I'm looking for a place
I'm searching for a face
Is anybody here I know?
--"I'm With You" by Avril Lavigne
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Back at the Science Labs, Dr. Hikari Yuuichirou had found himself in a most odd predicament.
At his door had arrived his beated and half-conscious son and a troop of friends, two of which appeared to be robots and one of which claimed to be his deceased child. All looked tired and worn, in particular Netto and the messy black-haired boy who carried him on his back. Yuuichirou sighed as he plugged his PET into the main computer: the twins were remarkably good at getting themselves into crazy situations, and this seemed to be no exception.
A moment later his Navi, Emdee, displayed a string of codes for him to see. "There does seem to be something wrong. It is most likely a virus, and a type I have not encountered before." "A virus!?" The black-haired boy looked horrified. "That can't be! Can it be repaired?" "I'm not sure," Yuuichirou replied slowly. "I'd have to do a lot more work with it." Netto, still drowsy-eyed, leaned heavily on Rockman. "How long will it take, Papa? He won't be deleted, will he?"
"That's hard to say..." The doctor met his son's brown eyes and the matching expression of the boy who sat beside him, equally hopeful but realistically grim. The sky-blue gaze did bear a resemblance to his twin's, a once-emerald similarity that Yuuichirou had programmed into the Navi himself. He smiled faintly and sat down at the computer to run some tests.
"Rock.." Blues choked, still clutching the PET that contained the feverish Navi that was his brother. He ran his fingers down the screen, desperately wishing for some way to touch him, to comfort him...
"You can't die," he added. Were he human, he'd be crying. "You can't die, not like this, okay?"
Rock's eyes opened a slight bit. "Blues...?" He looked over at the screen and smiled weakly. "It'll all be...okay.." He reached over and pressed his hand against the screen. "I miss you.."
Blues nodded. "I miss you too, bro."
On the opposite side of the room, the other two brothers were having a moment of their own. Netto was fully awake and bouncing now, and depite the pounding headache affecting both twins Rockman did not try to stop him. At the present moment the brunette was carefully inspecting his brother's left-handed Rockbuster, peering curiously into the barrel while the elder twin looked fearful.
"Netto-kun..." Rockman suggested, "I don't think you should do that. I don't want to shoot you."
Blues watched the two in amusement. His brother had fallen asleep, and the PET was on the table.
"He's right, you know." Blues called. "Don't mess around with the buster until he learns to control it some more."
He got up and stretched, walking over to where Rockman and Netto were standing. He looked at Rockman, and stated, "You want some training with that thing? I don't know if it's the same as the buster you use or not, but still."
"Er, well...." Rockman let the buster rest in his right hand, hesitantly meeting Blues' eyes. "It is just like my old one....though I'm not used to shooting with my left hand."
"You've got busters in both hands." Blues added.
"Really?" He held up his right arm, and after a moment it twisted and another Rockbuster appeared. "Oh, wow, that's a lot better. This one feels just like my old one."
Netto, fascinated, lifted his brother's right arm and inspected the new one as well. "Cool!"
"Could you charge up in your old body?"
"Yes, but I usually don't. Netto and I mostly use battle chips when a virus is too strong for my Rockbuster to take out."
Blues nodded. "All right, then. Fighting should feel just as natural to you here."
Rockman nodded and was about to say something when he was interrupted by a stab of pain pulsing through his body. He gasped in surprise and clutched his chest - the center of the pain - as his knees buckled in response.
Blues's eyes widened behind his ski visor. "Wh...are you all right?"
"Get..." Rockman gasped, "Get...Dr...Hikari..."
"Dr. Hikari!" Blues spun and ran across the room to the scientist. Rockman had leaned back against a desk, coughing violently, and supported on one side by a pale-faced Netto. The brunette was partially doubled over in pain and gasping for breath, but he managed to keep both twins on their feet until Dekao ran to his side.
Hikari looked past Blues at his two pain-stricken sons. "Netto! Saito!" he gasped in shock, rushing over.
Netto managed a rueful grin. "I'm fine... take care of Saito-niisan." Blues was already helping Rockman up.
Dr. Hikari shook his head. "Saito...Netto, I don't know how to say this, but...robots aren't my area of expertise."
The brunette managed not to look panic-stricken. "But I'm sure you know someone who is..."
"Light." Blues stated.
Hikari looked over at him. "Pardon?"
"Dr. Light. Rockman - my Rockman - and mine's creator."
"But he's in your world," Meiru objected.
"There's a portal between the worlds in Wily's fortress. That's how I got here in the first place." Blues added. "You can protest all you want; but even if Hikari did know a robot scientist in this world, he wouldn't know a thing about his schematics."
"That may be right," Hikari said quietly. "He seems to have very advanced programming, as much or more than Saito's Navi form, but I don't know how it works. I work with computers, not biomechanics."
"We'll have to get through Wily's fortress." Blues said, almost sadly. "Again. And," He turned to Hikari, "I think you'll have to come with us. Light may know that body, but you know its programming. And vice versa, on my Rockman."
Yuuichirou nodded. "The initial danger will be re-entering the fortress."
"I can get you there safely, Hikari-san." Enzan said quietly. "I investigated Skull Mountain very thoroughly while doing Official work."
"Then, let's go!" Yaito demanded.
"Don't think so," Netto wheezed. "You guys have to stay here."
"But, Netto...!" Meiru clasped his hand in hers. "You can't go alone!"
"Not alone...Papa and Blues will be there...and Rock..."
"But what about all those robots?" Yaito demanded.
"And the evil Gutsman, de gutsu!" Gutsman added.
"Yeah! And the evil Gutsman!"
"It's nothing we can't handle," Rockman said with a tired grin. "We can't put you in danger like that."
Roll, in her PET, cast a wistful-eyed glance at the boy. "Rock..."
Roll felt something grasp her hand. She looked down and gasped. Rockman, slightly awake, held her hand and smiled.
"It's...it's all right." He said weakly. "I-" He coughed, "I believe in them, and I know you do too." He slowly staggered to his feet.
Meiru still looked doubtful. "I still don't like it..."
"Me either," Dekao announced.
"De gutsu!"
"It's better if we keep the group to a minimum," Hikari Yuuchirou said firmly. "We don't know what will be there. And I'll be there with Netto and Saito."
"Well..."
"However..." The scientist moved to his desk and opened up a thin laptop, connecting his PET to it with a wire. ":It might be advisable to take along some of the Navis to keep an eye on Rockman."
"Heh." The former bioroid smiled weakly. "And keep me company...do you realize.." He paused as a wave of nausea passed over him he put a hand to his head and leaned against the grid that was the 'wall'
"Rockman!" Roll exclaimed.
"I'm fine." Rock assured. "Anyway...do...you realize...just how lonely this place is com...compared to the real world?" He forced a laugh, and sighed drowsily as even those small actions took away massive amounts of energy. Damned virus.
"I'll go," she said suddenly, turning her gaze to Dr. Hikari. "I want to to with him."
"Me too, de gutsu."
Glyde nodded. "I will as well."
Blues did no reply, instead looking at his Operator. "There's no need for so many," Enzan replied. "There's no way to know what could happen to you there. My advice is to take one or two at most."
"I'm going," Roll said firmly.
"And me." Gutsman said.
"Fine." Rockman looked grateful. "Blues... how do we get there?"
"There's a portal in Wily's fortress, like I said before. I can teleport us back to the lab after we get through."
"IF you get through."
"Yaito-chan!" Meiru scolded.
"Sorry."
"Then please, take us there, Blues." the ex-Navi requested.
Blues nodded. "All right."
With a few final goodbyes to Netto's friends, they were off.
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Shi-chan: Waiwai~! I'm on break from school/fansubbing now, so after I get all my Christmas stuff out of the way people should (presumably) be able to expect new chapters of fics! (Like maybe the epilogue of Us After This?) :D See you then!
Marisa had to run off, so she cannot put her two cents in. XD I suppose she would say something like, "Wow, I finally found Shi-chan after playing AIM-tag with her for two weeks," or "Readers, tell your dog I said hi!" or somesuch. :P *huggles Marisa-chan* We'll be back soon with more of the story!