What the heck is this with the combining of the "RockmanEXE" and "Mega Man" sections!? Not that I have any problems with the other Rockmen (I did just buy Megaman X8. :) AXL!!! XD), but getting through all the stories can be a little hard. Maybe we should suggest another dropdown box that will sort the stories by series… Okay, I'm done rambling. Enjoy the chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own RockmanEXE.
Chapter 36: Together
"Rockman…"
It had been Roll who had whispered the familiar name. She and many others of his friends had come to Sci-Lab when news had spread that he and Lightman had been discovered in a remote section of Sci-Lab after an alarm had gone off, unconscious and on the verge of deletion. No one had any idea how they had gotten there, who had set the Sci-Lab alarm off, and, above all, why the pair was so heavily damaged. Some speculated that someone had broken in and Rockman and Lightman just happened to be there at that time and a difficult battle had ensued, resulting in their near deletion. However, many others, including those who knew Rockman and Lightman better, doubted such a story—no battle that would nearly kill the two battlers would go unnoticed by the rest of the Sci-Lab. No, certainly something more drastic had happened. Laika theorized that maybe another assassination attempt on the twins had occurred. This time, the twins had barely won and somehow made it back to Sci-Lab, setting off the alarm once they arrived in order to alert everyone to their presence before finally passing out. The battle, Laika concluded, must have occurred in the Undernet because, again, a battle that could do so much damage to such exceptional warriors would not have gone unnoticed by officials. When Laika shared his thoughts with the others in the room awaiting the twins' recovery, every agreed that it was a likely story.
"I wish they wouldn't do things like this," Tomahawkman said, tapping his foot rather impatiently. "They should know that they have friends that are willing to help them. But all they have been is tight-lipped. We have no idea what has been going on with them."
"Well, Rockman has changed drastically since Netto-san died," Numberman mentioned. "Maybe the shock of losing his net-op has resulted in his dread of losing someone else and he has therefore kept his concerns to himself?"
"And Lightman's just along for the ride since he was made to accompany Rockman…" Tomahawkman mused.
"Well, they still should know better!" Yaito said. "Netto would be disappointed in Rockman for putting himself in such danger."
"I would like to know how they got into such danger," Searchman continued. "It makes no sense as to why Myst would target them with such diligence." Blues nodded in agreement.
"How is that whole thing with going with Myst anyway?" Dekao asked.
Laika shook his head. "Not good. We don't get very many leads and it seems the only lead we do have," at this, he looked at the twins, "have not been very cooperative."
"Well, you probably do not need to worry about Myst anymore," a gentle yet powerful voice said from behind the navis. The navis all whirled around to face a small band of navis they did not recognize.
"Who are you, desu?" Iceman asked, rather breathless at the sight of the enchanting silver and white navi. The whole group seemed just as breatheless.
"I am Echo," the foremost navi of the rather heavily damaged grouped said.
"Who's Echo?" Gutsman asked dumbly.
"I am the leader of the Eon net," Echo said.
"Eon Net!?" the more informed navis and humans burst out.
Echo nodded. "We came here hoping to find Rockman and Lightman. We were not able to find them at the castle."
"What castle?" Blues asked.
"The Castle of the Eon Net," Mirageman said.
"Why would they be there?" Roll asked worriedly.
"They were beating the crap out of Myst," Slezz said cheerfully.
"We were worried that they had not made it out when we did not find them," Slash said.
"They were…fighting Myst again?" Blues asked.
"Again?" Slezz asked confused. Then a look of realization crossed her face. "Oh, no. I mean the Myst. The big honcho, big cheese. You, know, the one calling the shots. The leader of Myst, Myst." A look of concern crossed her face. "Though, we didn't see him either. We hope he's dead, but we'll have to wait to find out from the twins, I guess."
"So, let me get this straight," Laika said. "The twins have been working with you to fight Myst? And you took them to fight Myst?"
"Yes," the petite Light said. "It was foretold by Eonite legend that they would save our home. And they have." She then looked up at the dark caped navi behind her and smiled. "They helped save my brother as well."
There was a moment of silence as the conversation came to a stand still. Echo then looked down and made room for two small creatures to come through.
"Those two!?" Searchman burst out, recognizing the small virus-like creatures that had once come and transported Rockman and Lightman away from them.
Rei and Beam began to glow and transformed into their human forms, to the amazement of the non-Eonites. The pair then walked to the still, floating forms of Rockman and Lightman.
"Be careful," Echo said. "We do not want you to risk yourselves again."
"Yeah," Slezz continued. "We probably won't be able to revive you guys again if you run so low on energy."
Rei looked back and smiled kindly. "We'll be careful."
She and Beam then took the last few steps to be directly in front of the twins. They then floated up so that they were eye level with them. Carefully, they wrapped their arms around the twins, Rei embracing Rockman and Beam enveloping Lightman.
"Wha…!?" Roll began to cry out jealously, but Blues grabbed her shoulder reassuringly, causing her to keep her peace, though an upset look still remained in its place on her face.
A gentle light enveloped the four and as it did, everyone could see the eyes of the blue navis slowly open. When the light finally faded, all four floated gently to the ground, completely healed.
"ROCKMAN!" Roll leapt at Rockman and embraced him in a choking squeeze. Unprepared for the assault, Rockman fell back and he and Roll found themselves on the floor.
Still slightly phased (and not having a fanatic girl to knock the senses into him), Lightman blinked several times to gain his bearings. "Where…?" It then registered in his head that Rei and Beam were next to him. "Wah! Rei and Beam! You're alive!" Lightman said happily. "Rock and I thought you had died!"
"We almost did," Beam said.
"But Echo-sama keeps a close watch and was able to rescue us when we reached our limit," Rei finished.
"What about Myst?" Rockman asked as he struggled back up, Roll still clinging to him as if she would never let go. Everyone was pretty sure that Roll intended just that.
"We hope you deleted him," Miragman said.
Lightman scratched his head. "I…think we did…." He said. "It was all so weird… I can't really remember everything."
Rockman looked down at his hands. "We…Lightman and I…were fused together."
"You used the Cross-system with Lightman?" Blues asked.
Rockman shook his head. "No. It was something completely different…" The two looked at each other and then smiled as they suddenly realized what it had been: they had performed at the highest level full syncro and since they were now both navis, the result was a complete fusion of their bodies.
"Care to share what your thinking?" Mirageman asked, just as perplexed as the rest as to the twins rather strange behavior.
Lightman smiled playfully at him. "Not really," he said. This response earned Rockman and Lightman more perplexed looks and though everyone wanted to push the matter further, no one did.
"But how did we get here?" the elder of the blue navis asked.
"They found you here at Sci-Lab," Roll said, still hanging on Rockman's neck.
Again the twins looked at each other, this time with confused looks on their face.
"You didn't bring us here, did you?" Rockman asked those of the Eon Net.
They all shook their heads.
"They came looking for you here," Searchman said.
"After we didn't find you at the castle," Light added.
Again the twins looked at each other. "You don't think he brought us back?" Rockman mumbled.
Lightman's face turned a red shade with rage. "What!? No way! That guy doesn't even have a single piece of coding of nice!"
"But who else…?"
"Well, it's not him!" Lightman said angrily, though in his mind there was an small ounce of "what if?". He still didn't know what to make of the time Forte had caused Rockman to log out, to safety, after defeating Nebula Grey.
"What are you guys yakking about this time?" Tomahawkman asked, still looking rather confused.
"It's nothing!" Lightman said with a rather angry tone. Everyone looked at the upset navi curiously. "What matters is that Myst is gone!"
Everyone smiled. "That's right," the maidens agreed, their voices in unison.
Slezz pumped her fist in the air excitedly. "We should celebrate! Party at Echo-sama's place!" Those who knew Slezz laughed.
Echo then nodded. "That is a good idea. However, our soldiers need rest so we will do it later." She looked at Rockman and Lightman's friends. "Of course, you are all invited as well. We'll inform everyone of the details later, but for now we must take our leave." She then bowed respectfully to Rockman and Lightman. "Words cannot express my gratitude for what you have done for us, but thank you."
"Of course, no problem," Lightman said.
Echo nodded and then, one by one, the residents of the Eon Net disappeared, returning home—their real home—to build it up once again.
"You know, you guys are going to have to do a lot of paper work on this one," Searchman said.
"I know, I know," Lightman said grumpily. Searchman just smiled a little bit.
Rockman took his brother's hand and smiled.
"It's okay. We'll do it together."