"Rock, I'm going to jump out the window."
"Like hell you are!"
"It's our only chance!"
"Netto-kun, I'll signal for help-"
"What good will it do?!" Netto exclaimed, already heading for the window. Netto tried his best to maneuver through the flames—but his trip was cut short as his burning bookshelf crackled and shot sparks straight at Netto.
"Agh! I can't see--!" Netto cried, throwing the PET forward in surprise. Surprisingly, the module crashed through the pane instead of bouncing off, leaving Rockman tumbling to the ground.
"NETTO-KUUUN!" Rockman cried, only moments before the PET slammed into the ground. The impact knocked something inside the module out of place, and the screen went black.
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Netto.EXE ~ Chapter 4By Marisa
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Blues charged forward, sword aimed square at Darkman's chest. The black-suited Navi was, however, ready for him—he ducked the slash and shoved his fist straight into Blues's chest.
The red navi cried out in both pain and surprise, the latter due to the fact that Darkman could have dodged his attack. He was paralyzed; something in Darkman's attack must have done that to him.
"Did I mention my special ability?" Darkman purred, "I can search through your memories, Blues—and I can transform into any of every person, navi, or virus you've ever encountered."
Blues didn't deny it. He could feel Darkman probing through his thoughts and memories. Go! Get out of here! He tried to say, but no words came out.
"Blues! Move!" Enzan called out urgently. Blues tried his hardest to answer. Enzan-sama… I'm sorry…!
"Found it. The perfect one." Darkman yanked his arm from Blues's chest and jumped backwards. Soon, the black Navi was surrounded by a flood of multi-colored pixels, and Blues was unable to see through the fog they created.
He stepped back and readied his sword. "I'm ready for any type of monster you can throw at me!" Blues snarled. "I've defeated every opponent, and whoever you become, I can defeat them again!"
"Can you, now?" Darkman cackled. His voice was changing from a low, masculine growl to something lighter—almost feminine. "Let's see how you can handle this!"
Blues put one foot forward and leaned on it, ready to charge.
The wave of pixels cleared, leaving Darkman's new form visible.
Blues's heart, if he had one, would have stopped.
"Y-you…"
"That's right, me." Darkman said, in the form of Enzan Ijuuin.
Blues lowered his sword and stepped back. "No…" he choked, "I can't…"
"Blues! That's not me!" Enzan called. "Delete him, now!"
Darkman chuckled. "That's right, Blues. Go on, delete me. Or does the very idea of hurting your precious Enzan-sama just tear your heart out?"
Blues shook his head. "I can't do it…"
"Yes you can, Blues!" Enzan cried out. "You have to—don't you see? He's using me as a weapon!
Blues was frozen in place. "I-I know, but still, something inside me…" He reached his free hand up and placed it on his chest—where his heart would be if he were human.
"In that case," Darkman smirked, and his whip appeared in his hand. "DARK WHIP!" The black strip struck Blues on his face. He flinched, and touched the wound with his free hand. Another strike of the whip, this time wrapped around and snapped across Blues's back.
"Darkman… please, stop…" Blues whimpered.
Those words sent a wave of horror through Enzan. Was Blues… begging him? "Blues! Please! You have to come to your senses!"
"I c-can't…" Blues choked, as the whip struck him across the chest. The red navi fell to his knees, keeling over with pain. "Enzan-sama…Darkman, stop…I'm begging you…"
I can't watch this any longer! Enzan mentally growled. "Blues, grab Rockman and log out!""Oh no you don't!" Darkman growled, as Blues slowly stood up. The black navi struck him again, but this time, Blues managed to stay up. He made his way over to Rockman and grabbed the blue Navi's arm.
"Let's get out of here." Blues choked, as he logged out, taking Rockman with him.
"Damn!" Darkman growled.
"No worries. They won't bother us any more—not after that." Soui chuckled.
Blues logged into Enzan's PET, clutching Rock in his arms for comfort. "I-I couldn't s-stop him…" He choked, setting Rockman down.
"Blues…" Enzan murmured, not sure how to comfort him.
"I couldn't… I knew it wasn't really you, and I still couldn't beat him…" Blues fell to his knees and wrapped his arms around himself. "Enzan-sama, I'm so sorry. It's just… you're the only thing that's important to me… and I just couldn't hurt you…"
Enzan only stared, and his heart skipped a beat when he saw something wet roll down Blues's cheek from under his visor.
Enzan clutched his hand into a fist. Darkman AND his crap operator Soui are going to pay dearly for this!
As if to answer his vow, a screen appeared, and a face was projected on it—the face of Soui. "Well, Ijuuin, it seems you've met your match." He was a boy about the age of seventeen. Dark eyes were the only relief from the horrid sight of his completely scarred face – most of which was covered by his greasy, dark-brown locks of untamed hair. "So sorry I can't stay longer—I've got work to do, you see. Just came by to gloat. I wouldn't suggest trying to track me—I've routed this message through a couple countries already. Well, duty calls. Bye now!" With a chuckle, the screen disappeared.
Enzan only stared. Then a smirk crossed his face. "That idiot. Now I have his face."
He immideately began his search.
"An email?" Yuuichirou mumbled to himself, "Ah, it's from Enzan…"
Hikari-hakase:
I got your email. You were right, it wasn't really Rockman. Tracked him down. His navi, which really goes by the name of 'Darkman', was a powerful enemy. Blues and I had to regroup and plan our attack better. Also, he nearly deleted Rockman.
His operator is someone by the name of 'Soui'. However, I've done a thorough search, and there is no netbattler in Japan of his age with that name. I caught a glimpse of his face, and I'm going to try to find out his identity. I will email you if anything further comes up.
"Regroup? Ah, it seems Blues finally got his butt kicked." Yuuichirou chuckled.
"Blues, bring up the next one."
"Enzan-sama, is this a good idea?"
"His face was scarred, but I can see his eyes, nose, and hair color. We'll find him."
Blues sighed. "But searching the database of every child in Akihara? Enzan, are you sure you have this much free time?"
"Bring up the next one, Blues."
The red navi sighed and opened the next photo.
Enzan compared the photos for a few minutes. "Same eyes, same nose, same age… Soui, I've found you." He chuckled. "And you were there all along!"
"Hikari-hakase, I have some news that might interest you." Enzan's face appeared on Yuuichirou's screen.
"Hello there, Enzan. Did you find Soui's identity?"
"Yes, I did. I searched the database of every child in Akihara for the past ten years. Didn't have to look very long, though. His name wasn't Soui, by the way."
"You told me that, Enzan. What is his name?"
"Hikari Netto."
