"Netto-kun, what are you doing-nya?" Rockman hissed.
"Buying Mejin-san and the others some time," Netto muttered back. "It's the best plan I've got."
Rockman blinked at the simple and surprisingly good idea.
"Well Kitten, are you ready?" Dhruv said from across the room.
Netto gritted his teeth, "My name is Netto."
Dhruv smirked and sat down at a chess board. "You go first," he said while motioning to Netto's white pieces. Netto sat down and looked at the board. He had yet won a game on his own, Pride always beat him in about 10 minutes and Ocelot 2, he needed to stall for as much time as he possibly could without giving Dhruv any sign as to what he was doing. He picked up the third pawn from the right and moved it one space forward.
Dhruv grinned and picked up the second pawn from the left and moved it two spaces forward.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOO
"How much longer?" Mejin asked.
"I'd say about an hour," the pilot said. "But I'm not getting any clearance to land in any of the air ports."
"It's okay. Just land where you can. We've got to get there soon."
"Blues, how much longer until we're within distance?" Enzan asked.
"About five minutes, Enzan-sama," Blues said quietly.
"What are you planning to do?" Laika asked.
"Set the navi's free before we get there. Maybe they can buy us some time before anything really bad happens," Enzan said while looking at the small device that would transport Blues to the castle. "Only problem is…"
"The data lag," Laika finished.
Enzan nodded, "Yeah. No said this was going to be easy."
Laika gave a short laugh and both boys waited patiently for five minutes to pass. When the time came Blues disappeared in an infrared flash into the device. "Good luck," Enzan said.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Dhruv raised an eyebrow when Netto captured one of his pawns. "You're better then I thought you'd be."
"I've been practicing," Netto muttered.
"Ah yes, my lovely fiancée has taught you, I know."
"She's not yours," Netto growled warningly.
Dhruv smirked and moved his left rook two spaces forwards. Netto stalled and looked at the board pretending he was thinking about his next move when all he really was trying to do was buy time. Finally, after about 45 seconds he moved his bishop diagonally two squares to the left.
"Interesting move," Dhruv murmured.
Netto blinked, he didn't know what he just did. He just moved the piece for the sake of moving it.
Now Dhruv sat there quietly actually analyzing the board. Apparently whatever Netto had did, he did it well because Dhruv was now eating up his own time and he didn't even realize it.
Netto typed a small message into his PET while Dhruv was staring intently at the board. 'Rockman, leave now and go into the net. Free everyone else and try to warn Pride.'
Rockman read the message and left his PET quickly to try and set things right.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
"Well girls, this is it," Ocelot said while she paced in front of her four friends in the Net. "I can't do anything, as a direct order from Dhruv but I recently found out both Rockman and the Net Savior Blues are coming here to release their navis. I'm asking you to help them." The other four nodded, "Meanwhile I'll keep an eye on the kid. If this all works out maybe we can still beat Dhruv."
Tiger gave Ocelot a feline grin. "All right chief."
"Don't call me that," Ocelot said while rubbing her forehead.
"Let's go girls!" Tiger said heartily while ignoring Ocelot's plea. Together all four logged out of the server to do anything they possibly could to help.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Blues came through the link and appeared in the castle comp. He quietly infiltrated the system and found where he thought the other navi's might be held. He quickly linked himself to the part of the net and when he got there he found everyone free and four other navi's standing there, grinning.
"Hello," one of them said while holding out her hand, "My name's Cheetah. You must be Blues."
Blues was rather taken aback by the turn of events but he was damned if he let them know it. "They're trying to help-nya," Searchman said who appeared next to Blues.
Blues smirked, "You trust them?"
Searchman nodded.
Blues looked at the still offered hand and took it. Cheetah grinned and let go. "Come on, we know where the Neko Virus is," she said.
"Enzan-sama?" Blues asked and waited several moments for the reply.
"Go ahead," Enzan said.
Blues nodded and they all linked out of the computer.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Rockman went silently through the net and linked himself into Pride's computer. "Princess-nya?" he called out.
Pride was on her bed looking somewhat worn. When she heard the familiar voice of Netto's navi she sat up and looked at her monitor. "Rockman! Where's Netto?"
Rockman gulped, "He's trying to buy some time. The Net Saviors are coming in about forty minutes-nya."
"What do you mean, 'buy some time'," Pride asked him evenly.
"He's… playing chess-nya…" Rockman said falteringly.
Pride couldn't help it, she put her face in her palms for a second to let the information sink in. "Well, at least we can do something now." She picked up her PET and let Knightman into the net. "Knightman, help Rockman in any way you can. I'm going to try and contact the plane they're on."
"Yes ma'am-nya," Knightman said and together he and Rockman linked out of the net.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Netto was loosing but not nearly as bad as he thought he would. Apparently not as bad as Dhruv thought he would either. The clock was ticking and Dhruv knew it, but he couldn't just abandon the game, in his own need to feel superior he made a bet that might just unravel his plans.
"I'm better then you thought," Netto said while glaring at Dhruv.
"Ah, but how do you know I'm not setting up a trap?" Dhruv asked.
Netto looked at the board for something that might or might not be there. Dhruv smirked, 'It's just luck. The whole thing is luck.'
Netto glared at the board and used his rook to take Dhruv's Bishop and Dhruv used his knight to take Netto's rook. And so it continued, the game of cat and mouse, but it was rather difficult to know who was the cat and who was the mouse.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
"Here," Tiger said while pointing at a multi layered firewall. "I don't know how to get though it though, sorry."
Blues sighed and scanned it. Unless they had a human helping them from the outside there was no way they could break through it.
OOOOOOOOOOOO
Enzan looked at Blues' scan results and scowled. Over a rush of static they could hear someone trying to contact them but Enzan ignored it trying to figure out the small problem they were currently having.
"Hello?" a voice asked.
Laika recognized it instantly. "Princess Pride?"
"Laika!" her voice sounded relieved. "How far away are you?"
"About twenty five minutes away from your current location," Mejin said after hearing the commotion in the back of the plane.
It was then that Enzan got an idea, "Princess Pride, listen to me. All the navi's are currently free and are trying to capture the Neko Virus but it's behind a firewall. Are you good at programming?"
"Somewhat," Pride said.
"Is Netto there?" Enzan asked, thinking the job might be a little more suited for the brunette.
Pride sighed, "He's… keeping Dhruv busy while you get here. Which is why you should hurry," she said.
"We're trying," Mejin said.
Enzan nodded, "Look, for now, try and get the firewall down and Blues can route the Neko Virus' log out point to the computer in here."
Pride's voice adopted a tone of determination, "All right. I'll try my best," she said and the connection was shut off.
Pride ran through the halls as fast as she possibly could. She would not sit by and be the damsel in distress, not in a million years.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Pride ran through the hallways, looking for the small chamber that was pointed out by a large red icon on her PET. "To your left-nya," Knightman said.
"Thank you, Knightman," Pride said and turned a sharp corner, skidding a little because she was running so fast. 'Almost there,' she thought.
"The room should be about ten feet away from you," Laika said from her PET.
Pride saw the door that was outlined on her PET and ran up to it. "Plug in, Knightman, transmission!" she yelled and swung her PET at the door.
Knightman went inside and easily made it through the lock that was guarding the door. Pride ran inside and plugged Knightman into the main computer. "Do you need help, Princess?" Laika asked.
Pride thrust her chin forward in a defiant gesture; she was done playing the helpless princess. "No," she said as she pulled out a battle chip.
Laika looked a little put out by the Princess' cold answer but he nodded and cut off the link.
"Ready, Knightman!" she asked.
"Yes, Princess," Knightman replied.
"Let's finish this," she hissed and pushed a stone cube battle chip into her PET.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
"You're going to loose," Dhruv said silkily as Netto glared at the board.
"So?" Netto asked. "You don't know that."
"Ah but I do. You see, no matter what you do, I can finish you in ten turns at most," Dhruv grinned.
"I don't care," Netto said while picking up his remaining rook and moving it one space forward.
"Does the princess mean that much to you?" Dhruv asked as he captured the rook with a knight.
"Poipu is my friend, and she deserves better," Netto hissed as he started glaring at the board again.
"Aren't you touchy about her," Dhruv said silkily.
"Shut up!" Netto yelled.
Dhruv grinned at Netto who glared back. "It's your move, Kitten," he said.
Netto fought to regain his temper and he moved his queen forward one square to protect the king.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
The Neko Virus glared at the intruder. It meowed loudly and launched it's self at Knightman.
"Royal Wrecking Ball!" Pride and Knightman yelled as he launched his mace right into the head of the Neko Virus.
The cat yelped as it was sent spiraling across net. It growled angrily and sprung back up while Knightman was reclaiming his mace.
The Neko Virus pounced on Knightman and sent him into the wall. "Knightman!" Pride yelled. "Stone Body, battle chip, slot in!" she yelled as the Neko Virus made to bite her navi.
The cat's teeth broke on the toughened data and it cried out in pain and anger. The overload of the sensitive equipment made the small castle almost have an electrical failure. "One more," Pride said.
"Yes, Princess-nya," Knightman said.
"Stone cube, random formation," Pride yelled and Knightman sent the large rocks to pile around the Neko Virus. Then he sent one final cube in the center where it hit the Virus and forced it to log out into Laika's laptop.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOO
"She did it," Laika said.
"Thank god," Mejin said as he sat down.
"We'll be landing in five minutes," the pilot said.
"You heard him!" Mejin said loudly. "Get ready people, this is it!"
Everyone nodded; it was time to end it all.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOO
The lights flickered over head and Netto looked up. Dhruv was concentrating on the board so hard that he didn't even notice it. "Well, well, well," he said.
"What?" Netto asked.
Dhruv grinned, picked up his bishop and put it diagonally one square from the king. "Checkmate," he said.
Netto glanced at the board and immediately he knew Dhruv was right. But was the time he bought enough?
"Well, good game Kitten. You're a lot better then I thought you'd be, but now you lost and so you're going to help me," Dhruv said with a smirk.
Netto scowled at him and stood up. Dhruv merely opened the door and called Ocelot in. "Time to go, my dear," he said.
Ocelot looked anything but happy as she nodded. "Ocelot?" Netto asked.
"Sorry koneko," Ocelot quietly said to him, "I can't disobey direct orders."
"Let's go," Dhruv said. "We're running out of time."
"You're out of time," Pride said from the doorway.
"Ah Princess, so glad you could come to witness the downfall of your kingdom," Dhruv said icily.
"It's over," Princess Pride hissed. "The Neko Virus isn't here anymore."
"You're bluffing," Dhruv replied.
Pride gave Dhruv a merciless grin Netto had never seen before. "You're wrong. Your arrogance was your downfall, Dhruv."
Dhruv stood stock still, not daring to believe what the princess was telling him. "No, you're just a princess, you couldn't…"
"I couldn't what? Defeat you? Because why?" Pride asked, getting angrier and angrier. "Because I'm a spoiled little princess, isn't that right? I'm such an easy target because I'm weak, well let me tell you something," Pride went on as Netto and Ocelot gaped at her. "I am just as strong as you are, actually, I'm stronger Dhruv. I've defeated you and there is nothing you can do about it."
Dhruv started to look angry. "Is that so, Princess?" he said mockingly. "I still have control of you, or if you don't remember why you became my fiancée?"
At that moment the door burst open and WWW and the Net Saviors came in. "Stop right there, Dhruv!" Mejin yelled.
"All right Mejin-san!" Netto cheered.
"No need for the 'san'," Mejin muttered under his breath.
"This doesn't change anything!" Dhruv yelled.
Pride took three smooth strides up to Dhruv and slapped him across the cheek so hard that he staggered and fell to the floor. "It's over, you jerk," she hissed.
Everyone stood there in stunned silence until Netto gave out a loud cheer, "Go Poipu!"
Pride blushed and stepped aside to let the agents arrest Dhruv. She spotted Netto next to Ocelot and ran over to him; giving him a big hug and making the smaller boy turn a bright red. "Thank you, Netto," she said happily.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Three days later everyone was cured, Dhruv was in jail and the Neko Virus was back in Sci Labs under level ten security.
"Glad that's finally over with," Netto sighed.
Madoi ruffled Netto's hair, "Ah, I don't know, I think you looked better with the ears," she said.
"Ha ha," Netto said dryly.
Rockman laughed in his PET. "She's just teasing you, Netto-kun," he said.
Netto pushed Madoi away, "I know that," he said while crossing his arms.
Everyone else in the room laughed as well. Rockman received an e-mail at that moment and he opened it. "Ah Netto-kun, Princess Pride just sent an e-mail, she says she's leaving tomorrow and would like to talk to you."
"Oooohhh…" Madoi said knowingly.
Netto blushed and walked to the door. "Shut up, Madoi," he muttered.
Madoi smirked, "Awww, they really do make a cute couple," she said.
"Couple?" Enzan and Laika asked together.
Madoi raised an eyebrow, "You two are as dense as he is…"
Netto shut the door to Madoi arguing with Enzan and Laika. "Where is she?"
"At her hotel, packing, apparently," Rockman said.
Netto sighed and started to skate towards the hotel. When he got there he quickly went up to Pride's room and knocked on the door softly. "Come in, it's open," Pride said.
Netto came into the room to see Pride surrounded by a pile of clothes and an open suitcase. "Hey," she said.
"Hi…" Netto said back.
Pride stood up and walked over to Netto. "Netto, I just want to thank you for being there the whole time. I don't think I could have made it through that without you."
"You're welcome," Netto said while blushing profusely.
"Are you sure?" Tiger asked Ocelot.
"Positive," Ocelot murmured back. All five of them were in the Hotel's main computer, spying on Netto and Pride.
"Positive about what?" Knightman asked.
"Shhhh," The other five said.
Pride rubbed her arm and she started to blush too. "Look, Netto, I… ummm…"
Netto blinked but didn't say anything.
"I have to go back to Creamland, because I'm its ruler but… since its summer break and all, if you would like to come for a little while…" she said.
Netto grinned, "I'd have to ask my parents," he said.
"Well, yes of course, but…" Pride said.
"Yeah?" Netto asked.
"Come on…" Ocelot muttered.
Pride turned a bright pink as she leaned over and kissed Netto directly on the lips.
"YES!" Ocelot cheered.
"Pride-sama…" Knightman said in a small voice.
"Wasn't it obvious?" Tiger said while slinging an arm around Knightman's shoulders.
"Yes…" Knightman said.
Pride broke contact with Netto who looked a little dazed. "Thank you so much," she said again.
"No problem…" Netto said wistfully.
"I knew it!" Ocelot said loudly from the computer.
"Ocelot!" Netto said in surprise.
"Ha, I called that one," Cheetah grinned.
"What are they doing here?" Rockman asked.
"I gave them permission to start a navi based company in my Kingdom," Pride said with a small smile.
"Awesome!" Netto cheered, the shock of the kiss starting to wear off a little.
"Shouldn't you go ask your parents?" Pride asked.
"Right," Netto said. "I'll be back soon!" he waved as he left the room.
Pride waved back, "I know," she said softly. "I know."
OOOOOOOOOOO
Owari