----------------------------------------------------{I}Begin Log{I}------------------------------------------------------------
We're- WAH! (dodges random objects being thrown at her) HEY! WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM?!
Shila: here's an idea: you haven't updated this story in I have no idea how long. Would that be it?
Kay: (sweatdrops) yeah, that could do it. Sorry for yelling at you, and talking my time updating!
Shila: Anyways... hey, you know what we forgot to ask?
Kay: you mean me, lazy bum. What?
Shila: If they're going to be targeting this section soon.
Kay: (groans) Shila, one word with a hyphen: e-mail.
Shila: trutru.
Kay: Anyways, sorry again, evil writers block is extremly annoying. So... what shall I write about now...?
Shila: you're still not over your writer's block, are you?
Kay: Nope! And camp, and the cottage, and all the weddings and birthdays have served as great distractions! I like distractions...
Shila: ...you sound like Kuumei from EverWander.
Kay: really? Too bad I don't look like her, though...
Shila: I know. Having to look at your face is hurti-
Kay: Thats it! (shoves Shila out the door) Have fun with your multi-purpose thingy! See ya in September! AND DON'T COME BACK! Now... on with the story!
------------------------------------------------------{I}Story Starts{I}---------------------------------------------------
Secrets of the Undernet
Chapter 6 (I think): Revealing of the Queen
---------------------------------------------------{I}Curtain Opens{I}-------------------------------------------------------
Megaman sat on the floor in the hall, in the ACDC 1 section, trying to concentrate on looking up information. Infront of him were files. And, of all things, of the Undernet. He had decided to look at these, just in case there was something in here. He had reached the section about viruses that were unstopable and shape-shifters, when he had felt that he would prefer to not continue reading- the thought of Roll in the Undernet, from what he had read so far, was not a pleasant one.
Groaning, he let his head rest against the stack of files behind him on their shelves.
"Hello, Mega!"
He refused to open his eyes, knowing full well what would happen if he did. Quersoæn would be standing over him, her face close to his, and he would jump, startled, even if he already knew it would happen.
"Hello, Quersoæn."
He felt her sit down next to him. "What's wrong? Are you sad? Tired? Maybe you need to go recharge... you've been at this since morning. All these Navis have agreed to help us- look at how many there are! Since last night, a lot more people and Navis have known about Roll disappearing. A lot more! ...I just wish that Tialsia were here..."
Megaman looked at her, startled. "You know Tialsia?!"
Quersoæn shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah, I met her yesterday. I was sitting here, just like this, only a few floors down, and I started singing a song, and a didn't know what a word meant, and she told me, and me and her and Risuko talked about it for a bit... and then she said that she had to go, so we said bye, and she left."
Megaman sighed. "That was before I met her. I had been hoping that she might have been here..."
Quersoæn looked at Mega, a thought entering her mind. "You seem to know a lot of female Navis."
"So?"
"So... did you ever think about... doing what humans do?"
Megaman looked at her, unsure of his position. "What? You mean boyfriend/girlfriend kind of thing?"
"Exactly!"
Megaman snorted. "Not really... and besides, even if I did, there's only one Navi that I would think of..."
"And that is..."
"...only girls talk about this."
"I'm a girl!"
"And I'm not. Can we drop the subject?"
Quersoæn sat looking at him as he went back to scanning through the data on the Undernet. He wanted to properly cover ever base. Although it might have seemed that it would be easier for him to actually physically go looking, he wanted to find possible areas and their dangers first. Protoman was more of a go-get-'em kind of Navi, as well as Gustsman, Iceman, Glyde... pretty much every Navi wanted to field work first, research later. So Megaman, Quersoæn, and barely five other Navis stayed behind, doing what research and looking they could.
Quersoæn eventually got up to look for something on the lower floors, as she started down them. She stopped suddenly, remembering what Tialsia had said. "Which I was... too dead to cry... the self affliction fades... stones to throw at my creator... the masochist to which I cater..."
Megaman looked up at her, listening to what Quersoæn was singing. She looked at him from the corner of her eye, and looked at the state he was in. Megaman's energy levels weren't very high- he needed recharging, and badly. If a virus attacked... she shook her head, trying to get rid of the images. When she looked again, she saw Protoman and the others who had gone on field duty standing at the next landing, looking at her strangely.
"What?"
"What did you just sing?" Protoman asked, wondering. The words had struck a cord in him, and it seemed like he wanted to know as much about those words as possible.
Quersoæn just shrugged. "Something I learned when I was young. Now, are you all here to do a bit more research? We need all the help we can get."
As she proceeded down the stairs, the gang at the bottom let her by, before continuing up to where Megaman was. At the sight of him, and his energy readings, they realized that she was right- Megaman was obviously getting exhausted.
"Megaman? I say... what are doing?" Glyde question, worry crossing his face.
"He's wearing himself out, Guts!" Gutsman replied, moving over to the blue bomber.
"Captain Obvious does it again..." Came a weary voice from behind them.
Dex's face appeared in a communication window beside Gutsman. "Hey! Who just said that?!"
"Me. Now, can I get through? Warping is extremly tiring, and I would like a rest, thank you very much!"
The Navis moved away to see Quersoæn, obviously trying to hold in her laughter, walking beside a red, yellow, white, silver and gold Navi. Megaman recognized the new Navi, and welcomed her from his spot on the floor.
"Tialsia! How've you been?"
"Since yesterday? Well... let's just say that I don't want to do anything other than read and talk for the rest of today." She plopped down beside Megaman, Quersoæn following. Protoman looked at the three, Megaman in the middle, the other two surrounding him.
"Erm, Tialsia..."
"Yes, Protoman?"
The red Navi looked thouroughly nervous. "Er... thank you for your help yesterday."
She grinned. "You're welcome. And Gutsman- sorry for the comments. I become sarcastic when I'm tired."
"It's okay, Guts, as long as you not mean it!"
She stretched out, and looked at the file that Megaman was holding. Having given up on reading about the Undernet, he had started reading his own file, trying to look like he was doing something. Tialsia grasped the file about the Undernet.
"You mind if I read this?"
Megaman looked at the file. "Sure. It's too depressing, if Roll did get stuck in the Undernet..."
Tialsia sighed, and looked at the other Navis standing around. "Well? Are you going to just stand there, or do some work?"
Most of the Navis turned around, and headed down the stairs for more field work. Protoman, Gutsman, Iceman and Glyde stayed back, and began looking through files as well. Quersoæn headed down the stairs for where ever she had originally been going, and Tialsia and Megaman settled back against their stack of files for some research. And, as luck would have it, a thought-conversation.
'Hub?'
He glanced at her, but then looked back at his file. Letting his vision loose focus, he concentrated instead on the thoughts inside his head.
'Yes, Tialsia?'
'Call me Te when we're talking like this.'
'Okay... Te... what's up?'
'Har har. I need to talk to your dad.'
'Why?'
'Nothing for you to worry about...'
'Well, it is my dad...'
'I need to know more about the Navi project.'
'You could just ask me. Or Glyde, or Protoman, or-'
'Not normal Navis, smart one. You. The way you were created was dubbed the Navi Project. I guess so that to outsiders it looked just like they were creating a normal Navi, with special powers...'
'..you make me sound like some magician or something.'
'Nope. You're just a half and half- a hybrid, I guess.'
'Hybrid, huh? Are there any others?'
'What kind?'
'What?'
'You mena human-Navi?'
'Well, yeah... are there any others?'
He heard her mentally laugh. 'Well... er... nevermind. I just found the way you asked that funny.'
'So, why do you need to know more about... well, me?'
'Because I know enough that I'm interested in the whole thing, but I don't know everything. I'm sketchy on the details, and it's extremely annoying.'
'Just like me trying to figure you out?'
She glanced at him from her files, and he swore he heard her growl. He barely suppressed a laugh, turning it into a cough.
'Fine. I'll tell you a bit about me, if you tell your dad that I would like to talk to him. Deal?'
'Hmm... You tell first, just so that I know something about you.'
She sighed, and Protoman looked at the two strangely. He had noticed that Megaman had been staring at the same page, the same place, for a while, and his eyes were distant. He had also caught the small movements that they made, reactions to something that he didn't know. He continued to do exactly what Megaman was doing- pretending to read a file, while concentrating on something else. That something else being the two Navis by the shelves on the floor.
Tialsia, of course, knew this, and grinned. 'You know, I think that Protoman might be catching on.'
Megaman was about to turn around, but Tialsia stopped him. 'No, Hub. Don't pay any attention. It will only make him more suspicious.'
He glanced at her. 'It's so weird...'
'What is?'
'I haven't been called "Hub" for so long. Even Papa and Mama have taken to calling me 'Megaman', although I understand why. Lan still doesn't know, and he should be the first.'
'True. It was a fluke that I know about you, and that I even met you.'
'I think I've been hanging artound Risuko too much, but I can tell you're lying.'
'Darn it. Okay, they weren't flukes- it's part of my job to know that.'
'Your... job? How would knowing about me be part of your job?'
'Because... because, please don't tell anyone this, but...'
'But...'
'My net-op, Faedelle, and myself... we were assigned to look out for you and Lan, and even Mayl and Roll. Which we didn't do.'
'How long have you been here?'
'A little over a day now.'
'That would be why. Roll went missing more than a day ago.'
'I guess...'
'So... anything else I should know about you?'
'Well... there's the fact that I'm like you...'
'You're... a hybrid?!'
"Megaman..."
He looked at her, surprised that she had spoken out loud. "Yeah?"
"Do you mind reading your own file?"
He blushed, and nodded. "Sure..."
As soon as he had started reading again, Tialsia made a quick copy of something she had found interesting- the Wastes, as they were called, were, for some reason, listed in the Undernet file. She had an idea why, and decided to further persure it.
'Hub, I'm going to have a quick recharge-just enough for me to get around without collapsing- and I'm going to check out something.'
'In the Undernet?'
'No, but it's related. Can you please talk to your dad before I get back? I should be gone till tonight, a day at the latest.'
He looked sceptical, but nodded his head. 'Alright. Have fun!'
'Oh yeah... fun... I'm going to need major work on my system after this...'
Megaman watched her leave, then stood up, with his file, and walked over to where it went. He flipped through quickly to near the begining, and made a quick copy of something- to be more specific, some detail that, he felt, made it a little too obvious about his heritage. He didn't realise that Protoman was still watching him.
-----------------------------------------------------{I}Tialsia{I}------------------------------------------------------
Tialsia proceeded down the stairs, using a 'Full Energy' sub chip to replenish her strength. She paused at a dealer, and bouth another six, as well as some 'Mini Energy' sub chips.
She continued down the stairs, until she got to the bottom, where she found Risuko waiting. She grinned.
"I guess you over- thought myself and Hub's convo, eh?"
He looked at her with emotionless eyes.
"Yes. I do not think you should go to the Wastes."
"Why?"
"You won't find anything to do with Roll there."
"I know. But I though I might find something to do with the Navi Project. Or other usefull tidbits of info."
"...you should be careful then."
"I know that." She told him, exasperated. She looked around them once- all the Navis that she could sense on this floor were busy doing whatever they were doing. She lowered her voice to a whisper anyways. "Please, Risuko... watch out for Hub. Proto's catching on, and I don't want him to feel alienated. I think that something in the future is going to do that for him."
Risuko nodded. "I feel you are right. Good luck finding the information you're looking for. And, if you see anything that might be good for some of the files here, then please copy it. I will look out for him- for both of the twins, and the other one. You look out for yourself, and Roll."
She snorted. "As if I could do anything else, with Fae breathing down my neck." Seeing his puzzled looked, she hurriedly explained, "figuratively speaking, of course."
He nodded, and motioned her to the door. Taking that as a sign to leave, she made her way to it, while calling back in a whisper, "and PLEASE don't eaves-drop on us again?"
"Of course. Safe travels!"
"And kami-sama protect you and the Hall!" She called back as she exited the Hall.
Risuko, still serious, looked up to the many floors above where Megaman was slowly decending. Risuko intercepted him on the bottom floor.
"Megaman... I have a message."
He looked at Risuko. It was painfully obvious that his energy levels were at their lowest. "Yeah, Risuko?"
The bigger navi gave Mega a banner. "Put this on your home page. It will link straight to here. I am to keep an eye on you until she gets back, and I cannot do so if you are outside the Hall."
Megaman sighed. As much as he wanted to look for Roll, he knew that he couldn't do much no matter what, and that Risuko and Tialsia had the best intentions. Having him hurt would not do. And, it seemed like he got enough exercise walking up and down the stairs, and blasting the viruses outside, based on his energy levels. He nodded. "Alright. But, if Lan wants me to do something, I will have to leave."
"Then it will be fine. You will have your br- Net-op to look after you."
Megaman was, by now, used to Risuko having to switch over from what he was going to say to what she should say. However, there was something still bugging him. "Risuko, in my file... this part here... I'm not sure if I'm completely comfortable with what it implies..."
Riskuo looked it over. "But... it is the truth."
Megaman nodded. "Yes, but it... makes me uncomfortable. Someone might find out about my heritage..." Risuko noted how Megaman whispered the last part, while looking around nervously.
"I will make it less obvious, for you. Still the truth, but more... faded."
Megaman nodded again. "Thank you, Risuko."
And, with that, Megaman logged out to recharge.
----------------------------------------------------{I}Protoman{I}---------------------------------------------------------
Protoman was agitated. Chaud was in Electopia on a business trip which had come up quite suddenly, and he had been on self-appointed field duty. Having been left behind was not good for Protoman. He could take care of himself, easily, but what about Chaud...?
The one good thing was that they could talk in private, without anyone else knowing. And talking they were.
"Protoman, are you sure?"
"I am, sir. Tialsia and Megaman are keeping something from us. It's like they have a special language, that only they know and can communicate in."
Chaud thought this over. "So... if that's so, why are you reading Megaman's file?"
Oh yes, Protoman was doing that. As soon as Megaman had left, he had grabbed the blue bomber's file, and started to look for what Megaman had seemes so worried about. It didn't take long until he found it, and read it aloud to Chaud.
"'Origins: Not much is known on Megaman's heritage. Being a Scilab Navi, they would normally keep information on him, like any other Scilab Navi, a secret. However, it seems that extra precautions have been taken to keep any information on him a complete secret. Apparently, though, the construction of Megaman took a total of nearly three years. The other six were spent monitoring his stability, right until he was presented to one Lan Hikari, his first and current Net-op. Scilab still refuses to say anything, but it seems that the newer members, who have been there for six years or less, know nothing of Megaman's origins. Rumours, though, have sprung up that the head Doctor who created Megaman, Yuuchihiro Hikari, has strange ties to the Navi, as does all his family. This comes as nothing surprising- Yuuchihiro's father, Light Hikari, was deeply invloved with his work, and was rumoured to have given his very life to it. Of course, these are all rumours, so they are not to be taken at face value. The only clue that Scilab has given to Megaman's origins was a single phrase, that could easily be found on most collages: Houing Unit Building, and the word 'Obituaries'. However, they were the first and last clues to be given...' Sir, this is a very strange section."
Chaud was silent. The vagueness of the section was astounding. In nearly every single other Navi's files, the Origins, including the process with which the Navi was made. Even Protoman's, although it was highly guarded by security codes, and only who Chaud and Protoman said alright to could see it.
"Protoman, what I can't figure out is why they would be so sketchy on the details, and yet leave the file open for anyone to read it."
"Sir... maybe it's just to make Megaman look like a normal, everyday Navi, and the sketchy-ness is just incase someone, like... us, for example, reads it."
Chaud sighed, frustrated. "But the question is, why would they not want his origins to be found out? And why wouldn't he be a normal, everyday Navi?"
"Sir, Scilab has always keep the basic data on all their inside, custom-made Navis secret. And maybe it's because he has an Ultimate Program."
"Bass had an Ultimate Program, and any one can access the file about him and his origins easily. Even the lowest-ranked Netbattler, if they made it to here."
Both were silent for a time. Protoman looked quickly over the rest of the data in the file. "Sir... the origins section is the only thing that is vague. Everything else is clear, obvious, just like a low-rated Navi would be. The amount information is amazing- it's baisically every single movement, comment, battle. Everything is done in great detail..."
"To take our minds off the origins section?"
"More than likely, sir."
Both were silent again. Coming to a decision, Chaud ordered Protoman, "Make a copy of the Origins section, and a copy of the most detailed page in there. Then put the file back exactly how you found it. I'm coming back to ACDC today- I think we need to take a little visit to Scilab."
Protoman nodded, and did as he was bid. As soon as he was done, he quickly left the Hall, heading back for his hp- the servants needed to be notified of Chaud's arrival immediately.
Meanwhile, behind a stack of files, Quersoæn, Iceman, Gutsman and Glyde hid, listening in on what Chaud and Protoman were saying. All four were filled with a strange curriosity- the exact same one that Protoman, Chaud, and even Tialsia were filled with- although Tialsia had a head-start on all the others. They made it their mission to find out about Megaman's origins, which he always, they noticed, kept so secret. And, they all pledged then to find out about it by the time they found Roll.
----------------------------------------{I}Risuko{I}---------------------------------------
After most of the Navis had left, Risuko made his way up to ACDC 1, where Megaman's files were. He changed the section on origins in the public folder, and added the data which he took out to the back of the private one. The private folder, cunningly hidden within the public one, had every single step of the process of the creation of Megaman- including all the information about Hub, and his remarkable transformation from a simple human child with a deadly disease, into one of the most powerful Navis to ever exist.
Risuko sighed. Keeping the information on Megaman's origins hidden was becoming a chore. He knew, of course, that it would all come out one day soon- by the looks of things, that was inevitable. He just wished that, when it did come out, it would only be Lan and Hub's inner circle of friends finding out. But, based on the many Navis now participating in the 'Search for Roll', that was not likely to happen. They all joined, mainly because they were in awe of the blue bomber, and any information that they could find out about him would be worth more than his privacy to them.
Making his way down the stairs, he looked out one of the 'windows' to the Cyber Matrix, where he could sense Tialsia. He prayed that she and her Net-op would stop distancing themselves from the large body of members of Yggdrasil who were to work with them in keeping the four chosen here safe. He was one himself, and, decidedly, would have to listen to their wishes- being the primary leaders of the 'Protect the Chosen' opperation, as they had dubbed it, they had more authority then anyone else who worked for Yggdrasil in the Cyber Matrix, and outside of it, even if they didn't act like it.
He gave a sigh, as he watched the remaining one or two Net Navis left on the bottom floor. They were from the Undernet, that was obvious by their color scheme, and were frantically flipping through files about... well, Risuko couldn't figre out what. Infront of them, and scattered all over the floor were files from things ranging from viruses to travel destinations for Navis and human alike. He didn't understand their purpose for being there, but he was sure it was not good news for anyone. It never is when Undernet Navis take to reading first, asking questions later.
He prayed to the heavens and Kami-sama that the Four Ladies would get things under control soon- he couldn't stand the feeling that things were not right with the world.
-----------------------------------------------{I}Lan and Mayl{I}--------------------------------------------
Both Lan and Mayl were tired. People whom they had never met before were coming up to them all day, asking if they had been getting anywhere with their search, or if they needed any more help, or giving them places to look. The field Navis had been nearly breaking their backs looking into all the different clues and tips that they recieved.
They were relaxing in Lan's room in front of the computer, after having eaten a very good dinner by Lan's mom, Haruka, when Megaman got back. His energy levels were severly low, almost at nothing, and it looked like he had been through a war.
"Megaman! Are you okay?!" Lan exclaimed, as he quickly used a 'Full Energy' sub chip, and got the recharger and re-builder programs ready.
The navi in question groaned. "I feel like I was run over by a heard of Mettaurs. Which, essentially, I was..."
Mayl giggled. Since Megaman was no longer in immediate danger, it sounded funny. "Couldn't you dodge the attacks?"
"Attacks, yes. A huge wave of Mettaurs that seemed to appear out of nowhere? No." Was the response. Lan worked in silence, watching as slowly the reults came back from the scan he did.
"Megaman... what's this data, here?"
Megaman looked at the data that Lan had found. And immediately groaned. "That's just some data I copied from my file at the Hall. It's nothing- I was a bit confussed by what it meant, but it's all good, now."
Lan nodded, and was about to delete it, sensing Megaman's uncomfortableness, when Mayl stopped him. "Megaman, can I take a look at it?"
Megaman shifted uncomfortably, but, so that it didn't seem like a big deal nodded. A small window appeared on the screen, and Lan and Mayl looked over what it said.
"...Megaman, what's with all the secrecy?" Lan asked. It was the first time that he knew of the all the mystery around his Navi. Mayl looked at Lan, surprised that he didn't know either.
Megaman was still uncomfortable. He didn't want to talk about his past... as much as he trusted Lan and Mayl, he still wasn't sure if it would stay between them. He realized, however, that there was something more important that he needed to do.
"Lan... is d... Dr. Hikari there?"
Lan blinked. "Um... no, he's at work. Why?"
"Because a friend of mine needs to talk to him about something called the Navi Project."
"That was mentioned in the Origin thing!" Mayl exclaimed. After a quick look through, and saw that she was right, both Lan and Mayl rounded on Megaman.
"Okay... you may be my Net Navi, but no more secrets!" Lan told him, and evil grin on his face. Megaman did not like the look, nor when he saw Mayl immitating Lan's expression to a T.
'Oh, come on Hub! Say that it's important, and that I have a... gift, for your dad....'
Megaman suddenly stiffened, hearing the voice. Recognizing it as Tialsia, he sat on the ground cross legged, closed his eyes, and concentrated on the voice.
'A gift?'
He heard a small chuckle. 'It's some data from your creation that was deemed unuseable, but helped set up some of your proticols. So, it's more a gift for you. There's a bit more here, so I'll look around a bit more. Do you mind if I hang around your homepage tonight?'
'Why not? But you're staying in a corner.'
'Gee, thanks for the hospitality...'
'Te?'
'Yeah Hub?'
'Why not just go back to your own home page?'
'Because it requires warping at least twice, and I'm too lazy to do that right now. Besdies- I don't have enough energy for twice. Once, yes, twice, no way in hell.'
Megaman tried to suppress a chuckle, but it easily broke through as he ended the conversation.
Lan and Mayl had been watching Megaman the entire time. As he sat down, how a smile appeared on his face, and how he started laughing for no apparent reason. Lan was just going over the possible reasons, only coming up with 'Megaman's gone insane', when Mega opened his eyes. Both pre-teens were surprised by the net Navi's gaze- his eyes were unfocused, blank, and empty, like his soul wasn't even in his body... and then Lan and Mayl realized that talking about a 'soul' with a net Navi was pointless. But still...
Megaman blinked twice, let his eyes refocus, and looked at Lan and Mayl. "Is it okay if my friend stays here tonight?" Megaman asked them, hoping that they would say yes, since he already said yes to Tialsia.
Lan blinked. "Um... which friend is this? The one that wants to talk to dad?"
Megaman nodded, not daring to say anything.
Lan sighed. "Fine... erm... did you just remember that?"
Without thinking, Megaman replied, quite openly, "No, she just told me."
Lan realized that that was why Megaman had been acting weird, but Mayl found something wrong with what he said. "Megaman... you just said 'she'."
"Well, Tialsia is a girl."
Mayl narrowed her eyes. "What are your intentions with her, and, more importantly, Roll?!"
Lan backed away from Mayl, and Megaman away from the window. "Wha...? What do you mean, 'my intentions'?! You sound like Quersoæn!"
"Ha! Quersoæn, eh? I'll just talk to her if you don't talk to me right now!" Mayl told Mega, her voice dangerously low, and the evil look back in them.
"Er... I just said that there's only one navi that I might want as a girlfriend, and that only girls talk about this kind of stuff!" Megaman had his hands infront of him, slowly backing away, as though holding off a predator. Which, for all intents and purposes, he was.
"Really? And who would that be, hmm?"
Megaman was sweating. This was NOT what he wanted to happen. What was it with girls? He gulped, realizing that when they find out he's half-human, they'll be after him constantly... he gulped, thinking of that, and, deciding that he wanted out of this, asap, he replied quickly, "Not Tialsia, or Quersoæn!"
Mayl gave a sigh then, relenting. "I guess no straight answers right now, eh?"
Megaman calmed his breathing, and slumped to the floor. Lan sighed, happy that Mayl wasn't about to go physco on Mega. Turning to the aforementioned navi, Lan told him, "We'll go see papa tomorrow. He's so busy with work now, he hasn't been coming home."
Megaman nodded, then yawned. "See you in the morning Lan, Mayl."
"Goodnight Megaman."
"Goodnight Megaman. Sleep well."
The blue bomber drifted off to sleep, and the computer shut itself down. Lan and Mayl sat there in the silence, the only light in the room from the window illuminating half of their faces, while the other half remained in shadow.
Feeling like the silence was suffocating, Lan tried to make conversation. "So, Mayl..."
"Yes Lan?"
He listened to her voice, and it's gentle tones made him grin. There was just something about the way she talked... and, it seemed, only to him, that her voice only had the gentle tones and crystal notes whenever she talked to him- whether she was about to pound him for doing something stupid, or glomp him for doing something right.
"Lan?"
"Yeah?"
"...I thought you were going to say something to me?"
"Nah... I just like hearing your voice."
Mayl was surprised by his obviously honest answer. She had never known Lan to lie to her, and she was sure that he wasn't about to start now. Glancing over at him, she saw him laying back on the bed, propped up by his elbows, eyes closed.
She grinned, thinking of something. "Lan..." she called, in a taunting voice.
"Hmm?"
She let her body fall gently beside his, so that her head was right beside his own. Facing the ceiling, she asked him, "You like the sound of my voice?"
"It's very beautiful... you'd make a good singer..."
She grinned again. Turning her head so that it faced his own, she brought her face close to his own, and she whispered in his ear, all the while grinning evily, "you... really like it? Do you like me?"
She could tell that he was extremely comfortable and relaxed. Without skipping a beat, or waiting to think about his answer, he replied quietly, "very... much..."
Mayl grinned, and, an old song that she remembered learning when she was younger on her lips and tounge, she sang gently, "In the land of Twilight, under the moon, we dance for the idiots. Ring around the roses, jump to the moon, we sing with the castanets..."
She stopped to pause, and Lan opened his eyes a tiny bit. "Why'd you stop? It was so nice..."
She grinned at him, and, obliging to his unspoken wish, she continued.
"I will sing for crescent moon, dancing with the castanets. As the end will come so soon, in the land of Twilight..."
And with that, both feel asleep, side by side, without a care in the world and a calm, peaceful, baisically dreamless night ahead of them.
-------------------------------------------------------{I}Tialsia{I}----------------------------------------------"Aww! They're so sweet!" She looked on through a window she opened when she got to Megaman's hp about an hour after everyone had fallen asleep. She had seen Megaman curled up in a corner, and, not wanting to infringe on his privacy, she laid down in the opposite corner.
Of course, only after pulling up a window to see where Lan and Mayl were. As it turns out, both were sleeping side by side, extremely close together, and their arms around each other. Tialsia was sure that wasn't how they had fallen asleep, but, nonetheless, thought it was extremely cute, and, as such, made no move to wake them up.
She gently touched a hidden pocket in her belt. She felt the data she had found in the Wastes compressed, organizied, and de-bugged, and now all nicely packeted, ready for Dr. Hikari. She would confront him about the Navi Project, get the information she still didn't have, and present the data to him- she knew full well that doing so infront of anyone else would be the worst possible thing, but Dr. Hikari had to know. She had, really, lied to Megaman. Although the data did have to do with him, and protocols, it was not his own. The data had been used in Base Gate, when it was first being designed, and had been accidentally recycled for Megaman's protocols- inadvertenly allowing him to use Base Gate. And since he already had the program in him, he was able to use the telepathy skill.
She grinned, thinking that everything was fine. She would present the data to Dr. Hikari, tell him about the Base Gate program, and ask for permission to train Megaman in the ways of Base Gate. She was sure the he would say yes- Base Gate was NOT something you wanted to mess around with. And then she'd talk to the whole Hikari family about Hub and Lan- including those two. Of course, Mayl and Roll would eventually find out, based on what she could see between the two humans. Protoman was a maybe, and the rest, even less of a chance. Then, she'd have to get them to meet Fae, and stop Fae from sneaking around. That disturbed Tialsia a bit. She was not used to her Net-op sneaking around, trying not to be seen- although, she could understand why. No one was supposed to know about Yggdrasil. And now that she acidentally let it out, well... let's just say that they would have to be super careful. The Hikari family, Mayl Sakurai and Her net Navi, Roll. Tialsia grinned as she let herself fall asleep. Being a hybrid sure was fun.
So lost in her thoughts, Tialsia didn't notice the tell-tale signs of the finishing hour of Stasis, and drifted off to sleep.
---------------------------------------{I}Roll... erm, Eria.. erm.... STASIS!{I}------------------------------------------
Roll sat around, chatting happily with Zednane and Tajin. Since they had told her... well, everything, she had decided to make the most of what little time she had left in Stasis, and try to make two friends for ever.
"Are you serrious?!" Roll asked, all the while laughing, as Tajin remembered a memory from before she met Roll.
"Perfectly. The funniest thing was, everyone was completely oblivious who it really was!"
Zednane started laughing. "And I thought that you NEVER did anything against the rules..."
"I bet that you've done something with the rules, at least once!" Tajin countered, and Zednane relented.
"Well, yeah, but-" one look at the looks on Roll's and Tajin's faces made Zednane groan, and give in. "Alright, alright." Roll and Tajin inched forward, waiting for Zednane's story. Smirking she indicated that they come closer, and, when they were pretty close together, she opened her mouth.
"Right now."
Roll sighed in exasperation, and moved away from Zednane again. She and Tajin had been sharing stories- Zednane held back, for no apparent reason. Tajin did the opposite of what Roll had just done.
"Is that so? Well then... let's see if you like-" Tajin stopped in mid- rant, and swung around to focus on something in the distance that Roll couldn't see. Zednane immitated Tajin, and Roll, straining her eyes, still couldn't see whatever had caught their attention. Suddenly, and quite randomly, both turned to Roll. Both had rather unemotional faces... until Tajin broke into tears and flung her arms around Roll's neck, glomping her. Zednane soon followed, only with much less tears, and was remarkably gentler. "Wha...? What is it?" Roll asked, trying to breath.
Both other... well, whether they were humans or Navis or something else, they pulled away from Roll, both looking sadened.
"Roll... you're going to awaken in less than one hour." Tajin said slowly.
"54 minutes and 28 seconds, actually." Zednane filled in.
A quick glare at Zednane, and Tajin continued. "Roll... we need to try something, so that when you wake up, you might still remember us..."
Roll nodded, and, expectantly, closed her eyes. She heard Tajin and Zednane murmuring some strange words, one on her left and one on her right. She felt something building inside her, like when one becomes so happy that it's almost an over-boiling bubbly feeling. Then, just as it came, the feeling ended, and Roll opened her eyes, glancing at her two companions.
"Whew... well, that's done at least..." Zednane commented, before grinning at Roll, and giving her a Peace sign. "Alright on this end. How 'bout you, Tajin?"
Tajin grinned and also nodded. "Good to go here. Now, the most likely thing will be that everything until you black out here with half an hour to go will seem like just a dream. And you won't remember this, until a trigger lets you."
"Erm... trigger?"
Zednane gently cuffed Tajin, and addressed Roll. "Yeah... a triiger. It can be a cherished memory, person, place, thing... whatever it might be, it's guaranteed to appear at least three times to try to make you remember. Since it's you, I'd give it a good 50 odd times."
Tajin sighed. "It will probably only happen about four or five times, ten at most. Roll- we need to get going, so that we aren't trapped here when you awaken. But, please... remember what we said about Base Gate... and don't forget us Roll, please don't."
Roll embraced both women tightly. "I won't ever forget you. And thank you."
"For what?"
"Letting me not be bored these last few days." Roll replied with a laugh.
Also laughing, Tajin and Zednane slowly moved away slowly into the now-changing different colors of mist, and, with a last whispered "Goodbye, Aire..." they were gone forever from Roll's mind.
She sighed, sitting down. Now, to figure out the names quickly- anything to keep her busied for the last few moments. Roll was Roll, regardless of appearance. But, when she awakens, she would be Eria, right? Then who was Aire? Apparently herself as well. But when did she get that name? Shaking her head, Roll decided to just think of something else.
Hmm... she hadn't really thought about Megaman, Mayl, and the others all that much. So, she started going over what she would do and say when she saw them. Give everyone a hug- even Protoman. And, probably give Megaman a kiss... she was sure that he would be looking for her, as she hadn't exactly told anyone that she would going to the Undernet. It was accidental, after all. She would say hi to Mayl, and Lan, and spend the rest of the day talking with them- or, if it was late, Megaman. She sighed. All her thoughts returned to the blue bomber. Somehow, some way. It was really annoying, after the first twenty times. Still... thinking about him... seeing him in her mind's eye... it wasn't THAT bad... and, if she let her imagination get carried away.
Roll entered the last half hour of Stasis, where all was dark, dreaming of herself and Megaman, and, for some reason, the name 'Hub' kept appearing in her mind, and that's what she would call him. Grinning, she let herself fall into the dark unknown, where she had been many times in Stasis, for one, final time.
----------------------------------------------{I}Guinto and Nightman{I}----------------------------------------------
Nightman followed his leader, Guinto, through the refuse and scrap that was now the Undernet.
It was obvious that Guinto knew where he was going- which was good, because Nightman knew that it would be hard for him to find the way back by himself.
It had been nearly half an hour ago, just after a council meeting. Guinto had allowed only Nightman to just call him 'Guinto' or 'Guintoman'- the stronger Navi seemed to like everyone else calling him 'sir'. Not 'lord', or anything like that- just sir. Which didn't bother Nightman. Not at all. Especially not when he had to call Guinto by his name. But, what did bother Nightman was how their leader had seemed edgy, nervous, and unusually quiet. However, he stayed in the council room of their almost-built fort, which now resembled a palace, and participated in the usual decision making process. It was only after that Guinto pulled Nightman aside from the also usual training which followed a council meeting, and told the other navi to follow.
That was pretty much how they had ended up in this situation- tramping through wreakage, carnage, and left over data, towards... well, Nightman had no idea where. Somewhere, though.
"Nightman?"
He stood to attention, while still walking. "Yes, Guinto?"
He heard his leader chuckle. "Do you know where we are going?"
"No, I have to say I don't. Why do you ask?"
"Nightman, what I am about to show you must NOT be repeated to anyone, do you understand?"
"Yes."
There was a few more minutes of silence as Nightman followed Guinto unquestioningly. FInally, Guinto broke the silence.
"Do you know why I was edgy at the meeting?" "No, although I wish I did."
"It was becuase of this." Guinto gestured to the most decimated area in the Undernet, where only a few small rolling hills appeared to be.
"Erm... this waste?"
"No. Something that was hidden in this waste, which I found not too long before I met with you and the others at the fort."
Once again, silence reigned, as the two navis picked their way around some hills and over others, until they reached a particuairly small hill. "Guinto?"
"Yes?"
"Why are we here?"
"You shall see."
Guinto walked to what appeared to be just another piece of the hill, and gently ran his finger down it (A/N: think the way the Gringots' (sp?) goblin opened the vault with the stone in it in Harry Potter 1). Slowly, a whole section of the hill moved away, to reveal a small opening in the hill. Guinto moved inside, and motioned for Nightman to follow him.
Inside looked like one of the huge Scilab labs, where technology was developed. Computers, wires, screens, and tubes were all over the room, barely leaving enough room to walk.
However, it wasn't the flickering screens that caught Nightman's eye. He stood in stunned silence at what he saw before him.
A large pod stood in the middle of the room, facing them. Inside was a swirl of now multi-colored fog and mist, and every once in a while, he could just make out a figure inside it.
"Guinto... what...?"
"Nightman, this is a Stasis pod. They're extremely rare- I'm pretty sure that this is the only one accessible to Navis like us outside of Scilab- and I'm pretty sure that Scilab's is out of commission."
"A... Stasis pod? Never heard of it..."
"Stasis is a period where the body is preserved while the mind is allowed to rest, and the body rejeuvenates itself- or, in this case, while it changes forms."
"You mean... kinda like sleep?"
"No. Sleep is natural- Stasis is, even with the person's consent, forced upon the body by electrical impulses, causing the slowing of reaction time, heart rate, and everything else that keeps a person alive until they body is almost frozen."
"Like cyrogenics!"
"No. I said almost frozen, although it is pretty close. The body keeps funcitoning at the lowest pace, with the lowest amount of energy out-put possible, while still keeping the body alive. Those mists and fogs inside the chamber do all the work- they help her to rejeuvenate, provide energy, and, in this case, alter the body structure and color scheme."
"...you said her."
"Yes, I did. Because, this is a female Navi. Stasis can be used on either gender, though. Now, we wait. Her Stasis is amost over- barely five minutes to go, I believe."
And so, both Navis set to watching the pod, and the errie colored lighted that it radiated. They could tell that the Stasis was indeed ending- the fog and mist was slowly disappearing, until both Navis could get a good look at the one in the pod.
The main color scheme was obvious- mainly black, with white and grey hightlights. Her body suit was black as night, from her neck right down to her boots and gloves. Both boots and gloves were a pure white, with small grey sections. She wore what appeared to be layers- her black body suit, a grey vest-looking area, and what appeared to be a pure white skirt. She didn't have a helmet- it was more of a black and white band that went from her ear muffs around the back of her head, slightly curing upwards, where it reached a peak at the back, into which an opal- like section had been embeded. Her hair was perfectly straight, an almost white color, with streaks of faded red, blue, green, black and purple in it.
Her Navi symbol, on her chest and her ear muffs, was a line running right down, and another one at an angle, dividing the circle into two sets of even, opposite areas. The two smaller areas were white, while the bigger ones, black.
After waiting for a few more moments, Guinto and Nightman heard a hissing noise, and watched the pod lid slowly open. The Navi opened her eyes slowly, and blinked a few times, getting adjusted to the light. Her eyes were of an amazing color of green- and almost emerald color, mixed with what could almost be considered a forest green. Considering the lack of almost any color on her, except for the faint streaks in her hair, her ears were piercing, and gave off what seemed to be a light of their own. Sitting up slowly, she held her head in one hand, while the other supported her.
"Ugh... where am I?"
Guinto took this opportunity to stride forward. "My lady..."
"Lady?" Nightman whispered, unsure of what Guinto was saying.
"...let me help you up..."
She turned her gaze on the Navi, and Guinto gave an obvious flinch. "I do not need help from you. What I would like is someone to tell me where I am, immediately!"
Guinto, still in shock from being reprimanded, stayed quiet, and Nightman decided to come to the rescue. "My lady..." he started immitating Guinto. When she looked at him, he stalled, but ploughed forth eventually, not wanting to suffer any wrath or reprimand. "you are in the Undernet. I am Nightman, and this is Guinto...man, our leader of the Resistance against Upper Navis."
She blinked. "Upper... Navis?"
"Those Navis who live and work in ACDC, Scilab, and the like. It seems that they've been attacking our home, the Undernet, for the last few days, and we have started a resistance against them. Would you like to accompany us to our fort? Although, it's become much more like a palace..."
She looked at Nightman, and nodded. "I think I like you, Nightman. You speak up, even if it could mean trouble." She turned to Guinto, who was still knealing before her. "How did you become the leader?" She asked him, while still sitting there.
"I was elected, Lady."
She snorted. "Then I assume that they are all blustering idiots. If you address me from now on, Guinto, speak up, and don't be afraid to say what you think. Do you understand me?"
"Of course. Nightman, would you care to help our Lady out of her pod?"
Nightman walked forward to her side, and bowed respectfully. He knew how to do such things- his old Net op, before he had been abandoned, worked for Princess Pride, and Nightman had worked alongside his 'brother', Knightman. He held out his arm for her to take, and take it she did, rising elegantly out of her chamber. As they began their walk back, she still didn't let go of Nightman, as she got used to walking again. "Really... couldn't you have at least made a road for me to walk on?" She asked huffily.
Nightman nodded his head. "We would have, Lady, but Guinto didn't even tell me about you, or the Stasis pod, until moments before you awoke."
Guinto, who was navigating, and trying to find the easiest route, felt her glare at him. "Then I suppose there will be no preperations for my arrival?"
"No, Lady."
"Nightman... do you even know who I am?"
"To be truthful? No, Lady. Although, based on what I have seen and heard, you must be someone important."
"Indeed."
They were quiet for a few minutes, before Nightman got up the courage to ask, "Lady?"
"Yes?"
"What is your name, if I may be so bold to ask?"
She giggled. "Yes, you may be so bold to ask."
Guinto turned around, waiting as well, and almost walking into a poll that was sticking out of the ground.
"My name, is...
Eria."
-------------------------------------------------------{I}Story Ends{I}---------------------------------------------------
Kay: And there you have it. I finally overcame my writer's block, and wrote a HUGE section! Don't you love it?
Shila: yeah. And it took you two whole days to do.
Kay: you can't rush me- this is an art.
Shila: (snorts) if this is art, I wouldn't pay five dollars for it.
Kay: one?
Shila: maybe.
Kay: hey... wait a second.
Shila: yeah?
Kay: how did you get back in?
Shila: um... er... your... mom let me in?
Kay: Liar!
Shila: okay, my multi-purpose weapon let me in, happy?
Kay: I would be if... (grabs the hand-sized metal... ball, baisically, and holds in out the window) Ha! I'll drop it!
Shila: go ahead.
Kay: Fine! (lets go of the metal thingy, and then realizes that she's in the basement, and it dropped six inches onto fluffy grass cuttings) oops...
----------------------------------------------------{I}Quotes! Mrah ha ha...{I}-----------------------------------------------
Quote 1:
"Angie .....da bubble luva lol shes on dis page because she steals my hat every single day at school den on sat. she took it and gave it to gorge AHHHHHHHHHh EVIL pure EVIL"
Quote 2:
"Angie..... Haha i got ur pic ok so i am a lil evil but not dat evil"
Those are just random quotes that my friend has of me on her website. If you're nice, I might give you the url.
------------------------------------------{I}Reviews! I got three reviews! HA!{I}-------------------------------------------
Telulu Hunter: Wow, thanks for the review. I feel special.
Sorrowful Rain: Here's your other chap! And is this enough hinting, or should I do a full- blown make out session?
DC: I feel smart... I remembered what you said about people putting just 'DC' instead of your whole name... :), and yes, I will keep up the 'good work on this one'. At least, I'll try...
Thanks to everyone for their reviews!
---------------------------------------------------{I}Song of the chappie{I}----------------------------------------------------
Well, Mayl already sang part of it, so why not 'In the Land of Twilight (Under the Moon)', from .hackSIGN. I got hooked on those songs again lately... nice, depressing-ish, and, best yet, refers to Tsukasa! Which my friend, who did the quotes, is, according to three different quizes. And she's a girl!
-----------------------------------------------------{I}Random thingy{I}-------------------------------------------------------
CLICK THE BUTTON!
THE BUTTON!
BUTTON!
!
(starts dancing around the button, in bright, annoying colors for people to look at the button)
!
BUTTON!
THE BUTTON!
CLICK THE BUTTON!
------------------------------------------------------------{I}End Log{I}-------------------------------------------------------
