Yay, it's finally up! Sorry it took so ling, I........already had this rant at the begining of a diferent story^_^ Oh well, enjoy
Ch. 10
Rockman Exe. Stream
Meanwhile, Mr. Hikari came in from work.
"Welcome home, would you like something to eat?" Mrs. Hikari yelled to him from the kitchen.
Mr. Hikari took off his shoes and placed them near the door before walking in "No thanks. Where's Netto?"
"He and Forte went to bed already" she yelled
Mr. Hikari then made his way upstairs "Great, I'll scan him while he sleeps"
He got up the stairs and walked to Netto's room, stopping to stare at the closed door in surprise.
"That's odd, he never closes his door" he thought to himself as he started opening it. "Netto, is everything okay?" he asked beginning to peek in.
Netto awoke at the sound of his Father's voice "Yeah, everything's…" he happened to look over and see Forte floating above the copy bot with his eyes closed and head tilted down in sleep.
Mr. Hikari opened the door fully and stood in shock at the sight "F-Forte?!" Netto, what's going on?"
Netto looked at him and shook his head "I-I don't know"
Just then, Forte began to float towards the computer.
"Wait Forte!" Netto cried as he reached out to him.
His hand went right through him and he fell to the floor. Forte disappeared into the computer monitor, causing it to short circuit.
Mr. Hikari just stood there in shock of what he just witnessed "He's…gone"
Netto started putting on his skates "Not if I can help it" he then tried to stand when he felt a sharp pain and grunted.
"Netto, you can't go anywhere…"
Netto forced himself up "We have to help him" he struggled down the stairs.
Rockman continued in a worried tone "I know, but your ankle…"
"We'll worry about that later" Netto stepped out the door and skated down the street as fast as he could. "Can you track him?"
Rockman "Maybe, jack me in somewhere"
"Okay, I'll…" another sharp pain ran up his leg and he fell to the ground.
"Netto, are you okay?!" Rockman cried out.
Netto struggled to get up "Yeah, just…a little pain"
"Netto!" he turned and saw his dad, Meiru and Dekao running towards him.
Netto looked at them confused and surprised as they approached him "What are you guys doing?"
Meiru looked at him angrily "What do you mean; we're here to help you"
Dekao held up his fist "That's right, we'll get Forte back in no time!"
Gutsman held up his hand with the same enthusiasm as his net op "Guts!"
Roll nodded "He's out friend too, even if he needs an attitude check"
Rockman smiled at them "Thanks guys"
Back on the street, Mr. Hikari had picked up his son and started running "I called Meijin and he's picking up a large energy surge heading downtown"
Netto held tight to his father's back as he ran "Does he know who's doing this?"
"No, but he did contact Enzan and Dingo. We should run into them eventually" his father replied.
Netto nodded "Okay" the continued on.
Elsewhere on the net, a purple light struck down in the middle of an empty server. The light faded and Forte became visible.
He opened his eyes tiredly and looked around the empty server confused "How did I…get here?"
"How strange"
Forte turned around and saw Slur standing a few feet away.
"A navi that claimed to hate humanity now bares the signature of a human's on his chest" she said while pointing to Netto's crest, which Forte quickly covered under his cloak. "So now you rely on a human's strength to fight…"
Forte growled and quickly formed his arm blade "I don't need anyone's help to beat you!" he leapt forward and brought his blade down only to have it stop just above her head. "What?" he looked over at the strange navi that was holding his arm.
"Sorry, but I can't let you do that"
Forte started to struggle, but couldn't break free of his hold.
Slur slightly smiled at him "Let's see what you've gained in such a short time"
The strange navi grabbed Forte's head and forced him to look at him. "Okay, let's see now" it said once it finally got eye contact. "Don't worry, you won't feel a thing" its eyes started to glow red.
Forte tried to look away, but couldn't and his eyes glowed red too. Once their eyes stopped glowing, Forte lost consciousness and fell back into the navi's arm.
"Told you" it said in a joking tone.
"Shut up and get to work" Slur said before turning to walk away.
The navi watched her leave before turning his sight back to the unconscious navi in his arm "Some people have no sense of humor" it then placed its free hand on Forte's head jewel and it started to glow an odd yellow.
A few minutes later, Netto and company finally met up with Enzan and Dingo in front of a payphone.
"Did you find Forte?" Netto asked while getting off his father's back.
Dingo looked at him surprised "What, Forte's missing?!"
Enzan ignored him and responded to Netto "Yeah, the energy surge stopped around here"
Dingo looked at him angrily "You didn't tell me that Forte was missing!"
Enzan glanced at him agitatedly "You should pay more attention when being debriefed"
Netto walked passed them to the phone "Okay, let's go"
Everyone nodded in agreement before aiming their pet's towards the large receiver above the phone and reciting their respective phrase. The navis appeared on a platform and started running down a long narrow passage in a single file line.
Gutsman scraped against the wall "Ow! It's too cramp in here guts"
Roll ran ahead of him and momentarily glanced back "Don't worry, the path should open up soon"
As they continued, Slur appeared before them.
Rockman looked at her surprised "Slur, why are you…"
"No interference" she said before shooting an energy beam at them.
"Get out of the way!" Tomahawk yelled while pulling Rockman back and sliding passed him.
Dingo selected a chip on his holo-screen "Barrie chip, download!"
A barrier formed around Tomahawkman, which stretched to the walls and ceilings, completely blocking the attack.
Blues leapt forward and swung his standard sword "Where's Forte?!" she dodged his attack, but he continued his assault "Tell me!"
"You're in no position to make demands" she responding, dodging a few more of his attacks before hitting him back.
He fell on one knee, giving Rockman a clear shot at her with his buster. Slur disappeared and the shot continued down the path.
"What was that about?" Roll asked in a worried tone.
Rockman's hand reverted back to normal "I don't know, but we better hurry up and find Forte"
They continued down the path until it finally opened up into a large service area. Despite its size, it was completely deserted. The only thing around was a huge black dome in the center of the area. The navis quickly approached it and stared at it in wonder.
"Roll looked up at it "Wow, it's so tall! I can't see the top!"
Tomahawkman looked up "Wow, you're right!"
Rockman looked at them worriedly "This isn't the time to admire it"
Roll and Tomahawkman looked at him with large stupid grins on their faces "Sorry"
Blues calmly looked around "We need to find a way in, but I don't see one"
"What about that, guts?" Gutsman said while pointing straight at the dome.
Everyone looked ahead and saw what appeared to be a dark navi.
Blues immediately turned his hand into a sword and took his fighting stance "$#! What's a dark navi doing here?!"
The shadowy figure began to move towards them and its glowing red eyes quickly came into view.
Roll shivered in fear "B-But didn't you guys beat them all?"
"I guess we missed one" Tomahawkman said with an eager grin, while holding out his axe.
Rockman continued to watch the figure "…Wait, that's not a dark navi"
The figure moved into full view and everyone stared in shock "Forte?!"
He didn't respond as he continued to walk towards them.
Roll breathed a sigh of relief "Thank goodness you're safe" her relieved expression quickly twisted into a demonic glare as she yelled at the top of her lungs "DON'T SCARE US BY RANDOMLY DISAPPEARING LIKE THAT!"
The other navis swiftly moved away from their scary counterpart while Forte remained un-phased.
Tomahawkman quickly shook off his fear and smiled somewhat sheepishly "Well, at least you can rescue yourself. Right Rockman?!"
Rockman looked at Forte sternly as he approached "That's not Forte"
"What are you talking about? He's standing right there" Tomahawkman said with a puzzled look.
Blues looked at him "Do you believe everything you see?"
Tomahawkman pouted quietly.
Slur suddenly appeared on top of the dome and looked down at them "This has nothing to do with you"
Rockman looked up at her angrily "Slur! What did you do with Forte?!"
"What are you talking about? He's right in front of you" she responded with a coy grin.
Rockman shot his mega buster at her in frustration, but Forte blocked it with his double arm blades and descended towards them.
Netto quickly slid a chip over to him "Samurai sword chip, download!"
Rockman's buster switched to the sword and he started fighting Forte, but was quickly overpowered and forced to defend more. Upon seeing this, Blues joined in with his double swords and pushed Rockman away. Rockman was a little surprised, but let him do as he wished while he rushed over to the dome.
"There has to be a way in" he said to himself as he started feeling around for an entrance. Suddenly, his hands phased through and he disappeared into the dome. Roll yelled out to him, but there was no response.
Gutsman patted her on the shoulder "Don't worry, guts. He can take care of himself"
Slur looked down at them with her usual solemn expression "Hmm, that was unexpected. I'll have to hurry this up"
With that, five more navis walked out of the dome, all of them Fortes armed for battle.
"Oh guts!" Gutsman said in a worried tone while Roll cowered behind him.
Blues glanced passed the Forte he was fighting with to see the approaching group "Great, just what we needed"
Tomahawkman smiled as he summoned his axe "Oh good, I was starting to get bored. Come on!" he charged towards them.
Meanwhile, Rockman fell through the dome's wall and hit the ground face first. He slowly got up and rubbed his soar face with tears welling up in the corner of his eyes.
Rockman! Rockman, can you hear me?!" Netto yelled into his pet.
"Yeah, I'm here" Rockman responded groggily.
Netto lowered his voice some "What's going on? I can't see anything"
Rockman stood up and activated his head piece, which emitted a yellow light as he looked around. The net ops hovered around Netto's pet to get a good look at the inside of the down. Despite the light, the dome remained dark, but it did seem to be…moving.
"What is that?" Dekao asked with a quiver.
"I-It's moving. Why's it moving?" Meiru asked in a cowering tone.
Netto ignored the comments of his friends and focused on his pet "Be careful Rockman"
Rockman simply nodded and continued looking around the dome.
"Huh, I didn't think he would let anyone in" the voice caught Rockman off guard and he immediately looked up at the source.
His head light shone brightly on the navis blue and purple coloring. He appeared to be hovering and in front of him was an unconscious Forte, no doubt the real one, being held in place by a thick black mass jutting out of the dome.
"You must be special" the navi added with an inquiring tone.
Rockman ignored his comment and looked at him furiously "What are you doing to Forte?"
"Hmm? Oh him? Just peering into his heart" the navi said nonchalantly
Rockman's expression softened into one of confusion and shock "His…heart?"
If the navi had a mouth, it would probably be smiling "Yes. It's not every day that a rouge navi obtains a human partner. What a perfect opportunity to study a bond"
It placed its hand on Forte's head jewel, causing it to glow. Forte's soft grunt of discomfort was enough to throw Rockman into action. He quickly summoned his mega buster and fired a shot at the nave. It moved out of the way, allowing the shot hit the dome wall and disappear in a puff of smoke.
"Oh, you shouldn't have done that" the navi taunted.
The inner wall turned red and Rockman could clearly see it swishing around as it moved. Then a pointed red spike sprung out of the wall and came at him. He dodged, but was quickly met with more.
Netto slid a chip to him "Vulcan chip, download!"
Rockman's mega buster turned into a three barreled gun and he began to fire at some approaching spikes while dodging others.
"This dome is composed of his dark nature, it's not wise to fight in here. Still, I wonder how you were able to get in" it looked at Forte "Another mystery I have yet to solve. Oh well, back to work" it started to move back over to Forte.
Rockman looked up at it "Leave him alone!" at this moment, he was completely open and a spike scraped against his side. He shot it and continued on, ignoring his de-rezzing side "Forte, wake up!"
Another spike hit him, this time on the side of his head. He staggered a little before falling onto one knee and continuing to shoot "Forte!"
Just as the navi was about to continue his work, Forte began to stir. He groggily opined his eyes and blinked.
"…Rockman?" he said in a tired voice.
The strange black mass released him and he fell to the ground with a thud, groaning from the pain of the impact.
The navi's eyes widened in surprise "Well, that was unexpected" he then looked over at Rockman, who was back on his feet fighting for his life. "Hmm, I guess I'll have to take care of you myself or I'll never get any work done"
The spikes softened as they clamped around Rockman's limbs, leaving him completely defenseless. He struggled against them to no avail as the navi approached him. Forte managed to move just enough to see his struggling rival as the navi approached. He blinked several times before his daze wore off and he realized what was about to happen. He moved to sit up, but immediately fell back down in pain.
"No, I can't just sit here" he thought to himself as he forced himself to stand, ignoring the pain and dizziness that swept over him.
The navi stopped before him and flexed its hand "Don't worry, it'll be over quick and you should barely feel any pain"
It held its hand up and thrusted it downward. Rockman closed his eyes and awaited the pain, but it never came. He peeked through the crack of one eye before fully opening both in shock of what he saw. Before him stood Forte with the navi's hand lodged through his chest and poking at his cloak. Everything was quiet and still for a moment before the navi withdrew its hand, causing Forte to cough up…blood.
The sound snapped Rockman out of his daze and he began struggling again with tears forming in his eyes "F-Forte!"
Forte staggered forward a little before turning his head just enough so that Rockman could see his smiling face with blood staining his teeth and dripping down his chin. His smile said it all, but Forte still forced himself to speak.
"You are..my rival and…I alone will..have the pleasure of…killing you" with that he fell to the ground.
And there you have it. In case you haven't noticed, I don't havve a name for that random navi. I just can't think of anything.....hope you liked, let me know^^