Ah-hah! Chapter eight! Celebrate! Well, no, not really. But, anyway. Here ya go. I like this chapter, I actually do. I think it's more of Rockman's part really but, eh. Oh, and, lots of details in the first part soooo, just thought to let you know. And now I've realized I haven't put the disclaimer. Gosh.
Rockman.EXE and all its characters are respectively © to Capcom
My characters: (alphabetically) Amori Tanya, Boss (Deguchi, Drug, and Mik's), Cat.EXE, Classic.EXE, Coinman.EXE, Cowboy.EXE, Cyber.EXE, Deguchi Goro, Drug, Gabba.EXE, Gakusha Isamu, Hida Naomi, Mikuro Tadao, Namu Koruku, Okimasa Mik, Raven.EXE, Sliceman.EXE, Ultimate Rockman, and Dr. Yamana are © to me, Araka Sasaki.
Whew, that's a lot of characters! Anyway, here's the chapter. Enjoy!
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Chapter Eight: Like Leaves in the Dust
They were moving. The man, Koruku, was taking him somewhere. Netto could hear voices so he fathomed that they were in a hallway.
Netto took this as a time to think over everything that had happened.
He was in a PET, a Navi, and his Netbattler was Namu Koruku. Before they'd begun their trek through the hall, the man had questioned him about things that he was apparently supposed to know. But he didn't, and that seemed to upset the man even more. He'd turned around and headed out into the hallway.
Netto stared at his surroundings. Was he in this Navi's body? Had he replaced Cyber's consciousness with his own? It had to be so, or he would have Cyber's memories.
Koruku halted, and Netto looked up at the man's profile curiously. He was rigid and stiff. Someone passed, and he heard, and saw, Koruku make a snide comment.
The green-haired man turned sideways, and a door came into view. It was promptly opened, and the PET was lifted to the man's chest.
Three people stood in the room.
One was female with long, lilac-colored hair. She leaned against a metal table—like one you'd see in a science lab—her torso lying fully atop it. She wore a light blue, spaghetti-strapped shirt and baggy jeans with brown hiking boots. A necklace with a single chunk of garnet, which complemented her same colored eyes, hung from her neck. The woman glanced up and smiled alluringly.
Beside her stood a middle-aged man with straw-like hair and cloudy grey eyes. He wore a black army uniform. It was obvious that he was of higher rank and esteem.
Another female, a girl who was rubbing her elbow, waved to Koruku from her place in front of a computer screen. Her long brown hair cascaded down her back while the rest was hidden behind the back of the chair. Bright, sky-blue eyes gleamed with determination and burning intensity. She wore a smaller version of what the middle-aged man wore.
"So, what took ya so long, Kor?" The purple-haired woman asked, her voice deep and smooth. She pushed herself from the table and made her way over to him.
"Hello, Tanya." Koruku said, tone amused but trying to be indifferent.
Amori Tanya just continued to smirk and roughly locked lips. The kiss did not las long as it was interrupted by, "Get a room."
They broke apart just as the straw-haired man trudged up to them. He was frowning and looked exceedingly displeased.
"Oh, Isamu, you're just jealous." Tanya remarked slyly, wrapping her arms around Koruku's shoulders.
Netto was disgusted.
The middle-aged man, Gakusha Isamu, snorted and ran his hand through his hair.
"Don't get riled up, Gakusha-taisa (Ah, colonel for all you limited Japanese-speakers out there—like me); you're just taking the bait." The other girl warned, rotating around to face them. She looked around Koruku's age, add or take a few years. Her constitution literally bled confidence and knowledge beyond her years.
"Of course," Isamu huffed, but he did back down.
Netto observed these people with interest. Who were these people? Koruku's friends? He didn't seem like the social type.
"So, what's the assignment?" Tanya asked, still clinging to Koruku.
"I knew there was something." Koruku smirked.
"Oh, shush." Tanya murmured.
"Well, what does Ultimate-sama have you doing that he can't trust the rest of us with?" Isamu asked, appearing a slight resentful. The other girl merely leaned back in her chair, waiting and listening.
Koruku parted his lips slightly, as though he was about to say something, but then Netto interrupted suddenly.
"Err…ah…Kor-Koruku? There's this-this girl clinging to my arm…"
The aforementioned man glanced down. There was indeed a girl clinging to his arm. She had no armor whatsoever; Koruku could see the bright yellow dress hanging off her little body. Her brown hair was similar to the uniform-clad female, and her eyes were as clear as crystal. She was smiling childishly.
"Cat…" The other girl muttered, shaking her head and rubbing her forehead.
Koruku frowned.
Cyber's personality had been damaged, sure, but the Navi's statistics said nothing about memory. Maybe personality was more general than he thought.
Within the Net, Netto was not alone. Two other Navis joined him, one male and the other female.
The male was exceptionally tall and inhumanely thin. Light blond tips brushed high shoulders, silver eyes displaying amusement behind transparent goggles.
The female was the exact replica of her creator, plum-colored hair and garnet eyes. Her jumpsuit was dark purple, and her helmet was the same color.
"Cat hath yearned for thou's presence, youthful sword wielder. I imagine she verily nearly deleted herself in discovery of your recent deletion." The female Navi commented, her smile wise and filled with ageless righteousness.
"She'd'a deleted 'erself fer sure. Ye lucky ya come back, or she'd'a been gone by ta'night." The male Navi drawled, agreeing in the most ungrammatically correct fashion.
"Err—who-who are—" Netto began, but he was cut off by a wave of the Victorian-speaking, female Navi's gloved hand.
"You are weary and your memory hath run thin, it seems. The Navi to my right hath been formally christened Cowboy—while he is not of Christian belief—and I, Raven." She bowed, and Netto was disturbed by the politeness.
"And I'm Cat!" The female clinging to his arm shrieked, her clear eyes sparkling.
"Uh-uh, hi," was all Netto could utter. Things were happening so fast that he did not have enough time to comprehend them.
"Well, now that we're all reacquainted…" The other girl, most likely Cat's Netbattler, murmured.
"Oh Naomi, don't be that way!" Cat whined, but she was quickly silenced by a stern glare from her Netbattler, Hida Naomi.
"Tell us, oh wise and worthy Namu, what is your assignment?" Naomi asked, looking back up, a smile worming up her small face. Her fingers formed into a steeple upon her lap.
Koruku continued to observe his Navi before slowly looking back up. His eyes were narrowed.
The people occupying the room waited for his answer eagerly.
"Infiltrate. Gather. And destroy."
--
"Please, sit, make yourself comfortable." Dr. Yamana pulled out a chair, still smiling ever-so-cheerfully. Rockman took a seat, studying Laika as he maneuvered around the table and stood in a corner across the room. Netto hurried up beside Rockman, placing a hand on his so-called brother's shoulder.
The tent was undecorated. It was warmed and lighted by nothing but the sunlight that shone brilliantly through the tan fabric. The only object in the space was the mahogany table Rockman was currently sitting at.
Dr. Yamana plopped down into a chair on the other side of the rectangular table. Meiru and Dekao had chosen to stay outside.
"You obviously have amnesia, as I'm lead to believe. Is what I have heard correct?" The doctor clasped his hands on the table, his air pleasant and calm.
"Yes." Rockman nodded stiffly. This man's manner was unnerving. How can one be this constantly cheerful?
"And so you'd like to be informed on what our situation is." His expression displayed understanding, but for some reason, Rockman didn't trust him. The Navi, a now truly alive boy, did not answer, and so the doctor took this as agreement.
"Two years ago," Dr. Yamana began, "Dr. Hikari Yuuichirou, Wily, and Mikuro Tadao were working to create the perfect Navi. It was to be the most human-like, with combating capabilities much more superior than any other Navi ever designed. They spent months perfecting it, making sure all was ready and no mistakes would be left unchecked.
"When this Navi was finally completed, they dubbed it Rockman."
Rockman, whose eyes had been wandering around the tent, swiveled back to Yamana. They widened considerably though he said nothing.
Yamana continued. Between the two the silence seemed significant though it merely confused Netto.
"The great scientist Wily suggested giving Rockman to Yuuichirou's son, Hikari Netto, as a test," Yamana glanced over and found the aforementioned boy staring downwards.
"The experiment succeeded for about a month. The two became close, and Rockman learned to care deeply for Netto. It wasn't until the monster decided to show what its true intentions were all along that they had to rethink their little experiment." Yamana's voice grew somewhat gravely as he relayed the last sentence.
"It wasn't like that!" Netto cried suddenly. His hands were balled into fists, and he was shaking all over. His features were scrunched up in anger.
Rockman peered at the boy over his shoulder while the doctor followed suit, albeit more impassively.
"He was doing it for me! It wasn't his fault!" Netto's words came out choked and strained.
"Nevertheless, Rockman went out of control. He nearly killed another child. The boy is, even now, still in the hospital. It seems the perfect Navi is more of a killer than a boy's simple battle partner." Yamana's voice was bare of emotion, like the announcer of a very boring commercial that not even he cared much about.
"Shut up, you don't know anything about what happened! Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Netto screamed, spinning around and shooting off out of the tent.
Rockman twisted around in his chair and stared after the boy sadly. He glanced up at Laika who merely stared back, silent and emotionless.
"As I was saying," Rockman turned his attention back to the doctor who was smiling once more, "after that dreadful incident, the scientists agreed that it would be safer to—because deletion was nearly impossible due to perfection—lock him away in an area of cyberspace with no programming whatsoever, the equivalent of a black hole in outer space.
"As of late—shall we estimate about six months?—Rockman has broken free of his prison. He's destroyed most cities and killed millions. He has currently taken up residence in the remains of Densan City."
Rockman realized, after the pause, that Dr. Yamana was obviously finished with his explanation. The facts whirled about in his head, like leaves twirling in the air after a strong gust of wind. Everything made sense yet it didn't. Rockman… That was his name. He was Rockman. But not here, here he was Hikari Saito, son of Hikari Yuuichirou and brother of Netto. He ran his hand through his hair, peering down at his still-clutched PET. Gabba was watching, eyes narrowed and searching for Rockman's reaction. The boy nearly sighed and stood up, the chair scraping behind him.
"I'm going to go see if Netto's all right," was all Rockman had to say as he made his way towards the entrance. Laika's eyes still bored into the back of his head.
"Good, I didn't mean to cause such a fuss with my words. I was just retelling the dreadful thing, I'm glad I've got it off my chest, though." Yamana's smile was viewable in his mind's eye, so calm and so forever joyful.
"Yeah…" Rockman murmured, and he stepped out into the dim and miserable world.
Chaos stretched on for miles, smoke spiraled upwards like towers of darkness and woe. Rockman nodded to Meiru and Dekao as he passed. He'd have to survive this place, or he'd never find his way back home.