Rockman EXE
Guardians of the Light Circle
Episode 14: Calling all Guardians!
Opening Song:
Ikutsu namida o nagashitara
Every Heart sunao ni nareru darou
Dare ni omoi wo tsutaetara
Every Heart kokoro mitasareru no darou
Nagai nagai yoru ni obieteita
Tooi hoshi ni inotteta
Meguru meguru toki no naka de
Bokutachi wa ai o sagashiteiru
Tsuyoku tsuyoku naritai kara
Kyou mo takai sora miageteiru
(All official RockmanEXE characters are owned Capcom)
GN2012: Konichi wa to all my dear readers! I just want to thank everyone for supporting this story. I'm so glad that there are still Rockman EXE fans out there just like I am one. I never imagined that so many people would like me to continue! Now, I'll be replying to a few guests' reviews...
MWSeraph – Don't worry, I'll do everything in my power to keep this story alive. I'm very glad that you like my story so much. Believe me, the real ending is way too far from happening.
Marima – Yep, I definitely saw you at school :-) Thanks for your review and I hope that you enjoy this chapter!
Well... that's all I've got to say. I worked very hard on this chapter, so please be nice ^-^
In Obsidian…
"But, Dark Star-sama, Hikari Netto and Rockman haven't caused any problems in our current situation. Wouldn't it be better if we'd get rid of Nature first?" suggested Dark Rockman.
The sinister warrior smirked, his eyes meeting with the Supreme Light's shadow. "Hanarin…"
"Yes, my lord", the shadow snapped out of her thoughts, now paying absolute attention at her king.
"Dark Rockman's lost, help him out. I've got work of my own at the moment"
"As you wish", Hanarin bowed, as Dark Star stood up, left his throne and shut the doors behind him.
Once the two were alone, Dark Rockman let lose his enduring rage. "Why doesn't anybody tell me what's going on!? At least 's actions made sense, but his? Nope, they don't make sense at all!"
"Ooh shut your mouth! Dark Star-sama's plan is perfect! But you wouldn't understand cause all you've got is a seed as your main system!" Hanarin spat at him.
Our hero's darker version tightened his fists, while clenching his teeth. When he'd been working with his former master, he knew exactly what to do. He would even say that it was fun to fight. But with Dark Star, plans would always switch and turn; yet he would never understand why. Even Hanarin, who had just joined the crew, knew those reasons. It was certainly frustrating.
"Don't worry, I'll leave you and your 'master' alone once I'm done with you" grinned the red-eyed shadow.
"Just tell me why I've got to kill Netto and Rockman!" the purple-armoured navi's eye twitched, as he yelled at her.
She chuckled. "Alright, alright! I'll tell you!"
Once the back-and-forth yelling silenced, Hanarin retold her conversation with her king, moments before Dark Rockman announced Nature's sudden actions towards the TENSHI Program.
….
Flashback…
"You called, my lord?" Hanarin stood on her knees, proving her respect to Dark Star.
"Yes. Have you been successful?"
She nodded. "Hai, my obsidian crystals have infected Emmie's body and are devouring her data as we speak"
"Good"
"But I'd like to remind you that Flora's still in one piece, thus guiding her sister won't be a problem at all. They could still cause this operation to shut down"
"Which is why I need you to take care of that for me", grinned Dark Star.
Hanarin stared at her powerful king in shock, as she let out thoughts. "But what could I possibly do?"
"I haven't seen a single death and my patience will soon be up. At this moment, the only guardian that you may kill has their beloved's head as my sword's greatest desire. So, unless I see a corpse by the end of the day, you can forget about our deal. Understood?"
The shadow gasped softly and tilted her head even further. "I won't let you down, Dark Star-sama!"
End of Flashback…
….
"W-What? D-Dark Star-sama wants Hatto d-dead", stuttered Dark Rockman, as he stepped back.
"Aaaww... what's wrong Dark-kun? You wouldn't mind me killing your precious Roll-chan, now would you?" grinned Hanarin, enjoying the teasing.
"Grrrr..." Dark Rockman growled, like a tiger's warning message to a deadly rival.
"... Looks like a struck a nerve..." the shadow raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms. "I'm not judging, I'm just sayin..."
Hanarin smiled at Dark Rockman's roaring flames. She was actually finding them entertaining, even if they were meant to burn her.
"Now, where was I...?" she closed her eyes, in deep thought, ignoring the almost-volcano-exploding netnavi. "Oh right, the mission... well then how about we – OH CUT IT OUT WITH THE GROWLING! YOU BAKA!"
"THEN TELL ME WHAT THE DAMN PLAN IS!" he yelled, with striking eyes.
"Unless you're quiet, the answer is... A BIG, FAT NO!" Hanarin yelled back.
"SHUT THE HELL UP!"
Both warriors gulped, for they knew that Dark Star had heard their flaming argument. (An argument? Sounds like air sumo to me... you know like, an air-five... except with sumo in the word... ^-^;)
"And that's what happens when you don't listen to me!" snapped Hanarin, with a whisper.
"Oh yeah... I mean why bother asking? We can just land in front of Hatto and capture her..." Dark Rockman turned around "... while completely ignoring Nature, Rockman-"
The dark navi stopped mid-way, for the sinister shadow had a pair of threatening eyes staring right at him. He shuddered slightly and moved back.
She clenched her fists, as she ghostly released a frightening echo. "If you truly value your life, shut your mouth... got it, sugar?"
Dark Rockman forced out a nod, feeling embarrassed. He was meant to be the most powerful of all, with the exception of his master's strength. But there he stood, shaking in fear, all because of a girl. The purple armoured-navi could feel the heavy blush on his pale cheeks, proving the loss in his extremely prideful character.
Hanarin sighed, shrugging "You truly are a lost cause..." then, she heavily walked towards the throne room's exit, stamping the floor. But she paused. Dark Rockman wasn't following her. She frowned in annoyance and abruptly grabbed his arm.
"W-Whoa! What are you-" he complained.
"Don't just stand there, you idiot! We've got to catch that Hatto before that Emmie frees herself from my grasp!" Hanarin yelled, dragging him out of the room.
"Stop pulling me! You're not my babysitter!"
Meanwhile in Sci-Labs...
Netto and the others waited, with their devices in hand, in Communiser Kifune's office (in this story, Kifune-san has an office in Sci-Labs). Silence had greeted the room for a few hours now, but questions would burst into reality once in a while, especially Netto's fierce curiosity. Although his flames slowed down after his father made the effort of calming his son down.
But Netto wasn't the only one and Dingo proved it. He groaned, "Guys, this is taking too long... shouldn't we change the plan?"
"Yeah! I'm literally gonna end up sleeping while standing!" whined Nenji, "I can't just wait here all day you know!"
Laika faced Yuuichirou and suggested an idea. "Hikari-hakase, is there anything else that you know about Sakurai? Maybe we can find out what they're up to"
"Hmm..." Yuuichirou looked at his son, "Netto, do you remember anythi-"
He froze. Netto was leaning on the wall, obviously not listening to their recent conversations. Both had discussed about the necessity for his cooperation, however Yuuichirou knew that unless Netto would be motivated in any way, that wasn't going to happen.
He sighed. "Alright... Enzan, did Meiru-chan communicate with anyone these past days?"
"Unfortunately, I don't know," Enzan replied. "I believe that Netto is the only one that can tell us that. Let me..."
Enzan walked towards Netto, keeping a bit of distance from each other, but was stopped. Kifune stared at the sapphire-eyed boy and switched to Netto.
"Netto-kun, so far, you are the only person that has talked with Meiru-chan before these incidents started. Can you tell us what you know?"
The brown-haired net saviour looked at the Communiser and crossed his arms. He replied, "I'm sorry but I don't even know who Meiru-chan is anymore"
Dingo laughed nervously. "You can't be serious..." Everyone stared at the boy, as he continued, "Are you really going to give up on her?"
"W-What?" Netto stuttered.
"Don't act the dumb Netto! Meiru-chan is your best friend. Of course you're going to be worried! But you'll never know the truth, unless you ask her, right?"
The brown-eyed boy smiled. Dingo was right. If his best friend didn't want him to know the truth, then he had to do what he would always do – to find out himself.
"Thanks Dingo!" Netto was determined to help out, thus he looked at the Communiser. "Kifune-san, I'll tell you everything"
Mejin smiled, like everyone else. "That's good to hear, Netto-kun"
"Nice job Dingo!" exclaimed Jasmine, as she shot the boy a high-five.
"Thanks!"
And that's when everyone sat down, paying attention at Netto. But before he began to speak, the boy had asked for all the netnavis present to listen as well. Now, holograms stood on each operator's shoulder.
"To be honest, Meiru-chan has changed in such a way that you might think that she's a completely different person. From what she has told me, Meiru-chan and her sister come from a planet called Linphea. She also told me that when they were in Linphea, they were living a 'first life'. I'm not sure what she meant by that, but it seemed as if some kind of battle happened there. Meiru-chan fought in a team called 'guardians of the light circle', together with her sister and three other girls. Both were reborn here and... that's it"
...
"What? What did I say?" asked Netto.
Everyone present blinked a few times, with the exception of Netto and Rockman. Mejin cleared his throat, trying to catch everyone's attention. He looked at the brown-haired boy, seriousness in his eyes.
"Netto-kun, did Meiru-chan just tell you about this?" questioned Mejin.
The man received a confirming nod from Netto and he sighed. "This can only mean one thing..."
"Mejin, does this really make sense to you?" asked Kifune.
"Not completely, but that won't be a problem. What all of this tells us is that Meiru-chan's strange behaviour started because of Sakurai Flora. In other words, interviewing a girl will be necessary to understand our current situation"
"Wow... Mejin-san just came up with a solution and I didn't even understand a word that Netto had just said..." Nenji sweatdropped, as the other crossfusion members and net saviours nodded.
"San wa iranai!" yelled Mejin.
Then, Laika crossed his arms. "But even if we catch Sakurai Flora, we'll also need her netnavi"
"Not just her!" reminded Jasmine. She grinned, while continuing with telling her opinion, "Meiru should also be interviewed! She could have some valuable information!"
"And what about Roll? It's not like she hasn't done anything! She must know something too!" exclaimed Medi, from Jasmine's shoulder.
That is when Rockman spoke, softly, "Now that you mention her, Roll-chan has been acting... strangely..."
"What do you mean?" asked Gyroman.
"A few days ago, Emmie-san had invited all of us to her house and... I don't why, but I felt as if something had happened to her. She seemed... timid and nervous... I really don't know how to describe it. I also noticed that Emmie-san has impressive strength. Whenever I use my strength, I always use the slightest of hit points, but she didn't use any at all!"
"EEEEEEEEEEEHHH!?" All the netnavis gasped.
"That's impossible!" yelled Tomahawkman.
"A netnavi can't do that!" agreed Napalmman.
Gyroman seriously looked at the blue-haired navi. "Rockman, that's nonsense! Even powerful netnavis like you need hit points to attack, or defend. Not doing that would mean using your-" the yellow navi froze, shocked at what he had just figured out, "U-Unless you're using your... m-minimum strength!"
Even the humans in the room were shocked once they'd heard Gyroman's theory. If you would think about it, such a netnavi would need to have incomparable powers for such an act to be possible. The closest that any navi had ever reached such a level happened when Rockman turned into a beast for the first time. The immense power was impossible to control, yet it seemed as if his energy levels were high all the way.
"Then we have no choice," spoke up Yuuichirou and faced the Communiser.
Everyone looked at the scientist in surprise, ready to listen.
"Chief, we need as many Police netnavis as possible," he gazed at his son, "If Emmie truly is this powerful, you'll need all the help we can get"
Netto stood up and exclaimed. "Come on everyone! Let's do it!"
"Finally, I thought you were gone forever," smirked Enzan.
"Well I'm not! And I'm going to do everything I can to find Meiru-chan. There's no way that she's going run away without asking my permission!" laughed Netto. He then faced Gyroman, who was sitting on Charlie's shoulder. "Gomen Gyroman, but I'm afraid that we'll have to change plan..."
"That's alright! I was getting bored of waiting anyway," Gyroman showed a 'thumbs up.'
Charlie patted the brown-haired boy's shoulder. "Let's go, Netto"
"Yeah!" Netto looked at Rockman, who was sitting on his shoulder, in thoughts. "Don't worry Rockman! I know that we'll find Roll and besides, nothing will stop us as long as we're together!"
Rockman smiled and answered with a hum.
Rumble! Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!
At that moment, a dimensional area surrounded Sci-Labs, trapping everyone inside. Scientists flew out of the laboratory, for viruses had materialized into the real world. This message was sent to Yuuichirou right when they had appeared.
"Viruses are attacking the laboratory and they're spreading fast!" yelled the scientist.
Manabe faced the group of net saviours and crossfusion members. "Everyone, get ready to fight them"
"Roger!" exclaimed the powerful team and inserted their Synchrochips.
"CROSSFUSION!"
Everyone was now in their Crossfusion forms, with their well-known weapons. Jasmine went on her knees, tired. "Aaaww, mou! Can't this day ever end!?"
"We're about to enter the flames of action! Let's delete those viruses, come on!" Nenji lifted his arm into the air.
But while slight excitement filled a side of the room, Netto walked towards the windows and gasped. Outside, an army of viruses were destroying everything in their way and someone was waiting, a netnavi.
Netto's pupils tensed, while Rockman choked out a name. "D-Dark Rockman! He's here!"
While the brave team of friends were fighting off the sudden virus tidal wave, Flora and Meiru stood in front of the TENSHI Program's computer. Meiru gazed at her sister, not believing what she'd just heard. Flora was going to let Roll go by herself into the TENSHI Program. The blonde-haired navi's hologram appeared on her operator's shoulder.
She stammered, "B-But I can't go by m-myself! I-It's too risky!"
Flora looked back at her, with an apologizing gesture. "Gomen Roll. Right now you're the only one who can communicate with Serenity and Ocean..."
The green-eyed girl stumbled slightly forward, causing Meiru to quickly keep her from falling. She called out, "Flora-oneesama! Are you alright?"
"What happened?" asked Roll, worriedly.
The guardian raised her face, intensely staring at the holographic version of Roll. "Roll, y-you must go..."
"But what about you?"
Flora grabbed Meiru's arm for support and let out heavy breaths. "The infection that has infected Emmie-chan is... ugh! Spreading fast... and since we share the same life, if one dies... so does the other..."
Meiru gasped, followed by her netnavi. "No! Onee-sama you can't die! Please, tell us how to safe Emmie-sama!"
"I can't let Emmie-oneesama die. She's done so much for me... and neither should you, Flora-sama!" Roll clenched her fists and brought up her fist bravely. "You can count on me! Just tell me what to do!"
The brown-haired girl smiled at both. "T-The only way to safe Emmie is to force the one who attacked her to lose her focus, but I have a feeling that she's about to come out soon... R-Roll find the TENSHI Program's control panels... these will show you every connection to every planet in the Light Circle... find Serenity and Ocean... and call out... to... them..."
Flora's eyes shut and she heavily fell on Meiru, who panicked. "Onee-sama! Wake up! Onee-sama! Onee-sama!"
"Emmie-oneesama must be severely hurt! Please Meiru-chan, plug me in that way I can safe them!" begged Roll.
Meiru answered with a hum and pointed her PET to the enormous, floating diamond. "Plug in, Roll, Transmission!"
Thousands of data cuboids joined together, until they formed Roll. Her mouth open wide at her sight – spheres of all colours spun around her. These represented a planet in the Light Circle. It was mesmerising, for they resembled a field of pure colours, just sitting there and filling the place with beauty. Of course, she could see the never old floating screens and panels floating from one spot, to the other. And in the middle floated a giant diamond, just like the one in the real world. Roll could tell that this diamond was the one that was going to reveal the guardians' locations. The navi slowly approached it and rapidly typed the keys on the panels.
"It's so beautiful!" exclaimed Meiru, watching how Roll was walking nearer to the floating panels.
"This must be the control panels that Flora-sama was talking about..." she told herself. "I'll start with Serenity... oh right... if she has been split into two then I've got to find the human. Okay, I'll just do that..."
She swiftly moved panels around, causing codes to flow down of them, like raindrops. A few moments later, a flashing square appeared on a bright yellow planet.
Roll placed her hands on her hips, smiling proudly. "I did it! I found her... now all I need to do is record it-"
KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
A sharp, purple laser hit the ground, a few meters from her. But the force was so powerful that she was thrown back, hitting a data wall.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she yelled in pain. The impact had caused a crumbled hole to shape once Roll had hit the wall. She looked up and screamed. In front of her was no other than Hanarin, with a black gun, meters in length. Roll couldn't even say her name, for she was too frightened.
"Hello there, Roll-chan..." Hanarin looked at Roll and then met with the redhead's wide-open eyes. "... and to you too, Meiru-chan"
She stood on her knees, intensely piercing through the blonde-haired navi's trembling eyes. "Sorry for interrupting you... but I'm afraid that your dear guardian friends won't be attending our show. Don't worry! They'll definitely join you, after I kill you that is"
"Get away from Roll!" yelled Meiru, harshly squeezing her pink device. "If you want to fight, then fight with me instead!"
Hanarin smirked, stretching out her arm. Then, an aura surrounded her armoured body, until it left her, forming into a threatening figure – a giant basilisk. "Basilisk, make sure that Roll's operator doesn't annoy me," Hanarin faced Roll, darkly gazing at her. "I wouldn't want our little dance to be interrupted"
The fierce creature's head reached the surface and soon after, its whole body. Meiru stood in fear, especially after seeing the snake's deadly fangs.
"H-How c-can a shadow have an spiritual animal inside of them! I-I thought that only living things from Esperanza had that ability!" stammered the red-haired girl. She stepped back and continued, until her back hit a ruined wall.
"Sssssssss..." went the serpent, as it rapidly wrapped itself around Meiru.
"AAAAH! LET GO OF ME!" shouted the redhead. She shook violently, trying to escape. Meiru used her powerful claws to cut it and used her tail to push the snake's body away. But the snake kept on squeezing her, forcing precious breaths to shoot out of her.
"Meiru-chan!" Roll called out to her operator and angrily looked at the malicious shadow. "You'll pay for this!"
The netnavi began to send aggressive punches and kicks to Hanarin, but she dodged every single one of them. "Both of you truly are Hatto. Ha! You even fight like her!"
She grabbed both her wrists with one hand and fiercely punched Roll's stomach with the other.
"Argh!" Roll groaned in pain, as Hanarin kept on punching over and over again.
"Come on! Where's your fighting spirit?" laughed Hanarin, who spun on her left leg and kicked Roll's face with her right. "You're so weak..."
Roll growled, trying to get up. She could feel the burden of Hanarin's destructive kicks and punches. They reminded her of Nature's power, of course her reasons to when and why to use them where completely different. There was no way that she could beat such an opponent. Nature herself would've had troubles battling her. Roll climbed her feet, finding her body extremely unstable.
She ran to the shadow and surprising punching her face. This caused Hanarin to laugh out loud, as she hold her cheek. "Well, well, well... I guess that you're finally fired up, huh?"
Roll tensed her fists, furiously looking at the prideful shadow. "H-Hanarin, you're no longer fighting Roll... she would never hurt anyone... but Hatto would and that's who you are speaking to right now!"
"Then what are you waiting for?" smirked Hanarin, watching as Roll raised her arm.
"Valentine Sceptre!" a beautiful sceptre appeared in Roll's hand. She pointed it at the shadow and tensed her face. "I already told you that you'd pay for this and here's my proof!"
The red-eyed shadow evilly smiled at the sceptre's sight. "You're planning on using Valentine to fight me? Then suit yourself, but that's nothing that I need to worry about"
Roll charged at her, colliding her sceptre with her arm. Unfortunately, this had caused no damage to it.
"Are you really that dumb? Valentine's power is still recovering inside of you, don't you remember?" Hanarin raised her eyebrow, pushing the sceptre back.
The green-eyed navi stepped back, understanding what she meant. "That's right, the light that my memories had put inside of me was Valentine, my spiritual animal!"
"I'm seriously getting bored of you..." Hanarin took out a sharp fang from her forehead and through it at Roll. "... Basilisk Daggers!"
"AAAAAAHHHH!" screamed Roll. The fang multiplied and powerful fangs left cuts on her arms and legs, one cut marking her left cheek as well. Her body trembled, for the pain was too great.
Because of her difficulties with breathing, Meiru could only watch her injured netnavi. She called out her name, heavily. "R-Roll..." And lost consciousness. Now, Roll was truly alone, no Emmie, no Flora and no Meiru – just her.
"Looks like you're out, Hatto-chan," chuckled Hanarin.
She grunted in pain and suddenly, with incredible effort, she rolled backwards. Roll pointed her traditional pink bow and hearted arrow. She yelled, "Roll Arrow!" and shot it.
"Whoa!" Hanarin was sent a few feet back, after being caught off guard. "Now I wasn't expecting that from you"
Roll took deep breaths, feeling the painful cuts, as they forced particles to flow out of her. "I-I won't g-give up... b-because Emmie-oneesama... Flora-sama... Meiru-chan... they're all counting on me!"
The shadow shrugged. "That won't matter cause in a few seconds... you're head will be all that I'll leave you with"
She rapidly spun and threw a painful kick at Roll, shoving her to the ground. With a grin on her face, Hanarin took hold of a sharp dagger and penetrated it into the ground, inches from Roll's horrified face.
"I'm not sure if you remember but before you died, you took something precious from me," Hanarin pressed the dagger deeper, showing her strength.
"I don't know... what you're talking about," heavily breathed out Roll.
"Oh yes you do, and soon you'll find out how much pain it has brought to me. Aw... if only Nature were here. I would've loved to see her face..." darkly smiled Hanarin.
The shadow lifted the weapon from the ground, raising it to the air. At that moment, she let a life-taking stab cut through her victim, forcing ribbons of data particles to flow down. Of course, the pain was spreading all over the netnavi and soon after, an ear piercing scream shot out into the world.
Fighting against a savage crowd of viruses, the brave warriors protected Sci-Labs, as well as the scientists in the building. The group had already deleted most of the viruses inside, however there still waited an army outside.
Laika scanned the area, shocked at the results. He shifted his glance over his shoulder, announcing his discovery. "Everyone, the viruses are entering the building. If we don't hurry, Sci-Labs will be destroyed!"
Enzan quickly reacted to this by running towards the only open exit door. He approached men in white coats, pointing at the door. "Find a place to hide, quickly!" and the group followed his commands.
"Laika, how long do we have until the building is completely flooded with viruses?" questioned Enzan.
"I estimate 10 minutes," replied the green-armoured soldier.
That is when Charlie joined the conversation. "I really don't want to be Mr-super-unlucky-pants but we've got two girls in our 'wanted' list, remember?"
"Let's just worry about the viruses for now," Laika spotted a marching Mettaur, trapping his image inside his holographic screen, signalling a lock on him. He yelled "Scope Gun!" and deleted it.
The sapphire-eyed boy caught a glimpse on a daydreaming Netto. This of course forced him to take action. He pulled his shoulder back, attempting to snap him back to reality.
"Oi Netto! Come on, we need t-... go..." the boy's eyes went wide open, once he spotted Dark Rockman, a purple sword as his right arm.
"He's here to fight me, I know it," a frown grew on Netto's face, clenching his fists.
Before Enzan could shout out another sentence, Jasmine landed in front of the two, followed by Dingo and Nenji.
She ran towards Netto, proving annoyance by heavily dropping her shoulders, her arms pointing at the ground. She puffed her cheeks, angrily. "Will you guys stop fighting? Seriously! What could possibly be more important than protecting everyone?"
Enzan grabbed her by the shoulders, causing her eyes to go wide-open. "Eh?"
To her surprise, the sapphire-eyed boy forced her to turn around, facing the opposite direction. Enzan sighed. "Perhaps him?"
"Oh… that's a good point…" Jasmine blinked a few times, as she felt a shuddering sensation.
Dingo was also left in shock. "Oh man! Please tell me that's not who I think it is…"
"Oh-Oh…" alarmingly whispered Charlie, deleting a pink sheep virus.
Everyone present knew that the last combat against Dark Rockman had left exhaustion and wounds on every warrior. Enzan and Laika were used to fighting such high-levelled opponents, but the rest had always been part of the backup team. Viruses, Asteroids, Zoanoroids – these were just enemies that could be hit a few times, with a sword as the final attack, and that would be their end. But here, they were facing a dark netnavi, netnavi whose power was just as great as that of Rockman and Netto together.
The crossfused Netto approached the door, ready to accept the netnavi's awaiting challenge. But before that happened, the boy faced the group, his fists tensing as he spoke. "Everyone, I need you to protect Sci-Labs"
"But what about you?" asked Dingo, in a desperate tone.
"I'm going to fight Dark Rockman," he replied, his back facing everyone else.
Jasmine dashed towards the boy, pulling him back. "NO! You can't!"
"Are you crazy!?" yelled Nenji, "Did you already forget the last time you fought him? He almost killed you!"
Nobody wished for him to go; yet Netto did not care. Dark Rockman had always been a threat to him and the ones he cared for, thus defeating him in a battle would be the only way. And with him gone, Netto could finally think about finding Meiru, with nothing else running in his mind.
"Enzan…"
"Eh?" breathed out the boy.
"If anything happens… promise that you will find Meiru-chan and that you will protect her and my family," Netto stared at him. His eyes could tell everything. He was worried about not being there to protect his best friend.
Enzan sighed. "Baka, you've defeated Greigar, Falzar and Cache. How could Dark Rockman be any worse?"
"Just… promise me that"
"Alright, I promise," he responded, walking to the other direction. He looked at everyone, signalling them to follow him. "Let's go, guys!"
"I can't leave him!" shouted Jasmine, feeling as Nenji pulled her by the arm.
"He'll be fine. Come on! There're still viruses waiting for us!"
With everyone gone, Netto lifted his head, angry. Then, he heard Rockman talking to him, in his head. "I'll never forgive him, Netto-kun. I might have felt sad when Slur deleted him, but… he hurt Roll-chan… he even tried to delete her"
"Don't worry Rockman, I'm going to do everything in my power to win," Netto clenched his teeth, fiercely squeezing his fists. "He'll pay for hurting my best friend"
"That's what I wanted to hear"
"Huh?" Netto looked straight forwards and met with the sinister eyes of the dark netnavi.
"It's been a while… Netto-kun… Rockman," the red-eyed navi grinned. "I presume your friends won't be fighting with you"
"They're busy, defeating the viruses you sent," Netto stood in a defensive pose, "Battle Chip, Elec Sword!"
"Glad that you understood my message, but I'll remind you anyway," Dark Rockman lifted his sword, pointing it at the blue-armoured boy. "Only one of us will come out of this field alive"
"Fine by me," and with that said, Netto dashed forward, colliding his sword's blade with Dark Rockman's.
The swords rapidly hit each other, leaving marked cracks on their blades. But the two warriors did not stay on one spot. Oh no, these two switched from one corner to the complete opposite in seconds. If present, you would see how they would somehow flash in the air, signalling a change to their temporal fighting space.
"I guess that our last battle taught you something," maliciously laughed the prideful netnavi.
Netto pushed his blade back once again, responding. "Did you expect me to take it lightly?" He sent another slash at Dark Rockman, "I almost lost someone precious to me, because of you!"
"Shit!" grunted Dark Rockman, almost being touched by Netto's powerful blade.
"Battle Chip, Gold Fist!" a golden fist replaced the boy's blue glove. He raised it up and punched Dark Rockman right on the stomach. "Next…"
The red-eyed navi quickly climbed to his feet and yelled, "Battle Chip, Dark Cannon!"
"AAAAAAHHHH!" Netto was sent back. He landed on his back, rolling fiercely back.
"Heh," smiled Dark Rockman, shooting another powerful laser. "You might be strong, but I'm stronger!"
"Ugh…" the brown-haired boy lifted his body from the ground, now standing on his knees. He spotted the beam and reacted. "Battle Chip, Met Guard!"
A giant yellow helmet materialised in front of the warrior. The beam impacted with it and changed its course, attacking its new target. Dark Rockman sprinted to the side, dodging it, but was caught off guard when Netto performed his next move.
"Battle Chip, Machine Gun!" thousand bullets shot out of the weapon, attacking the netnavi in mid-air. This caused the navi to painfully hit the ground, forcing a groan out of him.
With the strength he had left, Dark Rockman lifted himself up. He took hold of his arm, feeling as the horrifying pain spread through his weak limbs. The netnavi looked up, meeting with eyes of no mercy. Those… were Netto's.
"This is for what you did to her," the boy's face tensed as he spoke.
Dark Rockman chuckled at his threatening sentence. He squeezed his right fist, exclaiming, "Shadow Chip, Death's Cry!"
Mind-blowing sound waves entered Netto's mind, forcing him to hold his head, for he could barely endure the pain. He went on his knees, clenching his teeth.
"Netto-kun! Are you alright? Answer me, Netto-kun!" The boy could hear Rockman's voice, continuous yells and shouts floating in his mind.
Dark Rockman used this opportunity to grab Netto's arm. He punched him on the face and threw him at the ground.
"That's real touching, Netto-kun," the red-eyed netnavi summoned his Dark Sword, chuckling, "but that isn't going to get you anywhere near victory"
The TENSHI Program had always been known as a museum of arts. Colours floating around every visitor, illuminating their path – that was how anybody would define it. But, the slightest drop of blood would change its aura, in the blink of an eye. Just like war could transform an enchanting paradise into hell. You might be wondering how this has any relation to the current scenery. Well, let's just say that each character has their own role. Hanarin would be war and the flowing date coming out of Roll would be the drop of blood. Unfortunately for the guardian, war would be victorious, unless the drop of blood would stop touching down the ground.
"Ne, Hatto-chan…" the blonde-haired shadow whispered, crossing her arms. "Dark Star-sama ordered me to bring a corpse to him at the end of today… you wouldn't mind that, right?"
Roll slightly opened her eyes, meeting with a misty sight. Then, she clutched her left bosom, feeling the deep wound that Hanarin had left on her. She wished to scream, insult her like anybody that would've hurt her, but she was too exhausted.
Hanarin continued to mentally rip her apart. "Besides, Linphea doesn't need you as the second heir to the throne. That's what you're sister's for! Although… you used to look really beautiful… a celestial pink gown… gloves of luxurious silk… a tiara…"
She pressed her left foot on the green-eyed navi's stomach, forcing a groan out of her weak body. "... and I obviously can't forget your beloved's necklace. When did he give it to you?
"P… P-Party…" stuttered Roll, heavy breaths pausing her in between.
"Oh right, it was on your 12th birthday… well how nice of him…" darkly smiled Hanarin. The shadow even chuckled a little after seeing the netnavi's incensed face. She raised both eyebrows. "My, my, my did I get the princess angry... how wonderful! Let's keep the flames up! Let's see… what was his name?"
"Stop it," muttered Roll, under her breath.
"Daisgaine…?"
"Stop it!" she raised her voice.
"… or Rockman?"
Instantaneously, an inflaming aura surrounded the navi. To keep herself away from the power, Hanarin sprinted back, watching it from afar. As the fascinating light spread, Roll rose from the ground. Her bright face gazed at the sky and in her mind, she called out to her operator.
"Meiru-chan… give me your power… I can't do this alone…"
In the outside world, the red-haired girl opened her eyes, responding to her netnavi's call. "Roll…" And then, a bright light flashed within her and as if pulled out of her, a hearted-diamond, surrounded by floating rings, shot out of her. This entered the TENSHI Program and fused into the illuminating netnavi.
A strong current greeted the shadow and once it was gone, she opened her eyes. In front of her, was Roll, but she was no longer in her plug-suit. She wore a light pink kimono with no sleeves and it reached her thighs. Black gloves covered her arms from the top part, both her ring and middle finger being the only fingers wrapped by them. Even though her loose kimono didn't have sleeves connected to it, separated light pink sleeves covered the middle of her gloves. A red ribbon wrapped itself around the guardian's waist, a huge bow standing out from her back. In front of the ribbon was her guardian symbol. She wore black shorts underneath her kimono and black stockings that reached over her knees. The green-eyed guardian had black flat shoes, with a strip across, and a red bow in the front.
Once the blonde-haired netnavi's face gazed at Hanarin's direction, her fury blonde ears fidget for a second. Even though she no longer wore a helmet, she still had two yellow buttons, on top of a black hairband and her never-old antennas. On her behind, a blonde tail twirled with a red bow at the end.
Her bright face tensed, as her eyes glowed pink. "In case your ego blocked your ears, I asked you to stop messing around with Rockman's name"
The shadow snickered, spinning her lance, until she hit the ground. "And I can't believe how much you care for that netnavi! You even transformed! Girl, you've got some serious issues"
"Maybe..." Roll tensed the grip on her sceptre and threw it. The weapon pierced through the diamond, downloading the TENSHI Program. The planetarium dispersed, followed by the floating crystal.
She smiled at her. "… But I'm capable of following orders, something that you'll never accomplish"
"Can't follow orders, huh?" Hanarin's face seemed to darken, as she approached the blonde guardian. She lifted her lance and her eyes glowed purple in a narrow stare. "I'll show you how I follow orders"
Meanwhile…
Crossfused Netto lied on the ground, grasping for air. His battle-suit was slightly ripped, drips of sweat raining down his dirty face. At the other side, Dark Rockman was also worn out, yet he still had just enough strength to stand on his feet, especially since he had his sword's blade for balance. The purple-armoured navi pulled out the sword and pointed it at Netto.
"I told you… that I was… stronger…" Dark Rockman breathed out. "And now… I will take your head… as my price…"
But before he could move his sword, a yell echoed into the entrance. "NETTO!"
It was Jasmine, followed by the rest of the team. Enzan spotted the brown-haired boy on the ground and called out for him. "Hang on, Netto!"
"Dammit! Why can't they just die!?" Dark Rockman took out a black feather and within seconds… a black dome replaced the dimensional area.
"What the-" Enzan froze at the sight.
Dingo pointed at the dome, shouting, "It's that thing again!"
At that moment, everyone's crossfusion dematerialised. But, in their surprise, each netnavi stood on the ground, in the real world. Everyone was there – Blues, Searchman, Gyroman, Napalmman, Medi and Tomahawkman. Rockman was also separated from his operator and was standing next to him and in front of his darker version.
"Netto-kun!" Rockman kneeled down, worriedly looking at the brown-eyed boy.
"R-Rockman…" Netto murmured, trying to lift himself up.
Then, the blue-haired navi's face angered and his tensed pupils pierced through Dark Rockman.
The netnavi stood up. "Now I'll be the one to defeat you, Dark Rockman" He pointed his buster at the navi and shot a magenta laser at him. "Rock Buster!"
Dark Rockman barely dodged it, for he stumbled once he landed.
"We'll help to!" exclaimed Medi and the netnavis nodded. "Medi Capsule!"
"Battle Chip, Variable Sword!" a magnificent sword replaced Blues' arm and he summoned his attack. "Sonic Boom!"
Gyroman summoned his yellow blaster. "Gyro Buster!"
"Tomahawk Swing!" Tomahawkman swung his axe, shooting a current of powerful air at Dark Rockman.
"Vulcan Arm!" Napalmman summoned a purple gun, the red-eyed navi being its laser's target.
All of the attacks fused together, attacking Dark Rockman with no way of dodging them. The navi heavily fell on the ground; smoke rising from the burns on his arms and legs.
"… Dammit…" muttered the netnavi.
"Yatta!" exclaimed Dingo and Jasmine, everyone else smiling.
Rockman approached his darker self, pointing his buster at him. Seeing a weapon in front of him, Dark Rockman moved his face a few inches up.
He spit out his words, with disgust. "You bastard…!"
"This battle is over," Rockman had a lock on Dark Rockman, a crimson light spread inside the weapon and then…
"Freeze right there, Romeo"
"Uh?" Rockman turned around, his buster still being pointed at the dark netnavi. And just as the voice had commanded, he froze. In front of his eyes was a red-eyed girl, dressed in black. And underneath her feet was another girl with green eyes, blonde hair and too familiar looking antennas.
"R… Roll… chan…?" The blue-haired navi gasped, horrified. His voice trembled at first and then rose in volume. "Roll-chan!"
"No way!" exclaimed Dingo.
"Is that Roll-san?" desperately asked Gyroman.
Tomahawk stammered, confused. "B-But she's almost nothing but particles!"
Everyone gazed at the wounded netnavi, shockingly. But nobody could blame them. Cuts and flowing data cuboids, even her kimono was torn at the edges and covered in dirt. Her antennas laid weakly on the ground, while her human-looking blonde hair spread with the ends being loosely tightened by a red ribbon. Her ears heavily pointed down, while cuts on her cheeks embraced her pale face.
Even Dark Rockman let out his own gasp and if you'd keep looking carefully enough, you would be surprised for catching a glimpse of anger on his face.
Hanarin looked at the shocked Rockman and maliciously smiled, "So you must be the new favourite. Nice to see you…" she turned her gaze to Dark Rockman, shooting a dark stare at him. "… breathing"
The netnavi summoned his 'Dark Sword', using it to get up. "W-Well… it's hard to fight someone… w-when a whole bunch attack you at once!"
"Yeah, yeah…" Hanarin raised her lance to the air, rapidly spinning it. "Poisonous Mist!"
A dark violet cloud spread through the building's entrance. It seemed to violently grasp for everyone's energy, for a strong pull forced every person and netnavi to stumble down.
"I-I can't move…" weakly stammered Blues.
"I'm losing… my strength…" tiredly murmured Searchman.
Once the mist had travelled through the whole, building, even the scientists lied on the ground. Unfortunately for them, they didn't have a clue why they felt so weak.
Hanarin placed the tip of her lance on the ground, examining her satisfying work. She breathed out, "Now… let's do business"
"Who are you!?" exclaimed Netto.
"Oh please! Is that the right way of treating a lady?" the red-eyed shadow raised an eyebrow, placing her right hand on her hip and whipping her hair. "You should be ashamed!"
"Do you really expect us to treat you like that after hurting Roll!?" angrily yelled the boy once more.
"True…" she sighed and replied. "Well, introducing myself will be to boring, so I'll just tell you my name, Hanarin"
"Hanarin?" Enzan repeated.
"That's right and before you ask… I'm here to show you how we work here," Hanarin stepped back and harshly kicked the green-eyed girl, causing her to roll towards Rockman.
He heard her painful groan and clenched his fists. "Roll-chan!"
"Here's the thing, we're not like the old team of villains who can be defeated by simply coming up with some amazing weapon or what you guys call 'teamwork'. If you wish to defeat us, you'll fight have us in flesh and bones, data and basic weaponry," she kneeled behind the barely alive Roll, darkly smiling at her and continued. "Of course, you'll also face our wrath if you do so"
"I think they get the idea," Dark Rockman raised his sword at a slashing angle. "Now I'll take your head and give it to Dark Star-sama, Rockman… Hikari Netto"
Both Rockman and Netto's face showed anger. That is, until Hanarin's voice caught their attention. "Actually, I was thinking of something else…"
"Dark Star-sama ordered me to bring the head of both Hikari Netto and Rockman," reminded the purple-armoured navi.
"And my orders were to kill Hatto," Hanarin threw her lance on her shoulder. "The only way that I truly feel satisfied when killing my prey is when I get to see them in despair. And what other way of torturing Hatto than killing her in front of her beloved knight?"
"Hanarin-"
"I knew you'd agree!" Hanarin took hold of her lance with both hands. "And if you don't wish to see, you can just turn around and wait for your turn, like a good boy!"
She darkly smiled at everyone present, stopping her eyes when meeting Rockman's. "Humans and netnavis, you are all about to see the execution… of this netnavi and human…"
"Human?" asked the team of friends.
"… Today, I will show you how we'll end your lives if you interfere. I hope that the last time you spoke with these two was long, because very soon, that talk will be the last," Hanarin lifted her lance back, proving she was not joking, at all.
"Oh no!" exclaimed Charlie, Gyroman, Enzan and Blues.
"No way!" yelled Jasmine, Medi, Dingo and Tomahawkman.
"I know that I asked for action…" Nenji spoke and Napalmman continued, "… but this is too much!"
"This can't be happening!" shouted Laika and Searchman.
Hanarin smiled, but this time, her face was the one of an assassin. She laughed maniacally and yelled. "Now, I shall give you the honour of dying in front of your friends. Farewell… Roll…. Sakurai Meiru…"
Netto choked at his words, for he couldn't believe it. "No… Meiru-chan!"
"… and long live, Your Highness"
"ROLL-CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!"
...
"Eh…" gasped Hanarin. A rapid light flung her lance away, leaving her empty-handed. "W-What!?"
Everyone looked up. On top of the building's roof stood no other than… well you guys should know by now…
"NATURE!?" Hanarin's face roared in flames. "But how? My poison killed both you and Emmie!"
"And who do you think you're talking to now?"
You heard it. Nature spun in the air, flipping and twirling until she reached the ground. Surprising, the force of her landing was so intense that the ground's depth deepened, in a circular shape.
"Could it be…?" Enzan asked himself.
Everyone was left frightened at her power, yet no one showed as much terror at her as Hanarin did. Especially how darkly the guardian was staring at her.
She yelled, enraged. "You left Flora to die by poisoning me, you ordered Basilisk to hurt Meiru-chan and now you dare lay your dirty hands on my sister!?"
"E-Emmie… I mean… P-Princess Nature! Please! T-This is just a huge misunderstanding!" stammered Hanarin, waving her hands desperately.
"You are dead to me," A turquoise light illuminated her body, as her red hair spread together with her wings and a rushing current of wind travelled through the environment. Her glowing eyes switched from Hanarin's to Dark Rockman's. "You are ALL dead to me"
Both stepped back, for the wind was too strong. Then, Nature summoned her sceptre and recited, as it floated in front of her.
"Spirit living within my soul, awaken under the command of your eternal master.
Reveal yourself… Anjiru!"
Nature called out her spiritual animal and behind her formed an immense white eagle. Its screeches echoed, responding to her master. The guardian grabbed her sceptre with both hands, spun it and pointed it at both Hanarin and the dark netnavi.
She exclaimed, "Anjiru Salvation…!" she switched her sceptre to her left hand only and with her right hand, she showed her two finger, "… Peace!"
A light spread, deleting every virus still standing. And once it hit the two warriors, they dispersed. Nature's light illuminated all of Sci-Labs for a few instants and slowly vanished, followed by Anjiru and the gust of wind.
Everyone felt how the mist could no longer keep each person on the ground. They stood up, making sure whether everything was were it was meant to be. But neither Rockman, nor Netto wasted any time on that, for both approached the wounded girl the moment they were able to do so.
The blue-haired navi kneeled down, wrapping his arms around both her shoulders and waist. He placed her head on his chest and looked for any sign of breathing. Rockman called out her name. "Roll-chan! Please, open your eyes!"
The group of netnavis and humans walked towards the girl, worried about her. Rockman embraced, not caring that everyone else was watching. He just couldn't endure his anger and couldn't forgive himself for not being there for her. "Roll-chan… I'm sorry for not protecting you… I wish would've found you before you got hurt… but I can't apologize properly unless you wake up…."
"Don't bother"
Everyone looked at the guardian, with ginger hair and green-lime eyes. "As long as both Roll and Meiru-chan are in the same body, without forgetting in such conditions, you won't be getting any answers from them" She placed her hand on her breathing chest and a hearted-diamond, rings circulating around it, rose from deep within. Roll returned to her plug-suit, once the diamond had left her body completely.
"Wow…" gasped everyone.
"Meiru-chan, your body is inside the TENSHI Program. Go back home once you're done… I already took care of Basilisk so don't worry about her… and… would you mind getting Flora-chan for me?" asked Emmie, while looking at the floating Rosa Mystica.
The diamond left, entering the building and disappeared. This of course made everyone even more confused.
Dingo stuttered, sweatdropping. "O-Okay… I'm dumb, what just happened?"
Everyone laughed nervously, for they were in the same situation. Emmie gazed at the sleeping Roll and after a few moments, her eyes began to slowly blink. Soon after that, her eyes were weakly, but fully open. And to her heart's content, she met with the eyes of her hero, Rockman.
"R… Rock…man…" softly murmured the weak navi.
"Roll-chan!" his eyes softened, "Are you okay?"
She answered with a hum and heard a sigh of relieve from everyone else. She weakly whispered, "Mina..." (I think that's how you say 'everyone' in Japanese, not sure…)
"Glad you're safe and sound, Roll-san," said Gyroman, sending the navi a kind look.
"Yeah! You got us really worried back there!" agreed Tomahawkman.
Roll felt sad for not being able to give a full answer, filled with infinite sentences of gratitude. But she was too exhausted and so all that she could give them was a soft smile.
"Roll!"
Out of the blue, Meiru quickly left Flora with Emmie and landed right in front of Roll, with a cheerful tail and ears greeting her. "You're still in one piece! Please forgive me! I should have helped you out with Hanarin before, but that annoying Basilisk wouldn't let me go-waaaaaaah!"
Emmie had punched the girl's tail, forcing her to stop spilling out everything to the group. "This is exactly why I told you to go back home!"
"Sniff… gomenasai, Emmie-sama…." cried Meiru. Her gaze then shifted from her netnavi's to Netto, who had eyes of an own staring at her. "Umm… Netto I-"
"Where have you been!?" he yelled, "You scared me enough when I saw you getting shot! Seriously, where were you?"
"Well I-"
"Can't answer such a question at the moment!" Meiru glanced over her shoulder and saw her sister Flora, with Emmie, in her plug-suit, next to her. "Now let's get going!"
The dark dome and dimensional area disappeared. Thus, the netnavis returned to their respectful PETs and the operators stood up. Everyone left was about to wait for the Chief, Manabe, Yuuichirou and Mejin to find them, but the girls had other plans.
Flora approached Enzan and asked him a favour. "Ijuin-san, would you please tell Chief that I'll meet with him in a few days? I'm going to need some time beforehand!
Everyone sweatdropped, as Netto tried to hold his laughter. "Kkhh…I-Ijuin-san…"
The sapphire-eyed boy's eye twitched at Netto's chuckles. He looked at the green-eyed girl and nodded. "I'll tell him"
Flora then grabbed his right hand with both her hands and cheerfully thanked him. "Arigatou Gozaimasu!" This caused Enzan's cheeks to reddened.
"Let's go Meiru-chan!" exclaimed Flora, her wings revealing themselves from her back. "We've got a few calls to make!"
"I'm coming!" the redhead looked at Netto and put her hands together. "Netto, I'll tell you everything soon, okay? I promise!"
And with that said, Meiru sprinted to the top of Sci-Labs and switched from roof to roof, following her sister.
Dingo tilted in Netto's direction, whispering. "If she plans to tell you everything then she'd better write it down… starting off with where in the world she got those ears from"
The Sakurai Residence was specifically quiet at night. Emmie and Roll decided to sleep on the same bed, for Roll felt that nightmares would greet her when asleep. Meanwhile, Meiru and Flora slept soundly, exhausted. Then both Flora and Meiru's devices glowed in the dark… a voice calling them…
"Nature-sama? Hatto-chan? Is anyone there?"
"Maybe they're asleep…"
"Well I'm not gonna stop till I hear them!"
GN2012: Now wasn't that a long day… anyway as you have all noticed, both Flora and Emmie are asleep so I'll be ending this episode by myself. First of all… my dear readers, I need your help. I need to know which name you guys prefer the most…
Hikari Daisgaine or Hikari Daisuke?
Whenever I write his name, I take at least a minute before typing it down. It would be nice if I could hear your opinion. My second favour would be a catchy phrase! Since our guardians will be transforming… I'm going to need a phrase for them to call out, like anime, you know? And your ideas will also count!
Here's what I've thought of… (I'll be using Hatto as an example)
Hatto Guardian, Make Up!
Release! Watashi no Rosa Mystica!
Guardian Make Over!
PM or leave a review! And that's the end of this episode!
GN2012: Coming Soon… Netto the Spy
Ending Song…
Fureta yubisaki
Kokoro tomoshite
Nagaredasu senritsu
Ai o nozomu
Kizutsuketa eda no saki
Kuchite yuku sadame na no ?
Tozasareta toki no hazama ni mayoikonda
Chiisana hikari no shizuku
Yume no owari tada kimi dake o negau
Hitomi ni utsuru
Gin no tsukikage
Yasurakana senritsu
Douka towa ni
Kizamiyuku hari no oto
Aragaenu sadame na no?
Chigirareta kono gensou o tsutsumikonda
Utsuro na hikari no rasen
Motomeru no wa tada shiawase na kotae
Hari iro no toki no hazama ni michite yuku yo
Odayaka na hikari no shizuku
Yume no owari tada sore dake o negau