Chapter 8: Riot in the Street
And here's where I really start going off on my own tangent. Once again, I'm skipping pretty much all the events in episode 8 because you can go look over that yourself and really don't want to type that either. It should be easy to pick up where I am though, I'll try and give a good idea before stuff changes.
Stuff about updates at the end.
Review Response Time:
LunaClefairy: Overpowered character is overpowered, main character or not (and as much of a badass as Blues is, that was just overdoing it). So I kicked the FMs up a few notches because if they could be taken down that easily, no one would have to team up, ever. Thought I think I mentioned that I basically sto-ahem, took inspiration from that design since it pretty much fit already. Arguing will insure, as their personalities just don't mesh at times.
Ultimate Black Ace: Zero's backstory is purposely vague in this chapter, as War-Rock only knows what he's been told. As for accuracy…actually very much so, but it's missing key points like why. Probably a 7ish? War-Rock filtered out most of the obvious bullshit that'll (maybe) be mentioned by other FMs later. And Luna hitting on Zero Blade...not sure…maybe? Wasn't planning a romance in the first place, though it might be fun…of I could make Tamotsu tick her off early on or something…hmmm…. Anyway, those mistakes you see were minor things I miss since only I'm the only one going over this, so I'm bound to miss a few things, hopefully nothing to big (though you'll probably see barley and barely mixed up….). Zero Blade, well, most skilled because I said Tamotsu already knew how to fight so that helped him…though he's going to have his own problems (remember our good friend Ox?) and already stated he has no Battle Cards. Subaru's Battle Card supply…yeah, gonna have to slowly work on that until something else happens later.
Delphi: Once again, I may try and track the games down if enough people want this fic to continue (or might even if they don't). They'll get to know each other later, when the situation isn't as bad and there aren't people listening in. And as for why I didn't establish Utagai more was because I would have literally been just typing the episode up, and the farther into this story I get, the less I want to do that. So anyone can just watch the episode real quick, less boring that way.
Anyway, though I have never played the games (I would but the roms never work for me, ever sadly.) I am throwing in a game exclusive element that will be obvious to anyone who either has played the first game, or if you just know some trivia. For those of you who don't know, well there's another surprise for you to see later on (unless you look it up).
Also, switching some facts around here and there, things that just work better with the plot, or I just like more, things like that. Nothing to big as of yet, since things haven't changed that much…well not counting this chapter.
It's not specified how much time has passed now, though you can assume a few days or so.
Oh and a cookie who can catch the name the small extra thing I did at the planetarium~
Subaru sat silently in the school's planetarium, looking up as he let it cycle through the planets at a rather leisurely pace. Currently it was on Saturn, giving a detailed close up of the rings surrounding it along with a few various facts.
Luna, Gonta and Kizamaro had left after they (Luna) had given him a full 'tour' of the new faculties on the school grounds. Apparently Luna had needed to go off and do something related to her class president campaign, something about volunteering in the community to get more credit.
It had been rather surprising at how nice Luna had been all things considered and how Subaru had acted to them earlier (though in his defense they had tried to force him to come against his own will…stupid War-Rock) though that probably had something to do with the events a few days ago at AMAKEN. The whole day she had seemed to not truly be paying attention, muttering something once in a while that sounded suspiciously like 'Sir Rockman…', only to snap at anyone who tried to make fun of her.
Thinking of the AMAKEN incident quickly drew Subaru's thoughts back to 'Zero Blade' and what War-Rock had told him about the other FM life form days ago. It hadn't been the most assuring thing in the world.
"Zero was once a very famous army general on Planet FM, so accomplished he was nothing short of a legend." War-Rock explained to Subaru as the two continued to fly over the city on the Wave Road, no destination in mind.
"A legend? How so?" Subaru asked, shifting his body so he moved to a different Wave Road.
"Well, he was supposed to be a master at tactics, and unlike a bunch of the other generals he was just as good at combat, insisting on being in the midst of any fight. He was basically the sole leader of the armies that often attacked Planet AM, being promoted quickly since he could hold his own against not one, but two AMs at a time."
"So he was a really important army general who was pretty strong? What happened, it didn't seem like Cygnus Wing was happy to see him…" Subaru pressed, trying to figure out what happened.
"Not just 'pretty strong', but really strong, more than it probably sounds like to you Subaru. AM life forms are just naturally stronger than FMs in most cases, so usually it's hard enough for us to hold our own against one, much less two. But as for 'what went wrong', I'm not sure. All I know is that he ended up attacking some research facility, killing most everyone there in rather…ah, creative ways, before stealing the Andromeda Key and trying to run. In the end, they got the Andromeda Key back from him though not before he killed pretty much everyone perusing him. He also managed to escape and was never seen again, branded a traitor and instructed to be killed on sight," War-Rock explained, trying to think what to say next.
"But why? If he was so well off why did he do all that?" Subaru questioned again.
"…No one ever told me the real reason why, heck, only those directly involved know why, and most of them were killed by Zero. So people tried to figure out why, and most people said he finally lost it from all the fighting he insisted on doing. Some said he became little more than a savage monster who only wanted to kill, having become obsessed with death. Others said he was always waiting for his chance to turn and try and overthrow King Cepheus like everyone else had been years ago, thinking that he would fare better than the others. Other than that and a few even more ridiculous rumors, I don't know much, other than that he seems to be on our side, or at the very least against the other FM life forms that are going to come here." War-Rock finished, and would have shrugged his shoulders if he had any at the moment.
"…Oh…" Subaru thought for a moment, "But he didn't seem that bad, and like you said he seems like he's on our side, so if he's really that strong, that's good for us then."
"Well, first off you don't know him at all, other than those five minutes," War-Rock pointed out, "And all that may be a lie for all I know. I mean, I know he tried to take the Andromeda Key, its how I was able to take it later since he tried to destroy it, and then the attack on the research facility in order to get the key. But other than that, I'm not sure, as they never said why he suddenly betrayed Planet FM, though I bet it had something to do with Planet AM being destroyed only a few days prior."
There was a few more moments of silence as Subaru rolled off the Wave Road he was on in order to dodge an incoming Skyway. He could just pass through it and no one would be the wiser, but it was just plain disorientating to do so, and just passing through a speeding train and people was a disturbing concept that Subaru still wasn't completely comfortable with.
"Subaru, if I were you, I wouldn't think of Zero Blade as an ally just yet." War-Rock suddenly said, surprising Subaru.
"Eh, But why not? I mean he, well, they saved us back there and are really strong so why not? And you saw that the two of them formed a Denpa-henkan like we did, so the person's gotta be willing and has to at least somewhat agree with whatever Zero wants to do right?" Subaru argued.
"Well, yes but…"
"And if he agrees, then that means that Zero's not planning anything to outrageous, or at the very least isn't planning to help destroyed the world. And you saw back there that he really wanted to fight Cygnus Wing. So, whether or not we have the same goal, we help each other with that. Enemy of my enemy and all that."
"…Let's just hope it's all as simple as you're trying to make it then," War-Rock muttered, deciding that trying to point out all the things that could, would, go wrong to the boy wasn't worth it.
Despite having argued that Zero Blade would be a good ally, Subaru himself wasn't entirely sure about it. After all, there were some messed up people in the world who may actually wish for the destruction of the planet. Though the person Zero had Denpa-henkaned with didn't seem like that, it was hard to know for sure. Last thing the brunet needed was an ally who would kill him as soon as he wasn't useful or something…
Looking down at his Transfer again, Subaru sighed, remembering how War-Rock had all but forced him to go to school, only to ditch him after a mere hour in class. The FM still hadn't returned, and Subaru was hoping that he wasn't causing too much trouble…
"You've been hanging out here Subaru?" A voice called into the planetarium.
Turning around and quickly closing his Transfer, Subaru saw a familiar boy standing by the entrance.
"Oh, hey Tsukasa!" Subaru called, waving the boy over.
The boy walked over casually, letting himself fall down into the seat next to Subaru, pushing back a little of his unusual shoulder length green hair so it didn't obscure his eyes. Turning so his lighter brown eyes met Subaru, he smiled as he quickly checked over what setting Subaru had the planetarium on. Leaning back rather causally with his arms behind his head, Tsukasa began;
"So, you've finally decided to come back to school, or is this just a onetime thing?" It wasn't accusing or pressing and insisting that Subaru come back, it was just a simple question.
"…I'm thinking about it…" Subaru began, relaxing as Tsukasa just nodded, not pressing the issue. Unlike most people who would insist that he come back after such a long time, Tsukasa had never pressed or insisted, just knowing Subaru well enough that he would come back on his own, he just needed his own time to heal.
"But what about you, I heard about that car crash a few weeks ago, you sure you're ok?" Subaru asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine, a few days in recovery and some stitches and I was ok. Though…" And suddenly Tsukasa trialed off, looking rather distant as he seemed to slip deep into thought.
"Tsukasa, are you ok?" Subaru asked as his friend's expression started to glaze over a bit.
"Huh? Oh yeah I'm fine," Tsukasa said, blinking a bit as he tried to focus better, "Just…recently I…well, can I tell you something Subaru? Something that you cannot tell anyone else?"
The seriousness of Tsukasa's tone was surprising to Subaru, since Tsukasa was generally rather laid back and understanding. But the serious look Tsukasa was giving him quickly told Subaru that this wasn't something to be taken lightly at all.
"Yeah, what is it?" Subaru managed to ask, resisting the urge to fidget a bit under Tsukasa's unwavering gaze.
"You promise not to tell anyone?" it was a demanding tone that commanded nothing but absolute truth.
"Yes, if it's that important, then I won't!" Subaru insisted, wondering what could be so important.
"Well…it's just that…" Tsukasa trialed off before standing up and looking at the screen of the planetarium that was now cycling through the zodiac sign consultations after it had finished the planets.
As the moments dragged into minutes, Subaru finally decided say something.
"Hey, Tsukasa, are you-"
"You're annoying, you know that?" The short and annoyed voice that came from Tsukasa shocked Subaru, though not nearly as much as when he turned around.
His normally happy smile and warm eyes had been replaced with a disapproving frown and a cold glair that did not belong on his face. Putting his hand into his pockets, Tsukasa just glared even more at Subaru's confused expression, hatred and annoyance practically radiating off his form, everything about him seeming off, seeming just wrong.
"Always moping about, always getting away with whatever you want, always getting into others business when you have not right to!" Tsukasa's voice had dropped to something that resembled a growl, before he suddenly turned and started out the door.
"H-hey, wait a second Tsukasa!" Subaru called, quickly getting up and running over to the boy, trying to grab his shoulder and stop him, "what's with you, why are you suddenly…"
"Don't touch me!" Tsukasa shouted as soon as Subaru's hand brushed his shoulder, quickly lashing out and attempting to hit Subaru only for the brunet to quickly back out of range.
"Don't ever touch me." And with that Tsukasa was out the door, leaving behind a baffled Subaru behind.
What had that been about?
Shaking it off, Subaru triggered the planetarium to shut off, looking back just in time to see whatever constellation had been projected earlier fade into the Cancer one and then off, to quickly for Subaru to know which one it was, not that it mattered. Walking out of the planetarium, Subaru hadn't made it three feet when his Transfer let out a 'beep' and a voice emitted from it.
"Man, I'm glad that's over…What?" War-Rock asked innocently when he noticed the look Subaru was giving him.
"Well, after you complain and beg to be taken to my school, you just leave as soon as you get bored again, seriously, what was the point then?" Subaru asked in annoyance.
"Well, I didn't know it was going to be even more boring that before!" War-Rock tried to defend, "I can see why you didn't want to go back though, how can you stand doing something so dull?"
"That's not the point-"
"Subaru!"
Quickly closing his Transfer and triggering the volume to mute in order to cut off War-Rock, Subaru turned to see Luna jogging up to him, Kizamaro not far behind. He was about to just take off, only to notice the worried look on their faces and how they lacked the larger Gonta near them. Getting a bad feeling at this, Subaru stopped and let the two come up to him.
"What is it Luna?" Subaru asked as the girl looked around repeatedly.
"It's Gonta…we were just walking down the road when he suddenly got really angry and ran away…he ran in this general direction, but we lost him…."She trialed off as she looking around the general area.
"I didn't even know Gonta could run that fast, usually he's pretty slow, but back there it was like he was a born athlete!" Kizamaro added, trying to catch his breath a little.
"You wouldn't have happened to see him run by, would you Subaru?" Luna asked, trying not to sound too worried. Truth be told, more had happened that just Gonta running away, as he had suddenly turned on her and yelled at her, going so far as to try and hit her before barreling down the street, knocking anyone out of his way.
"No, I was in the planetarium until a minute ago…" Dealing with something that sounded shockingly similar actually.
"Oh, I swear if that idiot's gone and gotten himself hurt…come on Kizamaro!" And with that she took off down the road, Kizamaro quickly following.
"Well that was odd…" War-Rock muttered as soon as the other two had left, noticing Subaru start walking he asked, "Hey, we're we going?"
"Well, I want to head back to AMAKEN and see how things are going there, remember we did make a mess of the place…and plus I wanted to check on Amachi, since he was the one who was targeted," Subaru said, choosing to ignore War-Rock's groan.
"But I thought we were going to go and train more, I mean come on after sitting around all day you've gotta want to burn off some energy right? After this right?" The FM complained.
"No, after this I have to head home, I have homework I have to do now." Subaru said, making a point to ignore War-Rocks protests.
Hiroki had been having a rather interesting time trying to get Axl to 'open up' so to speak.
After his initial explanation (which was extremely vague at best and only told him a few interesting tidbits before the FM seemed to start remembering less than pleasant things) he had pretty much clammed up completely, only speaking when asked a direct question and overall seeming to regress into a state where he hid in Hiroki's Transfer somewhere and didn't like to so much as show his face on the screen.
At least he stopped turning it off randomly.
But anyway, despite Axl pretty much shutting him out as much as he could, from what he had been told (and figured out himself) it wasn't all that surprising. After all, Hiroki wasn't entirely sure what you had to do to scar friggen energy, but it couldn't be pleasant. Not that scaring was ever pleasant, but still…
So Hiroki had made it his personal mission to make Axl not as afraid of everyone and everything, because honestly, his constant flinching whenever he so much as said his name hurt Hiroki's feelings, since he wasn't going to hurt him. Not like he could anyway, unless he smashed his Transfer or something, but that didn't seem to matter to Axl.
For the past few days, Hiroki felt like he had been making some good progress, despite how hard it was to work with Axl at times. Sometimes the young FM was more open, more trusting yet if Hiroki did one thing wrong he would immediately regress back to the closed-off state. It seemed to have helped that Hiroki never took Axl to a lab, or so much as mentioned one, but even then. It also seemed to help that Axl was more afraid of other FMs (not that Hiroki knew any…) than humans, at the very least the grey FM could talk to him without trembling in fear.
Axl, seeming to have the mentality off a young child to match his appearance, desperately wanted someone he could call a 'friend' and someone who he could receive the positive attention that he had been deprived off. Despite Hiroki being completely willing to provide both of those things, Axl was extremely hesitant to accept such things, past experience making him overly cautious to the point he was expecting to be betrayed and hurt at one point or another.
Of course, with Hiroki's carefree attitude, Axl found himself at the very least not as afraid as before, even though that same attitude also caused him to get nervous when he started asking question after question. Seeing this improvement, however small, encouraged Hiroki to keep it up, more or less forcing Axl to talk to him more and be more open, and trying to assure him that simply talking to him wouldn't get him in trouble.
"…Hiroki…are you going to that…arcade place again?" Axl hesitantly asked from the green Transfer, after several days of near silence he finally had enough courage to at least ask simple questions freely.
"Yup, even if I had to wait tell the end of school to do so…I still don't like going to that place…it suppresses me I tell yah, especially on such a nice day!" Hiroki answered with a groan, though he was careful to not sound to annoyed.
"If…if you don't like it…then why? Why do you go there?" Axl pressed a bit, it was something he had been wondering for a while, since Hiroki always made a big deal of it.
"Well…" Hiroki started, wanting to give a good response since follow-up questions were rare, "I guess I could not go, but that wouldn't be good, my dad would get really, really mad at me, and then we'd start yelling at each other again and all kinds of other not fun stuff would happen. So I just have to deal with it and go and be bored out of my mind for a few hours. And school doesn't get out that late (I guess), so I'll still have plenty of time to go out and mess around, see if I can't beat my high score at that arcade…"
Hiroki trailed off as he quickly tapped the screen a few times, checking his credit balance and how much physical money he had. Despite everyone saying that paper and coin money would eventually disappear, it had yet to, since there was just so much of it already. But like most kids his age, the majority of his money was digital, since it was just easer to carry and (generally) harder to steal.
Axl had moved off to the side of the screen, silently watching as Hiroki brought up the screens. It was interesting to see all the things that the little device could do, though he himself could queue up any of the stats much faster than that. Axl still wondered why Hiroki still went to school, if he didn't like it so much. There were the point he brought up, and he had already bore witness to a shouting match between father and son once, but they weren't that bad, it wasn't like Hiroki ever got hurt.
Maybe it was just that sense of 'obligation', just like how he had started to feel with Hiroki. He didn't have to stay, but he chose to since it was the safest place he knew of, and Hiroki accepted and even encouraged that. The young raven haired boy continued to try and encourage the FM to open up, state his mind and stand up for himself. And, even if he still hesitant, Axl was at least grateful for Hiroki doing what no one else had for him. And Axl knew that he already felt 'obligated' to at least try and do what the boy wanted, try and open up, try and not be afraid.
Axl continued to watch the boy, crossing his legs (something that was apparently rare among FMs and EM beings in general, but it seemed common enough here) so he could float a bit more comfortable in the Transfer, and take up less space on the screen. He could always go deeper into the transfer, but then he wouldn't be on the screen anymore, and Hiroki didn't like that. So, the obedient part of him that had been forcefully beaten into him made him stay, at least unless Hiroki asked him to move.
As more and more screens popped up and took up more space of the screen, Axl let his form shift and lose its structure completely for a moment, letting it change into a small cat-like form that took up even less space. It had been something that he had always been able to do, copy the general form of most anything living creature he saw(though his color and armor always stayed the same), and while it fascinated Hiroki endlessly, discovering this ability had led to a whole new series of test…
Axl sat calmly, his new tail twitch a bit unconsciously as he saw Hiroki blink at his change before continuing to look over a few more things. It had startled the raven-haired boy the first time but now it was relatively normal for him to see Axl change shapes more and more. The one Axl tended to assume was of Hiroki's cat (though really that thing hated him, but his dad had denied any possibility of getting a dog) since the young FM saw her the most, and Axl seemed to like that the cat was always relaxed and rarely ever stressed, something he himself wanted to try and achieve.
Axl had been extremely hesitant to show Hiroki this and it was only after spending more time with the young boy that Axl decided to show him. Hiroki himself was remembering what had happened a few days ago that had caused the young FM to at least be able to perform his amazing ability somewhat freely.
Axl's head shot up as he sensed an energy flux. It was defiantly one of a Denpa-henkan, and it was close by at that. But what worried him was that it wasn't one he recognized, since each one gave off a certain 'feel' and he had memorized the ones he assumed belonged to Rockman and Zero Blade (though who's was who's he wasn't entirely sure), but this one…Somehow he just knew it wasn't the same, not only was the energy signature different, but it just felt different, more forceful, more harsh, darker really.
"H-Hiroki, get away from here!" Axl suddenly found himself nearly shouting, fear for the boy's safety overriding his own hesitation.
"Wait what-" Hiroki started, looking over at the only thing nearby; AMAKEN Labs that was across the street.
And the front of the building exploded.
Shortly after, a blue and white bird-man had flown out before assaulting the building again, forcing people to evacuate. Hiroki had watching as Rockman had suddenly appeared and attacked the one that had been attacking, before Axl managed to get his attention again.
"You have to get away, you could get hit!" Axl said surprisingly steadily, fear for the one person who actually cared washing away his own at there being another FM so close.
Hiroki seemed to want to refuse, after all he was far enough away were he (maybe) wouldn't get hit, and, being the young boy that he was, he really wanted to see this up close and not just whatever someone recorded and posted. But Axl did have a point (sadly) and there was the fact that he had all but demanded it, something Hiroki was convinced that he would never hear.
"Please!"
So, despite how much he wanted to see the fight, Hiroki turned and ran down the road.
And ever since that incident Axl had at least started taking more, even if he still had a slight stutter occasionally and often didn't ask questions even when it was obvious he wanted to. Apparently 'getting away' with ordering Hiroki around and not getting anything negative had at the very least boosted his confidence somewhat.
"So…" Hiroki started, trying to sound innocent as he closed all the screens on his Transfer and let Axl slip back into his usual form. Of course, the grin trying to work its way on his face made it obvious what he was going to ask, "…are you ever going to tell me how to do that Denpa-henkan thing? Huh?"
Axl winced at the boys eagerness to do that, ever since he had been explained the concept he had been in love with the idea of doing so as soon as he could. But for all his hesitation and willingness to submit, that was the one thing that Axl continued to refuse to do with Hiroki. The young FM didn't want to drag the boy into the fights that were happening; he didn't want him to get hurt.
And Axl really, really, didn't want to let anyone else know he was in this solar system, much less that he was fighting.
"…Hiroki…" The FM started, looking up at the boy.
"I know, I know…'You don't know what you're asking, you'll get hurt, etcetera, etcetera. But they're attacking people…what if they attack me?"
Axl was silent at that.
"So it only makes sense that I should get some awesome powers and stuff cause then I could defend myself and kick some alien butt and then I wouldn't have to worry about running away all the time and I could help out and not just have to sit back and watch and…" Hiroki paused as he remembered to breath, "…so wouldn't that be better?"
Axl looked at the hopeful expression on the boy's face.
Axl fidgeted.
"…well…maybe…b-but, I'm not, I'm not very strong, so you'd be really w-weak and then you'd get…h-h-hurt…and…and I just don't want anyone to know I'm here…what if…w-what if they, they try and take me b-back…" Here he trailed off, shaking a bit as he seemed to be remembering something especially bad.
"Ah, it's fine, it's fine!" Hiroki quickly said with a dismissive wave, trying to calm the FM, already seeing the signs of him regressing back to the near silent state he had been in before, "I was just saying you know? It's not a big deal, besides saving the world or something sounds really hard, and how would I defend my title if that took up all my time?"
Axl seemed to at least calm somewhat, no longer looking as if he wanted to break down and hyperventilate until he passed out, or at the very least hide from the world. Hiroki let out a mental sigh of relief at that, though he felt annoyed that he wouldn't be able to Denpa-henkan anytime soon, not if Axl didn't want to at least.
Working on that was quickly moved to the very top of his mental 'must do ASAP' list, especially after he had looked up more footage of Rockman and Zero Blade's fight with Cygnus Wing.
Hiroki continued to walk in silence for a few more minutes, Axl looking downwards and like he was disappointed in himself.
"…you know I wouldn't let them take you back right?" Axl looked up at Hiroki, rather taken aback by the serious voice, "I already told you that didn't I? So why do you keep worrying about it, I'm not just gonna take that back all of a sudden and abandon you. So stop worrying about it ok? There's no need, so stop it already, it's depressing and I don't like that. At all."
Axl nodded obediently.
"Good. Now come on I've got a title to defend!" Not that the grey FM had any real choice in the matter, but that was beside the point.
And then Axl felt a sudden 'flux' ahead of them, a new Denpa-henkan that he had never been close enough to feel before. It wasn't Rockman or Zero Blade, yet it didn't feel like Cygnus Wings had, but at the still time felt 'dark' and more 'harsh', like it was a combination of the two. It didn't make any sense, but it was the only way to describe the odd feeling.
"H-Hiroki…" Axl started, only to stop as another feeling washed over him.
A new 'wave' of energy washed over the area ahead of them, holing a similar feeling to the flux from before, yet it was so unlike Denpa-henkan…It was more wide-spread, covering the entire block ahead, the electromagnetic wave having traces of an FM life form Axl was unfamiliar with.
The wave was also filled with the intense feeling of such intense hate in made the young grey FM shake.
Noticing Axl's sudden pause, Hiroki looked down at his Transfer just in time to see the grey FM looking wide-eyed at him.
"What's wrong?" Hiroki asked as he stopped and stepped to the side to let others pass.
"Don't go that way!" Hiroki blinked at the nearly panicked tone in Axl's voice
"Why? What's wrong?"
"I-it's an FM Life form!" Axl hurriedly replied, hoping that Hiroki would leave…whatever was ahead it was something that was angry. With what Axl didn't know, but past expirance let him to know that if someone was angry, it almost always ended horrible.
"An FM life form? But why would one of them be here…"
"I-I don't know…but…b-but they're sending out s-some…w-weird energy waves over t-there!" Axl stuttered, the strange feeling the waves gave him nearly driving him into a panic.
"Weird energy waves? But why would an FM life form…" Hiroki started, only to trial off as he noticed the sudden shift in behavior from the people the next block up.
One person just happened to bump into another, which wasn't a strange thing considering just how crowed the streets were. But instead of just brushing it off like normal, the two immediately turned onto each other, starting to shout at each other and growing louder with each passing second. Another person quickly got mad at them for standing in the middle of the sidewalk and shoved them out of the way.
As soon as this happened, one of the men got up and punched the man who had shoved him in the face, causing him the crash into a woman who let out and screech and shoved him away before yelling at him.
From there, it simply escalated, more and more people getting pulled into the conflict with each passing second until it was a full on riot, everyone throwing punches at everyone else, no one caring who they hit.
Hiroki just stared at chaos before him, noting how it just seemed to end were the block did, people like him just staring in shock, anyone who tried to get close quickly becoming just as aggressive and entering the brawl. It took only a few minutes for drivers to start trying to mow down people as well.
"Holy crap…" Hiroki muttered in shock at everyone's behavior.
Taking another minute to look at the violence before him, Hiroki decided to follow several other people's lead and flee before whatever was causing people to senselessly lash out spread and engulfed them as well.
As much as he wanted to see Rockman or Zero Blade in action, it really wasn't worth getting hit by a car.
"…I thought I told you to get the hell away!" An angry voice shouted.
Subaru looked over just in time to see one man tackle another, a brawl quickly breaking out between the two. Surprisingly enough, others seemed to be encouraged by this, and many cheered the two on while others even started their own fights. In a matter of minutes, the street ahead of Subaru was filled with angry people all lashing out, trying to cause any bodily harm they possibly could.
Taking a step back Subaru just watched the scene in shock, "What…what's going on here?"
"Hey! Watch where you're driving that damn thing!" A woman shouted at a car that just very nearly ran her over.
The driver seemed to take this as a challenge and turn around, the side of his own car scrapping another's, and floored it. The woman, seeing the danger, quickly jumped out of the road and onto the sidewalk, only for the driver to turn around again and drive on the sidewalk, forcing many people to scatter.
"Stop running damn it!" he screamed as he nearly hit a young child.
"This has to be Gemini's doing!" War-Rock shouted to Subaru not bothering to explain just who Gemini was, "Quick, you need to find him and stop this!"
"Get the hell out of my way kid!"
Quickly jumping out of the way, Subaru winced as the speeding car impacted with a storefront, but he didn't waist anytime checking the people, not when they were just as likely to attack. Running around and to an alleyway, Subaru quickly transformed.
"Denpa-henkan! Hoshikawa Subaru, On-Air!"
Quickly propelling himself forward with a jump, Subaru tackled a man out of the way who had decided it would be a good idea to play chicken with a speeding car. The man instantly started to struggle, shouting profanities and various threats, hitting Subaru repeatedly, though he was unable to do any notable damage.
Shoving the man away, Subaru ran forward, firing several shots at the car that was still attempting to run over anyone who so much as flinched. There were several loud 'pop' sounds and the smell of burning rubber as Subaru managed to shoot out three of the tires.
"That was my car you asshole!" the diver shouted as he continued to try and drive, even with only one tire still intact.
Not flinching as the man drove full speed towards him, hell-bent on running him over, Subaru just widened his stance a bit and braced himself before pushing his arms out as soon as the grey car was within reaching, War-Rock biting onto the metal enough to make it crumple a bit as he got a firm grip.
Holding the car back easily, Subaru quickly debated on what to do before coming up with an idea that would at least work for the moment. Slowly, Subaru picked up the car a bit until the front was completely off the ground. Ignoring the shouting man, Subaru then slowly turned the car onto its side, watching the man panicked at the sudden movement, grabbing onto the side in order to steady himself. As soon as Subaru let go however, he continue to press the gas, only for the wheels to spin in the air helplessly.
Reflex helped him dodge the sudden punch that attempted to hit him in the side of the head. Quickly turning, Subaru was surprised to see a seething red-faced Gonta, who shouted something at him before trying to punch Subaru again. Dodging backwards, Subaru bumped into another person, who quickly grabbed him.
"You think you're amazing don't you, going around, 'saving people' don't you? Don't you!" the man shouted as he held a broken shard of glass like a dagger, ignoring the way it bit into his hand and caused blood to run down his arm.
Elbowing the man in the gut, Subaru quickly leapt upwards and onto a Wave Road, looking down at the chaos below. It was nothing short of a full-blown riot, with people fighting, breaking into stores and cars trying to total each other with no regard to others in the road.
"This is…this is insane…" Subaru breathed, watching the chaos below, not knowing what to do.
A second later he had to jump down and scoop a person up who thought it would be a good idea to start beating a car with a pole that used to hold up some display. Subaru carried the man out of the apparent 'range' of the area affected, marked by the lines of people hesitantly watching and Satellite Police debating on what to do and if entering would be a good thing or just escalated things further. Almost immediately the person stopped trying to punch Subaru and looked confused before stuttering an apology.
"R-Rockman, err, I'm so sorry…"
"It's wonderful just how easily people can be manipulated isn't it?" A new voice called.
Whirling around and looking up, Subaru saw the source of the voice coming from what was obviously a Denpa-henkaned FM life form. Dressed in a black and grey body suit with bright orange hair, the boy-like FM looked surprisingly human and normal, despite the large gold metal right arm, or the strangely green skin and red eyes. Smirking a bit at Subaru's expression, the FM continued to hold out his golden arm to the crowed, Subaru just now noticing the strange energy waves that it emitted.
People almost instantly started to panic, especially since to them the stranger was 'flying', even though he was just controlling his state enough to stand on a Wave Road yet still be visible. Many people quickly put what he said and his odd appearance together and almost instantly established that the 'boy' was similar to Cygnus Wing or the Virus-Humans.
Satellite Police instantly raised their various weapons, be they for Denpa capture or subduing more solid perpetrators, though the other boy didn't look concerned. In fact, he didn't even bat an eye as Detective Gorida stepped forward and boldly fired a shot from a high caliber Ray Gun.
Slashing outward with the bulky gold arm, the FM life form swatted the blast aside and smirked at everyone's shocked expression, all but daring the detective to try that again. Detective Gorida stepped back, deciding to think of a better idea, and the FM gave a nod of approval before going back to ignoring the Satellite Police, attention solely focused on Rockman.
"You know, I was wondering if it would affect people who've Denpa-henkaned before, apparently not. Damn…Though my ultrasonic waves are still extremely effective on all the other humans, not that that's surprising really, they're so stupid and weak."
"Stop it right now!" Subaru demanded.
The FM scoffed. "Why? I think it's rather fitting that I can make people feel even a fraction of the rage and hate I feel towards every last one of the bastards. Though…" And then he stopped the waves, lowering his hand and watched as the people almost instantly stopped fighting and started to nearly panic at what they had done, "…I hate that the effects don't last."
"Gemini, what do you want?" War-Rock shouted at the black FM, who just smirked.
"Well, War-Rock, or should I say Rockman, it's not what I want that you should be worried about…"
As if those were the magic words, people started screaming again as a voice rang out;
"Denpa-Henkan! Ushijima Gonta, On-Air!"
Subaru turned to look down just in time to see Gonta become surrounded by light and fire as the transformation occurred. When it cleared a second later, what looked like an armored Minotaur stood in Gonta's place, thick red armor covering most of his upper body and the black body suit, with fire leaking out of the ends of the orange plates on his gauntlets.
"Ox Fire!"
"Ox is here to?" War-Rock asked no one in particular, only to be interrupted by Gemini laughing.
"I hope you have fun with my…comrade, Rockman! I went through all this trouble to get him 'fired up' for you, you know!" Gemini turned to leave, only to pause and look back with a smirk.
"Oh and if you get to go by 'Rockman, then you gotta call me 'Gemini Spark', ok?" And suddenly he was gone, slipping quickly into what looked like a black hole, which dissipated a second later.
"…Gemini Spark..." Subaru muttered, feeling like something was wrong, what with the way Gemini Spark had been talking…
"Pay attention Subaru!"
"Fire Breath!"
Leaping backwards and onto a low hanging Wave Road, Subaru managed to just barely dodge the blast of fire that had been aimed at him. Crouching there, ready to spring away at a moment's notice, Subaru looked down at Ox Fire, (who was thankfully ignoring the fleeing people around him) and glared and mentally prepared himself for the fight. Ox Fire let out a snort and started to paw the ground with his foot just like a bull would while War-Rock let out a challenging growl in return.
So yes, I end another chapter right when they start to fight, but everyone does that, cannon or not. And I kind of had to because I originally typed out the whole thing as one chapter but it was well over 12,000 words then.
Anyway, about my update; I was mainly asking just because I was curious, and I've decided to stick to the once-a-week time every Friday or Saturday. But I may post an extra chapter if I ever need a motivation boost. Not saying I'm going to go all 'If I don't get X amount of reviews I don't update' thing, but just reading all your kind responses gives me a huge motivation boost and I tend to type up the next chapter within a day or two of posting from the flood of feedback I get.
Plus When I'm posting this chapter I've already typed out everything up the chapter 12. Haven't gone over all of it, but I can guarantee updates for several weeks at least.
