Vadous' Revelation
By Zoram Selrof
Chapter 1: Showdown
17:44 PM (Japan Time), Wednesday August the 1st, 2009…
"… Guo~h!"
"… Huff… Huff… We… did it…!"
Rock Man EXE dropped to his knees inside of the Cyber World and panted: Freeze Man EXE, standing in front of him, was being slowly deleted and roaring in agony: soon nothing but raw data was left and cleared the way towards a program hovering some centimeters above the ground of a small square.
"Rock Man! Are you alright?" Hikari Netto called out.
"W-well… S-somehow, Netto – kun… Having to battle those 3 guys in a row was… painful, even…" He muttered between pants.
"Sub Chip, Full Energy! Slot In!" Netto announced.
Rock Man's body glowed with a pink-colored halo for some seconds before he managed to stand up and stretch.
"Thanks, Netto – kun! I feel more energetic by now." Rock Man sounded relieved.
"O. K.! We can now get rid of the EM waves control program. Then we should be able to open that locked door next to me which was overloaded with EM waves." Netto instructed.
"Roger!"
"Ah… And we should h-hurry… I have trouble even to stand…" Netto muttered.
"No wonder…! The radiation is getting close to 50,000 times the normal ratio and it'll overload your protective suit! Let's hurry! Charge Shot!"
The program detonated and both sighed in relief: Netto pressed the "Plug Out" button on his PET and Rock Man returned inside of the PET: Netto then headed towards the door and closed his left hand around the doorknob while gulping.
"The last room…!" He muttered.
"Wait a minute, Netto – kun! We should organize our Chip Folder before going and decide which Style Change we use for the upcoming battles: it could prove decisive." Rock Man called out.
"Well. Yeah. True. I don't wanna be in a pinch when I need them… Let's see… Let's pack two Program Advances… Quick Gauge… Full Custom… Plently of swords… Ojiouzan can come in handy… And the current Heat Guts V3 Style Change is fine: its long flamethrower range can come in handy!" Netto muttered as he rummaged into his pockets.
"Good. When you feel ready then let's go inside." Rock Man nodded in agreement.
"Rock Man… No. Saito – niisan. We'll fight at our full power. We'll do whatever it takes to stop these guys. I know Papa told us it was a very dangerous and maybe deadly battle, but… We're the only ones who can come this far." Netto told him.
"… Netto – kun. You're growing." Saito smiled at him.
"When this is over… Let's try to make our bond stronger. Deal?" Netto suggested.
"Deal. Now… Let's go for it!" Saito rallied.
"Yeah! I'm gonna have a good curry dish today for supper!" Netto looked ready to tackle on anything.
"You little glutton…" Saito giggled.
"Heh, heh! I devour it all." Netto made a broad grin.
"You sure do. Go!" Saito rallied.
"Yessir!"
Netto opened the door and walked into a new room from the small entrance corridor: its floor was filled with green tiles which varied in color while active servers of all sizes filled the length of the walls: Netto stopped after having walked some steps inside and looked around him with obvious awe.
"What the heck is this…?" He wondered.
"What a huge amount of servers…!" Rock Man muttered.
"Welcome to my Gospel's Main Server Room!" A voice called out.
Netto dared to walk forward after gasping and stopped in front of a metallic desk with two LCD screens, two keyboards and a control console set on top of it: someone was standing a little distance from it and facing a large LCD screen with speakers built on the far wall displaying of graphs.
The man standing in front of the screen had green/white hair which ended in purple rectangular pieces and reached all the way to the floor: he looked about a meter and eighty tall, more or less.
His hands were also white pallid and resting next to his body while pointing downwards.
He wore a simple black tunic with red-colored bordering which ended around the ankles thus allowing one to see his bare pallid feet.
"You've finally come…" The man announced.
He turned around to reveal his face: most of it was covered by the hair and only his right eye was visible: its iris was colored red.
The tunic had the Gospel logo stamped on the torso just below the neck: it was open around the height of the knees thus creating a triangle-shaped opening.
"Heh, heh! We finally meet… You're Gospel's Boss, then?" Netto grinned at him.
"Hmpf… True, Hikari Netto… The Net Mafia "Gospel" is my property…" He confirmed.
"Huh? How do you know about me?" Netto asked.
"By using Gospel's Network… There's nothing I can't know. Just by looking at this monitor… I can obtain all information in the world. And… I can always issue orders throughout the world from here."
"Because of that… Because of you… Many persons have been dragged into these incidents and have suffered!" Netto told him.
"I don't need to know the details. I issue orders from here but I just don't stain my hands in the dirt…" He sounded unimpressed.
"Have you tried to speak even once to talk to those persons who suffer?"
"Even if I did that… What would that cause? People just draw out their own façade when interacting with others and conceal their true selves. The info I can gather from here is more than enough for me. True… "Reality" is not that big of a deal, anyway!" He shot back.
"Wrong! That's mistaken!" Netto countered.
"Well then. What are you trying to say? I've already acquired the "Ultimate Navi"… I'll become the world's ruler!" He exclaimed.
He took one step forward but his pose didn't change.
"How is it, Hikari Netto? Aren't you interested in pairing with me, in joining Gospel? Combining my "Ultimate Navi" and your Rock Man… We can do whatever you want to the world between both them!"
"You can pick that invitation… And eat it up! I… came here to make mincemeat of your ambition!" Netto told him.
"You want to battle the "Ultimate Navi", so as to speak… What a pity, Hikari Netto… You're the same as those fools… In the part that you can't grasp the ideals of my Gospel." Gospel calmly muttered.
"You're the real fool! Rock Man!" Netto announced.
"Yeah! No matter what this "Ultimate Navi" is or does… I don't plan on losing to a Navi intended on bringing sorrow to the world! Netto – kun! Please Plug – In!"
"Let's go in with a yell! Plug In! Rock Man EXE, Transmission!"
He took out his PET's Plug-In wire and connected it to the control console: Rock Man then entered the system.
"Let's go!" Netto grinned.
Gospel seemed to ignore Netto and kept on glancing at something on his desk out of sight apparently deciding something.
"The Viruses here are no big deal." Rock Man reported.
"Good!" Netto looked animated.
Rock Man crossed through a small square and suddenly stopped when he'd almost stepped through it.
"Huh?" He wondered aloud.
Guts Man, Glyde and Roll appeared behind him in a row and he turned to greet them.
"You guys! You did come!" Rock Man greeted.
None of them replied or moved: the air seemed to chill out and Rock Man began to feel nervous.
"Roll – chan? Guys?" Rock Man frowned.
Guts Man swung his left fist and pushed Rock Man into the ground.
"Gah!"
Rock Man stood up and walked over to him again.
"Guts Man! What are you doing?" He asked.
"Wait, Rock Man! Their appearance looks weird!" Netto called out.
"Heh, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah! You finally noticed! These guys are some weak Navis which I stole from a bunch of children who intruded a little while ago! However, I did a little customizing to have them attack Rock Man EXE! What's wrong? Can't you and your so-prideful Rock Man EXE delete these guys?" Gospel laughed.
"That's cowardly!" Netto growled.
"Delete them… I can't do that!" Rock Man muttered.
"Heh, heh, heh… Friendship, huh…? Jeez. What a fool. Well then… Let's go! No holding back! Roll! Delete Rock Man!" Gospel ordered.
"Yes, sir… I shall delete Rock Man EXE…" Roll announced like she was an automaton.
"Roll – chan! It's me! Rock! Can't you really realize it?" Rock Man called out with a hint of fear.
Roll began to whip him with her antennae and he automatically assumed a defensive pose.
"Grah! At this rate…" He cursed.
"… Rock Man! Counterstrike…! Damn! Can't do it…? What should we do…?" Netto cursed.
"… Netto – kun… No good… Limit…!" Rock Man muttered with obvious fear on his voice.
"Hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah! Is that you guys' so-precious "friendship"? What cold guys! I didn't even need to bring out the "Ultimate Navi"!" Gospel laughed.
Suddenly, though, an attack came in from the right and hit Roll: she was deleted.
"Roll – cha~n! Horrible! Who…?" Rock Man gasped and sounded terrified at the sight.
"… Hey there! Rock! Can't you tell the difference between me and a fake, after all?" Roll suddenly called out from elsewhere.
Rock Man looked around, and, suddenly, a second Guts Man attacked the first from behind while a second Glyde flew across the space where the first had been at: both were deleted: the real Guts Man remained in the middle, Glyde hovered down from above and Roll flew in from the right before landing to Guts Man's left.
"You guys! Roll – chan! What… does this mean?" Rock Man asked in a confused manner.
"Truth is… When we intruded the mansion a while ago… It would seem our data was copied." Glyde admitted.
"Sorry, Rock… You got into a tight spot because of that."
"I won't be unmoved by such a thing! Besides… You guys came to help out!" Rock Man replied.
"But I'd really wish you knew how to tell me and a fake apart…" Roll insisted.
"Eh… Sorry." Rock Man apologized.
"If that happened again… Then Rock would end up being deleted, you know!" Roll muttered.
"That's not the case…" Rock Man protested.
"Hah, hah, hah, hah, hah… So… Does this mean…?" Netto let out some uneasy laughter.
"Netto! We came as well!" Sakurai Meiru called out.
"Meiru!"
"We're rather late!" Ooyama Dekao admitted.
"Dekao! Yaito too!"
"Cha guys… Ya knew it was dangerous and all… Cha can't be left unchecked, see!" Ayanokouji Yaito sounded annoyed.
"Thanks! Guys! How's this? This is our friendship power!" Netto shot at Gospel.
"Heh, heh, heh. Interesting. But… How's this one like?" He challenged back.
Blues suddenly appeared in the middle of the square and hit the three Navis with just one attack: they suffered major damage.
"Kya~h!" Roll shrieked.
They collapsed on the ground face-up.
"Gru~h…!" Glyde groaned.
"Roll – chan! Everyone!" Rock Man gasped.
"How's this? Is this your everyday well-done copy?" Gospel taunted.
"Rock Man! Can you go for it?" Netto asked.
"… I've gotten some damage, but… I… won't forgive… Those who hurt others… Gruh…!"
"… Shit! I thought as much: you took a lot in back then!" Netto cursed.
"… Attack target: Rock Man EXE. Estimated deletion time… 5 seconds. Execute program!" Blues automatically announced.
Blues moved forward, but, suddenly, a new Blues dashed in from the right and inflicted major damage to the first one: it was soon deleted as well while Blues kept his left sword arm up.
"Blues reporting! I won't tolerate the existance of those who shun my name!" He reported.
"Blues!" Rock Man gasped in relief.
Ijuuin Enzan made his entrance into the room while looking unimpressed at the scene: Gospel seemed surprised.
"You… The Official's Ace Net Battler: Ijuuin Enzan…? What the hell is the overseas troop unit doing?" He questioned.
"Hmpf. If you mean those guys … They gotta be napping by now… Not like they were any big deal, anyway." Enzan made a shrug.
"Che!" Gospel muttered.
"Enzan! You helped us out!" Netto told him.
"There's no need to thank me for that. I've come to… I've come to return back that favor in Ameroupe." Enzan replied by giving him the back.
"Roger! We'll settle it at there! But, even so… Thank you!"
"Hum. You guys! Don't lower the guard!"
The servers suddenly shook and the atmosphere's colors and lighting seemed to change: the humming and heat rose up as well: everyone looked around in a panicked manner.
"Kyah!" Meiru shrieked.
"What the heck is going on? It looks dire!" Netto cursed.
"Heh, heh, heh, heh… Hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah"
"What's so funny?" Netto demanded.
"Who'd said you guys would come this far! But it's too late by now! The "Bug Fusion" was completed right now! The only thing left is to click this button and engage the "Ultimate Navi"! The "Ultimate Navi"… Its name is… "Forte"…!" Gospel exclaimed.
"What did you say…?" Enzan gasped and seemed to recognize the name from somewhere.
"Oho. As expected from an Official… You know about "Forte", it'd rather seem..." He sounded curious.
"Enzan? What the heck is that "Forte"…?" Netto asked with obvious surprise at Enzan's gasp.
"It can absorb Chip Data and activate it anytime it wants to… A totally unrivaled Navi, so as to say… I'd never thought it was real…" Enzan explained.
"We Gospel's "Forte Project"… However… It doesn't simply serve to create Forte per se. I've finally managed to breed an infinite number of Fortes! By associating those countless Fortes… I'll rule the whole world's Network instantly! If I do that then… The whole world's military power and money will… be mine. I'll become the Earth's King! With that… The "Forte Project" will have become a total success!" Gospel explained next.
"We won't let you do that… at all! Rock Man!"
"Yeah… The opponent is a totally unrivaled Navi… Even if I can't win… I won't lose! I'm ready!"
"Do you think I'll ever let you delete Rock Man during my Operation? We'll delete Forte!" Netto exclaimed.
"Yeah! Gotcha!"
Rock Man moved forward and deleted all Viruses on his path: he finally reached the deepest point in the Cyber World where he found Forte hovering above a platform.
Most of his body was concealed by a worn out brownish cloak which covered up to his nose: his eyes' irises were blood red and looked calm.
His helmet had two fin-shaped segments colored orange above the ear pads: his white and orange boots could be seen, too, where the cloak ended.
An azure-colored star-shaped jewel was set on his forehead.
Overall, he looked about a meter and sixty tall give or take: his body glowed with an intermittent blue light.
"Netto – kun…" Rock Man called out.
"Yeah. We've finally come this far…" Netto muttered.
"This is… The "Ultimate Navi"… Forte…"
Rock Man stepped forward: Forte did not speak nor move from his current position.
He gives off a sinister vibe…!
"Well then… Forte! Start the project and make the world become mine! So as to start with something… Delete the Navi in front of your eyes!" Gospel commanded.
"… Got it… If it's a battle, then… Leave it up to me." Forte calmly muttered as his body flashed.
"It looks like he's awakened… Rock Man!"
"Yeah! I'm ready anytime!"
"OK! Then… Let's go! Battle Operation, Set!"
"In!"
Rock Man and Forte assumed battle poses: Forte hovered without moving as Netto quickly picked the Battle Chips.
"… OK! Battle Chip, Invisible 3, Blues V3, Full Custom! Triple Slot In!" Netto announced.
Rock Man turned invisible and used the Blues V3: a copy of Blues appeared and quickly hit Forte, stunning him for a second: Rock Man tied the Full Custom in to end his turn.
"Too easy… Next is… Battle Chip, Fumikomizan! Triple Slot In!"
"Air Burst!"
Rock Man dodged a green sphere of energy travelling in a straight direction and charged up his Rock Buster.
"Eat this!"
The flames stunned Forte and Rock Man quickly moved around.
"Air Burst!"
"Fumikomizan!"
Rock Man quickly jumped into Forte's area and slashed: he backed up and repeated the process twice without giving Forte any breaks.
"Still too easy… Battle Chip, Blues V3, Full Custom! Double Slot In!"
"Let's go~!" Rock Man exclaimed.
Blues' attack prevented Forte from attacking but he recovered sooner and charged up energy on his right arm.
"Hell's Buster!"
Several shots began to rain down in a pattern.
"Huh! Gotta dodge!"
Rock Man predicted most of them and could dodge them: other did get to hit him but he didn't mind it.
"Battle Chip, Roll V3! Slot In!"
"Charge Shot!"
"Hell's Buster!"
Rock Man paid no heed to Forte's attacks and hit him with his flamethrower: he waited for Forte to recover while he assumed a pose to quickly jump forward if needed.
"Roll V3!"
Roll's data appeared and she whipped Forte with her head's antennae: Rock Man healed while Forte groaned and was deleted.
"Whoa. We didn't even sweat!" Netto muttered.
"Too easy, even." Rock Man muttered.
"Che! The "Bug Fusion" wasn't complete, then! Like I thought… I've gotta increase the server power!" Gospel growled.
"Oi! I dunno if that was the "Ultimate Navi", but I deleted it! Stop this whole story already!" Netto told him.
"What the… Getting bossy all of sudden? I though as much: you're making a baka out of me, too!" Gospel sounded annoyed.
"… What are you saying? No – one's doing that at…"
"Shaddup! I won't be fooled by whatever you say at me…! For the time being… I've just gotta increase the server power! Look on!"
He suddenly began typing into both keyboards at the same time going at a mad speed: the servers began to whine and frizzled.
"Server power: 100%! Guh…!"
His body was suddenly surrounded by static electricity.
"Hurts! It itches somewhat!" Yaito yelled.
"O~w! I feel the same!" Dekao yelped.
"Netto – kun! The EM radiation has gone over the 50,000 times spot! It's getting dangerous!"
"Oi! Stop it! If you keep on increasing the server power… Then it'll become dangerous!"
"Shaddup! Don't order me!" Gospel growled back.
"It ain't an "order"! Even you are in danger! Can't you get that?" Netto grumbled.
"Shut… up…!" Gospel muttered aloud.
"Why… Why don't you get it? Guys! Enzan! It's too dangerous if you don't have protective suits! Go outside!"
"… Can't be helped, huh…" Enzan muttered.
"That won't do! Netto will be in danger, won't he! That's why I'll fight along with Netto!" Meiru told him.
"Baka! Don't say reckless stuff!" Netto told her.
"But! I can't go and leave without caring about you, Netto!" Meiru protested.
"Meiru, Netto's right. We gotta believe in Netto!" Dekao told her.
"Believe in Netto…" She muttered.
"If it's me… Then I'll be alright! I'll come back to you guys ASAP!"
"Really? You promise?"
"Yeah! I promise!" Netto confirmed.
"I get it. But… Netto! My feelings… Will remain inside of Netto…" She muttered while sobbing a bit.
"Yeah! I'll be taking them! I'll make sure to hold into them!"
"Cha guys…" Yaito muttered while sobbing as well.
"O. K, guys, let's go!" Dekao rallied.
The three of them ran off: Meiru delayed for a second to look at Netto before stepping out.
"… Hmpf. You aren't a man if you don't do it… The rest is up to you, then…" Enzan shrugged.
He stepped out while Gospel was struggling to seemingly open a drawer on the desk which seemed to be stuck.
"Shit! Stupid IKEA self-assembled stuff: they always get jammed when you need them!" He growled aloud.
He brusquely pulled it open and rummaged inside for some seconds before looking up.
"So! You think I'm a fool! Don't you?" He questioned.
"That of before was an irony!"
"Irony or not… I'm getting fed up." Gospel told him.
"Oi, oi! Are you sure you're not abusing of those servers? I don't think even you could survive such EM waves doses!" Netto pointed out to him.
"Shaddup…! This worthless world… will be ruled by me! I only need… one more thing…!" He growled.
He suddenly took something out of the drawer and lifted his right hand to aim for Netto: he was holding a Beretta 92F/FS on it and aiming for Netto's forehead: he turned pale and dropped the PET on top of the desk.
"This is real. I got it from the black market. I don't need you anymore, fool! I'll have enough with customizing that Navi to obey me: then I will rule this world!" Gospel announced.
Netto nervously looked around: there was nothing he could use as a cover to hide behind in the room and the entrance looked too far.
Netto – kun! Saito suddenly called out through his mind.
What?
Remember: Full Synchro!
How can I use it now? This is the real world! Full Synchro allowed us to beat the Dream Virus V1, but…!
If you let me… I can control your body! My reflexes are faster and I know how to fight back! It's the only remaining option! Please! Allow me!
O. K.! Hurry it up!
"Say your prayers. 10… 9…" Gospel began to count down.
Netto closed his eyes and seemed to concentrate: he suddenly opened them to reveal that they'd become emerald green: he glared at Gospel with a hostile look and he seemed to lose his earlier confidence: he stepped back.
"Hra~h!"
Netto suddenly jumped across the air and landed behind the desk: he gripped Gospel's right wrist and made it hit a wall: both struggled for the gun but Netto suddenly kicked his lower torso with the right foot to stun him and wrestled it off: he then jumped over the desk back at his spot and aimed for Gospel.
"Reversal of tables!" He announced.
"… Your voice…! It sounds like Rock Man's… Huh? The guy isn't even moving!" Gospel muttered and glanced at the PET's screen.
They suddenly heard distinct footsteps heading towards the room: Netto quickly glued his back into one of the right wall's servers to have a good angle to aim for both Gospel and the entrance in a quick manner: Gospel growled something.
"Good afternoon. It would seem this fireworks display is attracting some curious mice over here." A dull man's voice rang out with a hint of sarcasm to it yet without stopping being polite.
"That voice…!" Gospel muttered.
The voice's owner came into view:
This man was on his forties and could be over a meter and ninety tall: they had an athletic build to them.
His hair was colored in a blonde color and was neatly combed although it had reminiscences of a military haircut given the edges.
He was dressed in a gray trench overcoat, a black sports suit and pants along with brown shoes.
He had sunglasses on, though.
"Oh? Mr. Hikari! We finally meet." He greeted with a hint of amusement to his voice.
"Who are you?" Netto questioned.
"My, my! That object looks inappropriate on your hands, sir… Do excuse me… Lezareno. Chief Lezareno. Envoy of the Sponsor Club, if you may, my young sir." He politely announced.
"Ah… Eh… Chief Lezareno… It's been a while…" Gospel sounded nervous by now, even.
"What? That guy is nervous at your visit?" Netto gasped.
"Of course. Well then… Mr. Gospel. To make it short: our 34% contribution is going to be closed as of today. We do not like to be underestimated, yet… It was us who rushed it up and didn't try to make the necessary background investigation. Do you get my point?"
"Eh… I'm afraid not." Gospel muttered.
"We are not in sympathy with tyrants, rulers, and others who want to control or destroy society. It is in our interests to preserve "individuality" in the current society from becoming "mass", thus… Since you plan on imposing yourself over others… It is the exact opposite of what we seek, you see… It is like a war declaration, even. And now we know you never intended to make reality Mr. Magnets' "new order" tale…"
"Crap." Gospel muttered.
"Ah. You have made your research, sir. You realize the scale of what we are." Chief Lezareno formed a smile on his face.
"And you came here just to tell me that or…?" Gospel asked.
"I am just an ambassador. I came to deliver our organization's maximum figures' resolution. The faucet is closed, my good sir. And, frankly, I doubt that this display can end up well. Abusing of machines has always led to disasters. May I recall to you the year 1986?"
"Ah… Hum… Yeah… True… I see the parallelism, but… Eh…"
"Do reflect upon it: Mr. Sponsor will soon come and wrap things up over here." Chief Lezareno told him.
"Hum… I… get it…" Gospel muttered.
"Ah. Do have this…" Chief Lezareno suddenly announced.
He rummaged into his jacket's inner pocket, took out a wallet and picked two visiting cards: he threw them at Gospel's desk and at Netto's feet.
"Do not interpret it as looking down on your persona, Mr. Hikari. I do believe we shall meet again soon enough. And do try to convince Mr. Ijuuin to loosen his iron tongue: he knows more than he lets out in the surface: he has a mask on, in case you hadn't realized, my young sir."
"Uh… Eh… I… will…" Netto slowly muttered.
"There he goes… Fantastic! I now get those guys as my enemies as well."
The servers suddenly hummed and began to emit terrific noises: Netto closed his eyes: they returned to brown as he rushed to the PET and picked it up: he attached the gun to his belt and picked up the visiting card which he pocketed: Gospel began to type into the keyboards as well.
"The radiation keeps on escalating…! I can barely move my feet…!"
"Ugh… 100,000 times above the normal ratio… Server power: 200%! This time around… The REAL… Forte…!" Gospel groaned.
A new Forte appeared and began to flash at a quicker speed.
"I don't care who I have to battle: I won't forgive those who try to hurt Netto – kun any further than this!" He exclaimed.
"… Guh! Goh… Gah… Gih… Gih…" Forte groaned as he began to convulse.
"Oi! What's wrong?" Gospel called out.
"Gih… Guh… Gah… Geh… Goh… Goh…!" Forte groaned.
His body suddenly broke down into grayish semi-solid mass and accumulated on the ground to then form a four-legged creature's body, a tail and a head: it had an inverted-crown-like object on its neck and its eyes were red: the mouth was filled with teeth and black or yellowish spots distributed at random across its surface: it was two meters tall.
"Heh… Hah… Hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah…! Is that your true form, then? Not bad! Looks strong! Oi! Go ahead and make sure to delete that guy!" Gospel laughed.
"Groa~h!" It roared.
"What the hell! Didn't you hear my order?"
A phone's sound rang out: Netto pressed the "reply" button on his PET.
"Netto! Rock Man! Can you hear me?" Hikari Yuuichirou asked.
"Papa!" Netto exclaimed.
"I've just realized something problematic! Listen up! Gospel's "Ultimate Navi Development Scheme" has a large flaw to it! You simply can't create an Ultimate Navi out of "Bug Fusion"! Even if you could… That'd be an "Ultimate Bug Fusion Body"…!" Yuuichirou explained.
"Papa! Besides that, Netto…" He was cut off.
"Be quiet, Rock Man! Papa! Then… The thing standing here right now ain't Forte, you mean to say?"
"What did you say? The "Bug Fusion Body" has already been created, then? If that thing is let loose…"
Huh? What would happen?
"Bugs will be spread across the whole world's Network! The world won't belong to anyone: it'll end up being ruled by bugs! Netto! You have to delete the "Bug Fusion Body"! Use Rock Man's power!"
"Papa… Leave… it to… me…" Netto slowly replied.
"Netto! What's happening to you?" Yuuichirou questioned.
"No… nothing. Papa… Thanks… I'm gonna cut…"
"Netto – kun…!"
"We're the only ones who can do this! It's not the time to keep Papa worried…" Netto argued.
"I get it."
"Groa~h!" The monster roared.
"We're gonna call this thing "Gospel", too…! Battle Operation, Set!"
"In!" Rock Man confirmed.
"What the… I can't control the servers! I can't cut off Server 00: it keeps on feeding that thing with more bugs! Damn!" Gospel cursed.
"Battle Chip, Prism, Fumikomizan! Double Slot In!"
Rock Man went and threw the Prism in front of "Gospel": he then waited until it opened its mouth and shot some debris-like objects out: Rock Man hit the Prism and the power was deflected at "Gospel", thus damaging it given the growl which rang out.
"Battle Chip, Fumikomizan! Slot In!"
"Fumikomizan!"
Rock Man jumped and hit "Gospel" again: the monster began to look annoyed and made the ground shake with its feet: Rock Man did his best to keep his balance.
"Battle Chip, Guts Man V3! Slot In!"
"Guts Man V3!"
"Guo~h!"
"Gospel" shot something akin to a sound shockwave which spread in a straight line across the area: Rock Man barely dodged it
"Go!"
Guts Man showed up and hit the ground with his Guts Hammer, thus causing a shockwave which hit Gospel from beneath.
"Garuo~h!"
The head became a gigantic drill which shot forward and left a neck opening displaying a purplish glowing mass growing inside of it.
"What the… The head can morph!" Netto cursed.
"It's gotta be using data at random and morphing due to the unstable nature of its body…" Rock Man deduced.
"What a monster!" Netto muttered.
"Server power… 400%!" Gospel groaned.
"Damn! Battle Chip, Invisible 3, Flame Blade! Double Slot In!"
Rock Man turned invisible and struck "Gospel" as it was going to attack again: the beast stopped fooling around and seemed to grow in size.
"We gotta cut it soon or else…" Rock Man cursed.
"Program Advance! Guts Punch, Cold Punch, Dash Attack! Slot In!"
"Machinegun Punch!"
Rock Man bombarded "Gospel's" face with several Guts Punches: the monster howled and moved around in a convulsed manner.
"We've cut about half of that thing's HP…!" Rock Man muttered.
"Battle Chip, Area Steal, Blues V3! Double Slot In!"
"Let's go~!"
"… 500%...! 80.000 times… the EM Waves…" Gospel groaned next.
"Gospel" suddenly opened the mouth and shot a sonic boom which headed towards the SE: Rock Man jumped out of the way and summoned Blues' data which managed to hit it: its mass suddenly seemed to decrease by a slight amount.
"We must reduce the HP to 0 and delete it: the rests will self-delete and this stuff will shut down… I guess they will end up totally fried."
"Gotcha… Battle Chip, Fumikomizan! Double Slot In!"
"Hra~h!"
Rock Man attacked twice and "Gospel" looked at its right leg to see its integrity seemingly about to break apart.
"Damn. The more it absorbs, the quicker it'll collapse…!"
"Gu… Grrrr!"
The head vanished and a bug-made copy of Air Man formed in front of it: it shot two tornadoes forward and Rock Man barely was able to dodge.
"Battle Chip, Fumikomizan, Full Custom! Double Slot In!"
"Fumikomizan!"
Rock Man hit "Gospel" and managed to delete the improvised Air Man.
"Let's bet it on 1 hit! Battle Chip, Invisible 3! Program Advance! Flame, Aqua, Elec Blade! Slot In!"
"Dream Sword 3!"
The attack hit "Gospel" just as he was about to attack: it split its body in two and it quickly lost all trace of energy and life: it slowly began to delete itself while Rock Man collapsed on the ground from the effort.
"W-we did it!"
The servers whined and began to smoke and frizzle as they began to shut down one after the other amongst large decreasing hum sounds: the LCD screen stopped transmitting as well while Gospel looked around in a seemingly panicked manner.
"No…! My Gospel…! My world…! It's… gone…? No way…! This can't be true…!" He uttered.
"Let's go back." Netto muttered.
Netto calmly reached for the Plug-In wire to physically remove it: Gospel suddenly grabbed his left wrist and pulled him forward before pressing something against his right shoulder: a loud BANG sound rang out and Netto screamed in agony: Gospel then pushed him into the ground while Netto clutched his right shoulder: a gunshot wound was visible there.
"H-how...? I still… have it…!" Netto groaned.
"Netto – kun!" Rock Man gasped in horror.
"That's a fake! I suspected this could happen. You made a fool of me and now you destroyed my life… I won't die alone…!" Gospel roared.
He jumped over the desk and grabbed Netto's shirt neck with his left hand to then violently toss him against the desk: Netto hit the back of his head with it and ended up sitting on the ground: the shock made the PET fell off it while still connected to the console: Netto picked it with his left hand.
"Saito – niisan… Papa… was right… but… I don't… regret it…" He muttered.
"I don't… either… Netto – kun…" Saito cried.
Gospel suddenly placed the barrel of the gun on Netto's left hip and shot: Netto roared in agony and Rock Man collapsed face-down into the ground inside of his PET while clutching those same spots Netto had been hurt at.
Netto – kun… These four months with you… Made up for those six years we spent split from each other… Thank you… Everyone…
The end… But I'm not afraid… We did everything we could... And we completed the mission… Thanks to everyone's efforts… Papa… Mama… Guys… Sorry. I couldn't keep my promise, Meiru… I have no regrets to torment me… Sayounara, guys…
"Say farewell!"
BANG!