as if to signal all was alright.
"Experiment: start! Synchro Chip: Slot In!"
"Roger!"
The man drew a gray opened PET with no Navi inside with his right hand and held it out so that everyone could look into the screen: he then used the left hand to start lowering the "Synchro Chip" into the PET.
"Synchro Chip: Slot In!" He confirmed.
Two halves of a hexagon colored green formed on-screen and then fused: a circle of blinding white light began to form and grew past the size of the screen while producing four extensions aiming NE, NW, SE and SW at the same time: these extensions grew in number and the Navi in the capsule became data and disappeared to be transferred elsewhere.
"Wow…" Meiru and Chisao muttered.
Netto had a look of thrill to his face: he obviously was starting to feel cocky and like he wanted to try that out himself too.
"Cross Fusion!" The man exclaimed.
He let go of the PET as he spread his arms: the PET broke down into data too and slowly began to build up over the body while the man gasped and closed his eyes: bluish electricity was present in the air as the data slowly assembled: the man growled as from the effort.
This is the hard part…
The scientists calmly looked on: the data finally merged and drew the figure of the Navi over the man but it still was a mere silhouette, a bluish glow, nothing solid: it soon dimmed to reveal the Navi's full frame standing on the spot where the Operator had been at.
"Success!" Netto grinned.
"Hikari – hakase!" One scientist congratulated with a smile while the other two looked on.
"Hum!" Yuuichirou nodded in approval.
BEEP-BEEP-BEEP!
Hum! Trouble.
"Ah!" They gasped.
"Nugra~h!"
The Navi/human hybrid began to grumble in pain and his voice was transmitted outside through a speaker somewhere: he'd slightly crouched and looked like he was having some trouble.
"What's wrong?" Yuuichirou gasped.
"The subject's bodily abilities are quickly deteriorating!"
The hybrid clutched his head next and arched the body backwards before he fell to his knees: the youngsters gasped but Meijin was quiet: he'd apparently feared this outcome.
"Cross-Out!" Yuuichirou commanded.
"Yes, sir!"
The hybrid's body glowed with a blue glow and broke into raw data but that didn't alter that the Operator was suffering some kind of pain or seizure: the PET reformed and fell into the ground: its cover opened and it automatically ejected the "Synchro Chip" as the "Dimensional Area" quietly faded away: Yuuichirou and his aide rushed into the compound.
"Call the medical team!"
"Yes, sir!"
"You! Are you alright?" Yuuichirou asked as he crouched next to him and tended to him.
"I'm a-alright, sir… But I couldn't maintain… the Synchro with my Navi… Right after I managed to Synchro… My Navi went berserk… I couldn't control them…! My bodily strength didn't hold on!"
"The medical team will be here ASAP. Please take a decent rest."
"I am sorry, sir…!"
Yuuichirou eyed the ejected Synchro Chip: it had burnt marks as if to indicate it had malfunctioned.
Too bad. Close, close but even so…
The man with the coat sighed and stretched before looking again at the camera feed: the group had dispersed with Chisao and Rush trying to operate a vending machine: Chisao was lifting Rush and trying to reach for the button.
"How's it? Can ya reach?"
"Au~…"
"A~h!"
"Au~!"
"Wha~h!"
Chisao began to erratically move around because his balance was failing while ignoring the meeting room behind him: he did crash into the ground and both groaned.
"… It's a repeat of the preliminary experiments… Even he, chosen from a pool of tens of candidates … Ended up like that…" Yuuichirou muttered with a sigh of defeat while holding an empty plastic cup on his right hand and sitting.
"Papa! Let me and Rock Man do it next! Do "Cross Fusion"!" Netto asked of him while Meiru looked on.
"That's… No good!"
"Why?"
"… "Cross Fusion" is a bloodthirsty vampire… It steals an Operator's strength at a frightening rate… Too dangerous!"
"But Rock Man and I could…!"
Quit it, Netto – kun!
Rock Man… No. Saito – niisan…
Yeah. You remembered about that "Saito BAT" program Papa gave us before the world tour after the "N1 Grand Prix"… That's where Papa confessed the truth: that I was Saito, your big bro… And remember: this program allows us to have "mental" discussions by synchronizing our brain frequencies.
Yeah… Something reminded me of Saito – niisan during the first days but I kept on brushing it before you called me "otouto" back when you took in the attack of Pharaoh Man intended for Blues…
I know… It's been half a year already. But… Back to the topic. You saw that person: they surely had a very good health record but even so they collapsed and it didn't work. If a trained person found it that difficult, do you expect you, with zero training, to succeed?
Well… You've got a point… But I'd really like to try it! Think of it! We'd become one! You could be in the real world!
I already tried it out when the run-in with that Dream Virus in Jawaii…
The security alarms were triggered all of a sudden: Yuuichirou looked at the LCD screen installed in the wall across the room, which was displaying some messages.
"… "A First Level Alert"… "Virus Break into a Security Firewall"… "Virus Penetration"… Block 1's gate?"
"Viruses, sir!" An aide rushed in.
"What?"
"Someone's destroyed the Science Labs' firewalls and a large amount of Viruses has intruded!" The scientist reported.
Suddenly, though, the doors locked, surprising Chisao and Rush, who ended up locked on the outside.
"It closed, chu…" Chisao commented to Rush.
They came!
The newcomer scientist tried to type the code to open the doors while Netto and Meiru ran next to them.
"We're locked in the inside?" Netto wondered.
The newcomer kept on typing but a buzz sounded.
"No good, sir! It's not accepting the access key either!" The scientist reported with increasing frustration.
The Viruses must have blocked the access codes! Saito warned.
The fans of the ventilation system turned on in the meanwhile but they didn't notice yet.
"How does the B-pattern access key fare?" Yuuichirou asked.
"No good, sir!" The scientist replied.
"…"Air is discharged"… The air in the room…? It's being drained at a mad speed…! At this rate… This air in this room will be drained in 15 minutes…!" Yuuichirou read a new LCD screen display.
Netto and Meiru gasped while a horde of Viruses made it inside of the Science Labs' Cyber World.
"… It's no good! I can't control it all! At this rate… We only have about ten minutes before the air in the room drops to zero!" The scientist reported while typing into the main computer.
"It's our turn to shine, then!" Netto told Meiru.
Meiru nodded in agreement and Netto ran next to the scientist.
"Mister! Please open up that console for a bit! We'll enter this system and beat up the Viruses!" Netto requested.
"You two will…?" The scientist asked, looking slightly surprised.
"Let's go! Saito – niisan!"
"Yup! Netto – kun! Otouto!" Saito confirmed.
"Let's go! Plug In! Rock Man EXE, Transmission!"
"We'll go in as well, Roll! Plug In! Roll, Transmission!"
The two Navis eyed the multitude of Viruses inside of the system: they were everywhere.
"Eh? What's this? There's a huge amount of them! With this many… It's no wonder the controls have gone haywire!" Roll exclaimed upon seeing the whole area infested with various Viruses.
"We don't have time to sit idle! We gotta beat them to a pulp! Rock Buster!" Rock Man rallied.
"Heart Slash!"
Time for some Virus Busting, niisan!
Roger!
They started to fight them and they quickly got the upper hand: Rock Man shot some Mettool which hid under the hard-hats.
"They're not bad! In that case… Battle Chip, Aqua Sword! Slot In!"
Rock Man used the Aqua Sword's own attack to delete some of the Viruses.
"Well then! I'll do it as well! Battle Chip, Aqua Tower! Slot In!"
"Aqua Tower!"
The attack took out some more Viruses.
"Battle Chip, Black Hole! Slot In!"
"Black Hole!"
The black hole sucked several Viruses in at the same time thus clearing a large patch of the terrain.
And if I'm right, which I sure am, then… That guy will soon come!
"… There's not much air left…! You two! Are you alright?" Yuuichirou asked Netto and Meiru: they also looked like they were getting out of breath as well.
"Attack the ones on the right side, niisan! Do your best!"
"Roll! Go to the next area… Please hurry it up!"
"… No good! I can't access!"
Meijin had connected a PET II to the door's controls and was trying to open it up from the outside.
"It won't open? Chu?" Chisao asked.
"Let's try once more!" Meijin exclaimed.
Crap! I gotta hurry! Rock Man inwardly gasped.
Rock Man fired a Spread Gun to get rid of several more Viruses while Roll jumped to another level.
"Next is…" She muttered,
She spotted a red dragon-like Virus in front of her and she gasped.
"… Battle Chip, Geyser…"
Meiru suddenly lost balance and fell to the ground before she could finish.
"Meiru – chan!"
Yuuichirou picked her while the Virus shot vomited a steam of fire at Roll: the damage attained triggered her automatic "Log-Out" function.
"Roll – chan!"
Roll reappeared inside of Meiru's PET II with a sigh of relief.
"Saved…!"
Yuuichirou held Meiru who looked like she'd fainted.
"Are you alright? Meiru – chan?"
"… Yes… I'm alright…" Meiru slowly replied.
"Heck! Aqua Sword!" Netto hissed.
He transferred another Aqua Sword to Rock Man and he used it to dispose of the red dragon Virus.
Phew! Huh? Oh boy!
Rock Man looked ahead and spotted a large pack of Garuu Viruses in front of him.
"There's still so many of them…!" He cursed.
"Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh…" Someone chuckled close by.
"Who…?" He demanded.
The Garuu Viruses stepped aside to give way to a Net Navi.
This Net Navi was a "humanoid" model Net Navi yet he had a beastly appearance.
His head was colored in the same color: a reddish slide-shaped piece sprouted from the top of it: his eyes' irises were red with black pupils: his jaw's color was brown and he had no nose.
Two fangs formed from inside of the nose openings: the drawing on his ear-pads was three parallel scars aiming SE and set against a black background.
His orange-like hair came out from beneath the head and formed seven arched spikes which also extended downwards past the upper torso armor while forming six spikes: a reddish band surrounded the base of his neck.
His upper torso's armor was colored mud brown and had two fang-like drawings colored silver set over the sides of it.
His shoulders were orange spheroids with two red diamonds set over each one: his arms were missing the elbows and his forearms were larger than common: they were colored orange and the wrists ended in thick red circles having four small black rectangles drawn over it: three large claws and a shorter one sprouted from the ends of each one.
His hair also continued down his spine as well: his body until the hips was also colored black before the mud brown armor covered the legs and the feet started.
The knee segment was decorated with a reddish edge, a main black color, and the forward edges were colored orange: the black coloring continued until the base of the feet from where three claws emerged from: two round orange spots were placed near the ends of the legs.
"You're the one who sent the Viruses?" Rock Man guessed.
"… Correct! I'm the guy who sent these Viruses into the Science Labs: Beast Man!" The intruder announced.
"Beast Man?" Netto wondered.
"It's a type of Net Navi I hadn't seen before…" Yuuichirou muttered.
"… Why would you do such a thing? Stop it ASAP!"
"Looks like I can't do that…"
At this rate… The spot where Netto – kun is at will run out of air! Then…!
Rock Man tried using the Aqua Sword: the attack caught the Viruses off-guard thus deleting all of them at the same time yet Beast Man chuckled and looked unaffected.
"Ah!" Rock Man gasped in fear.
"What was that…?" He chuckled and sounded like it was no big deal.
"Rock Buster!"
Rock Man tried several Rock Buster shots, but they didn't even make a dent given how they all were deflected: the only thing he managed to do was to hit the floor and cause some dust.
"Futile, futile! Your attacks don't work… You Navis are mere humans' dolls!" Beast Man boasted as he drew his claws as if to signal he was going to attack.
"What?" He gasped.
Rock Man began to recoil while someone (a Net Navi) sitting in some stone armchair built atop a set of gray stone steps in a rather unlit spot, looked at a hexagon in the cybernetic purple-colored ground which displayed an overview of the battle: the Navi grinned.
"Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh…" They chuckled.
"The air in the room will run out… In another three minutes…!" The scientist reported.
"Niisan! We're running out of time! Settle it on one blow! Program Advance! Battle Chip, Cannon, Hi – Cannon, Mega Cannon, Slot In! Program Advance! Activate!" Netto commanded.
Beast Man abandoned his cocky attitude and looked panicked upon seeing the Zeta Cannon form on Rock Man's forearms.
"Zeta Cannon! GO!" Rock Man yelled.
The multiple blasts of the cannon hit Beast Man thus forcing him to retreat and causing an explosion.
"Muwra~h!"
The doors opened while the fans stopped: Meijin ran inside of the room while the LCD screen displayed the message "SYSTEM RECOVERY".
"Are you alright, guys?" He asked.
"Meijin! You opened the doors?"
"No… The key code suddenly returned…" Meijin admitted.
"We did it…"
Netto stopped leaning on the control table: he turned around and made the thumbs up gesture at the same time he close and eye and smiled: Meijin smiled as well.
"Heh!"
Phew! Close, too close!
The control system on the Cyber World returned to normal: Rock Man turned around, placed both closed hands on the sides of his torso and smiled as well.
Now…
"… Hmpf… Not bad… Yet… That savage went too far: their deaths weren't part of my scheme…"
An unidentified man wearing a black business suit with a black tie and black pants was sitting in a metallic black armchair within a room in an unidentified location: the room was rather unlit thus hiding his face yet some strands of blonde hair could be spotted.
Its decoration was peculiar too: some bizarre sculptures were placed at intervals on the sides of it along with some cylinders popping out of rock mounds: a large hill of what seemed to be raw rock had been erected on the far end of the room and two slightly curved stairs climbed up towards the spot of the armchair: four rectangular objects were aligned behind the armchair along with a handrail: the whole room was eerie and bizarre.
"In the name of my grand Master, "IQ – sama"… I shall spread terror and fear across the world… My name is "Yami"… Feel the despair!"
The man pressed a button in a row of three set in the armchair's right armrest which turned red.
A large orbital space station colored white and having two large solar energy panels along with engines, antennae and other structures surrounding its large body silently cruised along LEO: it looked big enough to hold persons yet there was no sign of habitation.
Three black cylinders aimed downwards from the lower part of the station's front: they all had hatches yet two of them were closed while open was open.
A four-stage white rocket with no markings and a very simplistic-looking design shot out while burning what seemed to be some new kind of fuel the exhaust of which was very hot as evidenced by the blue color of its burning: it dropped towards the Earth below and was aimed for Honshu, just barely visible under some clouds.
Something sparkled for an instant on the skies above the Science Labs and it grew in intensity as the rocket detached the larger stages and opened its main compartment to reveal four packed together devices identical to the ones the Science Labs used to form the experimental "Dimensional Area". Yet these ones included a white metallic needle protruding out of their lower ends and two short "wings" which looked like they could have their height adjusted: the cylinders hit the ground around the compound and deployed their "wings" to stabilize along with forming some dust on impact: the machines began to glow and hum.
They came! The 2nd phase… I knew it! "They" are on the move… The Coalition! The man in the coat gasped as he looked out of the building using another camera's feed.
The colored hexagons began to form in the air but this time they were fused together and they began to build up in the shape of a dome or bubble which completely surrounded the compound.
"A "Dimensional Area"…?"
"Wow! What's going now?"
Yuuichirou headed for the windows to look out, surprised, along with Netto: he frowned and didn't notice how the colors of the environment suddenly seemed to have gotten distorted or mixed at random creating a weird visual effect.
"But… That thing's still in the experimental stage… It isn't this completed… Just who…?"
"This is bad! It's encompassing the whole of the Science Labs… We seem to be trapped inside of the "Dimensional Area" this time around…! I don't know whose work this is… But it might prove to be very dangerous indeed…" Meijin muttered aloud.
"Hakase! Trouble, sir! Viruses have materialized within the Science Labs and are rampaging!" An assistant reported.
"What did you say?" Yuuichirou asked.
Spark Bee Viruses appeared and flew past them all of a sudden.
"Spark Bees!" Yuuchirou exclaimed.
"Look out! Run for it!" Meijin yelled.
They ran and closed two doors to block the advance of the Viruses, which resorted to attack the door from the other side: dents were forming on it and it was clear that it wouldn't hold them back for much longer.
"This is bad. We won't be able to hold our ground for too long!" Meijin cursed aloud.
"Netto!"
Meiru and Chisao ran towards him and joined him while looking scared and afraid.
"It was scary! Chu!" Chisao exclaimed.
"Meiru – chan and Chisao! You're O.K.!"
The door which was keeping the Spark Bees at bay seemed to be giving in.
"We're in trouble…" Meijin muttered.
He spotted a pack of Mettools on the other side of a glass wall.
"There's a lot of them!"
The Viruses were breaking everything on sight in other parts of the complex: the explosions echoed in the wing where Netto and the others currently were at too.
"Curses! At this rate… The Science Labs will be annihilated! If we don't do something about this "Dimensional Area"…!"
I know, my good gentlemen, yet… The moment of truth is forthcoming, gentlemen! Maybe it's a bit lame that I already know what'll happen but I want to check if when X day comes things will be different or not.
"… "Dimensional Area"…? True!"
Netto rushed to look at the lab and spotted the remaining 9 "Synchro Chips" aligned on their tray (one of them was no longer there because it had become burnt in the earlier experiment): he seemed to have had an idea.
Yes! Like that… Think! The solution is in front of your eyes!
"…A miraculous Chip which makes the fusion between Operator and Net Navi possible…The "Synchro Chip" which Hikari – hakase has developed!"
"… Let's do it, Saito – niisan." Netto turned serious and looked at the PET to speak with Rock Man.
"I don't mind. But, Netto – kun…"
"I've decided!"
"Where are you going to, Netto?"
"Downstairs! I'll do "Cross Fusion" and fight those guys!"
"What! Stop it, Netto! It isn't ready yet…!"
"Papa said it was dangerous, but… There's no other way around!" Netto muttered as he ran down the stairs.
DZING! CRASH!
"Oh!"
Netto spotted a Net Navi (in the real world) crouching in front of him which seemed to be the unidentified Net Navi which had been overseeing Rock Man's and Beast Man's battle a while ago and giving him the back: he stood up and chuckled.
There! One of the culprits…
"Heh, heh, heh, heh… Mwah, hah, hah, hah. I've gotten the "Synchro Chips"…"
This Net Navi had a vampire-like design and was over a meter and ninety in height.
His head was set inside of a neck-like formation with fangs protruding from their upper edge while pointing forward.
The interior of it was partly colored blood red: he had a cone-like object at the lower edge of his chin: the outer edge of the head was colored purple and two golden-colored bat-like ears formed at the sides of it.
His eyes' irises were red and menacing: he had a moustache-like pattern below his nose interrupted in the middle of it and left two straight lines aiming SW and SE towards the end of them: his mouth had fang-like teeth.
His main body color was purple and navy blue: he had an upper body colored purple which ended half-way around the torso: the rest of the body was colored navy blue.
His arms had a pattern resembling the Alphabet "F" character mirrored drawn on his forearms: his hands were claws, too, and had four claw-fingers on them colored pale white.
The upper body had two small round holes with a golden rim set to the edges of the torso and beneath the shoulders: two slightly curved golden-colored pieces were set above each shoulder: a small square piece was set at the base of the neck: it was colored black and had three vertical stripes drawn into it.
His round emblem was colored golden and had five pyramidal-like buttons emerging from its rim and aiming South, NW, NE, SW and SE: two golden lines formed at the sides of it and marked the border between the upper body and the rest of the body.
The drawing inside was two curved halves aiming for each other colored purple plus a small peak-like object on the middle of it.
The space between the three drawings was painted in blood red color.
His feet had three large finger-claws colored white on them and each of his legs had two white triangle-shaped patterns aiming upwards set around the knee.
He currently had picked 7 of the 9 "Synchro Chips" with the right claw and 2 fell into the ground: he didn't notice or maybe he didn't think it made any difference: he also didn't seem to have spotted Netto either and was more focused on his loot.
Sheesh. They came!
"Who the hell are you?" Netto demanded.
He tried to tackle the guy but he easily pushed him away by lazily hitting him with the right arm: Netto hit across the ground and his backpack fell off: he sat there while the Net Navi directed an amused glare at him.
"Trying to oppose bare-handed… You've got guts, brat. I'd like to face you but I'll settle it at this for today. Beast Man!"
"Shade Man – sama."
Beast Man materialized and kneeled behind his superior.
"You got beaten by Rock Man…!" Netto exclaimed as he managed to look up and form a grimace.
"Did you think that that level of power had defeated me?" Beast Man asked in an amused tone of voice.
"The rest is up to you. Destroy them!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Mwah, hah, hah, hah, hah! Mwah, hah, hah, ha~h!"
Shade Man hovered into the air and laughed in a maniacal way before he became raw data and vanished: Beast Man didn't waste a second and began to trash the equipment: Netto, still on the floor, formed a grimace and looked like he hated being powerless to stop the guy.
The answer is at hand!
He suddenly spotted and picked one of the two "Synchro Chips".
"Rock Man! Let's do it!"
"Yup, Netto – kun!"
"Synchro Chip! Slot In!"
The two halves of the hexagon (having three white dots drawing a second hexagon inside of them) fused.
"CROSS FUSION!" Both simultaneously exclaimed.
The release of energy and the blinding light got Beast Man's attention: he stopped his rampage to look.
"What in the…?"
A dome of energy began to grow: inside of it Netto saw how Rock Man's boots formed around his feet followed by the forearms which got stuck there as evidenced by the slight tugging of the shirt: the shoulder-plates appeared next followed by the backpack: the emblem assembled in mid-air and then got stuck in the middle of Netto's torso.
The bodysuit began to form as a mass of white energy shining with various colors at random yet it didn't seem to have the patterns Rock Man's bodysuit had.
The helmet formed next along with the ear-pads: two curved extensions materialized and spread along the surface of the helmet: a yellowish curve with a stick-shaped green-colored drawing below it formed on the forehead thus replacing Rock Man's usual drawing: a piece formed over the nose along with the face-mask: Netto's hair grew out from behind the helmet (on the lower rear edge) and spread in an orderly manner forming five small cones with spaces shaped like "V" characters in the in-between.
His chest emblem glowed and formed new patterns across the bodysuit: blue color bands were set in a group of three on his legs below the hips and above the knees: a pattern had been drawn around the chest emblem.
He formed a "victorious" pose just as the light began to dim and the others looked on from the upper floor.
"Netto became Rock Man…!"
"Netto and Rock Man… Became one? Chu?"
The final design differences included two small inverted yellow trapezes on the boots surrounded by a blue edge travelling around it and forming a curve around the boots which repeated on his forearms.
Bravo! You did it, Mr. Hikari Jr.!
Netto looked at his new form with awe.
"Wow! I've become Rock Man!"
"Success, Netto – kun!"
"We've… performed "Cross Fusion"!"
"You lowlife surprised me: who'd said you had such an ability! But… Can you defeat me?" Beast Man boasted: he displayed surprise at first but then got cocky.
Beast Man tackled him: Netto got ready and blocked just in time, although the force did propel him towards the east wall, causing a cloud of dust.
"Netto!"
Both of them jumped upwards and some debris fell into the room from the ceiling: they ended up on the main building's roof where they had a short face-off before resuming.
Fight! Fight!
When Beast Man tried to hit him with his claws, "Cross Fusion Netto" ducked and he grabbed the whole right forearm, applied pressure to it, thus breaking all of the claws.
"Huh! What!"
"Battle Chip…!" He began as he spread the arms.
"No good! Otouto! There are no Chips inside of the PET!"
"T-true… In that case…! Rock Buster!"
He took out the Rock Buster and Beast Man assumed a defensive pose for a second, but immediately abandoned it, smiling.
"Hmpf. Have you forgotten? That weapon doesn't affect…!"
"Charge Shot!"
The attack propelled him backwards from the recoil and made Beast Man fly across the roof thus causing another cloud of dust.
"Did you learn your lesson, you savage? Those two are my Master's favorites…" The man naming himself "Yami" muttered as he apparently monitored the fight.
Beast Man had lost his whole right arm and elbow and gained a large wound on the right side of his body.
"I-Impossible…"
"… Wow! The Rock Buster is acting completely different…!"
"Cross Fusion Netto" had been pushed back by the attack's recoil and had ended up sitting on the ground while still having the Rock Buster out and aiming it towards the sky.
"Its destructive power output increases while in "Cross Fusion" with you, otouto!" Saito added.
"Why, you…! I'll remember this!"
Beast Man became raw data and fled the scene.
"We won… Huh?"
"Cross Fusion Netto" removed the face-guard and looked surprised as he somehow stood up: the "Dimensional Area" began to fade and Netto sighed in relief.
"T-thank goodness… Huff…"
The "Cross Fusion" reverted and he fell to the ground: the PET hit the floor and ejected the "Synchro Chip", which was intact.
"Netto – kun! Otouto! Are you okay? Answer me! Otouto!" Saito pleaded while increasing his voice's volume.
Netto did not stir or react.
"OTOUTO~!" Saito yelled into the air.
He heard rushed footsteps and one of the emergency staircases' doors opened: Yuuichirou, Meijin and the others rushed out and Yuuichirou tended to Netto: he shook him.
"Netto! Netto! Wake up!"
"Papa! What happened to otouto?" Saito asked.
"Just what I told you what would end up happening: he's run out of physical strength!" He sighed.
"But… Hakase! They did it! At their very first try!" Meijin was thrilled and looked baffled.
"True…! They succeeded…! But, anyway… I'll bring Netto home. I guess that some rest will do fine. You, Rock Man, will stay here with me… I gotta make sure you weren't affected by the experience either." Yuuichirou decided as he lifted the unconscious Netto.
"And we should start rebuilding, too… Just who did all of this?" Meijin muttered.
The "Coalition"! What brutes! What savages! Hard to believe the mastermind is a renowned scientist who is supposed to help civilization improve and advance…! The man inwardly grumbled.
"… I don't know… But they're someone very dangerous."
"Maybe they want to stop us from developing "Dimensional Areas" too?"
"Could be. Someone might want to monopolize them…"
Heck. I won't forgive the culprit who did all of this…!