[A/N]: I thought this was going to be a shorter chapter than the last one.
I was wrong. (in the word document, it takes up more than a third of the entire story's word count so far. wow.)
oh well. at least you get my loving tribute to the end of the Brachio arc. And by loving tribute, I mean a huge middle finger to the way it abruptly ended in the canon. because wow. that was bull. I wanted more detail that that. So you get loving amounts of detail and character stuff.
Yay?
Episode 011 - The Battle to Save Rockman! Roar, Dinosaur!
"Eeehhh?!" both Rockman and Harp Note yelped.
"W-wait…does that mean that the denpa stone is the source of the waves?" Harp exclaimed.
"That is what it seems to be…"
"Heh, then it looks like we both win here!" War-Rock grinned. "Let's get going!"
"Ah…un." Rockman phased through the wall of the ruins, and after a moment of indecision both Harp Note and Brachio Wave followed. They ended up in a room just as dark and dank as the others, but as Rockman approached the center, it lit up with a soft red glow. The light was coming from a stone shaped like a dinosaur's skull, and it looked familiar, like the images he'd been shown by Doctor Orihime…
"That…that's an OOPart!" Rockman yelped.
"We knew it!" hissed the voices of Berserk in his mind. "Dinosaur's tribe…"
"Right, let's get it then!" cheered War-Rock.
"Wait," a voice boomed behind them as Rockman reached out to take the OOPart. He turned back.
"Brachio Wave?"
"I worry of what the effect of touching that denpa stone will be. When I touched that stone…I nearly lost myself to hate and rage…I would rather lose the sanctity of this lake than to see this terrible power overtake another, have it exposed to the world…"
Both Rockman and Harp Note looked on with worry as Brachio Wave shook his head, as if steadying himself.
"Can you handle it, this rage? Will you be able to withstand this power and not lose yourself, like I came so close to doing?"
At first, Rockman couldn't answer. Brachio Wave's words made those memories come back. For the briefest of moments, he felt the burning sensation at the back of his mind, remembering when Berserk tried to consume him.
"We can take care of it. Or are you saying that we're not strong enough?"
Ah. He did say that to War-Rock before, didn't he? Remembering those words made Rockman smile softly, to the confusion of Brachio Wave.
"…It's alright. We can take of it, ne, War-Rock?"
"That's what I like to hear, kiddo!"
"Un!" Rockman nodded and turned to the stone, gulping. He reached out a hand, touching it…
And screamed as the red light emanating from the denpa stone intensified, engulfing him.
0-0-0-0-0
Harp Note and Brachio Wave both backed away as the light blinded them. Blinking spots out from their eyes, they looked forward as the red faded away. The denpa stone was gone from its pedestal. Rockman was standing with his back to them, looking down.
"Hey…Rockman?" Harp Note reached out with a hand, only to pull it back when he turned around. The dinosaur skull was in his hands, inactive and no longer giving off light. It looked like what he had described to her once. She smiled.
"So…that's an OOPart?"
"Aah…" His voice came out in a low hiss. It didn't sound right to her, and she found herself backing away.
It was for good reason: she found herself gasping in surprise as he looked up and his glowing red eyes met hers. He grinned, unnaturally sharpened teeth glinting through the thin smirk despite the dim, almost nonexistent light.
"So…that's what you call us."
0-0-0-0-0
The near destruction of the observation deck had not, in fact, scared people away. If anything, it had attracted more people, just as Subaru had predicted. After all, here was real proof of Dossy! She had appeared, and a famous hero from a foreign country had appeared to stop her! If a hero had come from so far to deal with her, she was really something important, right?
Something broke the surface of the water with a large splash. Nearly everyone's attention turned to the surface of the lake as the form of the hero appeared, jumping out of the depths and onto the surface of the lake.
"Look, look! He's back!"
"Dossy? Does that mean Dossy's coming?"
"Camera! Where's the camera?!"
The outcries were silenced as a low growl spread across the area. A red aura was engulfing the hero as the growl rose to a fevered pitch.
"Zoom in, zoom in!" cried the director of the World Mysteries crew. The hotel construction site really was a great spot for filming-leave it to a business tycoon to pick out the best lakeside view for his hotel!
"Eh? What's that?" the cameraman asked. As he was pestered by the rest of the crew to explain, he zoomed in the focus further. What was that biting down on the hero's shoulder? Some sort of…skull? He wasn't able to focus on it much, as the hero kept breathing heavily, hunched over and growling as if he was in some sort of pain. His teeth were bared, and they glistened with spittle for a brief moment before the hero threw his head back and let out a bestial roar, eyes glowing with a bright red light that was clearly visible even through the rose-colored visor covering them.
The cameraman was forced to rapidly zoom the focus back out as a pillar of flames engulfed the hero, somehow managing to cut through the water. As the fires faded, steam engulfed the center of the lake, parting to reveal that the fires had been hot enough to actually evaporate the waters beneath them. The camera panned up as the water filled itself in, revealing the hero's new form.
Bright red armor. Sharp, jutted fangs lining the shoulders and helmet. A large, almost demonic dinosaur-like head acting as a left hand. And, most strikingly, glowing red eyes and sharp, pointed teeth twisted into a malicious expression.
The hero let out another growl, sounding more animal than human. He sounded like a creature on the hunt. And like a predator stalking its prey…he struck.
"Saa…let's begin the battle once more!" the hero hissed in that same bestial tone. He brought up his arm, lifting the large head with surprising ease as he pointed it at the observation deck like a cannon. Pulling it behind him, as if to brace himself for recoil, the head began to charge with a red-hot ball of fire.
"Haaah…Genocide Blazer!"
And with that, the hero thrust that arm forward once more, a large blast of fire and lava erupting from the mouth of the beast and heading straight for the observation deck.
Neither the camera crew nor those on the observation deck had time to even scream in terror before Dossy abruptly rose up from the water in front of the deck, facing against the hero.
"Gekiryuu Wave!" the beast roared as it heaved its body forward and brought up a large wave from the lake. It rose up like a protective shield encompassing the entire length of the deck, and as the burst of flames struck it, it disappeared slowly as the water evaporated into steam. The World Mysteries crew looked on in amazement as the two stared each other down. The pink heroine that had been known to work with the hero on many occasions resurfaced between them…and sided with Dossy.
"I can't believe it…" murmured the director. "Is Dossy protecting us from the hero?!"
0-0-0-0-0
Harp Note surfaced just in time to hear "Rockman" start growling to himself.
"Che…so our power isn't truly in control yet…impossible!"
"Brachio Wave!" She leapt onto the best's back to steady herself. "What…"
"It is just as I have feared…and yet not. He has not been consumed by the denpa stone's malicious rage, but somehow he is still under the sway of its power…how?"
"I think I can sense it…" Harp murmured, tuning her own acute senses. "I can hear the discord in his waves. It looks like the waves from the Dinosaur OOPart aren't targeting Rockman, rather, they're clashing against the waves of the OOPart already inside him! His waves are weak in comparison…they're getting smothered under this battle!"
"So, what do we do?" asked Harp Note.
"If we can quiet the cacophony in his waves, he should be able to resurface on his own…we need to beat back the effects of the Dinosaur OOPart!"
"Eh? What about the Sword of Berserk? Don't we need to defeat it too?"
"I don't think we can take them both on, Misora," Harp sadly replied. "Besides, Rockman has some control over that one, right? He managed to pull the power out against Yeti Blizzard, didn't he? We'll just have to trust in their strength…"
"Hmm…" Brachio Wave did not seem convinced. "Their strength…that OOPart's spirit did not seem as if it was under their control…" And yet, the denpa child conversed with it so easily and casually…as if he trusted his strength completely, was completely secure in his own safety. Or was it something else that he trusted in?
"…I understand. We must trust the child and the spirit of the OOPart to do right…"
"Heh? Right…" OOParts had a spirit in them? Well, that would explain why Rockman was talking so strangely…
"Hah? You two truly think that human and his partner could stand up to our own powers? They could only barely defeat the Berserk! Against our might, he is nothing, as well as that weakling tribe!"
"You're wrong!" Harp Note shrieked. "Rockman won't lose so easily, especially not with us helping him!"
"So obstinate, considering what a young child you are," "Rockman" hissed. And with that, he moved.
That was all both Harp Note and Brachio Wave had time to describe it as; for within the next second he was right before them, knocking Harp Note backwards onto the observation deck and slamming Brachio Wave's head into the water almost simultaneously.
"That speed…!" Harp Note barely had time to get up before he was nearly upon her, and she spent the next few moments desperately dodging a flurry of attacks from the possessed Rockman. It turned out that despite his immense power, he was actually somewhat clumsy in close-combat. It was a sign that the Dinosaur OOPart did not yet full control. She let loose a burst of guitar strings to drive him back and leapt away, only to find herself on the receiving end of several fireballs that exploded on contact with her. If Brachio Wave hadn't caught her before she had slammed into a nearby building, she would have been taken out of the fight for good. How powerful was that OOPart, if Rockman could do this while not fully possessed?
She was forced to abandon that train of thought as Brachio Wave pulled them both under. Another explosion lit up the surface of the water above them, and while it didn't damage them, they could feel the intensity of its heat.
"Tch…what should we do?" Harp Note growled under her breath. "He's so strong…"
"We'll have to distract him, stay away from close combat as much as possible…" murmured Brachio Wave.
"Is that all you two got?" they heard the possessed Rockman scream above them. His voice had deepened…there was a terrifying echo to it now, as if there was more than one voice speaking.
"He's just trying to taunt us into attacking, Misora," whispere Harp. "Don't listen to him!" Harp Note and Brachio Wave could only nod silently at her words.
"Is that how weak Earth's denpa lifeforms are?!" "Rockman" continued to shriek. "If this is all you lesser humans have to protect you, then our conquering of Earth is simple, is it not? The Dinosaur Tribe, the power of Mu…its power will reign supreme once again!"
"What was that?" growled out Brachio Wave. He roared and surged upward.
"Brachio Wave, wait!" Even as Harp Note said those words, she knew it was too late: the beast was already above the water facing down "Rockman." The two stared each other down before a twisted grin crossed "Rockman's" face, revealing the sharp teeth.
"Brachio Wave…one of our numerous former servants. We congratulate you on awakening yourself. Strong as ever, that's very good. But then, why did you flee from our call so long ago? A strong loyal warrior like yourself, why do you not fight by our side, like you should?"
"You…" Brachio Wave felt himself shake in barely restrained rage. "You are no longer the people I served! The people of the Dinosaur Tribe were savage…but they still had a sense of honor, desired only to protect what was dear to them! To be consumed by your power, to seek nothing but power and strength…you are no longer worth following!"
"You would speak these words of betrayal?" hissed the voices of Dinosaur's OOPart, twisting Rockman's face into an ugly scowl. "It is your purpose as a soldier of Mu, born to do nothing but follow our orders regardless of whatever happens to the Dinosaur Tribe! You are not permitted, no you are not created to form you own ideas about us nor anything else! Cease these unruly thoughts and resume your original duties!" As "Rockman" spoke, his voice became more and more distorted, warped by the voices of Dinosaur.
"I refuse!" roared Brachio Wave. "I will not listen to the deranged ramblings from a denpa stone that threatened to consume my very being, that is now trying to do the same to a young boy clincing to any lifeform for the sake of continuing its wretched existence…even if that denpa stone contains the power of the entire tribe, it is not the Tribe I followed! I will not serve a mindless, power hungry entity! I have found my own reasons to fight, and I will do whatever it takes to protect it…no, not only a reason to fight, but to live!"
With those words, Brachio Wave charged through the water, opening his jaws wide and moving to crush "Rockman" between his teeth.
"Rockman," however, merely leaped into the air to avoid the attack, laughing as he fired more exploding fireballs at Brachio Wave's exposed neck.
"Live?! You dare utter those words?" he mocked as Brachio Wave struggled to shake off the effects of the heavy blow. "You were created as one of many tools! You have no right to speak such things, especially not to us! You are nothing but a tool that has lost its purpose!"
A sick, twisted grin crossed "Rockman's" face as he charged up another Genocide Blazer.
"You are a broken tool. It is simple to just discard and replace you." Brachio Wave weakly looked up. In his momentary dazed state, he could do nothing in time to counter the powerful attack.
"Machine Gun String!" And with those words, "Rockman" found his entire upper torso bound in the thin yet surprisingly durable string, pinning his arms to his sides and cutting off his attack. He growled deeply, turning to Harp Note as she pulled the strings taut.
"You dare think that you can restrain a power such as ours?"
"So long as you dare to call our friend a broken, useless thing! He has every right to make his own decisions! It's you who doesn't have the right to take over wherever you please!" Harp Note yelled, before using the strings to fling "Rockman" upward. "Now, Brachio Wave!"
"Thunder Breath!" The reptilian denpa being spat out a mouthful of lighting, striking the possessed boy and blasting him across the lake. For several seconds after the attack, he struggled to stand, paralyzed by the strong electricity.
"We've got you now! Pulse Song!"
"Gekiryuu Wave!"
The energy blast flung the already struggling "Rockman" backward, and the large wave of water submerged him, pulling him under the surface.
"Did we get him?" wondered Harp Note, looking out at the empty expanse of the lake. She seemed to have gotten her answer just moments later, as she saw Rockman emerge from the water, still clad in the red, bulky armor. "N..No…"
"It wasn't enough?" whimpered Harp as the possessed boy stood up straight. "Misora!"
"Un!" Harp Note nodded as she prepared her next attack.
"Wait," rumbled Brachio Wave, looking intently at Rockman. Harp Note stopped her attack in confusion.
They watched as Rockman stumbled forward: one step, two, three, before stopping. He then doubled over in pain before letting out an agonized growl, visibly struggling to keep conscious. Before Harp Note and Brachio Wave could even think to react, a bright yellow pillar of sparking electric energy surrounded him. The voices from the Dinosaur could be heard cursing incoherently.
"Damn…it! This shouldn't have happened!" the voices cried out, their agonized screaming echoing into nothing as the light disappeared. Rockman was there, Berserk's armor taking the red armor's place.
"Rockman!" Harp Note exclaimed in relief, before dashing off to support him. He was breathing heavily and doubled over, hands bracing themselves against his knees. "Are you okay?"
Instead of speaking, he raised his head, revealing brightly glowing red eyes.
"The…it's the Berserk OOPart!" Harp screeched, making Harp Note jump back. They watched Rockman warily, waiting for him to make a move. Instead of attacking, however, he merely shuffled closer.
"Take care of him," the voices of Berserk grunted. They sounded so similar to Dinosaur's, and yet…different, somehow. More subdued? Gentle, even…
"We can only support him for so long." And with that, the bright red light vanished from his eyes as Rockman's body fell forward, Harp Note barely catching him in time. His eyes opened, he looked up, dazed and confused.
"Huh? I…what happened?" Harp Note sighed in relief as she helped Rockman stand up straight again.
"The Dinosaur OOPart took over your body, Rockman," she responded as he stood. Speaking of the OOPart„ it still seemed to be attached to him: the mouth of the dinosaur skull was still clamped onto his shoulder tightly. Regardless, Harp Note let herself relax, it was clear that the OOPart was no longer influencing Rockman.
The next thing either of them knew, Rockman was screaming in pain yet again as a large, furry fist grabbed said OOPart and wrenched it off his shoulder in one twisting motion.
"Yeti Blizzard!" Harp Note yelped, even as the large, beast like Denpa-Human leaped away, barely avoiding a close-ranged blast of guitar strings.
"Heh! Might not be enough a chance to grab the boy's OOPart, but Dinosaur's is definitely mine! I knew waiting to get the drop on ya was worth it! There's no way a little brat like you could completely control one let alone two OOParts!" Yeti Blizzard crowed in triumph as he continued to flee.
"You dirty coward! Shock Note!"
"Yukidama Fall!" he retorted, beating his chest and summoning a series of snowballs that easily outnumbered the bursts of sound and kept hurtling towards the weakened Rockman and shocked Harp Note.
"Gekiryuu Wave!" The large wall of water broke apart the snowballs easily, leaving Yeti Blizzard to face off against the three of them.
"You…" Rockman growled, pushing himself to his feet. "I won't let you get away with the OOPart! Thunder Slash!"
Under normal circumstances, that single attack would have been enough to send Yeti Blizzard packing. But Rockman was severely weakened, unconsciously using much of Berserk's power to support himself rather than funneling it into the attack. The attack itself was also clumsily thrown, as the shoulder that the OOPart had been embedded into and subsequently injured by Yeti Blizzard's tearing it away was his sword arm. As it was, the attack barely grazed Yeti Blizzard's arm, however it did manage to numb it.
"Damn!" the beast growled as he clutched his injured arm. "So much for getting away unscathed! Che, I should have been able to get away quicker than this!" How could he deal with the three of them now? True, the most worrying opponent, Rockman, was injured, but it seemed that he was still able to counterattack, and itw as apparent that Harp Note and Brachio Wave were not as winded as he had hoped. Damn! Things were working out so well, too…
The OOPart in his hand began to glow with a violent red light, causing Yeti Blizzard to yelp.
"What, what, what?! What's going on?!" That was all he had time to say before the light consumed him. The others watched on in shock as the light seemed to fuel Yeti Blizzard's body. His jaw jutted out, the fangs growing to massive lengths. Fists and feet became reptilian claws. The already buff chest became even thicker and muscular. The OOPart was changing Yeti Blizzard, just as it had Rockman! But why did the transformation look so…incomplete? As if it was merely boosting Yeti Blizzard's power, not truly channeling and overtaking it, like with Rockman?
"Wahoo! I'm pumped up!" the beastly Denpa-Henkan roared. It didn't' matter. Merely boosting his power was enough.
"Nadare Daiko!" he roared, beating his chest with renewed vigor. The incoming snowstorm that came was much fiercer and stronger than any of them had seen from him.
"Pulse Song!" The sound attack wasn't enough to stand against the intensified storm, and it died out quickly. "Ne, Rockman!"
No good. That last attempt at an attack had sapped away what little strength Rockman had left, and he was kneeling on the surface of the water, clutching his injured shoulder.
"Watch out!" Suddenly, Brachio Wave was upon them, pushing them under the water as the snowstorm passed above them.
"Tch…that strength…how unexpected! Are the voices of my people so desperate?" hissed Brachio Wave as he brought the two children above the water on his back. They searched the lake for the powered up Yeti Blizzard, but it was all in vain.
He was gone.
0-0-0-0-0
"I don't understand…" Harp Note wondered, even as she held Rockman up, supporting the boy from falling. He felt heavier than usual, due to somehow still being clad in Berserk's armor despite the battle long being over. "After all the effort they went through to defeat us, why would they flee?"
"Mnn. It seems that Yeti Blizzard was able to retain his own consciousness, or at least enough of it to flee…"
"Eh? How was he able to, and Rockman couldn't?"
"Normally, I would assume a difference in individual strength-"
"Oi, oi! Are you saying we're weaker than that guy?" War-Rock roared indignantly despite his and Rockman's obvious exhaustion.
"Listen to me," Brachio Wave murmured. "I said 'normally.' However, it is apparent that under normal circumstances, you two would be roughly evenly matched. It seems, rather, that his Yeti Blizzard character had other advantages over you."
"Advantages?" It was the first time Rockman had spoken coherently since the battle's end, and his voice showed his exhaustion.
"Ah. Unlike with yourself, he had not merged with the Dinosaur's OOPart, he had merely used its power. Somehow, you aligned better with the OOPart than he himself did, despite him being merged with a Murian being! It could be due to you being a Null that does not clash with its Fire elements, unlike Yeti's Water element, but that shouldn't have overridden the fact that he should have been more compatible than you."
"Hah…I wonder how the OOPart was able to fuse my body, and not Yeti Blizzard's…"
"There was another advantage as well," Brachio Wave interrupted.
"Eh?" Both Harp Note and Rockman looked on in confusion.
"Of course. Or have you forgotten about the fact that your body is already under the strain of restraining one OOPart?"
"W-what? But…I've mastered that power…"
"Whether you've mastered it or not, it is still a heavy burden to bear on only one person's shoulders. The voices of an entire tribe? And to have two of them warring against each other inside your young body…imagine the effect it must have. You were utterly overwhelmed, and they weren't even focusing on you. I don't' understand how you were able to overpower the many voices of the Berserk, but until their rage can be quelled, none of the tribes or their OOParts will ever truly being a danger." Brachio Wave paused, then turned his head to look at Rockman directly.
"Whatever agreement or partnership you have with the voices of Berserk, I suggest you terminate it, Rockman. Nothing good can come of it."
Rockman froze, even as he heard Berserk's voices of indignation and Harp Note demanding him to tell her what Brachio Wave meant.
"Agreement?! Have you been talking with an OOPart? Can it even talk? Rockman, what is Brachio Wave even talking about?"
He felt dizzy. Everyone's voices were echoing in his head, melding together in a medley of sound and sensation. It hurt…what was that, in the background, buzzing around and putting everything under some kind of muddled haze? It sounded like…
"Cheering?" Rockman murmured dazedly, drawing confusion from the other two at his complete wandering away from the subject. Then they turned to face the shoreline and realized that their battle had had an audience. Everyone who had come to see Dossy had not only gotten their wish, but had seen two foreign heroes, both fighting with and against him in some saga they could barely comprehend. It was an once-in-a-lifetime event, and they relished witnessing every moment.
"Hah…" Brachio Wave sighed. "It looks like that they'll never leave now…"
"Maybe…" mused Harp Note. "But…look how happy they are!"
"Hn?"
"Harp Note has a point, Brachio Wave," Rockman interjected. "You…you were scared of losing the peace in the lake because of what happened to your tribe, right? They grew, and grew, and strated fighting each other and other tribes like Berserk…and then they turned into those sad and angry voices…right?"
Brachio Wave did not respond.
"You were scared of that!" Rockman concluded triumphantly. "But…even though this place is growing, it's not because of greed, or wanting more reinforcements, or something like that…it's just because they want to see you. That's not a bad treason for so many people to come in the end, is it?"
"For now, it may not be…" murmured Bracho Wave as he turned towards the docks, anger growing in his voice. "But the inevitable financial growth, the wealth…it will consume them all! How can you expect me to sit aside and let these people do this to themselves? I can't…I can't see that happen again. I wasn't able to stand against my people, not even when it was too late…and today I saw what they would become. Something inhuman, focused only on survival, even to use a child to further their goals…How do you know these people won't be the same? How do you know they won't lose their morals, lose what makes them human? Can you answer that, child?"
Rockman did not speak, and Harp Note looked at him worriedly. She had never seen him look so haggard, so pensive…not since he had been depressed over Tsukasa's betrayal.
"Even…even if you somehow drove away everyone here…they would just go somewhere else, wouldn't they? All that would be left here are sad people and bad feelings…would that really be any better? What would you have really stopped?"
Brachio Wave bowed his head in acknowledgement.
"But what is to be done? If the natural propensity of humans to grow and expand cannot be stopped, what can I do? Do you mean to say that I can do nothing to stop their inevitable demise?"
"I don't' mean that…" murmured Rockman. "But…people don't' always end up being greedy…they can use new technology and growth to do great things, like my dad and the Brotherband. Do you get what I'm saying, Brachio Wave?"
The reptilian being shook his head.
"But some humans using the growth for good does not mean that all of them will. Are you that naively optimistic, child?"
"No…but doesn't that mean that it would be better for you to work with people than against them? No one is perfect, but most people will understand good intentions…you can work with people to do good, and keep other people from doing bad, right? Like War-Rock and I, and Misora-chan and Harp…Look at everyone here."
They had reached the observation dock, where all the people had gathered to watch the battle with increasing interest despite the danger. They looked up at Brachio Wave and the two heroes with awe and wonder, babbling excitedly and taking pictures and video despite the fact that Brachio Wave was in a position where he could easily attack them al.
"Look, Brachio Wave. Can you honestly say that these people came to disturb the peace on purpose? They just came to see you. Surely you can make them understand your feelings without resorting to hurting them?"
Brachio Wave was silent as he looked over the humans, some eagerly pointing, others holding up their Transer or cameras to take pictures and videos, and more calling others to take a look at "Dossy."
"Hah…" He let out a sigh. "Like small children…"
And with that, he turned his body to the side in order to allow Harp Note to help Rockman off the beast's back onto the deck. "You have given me much to think about, denpa child…no, Rockman."
"Brachio Wave…" Rockman murmured, even as he lost his footing coming off Brachio Wave's back and Harp Note struggle to keep his armored form upright. Brachio Wave watched them pull themselves together before he spoke again.
"When I found out what I wanted was being threatened, I immediately resorted to violence without thinking of the consequences of my actions, or trying to come up with alternative methods…in the end, that made me no better than the people that I tried to flee and distance myself from, did it?"
Brachio Wave looked around at all the smiling, eager faces of all the people on the observation deck, and then looked back to the two denpa-humans before him who were looking up with wondering expressions.
"I will release the human I took from the Denpa-Henkan."
"Eh? Doesn't that mean-?"
"Ah. With the OOParts gone I should be invisible again once I give up solid form…I suppose that means not as many people will come. Even if they don't all leave…I don't think I will mind too much…not now that I get a close look at these people and their smiling faces."
"Brachio Wave…"
The denpa being nodded, then began to glow with a bright orange light. It blinded everyone for a few moments and when everything cleared, the host of World Mysteries was seen floating towards the observation deck, landing gently on the ground and clearly unconscious.
"K-Kyu-san!" Ah. The television crew. They had been filming by the construction site, but as the battle grew more intense, the circled around the lake, getting closer to the action and filming the words that they spoke. The celebrity figure groaned as he sat up, oblivious to the growing suspicion pressing upon him. Instead, he looked up in front of him and screamed. Rockman and Harp Note looked up in shock.
"B-Brachio Wave! You're still visible!" Harp Note stammered out, nearly dropping Rockman in her surprise.
Brachio looked around in response, noting the expression on the humans' faces, before nodding.
"It seems so. But how? The OOPart was removed."
"There were two OOParts here…?" Rockman murmured, seemingly somewhat dazed from the lights and his own exhaustion. "Yeti's OOPart and mine…even if it was only for a short time, there was so much power…I felt it."
Brachio Wave narrowed his eyes at Rockman's dazed tone, forming his own suspicions on the boy's state of mind, before nodding.
"That is a reasonable assumption. I suppose the effects of such waves would take longer to fade away, if they've saturated the space around here to such an extent. I suppose 'Dossy' will be visible for some more time…"
That statement was received with "ooh's" and "ahh's" from many of the spectators within hearing range, and as the news traveled through the crowd, more and more cries of surprise rang out.
"Waah, Dossy's going to stay around?"
"Cool, cool! This is so cool!"
"See, mama, papa? Dossy did save me! I told you!"
That last cry rang out through the air, the childish, young voice somehow cutting through the noise and heard throughout the entire observation deck. People looked around for the source of the cry, only to find themselves parting to make way for a little girl to push her way through the crowd as she dragged her parents behind her. As she got closer, Brachio Wave lowered his head closer.
"You are…"
"I knew it! You're the big dino I saw!" the girl giggled. "You made the water move me to mama and papa! They didn't believe me, but I knew!" She reached out to try and pat Brachio, but her hand went straight through him. She looked ready to cry until Brachio put his head next to her in a brief, incorporeal nuzzle, and she giggled once more instead.
"Thank you, Dossy."
"A…ah, his name's not-" Rockman stuttered before he was cut off.
"No…I find that I don't mind that name," Brachio interrupted, much to Rockman and Harp Note's surprise.
"E-eh? Are you sure?" Rockman asked.
"Ah. Brachio Wave…that was the name I had when I was one of many, mindlessly serving a warlike race. But while I was here, living a life of peace, no one here called me that name…none other than you, denpa child. And you and I…we are the only ones who have heard their dreadful voices. How else would you have known, when the lifeform you fuse with is not of this earth, much less of Mu?"
As Rockman and Harp Note looked on in awe, Brachio Wave shook his head.
"I no longer wish to be reminded of those times, of what I once was. I have found who I wish to be through my time here…meeting with you, Rockman, helped me to sort through the confusion clouding my mind. I am Brachio no more. I am Dossy, protector of the peace of this lake…someone to bring happiness and wonder rather than chaos and fear."
Rockman smiled happily in response feeling lighter and happier despite the fatigue wracking his body.
"That's great, Bra-no, Dossy!"
"Even when people can't see you anymore?" Harp Note asked.
"Even then." Before Rockman could respond, their conversation was interrupted by the sniffling of the young girl.
"What do you mean we can't see you anymore, Dossy? I want to meet you again…wuuaaah…"
"I am…sorry, child. I admit that I would like to converse with you more if I could…"
"Eh? Really?" Harp Note asked.
"Ah. I find that I once did wonder about her welfare after she was saved…but due to my own confusion about my purpose, I had cast it away…I find no shame in indulging these emotions now. Being able to communicate with humans if I wished…I wouldn't mind. It would aid my endeavors at keeping the lake's peace, would it not?"
"I see," murmured Harp Note, before she felt Rockman almost lurch out of her arms. "Rockman!"
Rockman ignored her as he used Berserk's large sword to support him as he staggered over to the girl. He could hear the voices of Berserk railing at him for putting through such indignity, but he only let out a small tired smile as he got down on one knee in front of the crying girl.
"Ne," Rockman started, making the girl pause. "Do you really want to be able to talk to Dossy?"
"Uh…yes…" the girl sniffled.
"Alright. Then, I want you to call a place called AMAKEN, okay?"
"AMA…AMAKEN?"
"Uh-huh. They've been working on a device that can let you see denpa beings like Dossy. IT's not perfect yet, but the part that lets you see Dossy works fine. Ask for either Amachi-san or Utagai-san. Tell them that Rockman told you to call, alright? He looked up at the newly named Dossy. "That's ok, right?"
"It is fine." As the reptilian being bowed its head, the little girl's face brightened, and she wrapped her arms around Rockman's neck in a tight hug.
"Thank you Rockman-niichan!" Everyone in the crowd seemed to be more content just looking at the heartwarming sight. The peace was broken soon after the hug ended, as Rockman couldn't' seem to get up after the girl left, and in fact doubled over, his body emitting sparks.
"Rockman!" Harp Note rushed over and put her arms on his shoulders in an attempt to steady him, unable to not flinch at his groaning. Suddenly, he stopped letting out cries of pain, falling limp in her arms…before his head turned to face hers, and she saw nothing but glowing red eyes.
"Y-you!" she growled out defensively ready to drop Rockman's body and fight if need be.
"You…ally of the boy…" The voices sounded…wary? Cautious? Perhaps exhausted? It was difficult to tell, but the fact that there was any ambiguity in the first place made Harp Note stop in the middle of dropping Rockman.
"We…we can support him no longer. Not without destabilizing his waves with our power. You must find him more suitable aid-and quickly!"
"W-what?!" She then found herself struggling to hold Rockman's body as it suddenly sagged in her arms yet again, and Berserk's armor vanished, leaving behind a nearly unconscious Rockman who could barely hold himself up. She tried to support him to his feet, but just as she had gotten him to stand, his legs buckled and he doubled over, nearly bringing her down with him as his body continued to emit sparks. There was little more she could do but carry him, and so she did after his body stopped emitting sparks and went completely limp.
"Harp Note." The seriousness in that booming voice made her pause, and she turned to face Brachio.
"You already know the story of how I met the OOPart and what it tried to do to me. And you have witnessed what that OOPart has done to Rockman, heard what the voices in it cry out for. I remind you of this because despite the Dinosaur's OOPart being gone Rockman cannot escape from the words of the OOPart within him."
"Then…you mean that Rockman is…?" Harp Note gasped out, her body growing cold at the thought that Rockman could potentially have been or could deal with more of the same from Berserk-and they simply couldn't pull it away from him like Yeti had done with Dinosaur.
"I don't know. Somehow, Rockman has managed to force Berserk to curb its wrath, may have even struck an agreement with it. All I know is that he is aware of its voices, even communicates with them."
"He…" What could this mean?
"I don't understand how he has managed until now, or why he seeks such things of a nature as the OOParts, but once he recovers, tell him this: If he values his life-nay, the lives and safety of those around him…he must be wary of the Berserk."
"Wary?"
"Ignore its cries, distrust its every word. At its core, the OOPart is a being of vengeance and malice. There can be no good in listening to it. In the end, that OOpart will only lead him to his doom. That is what I fear. The fate that I barely avoided, that he constantly sits on the brink of…please, help him avoid it!"
Harp Note gaped in awe at the words she had heard, at the magnitude of what Rockman had really gotten himself into. It was only Rockman's' groaning, his body seizing up in her arms as sparks emitted from his body yet again, that she snapped out of her daze, adopting a serious expression as she looked up at Brachio and nodded.
"I understand!"
And with that, she and Rockman were gone in a flash of pink light. The crowd craned their heads upward to watch as the light disappeared into the distance as the little girl turned her head to look at "Dossy" once more.
"Do…do you think that Rockman-niichan is going to be okay, Dossy?"
The reptilian being did not look down to face her, instead continuing to look up at the distant point in the sky where the two heroes had disappeared to.
"I don't know, child. I just don't know…
0-0-Episode 011 End-0-0
Episode Preview:"The battle at Dombra Lake did take a lot out of me…I'm more worried about that OOPart falling in the hands of Gori-we have to-Eh?! What do you mean, take time to relax? Next time on Ryuusei no Rockman Tribe: Rockman's Day Off?!
What am I even supposed to do…
[A/N]: harp note carrying rockman in a bridal carry. all i ever wanted in life. don bless.