Ch18

Shun slammed his fist against his table as he read the email. "I'm giving you one of my agents. Forget the long game use all your resources to take them down," he read his body shaking.

He shook his head resisting the urge to get angry. I can't keep going at this fast rate. Who the hell is he going to send anyway? He shook his head and read the details of the attack on the hospital that Wily planned. Gospel can't fully succeed if he wants it this way. My Gospel virus and clones aren't ready.

Deep down he knew that Wily was rushing him for some reason and he knew just like the world Wily would slowly cast him aside if he was no longer useful.


Netto double checked to make sure his room was secure. His dad was at work but since he was going to talk about something serious he didn't want to take any chances.

He and his family had a relatively nice weekend minus the bomb threat of course. But during the remaining days he could tell that Rockman was curious about what he wanted to confide in him.

It must hurt him that we keep something from him. I'm glad Slur has decided we could confide in him. He and Rockman have gotten close and for the task at hand he would need all the help he can get.

Sitting down at his desk he looked at his two navis on the screen. Slur had her usual calm expression while Rockman's gaze was curious. "Alright Rockman we have something important to tell you," he said looking his navi in the eyes. "It's about the truth of Slur."

"The truth of Slur?" Rockman asked.

Slur nodded. "My true origin. You see I'm not exactly from around here."

"I thought you got here by accident?" Rockman said.

He shifted in his seat. "That's a cover we need to keep from everyone," he said softly. "Rockman what we are going to tell you can't be known to anyone outside this room do you understand?"

"I do," Rockman said looking him in the eyes. "What exactly are you hiding?"

"Rockman," Slur said. "I'm not from this planet."

Rockman stared at her in shock. "What do you mean?"

"Exactly that," Slur said folding her arms. "I am a net navi from another world and serve my master Duo."

"Duo?" Rockman asked. "Who's that?"

The mood in his room darkened, just mentioning that being's name sent a shiver down his spine.

"Lord Duo is my master," Slur said. "He is a powerful being who can whip out a world if they don't meet his standards." She paused and looked at Rockman. "He is a being that cannot be defeated and he has his eyes on this planet."

"This planet?" Rockman said softly. The blue navi looked up at him with an incredulous gaze. It did sound farfetched but it was the truth.

"Rockman I've seen Duo," he said softly. "He is real and he is going to judge all soon."

"Judge us?" Rockman asked.

Slur nodded. "He judges every planet and if they aren't worthy he annihilates them." Her voice was soft yet frank as if she had done this before. "I am his messenger and have served him for ages, trust me he takes his objectives seriously."

"Rockman now do you know why no one can know about this?" He said softly. "We can't people know that the world may end. We have to show him that the world is worth saving."

"Indeed," Slur said. "This is also a do or die for me. If I don't change and connect with Netto-kiun I will be terminated." Her voice was softer and he could almost hear the fear in her voice.

Rockman looked at both of them and nodded. "I understand. Thank you for trusting me."

He smiled at his navi. "No problem. Remember no one can know about this, including dad. Slur does not want to be put under any microscopes."

"I understand," Rockman said firmly. "So what now?"

He breathed a sigh of relief. That went easier than I thought. "Well we are dealing with Gospel for now but Duo may try and test us again."

Slur nodded and began to tell the story of Asteroid Blues. Rockman remained calm as she told him how originally Blues was deleted by Pharaohman and that Duo gave Enzan an Asteroid Blues to take her and Netto out.

"Yeah then he tried to kill me with a letter opener and was taken away," he said resting in his chair. "His dad must have bailed him out."

Personally he didn't like Enzan, he thought he was a snooty douchebag. However, he knew deep down the kid was probably a good guy and wanted to give him a chance if it meant helping others. He just has a twisted sense of justice. He is definitely someone we'll have to keep an eye out for. I doubt he'll take kindly to this situation with Slur and Duo.

The last thing he needed was the net police looking into him and Slur. He didn't want them to lock him and her up and to dissect her for the world to see.

"That's crazy," Rockman muttered. "So wait you can appear in the human world?"

"I can with the dimensional chip," Slur said. "I haven't had the need for it yet. You still have it right Netto-kun?"

"I do," he said. He kept both of them in a secret compartment in his desk. "I figure we could use them for emergencies."

Slur nodded. "We haven't had any opportunities yet. We must be cautious though; my lord may spring a surprise test on us again."

Rockman nodded. "Well I'll support you both through whatever is thrown our way. No one else knows about this guy right?"

"Not that I know of," he said scratching his head. "Slur did he have any people here that work for him?"

Slur frowned. "I'm not sure. I never paid attention to those sort of things, it wouldn't surprise me though. They may be hiding somewhere or anywhere, either way we have to be cautious."

"We will," he said leaning on his desk. "To be honest I wonder if he is just observing right now, waiting for his move."

"He could be," Slur said with a shrug. "Or he could be waiting to lay a trap for us. Either way we should be careful, especially around that boy Enzan. The last thing we need is for the Net Police to be involved."

"Yeah I know," he sighed rubbing his head "Personally while I don't think Enzan is a complete bad guy, I don't think he would take kindly to the idea of all of this and probably try to get us locked up or something."

"Yeah he did seem cold," Rockman said. "But hopefully we can solve this trial soon."

"Me too," he said stretching his arms. "Anyway lets practice the program advance some more. We'll need it for the future."

/

The next day he decided to take a trip to the beach and practice there. At a local arcade not far from the hospital he plugged in his navis to practice a bit.

"Alright guys lets practice a bit before we relax," he said. "Rockman Sword slot in. Wide Sword slot in."

Rockman held his stance as a sword and wide sword appeared on his hands. "Netto-kun I am ready." The blue navis face was firm and determined as he held his stance.

"Alright here were go. Long Sword slot in!" he said.

Rockman raised his hands in the air as the swords merged to form a pillar of light. "Program Advance!" Rockman yelled as he brought the beam of light down. Except that it dissipated before it could hit the target.

"Sorry Netto-kun," Rockman sighed.

"Don't worry it takes time to master," he said reassuringly. "We'll keep practicing."

Slur nodded. "Practice makes perfect. Even I had trouble with this technique, now I can do it easily."

Rockman looked at Slur and nodded. "Thanks."

He smiled at his navis. I'm glad they are getting along. It wasn't usual to have multiple net navis but he was willing to make it work. Rockman was a good guy and a gift form his dad and while Slur may not have been the navi he was supposed to have he cherished her deeply.

Together we can work to prove humanity's worth. We'll pass this test and protect all those we care about.

"Come on lets do it again," he said.

Slur nodded. "Rockman focus on your bond and connection with our operator. Once you do it will make it easier."

Rockman nodded. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind."

With that they kept practicing the program advance. Rockman was improving but he was still having trouble maintaining it.

All was going well until he heard a large explosion. "What was that?" He turned to hospital, people were screaming and running all around him as the hospital burst into flames. His eyes widened. "Oh my god. Guys come on."

His navis both nodded as he jacked them out. Damn it. Of all the places Gospel had to attack. He didn't have time to be angry, right now he had to stop them.


Rockman was surprised to see that the network was full of vines. "Fire sword slot in!" His operator said as a flaming sword appeared on his hand and Slur's hand.

"Come one we don't have a lot of time," Slur said as he cut through the vines. "The people in there need to be saved as soon as possible."

He nodded as he sliced through the vines. Various grass viruses came at them. Using his sword he burned them to a crisp.

"Fire Tower slot in!" Netto said. He and Slur both summoned a tower of fire to burn the vegetation around them.

"We should ignore these pests," Slur said as she destroyed some vegetation with her chains. "They are merely a distraction."

"I agree," he said as he blasted a virus with his buster.

Slur summoned spears from the ground to take care of any viruses that came their way. She is from another planet. Looking at his partner from the corner of his eyes he couldn't help but realize how different she was from him.

I trust her though. Both her and Netto-kun have an important mission to do. I'm a part of it too now. I won't let them down. He readied his blaster just as Slur cut through a large tree that blocked the entrance to the main frame.

Inside they found a green netnavi with a flower around his head. "Halt!" Slur said.

The green navi turned to them. "Oh dear looks like I have a few weeds Anetta."

A dark skin girl appeared on the monitor next to the navi. "Plantman destroy them. The sooner we destroy this hospital the better."

"Are you crazy!" Netto yelled from his monitor. "There are innocent people in there!"

The girl named Anetta sighed and shook her head. "This hospital only helps the wealthy and leaves the poor with mountains of debt. Trust me it is a tender mercy that I burn it to the ground."

"We won't let you do this!" Netto said. "Slur Rockman come on lets end this psycho Battle routine set!"

"Execute!' They both said.

Plantman fired a barrage of thorns at them. "Barrier slot in!" Netto said as Slur slashed at the navi with her chords. Plantman yelped as he was knocked to the side by one.

"Look out!" Slur said as she cut a vine that was emerging from the ground.

"Thanks," he said as he fired his blaster at Plantman. "We have to end this quickly."

Slur nodded. "The sooner the better."

"Guys lets take him down now! Air Shoes slot in. Fire Sword slot in!" Netto said.

Slur snapped her fingers as spears erupted around Plantman. The enemy navi screamed as he was impaled from all angles. "Fire sword Slot int!" Netto yelled. A flaming sword appeared on his arm along with Slur's. The two of them charged at Plantman. I'll help them keep the world safe. He swung his sword and brought it down on the navi.

Plantman screamed he was logged out. "Come on lets fix this," he said as they went to the main controls.

Slur nodded. "I'll do my best to fix the network."

"Good. We have to try and save as many people as we can," he said as he began to fix the control panel.

"I'll clear the remainder of the vines and clear out the viruses," Slur said as she began to walk away. "We make a good team."

He smiled at Slur. "Thanks."


He watched as Anetta was apprehended by the police. "Let me go! I can't breath! Gospel will punish you all!"

"Man she's nuts," he muttered. Turning around he saw a gray haired kid limp in the distance. "Hey wait!"

The kid fell to the ground and passed out. Something about him is familiar. Looking down he saw it was that kid from the airplane. "Hey medics come here!"

His body shook as he lifted the unconscious boy. The paramedics came and eventually took him from his arms.

Who is he? He is lucky to be alive. He watched as the medics performed CPR and made sure his vitals were ok.

He stood by watching and eventually noticed the kid open his bright eyes. . "Hey glad you are awake."

The kid looked at him and only nodded, he could have sworn he frowned at him. "He just take it easy and rest the paramedics are here ok?"

"I-I'm fine," The kid said gruffly as he got up and walked away. He was about to call out to him but the boy just quickly disappeared into the crowd.


AN: I decided to make Anetta a part of gospel just for fun. More explanations will come in the next chapter