A/N: A new story! ...I blame all the random ideas I get. Anyway, I read the manga and watched the anime 'Made In Abyss', then I thought...Why not make a fanfiction involving a slight insert/crossover of a character from a different show?
This character belongs to Mega Man Battle Network. For those who aren't familiar with it, let me just state darkloids can also be netnavies(the core species), which are the primal beings in the 'net' in Battle Network. I'm afraid if you want more info, you might want to look it up unless the character here explains it.
Which is unlikely. Anyhow, enjoy. (I might add this to the crossover section...Soon.)
Dark Rockman always thought he had the worst luck, especially when he was stabbed through the chest. He recalls the pain and statements running through his head as his body slowly dissolved into particles. Each tiny cube of his very being halved and halved until he became what he was, nothing. The netnavi should've expected the sudden attack leading to his delation. His actions were quite risky after all. He preferred to do things on his own. Recklessness without anyone to aid you will usually create disastrous results. Despite this, the darkloid felt prepared for anything thrown his way.
"What a fine specimen you are." A creepy black hand rubbed his facial cheek.
...But he never would've expected to end up in a situation as crazy as this one.
First of all, who's this clown? Suddenly making a 'Villain Monologue' when Dark Rockman awoke...How annoying. He was in a bad mood, damn it, and this creep wasn't helping. The navi bared his teeth, irritated by the hand basically violating his personal space. He twitched, but that only further amused his captor by how the other hummed.
Ugh, quit touching him you pervert!
Yet, the netnavi couldn't fight back. He couldn't, with the many metal straps holding him down. His limbs proved futile in moving more than an inch, and Dark Rockman was growing increasingly hostile from the treatment.
"What beautiful armor...What kind of relics created it, I wonder?"
I'm going to kill you, Dark Rockman internally hissed, murderous hues staring directly at a face covered by a helmet(mask?) of some sorts. When I get out of this; I'm going to kill you…! The humiliation was being tattooed into his back.
"That's a great face." His captor cooed. "I didn't think a robot could look so angry. Tell me; what else are you thinking, Robot-kun?" The question shot a wave of bubbling hot lava into the netnavi's stomach, and as a result, his arm moved to punch the masked idiot. Unfortunately, the metal still wouldn't budge.
"Now...How about we go under some tests? I'm sure you'll find it as interesting as I." That mask-wearing creep stared directly into the darkloid's face. Dread crept down his spine. Ruby eyes looked over to the table beside them, noting the horror tools just like in movies and other pointless video games for jump scares. This was the classic scene of a mad scientist vs the victim.
This can't be happening… A single thought whispered out in a rush as the man picked up a springe and hammer. How am I supposed to get out of these? It has only been about twenty minutes; is he really going to die again, just like that? Pathetic. Useless. Why can't he ever do something right?
His thought processor paused as something sharp pricked his cheek. The netnavi grimaced on contact, soon glaring daggers again at the masked man with one faintly glowing line down his creepy face. "Hm. I guess your skin is too hard for a normal needle to fully pierce through." The darkloid didn't reply as his captor hummed. "That's quite alright. I suppose we'll just try something else. Shall we?" The rhetorical questions were beginning to grate on the netnavi's nerves. "Let's see…"
Dark Rockman barely had time to think a second longer as searing pain flashed in his hand. A choked cry left his lips as a light tink resounded not too far from his body.
"Incredible! Even your fingers have inner metal circuits, Robot-kun!"
The room of torture was quiet. There were no more sounds of sawing, slams or glitched cries.
He left. Dark Rockman sluggishly glanced up, noting the quiet room as the soft whirl of a fan reached his ears. The sound came from his very chest, but the netnavi was in too much pain to properly notice. That ugly dickhead is finally gone. Even if only for a few minutes. Dark Rockman was exhausted, he could barely think through the many wounds sustained from his time with the maniac prior. After everything, the sick bastard fixed him.
He fucking fixed him. Reattached the fingers and arm he forcibly removed. Netnavies didn't have metal wires or circuits. The netnavi actually became a robot, hence the idiotic nickname of 'Robot-kun.' It was stupid, bothersome and Dark Rockman wanted to shove the title down the man's throat as painful as possible.
...Who knows how long it'll be until the mad scientist comes back? Ten minutes? Twenty? In the next ten seconds?
Get moving. Dark Rockman told himself through his exhaustion, legs twitching. Once again; he hardly got anywhere with his movement and the netnavi snarled at the ground in the dimly lit room. I won't stay here and get dissected any longer! His weakened struggles became a lot more reckless, and the netnavi willed himself some type of weapon.
This place obviously wasn't the net, but…
Clunk.
One of the metal straps broke off. A warm wave of relief flashed across his eyes as he studied his familiar weapon on his freed hand. ...What is this? The blaster looked like normal, but the differences were there. The weapon looked like it had more darkened armor than the norm, matching his own armored body. Is this one of the perks to his new structure?
Whatever. The darkloid decided this didn't matter, even if he was a little pissed this didn't happen earlier. I just want out of here. He aimed the weapon at his other held-down limb and smashed it against the metal. The material holding him down gave away easily, but Dark Rockman wasn't done. He had a tiny bit of extra time, and he could use it to focus on the goal at hand.
The darkloid continued until the entire table was nothing but crumpled metal.
Now decently calm, Dark Rockman scouted the room for a map(he couldn't find one…) and after pushing the door open, bolted into the halls of some kind of base.
The mad scientist has his own base, how fun. The darkloid internally cursed as he came across a sealed-off staircase. He observed the frail tape before taking a quick look upstairs without physically going up. The aura above the seemingly harmless stairs held an ominous aura Dark Rockman knew not to ignore.
He clicked his tongue in annoyance but without much to go off on; this was one of the better choices.
Footsteps lightly resounded down the hall closest to him.
Wary, the netnavi leaped over the tape and dashed up the stairs as quietly as possible to avoid detection. He grit his teeth as he reached the top, glancing around the newly revealed darkened halls before growing frustrated. The lights briefly flickered as Dark Rockman stealthily walked by. That's it! He aimed his blaster at the nearby wall and prepared to fire. I'm making an exit myself! As he refused to be toyed around with further. The weapon released its sphere of destruction, and the netnavi found himself fascinated at the large hole it created in the base's material.
Seconds later, an alarm blared.
Oops, that was too much noise, wasn't it? He twitched, viewing the flash of red lights before his features stretched in glee at his new current thoughts.
...There's no room for making a stealthy escape while he knew nothing of this place. Infiltration was never a good thing if you didn't have a map. Usually, he had no trouble with retrieving a blueprint of an area, but this was obviously not the net. Never has Dark Rockman ever bled oil or faced someone who could bleed the familiar life-substance of blood if hit hard enough.
A darn shame he barely got the chance on the masked creep.
With a grin, Dark Rockman fired several more shots into the damage. He recklessly jumped through the broken parts of the base. The netnavi heard several footsteps and shouts coming after him but the netnavi had already indulged himself in the destruction he created. They wouldn't be able to maneuver their way fast enough in the rubble unless they wanted to risk being badly cut from the area's sharp metal. Finally, the last layer of wall caved(hm? Was there some type of invisible wall blocking him moments ago?), and light finally touched his weapon.
Dark Rockman took his first few steps in the outside world, amazed by the near barren wasteland he'd been introduced to.
It reminded him of the odd places in the Undernet, although this area resembled the arctic, or somewhere that was extremely icy.
"Beautiful, isn't it? This area." Familiar, annoying and creepy all in one.
The netnavi leaped forward, sliding on his overly smooth feet, eyes trained on the one who somehow made it to his location. Dark Rockman turned the blaster toward the tall man (Eh? He looks slightly different…) without hesitation. No words were further given, and the atmosphere was rather quiet and full of landmines. The darkloid gained a larger grin as the thoughts of ripping his bastard apart were becoming closer and closer to reality.
Dark Rockman practically circled the other, head down but weapon still and carefully aimed. The masked human said nothing and didn't move despite the pressure of incoming battle crushing both of their shoulders. The netnavi finally sneered at the silent other. "I guess. ...Who cares about that?" There are more important matters to see. "You came here for a reason. Trying to stop me?" Go ahead and attempt.
"Well, Robot-kun," The man began, likely unaware how Dark Rockman twitched at the name. He smoothly continued. "Your escape was certainly unique in itself, but rather unnecessary."
The netnavi didn't voice this, but he honestly doesn't give a damn.
"You're a unique anomaly that hasn't been seen in the Abyss in a long time." A chill followed the creep's words as an unknown weapon was revealed in his hand. Seconds pass and the same deadly weapon gained a familiar glint from back in the room of suffocation and pain. "I can't simply let you go. It'd be a shame, don't you think?" That was a confirmation for a fight. There was no way out of this aside from beating this man to a bloody pulp, lethal weapon and all.
Dark Rockman refused to flinch. His blaster continued to gather energy as time stretched on, providing a line of comfort for the netnavi.
...In fact, he always liked a challenge.
The darkloid leapt forward like a cat, swinging his weapon without firing. As the masked creep performed a quick jump backward, Dark Rockman quietly swore from his lack of weapons. A blade would be useful in this circumstance. Before the netnavi could fire properly, he was slammed into the ground, which was very much not soft at all. There was a flash from his blaster but the lack of roar from impact indicated a complete miss. Not even a second passed before he found himself in the air, soon rolling across the unforgiving surface when he crashed back down.
Dark Rockman twitched and dug his fingers into the ground, wincing as the recoil of his own body weight seemed to fight against the gravity pulling him. He finally slowed before falling off the nearby cliff. The darkness below looked bottomless. There was no time to waste, and the netnavi forcefully dragged himself away from the edge and attempted to stand back up under the still-air and odd surface.
Fighting in unknown conditions was ridiculously tiring.
A glint in the corner of his vision served as a warning and Dark Rockman used an arm to shield himself from the incoming weapon. It stabbed into his unwarmed limb and the netnavi bit back a hiss at the sudden flare of pain. Regardless, he raised his blaster again and fired without a moment's pause. This time the blast came in contact with the target and the darkloid didn't relent. He fired several more times before yanking his pained arm away from the harmful weapon.
The masked creep had holes in his body and proceeded to fall to the ground in a sluggishly slump. The netnavi didn't allow this and swiftly kicked him down instead. Ruby eyes practically gleaming, the atmosphere around the last one standing gained a spike of victory. One of his feet immediately stomped on the masked man's face, but unfortunately, the mask didn't snap. Dark Rockman hummed and increased pressure. The masked man was still alive, though barely.
"So. Where's the closest entrance to this place?" Dark Rockman practically purred, steadily placing more and more weight on the fragile head beneath his feet. The other should be grateful, this was mercy compared to what the jackass did to him. "I'm giving you ten seconds. One…" He was already in a foul mood. This mad scientist better has answers he liked or he's going to throw a fit.
And that very fit of toxic rage will not stop until this place is nothing but ashes. He'll make damn sure of that.
Before he reached seven, the netnavi noticed a piece of paper sticking out the damaged man's pocket. Wordlessly, Dark Rockman snatched the loose sheet.
Oh! A grin of mirth grew on his face as he read the simple piece of paper over. Pictures and numbers represented the area and others. I found a map. A bit burnt from his attacks, but nothing too bad. "So you had a map anyway! What did I do to gain such a fancy reward?" Dark Rockman remained with his Cheshire smile, glancing down at the one under his foot.
"Data...Of course." The creep bothered to answer the rhetorical question. Voice low and muffled under the netnavi's feet, the idiot continued to speak with his annoying polite tone. "This has been...A valuable experience. I will remember it well, Robot-kun." The one was one of praise and admiration. "I must thank you." This time the words came out close to a pained rasp.
"Ohh?" The darkloid hummed.
Dark Rockman then crushed the other's head mercilessly. He took the take to the joy in the sound of crushing a skull. Ah, good memories and fresh juice from retaliation. Dark Rockman knew this minor act of revenge wouldn't help his mental health in a long run, but for now; the netnavi felt satisfied with the gore under his feet and the final silence aside from the harsh conditions of the arid area. Huh, it felt a little different from deleting regular navies. Likely because the body wasn't disappearing as if it never existed in the first place.
Dark Rockman turned away from the corpse below, observing the barren wasteland in front of him. He would have to be very careful of any holes akin to the cliff by this area. There would be a ton of trouble climbing that. Seconds later, the map was flexed out in his hands. He took a moment to smooth out the paper, burned pieces and all. The netnavi then used a finger and registered he was somewhere in the lower layers of the fifth, close to the sixth. Apparently, there were around eight layers.
I don't know how this entire world works, but I'll just make my way up. Such an action was the best guess, as he could tell there was some type of civilization on the surface. ...There better be, or he'll be severely disappointed. This was an excellent chance to see human civilization first hand and not through the net. Dark Rockman isn't picky, even with this metallic-like body; the netnavi was confident in blending in and gaining information from the other race. Everything may be...A bit different(including himself but only in appearance wise), but he can handle whatever this odd world throws at him.
Dark Rock turned back to the lifeless man. Staring too long gave him a slight migraine for bad memories of what had conspired hours ago. He kicked the body a few feet away for the fun of it and pocketed the map in a metal compartment. Eyes now set in determination; the netnavi-turned-robot made his first steps forward in this new place. No one would be able to stop him. Not that masked creep, nor any alien or any other creature who dared to challenge the darkloid.
The first goal of this...New chance; he'll scale this pit to the top. Information was seriously needed before he did anything reckless. Until then, Dark Rockman was on his own in terms of knowledge and survival. Thankfully this wasn't much different from past experiences, and he adopted an expression of indifference as he shrugged.
I'll roll with it.
And thus, the robot's adventure had commenced.
