The Pain Of Loss Chapter 21 – The Burning Passion for Revenge, Part 2
Me: #Yawns out and jams to "Edge" from the Dot Hack Liminality OST#
Roll Light: What're you doing up at nearly 11 PM if you're yawning like that?
Me: I seriously don't like going to bed early, and Dot Hack Dusk is gonna be on at 1:30.
Blackrose: You've been obsessed with that thing, huh?
Me: Yeah. Once the final issue of the manga comes out in November, I'll be happy as ever.
Megaman.EXE: That was an online game though, right...?
Me: Yup. Filled with user created viruses and data bugs that were totally invincible.
Megaman.EXE, Roll.EXE, Glyde.EXE, and Gutsman.EXE: #Look up at Skeith, Cubia, Magus, and Innis# Oh crap...
Me: ... note to self. Do not bring up Dot Hack in any Megaman series unless crossing over stories.
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
Iceman grit his teeth, jumping from side to side as he ducked past and around Flamman's attacks, all the while using chip after chip to make sure Roll's candle didn't stay lit for any length of time. Despite he and Tori's efforts, they were starting to run low on Battle Chips with which to keep the candles flames at bay. To worsen the matter, Roll's eyes were beginning to become enveloped in the slick, white substance. Sharkman yelled out as he shot up from under Flamman, slamming hard into his chest. Flamman reared back and stumbled backwards a few feet before slamming his fore arms down and charging forward. Sharkman noticed this and swam forward at a great speed to match Flamman's. Both Navis collided head on with one another, in a dead lock with one another. "Iceman, how're you holding up there?!!" Iceman nodded, finally able to stand still and catch his breath. "I'll be able to stop the candle at a close range!!! Just cover me!!!" With that, Iceman charged forward, taking in a deep breath and getting ready to send an ice wave forth.
Flamman took notice to this, then drew his head back, ramming it hard into Sharkman's skull and sending him flying back a good 5 feet. Immediately, Flamman turned around, taking a huge breath and unleashing an enormous blaze. Just as Iceman launched his ice wave, it hit the blaze, cutting it off entirely. Some of the blaze managed to strike Roll's candle, reigniting it and sending her into a world of pain. Her eyes shot wide as she screamed out, the force of her cry piercing through the wax momentarily. The wax was starting to form even faster now, almost her entire body below her shoulders engulfed, save for her partially covered chest emblem, breasts, and shoulders. Tori growled, his fists clenched tightly. "We need to stop those flames..." Lan blinked, then grinned, reaching into his backpack. "I thought we might need these..." Lan grabbed a handful of battle chips and walked to Tori, handing him a Panel Out 3 chip. "The flames can't travel if there's no ground to pass on." Tori smiled at Lan, giving a happy nod. "Thanks!!!"
As Tori and Iceman put the battle chip to work, there was trouble on the battlefield with the other Navis. While most of the group was holding up fine, Woodman was struggling. Due to his elemental disadvantage, Protoman had joined forces with him, but Woodman was taking severe damage. Not even his Apple technique was enough to fully restore him at the rate he was taking fire. Protoman growled, hacking up virus after virus as he thought to himself. 'These viruses are attacking Woodman and I the most. There must be some significance as to why we're taking the full force while the others only take the wake of it!' Woodman yelled out, falling back. His data was beginning to phase in and out. He was near deletion. A Burner virus was leading the final charge. Just then, Protoman realized it. "They're attacking Woodman specifically so they can take out one of our elementals!!! Why couldn't I see it before?!!" Protoman yelled out and vanished, appearing infront of Woodman and slashing the Burner in half. He panted a bit, looking to Woodman. "Are you alright?" Woodman forced himself up. "I, I think I'll be fine through the rest of the fight..."
Sharkman and Flamman panted heavily, standing before one another. Flamman was on his last legs, while Sharkman had just a little bit more to give. He grinned, chuckling as he started to sink into the panels. "This is gonna end it!!!" Flamman's eyes shot wide as this happened. He stepped back, then looked over his shoulder to see Roll. She was only barely conscious, remaining in the same part of the candle she was in since he last saw her. He wanted his revenge against her exacted first and foremost, even if he was deleted in the process. He yelled out, slamming both arms into the ground, creating intense flames in both his candles. Roll's eyes shot wide as the unused candle floated up and formed into a ball of hot wax. It shot through the air, over Iceman's head, and onto the candle where Roll was, totally burying her. Iceman's eyes went wide as he rushed forward. "ROLL!!!" He grit his teeth, stopped by an enormous wall of flames that shot up around the candle. "R, Roll..."
It was an empty void. A void of nothing. There was a world of black that surrounded Roll now, as she lay barely conscious, looking up at a fading light. "I... it's so cold... It hurts so much... Protoman... Gutsman... Iceman... Glyde... Anyone, please... don't leave me alone..." She shut her eyes, lying her head on her side, giving in. Dark hands reached up, beginning to wrap about her body. Just as she was being pulled into her own shadow, multiple blasts of light pierced the hands, dispersing them. Roll blinked a bit, suddenly feeling energy coursing through her body. She sat up, looking around until she found a outline of a figure, barely visible through the dim light. "Wh... who are you...?" The figure smiled gently, nodding to her. "Roll, don't give up. She may have taken what's on the surface, but you still hold the power in your heart..." Roll's eyes shot wide as she heard this, recognizing the voice. "I... is that..." Before Roll could even finish, the figure turned, walking off into the darkness once more. Roll's eyes shot wide as she saw this, jumping to her feet and rushing forward. "WAIT!!!" Just as she left the light around her, a portal opened before her. She came to a halt, standing before it for a moment. She then saw a pink glow form below her face. She looked down, seeing a pink and blue sphere emerging from her chest. She stood still for a moment, then smiled, tears rolling down her cheeks. Her faith had been fully restored, and she was now ready to continue on for real. With this, she charged forward blindly through the portal, prepared for anything that may come her way.
It had been 5 minutes since Flamman was defeated. Once he was gone, the viruses that followed him merely vanished, no doubt because they were created from his data, and once the core had gone, it was a mere matter for the rest to degrade with the main body. Protoman grit his teeth as he stood before the candle, his helmet down. "No... Not her too!!! This isn't supposed to be happening, THIS ISN'T!!!" He dropped to one knee and slammed his fist into the ground, leaving a crack on the cyber floor. The other Navis stood still, their heads low. Mayl was in tears, grasping onto Lan tighter than ever before as Lan comforted her as best he could. Iceman sat on his knees, shaking his head. "It's all my fault... If I'd just seen that wax ball coming, I could've stopped it..." Just after Iceman said this, there was a pulse all throughout the Cyber World. One so powerful, a small wave could even be sensed in the real world. Mayl and Lan blinked a bit, shifting their attention to the console. Protoman, Iceman, and all the other Navis shifted their attentions to the giant pile of wax that held Roll tightly. It alternated in blue and pink glows. At first, they were only barely visible. But within a moment, the entire wax formation was shimmering. At first, it began to crack a little. But in mere seconds, entire pieces fell off, until a large blue and pink vortex shot out, shattering the wax formation and sending it flying throughout the Undernet. As the vortex died, Roll could be seen, floating in a pink and blue aura. She touched down gently on the ground, smiling to everyone else. Mayl's eyes shot wide as she grabbed her PET, a relieved look upon her face. "R, ROLL!!! You're alright!!! Thank God you're alright...!!!" She dropped to her knees, hugging her PET close. "Wh, what happened to you...?" Roll hugged herself a bit, feeling warm. "... He saved me again... and now it's my turn to save him..."
Kali growled, slamming her fist down in her chair, knocking one of the large arms clean off. "NO!!! She was supposed to be dead!!! I should have NEVER sent that accursed Flamman, he failed the first time, I should've known he'd fail the second!!!" She quaked in her seat with rage for a minute, her eyes glowing a deep crimson before she calmed down. She sighed, then smirked, looking at the screen and grasping the sphere. "It doesn't matter... Even if Roll has her power back, she won't be able to stand against me..." The sphere glowed a black light, lighting up the gray parts of Kali's uniform. She chuckled, pressing the sphere against her chest as it was swallowed up by her emblem. "It's done... And now, it's time for the real fight..." She held her hands up in the air, two Navis forming behind her. She looked over her shoulder, her eyes narrowed as she thought to herself. 'I suppose I need a little more practice. But this should do for now.' She turned to face the two Navis, walking forward with her arms at her sides. "It's time that you two had your second chance..." The two Navis nodded solemnly, keeping silent. One had a large body frame from the waist up, with what looked to be fins or blades of a sort coming out his arm gauntlets and from the center of his chest. The other was about three-quarters the first Navi's size, with a much smaller frame, floating in mid-air with 6 spikes protruding from his head. With that, both Navis vanished into mid-air, preparing for their turns to battle.
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
Me: SHVEET!!!
Mayl: What're you so excited about?
Me: I just remembered that I thoroughly WHOOPED Serenade's sorry butt!!!
Lan: You may wanna fill the readers in. As far as they can tell, there was just an hour and a half gap between chapters...
Me: Ah, right. Well, those last chapters, 17-20, I had ready since the end of Summer School. I was just too lazy to get them outta my Yahoo! Briefcase and upload them. During the gap between September 2nd, yesterday, and the end of Summer School, my friend Dylan and I played MMBN3 a LOT. We both fought Serenade after chip trading with one another like mad for the data. And, well, you can figure the rest out.
Bass.EXE: Now just to see if anyone even CARES.
Me: ... y'know, if I didn't think you totally owned on too many levels to speak of, I'd have killed you a long time ago. See you guys next chapter!!!