"Roku? ROKU!"Forte hollered as he desperately tried to find his son...his little Godling.
Uranet was not safe for him... He was alone, innocent and...
What would happen if someone Roku knew would recognize him? Or worst?
His little Godling deserved better than that... better than being lost in the under-net illegal servers because his Papa had let his anger take over...
He had called Forte Papa... he had trusted him, he had slept in his arms and...
And Forte had dared to aim his buster at him... a child...His son.
He felt sick... how could he...no matter how many NetNavi he had deleted in cold blood... and no matter what his mind said about how he had been in the right to discipline his Godling...
There should've been another way... another way to deal with this situation!
'C'mon Forte, think...think...what would." and then the Herald of darkness stopped himself, the example of a father he knew was Cossack.
... And as bitter and shameful to Admit, Doc Cossack would not have pulled a weapon on his...Precious son. He would be calm and gently explain to Roku why Viruses had to be deleted...
Actually, now that his mortification covered whatever anger he had at his... father, Forte didn;t think Cossack would have let those programs shot Forte with the canon... and the Russian man had been desperate to talk to Forte, and shoving down the dark Navi's throat about how this had never been his plans and how he had been arrested and thus unable to stop sci-lab from trying to delete him.
It was a sob story... and Forte had discarded it for what it was.
But one thing was for sure, Cossack would have never done what Forte did, and he would...
He would run after Roku... like he had been running after his one wayward son.
Forte Clenched his fangs... and called out to Roku again.
He had to find him.
'Maybe I should return home... I'm so not good for looking for lost Data.' Roll huffed as she floated around the same part of the Ura domain. Hoping against hope that somehow or other, she would find Rockman's remnants... without Forte.
Oh, she may have improved over the past few months, and she had more battle data and offensive chip than she knew what to do with it, but Roll knew she was neither a fighter nor even strong enough to even have a fighting chance against the Herald of Darkness.
Besides, she was just searching the web because her sister wanted to... and She too, but Roll...
Roll had already accepted the fact that Rockman was gone...It was easier like that than holding onto false hope...
Her Mama, the doctor, had told her that she had over sixty percent chance of survival.
Her ashes said otherwise.
Besides, this Null-Data's had to be expunged from the systems. Otherwise, they would have an aberrant Rockman running around the servers, corrupting Data's and putting the entire Net at risk.
Suddenly... she caught some fluttering cloth at the side of her eyes. And froze. "Oh no..." It was Forte; he was the only NetNavi that even had the cloth program...
Well, a very old cloth programme... She and Maylu had much nicer clothes.
'Ah! What am I thinking about cloth at this moment!' Roll shook her head as she took enough courage to go and confront the Dark Navi... hopefully, she could get a glimpse of the Data he had grabbed when Rockman got... half-deleted.
Beside... She could heal... and she could always run back home.
She floated to the ground and began walking toward... 'Wait... this sounds like a little kid... what's going on here?' She wondered as she approached a little crevice in the Uranet environment, Much too small for the Dark Herald to fit in.
She peered inside, and what met her was a very small glowing blue boy holding an ura-metaur protectively. His hair was messy, and he wore a cloak reminiscent of Forte, and his deep green eyes were wide and filled with fear.
He stared at her, unmoving like a deer in the headlight.
Roll stared back... and bit her lips...
Whatever...and whoever it was, he was cute.
Despite her best effort, the pink Navi let out a muffled squeal... so...so cute.
"Hi, little one!" She cooed. "What are you?" She asked, unable to inspect this particular Kawai element.
The unknown element scooted further inside the crevice, and the Metaur eyes grew wide with fear.
'Maybe he's a virus? No Viruses don't take humanoid form... a Program? no... programs look like action figures...a bug?...no..."
Nevertheless, he was cute, scared, and he hadn't tried to rip her face off yet.
"Do you have a name?" Roll asked next, hoping it would garner a response from the anomaly.
Instead, he tried to disappear deeper into his little cave.
'He's scared of me... poor thing.' "Hey...It's alright, I'm not here to hurt you," she promised. "My Name is Roll Saku..., I'm a nurse type NetNavi." she introduced herself fully. " My operator is Mayl Sakurai... and how about you? Do you have a name? Do you have an operator?" she asked gently.
The glowing blue child mumbled something at the top of the very calm Ura-metaur's helmet.
"What is it? I didn't quite get you."
"...Not supposed to talk to strangers." He talked a bit louder.
"Well...you just spoke to me." she smiled kindly. "Are you lost? Is the Metaur your little friend?" she tried again. "you don't need to tell me, just nod your head...will you?"
The child wearily peered at her from under his messy fringes...and nodded twice.
"That's good... so, are you a virus?" she hopped not... she dearly hoped not.
He shook his head. 'Oh, Thank goodness.'
"Are you a program?" She asked. And once again, the little element shook his head.
"Are you a Navi?" She asked with a smile...but that smile fell when the child once again answered in negative. "A..b...bug then?"
Another shake...
"Are you... did you used to be a Navi?" Roll asked as she tried to stop the quivering of her voice.
He shook his head... and began to worry his lips.
"What are you then?" The pink Navi asked, wondering what in the world this little blue boy was. Then she realized that he probably wouldn't be answering since he's not talking to strangers.
"I'm human...but papa calls me his precious son... and he called me a Godling once." The little anomaly finally answered, to Roll's great shock.
"What do you mean...human?" She finally managed to ask...was he like her?
"I'm human..." He repeated. "But... I'm dreaming."
'As if this was making any sense.' Roll thought with great dismay.
"When I was awake, I lived with my Mama, my brother...and sometimes a man." He continued speaking, and roll realized the little anomaly was speaking to the Metaur. "I was happy with my Mama and my little brother., but the man took me away after my heart began to hurt," he explained.
"I had a weird dream too, I was here but...n not really, and I save the world a few times," he revealed. "I'm still dreaming, but...I like this dream better; my Papa's so cool now..." His face fell. Then he turned to Roll.
"Miss Roll... Why did my papa try to hurt Mety?" He asked the Pink Navi, who could only scramble for an answer.
"Well... umm... because he's a virus?" She finally managed to choke out. " Who's your mama anyway?" She asked instead, unwilling to try and explain something to this little... Godling since she knew it would cause a string of unwanted Questions.
"My mama's my mama."
'No, duh...' "Does your mama has a name?" She asked.
"It's mama."
'Once again... Duh' "Alright... what's your name then."
"Roku..." He answered...and for a moment, Roll thought he would say, Rockman.
Roll smiled; finally, she was getting somewhere. "And who's your papa?" She asked... Not expecting much.
Roku's smile brightened the area he was in. "My Papa's Powerful, He had big golden ears, his crying purple tears, and he's all black... and he has a cross on his head." Roku described. "And his chest thingy been broken but... it's going to heal." he declared with the innocent conviction only the son of Forte could Manifest.
Since... Forte was a tough Navi to forget once you met him.
"Hmm... I... See." Roll wisely nodded as she tried not to show how scared she was at the moment. "Well, the reason why Your father hurt Mety... He's not a good person." She informed the son of the bane of the internet.
Deleting the unknown element would probably spell the end of netcity; kidnapping him would be even worst... but turning the sweet Roku against Forte by telling the truth, even sweet Roll can do that.
She still felt bad about it... but, Forte was a menace, and anyway, they had to make him less powerful was fair...
That was what the general had ordered, following the ruling of the net government.
Roku lifted his eyes from the extremely tame Metaur and stared at the pink Navi with horror... and yet, he didn't look at all that surprised.
"He deleted many Navis and has caused so much damage... he even triggered the Alpha program and..." Roll let a shudder shake her frame. She still remembered the nightmare that was Alpha, and she really had to wonder why some people wanted to return to the womb...
"Why?" Roku asked. "Why does Papa hurt people?"
Roll was about to answer when she realized that...she had no idea.
She had heard some rumours...and she knew Forte absolutely hated his creator/father... but she had no idea why.
Forte... Was he truly the son of Mikhail Cossack? Or was he...
Her father had told Roll that all net Navi's were like her, but most of them had been... deprogrammed, kidnapped from their family and/or bred into captivity.
This was the reason why Roll chose to focus on healing instead of killing. How could she end the life of those who had lost even their identity? And, who knows? Maybe Forte was aware of this fact, and he was just taking his rage out on those he saw as the source of his current situation.
'But then... some people just want to make other's suffer just for the sake of it.'
Then... she heard a Navi uploading in this particular domain. Making her threat indicator screech.
Cold sweat poor over her back...maybe she should've stayed with Maylu while they waited for Dad...and not look for Forte and whatever was left of Rockman.
"Well, well, well." The cyber-devil hissed. "If it isn't little Rolly."
Roll immediately got to her feet, facing the dark Navi with as much bravery she could muster. "Forte...what are you doing here?" She asked, knowing full well that the confrontation could only end in two ways...
Either she would somehow manage to survive...which was not likely... or Forte would delete her, take whatever he wanted from he and prove too little Roku that he was a bad person.
The dark Navi shrugged, trying to appear as nonchalant as possible. "Ah, you know... hanging out, busting virus...looking for my s-...looking for a blue twerp."
'Oh no...'
"And you know where he is... don't you?" It wasn't a question.
"N... No... I... I haven't." 'I'm a terrible liar... a terrible liar... Oh, Roll, why do you still try to lie when you just dig yourself deeper.' The pink Navi tough with quite a bit of despair.
In but a scant few strides, Forte was right in her face, looming over her as death personified.
"Oh? Am I dreaming, or is little Rolly lying through her teeth?" He sneered as he manifested his buster, aiming it at Roll's face. "Where is-"
"DON'T HURT ROLL-CHAN!" Roku roared from his little cave... making Forte freeze.
And for a moment, Roll thought that she saw the same expression her father would do when she returned from the net... and especially when she and her sister would somehow get entangled in whatever dramatic adventure Netto and Rockman would get in.
'Well... don't have to worry about that now...' It was of minimal comfort, to be very honest.
"Roku." the herald of darkness breathed out as he shoved Roll away as if she was but a mere doll. She didn't fall through, despite the rough treatment. "Roku, why the hell... don't run away from me like that!" He kneeled in front of the small cave live hole, trying to enter it to reach his... son.
Roll made a face... how the hell did FORTE reproduce? It not like he had a girlfriend... right?
'Who in their right mind would willingly lay on their back for him?'
After some fruitless efforts to reach his son, Forte looked at Roll, and Roll looked away...and moved as far away from this mess as she could. Finding refuge behind a broken firewall...
What would Forte do now?
Forte looked with mounting frustration and desperation as the girliest Navi ever escaped, his hand still helplessly outstretched to were she had once been.
Quite a few curses ran in his head. Roku had listened to Roll... and there were absolutely no love lost between the two Navis.
He knew she was pinning on Rockman while her operator was already pawing Netto like a piece of the prime program... and she was only twelve.
Well... her redhead operator was twelve; Roll felt a few years older.
This... churned whatever program a Navi had that could be considered a stomach. It felt wrong... so wrong.
But... little girls tended to 'Mature' faster than the boys, and they wanted boyfriends as fast as possible.
Forte tactfully moved away from this subject. Humans were weird, gross and prone to self-destructive acts. Really, exterminating them was for the good of the entire planets... he would still keep those that were sane and not... Boy Crazy.
Nevertheless... He had found his son again, and the pink bitch had turned Roku against him.
He clenched his jaws, his lips turning white from the pressure.
He knew something like this would happen... his path was one filled with enemies and loneliness.
"Roku! Roku.." He addressed his son, still curled up around the damn Metaur. The little Godling leered at his father as if he was even less than the diminutive virus and turned his back to him. "Roku...please." Forte's voice sounded disgustingly weak...
He should shout... he knew he should but...
The damn memory of Cossack softly scolding Forte kept haunting the herald of darkness... no matter how much Forte failed, or how much Cossack had been mad at the time, he would never yell at his precious... son.
Well, he would, sometimes. But it was only to break through Forte's hard skull...after that, he would talk to him like a normal person of equal intelligence. Using respect were other would use insults and kind words were slurs and defamation should rain...
'Why... why do I remember that now?' The Herald of Darkness wondered.
Nevertheless, the situation demanded a softer touch.. something Forte doubted he had...
Still, better play it safe. For if he wanted to have a fighting chance to whip out all of humanity, he had to make sure Roku would not hate him. Cossack did no raised an idiot...
'Oh God... that... was painful to admit.' He took a deep breath in and calmed himself down. This was like hacking the world's most secure computer, the one that controlled the nuclear football... being frustrated would just lock the whole thing down and leave Forte with absolutely nothing to save the entire world out for his data...
The world was already after that... but to make it more would guarantee a one-way trip to the recycling bin.
"Roku..." He addressed his son... the only one that had dared to show him affection...without having to beat him up first. " Why did you run? You know it's dangerous out there."
Roku remained quiet, still hugging the damn Metaur...or was it sanctified now?
"Roku, please... listen to me." He begged quietly. "You have no idea what's out there... there's hunters that would seek you out, the army and net battlers... and so many evil viruses that can eat you whole." His voice quivered...
He knew Uranet quite well, and he knew the horrors that dwell in this place. What those kids fought was just the general stuff; the real beast lurked even lower...and short of Rockman...
Only Forte could readily survive the wildlife.
And this was not counting the creeps and pedophiles that sought kids to prey on.
Oh no... for those who were new and naive, the dark web was a very dangerous place.
Despite being a Godling, Roku was the most naive around and too easy to exploit.
"You..."
"Why did you kill my friend?" Roku finally broke his silence, shocking Forte with his choice of word.
No one would die in the net, they would only get deleted...Which was synonymous with death, all thing considered.
Forte sighed. "Listen... that's what I do, alright? I deleted what I see as dangerous," he explained.
"But Mety's not dangerous... he was just minding his own business," Roku argued back. "He wanted to get back to the hidden village since it was his uncle's birthday.. and he wanted to have some news about his mama since his papa got deleted."
"...How do you know that?" Forte asked; he had never heard of Viruses capable of speech. They would just...hang around and cause trouble.
"Because he told me..."
" He... the Metaur-"
"Mety."
"Mety told you all that?"
Roku gave an impetuous nod. And the Metaur leered at the Herald of darkness as if he had nothing to fear.
"Oh..." Should he feel bad about this?
The conversation returned to a dreadful lull. And once again, Forte was stuck in a position he didn't like.
For the dark Navi, problems were meant to be deleted, destroyed and crushed underfoot, not... talked about like a civilized being would do.
Like... His father had thought him.
But the last thing Forte wanted was to leave his Precious Son to his own device... especially in this part of Uranet. The only thing he wanted to do now was to grab the Godling and return to Gospel's domain. There, he would keep little Roku away from prying eyes...
'But... He would still hate you.'
Forte gritted his teeth... no, this... this would not do. He didn't want to make an enemy out of the Godling; he wanted to make an ally out of him...
Something that was both needed and completely alien to the Dark Navi.
And What if he get bored?' A little voice spoke to him from inside. He's a young child; he needs toys and other things to enrich his days.
Once again, Forte's mind returned to his time when he was under Cossack's custody.
Sure, his days were filled with performing various security tests... But the Russian doctor would always make sure Forte would have some leisure time were they would read, maybe watch some soccer game together or even build something out of Lego...
Forte blinked at the last one... he was a rather old Navi, for Navi standard anyway. And there had been no such things for them.
While those memories didn't make sense, they still raised a valid point. He would need to get Roku some toys and other time wasters, but first, he had to get it out of his little hiddey hole.
"Say...Roku... If you come back, I'll get you some nice toys." He goaded, gamely ignoring the fact that he would need to expose himself to the general populace... meaning he had to act nice and decent in a society of sheep, slaves and slavers.
He just wanted to have his son back with him...
...
"I don't want toys."
'Oh boy...' Alright, what do you want? What will make you come out of your home, son?" He asked; he knew he was negotiating and that this had a good chance of turning Roku into a spoiled brat... but he had no idea how to get his little Godling out of this damn hole and into his arms.
Besides... he still felt this guilt about pointing his dark buster at his Godling... that thing could've killed him...
'Just like this damn cannon...'
"..."
"..."
"... Papa, why do you keep hurting people?" Roku asked, once again, taking the Herald of Darkness by surprise.
" What do you mean by 'I keep hurting people?" He asked back.
"Because... in my dream, you kept hurting me, and miss Roll and... lots and lots of other people." Roku hugged his metaur closer. "It made you happy, and... you looked scary and evil."
He felt a lighting lance pierce his core... this may have been the look he was going for but... to hear it from his son? From Roku?
'Critical hit... Critical hit!'
"Roku, I'm..." Not like that...
...
The feeling of seeing his opponent disappearing into null-data, their algorithm becoming one with his own. The rush of intoxicating pleasure of holding one's life in his hands...and to snuff it out like a candle flame was the best buzz Forte had.
He was untouchable, unconquerable and...
It was scaring Roku...
Suddenly, Forte felt like to cyber-hell spawn he was... and not in a good way.
In his little cave, Roku ruefully looked at the web-based boogeymen. And this weariness...
It hurt him... It hurt him more than it should.
It was not like the amnesiac Rockman... It was not like he had been with Roku for a very long time. Since barely two days had passed. But to see him so angry at him... even hateful.
Forte... it removed all of Forte's usual weapon. And, what was worst... it made him think.
It made him think about why... just why he was doing what he was doing. And why he wanted to destroy the humans.
Sure, humans and their virtual slaves would try to either kill him or rightfully run away from the herald of Darkness.
But why?
Because Forte made sure he was the biggest, baddest bastard in the undernet, and for this, he had to build his dark reputation with as much data as possible before he could move on to actual blood!
But why?
"Because I hate humans."
"Why?"
"because I was... I was betrayed... I was hurt by one." Forte admitted to his son...
"Why?" Roku asked again.
"Because... I'm too strong... and some programs were jealous of me." Forte closed his eyes as this terrible day replayed in his ram. "I... I Don't know why... they just... saw me as too dangerous." Under the privacy of his cloak, Forte held himself close.
He... he hated feeling so vulnerable, but what else was he supposed to do in front of a Godling? Of the Cyber-God reborn?
"Oh... so why do you hate humans if it's some dumb program who wanted to hurt you?" Roku asked as he let go of his Metaur.
"because... Humans wanted me gone. Because I was too powerful..." It was a bitter pill to swallow. All of his problems were because of his monstrous strength... and the way he used it. To help others... to serve his father.
"I don't know why... I just... I just wanted to help and..." He clenched his fist, this burning betrayal... His Father...
"You made a mistake?
'... I made too many to count... So I hide behind my strength... Might make right...' His mind provided. 'I'm the most powerful... means I'm always right, it's the week one that should listen to me, not the opposite.'
'But Roku... Rockman was... he managed to defeat me so many times... does it mean that... Rockman is right? That Roku is right?'
He never had to apologize for what was gone, and everyone was so afraid of him...save for Roku and Serenade, that they would not even say a peep when the Herald of darkness breezed in...
And it meant that he was a very lonely man who couldn't trust anyone. While those weaklings who would die from one dark shot would have friends, family...
Bonds of love and friendship...
'Is it worth it?' His dark mind asked? 'Is it better to be loved than feared and respected?'
He glanced back at his little son and remembered how he had curled up on his lap and slept there, unafraid that Forte could very easily kill him.
He trusted him...
He... He loved him... for Him!
'But... does he?' His treacherous mind asked. 'If he really loved you, he wouldn't be afraid of you; he would look up to you, worship the ground you walked on.'
'No... that's not true... I l... loved my father with everything I had, but I couldn't... I don't want to return to... he broke my trust.' And how...
and then, it hit the Herald of darkness harder then what the damn canon.
He had broken Roku's trust in him
He was the damn cannon...
"Papa?" Roku asked in his inimitable innocence.
Papa...
Papa...
It was at this moment Forte realized the weight behind those two seemingly childish syllables. To be a Papa, a Father was not just some empty title used playfully, it was a list of responsibilities that defeated all other jobs. It meant that it was not just Forte anymore, it was Roku... then Forte.
So many things could go wrong... and had already gone wrong.
"I... I'm..." He could not even speak those alien words, for the Dark Herald never apologized to anyone.
Suddenly, Cossack's Son began to question everything he'd done in the past fifteen years or so of his existence.
Was his quest really worth it? It was just a bunch of dumb humans and... and he had survived!
Wasn't there a saying? About how the best revenge was to live a good life?
"I... I didn't have a good life. I always kept fighting and... and I never had a real friend since... since everyone hated me." Forte admitted... he was shaking.
Maybe... just maybe, if he had trusted Cossack, things would've been different or... maybe... maybe is he had been a force of good despite everything maybe...
Maybe he would not be fighting alone...
Maybe he would have an actual wife and... and maybe, without him ruining sci-lab's research department, he would have a child... maybe even a daughter... he would have friends, and he would truly be happy.
Maybe he would not have tried to Shot Roku out of his own impatience...
And maybe if... if he hadn't...
'No... No, don't be such a pussy. Those scientist hated you from day one.' He reminded himself.
Haters had to hate... and it was so easy to hate those who were different.
Still... it was a very meagre comfort. And it did nothing to lift the heavyweight in Forte's heart.
He now had a little boy in his life. And already, Forte's previous actions meant that Roku would be hated, used and abused only because his father was Forte, the Herald of Darkness.
He looked back at his Son; Roku was standing up in the little cave; he was looking at Forte with deep concern.
He was so pure, innocent and sweet... did he really want to corrupt him? To make him a force of destruction and hate?
In his mind, the one that was still hurt from the betrayal, the one who loathed to be wrong, the one that knew Forte was in the right... and who kept telling him to keep going, to keep destroying, told him that the weakling was just making him soft... and that it was totally fine and absolutely hilarious to turn the sweet and caring Roku into something even an elder God would speak only in fearful whispers.
And yet...
It sickened him...
The other side of him, the one who had remained quiet for a decade and a half, the one that just wanted to return to Cossack, the one that was recently being louder when it came to Roku, was begging him to reconsider... and not to corrupt him like this.
And personally... Forte would readily admit that...
Having someone who loved you felt... nice!
He... Rockman had no reason to love him, amnesia or not. And Forte... Forte had almost ruined it out of pride.
He felt his Little son, his chance at redemption, crawl onto his lap and snuggle to his heart. Once again kissing his badge.
"It's OK, Papa... You hurt people because that's what they tought hurt you." His Godling whisper as he reached up and wiped away Forte's tears. "You can stop now... You don't have to fight them anymore."
Huh... So he could cry.
"Don't worry, papa... You'll get better, I promise... Just stop hurting people who don't deserve it. OK?"
Forte gave a small nod as he translated it as 'Don't hurt people because you don't like them, hurt them because they are ass-holes to others.
This... he could do... he definitely would do for his Son's peaceful and happy future.
Meanwhile, Back with Roll. It seemed the nurse-type Navi had gotten into quite a bit of trouble.
Holding her to his front and covering her mouth with his hand was...
She had no idea who it was... for he... or she had sneaked up on her. But since Roll's... role s over, let's change the point of view to our favourite purple angel.
Lumine smiled as he watched the touching scene below. Still holding onto Roll as firmly yet gently as he could.
It was clear she was used to be held hostage... or was simply terrified that an aberration was holding her.
Whatever it was, Lumine didn't really care, for what he was seeing with the dark and blue duo really had been worth the trip.
Forte was holding onto... what seemed to be an Avatara.
Avatara's were used by humans to interact in the cyber-world. For the military wanted to have a presence there...
Humans were always after conquest's after all. The ocean, other continents, the poles, the moon space...
And now cyberspace.
Obliviously, what those scientists and explorers underestimate was the power net-native held and the fact that the human brain could not treat the sheer amount of information that made the web.
Lumine had read and seen many delightful descriptions of the numerous melted brains of the beta tester. The madness, the schizophrenia... the suicides.
Needless to say, the project had been summarily abandoned and practically wiped from the general consciousness... Until now.
'So... Rockman was not a Navi after all.' This would explaine why he had such an amazing power level for his sizer.
He remembered what his... friend had told him about the failed avatar project, how those avatar's would have even more power than the Native programs.
And considering the amazing feat, Rockman and his brother managed to pull off.
He returned his gaze to the pair. Forte was holding the reseted Avatar to his chest, and despite the heavy cloak that obscured his body, Lumine could easily make out his shaking shoulders.
He was sobbing... silently.
Oh, the net aberration, the failed human killer knew of Forte... everybody did in Uranet.
It was considered basic survival knowledge since he was the leading cause of deletion down there for those who had some special abilities...and who would flout them like a young girl her budding breast.
Now... this same Dark Herald, the bane of Uranet, the one even Serenade watch over their shoulder for him... He was crying as he held a little blue boy.
'Now... this is quite the development. Serenade and Haruka need to hear of this...' And with that, Lumine triggered the sleep program on Roll and uploaded out.
This... was big.
Back at Moiya and Ekachakra's household... thing didn't go as expected.
Well, Netto knew he would not be able to test his friend's theory about him being actually a Cyber-fae since Moiya and her two babies had moved from the basement to the living room. Meaning that their portal was under constant watch.
Besides... she was a mom, meaning she had eyes at the back of her head.
So, until Netto would have the opportunity to go and stick his hand in a TV... all alone, then he and Moiya's kids would have to act as if everything was normal.
Like... Netto's new friend and neighbour just so happen to be a whole another race of humans who can go in the web at will...sorta normal.
But that was not the only thing that went a little bit wrong today.
Enzen was gone... and apparently, this made Moiya sad.
Well, she looked sad to Netto, even as she filled their plates with the sacred food Netto and Partha had cooked. She was radiating this concern Netto's mama would also have when the heir of the Iujin Family would decline to eat with them.
And to be honest... Netto was starting to get why.
Enzen was... too thin.
Not terribly so, but it was clear he was not where he should be since Netto was starting to outgrow him. And he was always cold... his hands would always shake, and sometimes, his eyes would glaze over. Until he would drink an orange juice, that is.
And it was clear he didn't have enough to eat... which was quite ironic since his dad owns the biggest Net-Navi and computer company in the world.
And he would only nibble on whatever snacks Netto would give him, and Enzen had this look of someone who was doing something he was not supposed to.
And this... this was something Mother Moiya had picked up on also. Since she had asked Netto plenty of Questions's about his friend's family, his eating habits... and what was above had been his answer.
'Something's wrong with Enzen... I...' Great, another thing he and Saito would have to deal with...
Correction... another thing Netto had to worry about. It was almost enough to cut his appetite.
"Netto, is everything alright?" Moiya asked as she noticed the somewhat long pause between his bite.
"I... I miss Rockman and... I'm worried about Enzen now."
Beside him, Bhuteshwara patted his shoulder. "He Netto-Prabhu, don't worry, we'll keep an eye on him." The waifish boy assured his friend.
To This Netto sighed. "I know, but... It's like too much, you know?"
The family remained quiet as they waited for their guest to speak.
"First was the birth of Pandora and Croire, then Rockman..." Netto's voice hitch. "And now... now there's the thing about Enzen and..." He bit his tongue. Knowing Moiya's kids would know the last part.
Moiya sat beside him, and the young boy reflexively leaned onto her side. "Oh Netto-Prabhu, karma's not forced to follow an easy timeline." She explained. "Someday, everything will happen as per a routine, and the next day... everything falls apart, and you have a readjust in consequence. We can't stop time... and even the status Quo is temporary."
Netto didn't answer as he took Shelter from his second Mama...
Since... he was still worried about his first mama.
"I know change is hard to deal with, Prya... but this is the way this world work; nothing remains as it is... Time has this ineluctable... this unbeatable effect call decay and end."
" You... You see this everywhere you go, taking birth, grows, multiply and..." Moiya sighed as she began to massage Netto's head. "Oh, Sweetheart, the reason why you hate it... that's because your the eternal spirit soul, and in the spiritual world... there's no change, no birth, death, old age and disease," she explains. "Every soul has the right to return back home, back to godhead..."
"Mama..." Hari-Pryia began. "I think you're being a bit too complicated for Netto."
He felt Moiya blush and sighed. "I'm... Sorry, Netto I..."
Netto just buried himself in her soft and warm side. She smelled like a mama; she felt like love and safety and...
Well, he may not understand half of what she was saying, but he believed her.
Then, Moiya's old Motorola began to ring.
The fae grabbed the ancient cell phone and answered it. " Hare Krishna, Moiya Volnutt-Dei speaking?... Oh, Lumine." She spoke aloud. "What ow me the pleasure of... oh? Oh, I see... yes, yes..." She then gasped. "No way!"
"Mama? What's going on?" Bhuta asked.
"I'll tell you later Hunny." She said to her oldest. "Yes, Lumine... No, My son's just curious. Yes... It's good news... yes, absolutely... not yet... Oh no, I just gave birth two days ago; I can't go in the web yet." She hugged Netto closer. "Yes... as soon as possible. I'll call Prabhu...can I tell Netto?"
She paused as she listened to this Lumine.
"yes... Warn Sangita also... Don't worry; He'll be fine. Yes... Yes, I'll meet you later, yes... yes, with her also. Alright, Haribol." She closed her phone, she was frowning, but a tentative smile seemed to struggle out of her.
Then she turned to Netto, and this shy smile showed itself. "Netto-Prabhu... We found Forte and..."
Netto's heart skipped a few beats.
"He's not alone... and Saito's safe."
The Net-saver could not withhold his jubilation. Neither were his friend
"Hey, Calm down... we've found Saito but... He's not a Navi anymore, and right now... right now, he's safer with Forte than with us."
"What? Why... and... what do you mean 'He's not a Navi anymore?" He was getting so confused.
Moiya embraced the little boy to her warm bosom. "I don't know Parikshita... I can't tell you." She sighed. "You need to remain strong, suta."
"Mama..." Bhuta began. "Can you tell me, please?" He carefully asked.
Moiya remained silent, it was clear she was deeply thinking about it...
Either that or Netto's hair was addictive to massage.
Then... She began to speak to them in a language Netto never heard before.
"A cha... Ti khey Ayi." Bhuta pipped up with a smile.
"Netto-Prabhu... Tonight, we adults need to speak together about what's happening to your brother and how to save him." Moiya informed the young boy. "I know you're considered a Net-Saver... but as a mother, I can't let you participate."
"Why!" Netto asked as he walked out of her warm embrace, looking right at her. " I save the world three times already."
"No... It was you and your brother who save the world three times because a bunch of incompetent eunuchs remained safely in their office while they let children fight a war that really should be there!" The Vaishnavi's voice wavered as her eyes glazed over. " You are a child... a child is not meant to fight a war..." She finished quietly as her whole body began to quiver.
Not out of anger, but...
"...Alright... I won't." Netto ruefully agreed. He didn't like how upset Moiya looked at the moment.
She closed her eyes as she took a deep breath in. "Thank you... I know you want to act like an adult... and I know you're competent, but... Please... please remained a child a little longer." She gave him a very wobbly smile. "Me and my husband came here to be hero's... and we've also saved the world a few times also, you just didn't hear about us often..." She sighed. "Listen... I think you and my children should go to your house. Your mother will be here and... Well, tell you what we've managed to find."
Netto perked up at the news. "Mama's home?"
"Yes... We also need to speak to her about Saito's situation." Fear entered Netto's heart, his father's dire warning still fresh in his mind.
"No... please don't tell her!" Netto begged... "Dad will delete him if..."
Suddenly... he was hit with the realization that Dad was rarely at home; there was no way he would know if he had told Mama... and even if Mama would talk to him about Saito's true identity... well, he was with Forte.
Netto clenched his teeth and fist, only to have Moiya engulf him in yet another quintessential motherly hug.
"Yes... I know It sucks. Trust me, I also want some action. But until I'm fully recovered... and... we know what's going on with you, then were both sitting duck" She spoke over his head. "Now go and show my kids your awesome home... your mama is waiting for you. Be nice to her."
Netto nodded... He had no idea what was going on anymore...
And he felt powerless...
He hated that.