(Chapter 7)
Saratu was currently sleeping. She had stayed up a lot longer than she should've been able to in her state. But she had eventually exhausted herself and had fallen alseep.
Sometimes she dreamt of the times when her mother was alive. She was a baby at the time, and so was Kurisutaru, but she still remembered these times when she dreamt.
This time, she and Kurisutaru were in their mother's arms. Her mother was talking to someone.
"How do you both cope? You and Reo are always working" the person replied. She recognised the voice, Hikari Yuuichiro!
"I don't work as many hours as I used to, and if neither of us can be with them, then Haruka-chan offers to. Must been hard for her, taking care of all those kids. Where is Cossack-san these days?" her mother asked. It seemed the two had some time off work, and were sitting on the couch, talking at the Hikari home.
"Usually working as much as we do. At least not all of the kids are too young to have to be fed by Haruka" Yuuichiro answered.
"How are they? They're about six now, right?" Denierure replied, Yuuichiro nodded. (Authors note: For REO readers, guess what I'm hinting at here)
'If Mom was friends with him like this, then why'd he kill her? Haruka... Who was she? Wait, wasn't she his wife?' Saratu thought to herself. She was watching from her past self's perspective, and she started laughing. She mentally slapped herself on the forehead, knowing what she'd done.
Denierure lightly laid Kurisutaru down on her back beside her, as she was currently asleep. Then was about to do the same with Saratu, but something caught her nose. "Aw, Saratu!" she said.
(Real time)
Saratu woke up and sat herself up. She remembered everything that had happened in the dream. She lied back down and pondered what she had seen.
"Was that a memory? If Hikari was friends with my Mom, then why did he kill her? Maybe Neta was right, maybe Regal-hasake was wrong..." Saratu said to herself. She looked over to where she had left her PET, and it was gone. She didn't care, she bet anything that her PET was still somewhere in the building.
Saratu shook her head, convincing herself otherwise "That can't be true, it can't be..." she said to herself, quieter than before.
"So, you're up" Neta said as she appeared in the dimensional area that was holding Saratu. "Feeling better now that you've slept?" she asked.
Saratu glared at the Navi "Do you always have to just drop in where you're not wanted?" she questioned.
"I guess not..." Neta replied to her own question.
(Elsewhere...)
Yuuichiro had decided to test Meiru and Dekao with their fighting skills in their new Cross Fused forms. Both were doing well, Netto was bored so he decided to take on a few simulations himself.
"Roll Arrow!" Meiru called as she shot off the energy arrow at a hammer wielding virus. As the arrow hit, it was deleted.
"Guts Hammer!" Dekao yelled as he slammed his hammer into the ground, sending out a shockwave towards a Ratton. It was deleted instantly.
"Rock Buster!" Netto shouted as he shot at many Metools, deleting them all.
Neta was also training Kurisutaru better with her program. She knew that with her advice, Kurisutaru was able to fight well in her Normal Style, but still had to fight in her other styles.
"Style Change?" Kuristuaru asked, she was in Cross Fusion, and was waiting for Neta's advice, but was currently explaining to her about the Style Change program.
"It's a program that changes and increases my abilities, in some situations they're really useful, but also some they can be a burden so you have to know what Style fits the situation" Neta explained.
"Okay, I get that part, but how do I use them?" Kurisutaru questioned.
"You don't have to do anything, since I'm the Navi part of the Cross Fusion, I have to switch between styles for you" Neta answered. "Rockman has the same kind of program, but his Styles are different to mine. Before we start,I want you to keep an open mind about this Kuri-chan" she added.
"Okay. And Saratu knows how to use all of your programs?" Kurisutaru asked, Neta mentally nodded.
"Most of them, and that's why I need to train you personally, she knows how a lot of my programs work, so I need to train you with the Style Change program" Neta answered. "Are you ready?" she asked, getting a nod from Kurisutaru. "Okay, activating first Style, Heat Angel" she added.
R-Neta's yellow/orange design changed to a crimson red, and six red wings formed from her back. Her hair also changed to the same red colour as her suit.
"Mama...can I feel... wings?" Kurisutaru asked.
"Don't worry about those Kuri-chan, they're a part of the Heat Angel's program, but I'll operate them for you. I'll take over now so you can get a feel for the style's attacks and abilities" Neta answered.
As Neta activated the AI switch program, Kurisutaru felt a surge of energy pass through her, and she fell to one feel, panting. Neta stopped the switch, and checked Kurisutaru's vitals on a screen to make sure she was okay. She was. "Kuri-chan?" she asked.
Kurisutaru opened her eyes slightly, and gasped, worrying Neta more. She could see! "Mama, I... I can see!" she exclaimed.
"You what?" Neta questioned, then thought if there was any possibiliy of that being true. After talking with Kurisutaru after she had come to Japan, she had learned that she had recently had another surgery to try and restore her eyesight. Could Kurisutaru's contact with her in Cross Fusion have been what the doctors didn't know that she needed? A surge of electricity? "If you can see now Kuri-chan, it'll be much easier for you to train, ready? I'll use the switch again" Neta replied as she activated the switch program, Neta's face formed over Kurisutaru's.
R-Neta leapt up, with her wings keeping her in the air. She formed a ball of red energy in her outstretched hands "Angel Fire!" she yelled, then threw it down to the ground and it exploded on the viruses. One of the larger viruses was left, Neta smirked as she returned to the ground "Kuri-chan, this is why I asked you to slot the Fire Aura chip in" she explained as she activated the chip, and a red glow formed over her. She charged at the virus, and moved her six wings so it looked like she had only two wings. She leapt at the virus, and the glow of the aura became brighter. "Phoenix Strike!" she called as her whole form set on fire, and a phoenix formed in the flames around her. She ploughed straight through the virus, deleting it.
"How do you expect me to do something like that?" Kurisutaru questioned.
"Don't worry, I'm here to guide you Kuri-chan. Your body is tired, we should Cross Out now and let you rest" Neta replied. She switched AIs back with Kurisutaru and she Crossed Out.
(Later, Maha Niban)
"Well, it's good that you're enjoying yourself Kuri-chan" Netto said to her.
"But isn't it confusing having two Navis?" Rockman asked.
"I'm not Mama's operator in any way, I've only Cross Fused with her and that's it. I like having Mama around, but I wouldn't abandon Umi" Kurisutaru replied.
"I'm also glad that Kuri-chan is enjoying herself so much, but what I don't get is how she can see now" Umi added from her PET.
"Why does it matter Umi? The thing is, Kurisutaru can see now, and she's happy" Netto answered.
"Because it might be a temporary thing, but I guess any time that she has where she can see will be good for her" Umi replied.
"Um, Rockman?" Kurisutaru asked, both PETs were rested on the table next to them. Rockman looked at her.
"Something the matter Kuri-chan?" Rockman questioned, Kurisutaru smiled.
"Not really. It's just that Hikari-hasake said that Mama became a Navi to save his son's life and she was just testing the equipment that would turn him into a Navi. Was the other Navi that came out of that experiment you?" Kurisutaru asked.
Rockman nodded "Yes, it was. As far as I know, there wasn't anyone else willing to take part in the experiment's test, so your mother agreed to do it. Papa said that she wasn't meant to stay a Navi. She was just meant to test the equipment to put her into the net, and then operate a standard Navi frame, then return to her body. But after a virus severed the connection to her body, Papa had to design Neta" Rockman explained.
"And that's why Neta is like you in so many ways? Did your Dad copy and redesign your frame for Mama's?" Kurisutaru asked, Rockman shook his head.
"It was your mother that designed most of Neta's frame. She operated a Standard Navi Frame during Neta's design" Rockman answered.
"How come you know so much about what happened? Wouldn't you have been a baby back then?" Umi questioned.
"I was, and I still grew up normally, in a way. But it was Neta that told me everything that happened. It was Neta-chan that helped Papa raise me when Mama couldn't be at the Science Labs" Rockman replied.
"How could you have grown up normally if you've been a Navi nearly all of your life Rockman?" Netto asked, confused.
"Papa programmed a baby sized frame for me to ease me into being a Navi. He also limited the programs that both me and Denierure were able to use, so that we didn't have much to cope with at that time. The original frames that we operated back then were different to the ones we're operating now, Papa programmed those frames so that they would change into the frames we're operating now at a later date, I think we were in those old frames for about 5 or 6 years before we changed into the ones we're operating now. But Papa did unfortuneatly try to cheer Neta up with her frame when we found out that she was stuck as a Navi, and it worked, partly." Rockman explained.
"What happened?" Kurisutaru questioned.
"You'd be surprised how different the original Neta frame looked back then, and she insisted on operating the Standard Navi frame that she operated at first. She was annoyed at Papa because of how he'd designed the original Neta frame, but he said that it would change at the same time mine did" Rockman answered.
"What did you both look like back then?" Umi asked.
"I was just a baby version of this form without my gloves, boots, shoulder pads and helmet. Neta had her form's ginger hair, but it was a lot shorter than it is now, She also didn't have her helmet, I think she was a bit shorter than she is now, and and she a more simple design to her form, it was yellow, unlike the yellow and orange design she has now" Rockman replied.
(End of Chapter)