Moonlit Destiny
Author's Note: Wrote this eighteen years ago. It's full of cringe and OOC moments, but I'm preserving it for posterity. Enjoy the story and R&R.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to or of the Rockman EXE series.
Pairing: Established Netto x Tohru.
Summary:
Dark Chip Syndicate Nebula begins production on a reality-altering weapon. Amidst the chaos, Hikari Netto and his friends must battle countless Darkloids and creatures of another world to save their own.
Chapter 21: Reminiscence
Netto was expecting the hellhounds' claws and teeth to sink into him any second. What's taking so long? How come they haven't killed me yet?
A soft blue glow shone behind him, enveloping each of the dogs one by one. Beautiful, yet silent and depressing at the same time, the light's cold expanse. In mere moments, it had subsided, leaving a black path in the fog. The hounds were gone, incinerated by the luminescence.
Netto stood up, wiping a small patch of mud from his cheek. "I guess it's best if I follow it."
In what seemed like an hour, Netto decided to take a break. He sat, perplexed by the bare, almost metallic reflectivity of the ground and conspicuous lack of any more creatures.
"This is the Memory Scape," a quiet voice whispered.
"It's you!" Netto's mind filled with questions when he saw the same child from before.
"Yes," the child answered.
"Who are you? Why do you keep following me?" Netto demanded.
"I'm not following you. Your own will to see me makes it so. You've descended into the madness of Paradise Lost, but you find comfort believing I exist."
"You said that this place is called the Memory Scape, didn't you?"
"Yes, this is the Memory Scape. The location in Paradise Lost with the most concentrated sadness and sorrow. This is a place of death and despair, more so than the rest of this world."
"You led me here?"
"Indeed. You wanted to save yourself. I helped subtly."
"I still don't know who you are."
"You already know who I am. You've seen the past you cannot lose…" He put a hand on Netto's forehead.
"Do you want to try?" the boy asked.
The other boy remained silent, responding only with a nod.
"Let's be friends forever!" They both grasped a toy shovel simultaneously.
"It's that vision again!" Netto pounced. "You're in it! Why?"
"It is a memory. One that cannot be lost, but also one you cannot recall."
"A memory?" Netto grasped his arm, wrinkling his bandana.
A cold wind suddenly blew through the glassy hills. Circular objects appeared around them, floating towards Netto. He touched one, pulling his hand away when he felt pain shoot through his index finger.
"These are your memories," the short boy explained. "What you bumped into earlier, that was a memory too. But a shared memory. Not only yours."
"Not only mine?"
"It's mine as well," the pale boy replied.
"Then the boy with you in the vision…That's me?" Netto pressed.
"Yes. You cannot remember. It was a long time ago. You were young."
"I don't understand. Who are you then?"
The boy paused, moving his small hands to his hood. He pulled it back slowly, revealing his solemn, unobscured visage.
"My name is Hikawa Tohru."