Hero Business
Earlier
It had, at first glance, been a normal day at the Hoshikawa household. Akane Hoshikawa had just returned home early from her part time job. However she had hardly entered through the door before her transer hummed and began playing a song, signalling a caller. Said tune, was an old one from the late twenty-second century, back from when she was a young boisterous teen. When she'd decided to enlighten Subaru on the wonders of music over dinner once, he had recognized it and called it old, much to her shock and Daigo's mirth. He'd had never stopped poking fun at her with that. At the tender age of 34, she was still very much in her prime, thank you very much. Akane idly considered changing it to a Misora song tune, that might be interesting after Subaru's little visit today. She'd have to show her support to this little 'date' of his. She gave the thought a giggle before before she flopped open the transer.
Curiosity turned to worry as she saw the caller ID. It was the Satella Police. It was probably about Subaru. She hoped nothing bad had happened. Especially at the Misora event. The chance to meet Misora Hibiki in person wasn't as common as one would think.
It would seem she could never stop worrying about that boy. She had been so worried about him when he had isolated himself from everyone. She had wanted him to go to school and make friends, but she had not wanted to force him. When it all worked out as she had hoped she had thought she could calm down. Though between Virus-attacks and the Satella police she couldn't help it. She was worrying more than ever. The irony of that was not lost on her. Sometimes she entertained the thought of just making Subaru stay home and let everything be as it was before. However she would never let herself be that selfish. Especially now that he had made such good friends. Especially that Luna girl was an interesting person for a mother like her.
"Hello hello?" she answered the call.
"Hi, is this the household of Hoshikawa Akane? This is the Satella police. I am calling regarding her son," a female voice answered her.
"Yes, that's me. Did something happen? Is he alright?" Akane asked, politely, but worried.
"Don't worry, ma'am. Your son is okay. There was a situation with some viruses downtown, so they were brought in to give a recount of the events," the officer calmed her.
"Thank goodness," Akane breathed a sigh of relief. "So where is he now?"
"That is actually why I called, ma'am. He's at the station now. We won't be keeping him long, so we wanted to ask if you would come by and pick him up? If not, we'll make sure to drop him off at your house."
"Um, it's no problem, I'll come at once. Thank you very much."
After trading farewells, Akane took the first bus to the police station. The Hoshikawa family had no car. While living comfortably, albeit sparingly at times, on the wages of a part time job, there was no room in the budget for a car. Back in the day when Daigo had lived with them, they'd had a car, his car. His only obsession outside of science, or perhaps he considered caring for that car as a science in its own right. You could never know for sure with that man. She'd always called it his first love. Now it had been sold for scrap and Akane had to look new ways for getting around. Luckily for her, in the twenty-third century public transport was cheap, efficient and of a high quality. Most of the the time. A whole new world had opened for her back then and after taking the first step, she had never looked back.
She got off the bus and walked for a bit. Soon she stood before the Police station, and she was met with a strange sight. A deserted street as far as she could see, except around the gates leading into the station grounds. At the gates, she saw a few overturned and smashed police cars, haphazardly arrayed in a barricade formation and since then having met something that disagreed. At the makeshift barricade, there was at least fifteen officers resting or looking towards the main station building. You couldn't quite see the actual entrance from here, as the entrance view was blocked by an extra wing of another side-building. One squad car was nestled partially in the wall on the opposite side of the street, leaving a gaping hole in the middle of the would-be barricade.
It had to have been extremely recent, as no alarm had been called yet.
As she approached, the officers quickly spotted her. She was in turn, approached by a serious looking officer, who wore the usual uniform bar the helmet, which marked him as above the rank and file. He looked rather young with blue hair and a youthful face, but he easily exuded a confidence that made him seem the most seasoned of the little band.
"Ma'am, you should get out of here," he said, oozing calm professionalism amidst the wreckage. "Just scant minutes ago, something strange attacked and drove out most of the officers at the station. You being here is putting yourself in undue danger."
"But I got a call that my son was in there," Akane stood her ground. "I need to know where he is."
This caught him by surprise for a moment before he frowned. No, not surprise, she amended. It was recognition.
"One of our inspectors did bring in some kids in for a little talk," he confirmed, though she got the feeling he was mostly mulling it over out loud.
"So, have you seen him? Where is he now?" she pressed for answers.
"I don't know for sure, ma'am. But he was with a trusted officer, I have faith that he's alright," he began placating. She was having none of it, however.
"I'm going in there," she announced, surprising even herself for a moment.
The cops were certainly surprised.
"Absolutely not, ma'am," the blue haired officer said. "It's too dangerous. Leave this to the Satella police."
"But you aren't doing anything," she said, gesturing around. "What will happen to my son?"
The officer flinched, but stood firm. It wasn't fair of her to say that. She almost regretted saying it, but she wasn't feeling generous at the moment.
"Ma'am, I'm sorry, but I promise, we'll do the very best we can for your son," he said. "Can you give me the name of you and your son?"
"Akane Hoshikawa and Subaru Hoshikawa," she said, distracted. She was trying to sneak glances past the officer.
"Red shirt and blue shorts?" he asked. "Brown spiky hair?"
She nodded in surprise, a question on her lips, but he gave her a knowing look and beat her to it.
"Alright, thank you, Mrs. Hoshikawa. I saw him earlier. He seems like a resourceful kid, so I'm sure, he's alright. I'll let you know as soon as we find anything," the officer said. "If you would please get yourself to safety, then I'll take over here."
Still feeling emotional but seeing no way to get past the officer, Akane left, contemplating what she should do. As she turned the corner, another sight drew her attention. A section of fence out in the middle of the street. To keep out unwanted loiters and mark the station grounds, the station had an iron fence around its premises. Usually it provided amble means in prevented easy entry. However today, something had decided to rip out parts of the fence and the police had apparently not been made aware yet, as there were none in sight.
She knew that she should go home as the officer had told her. She knew that whatever was happening in there, she couldn't hope to handle it. It was dangerous and foolish to venture in there. This was something foolish men with a callous disregard for their own lives did in movies, not single-mothers with a child.
But it mattered little by now. Her son was in there and she wasn't leaving without him.
Perhaps it was precisely because she was a single mother that she had to go.
With a last look to make sure she was alone, she slowly crept forward.
From above, invisible to the human eye, Ophiuchus looked on with interest as the human snuck across the grounds. Getting in contact with her here had been easy once she got control of the building. Almost everyone had fled the building. She didn't care as long as they weren't Subaru. They would all die when the Andromeda key was in her hands. With the building clearly under her control, she had restarted the systems.
The logs of the call had immediately sprung forth to memory. Subaru's mother would be coming and Ophiuchus would make sure she arrived. Clearing her way to the building had only taken a bit manipulation. Since all calls for help against viruses went through this building, so there was none to call. And any patrols out in the city had simply been fed false information to keep them busy and out of immediate reach. It could take hours before the humans were reorganized. With this trump card, Ophiuchus would only need a few more minutes.
Now if only those damnable cops at the gate would have dispersed. She hadn't had time to clear them out. She'd almost given up on her little fledgling plan, when she saw the human climbing through a hole in the fence.
The human was bolder than she'd given her credit for. In a way, if she'd not been a weak fleshbag, she might have earned her respect.
The human was not simply bait but an extra advantage. Sifting through her hosts memories of Rockmans fight versus Ox Fire had lead her to a startling discovery. In the face of a hostage situation, Rockman had been shackled by the threat of harm to the hostage, lost his fighting spirit and very nearly his life. She wouldn't have figured that out by herself. The very idea that humans would let concern of others limit them in such a way was conceptually hard for Ophiuchus to grasp. But she was a quick learner and she never argued with results. Especially when it was to her advantage.
She had to hand it to the stupid bull. Even idiots had their moments of usefulness. Perhaps she had thought too lowly of him.
'That would be the day,' she scoffed at the thought.
Turning back to the matter at hand, she regarded the human as she slowly crept further in. 'Not afraid are you? You'll wise up soon.'
In a split second she was behind the human. She yelped and turned around as some latent survival instinct kicked in but it was far too late. As Ophiuchus Queen became visible she shrieked and turned to run, however Ophiuchus grabbed her wrist with her left arm and kept her in place with strength unknown to normal men. From Ophiuchus' right arm a snake uncoiled itself, sensing the intent of its mistress. She could freely communicate her wishes, but they were mere animals of her design, so it was a one-way deal. But she found the animals' brutal simplicity quite endearing.
In that single moment Ophiuchus Queen took in the abject terror on the humans face. Then the snake struck and the human fell to the floor in a heap.
The snake was poisonous though not truly like that of a normal material snake. A bite would slowly kill a virus. A 'meta-virus', as coined by the natives, such as herself would be paralyzed and hindered for some time, unless they were weak. Perhaps this human would die, she mused. It didn't matter of course. She had already fulfilled her role. She only needed to be here, so Subaru in turn would come. Then he would die.
She tried to imagine his face, contorted by fear, as his mothers was, just moments before. Perhaps she should just kill her now? She didn't actually need her alive. Ophiuchus slowly reached out for her. Her arm began to shake violently. Hesitation. The brat she was using still held such influence on her? Or was it perhaps herself who was hesitating...?
Impossible! She would kill this woman right this instant just to prove it. Holding her up by the scruff of her neck she stared intently at what was to be her first human kill. The human was gasping for breath, slowly giving out. Ophiuchus suddenly stopped.
How that would affect Subaru when he found out, she wondered. Would it push him that much farther towards the edge?. Or perhaps she should wait till just after he arrived. She grinned at the thought and slackened her grip on the woman, losing interest in her. She had decided.
On the floor, Akane slowly lost her consciousness as everything faded to black.
"I say again, I would like to see Subaru Hoshikawa at the reception area. Your mother is simply dying to see you."
Subaru was shell shocked. Kizamaro and Gonta stared at him with alarm.
Subaru disentangled himself from Gonta and leaned his back up the wall for support before flopping open his transer and calling his mom. War-rock had warned him, that she was cunning. It ringed a few times before it got picked up.
It was Ophiuchus, who answered. "Hello Subaru! So nice of you to call, we were jus-..."
He had slammed it shut. Subaru stared at his transer in horrid disbelief. His hands were shaking.
"Oi Subaru, what're we gonna do?" Gonta asked after a few seconds, concerned and more than a bit freaked out.
Subaru seemed to start up again. "Continue down the stairs and you'll get to the underground parking lot. You can get out from there."
"But what about you, Subaru?" Gonta said.
Subaru sighed and pushed himself from the wall, leaning on his good leg. It had been getting progressively worse as time went on, the loss of feeling ever so slowly creeping up his leg. He wasn't sure if that was how poison was supposed to work. Then again, this type was far from your usual batch of toxin.
"Whaaa... Don't go Subaru. It's dangerous," Kizamaro slurred. He began wobbling and could barely walk straight. He had gotten pale and his face was sweaty, yet he knew he was cold to the touch. The poison was doing its grim work.
Gonta noticed and grabbed him by the shoulders and sat him gently down by the wall. Subaru could count on one hand how many times he had seen Gonta be gentle with anything other than food.
"There's no other way. She's after me and I can't drag you two into this," Subaru said more harshly than he preferred. He took a sigh, trying to keep calm. "I mean, with Kizamaro as he is now... Gonta, you have to take care of him. He needs a doctor or something."
"But Subaru... what about you? You were bit too..." Gonta got out before slowly quieting.
"I'm fine. It spreads slowly, so it's just my leg," Subaru waved him off, though Gonta did not look convinced.
Subaru thought back. He knew what he had to do.
What seemed like an eternity ago.
Subaru was visiting Amaken with his dad. He looked out the glass windows seeing the largest space ship he had ever seen. From behind him his father Daigo laid a hand on his shoulder.
"Now whaddya think? This shuttle will take dad way up there in space," Daigo smiled, jostling Subaru. "I'm sorry, superman, but I'll have to leave you down here. I'll be doing some very important work."
"Okay, but dad when will you come back?" Subaru stared up at his father.
"It's shouldn't be too long, Sub," Daigo said. "But until then you'll be the man of the house, okay?"
"Okay" Subaru nodded. He was enveloped in a strong hug.
"That's my boy," Daigo smiled widely. It was infectious and Subaru grinned too.
"I'm gonna miss you two. Now remember to listen to your mother and look after each other. I'm counting on you, son."
Back in the present, Subaru just shrugged noncommittally.
"It is just something I have to do."
High in the sky above the city zooming over the waveroad were Misora Hibiki and Harp. They were shadowing Rockman's partner in crime, War-rock, who was supposedly on his way to the Satella police station. Except he wasn't remotely going the right way. In fact, they had passed it about three times.
"Hey, Harp, why isn't he going there already?" Misora had hoped for some excitement sneaking after War-rock. However this lust for adventure had dulled considerably over the last ten minutes. Suddenly War-rock abruptly stopped, with his back towards them but quickly turning. They just managed to duck in cover behind a building.
"Uh oh! What's happening? Why did he do that?" Misora whispered to her accomplice.
"I don't know." Harp mumbled to herself. "But I think he noticed us."
"What? how?" Misora squawked.
"I don't know. But we might as well come out and face him." Harp said dejectedly. They reluctantly left their hiding spot.
"You again. What are you doing here?" War-rock grumbled.
Misora leaned close to guitar's display, where Harp was nested. "What do we do? We can't just tell him we've been following him!"
"Lie, Misora! Lie for all you're worth!" Harp whispered back.
Looking back at the irate War-rock, Misora suddenly gulped, feeling very uncomfortable.
"Ehm-...We're out virus-busting. What a coincidence meeting you here. But what about you? Weren't you going to the satella police station?" she tried to change the subject.
"Yeah... but I was just taking a... detour. I mean it's not like I am in a hurry..." War-rock sweat-dropped.
Though for War-rock, nothing could be further from the truth. War-rock was totally lost and very much in a hurry. Sure, he often went exploring out in the town, but he had never taken note of what the different buildings were for. He had always relied on his young companion for directions. Or used his transer. Normally he would have been able to sense Subaru through their bond, his special brainwaves calling out to him. But after his fight with Ophiuchus he had pressed himself to the limit. He couldn't focus enough to sense Subaru under his own power for at least a few hours and he was getting impatient. But he would rather go on a human date with Ophiuchus right now than ask for directions. It just wasn't manly.
"Oh. Well, are you going now then?" Her eyebrow rising in conspiratorially.
'Just what do they want from me?' War-rock thought. His expression told as much.
"You were supposed to keep an eye on this Subaru kid, right?" she pressed further.
War-rock nodded slowly. The half-human, Harp Note, looked thoughtful for a few seconds. Then, with a smile, she looked him square in the eyes. "Then I'll come with you."
"What? mmm-no! You can't!" War-rock sputtered. Harp Note looked confused for a second. Then she took a step forward shaking a fist. "Oh the hell I can!"
"It's not up for discussion. If not for me, that boy would likely be dead. I deserve to be in on this. It's not like you and Rockman showed up." Harp Note turned away from War-rock, arms crossed. She wouldn't budge.
"Ugh, if that foolish popstar hadn't done her little publicity stunt none of this would have happened in the first place. But now he'll be more watched than ever. You should blame her if you want to pin the blame on anyone," War-rock growled at her back.
Feeling, more than seeing her host flinch, Harp decided to step in. "Admit it. You need help our help with this kid. Don't be so stubborn, War-rock."
War-rock considered. If he agreed, she might get that one step closer to realizing the truth and she of all people would be watching Subaru. But he couldn't tell her off without raising further suspicion any way. And according to them they had saved Subaru from Taurus Fire, while he was unable to. In their eyes, he was in no position to refuse help. It was all beyond avoiding it at this point. All he could was damage control.
"Fine! But you'll only check up to make sure he's alright and then you'll be out of our way," he proclaimed loudly.
Harp Note swung around and gave a sharp salute. "Aye capt'n."
War-rock rolled his eyes and began hovering down the waveroad. "Let's get going then. We've wasted enough time."
"Um... it's actually that way."
"I knew that..."
Gonta looked after Subaru's retreating form as he hobbled around a corner and out of sight. He wanted to go after him, but Subaru was right. He couldn't just leave Kizamaro as he was. He needed to get him out of here. But yet, he couldn't help feel that this was not where he was supposed to be. Luna was gone, replaced with something sinister and Subaru was the one going out there to face her.
Luna and Subaru had gotten close a lot quicker than Gonta liked to admit. It was like everything just worked out for him. He was smart, athletic, and the girls thought he was cute too, if what some of the girls in class hinted at was anything to go by. But Subaru was oblivious to that kind of thing, maybe even above it, so while Gonta didn't hold it against him, he was still jealous whenever Subaru upstaged him at something without even trying. Especially when Prez was around. And said Madam President was always around. Gonta trembled. He should be the one out there facing her, not...
'Damn it... I'm being useless again.'
Though whatever Subaru would attempt it seemed foolish. Just watching him move made Gonta cringe. With Subaru's leg as it was, he should have stopped him. However any thought of that became absurd as he saw Subaru's expression.
It was way too serious for someone their age. It was very different from the first time he had first seen the whelp when he'd just been a snotty brat, cause that's what he seemed like back then. A little rebellious kid, who had resisted just to spite them, while knowing that Luna meant to help and was right, at least that's what he thought. With that look just now, Gonta didn't quite know anymore.
"Aw geez."
In his arms, Kizamaro groaned, reminding him of his current predicament. Little Kizamaro had quickly deteriorated. If only he'd been taller, then he might have held out longer. He didn't have time to lounge about. Hoisting the little squirt up on his back he went the last few flights down to the underground parking lot, just as Subaru had told him to. However there was no exit. The only exit had been closed by a steel gate.
'A lockdown... No. Then the best chance of an exit would be... the main entrance where that thing that took Luna probably is,' Gonta thought.
Gonta gulped. That thing was slightly scarier than Prez on a bad day. There had to be some other way out!
However as he looked around. Not even a fire-exit was available. How irresponsible.
'No helping it I guess. Subaru... Here I come!' he thought with a grimace.
If one looked at him, Subaru looked every bit as focused on the task ahead of him as always. Taking as long strides as his leg would allow him, his hand full of battle cards in case of an ambush for whatever it might do. Inwardly though, was another story. Whatever resolve he'd had before screamed at him to run and hide. His heart beat so fast that it droned out whatever background sounds he might have heard. His clothes and hair were drenched with sweat from the effect of his body fighting the poison along with the physical exhaustion. Adrenalin kept him going strong though. And fear for losing his mother galvanized him. Losing those dear to him had always been why Subaru never had wanted friends. What could you lose, if you had nothing to lose?
So through the halls he drove on, visualizers pulled down and cards in hand.
And before he knew it, he stood in the middle of the entrance hall. A spacious room with a reception desk, glass front to the outside and a few black leather sofas. As everywhere else, it looked as if it had been deserted in a hurry. But it wasn't truly deserted. Not to people who could see EM waves. Before the glass doors stood Ophiuchus Queen, looking to him like a dangerous predator. He was to play the role of the sickly gazelle. Behind the receptionist desk, Akane lay unconscious in a chair.
"So you actually came. I'm surprised. You should know how this will end."
He knew. There was only one likely outcome from this. If possible, his heart beat that much faster. But he managed to talk as if he hadn't heard her.
"What have you done to her?" he asked.
"Nothing... permanent. Perhaps. But let's talk about you," Ophiuchus nonchalantly waved the issue away. "And the Andromeda key."
Subaru frowned. There it was again. The Andromeda key. Whatever it was, it seemed to be extremely important to these invaders.
Ophiuchus faked surprise. "Oh, it seems you don't even know."
Subaru didn't respond, though inwardly he was yelling in pent up anger at this mockery. 'You already knew that.'
"What a shame that War-rock didn't even trust you with that knowledge. Allow me to explain then," She spoke with a tone of voice reminiscent of Luna. Another reminder for Subaru of how twisted the situation was.
"The Andromeda Key is the power to destroy worlds, Subaru. It is a dangerous power and War-rock has stolen that power from its rightful owners," she lectured. Deadly serious. Subaru gaped but something clicked into place.
'Power to destroy worlds. Then what War-rock said about Earth hanging in the balance was true. Would they use it on Earth?' he put together. He found it likely that they would. At no cost could these aliens have it.
Hearing no comment, she continued. "It's a shame though, that War-rock had to draw you earthlings into this as well. If he hadn't come here, then none of this would have happened. Actually all of this wouldn't have happened."
"What do you mean with that?" he said before he could stop himself. It couldn't be possible.
"What I mean is, we are only following War-rock. If he left, then we too would leave. All of this fighting is really unnecessary," Ophiuchus shrugged. "How many innocent people haven't already been hurt because of this meaningless resistance?" Unbidden, he remembered Utagai, one whom he still hadn't saved.
"But what about Utagai and Luna? Will you leave them as well?"
"We don't need hosts back on planet FM. We are much stronger there. All we want is the Andromeda Key," she said.
'But a host would make us invincible back home.' Ophiuchus regarded him with an gauging expression. She was lying her scales off, though that was nothing new to an FM-ian like her. After all these years it felt like second nature.
"Now Subaru. You can help me and save all of Earth."
Subaru shook his head. "Even if I knew where it was I wouldn't hand it over. I'd rather trust it with War-rock than you any day."
It earned him a sneer and for a moment, he thought she'd attack, before she reverted back to her earlier demeanor.
"I thought you would say that. But that wasn't what I would want from you. As you might expect, some of my colleagues are a bit more impulsive than me. If they got the key they might feel tempted to use it and believe me, we will get the key. Nothing you can do will change that. You can however, save your planet from certain destruction."
She smiled slightly. "It's quite simple really. To save the planet all you have to do is die right now." And there it was. Slowly but surely. The reaction she had hoped for. She ignored everything else just for this. Alarmed confusion mixed with a bit of fear as his stoic mask slipped.
Subaru felt his adrenalin kick in again as his mind went into overdrive. 'What? How? What does she mean?' he thought wildly.
Ophiuchus just continued talking, looking amused. "It's quite simple when you think about it. Why is War-rock here on Earth? To keep us from taking back the key. The only reason he's staying here is because you can wavechange with him, giving him the power to resist us. If you die... War-rock will flee like the coward he is and we would follow, never to return. Earth would be spared." Subaru blinked in surprise. It made sense. Of course, it did.
It was a lie too, of course. They would return once they had the key. The FM King had explicitly demanded the destruction of Earth for their affront for inciting rebellion and Ophiuchus would oblige without hesitation. But it seemed as if the naive kid before her actually believed her.
"So what do you say? Which is more important? Your life or the planet?"
Despite standing in the middle of a large hall, Subaru felt cornered, facing the human equivalent of a logic bomb. He couldn't answer that question.
'Which was more important? Surely, it is the whole planet. But I don't want to die.'
Ophiuchus Queen looked on in amusement at her prey, too focused on his inner doubts. Time to end it.
"Gorgon eye!"
Subaru looked up seeing the telltale attack, but didn't react further. Couldn't react. There wasn't even time. 'Perhaps it's for the...-'
"Hold it right there!" a flash of crimson filled his vision as Harp Note landed and blocked the attack.
"Harp Note dropping in! Shock Note!" Two audio-blasters materialized beside her, spewing explosive musical notes at Ophiuchus and scoring three successive hits before the snake queen disappeared out of sight.
Harp Note whirled on Subaru, her scarf flowing behind her. She shook him roughly, as if his stupor was a simple thing to shake off. She looked angry, but the look in her eyes told a story of fear, confusion, and worry. "Just what were you doing? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
Subaru was taken aback by her. He now felt foolish all of a sudden. He had been ready to accept death right then and there. He steeled himself, his resolve coming back. Getting killed wasn't why he had come here. He'd come here because... "She's got my mom!"
"Oh..." was all Harp Note said. Then she whirled back around again.
"Don't worry, I'll make things right." Then she dashed forward.
And as if on cue Ophiuchus materialized in her way, using her hand as a claw.
Harp Note shone in multiple colors as she changed the frequency of her EM body and passed straight through Ophiuchus' attack and Ophiuchus herself. The instant she was behind her opponent, she changed back again and swung her guitar around behind her in a wide arc. Ophiuchus ducked under it and exploded forward like a spring, heading straight for Subaru.
Harp Note cursed at her mistake and prepared to intercept. But Subaru wasn't so easily taken down. In less than a second he had swiped up a card through his transer resulting in Ophiuchus heading straight into the effect of a high level Thunder Ball card. Unlike the Satella officers, Subaru had cards with punch. Harp Note pounced on the opportunity.
"Machine Gun string."
The strings of her guitar shot out and bound the stunned snake. With enough physical might to throw a bus, Harp Note pulled, catapulting Ophiuchus back over her shoulder, hitting the ceiling and ripping a swath of destruction out through the glass front of the building. Outside, Ophiuchus quickly recovered and fired her laser eye back at Harp Note, while still bound by her attack. Harp Note abandoned the bind and darted to the right, firing more shock notes.
"Quick Serpent" Ophiuchus countered and shoot off like a rocket right into Harp Note's intended path.
Again Harp Note tried changing her frequency, but this time Ophiuchus was prepared and matched her frequency. They collided and Ophiuchus' momentum smashed them into a wall, tearing it up. Ophiuchus was up first, glaring down at Harp Note who lay stunned on her back. The glare in her eyes began burning a baleful red. However Harp Note then quickly grabbed her guitar and she strummed as hard as she could.
"Wave Distortion!"
The shockwave blew Ophiuchus back and Harp Note could stand up on shaky legs.
Behind Subaru, War-rock appeared and entered his transer. By itself it flipped open and showed War-rock on his front page. Subaru still had no idea how he actually managed to open it himself. War-rock was intangible and the transer didn't work that way. It was physically impossible and it was just one of the things that War-rock did that he found so aggravating. But Subaru paid it no mind at right now. War-rock had been missed.
"Hey War-rock," Subaru smiled.
"Yo Subaru," War-rock greeted, as he grinned back.
However both quickly got serious.
"Let's hurry up and transform so we can help Harp Note!" Subaru felt that things were finally turning in their favor.
War-rock looked thoughtful. "No, I think she's got this. Let's give her a second. Now step back."
"What?" Subaru was struck by disbelief. "We can't just leave her. We've got to help her."
War-rock rolled with his eyes. "We're not leaving her! We're just waiting to see if we're even needed. If you transform now she'll know our secret."
"Our secret?"
"That you're Rockman!" War-rock deadpanned.
"What does that even matter? This is no time for things like that," Subaru said, exasperated. It was just like War-rock to assume things like this. Subaru groaned.
Of course, he would think that nobody could know. After all, he had hidden it from the Satella police, his friends and even his mother. But Harp Note was different. She had fought with him. But Of course, War-rock would try think to keep it secret. All for him. War-rock was loyal like that. He couldn't blame him for thinking it, at least.
War-rock hmpf'ed. "If you say so. But just trust me, look. She's got this."
The girl in question was ducking under a vicious cleave from Ophiuchus before being hit by the second attack coming from the tail. She was knocked back, but didn't fall. Ophiuchus grasped for her but only managed to catch the end of her scarf.
She immediately clamped down on it and smirked as Harp Note blanched. With a mighty heave Ophiuchus slung her over her shoulder and she landed roughly on the ground behind her.
Before Ophiuchus could repeat her trick the scarf and all of Harp Note began shimmering and glowing in Subaru's field of view as she tried to change her wavelength frequency to make her intangible to Ophiuchus but the queen matched her frequency step for step. However then Harp Note suddenly smirked as her frequency began changing faster and faster. Ophiuchus stopped, standing rock still, her brows creased with effort as they both raced across the spectrum with ever greater speeds in a battle of mastery over wavelength manipulation.
Then Harp Note pushed herself off the ground and hefted her guitar in one hand and in the other she pulled on her scarf, sending Ophiuchus flying towards her. With a war cry she slammed her guitar into her face, knocking her into the floor tiles. As one, they stopped changing frequency.
Dusting herself off, Harp Note looked down on her adversary. "What's wrong, snake? Can't multitask like a lady?"
Indeed, while Harp and Ophiuchus had been pushing each other to the limit, Misora had been free to act. While she may be the one controlling herself and able to change her state with nary a thought, it was Harp who had subconsciously always performed the task. With Harp actively taking control, Misora was free to move. However, Harp was needed for her other powers too, so while she still had full control of her body, she couldn't call upon her special attacks.
Ophiuchus, however had none to depend on to act while she was occupied, as her host was little more than a ball and chain instinctively resisting her influence. She'd broken the contest too late and paid the price.
Ophiuchus seethed with anger. "Just because your stupid host can think for itself, that doesn't mean you're stronger!"
Harp Note smirked. "Well, since the secret's out anyway, I might as well tell you just who this 'stupid host' actually is. I am Misora Hibiki and I know for a fact that the girl you took will do everything not to harm me. Don't tell me you don't remember."
Ophiuchus slowly stood up again. "I do, she was quite the fan. I suppose that means you win?"
Harp Note tilted her head. She hadn't expected her to admit defeat. She blinked in confusion and in that moment, Ophiuchus struck like lightning. Crossing the distance faster than before, she plowed a fist into her gut, doubling her over and sending her flying. However Ophiuchus wasn't done. Wailing like a banshee, she called out her next attack.
"Gorgon Eye!"
She fired her laser attack at Harp Note, scorching a fine line across from stomach to neck. And to end it all up she boosted forward and struck her one last time just as she began her descent. The sudden impact sent her flying once again. She barreled through the glass doors and out on the grass outside where her wave change broke apart and left Misora laying unconscious on the grass.
"There's one person she hates more than she loves Misora Hikibi, the pop idol," Ophiuchus said with a sneer. "And that would be Harp Note."
She turned to Subaru, only to find Rockman in his place. Actually that was quite wrong. He wasn't in his previous place, but instead only about two meters away. "Predation! Stun knuckle!"
'Stun what?'
Then he was in her face, all too happy to enlighten her about the wonders of technology and she only barely managed to duck under the wild swing of a heavy duty yellow metal-encased knuckle-sandwich. The next was also barely avoided by throwing herself backwards as Rockman followed up on his attack. She never got far though as he decided stomp a foot on her tail and effectively restricting her movement. As his next and final strike approached she threw up her arms in an effort to block. She might as well not have bothered.
The Stun knuckle slammed her out the same way Harp Note had gone just moments before. She flew farther though and in her unlucky flight she bent a lamppost before she landed on the paved path up to the entrance. However before she could even get up, she felt his shadow loom over her with a long sword for a right arm.
Rockman planted his right boot on her chest. He looked down at Ophiuchus. "I have an answer for your question," he said seriously.
Ophiuchus looked confused.
"What? What are you talking about." She tried to squirm but it did nothing.
"About whether it is me or the planet that is the most important." He smiled at her, so unlike those grins of hers that seemed to laugh at some unknown joke at your expense.
"It's a stupid question. Obviously the planet is most important. But I am not going to just give up on life on the vague notion of you telling me to. Nobody knows what the future might bring, so instead I'll fight and I'll win and I will save everyone who are dear to me. I'll save my mother, I will save Utagai, I will save Luna and I will save everyone on the planet and I will fight till the end if I have to."
Ophiuchus laughed. "What a cheesy-"
Rockman cut her off. "An answer fit for a hero."
Ophiuchus got a puzzled expression on her face. "You're just a boy. You fancy yourself a hero now?"
"No, I don't. You're right, that I'm just a boy." His eyes softened. "But that girl you're holding thinks differently. She thinks the world of Rockman, and she believed in me before I even did. The same goes for her friends and I'll won't let everyone down without even trying." He glanced to the side at Misora's unconscious form. "And people have been looking out for me more than I would like to admit. This time I'll make things right... So I will be a hero, if only for a little while. But you're in my way."
Rockman lifted his sword, ready to strike her down and end her fusion. However his left leg suddenly cramped up and convulsed. Being his supporting leg, he buckled and scrambled to readjust using his right leg. His leg had been fine since they wavechanged so Subaru had assumed it had just gone away. Now he had missed his chance.
Ophiuchus pushed Rockman off her and put some distance between them.
As the cramp and pain slowly receded into a dull ache, Rockman recovered. With little knowledge on the matter he dismissed his sword and turned to his only informant. "War-rock what's happening?"
"It's that poison, Subaru. It's not meant for humans, but since you were poisoned as a normal human it was in a form of incubation period until you transformed and it could begin to spread in earnest. Now that we've become an EM wave we should be able to purge it upon cancelling our wave change. But there's no time for that now. Look sharp!"
Ophiuchus hadn't decided to wait around. Coming up close she lunged for him just for him to jump back. He drew a new battle card midair. "Predation! Plus Cannon."
Firing thrice, he hit nothing as she evaded leaving only a blur and as he landed she was ready for him. She sidestepped his last desperate shots from his rockbuster before she whacked him back inside the building with her tail.
Rockman quickly got onto his feet. "Wide sword, Gatling gun!". He readied his weapons but Ophiuchus went up out of sight. Bare moments later she phased through the roof above him. Rockman dived to the right while slashing up with his wide sword; just managing to nick her in the shoulder.
Rolling to a stand, he fired back at his previous position and Ophiuchus took several hits before throwing up a barrier. Rockman held up his barrage however as the barrier fell so did his gatling. And as luck would have it, he had been using his right as his gatling arm. He would have to dismiss his sword before he could use predation again.
Ophiuchus wasn't about to allow a time out.
"Snake Legion!"
Two snakes flew from her hands, but Rockman quickly dispatched them midair with his wide sword. As he dismissed his sword, he drew again. "Heat ball, Wide wave!"
Rolling under a nasty red laser he aimed his water gun and unleashed a minor storm flood. Ophiuchus managed to stand her ground however as the water cleared, she couldn't find Rockman. To her dismay she suddenly noticed that her hostage was gone too, chair and all. That's when she noticed a small innocuous ball at her feet. Recognizing it, she put her hands up in front of her face and cursed, as it blew and roared to the heavens.
In a nearby hall way Rockman had just turned the corner and in a clash of momentum met Gonta who had been headed his way. Sparing no time to wonder about this or anything else that was unimportant, he put down the receptionist chair holding the bound Akane. "Here! Look out for her! It'll be safe in a moment."
And with that he was gone. Then Gonta heard a roar of an explosion and felt a flash of heat.
Back in the foyer Ophiuchus was slowly getting back up from the blast. Her skin was charred and any movement ached. She could feel her power slipping. Rockman landed in front of her, a plasma gun at the ready. She couldn't even attempt to dodge. Without even a warning the plasma gun discharged and she shook as she felt the wave change slipping further. She landed on her back, no more fight left in her.
She was beaten.
At this, anger fueled her frustration at losing to War-rock once again after everything she had overcome to get where she was today. Stubbornness kicked in and she focused everything she had to keep the wave change holding. As the slipping feeling receded she looked back up at Rockman, looking harshly down at her. He held an ethereal green flaming blade in place of his right hand. Any hope she had left evaporated before that sword. As the sword cut into her, she felt her very essence being cut from her host and she lost the wave change.
Instincts took over and the last thing she glimpsed before making a wild flight for safety was Rockmans face. Pity and sadness. For her. Somewhere in her heart, Ophiuchus vowed her vengeance then and there.
Misora slowly woke up at the insistent urging of Harp. Feeling wet grass beneath her she realized that she was mostly drenched. Groggily she sat up. All she felt from the battle was her sore body, a stiffness in her legs and a sleeping arm she'd laid on. Upon further inspection she found a nasty sensitive red mark along her stomach going upwards towards her neck.
Ignoring a torrent of questions about her wellbeing she asked "Hey Harp, what happened?"
"I don't know, but I think Rockman appeared to save the day. That's usually what we do," This piqued Misora's interest. "Is he still here?"
"I think so. The fighting appears to have just stopped," Harp smiled broadly. "If you hurry you can go meet your hero."
Ignoring the jab, Misora made her way over towards the entrance, carefully avoiding the glass shards scattered everywhere. She glanced inside.
Rockman was left standing victorious over a slowly waking blonde girl, which presumably was Ophiuchus' host.
"Are you okay?" he asked, his concern evident in his voice while bending over her. The girl seemed to come alive at the sound of his voice and sprang up. "Rockman! You saved me!". Then she began to cry as she threw herself at Rockman. Bawling "I was so scared!" and "I'm so sorry". That last part confused Misora.
Misora's brow rose as he slowly returned the hug. She was reminded by just how little she actually knew about Rockman and she didn't like it. Who was this girl? A friend? His girlfriend?
'She'd better not be-.' She stopped herself.
Thinking badly of someone she didn't even know was ridiculous. For all she knew that girl could be Rockman's girlfriend or sister or crush and then what? She didn't know what Rockman thought about this girl. She actually knew next to nothing about him, so how could she decide for any of them when she was the outsider here? As a famous idol, she knew how some people hated her without actually knowing her just because of what she was. While she had learned to live with it, she didn't like it, but it wasn't really anyone's fault. But she'd sworn, that she wouldn't start doing it herself when she knew better.
Still, she was very curious. Next time she managed to corner Rockman, she'd have him spill. Preferably in just a moment.
"I'm so sorry, Rockman! If it weren't for me then none of this would have happened! I got mad at Gonta and he turned into this big monster and then we were taken here and then she came-" Rockman just took it all in and ran his hand in soothing circles on her back.
Inwardly, Subaru was panicking. He'd never seen Prez like this and he'd never had to console a girl before. None the less being after being consoled himself on the very same day. He supposed he would never really get used to this side of Prez as the bubbly and emotional mostly happy-go-lucky schoolgirl instead of the authoritarian leader he dealt with daily. But it was definitely still her.
This time however, she was crying her heart out and it drove a point home. Even the toughest shells break every once in a while.
Unaware of the pop-star watching, Subaru slowly managed to soothe the girl enough for her to stop crying. Luna took a step back and looked at him as she sniffed a bit. "I didn't hurt anyone, did I? I don't remember anything after... after she took over."
"Everyone is mostly okay, I think. You shouldn't worry about anything just yet. Besides it's not your fault, so you shouldn't feel guilty about it. I know that you would never want for any of this to happen," Subaru said with his most comforting smile and meant it.
It seemed to brighten her up a bit before she got an anxious look on her face. "You haven't seen Gonta around? I need to apologize."
"He should be close-by further down the hall," Subaru turned his head and gestured. As he turned back however he was surprised. She had stepped two steps closer, looking at him with a small smile. Slowly, she leaned in. Then, perhaps at seeing his shocked look, she pulled back for a moment. But then she did what to Subaru was completely unexpected by his gridlocked mind, yet obvious by his hammering heart. Luna, blushing like mad, pecked him on the cheek before running off with a small "thanks".
Subaru just looked after her in disbelief. It was almost a full thirty seconds before he regained motor functions. Then he sighed, yet couldn't un-crack the smile. Will life ever get simple?
Then he moved outside, looking for Misora. He found her with a face matching her hair with embarrassment and a mixture of other emotions standing frozen with her back up the wall next to where she had peeked from, both hands down the side for support. As she saw him, a hand sprang up, shaking like an old piece of clockwork. With an accusing finger she pointed at him.
"Wh-at is she to you?" she croaked, still red-faced.
Subaru was confused. Just what did she mean? Did he even know? He went with the simplest answer possible. "She's a friend."
Then he worriedly asked "Are you okay?"
"Am I okay?" Misora repeated like she couldn't process the question.
She stalled, her finger dropping as she looked off to nowhere in particular. "I am okay, aren't I?" She asked herself. She shook her head.
"Of course, I'm okay!" She said as the finger went up again for a few seconds.
"That's good..." Subaru said as he bent backwards to avoid the finger.
They stood there awkwardly for a moment as Misora steadied herself. She fidgeted a bit with her black t-shirt. With it all wet, she shivered just a bit. It was then she remembered she wasn't under her usual cover as Harp Note. She felt exposed like this and pulled her arms around herself and stepped back a bit.
"So... you know who Harp Note is now, I guess... surprise." Misora said lamely, as she gestured to herself.
"Yeah. I suppose," Subaru said quietly.
Misora just wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.
"Must have been a bit of a shocker, huh? Harp Note being the pop idol," she fiddled a bit with her guitar.
"I had a feeling it might have been you, but I wasn't very sure," Subaru said, while looking away.
Her mouth fell open in surprise and she stared right at him. Subaru couldn't hold her gaze and quickly looked away.
"You've been looking for me?" Misora questioned.
"A bit maybe," Subaru admitted.
"So have I. A little bit," she returned uncomfortably.
"So I've heard."
"Did War-rock tell?" she asked and Subaru nodded.
"But, eh, I don't know how to say this but I wouldn't mind showing you," Rockman seemed just a bit hesitant. "Who I am, I mean."
Misora's eyes grew wide. "Really? Are you sure?"
Subaru smiled. "Yeah. I do trust you."
In a flash of green he turned from Rockman back into the form of Subaru Hoshikawa. Misora's eyes grew wide as saucers.
"Hi, I am Subaru Hoshikawa. Though I suppose you knew that already," he said.
"Must be a shocker, huh?" Subaru said shyly. "The great Rockman is just some silly boy, who runs away when people wants to help."
Misora was surprised, but then remembered herself and give him the brightest smile she could muster.
"Hi there, Subaru. It is nice to meet you. My name is Misora. Let's be friends." She held forth her pinky finger.
Looking lost, it suddenly dawned on him what she'd just said. Then he took her outstretched finger in his own. "Let's."
And with a slight shake they sealed the deal. A pinky promise.
They heard some commotion inside and Subaru saw that Luna, Kizamaro, and Gonta were on their way out. He glanced back at Misora, who now looked worried. However before she could excuse herself, Subaru decided to take action. He wasn't about to let his new friend walk out every time his friends approached.
"Wanna meet everyone? I'll introduce you," Subaru said. "They're really nice once you get to know them."
As she nodded, he grasped her hand and pulled her along gently. Less than three steps inside, he stumbled as his left leg gave out under him, but before he fell on his face Misora heaved him back up.
"Thanks! I guess, I'll have to rely on you," he said, red faced.
"Hey, don't mention it. That's what friends are for, right?"
A/N: Sorry about the lateness people. After all I promised less than 2 months and while I still have roughly 4 days this is reaaally stretching it. But you'll forgive me right? That's what friends are for, right? At least I hope the double chapter size makes up for it. This is the largest yet chapter yet (+7k words). ;) Tbh I just really wanted to get done with the arc so I just kept writing. xD
And what better time to do it than when blizzard is doing a Diablo III beta stress test for everyone? I hope some of you readers are participating, I sure am. Playing Diablo all day and then writing from midnight till dawn. Felt good even if the time - "12.01 AM" confused the hell out of us for a while. Get normal 24 hour system, America :p
Awh, I love the sometimes eccentric US, as it is. I would expect the next installment might be out around the 21st of may give or take, but it's not certain as I've yet to begin. Please excuse my scary outburst. It's 23:53 here and I am supposed to be sleeping by now. And by the other way - cause for celebration! We've reached 3200 hits. (3201 to be precise!) :)
If you like this story, consider taking a look at the story "Ryuusei no Rockman : The Sacred Promise" by RTNknight. It's a nice story that needs some love ^^
Oh and thank you for all the reviews. I read all of them (all 16 of them) :D