Ah-hah…heh. –sweatdrops- Yes, I know this is two weeks late. But we had a lot going on at school. And to make it worse, this chapter is extremely short. I think it's the shortest one I have written. Oh well, it's mostly build-up for the next chapters, anyway. I hope you enjoy what's here. Happy Reading! –waves-
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Chapter Eleven: So Much to Do
Isamu frowned from where he perched, atop a moving lift. He'd been hopping them for the last half hour. Boredom was the answer to that question. Now he stared at the PET's screen, he'd seen what had just occurred in the stadium. His first reaction had been to roll his eyes, but now he was frowning.
Cyber had just been brought back; he'd be most certainly unsteady on his feet. And Darkman was quite the formidable opponent. Cyber had fought him once before and barely won.
Isamu brought up Koruku's email address and waited with agitated patience for it to connect. After about a minute, the signal was found and a window displaying Koruku's shoulders and up appeared.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Have you checked on Cyber lately?" It was a valid question. And by the way Koruku's features remained calm, it was obvious he hadn't.
"No, I supposed he'd be fine enjoying himself." Koruku Namu replied, brows knitting at the question.
"Yes, well, I'd check up on him if I were you." Isamu suggested with a knowing nod.
The younger man gave him one last puzzled stare before blinking off of the screen.
Isamu leaned back against a crate and sighed.
Cyber was already in a pile of trouble, and the day hadn't even ended yet.
--
The building in which they were shoved was very official-looking. Cold and covered from ceiling to floor in tile, Rockman wondered if their designer had been a tasteless robot. Two tall men lead them by laser rifles down the hallway. People in suits passed hither and thither, quiet words exchanged as they met.
It was not a very exciting place to be, but the once-navi supposed it didn't really matter. They were being held at gunpoint, the scenery was probably a little less important.
Meiru whimpered quietly beside him, hand wrapped firmly around his arm. She watched everything, as if waiting for some new threat to jump out at them. Netto and Dekao were silent, but they both looked worried.
The small group arrived in a room with a long table and no windows. A good amount of people sat around it, prim and proper as ever one could be.
The four were forced to stand against a wall. Their guards hurriedly departed the room, and the door clicked shut behind them.
There was silence as the people, government officials supposedly, shuffled their papers and cleared their throats.
"Well?" The word blurted from Netto's mouth before he could stop it. His hands clasped themselves around his mouth in horror.
The officials gave Netto a disapproving look, and he shrunk back, scooting closer to Rockman.
"You," the man at the head of the long table pointed at the brothers, "are both of you sons of the respected scientist Hikari Yuuichirou?" Both glanced at each other and nodded.
"And the others, friends, I presume?"
Meiru and Dekao didn't say anything, looking slightly disgruntled that they were being called "just friends".
"Then, I have much to discuss. But before we begin, what were you children doing in the middle of nowhere?"
"We were just exploring, sir." Netto said quickly.
The man raised an eyebrow but said no more on the subject. He continued, "The Government and I have come to the conclusion that Dr. Hikari and his 'Resistance' have gone too far. We have been kindly funding their fight against…the nonexistent Robot Navi Rockman, but it has come to our attention that the resistance has been doing anything but. Why we believed such a story is unknown…"
"What are you talking about?" Netto once more blurted out; although this time he did not look ashamed for doing so.
"Now, young man, you must understand, we are merely looking out for the good of the country. And a falsely justified war created for the sake of money is just not doing it! We will hold you as hostages until Dr. Hikari chooses to shutdown his efforts. And, Saito," the man glanced over to Rockman who found himself beginning to sweat, "we have full permission as a government to begin tests on you."
"You can't do that!"
"Yeah, leave him alone!"
Both Netto and Dekao objected, but they were silenced by a stern glare.
"We will do as we wish. Take them away."
And before they knew it, the four were grabbed from behind and hauled out of the room, Rockman one way and his friends, another.
"Sai!" Netto screamed, trying to wriggle free. Rockman watched helplessly as his supposed brother was dragged from his vision.
Within minutes he was hurled into an unoccupied room and the door was slammed shut. Rockman collected himself off the floor and looked around him. All there was was a bed and a table. He sighed and flopped down onto the sheets. Placing the back of his hand over his eyes, he tried to think. What now? There was only one thing to do: Wait, and hope that Papa would reach them in time.
--
The room was still in an uproar; Alternate Yuuichirou paced the room furiously. Enzan was currently speaking with a few heralds somewhere across the room. His mind was a whirr, what to do, what to do?
"Dr. Hikari, we're all set." Enzan reported as he came upon the worried scientist.
Yuuichirou looked up and nodded. "Are you sure this will work?" He asked.
"If it doesn't, then your son will be left in the hands of the government, and that's not something I want to happen. Come on," he pulled out of his pocket some sort of device, "we have work to do."
--
Deguchi Goro moaned, rubbing his temples. He sat in a rather run-down chair, its padding worn and one of its legs missing. Drug was smoking on the floor next to him. Mik, sharpening his butcher knife on a piece of old metal.
They awaited orders from their Boss, a man who took time when it came to plans. Deguchi was far from patient anymore, it all had run thin. Why were they waiting around here in this piece of junk? He wanted that promotion now.
"'Ey, what's yer problem, Deguchi?" Drug inquired, looking up as he lit his cigarette and took a long drag.
"None of your business," Deguchi grumbled back. This was why he was so impatient. Morons.
"Deguchi!" The booming cry startled them all, and the aforementioned man hurried to bring their boss onto the screen.
"There, that's better. I have finally sorted out the plan. A week from now you are going to break into Dr. Mikuro's home. Steal the Eradicate and kill whoever's inside. I don't want anyone alive that sees you."
"But boss…does it only have to be people that see is?" Mik whined.
"YES!" Mik flinched involuntarily.
"I don't want too much blood spilt on our account just yet. Patience is the key in this sort of thing. Deguchi!"
"Yes, sir?" Deguchi spoke up quickly.
"Prepare yourselves, you have one week. That should be enough time to be ready." And then, the picture blinked off.
Deguchi sighed once more.
"Ye 'ere him? What's stuck up in 'is arse?" Drug took another drag.
"The boss isn't really that nice, is he?" Mik commented, placing his knife back on the floor.
Deguchi's eyes trailed towards the pane-less window placed crookedly on the wall. The trees swayed, it looked rather gusty.
In a week all their lives would change, for better or for worse it could not be certain. But Deguchi just knew he'd get that promotion. He just had to.