AN: It's been a long time, hasn't it?
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot idea.
Chapter 6: Out of control! Juggernauts collide!
Subaru looked up. He felt something far off, like the strike of lightning in the distance. There was a feeling of familiarity in the vibration in the air. His mind began to wander unconsciously.
It sounded like... Noise...?
Before he could ponder on it anymore, a familiar voice called out to him from the doorway.
"I guess I should have known you were here too, Ryuusei." R Blues stated in a matter of fact tone. He had just left a particularly nasty scuffle, but thankfully he didn't sustain any terrible injuries besides little bruises here and there. His sword with its dull glow was already drawn at his side.
Expecting to see the darkloid wreaking havoc in the area, the blue-eyed Net Savior was presented instead with both R Rockman and the "mysterious navi" smiling to themselves on their victory. Strangely enough, R Rockman seemed to be in a double soul along with Ryuusei displaying a new pale white form. "I don't suppose you'll explain what happened here?"
"U-Um... Well..." Subaru began to say as he scoped out the damages in the area. The cafeteria was a complete mess despite Desertman's sand dematerializing. Tables were turned over and lunch trays were scattered about. Like a hurricane coming in and out of the room. "This... thing was..."
"Just some darkloid again. No worries!" Netto exclaimed as he patted Ryuusei on the back, nearly knocking him flat on his face. He was obviously self-satisfied with his handiwork, typically not taking notice of the "minor" details such as the vandalism that was caused in his wake.
Enzan could only shake his head at Netto's own obliviousness. He seemed to always make a mess of wherever he battled either way. He had to tell his fellow Net Savior next time to take more precaution in not ruining public property. With another deep sigh, he took a look at the situation again. Gesturing to the double soul that was activated, Enzan's tone couldn't help but be at least a little bewildered by the anomaly. "So are you going to explain... that?"
"Ah! Well you see..." Netto looked himself over to examine the changes again. Crossing his arms, he pondered on how to explain. "Well... mid-battle... Suddenly Rockman and I just exploded with energy! Rockman was all like~~~ and I was like 'Go for it~~~!' and then ~~~"
Netto's rambling only gave the white haired boy a headache. Enzan took a side-glance at Ryuusei who was already looking around for the nearest exit. He was already hypothesizing what most likely happened, considering the things that always seemed to pop up when the other blue "NetNavi" was around. Wherever he appeared, something of this nature seems to always happen.
It was as if he were hacking reality itself.
Pushing the jabbering Netto aside, Enzan focused his attention on Ryuusei. "If it's alright, can you come down to the NetPolice Station with us? There are quite a few questions I want to ask you."
"Uh... Um... S-Sorry, but..." Subaru, or otherwise known as "Ryuusei" to seemingly everyone now, was attempting to find an appropriate time to leave. He felt a mental nudge from Warrock to not dawdle with the two of them. Before they knew it, the dimensional area was beginning to break away, returning the school to its usual normality. Both Netto and Enzan's cross fusion diffused as the eerie hue of the field disappeared. That is, except for Ryuusei.
Seeing Ryuusei's hesitancy, Enzan took the initiative to hopefully keep the mysterious "navi" from leaving. He decided to start up with some questions. There was no telling whether or not he would get the chance. "Can you at least tell us who or what you are? Why are you always helping us?"
"Ah... I..." Ryuusei began, but received a mental roar from a certain alien.
"Kid! Just leave already! You felt it, didn't you? The Noise?"
Subaru knew that Warrock was onto something. The Noise he felt earlier was the only lead since they had arrived to getting home. While he regretted to leave Enzan and Netto hanging once more, there really was no time to waste. "I... I need to go...!" Ryuusei quickly shot off, turning his back to the two.
However, before he changed his frequency, he felt a hard grip on his arm. Enzan had firmly grabbed his wrist to stop him. His blue eyes full of conviction made Subaru halt for only a moment.
"We can help you. You just have to let us!" The Net Savior tried to stall for as much time as possible. Hoping to change Ryuusei's mind on leaving.
Even Netto had chipped in as he exclaimed, "At least let us return the favor!"
Pausing only slightly, Subaru simply replied, "Sorry... I'm fine by myself..."
At that, he gave off a slight glow as he changed his frequency. His pale white Virgo form disappeared from view, leaving the two boys behind.
Enzan looked at the hand that he had used to grab a hold of the ghost-like existence of Ryuusei. He couldn't help but be disappointed, despite knowing the unlikelihood of keeping the anomaly rooted. "By himself... huh?" he muttered with a small sigh.
"He just took off again." Netto shared Enzan's feelings. They were both hoping that the third time would be the charm, and that perhaps Ryuusei would at least give them a few minutes of his time to at least clarify who and what he is. "Auugh! And here I thought we could finally talk with each other for once! If only there was some way to track him down."
"Actually..." Rockman's voice suddenly piped up from Netto's PET. "The Noise tracker that you installed last time is picking up a trail. I think it's likely because we made physical contact with him earlier."
"Enzan-sama. It would seem as if Ryuusei is headed to a location somewhere in the real world." Blues confirmed as well. Enzan quickly took out his own PET, seeing the map that his navi had brought up. A small red dot on the map indicated their target traveling at a remarkable speed towards an unknown location.
"So we're in luck!" Netto exclaimed excitedly. Finally, rather then Ryuusei appearing out of nowhere, the two of them can surprise Ryuusei instead. "Normally, he'd just appear and disappear. Let's hurry up and follow him!"
Enzan couldn't help but smirk as well at the good news. "Where is he headed, Blues?"
"Is this it...?" Subaru hesitantly put a hand up to the humming walls of the dimensional area. The walls swirled with the same ominous hue. However, the air around it seemed to shiver with an electrical charge, as if two great forces were clashing within.
"Careful, kid." Warrock growled under his breath. His animalistic instincts sensed danger behind the walls. "There's definitely something beyond here. Noise being only one thing to worry about."
"It may be a clue to getting back home." Subaru eyes looked determined as he prepared to pass through the barrier. It was a simple matter to change one's frequency to get past the dimensional area, but he still felt a small jolting shock upon getting through. "It's also the first lead we've had since coming here. We can't back down now."
"Just watch your back kid."
"Don't worry." Subaru reassured his companion. He felt tense as well for whatever lied ahead, but this was no time to have second thoughts. "Let's go Warrock."
A saw-like blade of dark energy whirled passed Burai as he swiftly darted to the left. Then back in center phasing in and out of normal frequency he made the distance between him and his opponent. As he brought down Laplace, Forte moved to parry it with a dark blade of his own. They locked blades, testing each other's physical might. Both sides showed signs of obvious struggle to overpower the other.
"Impressive... for a human." Forte said with slight disdain. It was the first words the two normally solemnly quiet individuals exchanged since they first clashed. As much as he hated to admit it, the human before him was not like the other pathetic trash of the human world he had encountered.
Breaking off from their stalemate, Burai landed back down upon the ground while Forte took the high ground of the building's rooftop. "Tell me boy... Are you truly human? Or are you a navi posing as one?" Solo had appeared human upon his initial appearance, but upon his transformation he resembled that of a navi. However, Forte didn't sense any navi behind the boy's power.
Solo stared up at Forte. With the wicked blade of Laplace leveled towards the stranger, he refused to let down his guard. There was an unnerving silence between these two forces until he finally replied. "I have no interest in your curiosity. Leave and I'll let you live."
The dark NetNavi sneered at the prospect of himself retreating from battle. The human's cockiness angered him and his patience was running dry. "Answer me this then... are you 'Ryuusei'?"
"Ryuusei?" Burai asked questioningly. Then in a mocking sneer of his own, he answered, "And what if I am? I have no business with you."
The two of them stared daggers once more into each other, both of them gripping their blades, Laplace in Burai's and a blade of dark energy in Forte's. As they both moved to rush each other once more, they both stopped upon hearing a loud crackle from the dimensional area barrier. Something had forcibly made its way into the area.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Burai took this as a chance for him to retreat. While his Murian blood disliked running from battle, his body was still weary from his travel through dimensions. Disengaging from his EM-wave form to conserve energy, Solo quickly darted into one of the abandoned warehouse buildings. Laplace reverted back to its ethereal form and traveled in the shadows behind him.
Forte quickly turned back to Solo, making a quick rush for him at ground level. He wasn't about to let his sought out prey just leave without a complete fight to the death. The navi crashed his way into the building from the ceiling, adding to the already piled up rubble within.
As he caught glimpse of Solo's form in the darkness of the building, he saw the human boy dart further into the warehouse.
"Why do you run, Ryuusei?" Forte growled under his breath. His thirst for that strange power burned as he gave chase. "Don't tell me you're afraid...?"
As he turned the corner, he saw the boy's left hand give off a strange glow as Solo promptly pulled out a large broadsword from the dark light of his hand to block Forte's incoming attack. "As if I'd be afraid." Solo retorted back, his weariness from the lengthy travel through the Noise Wave becoming more apparent.
"You really aren't a regular human, are you?" Forte smirked as he materialized another dark arm blade in his other hand. Taking Solo by surprise, he caught the boy square in the side with the second blade. While his Mu Rejection Barrier had blocked the attack from slicing him in two, the sheer force had knocked him aside and into the wall. "But nevertheless, your end will still be the same."
Solo grunted in pain as he tried to move. Judging by the sharp pain upon standing, he most likely broke a couple bones from the impact. Forte, knowing his prey was incapacitated, reached a hand to try analyzing and then devouring the anomaly's abilities.
However, before the solo NetNavi could satisfy his thirst for new power, he turned quickly to dodge an incoming cannon shot that zoomed past him from the doorway. Both Solo and Forte's eyes widened slightly in surprise as a familiar blue figure rushed forward with cyber blade in hand.
"Enzan! Over here!" R Rockman shouted out as he made to slash at the black fin-headed navi with a newly materialized long sword. Forte effortlessly blocked the attack with one of his dark arm blades. As he moved to retaliate, he caught sight of R Blues making his way towards him as well.
"Insignificant flies...!" Forte growled as he pushed R Rockman aside with sheer force. Flying discs of Hell's Rolling were sent straight towards R Blues before he could even close the distance. With the two new nuisances briefly taken care of, Forte turned towards where the incapacitated Solo was. To the solo navi's annoyance, the boy was gone.
"We were lucky that Laplace was able to lead us to you in time." Subaru sighed in relief. During the commotion that both Netto and Enzan caused, he had changed his frequency to phase through the walls and get Solo out to safety. Despite Solo's haughty disposition towards being rescued, Subaru couldn't help but be happy to see a familiar face after such a long time away from home.
Solo scoffed as he muttered. "I didn't ask nor needed to be saved, Rockman."
"Ooy! You got some attitude on you after we saved your hide." Warrock roared out. Though only Subaru could hear the AMian's tirade due to the restrictions of the PET when wave-changed.
"It's alright, Warrock. That's just how Solo is." Subaru tried to reason with his partner's anger.
"KzZZzzzzzzZzt!" Laplace inaudible voice buzzed out. As if in understanding, Solo nodded in agreement.
"Your right. This isn't the time or place to talk." Solo tried to move once more, but crumpled under his wounds. Not only was he mentally and physically weary from traveling through the Noise Wave, but also the fierce battle on top of it all tired his body tremendously. "Damn it! That damned Wizard getting in my way...!"
"You're injured...!" Subaru reached to steady him against a neighboring wall despite the boy's protests. "Wait here, I need to go help Netto and Enzan take out that—"
"Don't tell me you're involving yourself with the people here as well." Solo stopped him from leaving with a firm grip of his hand. His voice was chillingly cold, but Subaru could tell the seething aggravation in his voice. "You won't see any of these people again. What good will your weak bonds do for you here?"
Subaru paused at Solo's words. He knew it himself. From the moment he met Netto and the others, he knew that their meeting was only temporary. Eventually he would find a way to leave and never see any of them again. It was because of this that he tried to remain distant. He didn't want to get too involved or too attached to the people he met in this new world.
But without his knowledge and despite his conscious avoidance, Subaru had already come to acknowledge them all as his friends.
He broke off Solo's grip. "I know that..." Subaru turned his back towards the other boy. The more he thought about it, the more he came to realize that he had been acting exactly how he used to before he met Warrock. "I know that I'll eventually not see any of them again. But that doesn't make the bonds I make with them any weaker!"
Solo swore under his breath. Just the talk of friendships made him sick. However, in his current state, he could do little but simply glare at his rival's back. "I came here only to get what belongs to me, Rockman. Just remember, I will be the one who will destroy you in the end."
Subaru couldn't help but smile slightly despite the threat. He understood that was just Solo's awkward way of expressing worry. Seeing a familiar face, despite hostile, gave him the hope he had needed in finding a way back home.
"Don't worry. I'll be back." Rockman, or rather "Ryuusei" in this world, changed his frequency to move out of sight and back to the battlefield where his new friends fought. It took less then a second for him to disappear from Solo's view.
"RzzzZzzzZZzzzzzTT..." Laplace appeared alongside Solo's side. It looked almost ashamed as if knowing its master's anger for its actions.
"Quiet. I never asked you to go out and find help." Solo grunted back. "Let alone getting Rockman... I didn't need any help to begin with."
"GrzzzZzzzt..." the EM-Wave shook its head at the proposition, then turned its head upwards into the dimensional field blocked sky.
"You're right." Solo looked up as well. "It's strange... why is the Noise level increasing in a place like this? Could it be from our landing... or maybe..."
He looked calmly towards the direction that the EM Rockman had disappeared to. His eyes narrowed as if in knowing what was to come.
"Kuh... that fool."
"Netto! Are you alright?" Enzan shouted out as he saw the brunette go flying backwards and through the wall. The battle had moved back to outside from what remained of the abandoned warehouse. The walls were barely standing, and the inside was filled with rubble from their battle.
"I'm fine!" Netto yelled back as he pulled himself together. Despite the double team, the two Net Saviors could do little to fend off Forte's onslaught. They were running out of resources as their library of chips was already running dry. "Forte! What are you doing here in the human world?!"
The dark navi floated midair, staring down at the two of them. From his vantage point, he searched the area for the white haired boy he had fought, clearly ignoring R Rockman's question. He was frustrated at how close he had been, and how easily he had escaped due to the two Net Savior's meddling.
"So be it..." he muttered as he turned his red eyes towards R Blues. "You will be the first." He made a dive for the sword wielding Net Savior. Enzan could feel the bloodthirstiness from the navi as Blues yelled out words of alarm in his head to quickly dodge.
While R Blues raised his sword to block Forte's charge, the force of impact knocked him aside as he skid across the ground before finally hitting the wall of the dimensional barrier. The shock of the impact disengaged his Cross Fusion as electric currents sparked through his body. His PET along with the ejected Syncro chip fell to his side.
"Enzan-sama! Enzan-sama!" Blues yelled out in worry from the PET, but Enzan was barely conscious to register his navi's voice.
"Enzan!" R Rockman shouted out to confirm his friend's safety. However he had little time to worry before Forte's attention was focused on him.
"You're next... boy." Forte looked at him with his cold red eyes. "You think a human borrowing the power of a navi can stand up to me? It's your dependence on each other that makes you both weak."
R Rockman stood his ground. Though whether it was through courage or fear, he aimed his standard Rock Buster at Forte and prepared to fire.
"Too slow." The red-eyed navi stated as he suddenly appeared at R Rockman's left before preparing to hurl a Darkness Overload point blank. "And too weak...!"
"Netto-kun!" Rockman chimed in Netto's ear in warning, but he would be too slow to switch his aim now to counter. As he saw the dark energy coming straight for him, a black flash came between him and the blast as a strange circular barrier effortlessly dispersed the attack.
"Y-You're...!" Forte looked at the seemingly familiar figure with surprise. He had thought it was the red-eyed boy that had come back, but there were noticeable differences along with the striking similarity.
While it took Netto a brief moment to recognize him, he exclaimed in surprise. "Ryuusei!"
It seemed as if Ryuusei had yet again undergone some sort of style change as he sported a much darker color scheme along with a blue four-pointed visor. "Noise Change... Burai."
Wordlessly, he formed a blade in his hand to take full advantage of the form's prowess with swords. With his Mu shield down temporarily, he had to be a bit more careful in approaching.
"So you're Ryuusei..." Forte looked the new opponent over. He sensed something a bit different from this one compared to the white haired boy from earlier. They both carried that same unknown energy, but the one standing before him seemed to carry it in a much denser quality. He could almost hear the buzzing of Noise in his ears as he approached.
The black navi seemed to shiver in anticipation. It had been a while that anything came close to challenging him. "Don't disappoint me."
At that, Forte zoomed towards Ryuusei, hurling the spinning saws of Hell's Rolling forward. As Ryuusei dodged the incoming blades, he made sure to take note of the navi charging for him. As Forte approached closer with a dark blade in hand, rather then making impact, the navi phased right through his opponent due to the sudden frequency change. Catching Forte by surprise, Ryuusei brought down a cyber blade from the back. But with super human reflexes, Forte had already moved to parry the blow.
"The same trick that other boy used." Forte grimaced at the strangely ghost like power. Preparing another Darkness Overload, he made to blow his adversary to smithereens. "The same thing won't fool me again."
The two dark warriors clashed once more, but as the battle drew on, it became increasingly obvious on who held the upper hand. Subaru understood why Burai had so much trouble with this opponent. Even with the Noise Change, Forte proved more then capable of handling anything that he threw at him.
"This guy is no joke!" Warrock commented on their opponent with unease. "And he isn't about to give us any room for a breather! Watch it, kid!"
Before he could respond, Subaru felt a hard straight kick in his gut that the Mu barrier failed to block. The attack sent him flying, hitting hard against the ground and skidding until his back hit the thick walls that housed the broken down machinery.
"Ooy! Subaru!" The AMian yelled out in concern. He cursed his uselessness. If only they still had the Hunter VG, then he could materialize outside even while fused. "Get up, kid! He's heading straight for us!"
However despite his comrade's pleas, Subaru was slipping into unconsciousness. He heard a buzzing in his ear. And the sound only kept increasing until it drowned out all else. The same pulsing headache started to form again.
"Pathetic." Forte looked at him with deep scorn. "I was expecting more out of this Ryuusei."
The navi made a slow approach, knowing the end of the battle was near. He was about to claim his reward after the long search.
"Not so fast!" A voice yelled out to the side. Several buster shots came zooming towards Forte, but they were swatted away like nothing. Forte glanced over to see R Rockman pointing his buster at him. "Don't lay a hand on him!"
However despite R Rockman's threats, Forte continued his approach towards the fallen Ryuusei. He wasn't about to be distracted from his prize a second time. "I'll finish you later, Rockman."
Though as Forte drew closer, he noticed the buzzing in his ears getting louder. By instinct, he back stepped a bit to create some distance from the anomaly. His eyes narrowed as he noticed a change in the environment around Ryuusei. Clumps of condensed noise were starting to form in the air. Gone unnoticed during their battle, the surrounding Noise had grown to become dense enough to reach a crimson color. This was the inevitable result from not only his battle with the white haired boy from before, but also with Ryuusei.
Noise Levels Sufficient...
The soft mechanical voice buzzed in Subaru's ears, penetrating his unconsciousness. He slowly got up from his slump, his head still low. Strained to hear the voice again through the white noise and terrible headache, he realized just what was happening.
Initializing Black Ace Program...
Taking advantage of Forte's sudden hesitancy, Ryuusei made a break for it as he phased through the wall behind him. He wanted to get as far away from Netto as possible, not wanting him to get caught up in the change that was manifesting within him and the inevitable battle.
Cursing to himself for his unnecessary caution, Forte gave chase. He didn't want to lose sight of him all for him to get away like Solo had earlier. If Ryuusei somehow managed to reach past the Dimensional Barrier he had set up, it would prove difficult for Forte to follow.
"Wait! Get back here Forte!" R Rockman followed close behind to stop him.
"Netto-kun! It's dangerous!" Rockman tried to dissuade his NetOp. The brunette was already quite worse for wear, but he ignored his NetNavi's concern. "Something's going on with Ryuusei! The Noise level here has increased to an immeasurable level!"
"That's all the more reason for us to follow!" Netto said with conviction. "It's time for us to be the ones to help Ryuusei!"
"I... I have to get away...!" Subaru thought to himself. He had a bad feeling about this. Last time, he could barely even remember what had happened. And judging from what he heard from Netto about Black Ace, he didn't want to leave it to chance on what he might do in that state. Even Warrock couldn't help, as the Noise seemed to interfere with their communication with one another. "Warrock... where are you...?"
As he approached the humming wall of the Dimensional Area, Subaru caught sight of a collapsed Enzan that was only just regaining conscious. As the Net Savior's blue eyes fell upon him, he almost didn't recognize the familiar "Ryuusei" due to the Noise Change.
"R... Ryuusei...?" Enzan groggily said as he tried to straighten himself up. "What are you doing here...?"
Crashing could be heard from behind. Subaru could almost feel the murderous intent of the approaching dark solo navi drawing closer.
Accessing Meteor Server...
"A-Auuuuugh..." The poor boy moaned as the Noise in the air quivered. Subaru looked straight at the Net Savior as his vision began to fade over to a crimson color as well. "E-Enzan... you have to... get out of here...!"
Upon hearing his own name from the strange "navi", Enzan's once foggy mind cleared. He recognized the voice now. It finally dawned on him "Ryuusei's" true identity.
"Can it be... are you...?" Enzan began to ask, but stopped when he noticed that the other boy could no longer hear him.
"Finalize..." Subaru finally uttered in a low tone. And on signal, the Noise in the air began to congregate around him, surrounding him in a red sphere completely composed of Crimson. Enzan could do nothing but look in awe. He had only seen the process happen in video, but seeing it first hand was another experience altogether.
The air was static until finally the surface of the shell cracked. As it burst open, an ear-piercing shriek of dispersed Noise filled the Net Savior's ears, prompting him to try and block it out with his hands. As the light dimmed, he finally saw the dark armored figure with his crimson wings outspread. It looked as if it was discharging even more of the crimson Noise into the air.
"That's... Black Ace...?" Enzan looked straight at what was once "Ryuusei". He made to reach for his PET and Syncro Chip, but the slight movement immediately drew the attention of the winged warrior.
Those red eyes staring down at him; they were cold and emotionless. No, scratch that. Calculating is what probably described them best. He could barely meet the gaze halfway as sweat began to trickle down along the side of his face. Was this the same "Ryuusei" that he had met mere hours ago? Thoughts circled in his mind, but no words came out of his mouth.
After a brief moment of silence, the mysterious "navi" finally spoke. "Are you my enemy?" Black Ace's voice still resembled Ryuusei's, but seemed darker in tone. The sudden question directed at him surprised the Net Savior.
He wanted to say "no", but he just couldn't get it out while faced with the intimidating figure before him.
"So... you finally reveal yourself." Forte had finally caught up, immediately spotting the red winged warrior of rumor. Not to say he couldn't hide the excitement in his voice. He was glad that Ryuusei chose not to run away. A challenge of power was rare for him. It is something worthy of relishing. The spoils of war would be all the sweeter the harder it is to get it. "I will be the one to devour your power whole."
Black Ace shifted his gaze to the cloaked navi as if gauging the potential threat level he posed. Information rushed into his head, pouring in battle data at an alarming rate. The enemy at the moment was clear to him as Forte made a dive for him.
With wings outspread, the wing verniers burst to life as it discharged high density Noise, propelling Black Ace at super speeds. The sudden acceleration had caught Forte off guard as swift winds kicked up before he felt a heavy kick at his side.
"Hurricane Kick...!" Black Ace stated as he sent Forte flying downwards. Though a crater was left upon impact, the navi seemed unphased. In fact, he appeared to be grinning.
"Interesting...!" Forte looked up to see what the strange anomaly was going to throw at him next. Charging his next attack, the navi sent several discs of Hell's Rolling up towards the red-winged warrior.
In response, Black Ace raised both arms forward as he charged up his own attack. "Meteorite Barrage..."
A bright white light burst forth from his hands as several blue-white meteors came raining down to the ground. Some of the meteors collided with the spinning discs of dark energy, but many other stray ones fell to the ground.
"Enzan-sama!" Blues warned from the PET, snapping the boy out of his bewilderedness. He moved out of the way of the blast radius of one of the falling meteors, but couldn't hope to avoid all of them.
In the nick of time, a meteor that was heading straight for him was blown to bits as R Rockman rounded the corner. With his buster raised, he knocked some of the stray meteors that were raining down on them out of the sky. "Enzan, are you alright?"
"Netto...! Black Ace, he's—" Enzan tried to tell his comrade, but was cut off upon hearing the ensuing battle.
Forte had locked hands with Black Ace as both fought mid air. Each was pushing against the other to gain dominance of the air. However when it came to aerial combat, Black Ace appeared to be at an advantage. Crimson wings burst once more to life as it discharged high density Noise to create a forward thrust. Forte began to weaken, his body unable to adapt to the corrupting nature of Noise itself. As the navi faltered, Black Ace took this moment to act.
"Wing Blade!" In a flash, Black Ace zoomed past Forte, his bladed wings slashing the navi deeply.
Forte grunted in pain. Not only from the attack that Black Ace had dealt, but also from the heavy amounts of Noise that had began eating away at him. He hated to admit it, but it was in his best interest to retreat and recuperate. Survival was something ingrained to be always his top priority, as much as it hurt his pride.
"Just you wait... Ryuusei." Forte huffed as he gripped his wound. He was already mid logout before finally leaving his last words floating in the air. "I'll be back... to devour you whole!"
Black Ace regarded the lingering threat of the navi with silence. The Dimensional Barrier started to break away from Forte's disappearance, but Black Ace still remained stalwart in the sky. Not only did the dark armored EM-wave being remained materialized, but also the Noise fragments in their surroundings had failed to disappear as well.
"Is it over?" Netto asked as his Cross Fusion faded upon the area's return to normality. He turned to his other fellow Net Savior who was still staring dead straight at Black Ace in the sky. Enzan was silently analyzing the situation. He had a terrible feeling ever since the Dimensional Barrier fell.
"Netto-kun! Bad news!" Rockman called out from the boy's PET.
"Enzan-sama. The surrounding Noise is escaping into the surrounding area." Blues confirmed Rockman's report with urgency. "If something isn't done soon—"
"The electronics in the area—" Before both of the poor NetNavis could finish their message, the PET's screen started to fade over to white noise.
"Rockman? Rockman?!" Netto yelled into his PET. Panic was plastered over his face. "Ooy! Rockman! Are you still there?!"
"Report Blues!" Enzan tried to call out, but all he received was the same static. However, the two of them needed no report to realize what was happening as the surrounding city block lights began to blink on and off while sparking with electricity. Small explosions could be heard as every electronic in a two block radius had started to malfunction. Worst of all, the wave of Noise looked to be spreading. If something wasn't done soon, the police station or even worse the city's hospitals may be in danger.
Looking up once more, Enzan could already tell what the problem was. Despite the battle being over, Black Ace was still discharging Noise from the wing verniers on his back. With the Dimensional Area no longer containing the high amount of Noise, the excess was escaping out into the atmosphere to the surrounding city blocks.
"We have to do something!" Netto clenched his teeth. However not only could he not Cross Fuse, but he couldn't even get into contact with Rockman with the Noise jamming his PET. "Enzan! What should we—?"
"Wait! Just let me think...!" Enzan tried to search his mind for a solution. They couldn't contact HQ about the impending danger because of the jamming, and by the time they reached a working phone it'd be too late.
As a last ditch effort, Enzan yelled out the identity behind Black Ace to call him to reason. The only thing they could do was hope. "Subaru! Stop! You're putting other people in danger!"
"Eh?" Netto snapped his neck back at Black Ace, clearly taken by surprise. "You mean... that's Subaru?!"
Before Enzan could confirm this fact to Netto, The two of them saw another black flash zoom towards the winged warrior. For a second, the two of them thought that Forte had reappeared somehow into the real world, but the figure was clearly different.
The curved blade of Laplace swung downward, knocking the stationary Black Ace down to the ground. However, whether it was the process of Finalization that seemed to take away his response to pain, Black Ace remained calm and unphased from the sudden attack. His eyes stared up to meet his next opponent. "Are you... my enemy as well?" He stated solemnly, as Subaru tried to search his mind for the answer. For what reason was he fighting now? Nothing seemed to register with him clearly, and his mind was lost in the haze.
Burai gave no time to respond as he threw his blade down towards the disoriented warrior. Black Ace made no motion to dodge, but instead caught the spinning blade with one hand. The surprise however was when Laplace once more reverted back to its ethereal form, holding Black Ace still for the moment that Burai needed.
It didn't take a second for Burai to take his chance to calm the rampaging Subaru. "Rockman!" the white haired boy yelled out as he grabbed hold of him. Using his own attuned nature to Noise, Burai began to drain out the excess Noise that Subaru was keeping within. The effects were clear as the crimson light from his wings began to die down.
"Subaru! Can you hear me?!" Warrock's voice was finally coming through. The static was starting to fade, finally letting the AMian get contact with the boy. "Hey kid, snap out of it! Pull yourself together!"
"War...rock? What was I...?" Subaru said finally, his conscious finally returning to him. However it was short lived as he unceremoniously fell over Burai's shoulders, his transformation finally disengaged.
"What a fool..." Burai muttered as he disengaged his own EM-Wave form. "To think that Rockman would attune to the core itself..."
"GrzzzZzzzzt...?" Laplace floated over the boy, poking the unconscious Subaru as if testing if the brunette was alive.
"Hey! Get your fingers off of'em!" Warrock growled as he materialized outside of the PET to shoo off the Murian Wizard.
"You." Solo glared up at the AMian as he adjusted Subaru over his shoulder. "Aren't you supposed to keep the Noise under control for him?"
"Kuh! I don't need to hear that from you." Warrock returned the stare. But he couldn't be too upset with Solo after he had gone to the pains of calming Black Ace down. "It's not as easy as it looks... at least with that level of—"
"Hey, boy." A voice called out to Solo. It was a woman's voice, slick and cold. From the shadows a brunette woman with a trench coat and shades hiding her eyes came out into the dim light of the moon. "Were you the one that calmed Black Ace down? That's pretty impressive." Yuriko looked the white haired child over, seeing the familiar brunette slung over his shoulders. "With whom were you talking to earlier?"
Solo immediately detested the woman. She had that same manipulative sounding voice of that woman Vega. He said nothing, but watched carefully on what her next move would be. She was slowly approaching him with an unfamiliar device in hand.
However, he needed to take no action before the woman turned to hear two others coming their way. Not wanting to be discovered, she began to slink back into the shadows. "Tell the boy that we'll be in touch..." were her last words as she disappeared from sight. The smirk playing on her face was the last thing he saw
"They're over here!" Netto called out to Enzan as he headed towards where the conclusion of the battle had taken place. He spotted the mysterious white haired boy carefully place Subaru on the ground, slumped against a canister. There was little left of the old factory and warehouses. The falling meteors had almost leveled the area. "Hey, who are-?" Netto began to inquire about the identity of the boy, but Enzan had caught up to ask the question himself.
"Who are you?" the blue eyed Net Savior asked, carefully keeping an eye on the stranger. "Do you know Subaru?"
Rather then answer, Solo decided that he was the one to ask the questions. He had a cold demeanor that gave both boys the same feeling. He reminded them of Forte in a small way. "With what business do you have with Rockman?"
Netto raised an eyebrow, clearly confused by the simple question. "Rockman?"
"Him." Solo gestured over to the fallen Subaru.
There was a hanging silence due to the misunderstanding. There was a lot that needed explanation.
AN: I guess I should give a longer Author's Note after my very long absence. I've revived this long thought dead story, and I'm a bit worried on whether I'm able to still capture the same writing style that I've always used. As usual, I have no beta, so please forgive any grammatical or spelling errors you see. It's been quite a long time since I've written!
I laugh to myself as I wonder. After my very long absence, does anyone even read (or remember) this old fic? But to all those who have waited, I'm sorry for the wait! And to all you new readers, I hope you enjoyed discovering this old story!
You may be seeing some updates in the near future. Albeit, I think from now on I'm going to try and make chapters shorter.
I won't make any promises, but I hope all of you will stay tune to what happens next!
-A Z Euph
