I'm back with a new chapter. Yay. Okay, moving on.
Dekao likes to show off about being the strongest in class, so when there's a new kid, of course he's going to challenge them. Especially when the new kid seems to be flirting with Meiru-chan. Too bad it backfired.
Pippalina: I hardly mentioned Netto's grandpa and you're already guessing? Nice. Also, there wasn't any kidnapping. Netto just ran away with Forte because they're best friends, Sci-Labs was trying to delete Forte, and Netto wasn't going to let Forte get deleted. They got picked up by the grandpa sometime later. No WWW involved.
Ai Star: I would like to remind everyone who's reading any story ever that the author's notes is a good place to get more info.
I don't own Rockman EXE.
Pet
"Why did you guys come here? Go home already!" Dekao groaned from his place on the hospital bed.
"Don't be like that!" Meiru reprimanded. "We were worried when Gutsman said that you were injured! Even Netto-kun came over to see you!"
It was Wednesday, the day after Netto and Rockman defeated Fireman and stopped the oven incidents from continuing. They, along with Meiru and Roll, are currently at the hospital to visit Dekao and drop off his homework.
'Ungrateful brat.' Forte snarled as Dekao slammed his PET screen-down.
'You really don't like him, huh?' Curiosity getting the better of her, Netto leaned down and lifted the blanket up, trying to see what kind of injury Dekao got.
This caught his attention. "Stop that!"
Surprised, Netto leaped back and snapped her hands to her sides. One hand still held the blanket, which slipped off the bed and pooled onto the floor. There was a stunned silence in which the two girls present stared disbelievingly at Dekao's injury. Or rather, the cause of it.
A robot cat.
Netto snorted, then started laughing, Forte's amusement leaking through their link and mixing with her own. Meiru covered her mouth and giggled quietly.
"You guys, stop laughing!" Dekao complained. Netto, now only smiling, bent down to pick up the blanket and set it on Dekao.
"Sorry, but…" Meiru took another glance at the cat, then started laughing again. "You were bitten by your toy cat!"
"It was supposed to catch rats…" Dekao grumbled, face turned away from them.
'It's done its job rather well.' Netto allowed herself another laugh at Forte's comment.
"So, why is it still on?" She asked. Meiru and Dekao stared at her in surprise. Netto fidgeted, asking again in a quieter voice. "I mean, why haven't you turned it off yet? It would have kept you from visiting the hospital."
Dekao looked at the cat, then to the wall.
"…You don't know how to?" Netto guessed. Meiru nodded. After a moment, Dekao nodded as well.
Netto sighed. "Well, with these models, the off switch is usually…" She reached over and stuck a finger in the cat's ear. There was a click, and the cat went limp. "…there."
"Wow," Meiru gasped. "You're really good at this."
"No, this is just basic stuff." Netto slowly pried open the cat's jaws and removed it from Dekao's leg, leaving four small bloody holes where the fangs used to be. "You should get that looked at, Dekao-kun. It could get infected." As Dekao gave a shout of panic, Netto headed to the bathroom to wash the blood off the cat's mouth.
"This is…Saloma-san's flower shop?" Netto asked. Meiru had wanted to hang out together, and the flower shop is where she wanted to go. Forte was in his PET, due to there not being a chance for Netto to plug him into the Uranet.
"Yep!" Meiru nodded. "She makes the best teas. Come on!" She took Netto's hand and dragged her into the shop.
Inside, Netto took the time to look around while Meiru went to talk to Saloma. It was what one would expect from a flower shop. Full of flowers. As she turned to look around more, something at the window caught her eye. Netto blinked, and it was gone.
'You aren't imagining things.' Netto nodded thoughtfully.
'It looked…kind of blue? Maybe it was just someone walking past.'
"Netto-kun!" Meiru called out, catching Netto's attention. Meiru was at a small table, waving at her. Netto went over, propped Rockman's PET up, and took a seat. Moments later, Saloma came by to drop off two steaming cups of tea.
"So, is Dekao-kun doing alright?" The shop owner asked.
"He was when we left." Meiru confirmed. "Especially after Netto-kun got that mouse hunter off his leg."
"That's amazing, Netto-kun." Saloma gave Netto a considering look, which just gives Forte excuses to send Netto alarm sounds. She retaliated by sending an image of the red traffic light right outside the shop.
"Yeah, even I didn't know you could do that!" Rockman joined in. Netto blushed, and tried to hide it by taking a sip of tea.
"No it's not." She denied, setting the teacup back onto the saucer. "It's just logical. Most machines have emergency off switches. And for a model like that mouse hunter, it would have to be in a place that can't be bumped into very easily. So, inside the ear."
Meiru, Roll, Rockman, and even Saloma were giving her awed looks. Netto blushed again, her cheeks light pink, which quickly darkened to red as she felt the intensity of Forte's pride.
"By the way," Roll spoke up. "Why was Dekao-kun attacked by the mouse hunter?" Netto gave a small sigh of relief as Roll became the center of attention. That didn't stop Forte from transmitting his feelings through their link, but she was used to it.
"Could it be the work of WWW again?" Meiru suggested. Netto didn't miss the look Saloma had when WWW was mentioned.
"What's WWW?" Netto asked. She might have heard it somewhere before, but couldn't remember where.
Meiru looked shocked. "You haven't heard of WWW?" Netto shook her head.
"This past week, Netto-kun was too busy to watch the news." Rockman explained.
"And before that," Netto added. "I was constantly traveling, so I didn't have the chance to watch the news either."
"Ohh…"
"WWW is a powerful organization that uses networks to commit crimes." Saloma cut in, clasping her hands together. "The members are currently unknown, but one of them started the series of spontaneous fires. Be careful, you two. Don't get mixed up with them, alright?" She smiled, then left to assist a customer.
"I haven't had the chance to tell you this yet," Meiru began. "But thank you for saving me yesterday. You got those injuries because of me, right?"
Netto looked down at her hands, which were still covered in white bandages. A high pain threshold ensured that she wouldn't be able to feel the wounds much now, but her grip was weakened as a result of the bandages.
"It's fine. I hardly feel a thing." Netto smiled. "Sorry about the window, by the way."
They laughed, finished their teas, and headed out.
As the two wandered the streets, there was a yell from behind them. A screech of bicycle wheels later, and they were face to face with a man with a fish apron.
"Oh, Masa-san!" Meiru greeted. To Netto, she explained. "Masa-san's the local fish seller around here. He's known for not being all that knowledgeable about technology."
"That stuff's too complicated for me." Masa waved off. He jabbed a finger at Netto. "So who's this?"
"I'm, uh, Hikari Netto." Netto spoke up shyly. "It's…nice to meet you?"
Masa gave her a look of suspicion.
'Please don't.' She told Forte, who was probably going to send her more alarm sounds. The small wave of disappointment proved it.
"So," Masa started, turning back to Meiru. "Where's Dekao? He didn't come by today."
"Dekao-kun's in the hospital." Meiru informed him. "He's-"
"What!?" Masa interrupted. "I bet he hasn't taken enough calcium."
"Um, calcium has nothing to do with…"
"With his size, it's bad if he doesn't get enough. And now that he's fallen ill…" Masa muttered to himself, seemingly unaware of Meiru's attempts to correct him. "Alright! Hang in there Dekao, I'm going to prepare some fish for you!" With that, he biked off.
"It's City Center General Hospital!" Meiru called after him, then sighed and smiled at Netto. "That's Masa-san for you…oh, look over there. In front of the antique shop." She pointed to a figure across the street.
Netto stared. "Is that Mariko-sensei?"
Meiru nodded as Mariko-sensei entered the shop. "Let's follow her."
They crossed the street and peeked through the window of the shop. Netto could see the shop owner, but a curtain kept her from seeing whoever else was in there.
"So Mariko-sensei likes antiques?" Netto asked, glancing at the various pots and plates that decorated the interior. Nothing particularly interesting to her.
"No, I don't think that's it." Meiru moved over to the door. "The lady who works here's known for her fortune telling." She walked into the shop. Netto followed. "Mariko-sensei!"
"Gah!" The teacher peeked out from behind the screen, then hid herself.
Netto walked up to the counter, taking note of the woman behind it and the crystal ball. "Mariko-sensei, since you're getting your fortune told, are you worried about something?"
"N-no, of course not!" Mariko-sensei denied.
"Can you tell me my fortune?" Meiru asked. Mariko-sensei sighed. From what, Netto couldn't tell.
"Are you sure the fortune's accurate?" The question came with a skeptical tone.
"Silence…"
Netto clapped her hands over her mouth, blushing in embarrassment. 'Forte, don't just do that out of nowhere!'
'…Sorry. I was curious.'
'Just tell me next time?'
"Water…" The fortune teller mumbled. Netto let her hands drop back to her sides.
"Water?" Netto, Meiru, and Mariko-sensei asked at almost the same time.
"I see flowing water." As if that explains anything.
'On a Wednesday?'
'Shush, you.'
The fortune teller looked up at Netto. "Who might you be?"
"Me?" Netto blinked, then smiled. "I'm Hikari Netto. It's nice to meet you."
"Your net navi…"
"My net navi?" Netto tensed. "What about him?" She had to be talking about Rockman, right? There's no way she would know about Forte…
"What if your net navi…" She was interrupted by a shout of pain from outside.
Netto frowned. "Doesn't that sound like…"
Meiru sighed. "Yeah, it's Dekao-kun. We should go see what's wrong." With only a backwards glance from Netto, the three left the shop. Outside, Dekao was clutching at his bandaged leg, which also had a robot dog biting onto it.
'…Again?'
'Seems like it.'
"Let go, let go!" Dekao yelled, shaking his leg up and down until the dog leaped away. It snarled, charged at Mariko-sensei, and successfully snatched her bag.
"My bag!" The teacher wailed as the dog ran off. Netto immediately snapped on her roller blades and chased after the robot.
"We'll get your bag back." Meiru hastily said before racing off after the two.
The two girls gasped for breath as they barely made it into the train where the dog was.
'Maybe you need training as well.'
Netto groaned. 'Let's talk about it later.' Spotting the dog, she carefully approached it and held out a hand. It nuzzled against the bandaged skin and made a high-pitched whine. Taking the bag was easier than she expected. "It's acting totally different now…"
Meiru joined her. "It's like that cat fr-wah!" She yelped as the train shook unexpectedly. Glancing up at the screen above the door, she gasped. "Netto-kun, look at the speed!"
The numbers on the screen were rising fast, well past the speed limit. "What the…"
The robot dog ran up to the door leading to the front of the train and barked. Netto nodded. "Don't worry, we'll find out what happened."
Meiru blinked. "You can understand it?"
"No, I just guessed."
"Oh."
As they entered the first carriage, they could see people banging on the conductor's door. Netto picked up a fire extinguisher. An unconscious conductor, a locked door with a glass window, and a fire extinguisher. Hmm…
'Same thing as yesterday?'
'Why not?' Netto smirked, and yelled. "Out of the way!"
Once the passengers are on the sides of the train, Netto charged towards the door and threw the fire extinguisher as hard as she can. It crashed into the window and slid down, the window crumbling soon after. Using Netto as a stool, the robot dog jumped through the opening. Moments later, the door slid open.
Netto quickly patted the dog on the head before asking someone to help her get the conductor out. As soon as that happened, she sat in the conductor's seat, taking in all of the switches on the panel.
"Do you know how to control this thing?" Meiru asked from beside her. Netto groaned. Of course not, that wasn't something she had to learn.
The alarm sounded. Netto looked up. There was another train up ahead and unless this train slows down, they were going to crash.
Netto muttered something in Creamland's language under her breath and got a sharp 'poke' from Forte. 'Language.'
'It's perfectly suitable in this situation! And it's not like you don't do it too!'
A sigh. 'I suppose.'
'Ha!'
"Netto-kun, I think…" Meiru gulped, her voice barely above a whisper. "I think we're going to crash."
"…Yeah." The other train looked so close, too close. And then it took the left track. They went right. "That…was way too close for comfort."
"Netto-kun. Netto-kun!" Rockman called from his PET. "Plug me in. I'll investigate the system and see what happened."
"Alright. Plug in, Rockman! Transmission!" Connecting Rockman's PET to the train, Netto sat back with a shaky sigh. Forte widened their link, bringing them close, but not quite, to Full Synchro. Netto appreciated the gesture. It was comforting, extremely so after the thought that they were going to crash had seemed too real.
"Netto-kun, a computer virus infected the system." Rockman reported after a few minutes.
Netto reluctantly brought the link with Forte back to its normal size. "So that's why the train went out of control?"
'What unreliable security they have here.'
'We already know that.'
"I'm sorry, but I can't stop the train." Rockman was saying. "You need to get all the passengers to the last carriage."
Netto nodded. "Got it." Disconnecting and stuffing the PET back into its holster, Netto and Meiru began to herd everyone to the back of the train. It didn't take as long as Netto thought it would. Must be because it's getting very close to being a life or death situation.
'Rockman? I got all the passengers into the last carriage. What do I do now?'
'Detach the first carriage. After that, the train will stop on its own.'
Netto frowned. But that would mean that Rockman would be left behind. '…Got it.'
'You're planning on joining Rockman, aren't you.' It wasn't a question. Forte already knew that Netto has made up her mind.
'Yep. You're not gonna stop me?' He won't, Netto could tell.
He snorted. 'You won't let yourself die so easily.'
Netto grinned. They knew each other so well. 'Of course not.'
Tugging on the switch that would detach the carriages, Netto growled. "It's not moving!" And her entire body's tingling now. Which means that Rockman's in trouble.
'Check the sides.'
'The sides?'
"Netto-kun, the safely locks on the sides!" Meiru called out.
"Oh, these." Netto turned the safety locks off, then pulled at the switch again. It popped up easily, and Netto fell back, losing her grip.
'You need to hurry or you won't make it.' The front car was already pulling ahead.
Netto quickly got to her feet. 'I know!' Running start, then jump! For a brief moment, she thought she made it.
But then her foot slipped.
Netto yelled in surprise as she fell and started to slide backwards. Forte panicking wasn't helping at all. Meiru's fading scream didn't help either. Something landed on her backpack and jumped off. The robot dog. It bit into her sleeve and started to pull her towards safety. She grabbed on to the upright switch and shakily sat up.
The dog whined, rubbing its head against her leg. Netto pet it, smiling. "Thanks." 'Can I keep it?'
'You already have enough projects to keep you busy.' Forte's voice was tight.
Netto momentarily pulled him into Full Synchro, their version of a hug. 'I'm fine now. See?'
'…We're both going to the Uranet later.'
Netto laughed. 'Sure.' Slowly standing up, she made her way to where Rockman was, and connected his PET to the system. "Barrier, slot in!"
Sure enough, a transparent shield popped up around Rockman, and protected him from the lightning attack that would have deleted him.
His face lit up. "Netto-kun!"
"Sorry for the wait, Rockman." Netto held up a chip. "Ready to turn this around?"
"Of course!"
Netto grinned. "Alright! Battle chip, Shotgun, slot in!" Rockman's arm instantly formed into a buster and he fired. The opponent cried out in pain. "Battle chip, Sword, slot in!" Rockman's buster reformed into a sword, and their opponent brought out an Elec Sword. Rockman charged. The other navi, the thunder elemental navi, raised their sword up high and slashed downward.
'That was foolish.' Forte commented as the thunder elemental navi was forced to log out.
'Yeah, that's not a good plan for a charging opponent.' An alarm sounded. They were reaching the end point. "And we're going to crash if I don't stop this train!"
"Switch to manual mode and use the brakes!" Rockman shouted. Netto did exactly that, then shoved the brakes forward and braced herself. Several of the buttons on the control panel exploded.
'We're too close to prevent a crash!'
'Then how about this?!' Netto tilted the train, hoping that the friction will slow it down in time. She could see the end point now. It was coming closer…
And closer…
And then the train stopped moving. Netto heaved a sigh, picked up Rockman's PET, and opened the door. She paused at the sound of footsteps. The doors sild open and she was thrown back from the force of the water.
"Netto-kun, that fortune teller was right!" Rockman exclaimed from…wherever his PET landed.
"Hah?"
"You know, about the flowing water!"
Netto groaned.
Judging from the beginning of this episode and comparing it to the end of the first episode, it's reasonable to believe that the Dekao scene took place the night of Fireman's first defeat. Then again, Netto could have easily beaten Dekao many times if there was a time skip, but it would make more sense in this story if it happened in the course of one day or so. Then we would be able to see the gradual friendship building Netto gets.
Most readers would know what Masa, Saloma, and Miyuki do in their free time. And in their point of views, it would be very suspicious that Hikari Yuuichirou's daughter just suddenly showed up after ten years of fruitless searching. And that Yuuichirou would trust her almost immediately.
Forte and Netto usually communicate with words, but sometimes images and sounds are more appropriate. So here's the translation for their 'conversation' in Saloma's shop.
Forte: Alarm sounds. Basically 'be careful'. He tends to do that whenever someone's being suspicious.
Netto: Red traffic light. Means 'stop'. Because the alarm sounds are loud and can get annoying really easily.
Extra:
"Netto-kun, are you alright?" Meiru asked the day after the train incident.
Netto blinked. "Yeah? Why do you ask?" Come to think of it, Rockman was asking the same thing that morning.
Meiru bit her lip. "There's scratches all over your face. They weren't there yesterday."
Netto froze. 'Forte, during our training in the Uranet, did we…?"
'Hm? I think that was more from the sand than from other navis.'
"Netto-kun, if you're in trouble, you should go tell someone!" Meiru fretted.
Shaking her head, Netto replied. "N-no! It's nothing like that! I just…" Her mind raced for a suitable excuse. Forte gave her one. "I just fell off the bed! Multiple times!"
Meiru looked doubtful. "If you say so…"
Netto sighed in relief. Then to Forte. 'That was a terrible excuse.'
'You couldn't come up with a good one.'
'True.'