A/N: Thanks to Mistrevar (DA)/Zephyra Cobalt (FanFiction) for helping me out again and coming up with the name for the criminal organization!
Anyway, slow chapter, but I felt that Netto and Forte deserved some rest after all they went through.
Also, check out my profile for a wonderful fanart by SoulAura777
Anyway, I do not own Rockman and anything coming from Capcom. I do own the plot idea, though. And the writing. Yep. Writing's mine.
Az
.
.
It had been roughly one day since he had first woken up in SciLabs, and floating inside a room barely large enough to contain three people without them bumping into each other for hours was starting to make Netto really restless. It was only thanks to the occasional whispered banter with Forte, which drew stares from Rockman and Blues, that he was able to stop himself from blowing the Dimensional Area up and leave.
There was another problem that was surfacing and that was even more pressing than boredom. And that was the fact that he was starting to get really hungry. Shifting his hand under a newly summoned cloak, the boy pressed a hand onto his bandaged middle and watched as Meijin and Yuichiro discussed about what to do with him.
So far he had managed to keep his real identity hidden with the use of his cloak and by keeping his eyes hidden behind the rim of his helm, but he knew that Rockman was starting to be suspicious. Sure, he didn't know what bothered him, but the blue navi knew something fishy was up and had rarely averted his gaze from him.
Floating closer to the wall of the Dimensional Area, he placed a hand onto it and tested its durability. As he had expected, it was weak compared to the larger dome and every time he tapped a finger to it, he could see the surface ripple with an unusual humming sound.
Before everyone mistook his action as an attempt to escape, he floated back to his usual corner and watched as Blues and Rockman gazed at him with worried faces before resuming talking to each other in hushed tones. Netto knew they were tense, he could see it in their stiff stance, and Enzan was always present unless he had something really urgent to take care of or he needed to sleep. In that case, he would leave his PET to Meijin, trusting him to keep Blues safe until he came back.
How long are they planning to keep us in here? Forte grumbled, annoyed at the fact that he had to play being weak and unable to escape. Do they really think I could be held by such flimsy walls?
Netto slightly lowered his head into his cloak so that only his eyes were left out. "Let them think that," he whispered back in a very faint voice, knowing that Forte would hear it anyway. "I trust my dad and the others, but I want to know if they can stop the other scientists of SciLabs from harming us."
Like they could, the navi snorted. I can kill them all with a single finger.
Netto frowned and shifted his eyes from the two navis standing on the other end of the small room to his father. "I know. But I don't want to kill them, and I don't want to have to watch my back all the time while I'm here. It would be tiresome…"
I still don't understand why you haven't told them who you are, though. Forte sounded genuinely confused this time and his voice was so calm that Netto could mistake it for gentle. What stops you from telling them?
The boy wordlessly leaned against the Dimensional Area's wall and slid down to sit on the ground, his cape leaving out only his lower legs. "I thought I told you before," he muttered, his eyes back onto Blues and Rockman. "You own this body as much as I do. It would be unfair of me to force you into something you are reluctant to do. Besides, might I remind that we partially share our feelings?"
Forte didn't reply, but Netto felt that the navi was musing at what he had said. Leaving him to his thoughts, and glad that they weren't sharing those too, he brought his left hand up to scratch at the bandages on his side. Between the dried blood and whatever medication they had applied there, the cut was starting to itch and become uncomfortable. He really needed to change them and give his wound another cleansing, but he had no supplies inside the Dimensional Area and the only way to get them was to break out of his prison. And cause a lot of panic.
Another way was for Enzan to enter the Dimensional Area using the energy of Cross Fusion as a shield. That way he would be able to carry along some medical supplies, but Netto knew he couldn't just walk up to Blues and suggest that or he would be instantly discovered.
You make no sense, boy.
Netto raised an eyebrow. "Boy?" he asked in amusement, a hint of a smile gracing his lips. "You upgraded my status from 'measly, filthy and useless human' to 'boy'? I'm grateful."
Taken off guard, Forte took a few more seconds than usual to display his indignation at the verbal jab his host had given him. Stop muttering to yourself. If you wan tot impersonate me, shut up, he hissed vehemently. Your friends are looking at us in a way I do not like. Human.
Glancing up at Rockman and Blues from behind the safety of his helmet and cloak once again, Netto noticed that Forte was right. The two navis were looking at him like he had grown a second head. Not that it would surprise him if it really happened. They were so messed up that not even the navi he was stuck with was able to make head or tail of what they had done to them.
Forcing himself to not laugh at the other two's faces, the boy huddled into himself a little more and winced as the movement disturbed the healing gash on his side. He shifted into a more comfortable position and brought his left hand to it, retracting it and bringing it in front of his eyes once he felt wetness.
Not having noticed earlier because of him being too busy staying out of sight, he was amazed how well he could feel stuff despite the spandex-like gloves enveloping his hands and the rest of his body. The amazement, however, was quickly replaced by annoyance as his eyes saw that his white fingers were coated in a red liquid.
"Great," he grunted, returning his hand to his side and pressing it to the bandages to limit the blood loss. "It opened again…"
Too busy trying to not lose too much blood, Netto never noticed when Blues and Rockman disappeared from the Dimensional Area, nor when the psychedelic walls faded a few minutes later. What he noticed, though, were the legs belonging to three people standing still in front of him. Neither too close nor too far away.
He didn't look up for fear of letting his brown eyes be seen, but he recognized the people by what they were wearing. Enzan's camo pants, Meijin's plain dark green ones and the more business-like dark brown of his father. Both older men had their lab-coats on and were standing slightly further away from him than Enzan was.
"Forte," his father called out, inducing an involuntary shiver to run down his back. Netto knew that he meant no harm to him, but Forte still felt too uncomfortable around him to let him any closer without attacking. "We need to change those bandages."
Yuichiro was genuinely worried as he held out a white box with a red cross on it, but that didn't stop Netto from standing up and sliding away, careful to keep his eyes hidden from view. He was halted, however, when his father outstretched a hand. "Wait," he called hastily in fear of losing one of the very few opportunities to talk with him. "Please, wait…"
The boy turned to fully face the older scientist, floated backwards a few steps and inclined his head in a motion that meant that he was listening.
"I know that your past experience with SciLabs wasn't nice at all," the man began, eyes locked onto the mysterious cloaked figure standing in front of him while he felt the tension between them all become so dense that he could almost touch it with his fingers. "But I know that you're here for a reason other than destroying us. That you need our help, as much as you hate to admit it…"
Yuichiro dearly hoped that his words wouldn't trigger Forte's anger and make him go into a destructive rampage. Wanting to show his good will, he held the first aid kit up again and offered it to the navi. "I'm serious, Forte. Your wound really needs to be treated."
Still pressing his hand to the now drenched bandages, Netto watched his father as best as he could without revealing his eyes. Then he shifted his gaze onto Enzan and Meijin, whom where both nervous and ready to bolt into action if necessary, and lastly onto the offered medical supplies.
Netto remained where he was, unable to decide what to do. Forte's distrust and hate were strong, but they both knew that they couldn't just float around with an open and bleeding wound. It was suicide, especially since a lot of people were still after whatever code the navi had.
Slowly snaking his right hand out of his cloak and past the scarf-like extension – he should tie them at his back again or even find out why they were there when they were apparently useless – he grabbed the kit and floated further away from the trio of people that had released their breaths into a collective sigh of relief. Opening the lid with his thumb, he let his eyes skim over the contents.
A few rolls of gauze, a bottle of disinfectant, sealed cotton swabs, a few syringes, some smaller bottles of what could be antibiotics and several other trinkets useful in an emergency.
"I'm not sure I can take care of the cut myself, Forte," Netto whispered, eyes returning to the three people standing in front of him expectantly. "It's hard to reach for me, and from what Meijin said, it's something extensive…"
Understanding the dilemma they were facing, the navi grunted in displeasure. Fine, fine, he grumbled out, knowing that there was no other way around it. Even he had to admit that taking care of that particular cut on their side would be troublesome. But at one condition…
"Yes, yes," Netto interrupted him before he could explain his idea. "One wrong move, and we're out of here."
Smiling to himself because he was starting to finally understand how Forte thought enough to anticipate him, the boy held the first aid kit out to his father in a clear sign that he would let them take care of his wounds.
Yuichiro took the offered box back slowly. He knew that one wrong move would break the newly formed, and very weak, trust he had gained from the navi. "Come?" he asked softly as he motioned with his head the glass door of the Dimensional Area's roomy device before he made his way to it accompanied by Meijin and Enzan.
The man had asked them to let him handle the situation entirely, but they had refused in letting him face Forte on his own. Letting Rockman take charge of the Dimensional Area Generator to activate it if it was necessary, Enzan and Blues were ready to do a Cross Fusion the moment the black navi did a wrong move. Meijin, although there was nothing he could really do if Forte attacked, he was too curious and had to be present anyway.
.
.
The odd procession that was created when Yuichiro, Meijin and Enzan started to led Forte through SciLabs attracted many stares. For the most part people whispered in wonder and fear at the presence of the navi that had a bad history with the place they worked for, but sometimes Netto could feel stares of hatred burning a hole into the back of his head.
Not wanting to incur his wrath, nor be fired because they went against their boss's wish to help the navi, however, the older scientists that remembered Forte's exploits in the past remained hidden where they were or left the premises with muttered words of disdain.
Pathetic, Forte snorted in disgust at the cowardly display of those people and easily catching their words thanks to the enhanced hearing he had gained with Cross Fusion. They hated him, but all they did was to hide and try to find a way to stab him in the back when he wasn't looking.
"I don't like their stares either," Netto replied softly as he watched another, younger, scientist scurrying away and locking himself into a room. "What happened between you and SciLabs, anyway?"
It's none of your business…
Sighing softly at Forte's reluctance on revealing what really happened in his past, he gave a quick glance at the trio leading him. His father and Meijin hadn't noticed, but Enzan, being the closest to him, had caught the faint whispering. Netto immediately snorted and hid into the rim of his cloak as much as he could.
Tension rose between him and the white haired boy, so Netto was perfectly happy when Yuichiro stopped and opened a seemingly random door at the end of one of SciLabs's many corridors. "The infirmary, but I suppose you still remember SciLabs' layout well enough to not need the information."
Slowly floating past his father, Netto entered the room and stopped in the middle of it, looking around. He had been in there once or twice because of the injuries he had gotten when he fought with Rockman in a Cross Fusion, but he had never stopped to observe the room.
There were two beds on one end, some machine on his left and a desk on his right. The room itself was small, and despite the smell of disinfectant and Forte's ever growing paranoia, it felt comfy. Meijin sat at the desk and turned the computer on to let Rockman log into it while Enzan took his place near the door with crossed arms and Yuichiro patted one of the beds in the room.
Netto tensed his body. Despite knowing that his father really meant well, Forte still didn't want a human to lay a finger on him. No matter how much he needed the help. Taking a deep and slow breath to steady himself, the boy parted his cape, let it rest at his back and sat on the bed with a frown on his lips. The sooner he dealt with this, the better.
Yuichiro didn't wait and instantly set to work on who he believed was Forte. His hands gently unwrapped the navi's side and winced as the blood slowly gushed past the dematerialized data and down his hip to land on the bed. It remained there for a while then started to dematerialize too.
Since the navi's blood had never done that before, he spent a few seconds on examining the phenomenon, then, storing the information for later study, he grabbed a cloth and pressed it against the open cut. "Well, at least the infection has receded to almost nothing," he commented, looking up at the stoic Forte. Considering his hate, he had expected him to flinch or at least growl at the touch. "The cut doesn't seem to be sealing up, though. I might have to stitch it up…"
At the mention of stitches, Netto barely managed to not flinch. Was the cut on his side that deep? His eyes shifted from his father, whom had his head bowed and was cleaning the wound from all the blood, to Meijin speaking with Rockman in a hushed voice. Not really interested in their conversation, he turned his attention to Enzan.
The official NetBattler was still leaning against the wall next to the door and with his arms crossed while his blue eyes never strayed from him. In return to the stare, Netto smiled and watched from beyond the safety of his cloak and helmet how Enzan's eyes narrowed and his mouth pulled downwards into a light frown.
He and Rockman are becoming too suspicious… Forte commented, keeping his senses on full alert and especially focused on the hands tampering with their side. They know something's up.
Netto's smile grew only by a fraction, but it was noticed nonetheless by his friend on the other side of the room. He knew that people would become suspicious of Forte's odd behavior, especially Enzan and Rockman, but the two still lacked important pieces to the puzzle to realize the truth.
"Looks like I have to stitch it after all," Yuichiro said, drawing everyone's attention to him. He turned his head to look at Meijin and nodded, silently conveying to the other scientist the need for him to grab the necessary supplies. "It's not really necessary, but if I don't, this cut might take too long to heal. Even considering the fact that it seems to heal much faster than normal humans could do."
Netto's smile turned into a frown as he watched his father press another clean cloth to his side while Meijin moved about the room for a couple of minutes before he stood next to Yuichiro with a tray and several items on it. Taking a syringe in his hand and examining it and its clear contents, the boy wondered when his father had become a doctor and not just a scientist.
"It's an anesthetic," the man supplied as he looked up from Forte's wound. For a brief moment he had caught a glimpse of his eyes, but the navi quickly inclined his head just enough to hide them from view. He frowned for a second, finally understanding why Rockman and Enzan had become so suspicious, then held up his hand. "Stitching is not a comfortable thing, Forte."
The navi seemed to contemplate for several seconds before he gave the tool to the man and turned his head away with a very light snort. Yuichiro stared at Forte for a second then sighed to himself and inserted the needle into the navi's side. This was going to be one long suturing…
.
.
After spending almost an hour sitting on a bed while his father sutured and then bandaged his side, Netto was floating through SciLabs in a rather sour mood and with an empty stomach. "At least that's taken care of…" he grunted as he felt the fabric around his middle with a hand. His father had also checked the cut on his upper left arm and had decided that all it needed was a light clean up and a new dressing. "But I can't believe he had to suture it…"
Sighing in deject, the boy turned a corner and floated towards the recreation area as per dictated by his stomach. "You know," he whispered as he entered into the room and watched as everyone left in a hurry once they saw him. "I still can't get around the idea that whatever I eat is converted into data. It sounds so… strange…"
This whole situation has no sense, Forte replied as he observed the food contained in a food dispenser through the eyes of his host. During their travel together, they had discovered that no matter the quantity of food Netto ingested, he never needed to go to the bathroom. That was a curiosity that prompted Forte into doing a deeper scan of their shared body, thus discovering the odd ability. The digitalized food then was fed to the navi's powers that in turn kept them healthy.
Netto hummed in agreement as he briefly scanned the machine's contents. "Chips, chips, sweets… those won't be enough…" he commented unhappily before he turned around and left the room. He needed real food if he wanted to satiate the hunger he had, not a few packets of chips and a bunch of sweets.
"Maybe I can order something by phone," he continued in his muttering as he aimlessly wandered SciLabs's corridors. "But again, how do I pay it. It's not like I can walk up to dad, pull at his sleeve and say 'dad, I'm hungry. Can you lend me some money?'…"
His wanderings brought him back to SciLabs's entrance without him realizing. Still lacking a good portion of the front wall and floor thanks to what he had done - but that he couldn't remember well – the entrance hall was busier than usual as people worked to rebuild it.
"Ah, Forte! I was hoping to find you."
His father's voice coming from the crowd of people made him slightly turn around to observe the man as he walked up to him. He was holding a white grocery bag in his left hand while he had some keys in the other. "Can I have a word with you?"
After seeing Forte slightly incline his head in a nod, the scientist motioned for him to follow. "I've noticed that you have been somewhat… lethargic since you woke up from your three days of standby," he explained as he boarded an elevator and watched as the navi floated after him and took the farthest corner from him. "So, considering you have a partially flesh body and you can bleed, maybe you also need food."
Yuichiro observed how Forte slightly turned his head to look at the bag he was holding. He didn't seem too particularly interested in the food, but again, the navi was keeping his face well hidden from view for a reason he couldn't truly understand.
The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened with a ding, revealing a corridor that Netto knew would lead them to his father's personal laboratory. Without the usual scientists milling about, it would be a nice place to relax and enjoy the food.
Stepping out of the elevator, Yuichiro led the navi to his office and let him inside. "I didn't know what you like," he said as he closed the door to ward off any unwanted people. "So I went and got you the first thing I saw."
He placed the bag on a table and opened it up, taking out a sealed bowl. "Oddly, I ended up buying my son's favorite. Curry mainly," he said with a sad smile as he placed the small container on the table and fished more stuff out of the bag. "But there are other things too…"
Yuichiro, busy as he was in trying to quell his worry and try to break the tension of being alone with a dangerous navi, never noticed when Forte floated to the table and looked down at the food. However, he did see him grab the bowl of curry and open it to stare at its contents. "It might not look like it, but it's actually good. You might like it," he said as he placed a spoon on the table and left for the smaller, more office-like room of his lab.
Netto watched him go, and when the man was out of his sight, he turned back to the food laying in front of him. "Thank you, dad," he whispered holding up the bowl to his face and breathing in the wonderful scent of curry for a few seconds before he dived in.
The food, which amounted to a rather large lunch, didn't last long. Especially since Netto was too hungry to spend some seconds to savor it. Or notice that his father would occasionally steal a glance at his cloaked back from his office or even hear him quietly speak with Rockman about him and the odd quirks he seemed to have lately.
When he was done, Netto set the plate back onto the table and turned around to look at his father in the other room. Rockman was gone, either to talk with Roll and the others or trying to find in the net anything useful regarding his operator, and had left the man alone with his thoughts. The boy unconsciously floated closer and noticed that he was holding a framed photography of his family.
What stopped him from instinctively reaching out to his father's shoulder with his hand was the sudden movement Yuichiro did to replace the photo back onto his desk. "I know you're ok, but I can't help but be worried about you," he said to himself, unaware of the silent presence behind his back. "I just wish you would tell us what's happening instead of sending cryptic messages…"
Gritting his teeth, Netto turned around and left the room, unable to bear the sight of his father being so worried about him.
Where are we going now?
The boy opened the first window he could find and flew out into the evening air. "To find a way to send my dad a message," he replied with determination as he gained altitude and watched the city from his vantage point. People were still reluctant in coming out of their houses, so the streets were almost deserted.
Do you realize that we still have those navis after us?
Netto nodded and scanned the land with attention. Unless there was a navi in the enemy's ranks that had the ability to fly, he was safe while he was up there, but once he landed things could get ugly. Now that he had a full belly he was feeling much better, but he knew that he was far from being fully healed and ready to battle.
"I'm not sure of who I should be more worried about," he said as slowly flew through the air in a random direction, still not sure how he was going to send a message to his father. "Paladin is strong, but that Ninja guy is sneaky."
Are you saying that my powers are not enough to take care of them? Forte hissed in indignation.
"Uh, no. Didn't say that, Forte," Netto quickly replied to cut the navi from ranting out. "I'm just saying that they aren't exactly a walk in the park. Especially with those green converter things that seems to suck all your power out of us."
They idly flew in companionable silence above the city for a while until the sun disappeared behind the horizon. "Do you think we should go back?" he asked, actually finding that he liked to wander aimlessly through the air. It gave him a sense of freedom that he had never felt before and time seemed to cease to exist if he floated on his back and stared up at the sky.
Righting himself and looking down at the city below, he noticed that the wind had carried him to his school. An idea suddenly formed and he floated down to one of the windows of his class. "No matter how many virus attacks there are," he said as he slid the window open and entered the room. "This place has the bad habit to never close."
Forte watched in silence as his host grabbed a piece of chalk and started to fill the blackboard with writings and random doodles of people he knew. He wasn't an expert artist, but when he stood back, he nodded and congratulated himself for having at least drawn recognizable friends. Those, along with the large "eat your curry!" writing taking up the middle of the board would instantly grab attention and his teacher would instantly recognize his handwriting.
"Now I can go back," he chuckled as he replaced the half consumed chalk back in its box. He reached the window and jumped outside, and with one last look at his handwork, he slid it close and flew away, disappearing into the night sky.