Papa Bass 14.
~0~
It was his dad... Mikhail Cossack.
He looked... older than the last time he'd seen him...
like this, not as a Navi, Cyber Fae, or whatever.
And his...
His father...
The man He hated without a cause... the man who had done everything to protect him, going as far as to cut himself from human culture to keep what was left of his family safe...
The man who...
"P-Pietrov?" Mikhail asked, his voice wavering, just like his body. "I-is that you, my son? O-Or am I dreaming again?"
Once again, Pietrov felt his tears fill his eyes (they had been doing plenty of that recently. And if Ekachakra and Haruka were to be trusted, crying was normal and healthy in those circumstances.) he tried to speak, but he was glitching so bad, nothing but whines and clicks could be heard.
So instead, he nodded.
"... Da..." he still managed to push out off his closing throat. "Papa... I'm..."
'I'm here; I'm real... I'm sorry, I didn't know... I'm scared... I'm lost.' Forte...Pietrov wanted to say, but he was now well and truly robbed of any ability to speak at the moment, and instead wept as he hugged himself...
Why would his Father forgive him for all the crap he'd pulled? Why would he forgive his son for nearly destroying the world in a hissy fit?
It all happened over a dumb misunderstanding.
'But... If Roku... If Roku would do the same stunt I did... and come back to me with tears in his eyes... I would forgive him...' He admitted to himself.
But... would his dad-
The next thing he knew, he felt the extremely familiar arms of the most important man in his life swallow him in a bone-breaking embrace. The smell of soldering flux, cheap after-shave, and Tarragon soda tickled his nose.
Those were all smells Pietrov knew...
Those were the scent of home, simple yet filling breakfast in the morning, playing in the snow with their family dogs, huddling for warmth when running away from the government and waking up alive.
It was the smell of safety, the smell of home...
the scent of his Papa.
Unbidden by pride and ego, Pietrov sobbed in his father's arms, and Mikhail did the same; the only words spoken were. 'Oh, my Son... my precious son. My precious son.' and 'Papa... Dad... dad... I'm sorry... I'm sorry...'
It was only due to Bhuteshvara's quick thinking that none of them were arrested for public disturbance.
~0~
"So... you married a Fae. My mom's not... she wasn't enslaved." Pietrov spoke after sipping from Moiya's mint brew. It gave the same amount of boost as coffee but without the unwanted effects.
"No, son. I would've never done that to her." Mikhail, his father, readily admitted. "We met in the most mundane way possible: in a farmer's market. She may have been a Fae, but she and her family had lived among humans for many generations and raised sheep for a living. They had the best milk and the softest wool." The elder Cossack spoke as he reminisced on his wife and how they met.
Pietrov simply drank all he could, his mother. Tatiana was one of those who chose to live among humans, raising livestock and selling their products.
She and Mikhail grew to love one another, and when Pietrov's father popped the question, Tatiana had to reveal herself to him...
He still married her and had two children.
Kalinka was the elder and took after her father in looks and her mother in action.
Also, Tatiana was not blond; she had tawny hair and would die red with henna.
Forte was the youngest by two years. And he had always been a petulant brat. But despite the way he acted, he was always loved and cherished by his parent; he was Daddies boy, the one who had painted the bathroom mirror with shaving soap, the one who got dragged behind their big dog after his sister tied the leash on his wrist and threw Oddie's favourite toy as far as she could.
He was the first of the two to wear mom's makeup and get into Dad's booze cabinet, and he was blamed when his sister ended up puking all over the carpet.
And he and his father had been the only survivor left when a group of mercenaries knocked down their door and began hunting them down...
First was their dog... Then Kalinka went down, then Tatiana revealed herself as an Alpha-Fae...
that's... the last memories he had of her, his Mother in her beautiful and frightening red form as the Red Queen crumbling to the ground, having received a magnet bullet to her heart.
He... didn't want to remember further than that.
His teenage years were when he started his rebellion, and despite Mikhail's best attempt, Pietrov gleefully turned to a life of violence and insobriety.
They would fight in churches' basements and other places would pickpocket, shoplift and take whatever shit they wanted.
How many times did Mikhail have to bail out his son from both Jail and his own messes?
And yet... he didn't stop; Mikhail would always get his son out of trouble, despite telling him that 'this time was the last time.'
"But... Why didn't you let me rot in the Gulab, then? Let me learn from my own screw-up?" Pietrov asked as he sipped from his glass of earth-jar water.
It was some damn good water right here.
"Because you are a Half-Fae, and people were still looking for us," Mikhail explained, his eyes older than they should have been, gone back to the past. "I had to make sure you were safe... and it's easy to make a punk disappear in the Gulab."
A shiver went up Pietrov's spine. He knew what was going on in prisons... and he knew he was not the strongest nor the smartest. Especially then.
"They... still got me." It was hard to admit such a defeat, a failure to fight and win.
"That... they did." Mikhail gave a heavy, painful sight of someone who had lost everything and still blamed himself for it. "Despite all I did... they managed to find you. I had not seen you for six months, son. And when I finally managed to find you again in the big city..." he sobbed. "Oh, my son... you were so sick and thin. You were but a shadow of the boy who used to build spaceships out of old legos, uncaring if the block's colours didn't match, the happy baby, my precious son..."
"I'm here, D-Dad..." Pietrov reminded his father of this fact.
He was here... in the real world, where the wind blew, grass grew, birds sang, and water was wet...
It may seem ridiculously mundane, but for Forte, who had to spend a bit over two decades in Cyberspace, those mundane things were well beyond his wildest dream.
Mikhail took his precious son's, the last member of his Family, proffered hand. And gave out a wet, shaky sigh. "I know... I know, son." He sniffed, looking to be on the cusp of breaking again. "I... I have prayed for this day for so long; I thought it was a dream."
"Yeah... but... how come I only remember Sci-lab and Alpha?" The Cyber-fae asked.
His father seemed to crumble even further. "This... this was where they took you... and where the..."
"Dad?"
Mikhail let out a sob. "Your Sister... she didn't die..."
Deep dread pooled in Pietrov's guts, sitting uncomfortably there with the thought that his sons would not wake up in the morning and/or Haruka would call him a creep and call the cyber-police on him.
"She... was an Alpha Fae, a fae who has control over cyberspace... one who can make an environment, an Administrator of her domain and-"
"Dad... She's... Kalinka was..."
"The Alpha..."
And once again, everything Pietrov knew broke apart.
Thankfully, the warm hands of his father holding him were enough to keep him in the present and not flying in an uncontrollable rage.
"Forte... I know What Netto and Rockman did... and I'm not mad; it was the only thing that could've been done for her."
"So... that's why you were in Sci-lab-"
"Before you start getting the wrong Ideas, son. Let me tell you that I only wanted a chance to get you out of this nightmare machine, but unlike you, your dad had to go through this like a needle in silk. I could not go in, guns blazing and expect success... so I had to get hired, first as a Janitor, then slowly revealed my coding skills to the higher-ups, I hung around and slowly got up the corporate ladder." Mikhail spoke with steel in his voice, or some way better alloy that was not found on earth. "believe me, Son. I've been in hell; I had to survive on those damn ramen cups and whatever I could find at the yen store... and even with the better pay I received once I was recognized as something better than the guy who picked up the trash, I still had to deal with a group of monsters playing with another type of humans as if the Faes were but a plaything." His voice choked. "I tried reaching my Kalinka... but... she was already too far gone."
"Fuck..."
"I knew where you were... and I managed to get your project since you were still my headstrong boy, and no one could make you listen."
Pride swelled in Pietrov's chest.
"But... you... you still remembered me and... and somehow..."
"I listened to you."
Mikhail nodded, his emotions mixing crushing sorrows and pride. "you did... well, maybe not remembered, but you trusted me. And... and I managed to unlock your armour and made this whole deal about having programmed a free-roaming Navi- a Navi free from a PET and independent of a Netop."
"One who would test the security."
"So you could easily escape."
"and steal other Navi's abilities."
"I wanted you to be free and not to fear... I made you strong while others saw you as weak."
"And I was the one who could control Aph... Kalinka..."
Another heavy silence fell on them.
Netto and Saito had... Roku had killed what had remained of his sister.
"Said... dad... was there... Was there no way to save her?" Pietrov asked as he held his mug closer.
His father shook his head sadly as he held in his sobs.
Both remained in silence as they digested... Well, everything.
"Sorry..." Pietrov muttered.
"Huh? What for, son?"
"For... hating you... not trusting you and... you know... wanting to destroy every human on the planet and making you suffer?" sure, maybe it was a question, but at the moment, Pietrov felt sorry for so many things he had no words for.
Mikhail stared at his son, his mouth slightly ajar.
"And... for running away and... believing that you wanted me dead."
"It was a... social experiment they did. They wanted to see how well you would react to being betrayed." Mikhail gave his son a sardonic smile. "It was about as well as I expected."
"... yeah... is it alright if I still want to murder them all?" He asked. "Not that... I mean... I know your side of the story now... and-"
His dad took his hands in and gently patted them. "It's alright, Pietrov; I forgave you long ago. And yes, your desire to destroy those monsters working in Sci-lab is valid. I fantasize about this very act quite often, I will admit"
The Cyber-fae raised his eyes to stare at his father, his mouth agape. "Wait... but... I tough you where-"
"Too weak? Too goodhearted?" Mikhail scoffed as very familiar flames of hate entered his eyes, making the shadows of his face take on a sinister hue. "Oh, Pietrov, it is not from your mother that you have gained all-consuming anger. I simply know how to hide it better and how to use it more efficiently." he gave a feral grin. "When you feel up to it, I would like you to help me bring Sci-lab, and whoever has dabbled in Fae-slavery through the mud?"
Forte grinned ghoulishly, mirroring his Father... only to remember something.
Something important.
"Ah... As much as I would love to tear this place to the ground... I have one... Maybe two sons to take care of since... you know..."
Mikhail stared at his precious son in clear confusion. "You have... Sons?"
"Well... Maybe, maybe not. It depends on how they'll react seeing my Ugly mug... don't even know if Roku will remember me... or anything else... and I have no idea if-" But Pietrov's disjointed rant was stopped when Mikhail squeezed his hands.
"Pietrov... maybe you should start from the beginning and work up from there?"
"Right..." He huffed as he tried to discard the static-like anxiety that had been building up in his system ever since Roku's identity as Saito had been brought to light. "Right."
And thus... pietrove spake. And he spoke until Moiya, Ekachakra and the kids all walked down to perform Mangala-arati. The two Russians look on with interest.
~0~
It was now six in the morning, and Pietrov and his father managed a few hours of sleep.
Ekachakra had to give Mikhail his room while Pietrov returned to the basement.
Nothing much had changed; Haruka was still sleeping, holding onto Netto's hand.
Right, the two adults had spoken at length about who should deal with whom since what Netto and Saito had gone through was, by definition, extremely traumatic. The two had chosen to stay with their respective sons lest they panic in the face of strangers.
Of course, for Pietrove, this had a fifty-fifty chance of dealing with a very panicky Rockman and not Roku.
And what to say of Saito... if he pulled through, that is.
Forte passed by Haruka and aborted his mission to brush her lovely hair out of her face. (he would not creep more on her, that would be yet another level he didn't want to cross... not without her consent anyway.) and instead, went to Roku's side.
He... didn't look any better then the last time he saw him... but he was alive and breathing.
(for now)
His emotional capacity having been reached a long time ago, Pietrov laid beside his son, for now, holding his hands, Taking all of his features in as legit sleep took over his body.
A few tears leaked out as he remembered the tiny blue Godling who had called him Daddy and Papa...
and if he sobbed... no one was awake to hear it.
~0~
he... woke up...
His chest felt... weird... but better.
It was easier to breathe... and his heart felt stronger, but not by much.
'Ugh... what happened?' He wondered, completely disoriented.
He was not in a hospital; it was too quiet. And... was someone holding his hand.
Netto turned his head and saw his mama... and a very familiar room.
It was Moiya's basement where she and her twin stayed until the blond had recovered from birthing a pair of twins.
He could hear a gentle humming in the air, a gentle pressure that reminded him of a weighted blanket. It gave him strength.
His chest hurt tough, but it was muted. The pain was more of a warning about what would happen would he move too much.
It was like... someone had ripped his chest open and had messed with Everything there...
So one would forgive him when he began to sob, calling out to his mama like the child he still was.
His Mama woke up with a start, and Netto reached for her.
His chest hurt, and his Dad struck him in the chest...
The next thing he knew, his mother wrapped her arms around him, kissing his forehead and crying.
Then... he felt a sting on his but... and he quieted down.
He slept a bit more...
~0~
Back upstairs with the adults and the four, relatively healthy children were chanting the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra for the safe passing of Saito.
Sure, the surgery went perfectly well, but the boy had been so fragile; it was a miracle he'd survived the surgery.
Twelve years... twelve years on life support and manned by a scientist who knew nothing of the body meant that...
It meant that he had very little chance.
And when everything seemed hopeless, this was the best time to pray, for whether a miracle happened or not, you were bound to feel better just by knowing he was with you.
It didn't mean that no one would cry. For Pietrov, Haruka and Mikhail... and soon Netto, they would lose a son, a warrior and a brother.
Moiya was intimately knowledgeable about grief, being a Doula for that. And unless you were a super renounced soul who saw the reality for what it was, A Vaishnava who knew the science of the soul whit the same acumen a physicist saw everything as waves and particles, then the death of a child... or anyone for this matter was the most traumatic thing to happen to the soul, right behind being raped.
But she only knew a few Jivan-Muktas who had reached this level, and she had to deal with her sons and daughters (they knew, but having a death happen so closely would affect them.) Haruka and Forte... Pietrov (For a parent, the death of a child means death for them also.) and Mikhail Cossak...
Who knew something had been going on in Sci-lab but didn't do anything about it for fear of death... or worse.
And thus, following his Karma, Saito was about to get another body. A healthier one, hopefully. The whole Gaudia-Vaishnava family had already given the dying boy all their good Karma, having no use for it, while Saito needed all the help he could get.
Bhuta had already gotten a Samadi box filled with tulasi-Chandana from the lotus feet of the Lord from Mayapur, a dried offered flower from the hand of Srimati-Radharani, sand from Vrindavan and Mayapur as whit water from the Ganga taken from Mayapur ghata, Yamuna water, and Radha-Kunda water. There was a harinama shawl, Tulasi neck beads and Narashima oil.
Everything needed to a departing soul.
And thus, to make the atmosphere even more auspicious and pure, the Vaishnava Family gathered in front of the coffee table where they had set up Gaura-Nitai, for the dining room was not big enough to hold everyone as they held a sweet Kirtnana session.
For the Chanting of the Holy Name of the Lord could easily bring anyone to his lotus feet... or, at the very least, Swarga...
And even then, this was an understatement.
And thus, they chanted, preparing the soul residing in Saito's body for his next body. They were not in the room, for the basement was not big enough to house them all. But the divine sound vibration would reach him for sure, and Moyia, being a death doula and an administrator, could easily follow Saito's transmigration progress from where she was.
Netto was here also, and the chance of him following his brother was a real risk. But as Moyia knew from dealing with this type of Fae magic, anything could trigger it.
Even her.
So she remained by the basement opening, as close as she could to the two boys while still staying out of range.
The chanting went on for an hour, then two. They kept the raga, the melody sweet and mournful and filled with love.
Unlike her husband, Moyia was not a crier. But to hear and feel the waves of divine love flowing from her family and neighbours was enough to make her eyes rather moist...
As in, they were close to spilling.
It was perfect... it was a perfect farewell for a soul they barely knew... a Son, returned to his parents only to be taken away again.
The perfect example of the pain the material world could inflict on the conditioned soul.
And then...
The Cyberworld lights up, manifesting in the room without any of Moya's command.
Everyone got to their feet, and All Cyber-fae's armour became visible.
Forte wrapped a protective arm around Haruka before crushing her to his chest.
Mikhail had a flashback of Alpha, and Moiya...
Moiya looked at Bhagavan and Nitai, spoke to them with her eyes... and rushed down to her basement after bowing down to them.
~0~
When he woke up again, his mama was gone... but he felt someone beside him, sharing the same bed.
A bit more awake and less prone to hysterics, Netto took stock of where he was; this was the most important skill Iuugin had taught him, to always be aware of his surroundings and the state of his body upon waking up.
He was rather smart, even if he acted way older than he really was.
He was in Moiya's basement; the light was filtering through the one window. The air smelled a bit like antiseptic, and he could feel medical tape all over his body.
It was... new... and unpleasant.
Netto looked down, his chest was covered with plenty of bandages, wires, and tubes poked out of the protective gauze, all connected to a machine and a plastic bag filled with blood.
He looked away; he never was into gross-out shows. Instead, he looked to his left, where one of the wires veered off. But instead of seeing a machine, he saw another boy beside him.
He looked... terrible. And for a moment, Netto thought he was having a nightmare since the boy could not possibly be alive.
And... he looked like Netto, no Rockman but... was it...?
He looked to be in the same state as Netto, with his chest covered in bandages with wires and tubes coming out. But unlike the much bigger boy, this one was... bad.
He had no muscles, and his face was gaunt and dry; he was still on the respirator and yet... he looked moments away for -as Bhuta would say, leaving his body.
But... he looked heart-rendingly familiar... but who was it?
'That's not Mamoru, he's in Palliative care at the moment... definitely not Dex, he's too young...' Netto dug through his memory, trying to access a long-hidden file.
And then...
He accessed his fae power... and identified the boy beside him.
Saito... Rockman... Roku...his second unit... his twin.
"... Saito..." Netto whispered as his tears overtook his sight.
This was his big brother...
The brother he barely remembered, the Brother his Dad had taken away... the brother that was marked as dead.
He... looked like he was not that far from it, to be honest.
On the top floor, The Volnutt-Dei began a sweet Kritana that was slow and melodious, almost mournful.
It stirred... plenty of emotions in his heart.
"Saito." He whispered as he reached for his dying Brother's hand, holding the frail appendage.
~Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare~
!Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare~
Moiya sang her powerful voice filled with unending emotions as she crooned the Lord's Name.
And then... he heard, along with Ekachakra co. His mother and...
Forte?
Yes... it did sound like Forte... What was he doing outside the cyber world? Should Netto be worried?
'Moiya and Ekachakra are here, and Bhuta and Partha too, and I don't think Hari-Priya would let him grab any abilities.' Then he remembered that Lavanga-Manjari could freeze other Net... other faes and computers.
Yes, he had no reason to fear the net-reaper.
He felt Saito stir for a bit.
Instinctually. Netto squeezed his twin's delicate hand; his fingers felt like cold twigs wrapped in chicken skin.
Suddenly, a prompt came up in front of his face.
STATUS: DYING (-0:48)
INITIATE HEART AND BODY SYNCHRONISATION? (Y/N)
Netto didn't need more prompting than that.
~0~
When Moiya arrived there, after locking her door (she had no idea what awaited her, and since it was a basement... yeah, it could be something pretty bad... or something pretty good, all depending.), everything was bathed in light.
Not divine light, unfortunately, but the very mundane one of some ridiculously powerful Cyber-Fae using their native ability.
'Oh Krishna Bhagavan...!' This...
If Netto were synchronizing with Saito, then both would die.
But if Saito was Synchronizing to Netto...
both would live.
But since Satio was in a coma and soon to be actively dying...
'Oh, Krishna. If you're about to perform a miracle for us, buddy now's the time. Maya prayed, hoping for the best, And preparing for the worst.
... the worst being Forte breaking down the door, followed by Eka and Prometheus...
'Great, just great.' She thought as he grabbed the hilt of her sword.
The light died off ...
"Huh..."
Both boys looked...
Well, Saito definitely looked better, he was not like a freaking twig, for once, and he was the size he should be and not that of a malnourished child at death's door.
And Netto...
Well, he looked worse than before... right about the same as his brother right now.
Moiya uncovered her mouth as he retracted her cyber-blade, her eyes welling up with copious tears.
She turned to see Forte fighting tooth and nail, not to Ugly cry. And the Herald of Darkness must have been facing the most powerful of enemies, for he was failing badly.
Needless to say, the news went around rapidly that, despite the odds, and yet quite logically, Netto had saved his Brother in the most mundane way possible.
Of course, Moiya and her Family knew better.
"Oh Krishna, you Rascal... you better be bringing Manohara back home, and you better be giving those two boys a life filled with Bhakti." She spoke in front of the house Deities, shamelessly crying and bowing.
The Kirtana after that was quiet, and yet the enthusiasm was back, and the dirge-like lamentations were gone.
A rare Miracle had occurred. And once again, Moiya felt her debt toward God, and her Guru became steeper.
And on the Altar, Baghavan wondered what else he could do to repay his ecstatic devotee, lest he gave himself fully...
...
Hmmm.
~0~
Once again, consciousness returned to him... how long had he slept? What day was it?
He tried to check his HUD, only to discover with great horror that he'd lost contact with the P.E.T's internal clock.
'Oh no... did I glitch again? Dad'll need to fix this again; I can't keep glitching like this if I want to be part of the international Net warrior team... have to be at my Optimal State for Netto.' He thought with an internal sigh.
Really, nothing seemed to work well with him nowadays, and he was not that old. Heck, Protoman was older than him, and he was Fine!
... Well... sometimes, he would glitch too. But it wasn't as often as Rockman.
Right?
'hmm... I still need to see Dad again... I can't remember what happened after... my... heart...' Rockman opened his eyes and stared at...
At his Netto's face... at his little Brother's face.
He looked tired and thinner... paler also. And there were tubes running in and out of a cluster of bandages on his chest.
Rockman sobbed at the sight, startled when he felt something wet leak from his eyes. He went to reach it when...
He noticed that he couldn't see his HUD, he could not see the screen border and...
He had human hands...
He blinked, nothing how dried his eyes had become.
Why would his eyes be dry? A net-navi had no tears... and why did he feel a tube going down his throat? And why did he feel something on his skin and-
and...
and he remembered...
He remembered who he was...
He remembered his time with Forte as Roku and how, despite passing a very short time, how he and the Herald of darkness had bonded.
He'd called him father... papa... and Forte had called him his precious son...
'Daddy... Daddy never called me that... daddy... he hurt me.' Oh, the feeling of Betrayal he felt...
He never knew he could feel so strongly about that.
Saito Never thought he could hate a man so much... let alone his father.
And yet, here he was, his heart beating like a jackhammer in his healing chest.
And he wasn't sure if it was because the pain meds were waning, but his chest hurt... but not his heart though.
No... his beating heart... there was no pain.
He was alive... he was human...
Or... was he?
Anyway, this was a problem for future Saito right now...
Right now, he wanted... he wanted his Brother...
with great effort (God... Krishna, why was everything so heavy in the real world.) he managed to reach for his brother and clumsily smashed his face.
While it definitely wasn't how he expected it to go, it nevertheless gave Saito a jolt.
He was touching his little brother.
He was touching his little brother.
Netto's face scrunched up as he shook the offensive hand away and opened his chocolate-coloured eyes wow, they look so much better in real life.
Saito could feel how soft his cheeks were, how warm he was. He could feel the muscles move under his skin and how his eyelids fluttered.
It was honestly overwhelming for the ex-navi...
but oh-so better!
Netto stared... and tears gathered in his eye, and he reached for his brother's face...
And oh...
It was overwhelming... but the good type of overwhelming.
"S... Saito." Netto croaked, his lower lip wobbling as he tried to hold back his tears. And of course, this triggered Saito's tears.
"N-Netto... Ototo..."
"You... You're late for school."
"Ah! Jokes on you, Rock... I don't go to school anymore... Mama Moiya, she teaches me... I can sleep as long as I want..." While those words were spoken with the carelessness of Childhood, Netto's voice wavered as he choked on his emotions.
He sniffled and whimpered, and Saito could not help but feel the same.
No, it was not a twin thing; it was...
He just knew his brother... and he knew what he felt...
Saito was feeling the same things, after all.
"S-Saito..." Netto choked out as he grabbed his revived brother's hand in his own and squeezed, and Saito sobbed at this human contact. "You..."
"Ototo..." He was crying, and Saito was crying, just as Netto was...
That day, Rockman died for Good, and Saito returned.
~0~
Forte watched from afar how Haruka was doting on her two boys.
It had been a few days since the surgery, and Dalcini and Dharma often came to check on the two. And indeed, the medical-themed couple had been pleasantly surprised to see the two boys still with them.
Also, Dharma was awesome at leading Kirtana, and his wife always carried with her a few USBs filled with his singing for Forte to enjoy.
(So, Pietrov may have developed a taste for Kirtana. So sue him.)
They were healing well physically, and they were already planning how to help the two Mentally.
For Netto, it was to deal with the betrayal he suffered at his dad's hands and for Saito...
Well... he had to relearn what it meant to be human, or being a half-fae and to deal with all the crap that happened in the virtual world.
And with Forte...
Forte... who was being a coward right now, unable to face his Roku, had quickly returned to the virtual world like a shamed wolf. Meeting and mending all of those burnt-down bridges with his dad and talking to Haruka in person had been great, but...
How would they react to him? How would Saito and Netto treat him now that Haruka had become addicted to holding his hands? And that Forte had made the mistake of tasting her wonderful cooking and would shamelessly praise her for even a simple glass of water.
Forte knew that Netto was... well, he was happy to see him, but he was also very wary of what to say when Pietrov dared to be close to Haruka.
Seriously, what a woman, she felt like a Missing piece returned.
But... she had children to care for, children that had almost died.
One of them did.
Forte sighed from his perch in the cyber world... actually, he was not that deep in cyberspace; he was just hanging out around Moiya's router, watching his... Watching Haruka's kids as they recouped and relearned about the world.
He got to see Saito's face lighting up the first time he ate real food.
He got to see his embarrassment when he had to answer the call of nature... aided. (Pietrov could understand that.)
Then his wonder and joy at his first bath, his first step...
Well... not yet; Lumine was, shockingly enough, giving the two boys rehabilitation every day. Reworking their pecs now that the surgical incision had scarred them over.
As it turned out, it was a rather easy skill for him to learn since, you know...
He was... modded to do everything perfectly at the first time (on paper, since he'd failed at killing Haruka, who used her immense kindness to disarm him.)
Still... Forte didn't want to impose more than necessary...
Besides, Haruka deserved better than him.
"Oh, so this is where you've decided the wallow."
Of course, he couldn't be alone in his misery; Lumine just had to make his appearance.
Typical.
"What do you want, Lumine?" Forte groused.
"Oh? Are you not too busy pitying yourself?" They asked with a tilt of their head, sitting down beside the Herald of Darkness...
The retired Herald of darkness.
"Fuck you."
"My, my. It seems someone remembered their human heritage... and I'm here on your father's behalf, dear; he worries about you."
In normal times, this would anger Forte to no end...
But now?
He could easily empathize with the man... lick his father.
So, instead of a full eye roll, he instead clicked his tongue. "Of course, he would..."
...
"I'm surprised you're not helping Roku-"
"It's not Roku... he... he died..." This wasn't a painful thing to admit. "This... is Saito, Netto's older brother and Haruka's eldest son... I have nothing to do with him."
Lumine dared to sit beside the Herald of darkness, the two cyber-fae a dichromatic duo shining in the ethernet.
"Nothing to do with him?" Lumine asked with an infuriating smirk. "Obviously, you haven't heard what Haruka and I have."
Ugly jealousy ate at Forte's guts. Of course, the ass would be close to Haruka and the kids; the guy practically worshipped the ground the ever so kind and sweet Haruka walked on.
"Saito... and sometimes Netto are asking us where you went. Even Haruka is worried for you... and dare I say, your absence is making her depressed."
"Really? You expect me to believe you?" The black and purple Na... Fae asked the lab-made abomination.
Lumine stared at the (second.) most powerful Navi in existence. "You... don't longingly look at your Waifu and Son wishing for things to return to... well, not normal, per se, but the way you want it to be?"
"Hey! I may be a creep, but I'm not this type of creep." Forte sneered. "Listen... I'm a criminal; I dele... I killed so many other faes; It's not even funny; I stole nuclear codes, weapon data, personal information that could destroy a country in less than an hour..." He got up, whirling around dramatically, showing himself. "I am the Herald of Darkness, Gospel's doomsayer and the scourge of the undernet! Now, you tell me, Lumine? Do you think my kids would want a dad like me after the asshole who near ruined their collective lives?!" He spat.
Lumine just...
no, wait, he had no eyebrows. But he did raise something that was on his forehead.
"Well, you know that there is such a thing as a second chance... if you choose to take it, of course." the angelic abomination of a human-born program spoke as he... they got to their feet, dusting themselves off from the imaginary dust. "Do you remember who Zero is... who Maya is?"
It was Forte's turn to raise his brows. Then some traitorous pride bloomed in his heart, but Roku… Rockman did.
"Yes... and she was the one who got me... help... therapy from the torture I received… After that, I changed my mind about humanity." Lumine revealed. "True that she's an administration-level Fae... or even more so, but…" Lumine gaze migrated beyond the dark and green expanse of cyberspace."
"Despite having the universal kill code, Queen Maya and her Husband, Ekachakra, will always give all they can the means to attain salvation. Those two only want what is best for us and still, help us as long as we are willing to do what it takes to achieve it." He explains. "Of course, rare are those willing to take everything this sub-divine couple is willing to give."
Forte pursed his lips.
"It's up to you to accept her aid... but for this, you must get out of cyberspace and face your new reality, my friend."
"We ain't friends." Forte denied it with very little heat.
"Maybe... still, think about it."
~0~
and thus, Forte did just that...
He thought about it.
If he stayed in Cyberspace, he would be... safe but lonely.
A lonely Navi who knew the truth. A young man whose only family left was his father, who, out of shame and fear, was a Lonely Navi who, despite having desired to destroy humanity, could not do so Anymore...
If he did, Maya knew of his presence, and despite being a powerful fae...
Well, she was also the Alpha Omega, the strongest of them all... an administrator-level Navi who could delete Forte with a thought would she so desired.
Besides... he didn't want to face the wrath of Haruka and Roku's second.. fourth heartbreak.
...
But he was also Pietrov, and Pietrov did not belong to cyberspace. He was... the human aspect.
The aspects that Mikhail Cossack had desperately been trying to revive, only to have Scilab kill it again...
...
"You know, Lumine." He began as he raised his eyes to the satellite lines and radio waves blocking the sight of the stars. "When I... When I took Rockman's ability... when he was dying." He added quickly... not sure how it would make it sound better, to be honest. "Well... I didn't... I didn't want Rockman to disappear, to die by anything other than me." he gave a mirthless laugh. "I have no clue what I got from him... I just remember grabbing something as he was derezzing..."
The Dark-Navi looked up. "the next thing I knew... I was holding his essence... what lay under the modded skin...
Just this... little boy with electric-blue skin. All ghost-like and confused... and very naked."
"Well, if this was Saito when he was forced into a Navi skin, I'm not exactly surprised."
"Yeah? Well, I was." Forte groused. "I had no idea what I was supposed to do... and then..." Forte whipped at his invisible tears. "He... he called me papa... He trusted me."
He felt a wave of emotions overwhelm him, but he kept it in.
He'd emoted enough in the past few days; he'll feel them tomorrow.
"I... He couldn't remember his name... so I named him Roku."
"As in... no, not as six... Roku-man... that's the first two syllables."
The retired herald of darkness shrugged. "I suck at naming things." He admitted. "Poor baby was so confused, couldn't let him... you know, get lost forever." He huffed in sad amusement. "I called him a Godling first since he's so powerful."
Lumine became suspiciously quiet.
"... you have something to say."
"I do."
"Just get on with it." Forte snapped lightly. "It's not like it's gonna change anything."
Lumine gave Forte a hard look, judging him.
He hated that and wanted to beat the freak whiting an inch of his life before stealing whatever he could.
The lilac reploid opened his mouth... hesitated and...
"Saito and Netto are... Ekachakra's biological sons..." Lumine revealed, leaving the retired herald of darkness flabbergasted. "And Ekachakra... Ekachakra and his twin sisters are, like Maya, Administrators; when they are on the web... nothing is impossible for them."
Whatever air Forte had in his lungs left with a whoosh...
"Holy Crap!" He breathed out... and then...
"Wait... Roku and Netto are..."
"Yes, they are the biological sons of one Ekachakra or Subject X; the Master of most enslaved Navis and the one whose abilities are extremely variable," Lumine explained. "Pietrov, I'll be honest with you. For all intent and purport, Netto and Saito are more like their father than any Navis I knew."
"You mean-"
"Artificial insemination, either through clinics, legal doctors, or plants... like Hikari-san was. Then... kidnapping, forging death certificate, unexplained disappearance... murder., you get the point."
"Fucking hell..." Forte breathed under his breath.
"Of course, they also had normal breeding facilities, and the low-end Navies truly are but AIs moving avatars around, everything that's higher end, like Protoman." Lumine spoke meaningfully. "were first born from a normal woman, left to grow and then-"
"Force to Navihood."
"yes." Lumine nodded. "That's... how I started too... but Maya saved me, like she saved Serenade, Prometheus and Pandora..."
"That's why her name is Maya... to most, she's but an Illusion, a Navi so powerful, one could consider her the one true goddess of cyberspace. But to us who have gained her divine shelter, she is Mercy personified... A Vaishnavi, like her husband, a Servant of the One True God, Krishna!"
"... what's her Goal?" Forte asked Wearily.
He never feared anything in his life... except for her.
She was an unknown, and...
Well, he just... He may be the dark Messiah, and the Herald of Darkness, he who had defeated Gospel but...
Maya was spoken to in awed whispers by those who knew someone who had seen her once. For in the censored archive, she was known as the queen of the protean lands.
Or the old name cyberspace once wore if those who dwell in the censored land were to be trusted.
Still, what this legendary figure wanted was quite nebulous. Only her name was known as Omega Zero. And yet, the censored ones were not too sure about that. And no one knew about how she'd looked, saved that she presented as a female.
Until now, apparently.
"What Maya desires? Simple, my dear. Maya, or Maya Devi Dasi is a Gaudia-Vaishnavi; her goal is the same as those who worship Radha-Krishna in their combined for of Lord Chaitania: to give a chance to the fallen souls of Kali-Yuga to get infected by Krishna-Prema, pure love of God, of Krishna expressed by sings and selfless service, to educate them in the path of Bhakti, and to Facilitate their return to the eternal spiritual sky by the Process of signings and dancing to God's Holy Names."
...
"No Jokes?" Forte asked with great surprise. This was the last thing he had expected to hear from Lumine about the prime administrator.
Lumine raised a nonexistent eyebrow.
"Do I look like I'm making fun of you?" The elegant Navi threw rhetoric out. "Trust me, Forte, I had my doubts too... but this is truly what she and her family are doing." He shrugged. "They are good persons, good Fae's who have taken to the spiritual path, and who aim at giving it to all of us stuck in the Virtual world a way out... a permanent way out."
"What do you mean by a permanent way out?" Forte asked roughly. He knew of many ways to take the permanent way out... and none of them were pleasant.
But before Lumine could answer, the Volnutt-Dei's security system blared to life only to be snuffed out as bugs,thousands of them flooded the place.
It was then that Forte remembered...
He forgot to give Gospel and Metty an update on Roku's situation.
"Oh, Krishna..." At this point, the situation demanded that Forte to pick a name of God and utter it loudly as the shit hit the fan.