"Sh-Shadowman…!" X gasped and took a moment to catch his breath. He, Zero and Blues had rushed over immediately after recovering from the tremors that had very well shook the entire area, just in time to see Forte disappearing into the dark clouds. "What… What happened…? And…" At this, X turned to look at where the Black Shadow was last seen. "...Where is he going…?"
"..."
Though his eyes were narrowed, Shadowman stayed oddly silent and looked aside, the action making X both curious and nervous. It wasn't like Shadowman to be conflicted with what he wanted to say. "What was it?" X pressed, the suspense and dread becoming swiftly unbearable. "Just what on earth happened…?!"
"About that…" The voice snapped X's attention away from the Shadow Navi. He'd nearly forgotten that Swallowman was standing right next to them as well, and as he looked towards the bird Navi, X couldn't help but notice that Swallowman wasn't his usual chipper self, the sight only causing the growing unease within him to swell. "It's… Well, about the Blue Myth…"
"Mega?" X asked, the mention catching him briefly off guard before he attempted to grapple at his realisation of what this could mean. "Y-you mean, you found her, right? Where is she…?"
As the question trailed off with neither Undernet Navies answering, X felt the horror begin to set in. "...No… I-it… It can't…"
Finally, Shadowman spoke, bowing his head low. "...Gone…"
The singular word hung in the air for a while as the group of NetNavies were left to consider its implications and consequences.
"The Blue Myth has been… deleted?" Blues appeared to be the first to recover. "...How?"
"...The Dark Soul." Shadowman snarled, eyes narrowed, and Swallowman, having witnessed the shadow Navi's earlier breakdown, looked at his Undernet Navi companion with concern as he recalled his experience of the Blue Myth's deletion. "It… fed off the Black Shadow's anger, and then-"
A series of coughs cut him off, and X jumped upon realising that there apparently was someone else in the area with them. "Wh-who's there?!"
There was no response, and the group of Navies carefully surveyed their immediate area before Zero noticed something. "Another NetNavi…?"
Quickly removing the pile of debris the NetNavi was buried under, it took X a moment to determine that the Navi in question was Searchman. He remembered Swallowman's description of him from the bird Navi's retelling of their previous encounter, and it was the only Navi X could think of aside from them who would have a reason to enter into the Dark Net, though X couldn't help but wince at the Navi's current condition. One of his arms was missing, while the rest of his body was similarly heavily damaged, with broken bits of data seeping out from his wounds.
"Damn it, are you okay?" Zero asked the sharpshooter Navi as he knelt beside him. "Can you reach your operator? You have to plug out now!"
"Th-the Dark Soul…!" Searchman half gasped, half wheezed. Eyes wide, the Navi was visibly dazed as he continued to mumble to himself. "How…? It's not possible…!"
"What happened?" X asked, attempting to get some semblance of control over their current situation.
"How could it have… destroyed everything with such ease…?" Searchman still appeared to be in shock from what he had witnessed moments prior. "S-such power… No… To defeat the Dark Soul… There's no hope…!"
"..."
Zero looked up towards X as Searchman's quiet ramblings trailed off, and X took a step back as the full weight of their current situation slammed into him all at once. Faintly, X was aware that he had even begun shaking as he clutched his chest where his heart was pounding, thudding, threatening to burst.
The Dark Soul must have confronted Forte and, after feeding off the anger the Black Shadow had for it, must have deleted Mega somewhere during that encounter. Searchman must have witnessed it occur, if the Navi's current demeanour was anything to go by, and as X's mind pieced together the unpleasant picture of what must have happened, he…
He…
Abruptly, X found himself on his knees, slamming both his fists onto the ground. The desire to scream was there, but the blue Navi barely managed to strangle the urge to do so as he grit down on his own teeth with such force that he could feel the roots aching.
He… He knew it was a bad idea to bring Forte with them into the Dark Net. He knew it was a terrible idea, and he said nothing- He did nothing! And now, Mega was… She was…!
This time, X couldn't suppress the yell that came out of him as he slammed a fist into the ground again. Zero's lips had pressed into a light frown at the sight, and as the red Navi looked towards the Undernet Navies, he took note of Swallowman's still sullen expression. Shadowman had still scarcely said anything after his initial word, and Blues, who would usually have something snide to say at any given point, had remained silent. It was difficult to tell the other red Navi's expression from underneath his dark visor, but the slight trembling of the first curled at the net officer's side had not escaped him- The reality of their situation had to be affecting Blues more than he was letting on.
"...What should we do now?" Zero knew that the question was on everyone else's mind, even if they hadn't said it out loud yet, and the red Navi suspected he knew why. "We… We don't have any way to contact our operators. The Black Shadow just fled, and now that the Dark Soul is stronger than it's ever been…"
Anyone would find it difficult to remain optimistic against such hopeless odds.
It was quiet. The only sound to be heard was the ominous wind as it occasionally howled around them.
"...We… Can't…"
"X…" Zero winced at the soft voice. While the red Navi still had some reserves regarding their relationship with the Blue Myth, he also knew that X had long since seen the Undernet Navi as their friend, and her deletion must be weighing heavily on his mind.
"We can't…" X repeated, shuffling back onto his feet, before he looked up towards the rest of the NetNavies. "We can't give up!"
"...!" Zero was taken aback by the determined look in X's eyes. With what had just happened, the red Navi wouldn't have blamed anyone for feeling hopeless or despair. "X…?"
"Don't you see? This is exactly what the Dark Soul wants!" X continued, his fists shaking in front of him. "It wants us to feel hopeless, to feel despair, so we wouldn't even think or try to stop it…" At this, X's voice faltered briefly, but the blue Navi took a deep breath to gather himself, "...So that's exactly why we can't give up! If we do, we'd be giving it exactly what it wants!"
"...Be that as it may." Blues finally spoke, crossing his arms. "There's still the issue of the Dark Soul's growth in power, and us being disconnected from our operators…"
"So what?!" X yelled at him, before the blue Navi caught himself. "I-I… I get that, and while that's true, that doesn't give us an excuse to simply give up and let the Dark Soul do whatever it wants!" At this, X met Zero's gaze. "We… We've fought against strong opponents before, opponents which we would have thought impossible to defeat at first… But knowing that didn't stop us from fighting, did it? And in the end, that's what had led us to overcome them, right?"
"...And if we lose?" Shadowman, ever the realist, asked.
"Even if we lose… Then at least we've tried!" X retorted, eyes bright with fury and determination. "We owe at least that to everyone! The cyberworld, our friends, Mega… That's why…" The blue Navi let out a shaky breath. "That's why… Even if it seems hopeless… I won't run! I won't give up! Even if we lose, then at least we would've done so knowing that we've given all we got!"
There was a prolonged pause as the rest of the Navies merely looked towards X, before Swallowman shuffled, his wings unfolding as he stood to his full height. "...Alright. That's something I can get behind."
"Swallowman…!" X, clearly not expecting the bird Navi to react first, was surprised.
"...The Mistress would not have wanted the cyberworld to fall into the hands of the Dark Soul…" Shadowman spoke, then. "...As my Mistress' loyal subservient, I shall… I shall carry out the wishes of my Mistress!"
"Shadowman!" A grin finally made its way to X's features, and he turned towards his two surface Navi companions, seeking their affirmation.
"Alright, X!" Zero shared a similar expression. "There's no way we can just give the Dark Soul what it wants, so we'll just have to show it what we've got!"
"We'll need a plan." Blues appeared to approve of X's sentiment, even if he had not outwardly expressed it.
"Everyone…!" There was no hiding the fact that the blue Navi was touched by his companions' words. "We… Whatever the Dark Soul is planning right now… We'll work together to find and put a stop to it, once and for all!"
