Chapter 16: Decisive Battle!
08:55 AM (Japan Time), Wednesday June the 17th…
"… This is the uplink Warp Point to Ouroboros, then…"
"I'm ready, Netto – kun!"
"Good. Blood! We're counting on you for the backup."
"Don't worry! I can sneak inside using my stealth camouflage without them noticing…"
Rock Man and Blood Shadow stood inside a space where a warp point with the word "Ouroboros" written into it was set.
"Kurayami and Kanaya won't play fair. They'll probably try to pull cheats to overwhelm you quickly and without doing a real effort…"
"Naturally…"
"Since they call themselves "Ancient Darkness"… Edginess at its peak!"
"You needn't tell me. They must be programmed to act like rebel teens!"
"Probably. Guess that researcher was an edgy psychopath, too…"
"All those who worked for Izono and Anaya were influenced by them…"
"Both were quite the psychopaths, from what we've heard…"
"More like fiends in human shape! But we're getting off-topic…"
"True. The Warp Point is about to open…"
"I won't hesitate. If needed, I'll delete them. They're too dangerous!"
"Exactly. Especially Death Shadow. That thing is beyond redemption!"
"We fought such deadly battles during our struggles against the WWW, the berserk Navis, the Professor, and Gospel… These battles won't be much different from the ones we experienced…"
"But try not to get become obsessed over that. If you can shake them off, go fight Death Shadow right away. I'll handle them in the meanwhile!"
"Roger that. The Warp Point is open!"
"Let's go, Rock Man!"
He stepped into the Warp Point followed by the invisible Blood Shadow.
Rock Man scouted the area.
He was at the lowest of circular platforms built around a central cylinder.
Stairways climbed up and connected the different levels.
Pipes filled the gap between the platforms' edges and the central cylinder.
The background was the blue Greek symbol for "Omicron".
"This is Ouroboros! The central cylinder must be the cannon and the pipes surely are part of a cooling system. Any large-scale weapon generates heat which must be removed to avoid a dangerous overheating!"
"You came! Rock Man EXE!" Kurayami called out while chuckling.
"Climb up to Level 5!" Kanaya commanded.
"Level 5? This must be Level 0, then!" Rock Man guessed aloud.
"That's Level 1. Level 0 is the muzzle itself. But only the maintenance crew can come inside!" Kurayami replied.
"Whatever…"
Rock Man noticed a stairway and began to climb levels.
He reached Level 5 where both Kurayami and Kanaya were waiting at.
"Hmmm…? That Kurayami man resembles Blood, no?" Netto argued.
"True. Guess it's not a coincidence…"
"Indeed. It's a long tale! I'll save you the details! We are "Dark" Net Navis! Don't mistake us for the "Dark Power" which stems from "Dark Chips"! Our source of power is different!" Kanaya sneered.
"Will ya let me handle the situation, Kanaya? I've prepared a terrific Folder to sweep the ground with this guy on it!"
"Sure. Were things to turn awry, I'll step in. I'll lock all staircases and turn on the force field!" Kanaya shrugged.
She stepped away and snapped her right hand's middle and index finger.
An orange "force field" formed on the very edge of the platform and the stairways' openings were sealed with slabs.
"Predecessor! Let's see what stuff you're made from! Can you stand up to this replica of the Meteor Server's power! The most powerful server ever!"
"Meteor Server?"
"Black End… Galaxy!"
Kurayami lifted his hands and began to form a black spheroid of energy.
He flung it into the air to drop behind Rock Man.
It became a black vortex which began to suck everything around it, including Rock Man.
Before he could react, though, Kurayami had drawn a red sword on his right forearm and dashed forward in blur, slicing the air and opening a gash on Rock Man's upper torso.
He continued past him and the vortex, slicing it as well thus triggering its implosion and collapse.
The brutal shockwave sent Rock Man flying about ten meters before landing, hard, on the ground.
He panted and tried to get his bearings, but Kurayami was already looming over him.
"Game Over. Red Gaia… Eraser!"
Kurayami formed two discs on the air having a black edge, red body and inner yellow section.
These disks floated in a diagonal angle and began to sweep the ground with continuous streams of crimson energy while Kurayami shot a beam of the same color from a buster weapon which formed on his right forearm.
The three beams inflicted further wounds to Rock Man, but the thing didn't end there as a gigantic dome-shaped explosion swept the area.
"Too easy… What!"
When the explosion cleared, Rock Man was still alive yet gravely injured.
He groaned and tried to stand on his fours, yet he collapsed.
"Under Shirt! Whatever. Maybe deleting you would be too sweet! Kanaya! There's your prey! Have fun with it!"
"Delighted!"
"Not yet! Full Energy Recovery Program: Start!"
White streams of light jumped out from Rock Man's chest emblem and his wounds began to fade as he slowly managed to stand up and pant.
"Blood Shadow told us to expect cheating! And he was right!"
"Sheesh. Brother had to spoil the fun!" Kurayami exaggeratedly sighed.
"Big bros are meanies!" Kanaya giggled.
"I'm not a meanie!" Rock Man grumbled.
"That was LAME!" Netto sighed.
"I can detect the fear on the background, Hikari Netto! You've never met an opponent who could take out 1000 HP in just two attacks, had you? The Dream Virus, Dream Virus "R", "Gospel"! None could! But as he said… Everything is possible if you have the power of the Meteor Server!"
"What the hell is that "Meteor Server", then?" Netto demanded.
"It doesn't exist in this age. But it's an accumulation of residual signal and data noise flowing outta Earth which fused into a gigantic cluster…"
"What do you mean by "this age"? Don't we all live in the 21st century to begin with?" Rock Man shot back.
"I knew it! Vadous hasn't dared to tell anyone, afraid of being considered mad because what he says is out of reason!" Kanaya laughed.
"Considered mad? Who would? He's very reasonable!" Rock Man sighed.
"We three come from the 23rd century! The year 2205!"
"Sure. And you expect us to believe that?" Netto sighed.
"Blood Shadow was created in that era, along with Sigma and Omega! Vadous can time-travel between both eras… And Death Shadow is an alien Net Navi to begin with!"
"It's because he believes itself to be an improvement over Dark Samus!"
"It was a living creature and stole pieces and data from Blood Shadow! The used it to transform into this form!"
"Again, you're just copying the setting of Dark Samus, and…"
"Stubborn, aren't we? Whatever! One day you'll realize the truth!"
"Talk-time's over! I'll go next! Meteor Light Barrage! Atomic Blazer! Dynamic Wave!"
Kanaya formed a spheroid of energy and jumped into the air to make then several spheres of energy bombard the field.
Two hit Rock Man twice and he recoiled yet Kanaya was already on the ground and charging up a mass of fire which she then propelled forward in the form of a large and wide beam of scorching fire.
She didn't stop there and spun upon her axis thrice thus bathing Rock Man in three tall waves which washed him away across the ground.
"What power! 980 HP of damage!"
"We still have another two techniques which can add 600 HP of damage. Is your age of playing hero gone already?"
"I never meant to be one! "Hero" is a label others give to you!"
"We just want to live normal lives, away from battle! It's types like you who keep dragging us back to the frontlines!"
"Because it's your fate!"
"Save us the crap! Full Recovery Program: Activate!"
"Hmpf! You're the masochist type! Good enough! Let's go for more, then! Thunderbolt Blade! Elemental Cyclone! Atomic Blazer!"
"Battle Chip, Dream Aura!"
"Hmpf! Whatever. You're only delaying what's inevitable, Rock Man EXE! Here we go~!"
Kanaya drew a blade shaped like a thunderbolt which she swung left and right before hitting the ground with it and making a thunderbolt rain down and impact Rock Man.
She then conjured a cyclone made of thousands of green leaves which hit Rock Man twice and she repeated her earlier fire attack.
Rock Man collapsed into the ground for the third time.
"We're not getting anywhere! I know the Dream Aura rested 200 HP outta those attacks, so you still have 200 HP left!" Netto called out.
"Can't see any way around this…!"
"Program Advance! Sword, Wide Sword, Long Sword! Slot In!"
"Dream Sword!"
Rock Man ran forward and swung the Dream Sword to inflict damage to both opponents, who recoiled, taken aback by the move.
"Our predecessor has some teeth to him, after all. I was getting bored!"
"It's funnier to force them to accept your rule!"
"Program Advance! Hi Cannon, Triple Slot In!"
"Giga Cannon!"
"Holy Panel, Super Barrier!"
Rock Man's attack hampered by the Holy Panels, but it was strong enough to overcome their Super Barriers and inflicted damage to both foes, surprising them and pushing them back.
He panted but was suddenly attacked by a shotgun's blast and the bullets of the Gatling gun thus forcing him to step back.
Both had drawn their weapons.
"Our attacks amounted 200 HP but given how ya have Under Shirt ya have 1 HP left. Really… Did you really think the same trick would work twice?"
"How naïve!"
"Full Recovery Program: Start! Luckily, this program only needs 30 seconds to recharge after each use… I'm not yet sure if I should try using "that" or save it up… But I could complement it with the Full Recovery Program!"
"Go for it, Netto – kun!"
"Alright! Are you ready, Rock Man?"
"Ready!"
"Soul Unison: Vadous Soul! Activate!"
"WHAT!" Both opponents gasped.
Rock Man's chest emblem began to emit streaks of purple light before a purple mass of energy surrounded his body while he roared.
"W-what! The power levels… They're brutally high!" Kurayami gasped.
"No way! What can be higher than the Meteor Server?"
The mass faded to reveal how Rock Man had gained a new, purple armor with black patterns over his usual bodysuit.
His helmet had gained a faceplate.
It had two crimson hexagons set over the eyes.
The nose and the mouth were covered by a triangular piece which had a matrix of vertical and horizontal straight lines on it.
The design looked reminiscent of a gas mask's filter.
The armor included a black metallic belt with a round central emblem.
The emblem was the Hikari family crest.
He had two decorated sword sheaths attached to both sides of it.
"What the heck? That's Vadous' armor!" Kurayami gasped.
"The man must be feeling "edgy"!" Kanaya scoffed.
"Get ready…" Rock Man hissed in a threatening tone of voice.
"Scary!" Netto gulped.
"CHAOS… BEAM!"
Rock Man clasped his hands together and formed a spheroid of black energy which grew until it occupied the whole height of his hands.
It shot forward in the form of a beam that overcame the speed of sound given the shockwaves which formed at its wake, the ground cracked open, and a crevice opened below the beam.
"The end!" Rock Man icily announced.
The beam split into two and each headed for one opponent.
They made contact and a gigantic shockwave began to wreck the ground in a 10 meters radius around them and exposing cooling devices beneath the first layer of ground, which frizzled and exploded as well.
Both opponents had suffered grave damage and they somehow managed to stand up, but it was obvious that they were quite weakened by now and their balance was far from perfect.
Rock Man was struggling to keep his balance.
"Battle Chip, Recovery 300! Slot In!"
"He did warn us that the output consumed a lot of energy, but…"
"Maybe it's pending some calibration…"
"Can't be helped. It had to be ready for this battle…"
"Anyway… You still want more?" Netto challenged.
"Enough! Kurayami. Kanaya. You cannot continue! That level of power amuses me. Let this one come clash swords with me. I shall see for myself if that power is strong enough!"
"Sheesh! Fair enough! That was the agreement!"
"We'll repair the damage to the system in the meanwhile!"
"Good. Now come, incarnation of "light"! I shall show you how the mighty darkness of the Universe swallows it all!"
"Sheesh. That guy's edginess is over the top!" Netto sighed.
"Cancel "Vadous Soul" mode, revert to standard form…!"
Purple energy formed around Rock Man again as he reverted to normal.
"I unlocked the pathway. Come!"
The staircases were unlocked, and Rock Man began to climb them up.
"Say! Kanaya… What if he runs into trouble? I know I'm being pessimistic, but I want to have something ready just in case." Kurayami whispered.
"We know where there's another of those devices! We could use it and head back to our age. We could come up with something better using the resources there… Or maybe we can bid time by manipulating others to cause some ruckus! Such as that bankrupt aristocrat!"
"Let's have that a last resort plan. I'd rather hope we don't need to use it, but one is being careful. Let's repair this cooling system to speed up the main cannon's recharge time! It must be ready!" Kurayami grinned.
"Deal. Maintenance crew: activate! Repairs nano-machines: activate! Target! Level 05, Cooling Sector 05A2!" Kanaya summoned.
Miniscule black spots began to gather in the broken ground and to mend it back along with some standard Net Navis who supervised the work of the nano-machine.
Both looked at the central cylinder in front of them and lifted their gaze to see Death Shadow's figure atop it.
"So! You came… Rock Man EXE!"
Rock Man had reached the topmost level and crossed the space between the gun and the platform using a connecting road.
He stepped into the control area where a console was placed next to a closed hatch and eight cylinders.
A "force field" surrounded the gun as if to protect it as well as preventing Rock Man's escape.
"Save me the edgy tales. Get this on!" Rock Man challenged.
"Before that… Be my audience, Brother!"
"Hmpf. I knew you'd smell me out…"
Blood Shadow revealed himself, standing outside of the field.
"Do not interfere with my battle… You shall be next!"
"Sure. I'm eager to settle the score… You lousy thief!"
"Call it whatever you want… Because Fate brought me here!"
"Sheesh. Fate is but a fantasy!" Netto grumbled.
"Save me the dramatics! Bring it on!" Rock Man fumed.
"Do not be so hasty… There is still time until the opening act!"
"What opening act? More dramatic speeches?"
"No! I shall fire a blast at Shibuya, Tokyo… It shall become the first of countless breeding grounds for a new species under my rule!"
"We can't fathom what would happen if humans were exposed to this!"
"I know, Blood! We must put a stop this freak right away!"
"Dream on! The weapon will fire in a few minutes' time!"
"Enough to stop you! Battle Operation, Set!"
"In! This is as far as you come, freakish thing!"