GT: Fair warning to everyone who reads this chapter: there is talk of abuse and suicide in this near the end. You have been warned.
"In all honesty…the level of damage she's in could be considered…irreparable," Famous admitted, standing before the trio.
"N-No…" Maylu gasped, nearling collapsing in shock if Makoto hadn't stopped her with her tail.
"Easy Maylu," Makoto comforted.
"..." Chaud looked at one of the recordings done of the two doing a trust fall exercise, "...Can't we use the same method Lan used to repair Megaman?"
"?! You mean using Maylu as the template?" Famous asked.
"Huh? Template?" Makoto repeated.
"When Megaman was severely damaged fighting Dark CrossFusion Prisman, Lan needed to be used as the template to repair Megaman," Famous explained.
"S-So if we used that…Roll will be okay?" Maylu asked.
"Theoretically, yes, but the process is painful," Famous warned, "Lan was subjected to several minutes of intense pain during the process…and you'd be in there for far longer given the severity of her damages."
"..." Makoto and Chaud looked at Maylu.
"...It's worth it," Maylu stated, a determined look on her face.
"Keep looking at that wall, you…" Makoto warned, glaring daggers at Chaud, who was keeping focused on the wall and away from the two medical beds with clear containers over them, connected to a strange device on the wall…with Maylu in just a pair of lime-green panties and training bra lying inside of the one on the left.
"If you feel anything strange, push that button by your left hand," Famous advised as a hologram of Roll appeared in the other container.
"Un," Maylu nodded before looking over at Roll, "...Don't worry, Roll. We'll get you better soon."
"While this will be the second time this is used…" Famous spoke as he pulled out a metallic blue BattleChip with a green gem in the middle and a blank icon in the bottom corner, "...It will be the first time that we'll be using someone who hasn't CrossFused before."
Famous placed the BattleChip into a part of the device. Inside of it, a small hand clasped the BattleChip and brought it to a tray. Once it was settled into the tray, it slid into another part of the machine and a case covered where it had entered. Several screens began to pop up multiple windows, showing various status bars until a pair of images popped up, showing outlines of Maylu and Roll. Several beeps went off as green scanners hummed to life and began to scan both girls, their popups turning green as they were scanned. Once the last part was done, bits of pink data appeared on Maylu's left foot, transforming into a copy of Roll's boot with a red oval gem on the ring part. Slowly, more pink data formed and created Roll's other boot with the gem on the ring before following up with her gloves, the rings sharing the same oval gems. Maylu let out a gasp as she began to grunt and cry out as pain began to lance through her body. Roll's emblem appeared on her chest as her eyes squeezed shut.
'R-Roll…is…is this just a little of what you're dealing with…?' Maylu thought before red lights began to flash and an alert began to go off.
"Tch. This is bad," Famous scowled.
"What's happening?" Makoto asked.
"Her data is corrupted enough that the process is stalling," Famous explained, the outlines of the two girls showing multiple error messages over them, "We need to introduce new data for her to continue."
"...Use me," Makoto ordered.
"What?" Famous looked at the Beastkin.
"Copy whatever you need in me to help this," Makoto replied, "Those girls are my little sisters. Like hell I'm letting them suffer alone if I can't help alleviate the pain just a little."
"...This will be risky considering your nature," Famous advised.
"I'm quite the risky gal," Makoto countered with a wink.
"...Get in the net and we'll establish a link to you and Roll," Famous ordered.
"Right. Don't you dare peek at Maylu, Chaud!" Makoto warned before hopping into the network, "Ready!"
Famous nodded as he began to type. A similar bed to the ones Maylu and Roll were in materialized before the Beastkin. She got inside on it and gave a thumbs up. Famous continued to type and commands began to pop up in small windows, processing the commands. Makoto grunted as she felt something…tearing at her… She grit her teeth as she felt like millions upon billions of spectral miniscule hands were grasping at her from all over and pulling hard. On Earth, Roll's glitchy hologram began to glow. On Maylu, the emblem on her chest twitched before shrinking and moving up to her neck, forming a collar in the color of Roll's bodysuit color. The red changed back to green as the errors began to vanish. Maylu let out another gasp and grunted in pain as her gloves turned scarlet while the tips of her boots turned the same color and reshaped into the toes of a rabbit. Maylu glanced towards Roll, seeing her helmet vanish. The last thing Maylu saw before things went black was a pair of rabbit ears poking out of Roll's head.
It was a soft snort that broke through the dark. The scent of disinfectants and cleaning supplies soon followed. Light dispersed it as her heavy eyelids finally gave way to her mental command to awake. Maylu had to take a few moments for the blurs to collect themselves into actual images. The tiles of a hospital ceiling came first, followed by the several pieces of equipment. Several small tubes were connected to it and her eyes followed them to her right arm, resting atop of a cream blanket. Her eyes drifted to her left, feeling a small pressure. They widened upon seeing a mop of brown hair, the owner of it holding her hand.
'L…Lan…?' Maylu pondered before a soft gasp made her look up a bit to see Makoto at the door.
"..." Makoto smiled as she walked over and sat in the other chair in the room, "...Hey."
"B…Big…sis…" Maylu whispered, grimacing.
"You've been asleep for three whole days," Makoto explained, "You worried us so much when you passed out in the process. The doctors had to restart your heart twice!"
"R-Roll…?"
"She's made a full recovery," Makoto assured as she held up a pink and rose version of Lan's PeT, "But a tiny issue came up."
"Is that…?"
"Yeah. Turns out using my data and yours? Kinda boosted her data up to the point she couldn't properly handle your old one, so guess who's big sister got poked and prodded and did so many 'can you bring this to Earth and this to the Network' things just so you could get this?" Makoto asked before pointing at herself with her tail, "This big sister~"
"..." Maylu looked to see the screen was off.
"Makoto says that Roll refused to let anyone see her until you got to first," Megaman explained, the Beastkin pulling the PeT out of her tail, "Hi, Maylu."
"Mega…man…?"
"Chaud sent us an EMail about what happened and we came home straight away," Megaman explained, "Lan didn't sleep the entire time until we got here this morning."
"Not surprised. You're his best friend," Makoto noted as she gently put the PeT in Maylu's free hand.
Maylu opened it and pushed down on a button. A tone went off on the PeT before the screen turned on. Data appeared in a grid form before solidifying and Maylu blinked a few times. A soft yawn escaped full lips as their owner stretched, a rose-gloved hand covering their mouth while the other stretched skyward. Gone was a bodysuit/swimsuit hybrid. In its place was a pink sleeveless top that somewhat held back her chest-exposed in a cleavage window-, a black belt, a pink skirt with black shorts beneath it. She still wore the rose red stockings, but the front of her boots had reshaped to resemble the toes of a rabbit. Her emblem had shrunken down and fit on a collar on her neck while her helmet was gone aside from the emblems meant to cover her ears, letting her full long locks of blond hair flow freely. Two parts in the back of her hair spread out like curved spikes while the tips of them, the end of her hair where it was in the green bow, and a large bang on the right side of her face bled into the same red as Maylu's hair. Yet the biggest difference was that she sported two large rabbit ears that reached down to past her shapely rear, turning red halfway down, while a fluffy red bunny tail poked out above said derriere. Jade eyes opened and she smiled at Maylu.
"Maylu…" Roll spoke, her voice older coinciding with the fact she looked to be eighteen now.
"R-Roll?" Maylu softly gasped.
"Huh?" Megaman pondered, "Wh…What's wrong?"
"You can come in here," Roll offered.
"O…Okay?" Megaman pondered, leaving Lan's and appearing on Maylu's…only to have to look up because he only went up to her breasts, "Gh?! R-Roll?!"
"Wh…What…?" Maylu blinked a few times before Makoto poured a paper cup of water and had her drink it.
"Well…That stupid robot really did a number on Roll on a level we weren't expecting," Makoto explained, "Basically, she needed two donators to repair her and guess who was Donator Number 2?" she pointed at herself with her tail, "This girl~"
"I don't get the bunny, to tell you the truth," Roll admitted, using her hand to repeatedly compare her height to Megaman's.
"Eh, could be from your original motif and influenced by my Beastkin genetics," Makoto guessed, "You looked like a bunny with your antennae and the plug on top of your booty."
"Huh?! What robot?!"
"You never told Mega why I was off or why Maylu was in the hospital, Big Sis?!" Roll demanded.
"Uh…"
"No one did!" Megaman replied.
"Oh come on!"
"Mmmm…" Lan mumbled before slowly opening his eyes and seeing Maylu, "M-Maylu…?"
"And good job, you two. Ya woke him up," Makoto scolded.
"Sorry, Makoto/Big Sis…"
"Maylu!" Lan beamed, sitting up fully, before adopting a concerned look, "Are you okay? What happened? Makoto won't tell me, I haven't seen Chaud at all, Papa's busy with an important project at SciLab so I couldn't disturb him, and Mr. Famous keeps hanging up on me if I call."
"Um, well…" Maylu tried to think.
"Some stupid robot called Allegro was kidnapping NetNavis from that N1 Grand Prix Maylu told me about," Makoto explained, "Turns out he was made by this one NetNavi named Bass and…"
"BASS?!" Lan and Megaman exclaimed.
"...You know him?" Makoto asked.
"Long story," Lan replied, "But to sum it up, he messed with Megaman and caused him to break out in Bugs until he made BugStyle to delete this Grave Virus Beast…and the entire Electopia Network…and then bring it all back minus the Grave Virus Beast."
"I'm surprised he's come back," Megaman noted, a worried look on his face.
"Don't worry, Mega. I'm sure things will be different! You're stronger!" Roll encouraged, giving him a hug from behind and making the Blue Bomber blush at feeling her curves on his back.
"Huh? …Roll?" Lan gawked.
"Yeah…Ya see, this 'Allegro' was also poking and prodding the NetNavis he caught by forcing them to NetBattle and, er…kinda…um…" Makoto inhaled, "He nearly ruptured Roll's CyberCore, so Chaud took us to Famous, and he put Maylu and Roll in these glass boxes on this machine and Maylu was getting a lot of hurt from it all but then I had to participate in the Network to give Roll data from me to help repair her and now we have a bunny girl minus the iconic playboy outfit."
"P-Playboy?" Roll repeated, blushing now as she released the beet red Megaman.
"...But Roll's a girl," Lan noted, tilting his head.
"...Oh you sweet, sweet little twelve-year-old," Makoto sighed, patting his head like the child he was, "You've got a year left of this innocence then welcome to puberty."
"Huh?" Lan blinked a few times before the door opened and a doctor walked in.
"Ah, good. You're awake," the doctor noted with a relieved smile.
"Oh! Dr. Nutri," Maylu recognized.
"Dr. Nutri?" Lan repeated as Makoto led him away from the bed so the doctor could walk over.
"You had us pretty worried when you arrived," Dr. Nutri noted, "Fortunately, it's not as bad as we originally predicted when you first came in with Makoto three months ago."
"Ah…U-Um…" Maylu paled.
"Seems the dietary plan Makoto shared is doing wonders on curing your malnutrition," Dr. Nutri smiled as he started to check her over.
"Malnutrition?" Lan repeated under his breath as he looked at his PeT, "Megaman, what's that?"
'Aw crap…' Makoto thought.
"Alright. You'll be in here for three more days just for observation. After that, you'll be free to go home," Dr. Nutri explained, "If not for Makoto's recovery plan for you, you would've been here much, much longer."
"Ah…" Maylu blushed, "T-True…I'll be sure to give her a lot of thanks later."
Dr. Nutri nodded. A few moments of final checks and he was soon gone. A small silence followed that, with Lan looking at something on his PeT, his eyes slowly widening with each passing moment.
"Lan…?" Maylu began to ask.
"A-Ah! S-Sorry, Maylu," Lan apologized, "Just got a message from Mr. Famous. Dimensional Area." he dashed out, "Okaygetwellsoon!"
"Lan!?" Maylu gasped.
"What the heck?" Makoto pondered, "Is that normal with him?"
"No," Maylu shook her head.
"...Dang it, Dr. Nutri…" Makoto groaned.
"..." Maylu sighed as Makoto escorted her out of the hospital on a wheelchair, the red-head dressed in her normal clothes, "He didn't show up after the first visit…"
"Oh that boy is so getting it from me," Makoto scowled, "Only shows up for one day then runs off just after you wake up. Then no show at all in the other days except for an EMail! And not even from him at that! It was from Mega!"
"...I'm kinda worried. Normally he would have come to tell us about how it went," Roll admitted, rereading the EMail from Megaman, ''I'm sorry that we left abruptly. I'll try to get Lan to come visit later. I hope Maylu gets well soon. Megaman.''
"Well…You want to head to school? I mean, you wouldn't be there in time for the first half of the day, but…" Makoto offered.
"I'd like that," Maylu replied as Makoto waved down a taxi, "He's probably in class."
"Alright," Makoto nodded as she picked her up from the wheelchair, letting the nurse that came with them take it back in, before putting her into the backseat and gave the Driver their home address, "Bath, get dressed, and then off to school with you. Call me if there's an emergency because I have a lot of BattleChips to sell."
"It's kinda interesting that we had so many Wood Viruses at the hospital," Roll noted.
"It was good practice for you both on getting used to Roll's changes," Makoto pointed out, "You are most definitely a Bunny Beastkin, Roll. They're some of the fastest kinds of Beastkin and really good jumpers."
"Really?"
"Oh, and your tail is longer than you think," Makoto added.
"Wait, what?" Roll looked over her back at her tail, "..." she tugged and yelped, seeing it stretch, "Whoa now!"
"And your ears double as personal AC," Makoto went on, "They'll keep you warm or cool depending on the weather."
"Wow~" Roll awed, "You sure know a lot, Big Sis."
"Eh…" Makoto shrugged while wrapping an arm over Maylu and pulling her into a side hug, "We'll all have some fun later, alright? Go on the Network and just relax, maybe watch a movie and you two play your game?"
"That will be fun," Maylu replied, "But…I want to see Lan first."
Makoto nodded, "Bath and dress first, then school to see him and get answers."
"Hoo…" Makoto sighed as she entered the house, "Those chips made more than enough Zenny for a good while. Thank god Famous and Chaud said they'd pay her medical bills." her tail shook and she pulled her PeT out, "Y'ellow?"
"Big Sis!"
"Maylu?" Makoto looked at the screen to see her concerned face, "Oh my…Maylu, honey, what's wrong?"
"He…He's not here," Maylu replied, her eyes glistening with unshed tears of worry, "Lan hasn't been to school at all since he's come back from Sharo."
"Say what?" Makoto asked, her eyes widening in surprise before hearing Maylu start to sniffle, "Hey, hey, hey. Easy there, Maylu. Just try to get through it, alright? We'll go over to their house when you get out and ask Mrs. H what's going on, alright?"
"O-Okay…" Maylu sniffled, wiping her eyes with a sleeve, "We…We'll do our best here…"
"That's all I can ask for," Makoto nodded before they hung up and she looked out the window at the Hikari residence, specifically at the balcony across from Maylu's bedroom balcony, 'What the hell is this kid's issue?'
"..."
"How about we go to school tomorrow?"
"...I don't want to go…"
"Everyone's probably worried about you."
"...So…? Why worry about a useless idiot like me…?"
"Lan, you're not useless."
"..."
The doorbell ringing caught Mrs. Hikari's attention, looking up from her cooking. She quickly put everything on simmer and walked over to the door. Upon opening it, she sighed in relief upon seeing a worried Maylu and an annoyed Makoto.
"Please come in," Mrs. Hikari offered, moving to the side and letting them walk in and put on the guest slippers, "I'm so relieved you've come, Maylu. I wasn't sure what was going on."
"Have you seen Lan?" Makoto asked.
"He's been up in his room for a few days now," Haruka explained, a worried expression on her face, "He hasn't been this bad since a week before Lan and Maylu became friends when they were five."
"Huh?" Makoto and Maylu looked at her in confusion.
"...You know Lan has trouble making friends, right?" Haruka asked, earning a nod from Maylu, "...Don't tell anyone, but Lan has a therapist he's been seeing since he was four, Dr. Saiko. She's been quite helpful with several issues he's had over the years, especially since a year or so ago." Makoto nodded, recalling that, "Lan has self-esteem issues, his ego is a bit of a fragile thing at times, often easily buildable and sturdy-which can lead to some more…childish…behavior. Like the hair incident." Maylu cringed as she put her hands on her hair, feeling the phantom curling, "But when it gets broken harshly, like someone he cares a lot for getting hurt for something he thinks was his fault for…he retreats into himself, hiding from everyone for days at a time." she looked at the stairs, "Dr. Saiko has told me before that confrontation is the best thing for him, but…"
"You're worried he'll hide somewhere else, right?" Makoto guessed, earning a nod, "...Right. Leave it to me to get him out then hand it over to Maylu to put the final nail in it."
"Um…O-Okay," Mrs. Hikari nodded as Makoto walked up the stairs and up to a door with Lan's name hung on a wooden board on it…before pounding on the door hard with the side of her fist.
"Okay, Lan! I am giving you to the count of three! If you don't unlock this door and let me in, then I'm tearing it down!" Makoto warned, the two running upstairs as she banged on the door again.
"What is she…?" Mrs. Hikari began.
"No, no. Trust me, Mrs. Hikari," Maylu quickly spoke, tugging her away from Makoto, "She can and will do what she's going to do."
"It may be a good idea, too," Roll added, worry evident in her tone, "Maybe I should have the hospital set on standby to call? We have no idea what he's like in there so…"
"!" she looked at Maylu in concern for a few moments before sighing, "Makoto?"
"Hm?"
"Start counting," Mrs. Hikari complied.
Makoto gave a thumbs up, "Three!" a moment passed and she didn't hear anything, "Two!" another moment and nothing from the other side of the door, "One!" she narrowed her eyes after she gave a few moments this time, "Alright! I am coming in whether you like it or not!" with that, she grabbed the doorknob and, with a firm pull, ripped the door right out of the wall.
"BWAH!" Megaman yelped.
"I warned ya both I'd do this!" Makoto barked as she looked at the frame, "Phew. Only pulled the screws of the door out of the wall. Won't be that much to replace…" she gently put the door beside the doorway and stomped in, "Alright! You were given the count and I am now in here!"
"He's on the bed," Megaman informed from the PeT due to the computer being off.
Makoto snapped her head towards the bed. The blue covers were raised in a large lump with a small opening in them, showing a little bit of Lan's face. She frowned before looking to Megaman.
"He dressed or at least in his PJs?" Makoto asked.
"He's still in the clothes he was in when we went to the hospital," Megaman replied.
Makoto nodded before grabbing the sheets and tugged. They shot off Lan and he yelped while spinning in the air for a moment before falling flat on his back. He let out a small groan from the impact and opened his eyes to see Makoto's glaring into his while she had a finger poking his nose.
"Do you have any idea what kinda stress you put on us? On Maylu? You ran outta the hospital without a single explanation aside from a Dimensional Area popping up and the only thing we get from you is an EMail from Megaman apologizing and then nothing for three whole days! And when you weren't at school, Maylu was almost in tears!" Makoto ranted, "She has been worried sick about you! She thought she did something wrong and…and…" she trailed off as she got a good look into his eyes, seeing what was hidden in them, "..." she sighed before gently picking up Lan and put him on the bed in a sitting position before sitting beside him, her tail wrapped around his back, "...You're blaming yourself."
"..." Lan was unresponsive as Maylu and Mrs. Hikari peeked into the room.
"You're thinking 'I should have paid better attention, seen the signs. I'm supposed to be her best friend, someone that could look out for her like she does me. I'm a horrible friend,'" Makoto spoke and Lan slowly looked at her, "I know how that feels." she reached into her tail and pulled out an old folded piece of paper and carefully unfolded it, revealing a younger Makoto around his age in a yellow shirt and blue shorts smiling while hugging a shy-looking pink-haired rabbit Beastkin in a pale-pink sundress around her age in the photo, "Her name was Michiru. We were best friends for five whole years. Always playing and having fun, smiles all around. But…I never noticed the signs either. How she tired out easier with each passing day. How she seemed to try to not talk about her homelife by changing subjects or distracting me with something else. The way she'd light up when Ma or Pa would invite her to stay for dinner." a somber look formed on her face, "She killed herself on her birthday."
"?!" Lan's eyes widened as he looked up at her.
"She…She was being abused by humans," Makoto explained, "She had been adopted by two humans two years before she killed herself, having grown up in the local orphanage…but they only wanted her for the money they received for it. They starved her, barely gave her enough to eat. They belittled her and there…there was just no love. I wanted to surprise her with a party and…and Ma and I went to see her…only to learn she had killed herself by jumping off the roof just a minute before we arrived. No one knew I had been listening in when the pressure made her 'parents' cave in and admit to the abuse." she folded the photo up back and slid it back into her tail, "I…closed my heart after that. I acted normally around my family, but when they weren't around, I was cold to any human I met because all I could feel was that they were monsters. I made sure to retaliate against humans in ways they couldn't pin on me without insane troll logic, often with words. It wasn't until I was sixteen and began to attend the military academy to get into the NOL that my heart opened back up thanks to two important people and then growing to include a few others." she pulled out another photo and showed it to Lan, showing four girls with Makoto, all bright and happy in variations of a blue, white, and yellow school/military uniform with red, blond, blue, or purple hair, "They became my new friends…they were more like a bigger part of my family."
"..." Lan blinked a few times.
"Lan…" Makoto put the photo away before gently putting her hand on his shoulder, "You're luckier than me. You have something I didn't have at that time."
"H-Huh…?" Lan asked, cringing at how bad his voice sounded from disuse.
"Your best friend? She's still alive. She's been able to get help that mine never got," Makoto explained as she removed her tail, "She's been worried for you this whole time. Will you talk to her? Please?"
"..." Lan nodded, "Is…Is she…?"
"She got let out this morning and went to school thinking you would be there," Makoto replied, gesturing for Maylu to come in.
"Lan…?" Maylu cautiously asked once she walked up, worry evident on her face.
"...M-Maylu…" Lan gulped as Makoto got up.
Makoto ignored the two as Maylu took Makoto's spot on the bed. She carefully put the door back into place and nodded to Mrs. HIkari, who nodded in return. The two went downstairs, leaving them in his room.
"...H-How long…?" Lan finally asked after a few moments.
"...It started after Fireman attacked my oven," Maylu replied, "My parents didn't care about the explanation or that I had to be hospitalized for a few days and cut the budget they sent me in half. It was only through several lucky raffle wins that I got to do some things like…well…the salon…"
Lan cringed, "I never apologized for laughing or pulling your hat off in class…"
"And I never apologized for going off on my own after him when you would've been better ready for him…or for deleting your homework," Maylu added.
"...Can we agree we both messed up that day?"
"...Yeah," Maylu nodded, "But…your grade was changed."
"Huh?"
"I…Do you know why I wasn't in class for a few days after that?" Maylu asked, earning a shake of his head, "I had In-School Suspension because I admitted to Ms. Mari that I deleted your homework."
"?! Maylu…"
"Those days were the worst," Roll whispered, sitting beside Megaman in his PeT as they watched, "They had her turn the PeT off after putting me in this cage in the Network. I couldn't talk to Maylu or listen, but they made sure to have screens showing her all over."
"W-Wait. We're getting off-track," Lan frowned, "Maylu, why didn't you say anything?"
"..." Maylu rubbed her upper arm while looking at her feet, "...I…I didn't want to worry you."
"Worry me?"
"Lan, you're my best friend and…and I don't like it when you get worried," Maylu explained, "It feels like my heart is being crushed whenever I see you look worried about something when…when you're always smiling and looking at things in a positive view."
"You were trying to look out for me? But…But I'm supposed to look out for you."
"Huh?"
"We're best friends, right? How can I look out for you when I can't even see the signs?"
"...I guess I was just good at hiding it," Maylu replied, "...Lan, what happened wasn't your fault."
"But I…"
"Did nothing wrong," Maylu forcefully finished for him, holding his hands with her own while looking him right in the eyes, "I'm the one who kept silent on my troubles and hid them. And Makoto has been making sure I've been healing up and becoming better than I was before the budget got cut in half. Her doing odd jobs all around town from the request boards all over town and selling extras of BattleChip data she's been gathering from Virus Busting while doing those requests has been helping with getting groceries while the cut budget is barely paying for the bills."
"...It's not right what happened…" Lan whispered.
"It's not and Makoto is not going to be kind to my parents whenever they finally come to visit," Maylu admitted with a cringe.
"I'm not worried for them in the slightest for what they did to you," Lan frowned.
Maylu sighed, realizing he was pretty much in the same boat as Makoto and Roll at this point. She loved her parents, really, she did. She could only hope no bones were broken when it happens.
"...Did...Did I really worry you the last few days?"
"Of course you did! All I got was a single EMail and it was from Megaman," Maylu replied as she frowned at him, "It's not the same as hearing from you."
"I'm sorry…"
Maylu hugged him at that, making him go stiff for a few moments. He relaxed and returned the hug, not feeling the tears hitting the top of his head while Maylu didn't notice his own soaking her shirt and vest. In the Network, the two NetNavis smiled sadly at the two humans before Roll tilted her head when Megaman muted the speakers on the PeT.
"Roll…why didn't you say anything?" Megaman asked, looking up at her.
"I…" Roll sighed as she slumped in shame, "I didn't see any of the signs of malnutrition. I didn't even know what malnutrition was until Makoto told me."
"...She just doesn't want people to worry about her, huh?" Megaman pondered.
"Yeah…" Roll nodded before sniffling, "..."
"Roll?"
"Am…Am I bad NetNavi that I didn't see the signs?" Roll asked while wiping the tears forming in her eyes.
"Huh?! N-No, not at all!" Megaman replied, looking up at her saddened expression, "Maylu is just really good at hiding things." he grimaced, "That came out wrong…"
Roll couldn't help the giggle that came out, "It…It's alright. She does have a good skill at hiding things at times. But when she gets caught, it all falls apart."
Megaman nodded before looking her over again, "So…um…thi…this is new…"
"Hm? O-Oh…Yeah…" Roll blushed, rubbing the back of her head.
"...Roll, what…what happened?" Megaman asked.
"...A machine called Allegro was kidnapping NetNavis that had participated in the N1 Grand Prix," Roll explained, "He…He made us fight or be deleted. I…I kept refusing to fight and…and one of the shocks as punishment…it…" she put a hand over the emblem on her collar, "...it ruptured my CyberCore."
"?! W-What?!" Megaman gasped, fear in his eyes.
"But it's okay! Chaud got me to Mr. Famous and…and he used the machine you were repaired with when your CyberCore got ruptured by Prisman," Roll continued.
"A-And your new look?"
"...By the time everything was set up, my image data was badly corrupted by the delayed Deletion process," Roll explained before smiling, "Big Sis had her own data copied to fill in what got corrupted to help with the process." she did a small twirl, "So now I'm like this."
"..." Megaman looked down, a guilty expression on his face, "I should've been here…"
"Mega, it's okay," Roll assured, bending down and cupping his cheek with her hand.
"No, no it's not. You were nearly Deleted and I wasn't there to try to stop it from happening," Megaman shook his head, "I…"
"Mega, no one can always be everywhere," Roll spoke, "These things just happen with no control. I'm the one who chose not to fight no matter how many times he shocked me until he ruptured my CyberCore. But…I don't regret it."
"Huh?!"
"The NetNavi Allegro was forcing me to fight, Duke, was hurt badly. If I had used a single attack on him, he would've been Deleted," Roll explained, "He was just another victim in it like all the others that robot kidnapped. I couldn't Delete a NetNavi that was just an innocent victim in all of it. And it's not all that bad, either. I feel…closer…to Maylu now."
"Closer?"
Roll nodded, "It…It's weird, but…the last few days, it feels like we're better at things we do together than before. Like…" she pondered for a moment, "...Like NetBattling. When we did Virus Busting, I felt like the BattleChips were stronger."
"As if it wasn't just you wielding them, but you and Maylu?"
"Yes! That's right! How did you…?"
"It's the same with Lan and I," Megaman smiled, "Even before the repairs he helped with using his own body, the feeling of working with him felt like everything was…stronger…than when someone else Operated me."
"I see…" Roll noted, "Do you think Dr. Hikari knows what's going on?"
"Maybe. Probably Mr. Famous, too, but I haven't thought to ask either of them," Megaman replied.
"Hmm…Well, when the next time Makoto has to go to SciLab, maybe we can ask her to take us so we can ask them about it?" Roll suggested.
Megaman nodded, "That's a good idea."
"Thanks," Roll giggled before hugging him.
"?!" Megaman's face lit up in a blush, 'W…What?'
"It's kinda neat being like this," Roll noted as her ears moved to behind Megaman, "My ears feel like my antennae, but they let me hear a lot better and apparently keep me feeling all nice and cozy no matter the weather."
"A…Ah…" Megaman noted, returning the hug, 'It…It does feel cozy like this…' Roll shifted a little in her hug and some of her hair moved underneath his nose, 'Huh? Strawberries…?'
'Hugging him feels different than before…' Roll thought, a small smile on her lips, 'It's like I can hug more of him like this…' Megaman went limp, "Mega?" she looked down and her ears moved a little, hearing a faint snore, "..." she looked up to see the two NetOps had fallen asleep in their embrace, '...It has been a stressful day worrying about Lan and Mega…Guess we're all a little sleepy, huh?' she looked over at the digital bed in the PeT before walking over to it, carrying the sleeping Megaman, 'A nap shouldn't be too bad, right?' she slid underneath the covers, letting Megaman's head rest on her chest while she pulled the covers over them both, "..." she kissed the top of his helmet and whispered, "Welcome home, Mega."
Megaman mumbled a little in his sleep, nuzzling into her. Roll smiled, wrapping her arms around him as she closed her eyes and relaxed. By the time the two older women in the house checked on them, all four were sound asleep. Haruka managed to stifle a tiny laugh as Makoto took her PeT out of her tail and took some pictures of the sight. They quickly, but quietly, left them to head downstairs to talk.
GT: Yeah…This was something I had set up for a long while now.
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