"High above the mucky-muck, castle made of clouds,
There sits Wonderboy, sitting oh so proudly...
...Wonderboy, what is the secret of your power?
Wonderboy, won't you take me far away from the mucky-muck man?"
-Tenacious D, "Wonderboy."
---------
When Rockman came to, all he could feel was pain. His limbs were tightly bound and he lay on his back on a table, with a bright white light staring him in the face. "What...?"
"Wily!" Rockman gasped as his eyes adjusted to the brightness. "I thought you were..."
The old scientist leaned alarmingly close to his captive. "Dead? Close. Very close. But you and your Operator should have known better than to just leave the fortress! Careless fools!" He smiled menacingly. "And now you're going to pay for that mistake, and for the mistake of interfering with my plans."
"Apparently, in both this world and my own, it takes more than a falling fortress to get rid of Wily." A similar voice added.
Rockman struggled to see the newcomer, and gasped in shock. Wrenching his neck in a position he previously thought impossible, he could just barely see...another Wily?
"Surprised to see me?" The second Wily asked evilly.
"There are...two of you?" His eyes must have been playing tricks on him.
The first Wily, the more familiar one, laughed maniacally. "That's right, Rockman! It looks like you can think on your own after all!"
"So, Rockman," The second Wily began, nearly hissing the second word, "How are you feeling? Is that virus causing you a bit of pain?"
"A virus." Rockman gritted his teeth. "I should have known!"
The boy struggled, trying to ignore the sharp pain pulsing through his body. "What...do...you want with..." he gasped suddenly, as the movement took its toll and sent a burning senstation through his limbs. He caught his breath, and repeated, "What do you...want...with me?"
The Wily that he was familiar with smiled. "Before explaining that, I'll wait until everyone gets here..."
Meiru and the others arrived at the World Three Metroline stop, a wheezing Netto giving directions as Dekao carried him on his back. It seemed that whatever torture Saito was going through had momentarily ceased, but the human twin was burning up and still only half-conscious. Sometimes he would tighten his grip in pain so hard that Dekao flinched, but the bigger boy did not speak. He knew Netto would come to his partner's rescue even if he had to crawl the whole way.
Enzan, on the other hand, looked much less patient. He seemed to care slightly about the Netto's condition, glanicng over to check on him occasionally, but the Official Net Battler was more concerned with arriving fast and taking out Wily. The fact that Wily had sent a personal challenge to him and Blues with Rockman's life hanging over their heads angered Enzan--both in the fact that Wily was alive and dared to challenge him, and that the old scientist thought he was associated enough with the Hikaris to come rescue the kidnapped one.
Which, of course, he was. That was the other thing that made Enzan mad.
Meiru and Yaito were silent, and the Navis had gone ahead to the WWW link. Higure led the cautious party through rows of unlocked doors and empty rooms, fear and apprehension spreading across his face.
"This is it," Netto whispered, but only Dekao could hear. The door was the same one three of the young Net Battlers had entered through a year ago, during the first fight against World Three.
Enzan stepped to open the huge metal doors. Rockman smiled grimly and said in a quiet voice, "Let's do it."
Meanwhile, back in the Rockman "Original" Universe, Blues and Roll had recently explained to Dr. Light what had happened.
"And then...then Forte just teleported away with him!" Roll finished, gasping.
Dr. Light nodded. "I see." He turned to his computer. "Luckily, I might be able to trace him."
Blues and Roll watched intently as he typed in a few commands. Finally, a map of the area appeared on the screen. There was a blue dot in the corner, at which Dr. Light pointed. "And there's Rockman. I'll set the coordinates into your teleporter, Blues, so you can go rescue him."
Blues nodded. "All right."
Enzan was the first one through the door, striding confidently inside and folding his arms to glare at the two scientists. "I'm here," he announced, as though it weren't obvious. He did not look surprised at all that Wily seemed to have doubled.
"Welcome, Ijuuin," one of the Wilys said.
Dekao, who had been the next one in, looked on in shock. "There are two of them!"
"Netto-kun!" Rockman cried from the table.
"Well, well, looks like the great Hikari Netto, that I've heard so much about, had some sort of accident on his way here..." The other Wily - the one only Rock could recognize - sneered, "...why else would he have to be carried to his death?"
Netto, though weak, was still angry enough to accept the challenge. "You let him go, you bastards, or I'll kill you both myself!"
"Idle threats from a cripple!" the unfamiliar Wily said.
"Netto!" Rock said, "Hold up the PET. I want to get a good look at him."
Netto nodded and, though his arms were slightly numb, was able to hold up the PET so the screen was facing the two Wilys.
Two of them? Rock thought, enraged. Fine, twice the asses I can kick. He couldn't remember the last time he cussed at all, much less in thought, but it felt pretty good. "You two are going to pay so, so much for what you did to me!" Rock shouted.
The other Rockman was not so dazed that he couldn't recognize his own voice. "Who the hell is that?" he cried.
Netto clamored down from Dekao's grasp, clutching his PET in one hand. "Rock! Is that you? Are you okay?"
That was when the ex-bioroid Rockman saw himself, strapped to the table. He was suddenly disoriented. "The heck...am I doing...over there?!" he gasped, then tried to bring his mind back together. That's the one you switched bodies with, remember? his mind told him.
Impulsively Netto ran, almost stumbling, to the ex-Navi's side. The Wilys made no move to stop him, but Meiru and Dekao stepped forward to defend the twins.
"Rock!" Roll.EXE called, as she appeared on the PET's screen.
Distracted, Rockman turned. "Roll-chan! What is it?"
"There's too many of them...We need your help."
"Okay. What do I do?"
"I can link you to the fortress's computer. I can show you how to Net Battle from there, okay?"
Rock nodded, took her hand, and disappeared.
The injured Rockman was strapped to the table with metal bands at his wrists and ankles. When Netto approached he twisted his head at a painful angle and grinned good-naturedly. "Looks like you had to come save me again."
Netto, meanwhile, was fascinated by his brother's changed appearance. "You look so different... Rock..."
The black-haired boy smiled faintly. "Just a little bit more human than before. Who... who's in there? Is he the one whose body I'm in?"
"Yeah." Netto squeezed Rock's hand tightly. "I'll get you out of here, I promise. I just have to get the restraints undone."
"The computers... where's Roll-chan? There's a lock program. Just be careful, please..."
"Don't worry. We have Numberman, Gutsman, Roll, Glyde, and the other Rockman. And Blues," he said confidently, shooting a glance at Enzan.
"I trust you." Rock smiled, but was overcome by a wave of pain from the virus that struck his twin just as hard.
Netto fell to his knees. "What's Wily done to you?" he choked out.
"V-virus," Rockman gasped. "I don't know what kind."
The brunette looked at the Navi in his PET. "Get to the lock, and hurry! We don't know what that virus could do to your body, or my Rockman's program!"
"I'm on it." Rockman was already running beside Roll, who seemed to be giving him a speed-lesson on virus busting.
"All right." Netto struggled to stay conscious, gripping his twin's hand. Dekao and Meiru stood in front of them, glaring at the Wilys, who hadn't spoken.
The unfamiliar Wily, however, had allowed a slow smile to spread across his face. "Try all you like, young Light....it'll do you no good."
The other Wily had taken a step toward the table as though to pull the boys apart, but there was something blocking his way. "Don't touch them," Enzan said coldly, his ice-blue eyes boring into the scientist. "Your first opponent is me."
Enzan suddenly felt two strong, cold hands grab his arms.
"The heck?" Enzan twisted his head around to see his captor. It was a boy clad in a dark blue ninjitsu uniform, with a four-pointed star on his forehead.
He grinned as Enzan struggled to release himself from his grip, but to no avail.
"Allow me to introduce the small army of Robot Masters I so thoughtfully brought along with me." sneered Wily, the one that Netto wasn't familiar with. "The one that has the white-haired boy is Shadow Man. I also have with me Quick Man-"
A red and yellow clad Robot Master wrapped an arm around Meiru's chest and clasped a hand over her mouth.
"-Ice Man-"
Higure's feet were suddenly frozen to the ground, and a pair of cold hands grabbed his wrists. "What-?"
"-Cut Man-"
A short red and white robot with scissors on its head grabbed Yaito by her shirt.
"-Guts Man-"
Dekao felt large hands grab his shoulders. "N-Nani?!"
"-And of course, the one I've never had to rebuild, Forte."
Netto cried out from both pain and surprise as Forte grabbed the collar of his shirt and tossed him on the hard tile floor away from the table.
Rockman flinched.
Netto lay sprawled on the tile, quivering in pain from both the impact and Rockman's virus.
Oh god, don't-
His thought was interrupted by a hard kick in his stomach.
"Get up." Forte commanded. He kicked the brunette once more.
Rockman and Netto cried out painfully in unison.
God! Please! Make this all stop, somehow!
Forte reached down and grabbed Netto, too weak to struggle, by the shirt collar. "You little wimp. It's reasons like this that I really hate humans." He punched Netto's right cheek. "They never, ever put up a good fight."
"Netto-kun!" Rockman cried out in horror, unable to tear his eyes away from the scene nor his hands from the table.
GOD! Netto's mind screamed, IF YOU'RE REAL, YOU'D BETTER SEND A SIGN, FAST!
BLAM!
"All right!" A new voice shouted aggressively, "I found your little portal, Wily, now where the heck is-" The voice paused as the speaker took a look around. "Uh...did I miss something?"
Rockman stared in the direction of the voice. "Blues!" He cried in delight.
"Blues?" Enzan turned his head to stare at the newcomer as well.
The bioroid slowly surveyed the room, where the six Robot Masters held six humans captive. No one spoke until the Rockman on the table plaintively lifted his head. "Um...a little help here, please?"
"Blues came for me!" The now-Navi Rockman said excitedly, watching the screen above their heads.
"I see I have a counterpart in your world too." The white-haired Blues was boredly deleting viruses while Roll and Rock worked on the lock program. Numberman's skill with codes had quickly gotten them this far, and all that was left was to destroy the program holding the other Rockman captive.
A flash of white from the far left caught Rock's eye. He looked to the right, away from the target program, and saw something that looked similar to an electrical force-field sort of...thing. He turned towards it and walked in its direction.
"What's this?" He asked.
Roll looked over where he was going. "Rock! Be caref-"
"KYAAA!" Rock cried out as a spark jumped from the field to his chest. He staggered backwards and collapsed.
"ROCK!!" Roll screamed, dashing over to the fallen 'Navi'. "Rock, wake up! Are you all right?"
He sat up and nodded. "I'm fine." He stood up and stumbled, leaning on Roll for support. "Though...I feel kind of...dizzy..." He shut his eyes, waiting for the feeling to pass. It didn't. He opened his eyes again and looked around. "I can't really...see...straight, eithe..r..." His voice trailed off as his knees buckled. "Roll-chan...I think there was...something in the force...field..."
He fainted.
Marisa: end chapter...god, it's midnight, I can't remember what chapter we're on -.-;
Shi-chan: Must be forty or fifty by now...oh wait... 4. ~_~
A/N (Marisa): Ah...yes...spooky fainty-ness. I'm going to sleep now. It's midnight. zzz. phj33r my 1337 Zzs.
(Shi): Time for me to conquer Rockman 4... or translate... or... something? *thunk* zzzz...