Chapter 14
"Enker, this is Lothogos," a deep voice crackled across the golden navi's helmet radio.
Enker placed a hand against his earpiece, "go ahead."
"Net saviours spotted. They're in the back alley, looks like one of them is about to jack into the door lock and hack access. Should I set up a welcoming party?"
"Negative, clear everyone back from the lock system, we want 'em to get to th' heart before we attack."
"Understood." The broad gray navi turned to face the soldiers Dante had given him. "We're to pull out and permit them entry. Everyone fall back to my operator's adjacent domain, we'll file in after they pass through, and set up to ensure they don't get out." The army of navis jacked out, and seconds after they left a familiar blue navi appeared. He scoured the mainframe, eyes keenly seeking any sign of an ambush.
"I don't see anything. No viruses, no darkloids, no programs." Rockman's voice carried into the alley from the blue PET's speakers, echoing off the dingy brickwork.
Netto looked toward his friends, "could Meijin-san be mistaken?"
Enzan shook his head, "unlikely. I say we go in and check it out. Worse case scenario, it is a false lead, and we join the other saviours in the hunt for Menjari."
"I agree," Meiru chimed in, "if we don't check it out, we risk giving Menjari access to dark chips, and we all know how powerful they are in the wrong hands."
"Then it's agreed, we go in, give it a thorough check, and we get out." Raika plugged his PET into the lock, "Searchman, open the door."
"Yes sir," the camo-clad navi appeared in a flash and had the lock disabled in seconds, permitting the team of net saviours to enter.
"Alright, form teams of two," Enzan turned to face the others. "Pride and Raika, Netto and Sara, Meiru, you're with me."
"Why's Meiru with you all of a sudden?" Netto shouted defensively, "since when have you been so cool with her?"
"Chill out Hikari," Enzan's glare sent ice through the net saviour's veins, "Sara is new to cross fusion, and considering you're the veteran I figured she could learn best from you."
Netto was shocked by Enzan's compliment. "Enzan . . . I, I'm s-"
The boy turned his back toward the speaker, "let's go." Without waiting for a reply he ran inside the building, the others following closely. Netto, feeling foolish, followed glumly behind.
Sara looked at her partner, "I don't want to come between you and your girlfriend or anything. I don't want to be a burden."
Netto blushed, "she's not my girlfriend," he said too quickly. "Besides, Enzan's right, I was the first to cross fuse, so it is probably best that you stick with me. I just need to learn to not overreact so much."
"Netto," Rockman called out from the PET, "the navis will stick to the building network, that way if a dimensional area crops up, we'll be on hand."
Sara lifted her white PET from its holster, "Angel, go with them, lend whatever assistance you can."
"Yes, Mistress Sara." The white-winged navi bowed to her operator, then vanished into a swirl of white pixels.
---
The group of navis sped through the security server, scanning every shadow and crevice for enemies that did not appear. Rockman and Blues took the lead, eyes ever watchful, while Searchman followed, search cannon armed and ready. Morgana and Roll cautiously took up the rear, while Angel soared overhead. As she scanned the horizon with lucent orange eyes, she witnessed a small movement; a solitary met, marching its way along the system subroutines. "I see a met up ahead, looks like it's on its way into the core system, but it's not attacking the mainframe."
Searchman dropped to one knee, "I'll get it." He brought up the cannon, zeroing in on the solitary virus. Rockman saw it was well, and the met made visual contact, its red eyes gleaming neutrally.
"Don't fire on it," Blues said as he laid a hand on Searchman's rifle, "if there are enemies ahead you'll alert them to our presence. Let's move on."
The group resumed its march; Rockman turned to Blues, mouthing the word 'Boushi,' to which the stoic navi nodded.
"Real genius, soldier boy," Morgana scoffed, "good thing someone here has the common sense to not give away our position."
"Keep pushing me, and the next shot won't be aimed at a mettaur."
---
Boushi, in the mettaur's body, watched the net saviours walk away. Both Blues and Rockman had seen him, but stopped the green one from firing. Perhaps Blues was not as angry with him as the red navi had believed. Or perhaps, there were more important things to do. That, he could sympathize with. He hurried along, accessing the shortcut he'd learned of from the memories of the one called Lothogos. Moments earlier, he'd hacked the gray navi and used his power to slaughter the rest of the contingent guarding the security system. Not only would that ensure the net saviours reached their target unimpeded, but also they would have an easy escape if things got to dangerous for the humans.
The red-eyed mettaur easily located the shortcut, and after riding it back to the actual destination, found himself in an unusual mainframe. The sky was purple and shimmering, as was the grid. The entire server structure seemed to pulse and quake with a malignant sentience, and it took the red navi several moments to regain his sense of coordination. Ahead, he saw the one called Dante, as well as the golden navi who'd protected him earlier. There were others, many of whom bore the same alien code as the girl Dante had made, and they all were gathered before a massive Gray and Purple navi.
"Mazeman," Dante said, "have you made your preparations?"
"Yes my lord," the stone-like figure replied, "as soon as you give the order, I will scramble the cyberscape configuration, separating the net saviours from each other, thus making them ripe for the plucking. My men have also established control of the technology those so-called darkloids left behind."
"Excellent," Dante turned toward Jezebel, "tell me, my dear, who is the strongest of the intruders? Who should I most fear?"
"Rockman," the red-haired navi said quietly. "The blue navi has destroyed many villains, and has the power to destroy even you."
"Then, once Mazeman has separated them, I want you and Enker to take some of the acolytes and isolate him. Make sure he doesn't leave this place alive."
---
Passing through a warp gate, the group of navis emerged into an alien server cyberscape, with floors and a ceiling colored in an undulating shade of purple. As they walked in, cautiously looking around, they were unaware of the eyes that watched them. Roll screamed as she turned, finding herself face to chest with a purple and gray navi. She leapt back, with Morgana interposing herself between the two.
"Shifting Walls," Mazeman shouted as he slammed his hands down on the ground, and the navis scrambled for balance as the world began to tip, walls shooting out of the ground and ceiling. In mere seconds, the navis found themselves divided, and a spine-chilling laugh echoed across the battlefield. "Welcome to my maze," the navi shouted victoriously, "you are now trapped in a world where I am king, and the very walls bend to my will."
Cut off from his friends, Rockman turned to examine the walls when the flaming fist contacted his back, slamming him against the stone wall. The air was forced from his lungs, silencing the scream he mouthed as agony flushed through his soul. As he fell backward it hit him again, slamming him against the floor, and as he stared in confusion at the woman he felt himself falling, and consciousness finally escaped him as he slipped into the warp.
On the other side of the wall, Morgana and Angel looked dubiously at the stone corridor. "Is it just me, or can you just see the viruses down that path?"
Angel nodded slowly, her golden hair cascading down over her eyes. "It's a good thing we don't have to deal with them.
The black dressed navi shook her head, suddenly aware of the relative shortness of her boyishly cut black hair, "what do you mean? How else are we supposed to get back with the others?"
Angel flared her wings, their feathered tips brushing the stone walls, "I figured I'd just fly up to the top of the wall."
Morgana rolled her eyes, "oh seriously now! This is a dangerous villain, capable of successful combat without operator support. I'm sure that we're not going to find such an obvious flaw in his plan!" She returned her gaze to the American navi, finding her a great distance up, perched upon the wall's top. "I . . . I . . . I cannot . . . believe this . . ." she rested her forehead against the palm of her hand, exasperated.
"Yeah, no contingency against flying navis, go figure." Angel leaned over to the next corridor, "hey Roll, just fly up!"
The pink navi levitated to Angel's side, landing gracefully atop the stone barrier. She chuckled in amusement, "this is somehow anticlimactic. Blues, Searchman, Morgana, Rock, you all should be able to use Area Steal chips to get up here." Their respective operators complied, and in a few seconds, the navis were reunited on the stone walkway. All of them, save Rock, who had mysteriously disappeared.
Roll's subsequent search for the blue navi was cut short, as Mazeman's frenzied shouts reached them atop the wall. "Hey . . .HEY! You can't just walk on the wall's top! That's cheating!"
The navis exchanged glances; Blues gestured toward Searchman, who raised a hand. "Oh no, please, after you." Blues leapt from the wall, plummeting towards Mazeman with his sword arm poised to strike. The gray and purple navi stared in shock as the red streak raced towards him.
"Hero Sword, battle chip in!" Enzan slotted the powerful sword chip, and as the bright blade flashed into being the navi below screamed and attempted to flee. He managed to put a few yards between himself and the deadly net savior, but a lightning quick swipe from the blade cleaved him in half, and the environment quickly returned to normal.
"Rock? ROCK!" Roll screamed the blue navi's name, but he was nowhere to be found.
Searchman laid a hand on Roll's shoulder, and the act of compassion stunned Morgana. She'd fostered a belief that the Sharo navi was a heartless jerk, but to see such boundless sympathy in his eyes made her question it. "Try and relax Roll," the camouflaged navi said reassuringly, "we all know how strong Rock is, I'm sure he can take care of himself."
---
Deep in the heart of the building's network, the gathered navis filled the void with the din of casual conversation, which flushed to silence as Enker and Jezebel appeared before them. With a triumphant laugh, Enker tossed an unconscious blue navi to the ground. "Navis and viruses, may I present, Rockman!"
A roar went up from the crowd as each present thrilled at the opportunity to witness the demise of the Undernet's greatest threat. Unbeknownst to the crowd, a red-eyed mettaur watched the spectacle with unabashed horror; and unknown to him, an enigmatic woman watched from the distance, her amber eyes coolly observing the unfinished one who wore the virus' skin. She could see many things when she looked at someone, perhaps some might call it their destiny; she hoped that was incorrect, for all she could see was darkness, wrapped about the navi's shoulders like a mantle.