AN: Were you all worried it would take me 8 years to update again?
Chapter 10: A New Power?! Temptations of the Dark!
The anger of the eradicated Murian tribe burned him from the inside. Closing his eyes, he can see the phantoms of fallen warriors drawing ever closer, waiting for a moment of weakness to seize control of his body.
"So this is what Rockman had dealt with…"
Looking down at the relic in his hand, Solo recalled his first meeting with him. He had thought of him as utterly weak, dependent on his friendship with others. How could he acknowledge someone like that as 'strong'?
And yet he couldn't deny the end result. He had lost to him. Lost to the power of his so called 'bonds'.
"You don't recognize or try to form bonds with the people of today...
But you hold your bond to Mu very dearly in your heart."
As Solo walked the hallowed halls of one of the many ruins that littered the Undernet, he remembered those words that had made his blood boil. With every fiber of his being, he refused to allow himself to be compared with his rival in such a way.
"GzZzzRrt!" Laplace's head shot up, as if it sensed something amiss. Its expression was unreadable, but it was clear that the ancient EM being was warning of something.
Burai too had felt it-an unmistakable premonition of danger. The air, thick with pressure, was cut cleanly by a voice from behind.
"To think I would meet you here of all places, boy. Just what are you?"
It was an even tone. And yet the voice that called out to him seemed to drip with a murderous intent. From the shadows, a cloaked figure that Solo had the misfortune of already meeting revealed themselves.
"Human or NetNavi. In the end, it doesn't matter." Forte continued, a scowl half obscured by his frayed collar. His outstretched hand radiated with dark energy, threatening to erupt. "After I drink that power of yours, I'll find out for myself."
"I don't have time to play games with you." Burai replied, annoyance clear on his face. He looked at the dark solo Navi as if he were a bothersome insect. To him, it was just another pest to be swatted away.
Neither of the two knew each other's names. And neither of them cared to ask.
The inevitable clash of two warriors clad in their own pride would shake the Undernet to its core.
"Dr. Regal, I heard it was you who had given the order to Officer Koyama to arrest Hoshikawa Subaru." The commissioner gave a hard look at the other man. In the few days he had been out for a business conference, Kifune hadn't imagined the state of affairs would develop so rapidly. "I'd like an explanation this instant."
While he had received notice during his absence of the renowned Dr. Regal offering his assistance in the 'Ryuusei' matter, the fact that they deployed officials to arrest and detain a young boy without his permission didn't sit well with him.
"Yes. That's right." Regal gave an apologetic bow as he continued, "While I understand I may have overstepped my boundaries, I wanted to stress to the Net Saviors that it was a matter of emergency. For public safety, of course."
"An emergency?" Kifune asked, an eyebrow raised at the report.
"No doubt, you've already heard about it at the security conference. All across the globe, there has been a rise in unstable behavior on the Net due to an increase in 'Noise'. Large virus outbreaks, malfunctioning electronics, inexplicable corruption of data, NetNavis behaving erratically… it has caused quite a stir."
"You can't possibly be implying that Hoshikawa-kun is the one responsible."
"It's an unfortunate truth." The scientist shook his head in sympathetic dismay. "Whether you choose to believe it or not, all signs indicate that Hoshikawa-kun's presence here is pulling that massive condensed 'Noise' cluster in space towards Earth."
"That's preposterous! He's just a boy."
"Yes, well… There's no need to worry." Dr. Regal mused to himself on the thought. According to his recent analysis, Hoshikawa Subaru was indeed just a human boy. As such, the mystery of how his connection to the red star formed still eluded him. With no information on his identity to be found, even his origins was an enigma. "We're taking all the precautions so that no harm comes to him. I am doing everything in my power to help identify and resolve this matter."
"Where is he now?" Kifune demanded, clearly not satisfied with the explanation. "I read in the reports that you detained him personally. But I don't see any records on his current location."
"We're keeping it a secret for the time being," he explained. "Nebula has shown a strong interest in him. For his safety, I had thought it best to keep the coordinates off the records."
"Even so, that should be no reason to-!"
"If you'll excuse me, Commissioner Kifune. I'd really like to not be delayed." Regal interrupted, annoyance seeping into his tone. "The sooner I complete my work, then the sooner we can let Hoshikawa-kun go free."
"Fine. We'll discuss more at a later date." Kifune reluctantly consented to the man's leave. He hated to admit it, but the position Subaru was in was precarious. Given the other world powers' anxiety over 'Ryuusei', if it were to come out that the boy was also the cause for the recent global Noise outbreak, he imagined it would be more than just Nebula who would be 'interested' in him.
"Thank you for your understanding." Regal bowed slightly once more before exiting. As he made his way down the hall out of earshot, he let out a deep sigh. Having to work with the Net Saviors so closely was stifling to say the least. He could very well leave at any time, but there was some more use he could squeeze out of the temporary alliance.
"Regal-sama." Yuriko appeared from the shadows, ready to give her report. She had been waiting for some time for the meeting with the commissioner to end. "Officer Koyama is on his way over to the Ministry of Science."
"Good. You'll be needing this then. I trust you already know what to do." Regal placed the small item carefully into her hand.
"This is… a dark chip? No… it looks different." Yuriko took a closer look, noting the deep red coloration of the jewel. As she held it, the earring she wore that doubled as a Noise tracker began to ring in her ear. Understanding the implication, she had a good idea on what its purpose was.
"Give it as a 'gift' to whoever I send your way. And tell them to only use it as a 'last resort'. Now go." Regal fixed her a cold stare, as if warning her of a punishment to come if she were to fail to achieve results. As she lowered her head in respect, he turned away to make his way back to the lab. He had much to do in preparation for the next phase of his plans.
A shame that he let the strange 'Navi' get away. It would have saved the trouble of having to go through this process of trial and error to achieve similar results. But with the Darkloids now gathered under Laserman, he had everything he needed to verify his theory before applying it to himself. As the future dominator of this planet, it didn't hurt to be too cautious.
"You're saying… that we don't even need Dimensional Areas anymore?" Burnerman asked with skepticism clear in his voice. It seemed almost too good to be true.
The technical advancement seemed sudden, even given the change in leadership for the group. It was only recently that Dimensional Areas came into common use by them. All the darkloids in attendance waited with bated breaths as they looked up at the throne where Shademan once sat. Taking his place now was the featureless Laserman.
"Yes. The process is still undergoing further tests... but is it not worth the risk?" Laserman announced. The charisma in his voice oozed in a way that was different from Shademan's. It gave the impression that everything said was just a matter of fact. "After all, the dream of all darkloids is to escape the 'prison' known as the Cyber World. Taking that first step is now up to all of you."
"To think that we are already so close to our goal!" Swordman said with glee as he brandished his weapon of choice. "Soon we will show those humans who their superiors really are!"
"Heh heh, it was a good decision for us to abandon Shademan." Sparkman cheered, shameless in his willing betrayal of their former leader. "What did he ever do for us anyways? It was Dr. Regal who provided the Dark Chips to us in the first place."
"SOON. DESTRUCTION OF HUMANITY IMMINENT." Gravityman intoned his own excitement, "DESTRUCTION TO BE COMMENCED."
"An eager bunch I see." Laserman stifled a small chuckle seeing the early celebration from the group. The expression hid more than just a shared excitement for the darkloids' liberation. "So then, who would like to be our first volunteers?"
The young pink haired girl was a bit nervous coming to an office building like this all by herself. While it wasn't necessarily her first time here, she was used to being chaperoned. Something about being an unsupervised kid in an adult's workplace filled her with a feeling of awkwardness.
"Roll, this is the place. Right?" Meiru asked, all the while clutching the cloth wrapped bento to her chest. With her other hand, she took out her PET to double check the address. "It'll be super embarrassing if I walked into the wrong one..."
"No need to be nervous, Meiru-chan." Roll reassured her with a smile. "It's the weekend, so I don't think there will be a lot of people anyways."
"Ah, you're right. W-Why am I freaking out anyways?" She looked up at the towering building ahead of her with conviction, as if the Ministry of Science were an obstacle in itself. "I'm just here to deliver some food for Haruka-san since Netto has been so busy. This is completely normal! Nothing special!"
"He he. That's the spirit!" her partner cheered, pumping her fist as they made their way to the entrance. "Oh! I already have the scan of Dr. Hikari's pass on hand. You just need to hold it at the doorway!"
Normally to enter the building, an ID Card would be needed to gain access. With the well known knowledge of her husband frequently forgetting his entry badge at home, Haruka Hikari had the foresight of providing them with a means of entry. There were apparently more spare badges lying around than the scientist cared to admit.
Holding up her PET to the screen of the card reader next to the door, she was greeted instead by an error message prompt.
[In*alid Ide43zcation. Ple+y# sc9n aga$n.]
"Eh? That's strange… it should work." Meiru tilted her head, puzzled at the strange text. She could just barely tell what the original ungarbled message should have been. "Is it a bug?"
"Hmm… I've been hearing a lot about system malfunctions lately. Maybe the card reader has been affected?" Roll attempted to send a message to Rockman who should be inside, but the status showed that it hadn't been read yet. "And it looks like Rockman isn't responding to any of my messages..."
"What should we do…?" Meiru mumbled mostly to herself as she began to think. Scanning the card again didn't seem to make a difference. And while she had thought about having Roll jack into the system, there was a possibility that she could get into major trouble for unauthorized access.
Unbeknownst to her, a certain EM Being was hovering through the skies overhead. "Ugh… where do I even start with finding that Netto kid."
Warrock grumbled to himself as he tried to think up other possible locations. He had already checked Netto's house, his school, and even risked heading back to the Net Savior headquarters again to scope things out. While he could remain invisible to the naked eye, there was a strong chance that the station had some precautions to detect EM beings now. Getting caught was the last thing he wanted to happen.
Looking down at the streets below, it was by pure coincidence that he spotted a familiar pink haired girl.
"Hey, isn't that the girl Netto hangs out with?" The AMian swooped down to get a closer look. Confirming her identity, he rubbed his chin with one of his claws in thought. "What's she doing out here anyways?"
"...Netto… Hurry up and check your messages!" With a sigh, Meiru had turned her back to the door and seated herself on one of the steps in defeat. "How long are you going to make a girl wait?"
Upon hearing her complaint, an idea popped into Warrock's head. All he had to do was check out the mail address signal that the girl had sent out recently. "Heh, I'll just help myself and take a quick peek."
Pulsing into a PET was an easy task, and he'd be in and out before she could even notice. It was, after all, not his first time invading the privacy of others.
However, what he failed to remember was that PETs were not exactly commonly vacant. Immediately upon entering the datascape, he came face to face with a distinctly female pink NetNavi.
The two of them stared at each other in silence, shock plastered across both their faces. To the original occupant, it was the equivalent of a literal home invasion. After taking a moment to register the situation, it was Roll who finally broke the silence.
"Kyaaaaaaaaaaah!"
"Gaaaaaaaaaah!" Warrock yelled his own surprise reaction in response.
"Roll?!" In a panic, Meiru fumbled trying to get her PET out. Just narrowly avoiding accidentally dropping it, she quickly flipped open the screen to see what the emergency was. "What's wrong?! What happened?!"
"M-Monster! A monster just appeared in the PET!" Roll screamed as she began throwing miscellaneous digital furniture and appliances at him.
"Hey! No! You got it all wrong!" Warrock ducked and dodged, all the while waving his hands in the air. As he tried his best to explain himself, a randomly well aimed baseball lodged itself in his mouth followed by a small table smacking him straight across the face. "Ptoo! Ouch! Arg! Stop throwing things at me and just listen!"
"Wait a second, aren't you Subaru-kun's NetNavi? Warrock, right?" Meiru said, immediately recognizing him. While she had only seen him once during the arcade incident, it was hard to forget such a unique looking Navi. "How did you get in my PET?"
Roll finally paused her onslaught of projectiles upon hearing her operator's comment. "Wait… you know this mean-looking brute?"
"Grr… Who're you callin' a brute?!" Warrock grumbled as he rubbed his soar cheek. "Look. It's a lot to explain, but I'm just trying to find that Netto kid. You know where he is?"
"Yeah… I was about to meet up with him." Meiru replied. She got up and turned towards the building behind her. "He's in there, but I can't get in. The card reader for the door is broken."
"Tch, I thought I felt some Noise clusters around here. Hold on, I'll handle it."
"Ah, wait-!" Before she could stop him, the AMian had disappeared from her PET screen. Roll too looked around to verify if he was still inside the terminal.
"Eh? Where did he go?"
"You don't think he actually…" Meiru ran up to the card reader again to see if anything had changed. As she had suspected, the error message displayed was different.
[Inv+nval5 12&CRITICAL ERROR: EMERGENCY UNLOCK ACTIVATED.^3 Inv851 error]
Sparks began to fly off of the device as the screen fizzled out. As the visuals went black, the automatic door slid open as if in defeat. While she had thought the strange Navi would be fixing the program, it was more accurate to say that he brute forced it to work in his favor.
"There. Problem solved." Warrock appeared once more on her PET screen, startling Roll once more as she let out a small yelp. "Now get in there and find that Netto kid for me, will ya?"
"Uh… S-sure..." Meiru nervously nodded, not wanting to get on his bad side. Making her way inside, she silently prayed that she wouldn't be held accountable for the property destruction.
"E-ERRO-R. E-E-E-ERR-OR." Gravityman's form and speech began to fragment under the strain. Though its face never changed, the panicked horror in its rapid stuttering was hard to miss. "AM I AM I I BE BE ING NG D DEL ETE ETD-? I AM AM I-...ETD-..."
As Gravityman's unstable wave body flatlined, red streams of concentrated 'Noise' began to form. Eventually, the crystallization of Crimson was all that was left of the darkloid. It glowed ominously amidst the featureless pitch black server.
"Hm… So this one is a failure. Looks like its form destabilized as soon as the conversion was completed." Dr. Regal had watched with indifference as the Navi came apart at its seams. He knew the transition from program to wave frequency was fraught with complications. A single miscalculation could cause the end result to disperse. "Perhaps it's due to this one's weak 'ego'? Hopefully the other one has a higher chance of success."
"A-Auugh…. W-What… happened… to me?" Swordman stuttered out as he came back into consciousness. He had narrowly missed being a witness to Gravityman's grim fate.
"Good. It looks like you made it, Swordman."
"Huh? Wasn't Gravityman here as well? Did he already make it into the real world?"
The scientist went silent, contemplating a suitable answer. He thankfully had no need to provide one given the darkloid's sudden outburst upon observing the external changes to his anatomy.
"What happened to my body!? This… This wasn't what I signed up for!" The once sword wielding warrior had been reduced to an almost amorphous glowing cloud-only barely recognizably sword-shaped. He lacked even arms with which to grip his weapon of choice. All that was left of his original body was his hilt shaped head. "I thought you said we could manifest in the real world!"
"That's right. And in order to cross the threshold into reality, your body was reconfigured to adapt." Regal explained nonchalantly. Taking a look at another screen, he saw a real-time feed of Yuriko's current coordinates. "All I need now is your patience. There's just one more step."
"Ahhh-If only Rockman were here..." Netto groaned from his face-planted position on one of the desks. The paper pressed against his cheek was littered with multiplication problems that he could see in the corner of his eye. Meijin was kind-or rather cruel enough to help print out the homework he missed that Meiru had sent earlier. "At this rate, I'll even take Meiru-chan's busy body tutoring..."
On most occasions, Rockman would be the one to help him out with his assignments. Meiru too was an expert at explaining things to him in a way that he understood. Enzan on the other hand...
"If you know how to add, you should know how to multiply," he said flatly, not even sparing a glance at the brunette's pout. Netto could swear he saw a smug smile hidden behind the cup of coffee Enzan had brought to his mouth.
"Ugh... Why am I doing homework at a time like this? And what's with you being so relaxed?!" Netto shouted at the top of his lungs. He shot up from his seat, almost ready to flip the desk over in frustration. "Shouldn't we be doing something about-"
"Meijin-san is still making adjustments to our PETs so that it can handle the program." Enzan interrupted, already knowing the train of thought running circles in Netto's head. He hadn't so much as looked away from the news articles he was reading before continuing, "Blues and Rockman are also undergoing-"
"I know, I know!" Netto finally said as he plopped back down in his seat. His restlessness was all the more apparent by his tapping feet. "It's just that… how can I focus on doing homework when Subaru could be in trouble at this very moment?"
"For one thing, we can't just go charging in recklessly without a plan." Setting down the mug, Enzan's expression turned serious as he folded his hands over his mouth in thought. The previous day's events played out in his mind- from his dismissal from the Ryuusei case, Shademan's attack on the station, to Regal's remarkable timing after Laserman's retreat. It was all too perfect. "There's no doubt in my mind that Dr. Regal is either related to or is colluding with Nebula. But what exactly is he planning next…?"
As Enzan trailed off, Netto glanced over at the articles that the other boy had been reading. They ranged from recent reports of abnormally strong virus activity, to the discovery of a seemingly new celestial body in the sky. There were even some general research articles regarding the electromagnetic spectrum and its application in modern day tech.
"That's… the thing Meijin-san mentioned, right? The meteor that some so-called 'Lord of the Undernet' told him about?"
"Yeah. It might be just another reason why Nebula was so interested in 'Ryuusei'. That, and the fact that he's able to transform in the real world-even without a Dimensional Area."
"Subaru and Warrock… It's a lot like Cross Fusion, huh?" Netto recalled seeing the alien first hand. It was shocking at first, but it also sparked his own imagination at the possibilities. "Man… it would be pretty awesome if Rockman and I could do that too."
"I wonder… is it really so different?" Enzan began to speculate. While he was by no means on the same level of scientific knowledge regarding EM technology as Meijin, he had a strong hunch that there were more similarities to Cross Fusion and Subaru's transformation than what was a surface level observation. "Current day wireless connection to the Net occupies the same frequency as radio waves. So hypothetically if a Navi could fluctuate into that spectrum then-Ah-but they would still require mass to work with...So then that would mean…! That must be where Subaru comes in..."
Enzan paused, realizing that he was beginning to ramble as he vocalized his thought process. Turning to see Netto's blank expression, it was obvious that he'd gotten lost somewhere along the way. Steam was beginning to come out of his head as his brain worked in overdrive.
"Ha ha, you catch on quick. Ijuuin-kun." The scientist who had pioneered the development of Cross Fusion itself entered the conversation. As the two boys quickly looked up at his sudden arrival, he gave a friendly wave before continuing with a 'simpler' explanation for his son, "If a Dimensional Area is used to facilitate the synchronization between NetOp and NetNavi who exist in different worlds- then you can say Warrock is a lot like an advanced type of Navi who can adapt his frequency to jump between the real world and cyber world independently. Much like a Navi, he probably doesn't have a physical form when not transformed with Subaru-kun."
"Dad! You're okay!" Netto jumped up from his seat, but quickly paused when he noticed another person stroll up from behind him. In contrast to Dr. Hikari's well rested glowing complexion, a dishevelled Meijin sported prominent bags under his eyes. "Meijin-san! If you're here, that must mean-!"
"Again, there's no need for formalities..." the other scientist mumbled his complaint as he took out the product of his all-nighter's work. From his pocket, he procured the familiar devices. "Your PETs have all been tuned up, and are ready for testing. Now if you'll excuse me… Dr. Hikari, you handle the rest."
After handing the PETs over to the two Net Saviors, Meijin staggered off elsewhere with a weak wave of his hand. No doubt, he was headed to one of the office couches to go collapse into its cushions in peace. Dr. Hikari let out a soft yet nervous chuckle, all the while thinking that he had better remember to treat his work associate to dinner sometime for all the hard work.
"Rockman, how are you doing?" Netto asked. "Feeling any stronger?"
"Hmm… I don't feel any different?" Rockman looked himself over from behind the screen. He knew something had changed, but couldn't quite put his finger on it.
"Status update, Blues?" Flipping open his PET, Enzan checked for any signs of adverse effects. A structural overhaul of a Navi wasn't exactly equivalent to a normal program update.
"No abnormalities detected at the moment." Blues reported back with a nod. There didn't seem to be any changes appearance wise, but that's not to say nothing had changed internally. Looking back at his NetOp, he was quick to notice the still weary expression on the boy's face. "Enzan-sama. Were you able to rest well?"
A brief look of surprise flashed across his face, but it was replaced within the next moment by his usual stern look. In honesty, he had felt unusually restless the whole night. But he saw little point in worrying others about his own problem. "...Yeah. I'm fine. Let's hurry with the trial run."
"About that… We already tried to have Rockman and Blues manifest independently but didn't have much success." Yuuichiro looked a bit sheepish as he explained further, "I think if they synchronize with you two though, they'll be able to use that as a focal point."
"Oh, Netto-kun. Before I forget… Meiru-chan sent a message earlier." Rockman began to say, but found that his message came just a moment too late.
"Netto! So this is where you were."
A familiar pink haired girl poked her head out from behind the corner of the entryway door.
"E-Eh?! Meiru… what are you doing here?!"
"What's with that face!? Shouldn't you be happy to see me?" Meiru pouted, disappointment clearly evident in her tone. Her cheeks puffed slightly in a huff as she held the hefty packed bento up. "Here! I just came to deliver this since Haruka-san was busy!"
"Meiru! You're a lifesaver!" Netto cheered at the sight-though Meiru wasn't sure if it was for her or for the food.
"Finally found you, bandana-boy!"
Rockman let out an almost girlish scream as the AMian appeared right beside him. For a moment, he thought a ghost had somehow manifested to haunt Netto's PET. "Wait… Warrock?! How did you get in here?"
"And who are you calling 'bandana-boy'?!" Netto snapped back as he fished out his PET again.
"Did you say Warrock? He's here?" Enzan asked, surprised at the second unexpected visitor. "Wasn't he with Subaru?"
"Yeah, about that..." Warrock began to explain, but paused as if sensing something amiss. He looked around, as if trying to ascertain what exactly it was. "Huh... this PET. It feels a lot like the Hunter VG."
"Hunter VG?" Rockman tilted his head slightly before realizing what he was referring to. "Oh, is that what Subaru's PET model was called?"
Warrock turned to look at the Navi besides him. His eyes squinted as he brought his face closer to scrutinize him. Rockman seemed to shrink as the beastly creature looked him over from head to toe. "And you're different too… Did you-?"
"Ouch! Hey-!" Meiru shouted as someone grabbed her wrist from behind and hoisted her arm up.
"Hmph, bringing your little schoolmates into confidential Net Police business? I should have expected such unprofessional behavior from a bunch of brats like you two."
"Officer Koyama… I didn't expect you to visit us at the lab." Dr. Hikari tried his best to diffuse the situation, but it proved ineffective in deterring the oncoming storm. "To what do we owe this unexpected visit?"
Throwing the girl down, it was only thanks to Netto's quick reaction that he was able to catch her before she hit the ground hard. The bento she held was not so lucky as its contents unceremoniously spilled across the floor.
"Meiru!" Netto glared up at the unwelcome guest. "Hey, what gives?"
"Hmph, you two really pulled one over me last night." Koyama ignored them both before turning his sights on Enzan. From the way he looked, it was clear the older official held a more personal vendetta against him. "Ijuuin-kun, I'd like you to return the evidence you so kindly stole from headquarters."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Enzan replied coolly, not letting the officer's intimidation phase him in the slightest. "Besides, do you have a warrant to conduct a search?"
"Don't play coy with me. You had no right to take that item out!"
"As a matter of fact, I do have that right. After all, I was the one who provided Subaru with IPC's latest model PET as a trade for it." The young Net Savior smirked as he watched the man begin to fume. The sharp knowing glint in his eyes taunted him further.
"You impudent little-!"
The limit of his anger reaching its peak, Koyama pushed past Netto and began stomping towards the other boy. As he drew close to grab Enzan by the collar of his shirt, the young Net Savior deftly lifted his arms to lock the man's advancing grip with his wrists. Leveraging his weight atop, he smashed his knee hard into the man's gut. With the wind knocked out of him, the belligerent officer crumpled to the floor gripping his stomach as he let out a low groan.
"Heh heh, looks like that guy is all bark and no bite." Warrock couldn't help but laugh as he watched the man get his just desserts. "Serves the guy right for coming here and acting as if he owns the place."
"W-Warrock… that's a bit mean." Rockman couldn't help but note that the AMian enjoyed watching Koyama's misery far too much. As he made to quiet him down, Rockman suddenly felt something akin to a sharp jolt in his system. He could hear a soft ring that he had now grown accustomed to identifying. "Wait… do you feel that? Is this 'Noise'?"
"Yeah… but that's not all..." Warrock immediately stopped to try and identify the feeling as well. "There's another EM being here..."
"It must be frustrating… isn't it? Humiliated by some brat..."
"Who…?" An unknown voice called out to Koyama who laid hunched on the floor. Turning his head up, he saw something otherworldly. A ghostly sword hovered over him, staring down as if about to pass judgement. "W-What are you...?! A m-monster?!"
"Who are you talking to…?" Enzan asked, taken aback by the man's wide eyed stare. He looked towards the space that Koyama's gaze was transfixed on, but saw nothing besides thin air.
"Hmph… if you can hear my voice, then I guess that Dr. Regal was right. Humans like you are the most suitable 'candidates'." From what was explained to Swordman, negative feelings were the easiest to amplify and manipulate. He wasn't entirely sure he understood the details of wave-changing with a human, but the idea of having a material body unrestricted to the Net was enticing enough to try. "Though I'm loath to even think about a human operating a Navi… I never imagined there would come a day that we'll be the ones doing the puppeteering."
"S-Stay back! Get away from me!" Koyama scrambled to escape, using what strength he had left to crawl away from the strange creature. The effort proved futile however as the EM Wave-turned Swordman plunged into his retreating back.
Not even a scream could escape from the officer as his body began to be enveloped. The room flooded with light, forcing everyone present to shield their eyes from the glare. Emerging from the dimming glow, what was once Officer Koyama had now turned into a perfect likeness of Swordman himself.
Netto gaped at the sight. He took a quick look at his surroundings, verifying that a Dimensional Area hadn't even formed over the area. "W-What the heck?"
"Is that… Is that even possible?" Meiru clutched Netto's arm tightly, fear making its way into her heart. The thought of a person without warning being consumed like that had her shaken.
Warrock grimaced too, noting the distinctly non-humanoid form the EM Wave transformation produced. Normally, his kind were careful to preserve the original form of the host to a degree in order to reduce the bodily strain. Reconfiguring the human body in such a way boded a high risk of fatality. "That guy… What a reckless thing to do..."
"Ha ha ha! So this is what it feels like to materialize." Swordman relished his newfound freedom. As he took in the surroundings of the 'real world' before him, he could hardly believe that his dream had been made reality. Not only that, but another strong emotion had been tugging at him ever since the merge. He turned his attention now to Enzan who remained stunned at the sight. "I feel it… the anger and frustration that this human had. And it's all directed at..."
Slowly unsheathing one of the swords on his back, the newly reborned Darkloid began to move towards him. Seeing his approach, Enzan staggered back to make room for himself to maneuver away. His attempted retreat though was well within the Darkloid's expectations. In the blink of an eye, Swordman had practically warped next to the young Net Savior with his sword already raised above him like a guillotine.
"The least I could do is fulfill this human's wish. No hard feelings, boy."
"Enzan!" Netto yelled out, but he was nowhere close to being able to help.
As the blade came crashing down, he threw his arms up to block the strike. Knowing fully well that it would do little to protect him, Enzan squeezed his eyes shut while clenching his teeth to brace himself. However, the expected impact never came.
"Enzan-sama!"
A loud clang resounded.
It was strange. He felt as if he heard Blues' voice, but not from his PET. It was almost as if his partner was standing right beside him. Slowly opening his eyes, what he saw was something unimaginable in his wildest dreams. Blocking Swordman's strike with a blade of his own was an all too familiar red Navi.
"Blues?" Enzan gasped, his breath taken away by his close brush with death.
Turning his head slightly to look back at his NetOp, Blues gave a reassuring smile. "I'm glad I made it on time…"
"A 'Real Wave' projection! So I was right..." Warrock had half expected as much, given the hardware upgrades he observed in Netto's PET. Still, the technological advancement was a surprising feat given the short span of time since he had last seen them. "You two are a lot more like 'Wizards' now, eh?"
"'Wizards'? So then, are you saying I can do that too?" Rockman pointed to himself, all too eager to jump into action as well. "How do I do it?"
"Can't say I know how it works for you 'NetNavi' turned Wizards but…" Warrock scrutinized Rockman once more before focusing again on the materialized Blues. "Probably the kid being in danger was the trigger for that red guy to manifest."
"Hmph, you must be confident challenging me to a swordfight." The darkloid scoffed as he pressed down with greater strength. Being wave-changed with a host, he was able to exert his original power and more. "What can a NetOp dependent Navi like you do against me alone?"
"That's where you're wrong." Enzan countered back, his PET at the ready and loaded with his synchro chip. "Not as long as I'm here."
As the PET let out a successful chime, Blues began to glow in response. Surging with new found strength, he broke the stalemate of their locked swords before turning towards Enzan with an outstretched hand. Sharing a nod, Enzan in sync reached to grab Blues' hand. As they touched, the soft illumination exploded into a brilliant light.
When Enzan opened his eyes, he found himself floating in a featureless white space. It briefly came to mind that this could very well be what the afterlife looked like. Looking at his hands, he breathed a sigh of relief after observing that he appeared normal.
"Where am I…?" he muttered to himself, trying to gather his surroundings. Sensing another presence behind him, he quickly turned around to see Blues silently watching him. He still couldn't believe how the Navi he had always watched behind a screen now stood before him larger than life. "Blues…?"
"Enzan-sama... the strain on your body will be demanding. It'll be dangerous, even more so than Cross Fusion." Blues' voice was hesitant, as if unsure if he should continue. He never questioned his NetOp's orders. And as his Navi, he had always been content with supporting him in all his endeavors. But now, seeing him recklessly charge forward and slowly burn himself out made him uneasy. "I… I'm worried that you might..."
"I know, Blues. I'm… sorry for always worrying you. " Enzan cut in, already knowing what was on his partner's mind. "But there are things I have to do. And I need your help to do it."
Though caught off guard by Enzan's uncharacteristic sentimentality, Blues simply returned a wry smile. Accepting his NetOps conviction, he voiced his acknowledgement as usual. "Roger that."
His blade appeared to cut through light as the illumination that hid R Blues' form was dispelled. Though he looked no different appearance wise, the sensation was completely different from that of Cross Fusion. Rather than Blues' power being layered over him, his physical body had changed into something else entirely. He felt light-or rather, the feeling may have been closer to complete weightlessness.
"I-It's a success..." Yuuichiro said under his breath. He had doubts that the experimental wave-change would work on a first attempt-but attributed it as a testament to the strength of the bond the two already shared.
"Ugh-No one told me that you would be able to fight back…!" Cautious, Swordman retreated back a step to grasp the situation. He assumed the mission would be simple: Break in and take back the 'unique' PET that the two were hiding. With his newfound ability to manifest in the real world without a Dimensional Area, it would have been like taking candy from a baby. But now, standing before him was another Navi in the flesh.
Glancing over at Netto who still had Meiru clinging to his arm, he wondered if the brunette also had the same ability. Taking the opportunity to strike before he could join the fray, the darkloid lunged with his great sword in hand. "I'll take care of you first!"
"Like I'll let you-!"
Traveling faster than the eye can track, R Blues appeared ahead of Swordman with an Area Steal. In one fluid motion, he swung to parry Swordman's thrust. Knocking him off balance by the sheer difference in strength, he struck true with a flurry of sword strikes.
"Netto, get her and Dr. Hikari out of here now! I'll handle him." R Blues motioned for them to back away while Swordman reeled from the blow.
"R-Right! Thanks for the save. Come on, Meiru. Let's go!" Netto was quick to act as he pulled Meiru along. "You better save some action for me, Enzan!"
"Heh, no guarantees on that." R Blues replied.
"Don't get cocky just because of a lucky hit…!" Swordman clutched his wounded side as he glared at the red sword fighter. His pride was hurt, not only by being out matched by a human-but also as a swordsman. Taking out his ace in the whole, he materialized his gifted dark chip to turn the tides of the battle. "I'll end you before that other brat comes back!"
After verifying that the others had made their escape, R Blues refocused his attention towards the recovering darkloid. Unphased by the threat, he readied his blade in preparation for the oncoming attack.
Immediately upon infiltrating the Ministry of Science, Yuriko had hacked into the security cameras to relay the video feed to Dr. Regal. After releasing the experimental wave-being, she was tasked with monitoring the results of his fusion with a human host.
While they were aware that there was a high potential of valuable information being held on the device they were after, she didn't think that the two young Net Saviors would be able to put it into application so fast.
"Regal-sama… should I go out there to support Swordman?"
"No, it doesn't matter if he's deleted." he relayed back. From a remote location, Dr. Regal was analyzing the battle with great interest. Unlike the unstable fusion of Swordman and Koyama, the boy had ultimately achieved exactly what he was after. It was the perfect example of an 'EM Navi' and its wave-change with a human. He couldn't help but grin at how fortunate he was. "Be ready though, we can make use of the aftermath."
"KAH HA HaAa!" Swordman cackled with glee as he released a large shockwave from his swing. Powered up by the strange dark chip, the sonic blade cleaved through the floor. Sparks flew as the machinery caught in the crossfire was destroyed. "ThIs pOWer! It'S MInE! KA HAAaaAah!"
"The Noise levels increased dramatically..." Blues' voice echoed in his head. "I don't think what he used was a normal dark chip."
"He's lost his mind…!" Enzan cursed as he dodged the erratic attacks. He had wanted to avoid as much collateral damage as possible, but the berserk state of the darkloid made it difficult to approach tactically. "If only we can stop his movements somehow..."
As if fighting for dominance on who could control the main body, the three swords from which Swordman's personalities were stored kept shifting between attacks. The pitch of his voice interweaved between the three, and sometimes an unsettling fourth. "I-IInjUUin-kUN! I'LL sHOW yOu! I'lL SHoW YoU I aM yOUR SUpERiOR!"
"Koyama..." Enzan said under his breath. As much as he disliked the man, he would never have wished this sort of fate on him.
"Resonating Noise Confirmed. Respond…?"
"Who-?" Upon hearing the unknown voice, R Blues looked around to see who it belonged to. He noticed immediately how white colored Noise fragments began to materialize around him. Before he could question it, Blues was quick to fill him in.
"It's the Noise Change system!" Blues explained as concisely as he could, already familiar with the details of the Ace Program's capabilities. "It's similar to a 'Style Change'. Should we-?"
"Let's do it." Enzan confirmed without hesitation. "Noise Change!"
Noise fragments coalesced and reformed as a large spike over each shoulder-one black and one white. His gloves shifted to a monochrome color to match, while the red hues of his body transitioned into a vibrant yellow. As the changes began to finalize, static filled his ears as the robotic voice of the Meteor Server conveyed all the information he needed to know.
"Gemini Noise!"
He felt as if every fiber of his body was quivering uncontrollably. Maintaining the new form was taxing him, both physically and mentally. But armed with the knowledge of its capabilities, R Blues knew that this battle would end swiftly.
"It's over for you!" R Blues shouted as he charged in with a long sword in hand. As the swing struck, electricity crackled across Swordman's body. No longer capable of articulating coherent speech, the sound of static was the only thing emitted from the darkloid's mouth as it froze paralyzed by the strike. Not giving him a second to recover, R Blues accessed the hacked battle card data for the finishing blow. "Break Saber!"
As the sharp point of the needle-like sword pierced him, Swordman let out a final screech as he began to dematerialize. Bursting into streams of light, the dispersed data fragments reformed into an unconscious Koyama.
"Is… Is it over?" R Blues huffed, trying to catch his breath.
As soon as his battle tensed nerves began to relax, the wave-change came undone. All the strength was drained from his body, not unlike when he first attempted Cross Fusion. His legs finally giving out on him, Enzan began to fall over but was caught by a materialized Blues before he could hit the floor.
"Are you alright?"
"Y-Yeah. Thank you, Blues." Enzan stuttered out in surprise. It would take him a while to get used to seeing his Navi like this. Finally taking a moment to calm himself, Enzan knelt down to verify Koyama's condition. "Good… he's still alive. Blues, can you call an ambulance? And send a message to headquarters with an update on the situation."
"Right away." Blues gave a nod before disappearing in a flash of blue and pulsing back into his PET.
As Enzan was getting ready to pull the officer over his shoulder, he noticed something glimmer from the corner of his eye. The strange dark chip that Swordman had used gleamed innocently on the floor. On closer inspection, he noticed that amidst the wreckage, red crystalized Noise fragments were scattered all around as well.
"This is... " He reached out to touch one of the glowing fragments, but was quickly stopped.
"Be careful. It's dangerous to handle Crimson like that directly." Blues warned.
"I see. We better find a way to get rid of it then…"
As the two of them contemplated on their next course of action, the sound of footsteps and a slow clap drew their attention to the doorway.
"You sure put on quite the show." Yuriko commented as she looked about the destruction in the wake of the battle.
"'Yuriko', was it? I knew Nebula had to be pulling the strings here." Struggling to steady himself up again, Enzan tried his best to show a battle ready stance. "Where are you keeping Subaru?"
"Worried? There's no need. We've been taking good care of him." Yuriko playfully answered as she crossed her arms. She had little to fear from a boy who could barely even stand to fight. "And in return, he's been kindly assisting us in our work. He really is a good boy."
"What is Nebula planning to do with him?"
"Well for starters, how about we handle cleaning up this mess for you?" She motioned towards the Crimson that was left in the aftermath of Swordman's deletion. "You'll be seeing him in action soon enough. This amount of Noise should be enough for him."
As if on her signal, the custom dark chip on the floor began to crackle. Hearing the sparks, Enzan was quick to retreat a few steps before it erupted at his feet. The explosion shattered the space in front of him, revealing a black rift similar to what he had seen produced at the station.
Half expecting another darkloid, it surprisingly wasn't a new enemy that reached out from the Noise Wave-but Subaru himself. More precisely, it was Subaru in his form as 'Ryuusei'. Enzan could barely make out the other boy's vacant stare hidden behind the red visor.
"Subaru? But how…?" Enzan looked at him with a mixture of shock and confusion. It struck him as strange that he still maintained his wave-changed form even without Warrock.
As if answering his train of thought, something else trailed behind Subaru from the rift. Its initial silhouette could have very well been confused for Warrock, but the normally green energy coloration was replaced by a hazy red. Blue armor was substituted with black, and its face was more dragonic in appearance.
Seeing fresh prey, the mysterious Noise composed creature wasted no time before lashing out with its claws. Attempting to retreat, Enzan found his back hit against overturned desks and debris. Before it could rip into him though, they were met with the very claws that it attempted to imitate.
"Kuh-damn! Can't believe you're still alive and kickin'." Warrock growled as he pushed the pale copy back. "Ooy, kid! Are you really going to let the Crimson Dragon we defeated control you like this?!"
Upon hearing the familiar voice, a glimmer of Subaru's consciousness began to bubble back up. "War...rock...?"
"So that's where you ran off to." Yuriko clicked her tongue upon seeing the AMian's appearance. "I should have known you'd meet up with these two."
Feeling threatened, the phantom of the Crimson Dragon let out a roar. Drawing all of the Crimson in the area towards it, a giant pair of wings sprouted from its back. It promptly folded them over Subaru, both separating the two and initiating its desired metamorphosis.
"A-Auugh.. Aah...F-Finalize…!" Subaru choked out the words as the Noise flooded to him. His armor mutated, but not to the normally dark hue of Black Ace. Dyed instead to a crimson color, his shoulder guards reformed into a bulkier build. Replacing the crimson wings were now two circular disks that emitted an orange yellow glow. Cradling his head, the finalized warrior said its name through gritted teeth. "...Red Joker!"
Lifting a shaking hand towards Warrock, the AMian had thought Subaru still maintained a level of control as he did with Black Ace. However, his assumption proved incorrect as Noise began to condense into his palm before shooting out as a giant laser.
"What the…!" Barely avoiding the point blank attack, Warrock cursed as he helplessly watched Subaru struggle against the destructive impulses of the Crimson Dragon. He had always helped to manage and regulate the Noise levels when they were together. No doubt, the embodiment of the Meteor G core took his absence as an opportunity to force itself out. "I should have never left him if things were going to turn out this way..."
The circular Noise generating discs flew across the room, dread lasers shooting out erratically at everything around Red Joker. Forced to scatter, Warrock reluctantly backed off to dodge. Materializing once more, Blues grabbed Enzan and quickly darted out of the way with him in tow to safety.
Not even Yuriko was safe, as she rolled out of the way to dodge the stray beams. Despite the ensuing chaos and destruction of the Ministry of Science being a boon for Nebula, Yuriko bit her lip in dismay. While the initial plan was just to retrieve the Crimson generated from Swordman's defeat, she hadn't expected for the core to go wild. She could only imagine the punishment she would receive if they were to lose control of their access point to the Meteor Server.
"Blues, thanks again for the save." As his feet touched solid ground once more, Enzan reached for his PET with synchro chip in hand. Before he could insert it though, his hand was stopped by Blues himself.
"Your body won't be able to handle another battle," the red navi stated. Pausing slightly as if contemplating his next choice of words, his tone turned deathly serious. "Enzan-sama. I know you still have it. Use that dark chip on me."
"What?! Why would I-"
"At this rate, the whole building will come down with you in it." Blues interrupted, knowing full well that his NetOp would vehemently refuse. "I may not be able to defeat him, but I should be able to give you an opening to escape."
"No… I…" Enzan couldn't make that decision. Or rather, he didn't want to make that decision. He watched as Warrock charged at Red Joker again and was struck away easily with a flaming uppercut. The force sent the AMian flying, but not out of the battle. Despite his tenacity though, it was clear who would be the ultimate victor in a drawn out battle.
Shifting his gaze, Red Joker stared straight at Enzan and Blues. His crimson eyes fixed on them, he intoned, "Are you… my… enemy?"
It was the same question he had heard before. At that time, and even now, Enzan couldn't give an answer.
Helplessness and failure. He refused to experience that again. Holding up his PET, he gave an almost apologetic look towards Blues as he acted selfishly once more.
"I'm sorry, Blues. But I'm not letting you take the fall by yourself."
To the navi's dismay, it wasn't just the dark chip that he loaded in-but also the synchro chip.
AN: Next chapter will take me a little while due to End Walker coming out. So I hope you enjoyed this extra long chapter in the meanwhile!
