女らしいプログラム!
The Feminine Program!
Chapter Six:
Encounter! Part Two
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By the time that Rock had made it out of the fissure, she had earned more scrapes and scratches as well as losing a bit of data. When she had noticed the faint pixilated trails, she grimaced, biting her lip and worrying over how this could affect her inevitable battle. If the tumbling down the hole had decreased her levels enough, she wouldn't be able to withstand Forte's onslaught, and she would, more-than-likely, fail. This would be more so if the new program hindered her abilities in any way…
Sighing, Rock reluctantly queried Netto for a few moments to analyze her levels, which he gave readily. The teen had noticed the tiny trails and flinched, realizing that some of them were caused by him when he had bickered with Rock long enough to pull her attention away from safely treading down the artificial chasm's wall. Netto had felt guilty over the whole ordeal for he knew that if his Navi's levels were down, then she wouldn't be up to fighting…
But after assessing the damage, the female found that her defensive levels had only decreased slightly, alleviating the anxiety racking her mind. She would be able to put up a good fight and hopefully she would be able to drive Forte out of Internet City…
"Netto-kun…" she muttered, "My levels are fine. Shall we continue?"
Unbeknownst to Rock, Netto had nodded shakily. "Yeah… that's sounds… good…" he replied quietly as he began to scuff his shoe against the concrete. "I'm ready whenever you are…"
"All right, then…" said Rock before she began to run towards the revived sound of explosions, verdant eyes searching every crook and cranny she could find to scour. She had to be sure that viruses weren't destroying anymore of the City's data and luckily, the female Navi found none before coming up to the main square.
Before her was endless chaos which had left nothing intact in its wake. None of the buildings were recognizable and most of the décor of the square had been blown up or so heavily barraged that it might as well have been completely destroyed. In some places, the little blue NetNavi noticed slashes that were evidently from a sword, making her assume that her red comrade had missed his mark numerous times. Along with the slashes Rock saw cracks and dents in the ground which was probably the cause of dodged punches or kicks.
It seemed almost hard to believe that this had been the prosperous Internet City only an hour or so ago. The scene that befell her guilty gaze caused her heart to sink further into the stomach, heavily laying against the bottom. Sighing, Rock walked carefully through the debris, hopping over various unidentifiable chunks of building data before coming to a stop when she spied a streak of red flash across two destroyed buildings.
"Blues!" she screamed, running towards the two buildings just as several explosions occurred in front of her, obliterating the buildings around her. Quickly glancing upward, Rock shrieked when she saw debris begin to rain from the impact. "Netto-kun! I need the Barrier chip! Please!" she screamed before moving her arms to guard her face from the digital rock while leaning into herself, hoping that Netto would be quick enough.
It took almost a second more than Rock had thought it would, so when the familiar hum of the Barrier chip rung in her ears, the Navi exhaled her fear before standing up straight and watching the rubble bounce off the translucent barrier. "Thanks…" she muttered happily, eagerly showing her relief as her Operator's face appeared on a screen to her right. Scratching the back of his head, Netto found that he couldn't help but grin and wink at her, knowing how fearful she must have been. "Had you scared, didn't I?" he playfully asked, poking at the PET screen. "Oh, no, Netto-kun," Rock replied sarcastically, placing her hands on her hips as she waited for the effects of the Barrier to fade, "I was just acting like I was scared. It's not like that debris could have hurt me!"
"Sorry…" Netto apologized sheepishly, grin slipping into a small smile while a blush of embarrassment colored the tip of his nose. "I shouldn't have waited…"
Nodding agreeably, Rock turned away from the see-through screen as the blue-tinted shield faded, allowing her to tread freely. "You're right… I mean, after all your griping and whining about my safety, you put me in danger just to watch me be scared. Good job, Netto-kun!" the blue NetNavi 'congratulated,' mockingly applauding him while the boy's face wrenched in frustration. "You've failed on the 'protection' part of this lesson… But I guess we can grade you accurately later." And with that, she rushed down the street, turning the corner to follow her comrade down the destroyed alleyway.
"Blues! Where are you?!" she called frantically, yelping as another blast erupted just several feet before her. Gritting her teeth in frustration, Rock ran towards the explosion before stopping abruptly.
She had reached the park section of the City (or so she assumed it was since scattered parts of playground equipment was seen) only to find a heavily damaged Blues kneeling on one knee and holding a hand to his heaving chest. At the sight of his dented helmet and torn red suit, her face contorted into a guilty scowl before she jogged hurriedly to him, leaning down to check on him. She gasped at the cuts and bruises that formed from the damaged data on his face and her eyebrows fell, eyes mirroring her regret. "Blues…"
He groaned angrily, turning his head to his teammate for her to see an azure orb leering at her through his fractured shades while showing his fiery determination. Noting the flaming emotion, she gulped apprehensively before leaning back to slightly distance herself from him. The fear of his lashing out at her poked at her mind and she prepared to defend herself if something was wrong with his programming or if he was just furious with her…
But her straightened shoulders fell when she heard his remorseful sigh, his eyes closing in realization. "You aren't supposed to be here…" he muttered painfully, panting through his words as he attempted to stand fully before falling back on his knee and grunting in pain. "They told Searchman and me that you weren't going to be alerted…"
"Well, they lied then," Rock replied irritably, searching his kneeling form to assess the damage Forte had caused. "They sent an alert about half an hour ago… I would have been here sooner but… Netto-kun was afraid to send me in…"
The crimson Navi silently agreed, letting his hand fall to his side. "He shouldn't have sent you in at all… The whole point of not telling you was to keep you away from here…"
Rock figured that at that comment the best thing to do was to bite her tongue. He was too damaged and too weak to put up with a verbal fight and she figured that she would just show him how important she is when Forte returned. Speaking of Forte… "Where is he? Forte, I mean…"
"I think I lost him a ways back…" answered Blues hopefully. "That explosion just then must have been something imploding on itself… The data must not have been stable…" Sighing, he hung his head and threw his pride out the window when she pulled him to lay his beaten head on her shoulder-guard. He was just too weak to even act tough and the red NetNavi knew that if he even tried, his comrade would tongue-lash him every time. "He's been toying with us… Searchman, he… He didn't stand a chance. Forte knew his weaknesses before he even tried to attack…"
'I hate seeing him like this…' Rock thought sadly, rubbing her hand against his torn back. Blues had never allowed him to seem fragile and seeing him like this now tore her heart apart strip by strip. This was different from Searchman, where she knew that he knew that he could be defeated… But Blues strived to win his battles not because he was capable but because of his pride. The more he won, the more prideful he would become and that was just her friend's way to life… They could take everything imaginable away from him, but he would never let them touch his pride…
But right now, that pride was sorely bruised…
"He's smart, you know… It's to be expected from such a powerful Rogue NetNavi… Without… the need to use chips… he can pull any attack at anytime," she offered softly, letting her fingers tread through his silvery hair. "It's okay… He just took you by surprise, is all! I mean, Enzan's connection was broken also, right? So you were at a disadvantage… it's nothing to worry your head over!" Giggling nervously, she heard another woeful sigh exit his lips along with teeth biting into a bottom lip. Her somewhat happy expression fell down and her countenance held her pity.
"… I hate being worthless…"
Cringing, the female clenched at his hair, making sure that when she did so that she would harm him. When did Blues become so melancholy and self-pitying? This wasn't like the Blues she knew at all… This Blues' pride and courage had been crushed and she found that she felt helpless because she didn't know what to do… "You're not worthless… You're not…" She turned his head so that their gazes would meet but Blues had fallen unconscious. 'And with the communication out… He's just as much a sitting duck as Searchman was…
'And I'm all alone… At least Netto-kun's transmission hasn't been cut-!'
"Oh, Rockman, you should know not to raise the hopes of the hopeless! Of course he's worthless… All of you human-dependent Navis are!"
Rock gasped, twisting her head around to find the Rogue Navi who had created this mess standing just a ways behind her, grinning psychotically at the two. At the horrifying sight of her nemesis, she instantly frowned when she saw no signs of damage on his cloak and she gritted her teeth. He wasn't going to be any easier an opponent than last time…
"Oh, how sweet…" Forte mocked as his ruby eyes glistening with menacing glee. "Never thought I'd see the day when I would have the chance to destroy both of you inferior NetNavis! It seems almost too easy when I think about it!" Guffawing insanely, Forte stepped forward, his cloak rustling with his sly movements. "You've become soft, Rockman! And not only that, you're late!" At this, Forte's hands moved about, implying the chaos that he had wrought. "I've had plenty of time to decimate this corrupted filth that the humans made! All that's left is destroying you pathetic Navis that obey the humans… and then I'll make the humans pay!
"And all that stands in the way is you," pointed out the black NetNavi as he raised a gloved hand to point at the two kneeling before him. "You've stopped me every chance I've ever had… Neither of you are worthy to live… not even as a rival… So enjoy your last few seconds of life!" After he said this, he raised a hand so that his arm was perpendicular in his cobra-like helmet. To Rock's horror, an ebony mass of energy formed above Forte as he leered happily and she immediately knew that it was meant to be Blues' and hers deathblow…
"…Netto-kun…" she hissed under her breath as the black, shadowy mass grew until it was bigger than its conjurer. Her instincts told her to run and hide, but that meant leaving Blues and she wasn't about to go through that guilt trip again…
"Now die!" the Rogue Navi sneered as he pushed the destructive energy with a forceful grunt towards the comrades, figuring that they both were helpless.
"Netto-kun!" she screamed frantically as she threw her head and gaze skywards. "I need a chip! Now!"
"Don't worry! No one's deleting you on my watch!" Netto yelled while lifting his arm to perform his trademark slot-in motion. "Battle Chip, Area Steal, Slot in!" And with a quick move of his arm, the battle chip slid in with a ding and Rock and Blues disappeared before the energy mass caused their deletion.
When the smoke cleared and Forte saw that his victims had escaped the attack, his face contorted in irritation at the sight. "Shame… Couldn't take deletion honorably, I see…"
"I wouldn't be so sure, Forte!"
Turning around at the squeaky proclamation, the black NetNavi spied Rock behind him without Blues anywhere in sight. Forte knew that Rock would put Blues somewhere safe before facing him but though it would have been touching to some, he saw it weak. His rival had become soft…
Smirking at the revelation, he glanced over his rival, finally realizing that the blue Navi had gone through some… alterations.
'You've got to be kidding me…' thought Forte exasperatedly as he stared at the… female in front of him. He almost laughed when he saw her ready to fight him… It was almost inconceivable…
But, unfortunately, Rock had noticed Forte's eyes widen and she groaned in defeat before slumping her shoulders sadly. "Oh, come on! I didn't think that you would suffer from shock…!" she detested huffily before crossing her arms in indignation. "I swear… all you people do is make me self-conscious when you do that! 'Oh, my God, look at Rockman! Wasn't she a he, like, yesterday? How weird…' I just hope you know; it gets old!"
"Hey, now don't start this business about you being 'self-conscious!'" Netto barked embarrassedly as he pulled up a screen to glare fervently at his Navi. "How do you think I feel when everybody's looking at me like I'm some pervert who changed his NetNavi's gender because he wanted to look at a girl?! Also, it's not my fault that everyone is a bit surprised at your new look! It's going to be their initial reaction, so you better get used to it!"
"Um, news check, 'sweetheart,'" Rock sarcastically bit back, completely diverting her attention to her Operator and leaving Forte to stare at her in shock. "Last time I checked it was because of you that I'm even like this! So, technically, Hikari Netto, it is your fault!"
"But it's not like I asked for it!"
Forte sighed, his shoulders falling slightly as he watched his rival and Operator fight. The initial surprise that had followed Rock's 'unveiling' of her new self to him had worn off completely and he felt that now was the best time to retreat. "Um… I'm leaving now…" he called out softly to see if it would grab back her attention. His effort was obviously not heard as he saw the female scream at the top of her lungs and stomp a booted foot against the cracked ground and he knew it was hopeless. "Fine, I'm gone." And with that, Forte logged out with a shake of his head, figuring that he'd destroy all human-dependant NetNavis another day…
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"Hey, Forte's gone!"
"You're changing the subject, Netto-kun!"
"But he really is! And you need to check on Searchman and Blues-!"
"SHUT UP AND LET ME FINISH! THEN I MIGHT GO CHECK ON THEM!"
"…Yes ma'am…"
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End of Chapter Six!
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This chapter is a bit shorter than the rest, but I wanted to get it up. I haven't done a very good job in getting chapters written, so I apologize once more.
Since I'm not too sure about Forte's role in the Anime, I went more with the manga version of Forte. So, if you're wondering where his hate for humans came from, go read the manga.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed! You're all very supportive!
Also, I'm sorry that Blues seems a bit… OOC... I couldn't help it.