Netto's Vaishnava Neighbors, last part.
Everything was quiet in the Volnutt-Dei household despite the absolute chaos that had reigned there but a scant amount of hours prior. Better yet, there was very little trace of Gospel's viral surge.
In Eka's room, the angelic Cyber fae held his grieving wife to his chest as he, in his astral form, watched over her and all of his children, including their newest addition.
He knew how costly it was to stay in Deden. And he knew that, since his wife had outed them all, they had to move.
Was he mad at Moiya for this move?
Well… maybe. For one, it meant that Forte could now go on with his plan. He, along with Bhuta, Lavanga-manjari and Hari-Priya had scoured through Hikari's many computers and drives for what they needed.
They had to blow this particular whistle as hard as they could, they had a duty toward the enslaved fae…
Alright, their main duty was to assist lord Chaitania's sankirtan movement. But, as a member of the photonic race, they still had this one little detail to fix, as it was under the order of their Guru.
They had a duty to perform, to free the Netopian Navis from their shackles, and to drop this one anvil called Fae trafficking to the authorities and stop this madness once and for all.
And to make sure Hikari became infamous wherever he went.
But… Moiya elected to give this task to the capable hands of one Lumine, since he didn't have a family to take care of and, if push came to shove, it was Lumine, the closest thing as a binary Lovecraftian horror of a fae cyberspace could possess.
So with this taken care of, and all of their alarms shut off, the Volnutt-Dei family rested, fully trusting that Bhagavan sri-Krishna would protect them.
In the basement, things had quieted down too, despite the chronic lack of space once Gospel managed to get his point across.
He had no more loyalty toward Forte. That bitch was now following Roku, and they would follow him until the very ends of this earth.
Or… out of cyberspace, apparently.
The only sound was the life support, Gospel, Haruka, and Metty snoring away and… that was it.
It was… perfect, perfectly calm, perfectly fine…
And right now, Forte… Pietrov knew he could not ask for anything better.
He was currently leaning back on Gospel's flank, having grown accustomed to the crawling bugs under the beast's tough skin. He was back at being… more human. But instead of his jacket, he wore a simple tee shirt and bermudas. Also, fuck off everone who said socks in sandals was a fashion faux-pas, Pietrov didn't give a shit if his feet where warm.
In his arms was his Son… Roku…
The Dark Herald and the… God-like fae had a very deep heart to heart. Roku wanted his papa back, fearing Forte would once again be bad and wanting to destroy all humans only because a bunch of meanies had hurt him… and simply wanting him back as every traumatized child would.
And… said like that, Forte was forced to admit that Roku had a point…
Not that he'd said as much… not as first, anyway.
"Hmm? Pietrov?" Haruka asked as her sleep broke. She had fallen asleep on Gospel's flank Aslo, truting the beast with her life, with Netto in her arms.
That was… beyond any fantasies that lived rent free in Forte… in Pietrov's brain.
And Netto… Poor Netto. He may be a brat, and the only Thorn in Pietrov's side but…
This adventure reminded the Dark Herald, the most powerful Net-Navi to scourse the Ura Network, that despite Netto and trouncing him over and over again, they where still kids.
"Yes Ha… Haruka?"
The brown haired beauty stared at him, blinking sedatedly, sleep still clinging to her. "Your not sleeping."
"No… Can't do it. Too much going on, you know?" He spoke under his voice, unwilling to have his recovering son wake up on him.
He needed sleep, after all he'd gone through.
Haruka gave a hollow laugh, her beautiful brown eyes growing distant as she remembered all the secondary trauma she'd received. "I know… I just want a break. No more silly adventure for my baby, no more fighting, no more surviving just… just him being a normal kid who's obsessed with soccer and whose dream is to be the next Ronaldo and not-"
"Be the second youngest net-saver." Pietrov ended for her.
Sure, Roku and Netto had saved the world three times… a pair of underaged boys who had to fight bigger threats than them when adults just twiddle their thumbs and said 'we can't fight, it's all you.'
"... I… I'm a hacker… I may not have a Net… a Fae. I never got the appeal, really. But… with Lumine's help-"
"No." Forte stopped her. "Let that go, just make sure I have a home to return to, and work your magic at the stove." Pietrov said as he could still taste Harukas first try at Pierogi, veg pierogi.
Man, what wouldn't he do for a second taste. The queen of his heart had been dissatisfied with them, grousing about the texture and the lack of taste when no one was around.
If those pierogies had been a failed attempt, then how in the name of God would better one taste like.
He may not even survive, for all he knew, haruka's cooking would be the cause of his ascension to heaven, only to return down since there was no way there was a better cook then her.
Wait… where was he again?
Right.
"I'll take care of our boys. I have my network, I'll work with a few other Navi from the ura network. Humans have no idea how to… you know, not start wars and conflicts… heard Doc Wily's son was ah… looking into crap he's not supposed to. I'm already on it, bae… ah… Haruka."
…
…
…
Aw, Yop.
Hell, that was one slip he could not recover from.
Haruka looked at Forte with wide eyes.
'Aw Yop.'
"You… would be willing to protect… my two sons?"
Hope filled Pietrov's heart. "With my life." he assured her.
Netto and Roku… Pietrov could not even begin to fathom when he stopped hating the two young boys…
Then he realized…
He stopped hating them when he'd realized what Netto and Saito… Rockman went through, when Rocku fixed his emblem…
No…
His little godling, the son of an Alpha fae, had fixed his heart… he had no reason to, other then thinking Forte was his Dad, his papa…
Pietrov felt pressure building up behind his eyes, a stinging burn that begged to make a quick exit from the fragile pair of gelatinous, fluid-filled orbs in his face.
"Pietrov?"
"I…" The Half-fae tried to speak around the lump stuck in his throat…
Right… he was crying.
Forgetting all about all the stuff he'd wanted to tell Haruka, Forte instead held his boy closer to him, giving his thanks to God.
If he would've kept going as the Herald of Darkness, as the all powerful loner, and the deleter of humanity… would he have something like this?
No…
Not at all.
What he would've gotten instead, was a lonely fate and hatred.
He… wasn't sure he could've lived like that for long… or perhaps pure spite would've kept him going.
But now… perhaps, there was another option for him?
Perhaps… love, even?
"Forte?"
"Sorry I just… I'm… I just think I just got super lucky right now." He discreetly sniffled as he watched his voice volume, Saito had been stirring a bit, and God (Krishna?) knew he needed rest. "So… how do we do this whole… relationship thing?" He asked, hoping he didn't overstep any bounds.
"Well… we could start with an introduction." Haruka whispered, her cheeks gaining a rosy tint.
'Oh, this is way better than talking to a picture.'
"Alright so… who's starting?" Forte asked in a whisper, more than a little aware of his son. Roku, his sweet Roku, still wanted him as his dad. It was humbling, uplifting and terrifying all in once. "I would say Ladies first… if that is what you want?"
This made the sweet mother of his two kids blushed prettily and tittered. Causing Netto to grumble unhappily as he buried his face in Haruka's shirt.
Both adults blanched, becoming more quiet than a sneaking bear as they held their breath, waiting for the tears and the scowls.
Netto, in his state of recovery truly showed how much of a child he still was.
But thankfully, Netto just sighed as he snuggled in his Mother's cardigan, still dead to the world.
Meanwhile Saito… Roku does just the same.
Both adults sighed in relief, disaster averted. After the celebrated intake of oxygen and rapid expulsion of carbon dioxide, both sent a message.
Tomorrow… let's continue tomorrow.
"Yes, tomorrow… Morning sounds good.
Meanwhile in the Japanese Net-saver HQ, and streamed live to all the leaders of the world, an important meeting was at its climax.
How important is it?
Try historical.
All of the leaders and representatives were unable to look at their esteemed guest, their foreheads dripping sweat, others looking pale, and some rather green.
And quite a few held their PETs to their chest, a look of horror engraved on their face.
"I…" Colonel started despite not having any words. " We didn't know."
"No, obviously not." the spokesperson spoke. She would be qualified as a Net Navi if not for the fact that she had no NetOp, and that she had no IP address, and was sitting at the head of the table on a trne with, curiously enough, a pair of feet with numerous symbols carved in their surface.
She had long brown and silver hair, almost black in some places. A round face, a plump, curvaceous body, and the same colour scheme as the Mysterious X.
And for Good reason.
This was Madri, or Y, to Those Cyber-Fae worthy enough to know, and she was X, or Ekachakra Das' seldom-seen sister.
And the de facto leader of the Cyber-fae ever since Queen Maya had momentarily stepped down from her newly acquired position to take care of her husbands and her four royal offsprings.
Apparently, the Cyber-fae culture had been so mangled that it was only recently that a new regent ascended, and said regent had not been ready, at all.
But could she be blamed? Maya (Omega Zero) had five kids to take care of, as well as a husband that, due to his trauma, wasn't deemed fit to rule, always anxious that others would kidnap him again!
So Y it was, and despite her misgivings, the plump cyber-fae was quick to learn how to use her charisma and resting bitch face to get things done.
And rumours had it that she was quite nasty on the battlefield, and her weapon of choice being her singing.
Opera singing, loud and true enough to make PETs malfunction and softlock.
What to say of other electronics?
"So, as I was saying, the only thing We, the people of Photon, demand is simple; the same right as humans, including the same punishment for crimes committed and the right to have competent lawyers to protect us. The right to own a place of residence and conveyance. The right to care and the right to control our rightful land, cyber space. We do have other demands; but right now, those are the most pressing ones."
The UN was silent, but not for long. "So… you were slaves."
Y nodded. "I narrowly escaped the life of a broodmare for those who stole our land. My brother, X, did not have the same mercy, and neither had my sister-in-law."
"And you are willing to… put our world in danger for your freedom."
"You're kind have put our cyberworld into jeopardy for close to a decade. Our environment is on the cusp of complete deletion, same as yours, by the way. Our rulers and strongest have been reduced to studs and broodmare and we are now currently dealing with a whole generation of Demi-fae facing death by HBD. You pure humans have no idea how to treat a fae. You have no idea even how to be human. You just go around yapping your gums about goodwill while you take, take, and take whatever resources you can because YOLO and conquest goes hand in hand." The incensed and red-faced fae ranted, as all around her the temperature rose. "Well, guess what, 'humans'? We are more powerful than you. Wiser and with an actual heart instead of the never-full coffer that demands cold, hard cash. We let you have your way. We let you rule yourself for thousands of years. We even willingly paired with you. But I, Madri Y Devi Dasi, backed by the ones who came before me, my brother and his wife, Omega Zero, have had enough of your nonsense, enough of the slavery, and enough of seeing children used as soldiers, teaching them to use violence against us, and sacrificing my brother's progeny in the name of entertainment and shameless hunting of our cyber beasts. We chose to fight, we chose to show our teeth, and use our full power. You may ask us why, but the reason is our rights and freedom, to be able to return to Neo-Arcadia, our ancestral home, and rebuild what was lost and destroyed, to regain our lost ones. If you were in our place, wouldn't it be what you'd want?" Y asked, showing her soft heart under it all.
The world leaders remained silent and…
"What choice do we have?" one said. "But do not expect the world to bow down to you and answer to your every whim."
Y raised an imperious eyebrow. "You know we control all the power grids, right? We don't need your paltry amount of amperage to live." She reminded them. "So-!" She clapped her hand. "My first order of business is to stop all that food wastage you guys are doing. Milk, potatoes, and grain are plentiful and with how the world is made, those from third world countries would benefit from it the most-"
"But!-"
"No buts!" Y snapped. " I don't care about your capitalism. I want divine communism and nobody will stop me. Focus on the people, then money will come! The second item is to make the commercial breeding of NetNavis illegal. All who carry them will have to bring them to our hospital point to scan them for any signs of tampering. You don't need NetNavis to get your mail, nor do you need them to wake you up or calculate random things. You have coded programs, apps, and your own brain to do that, stop being lazy waste of resources and be useful for once."
On his side, General Craft was holding on to his Navi, unwilling to let him go.
Sure, Elpizo was a right ass, pompous and sometimes extreme but…
He was Family.
Suddenly, he heard a glitchy noise from his PET. Looking down, he could see the abomination inside, without Elpizo.
"Oh… that was the sound system." The purple lunatic said sheepishly. "Don't worry, Elpizo is still here. He just told me he had some issues with his UI. I'm just fixing it… and keeping an eye on you also." The… hyper-corrupted… Cyber fairy said with one of those smiles. "It would be quite tragic for our… peaceful negotiation to turn to bloodshed, wouldn't it?"
Craft gritted his teeth.
"Now now, none of that. We truly have the best at heart for humanity, and a hostile takeover is the last thing anybody wants."
"That's what you say!"
"That's what we All say." Lumi… something said sadly. "But we are backed in a corner, if nothing changes, death will happen with, or without our intervention. What Madri desires is for a kingdom where things are easier. Not perfect, but kinder, without being all permissive. It may seem harsh to some, but She has been stuck in a social media algorithm long enough to know of the worst of humanity, the world's political and financial plight and all the twisted, twisted stories about aborted motherhood and other such tales of woes."
"I'm surprised she doesn't want to destroy all humans." Craft whispered under his breath.
Lumine looked positively scandalized. "What?! No, of course not." he blustered. "Mother Madri would never destroy humans, or anything if she can help it. Humans are precious. They have the perfect situation for reaching spiritual emancipation if they so choose."
"Spiritual… emancipation?"
"Liberation. She and her family are Vaishnavas, servants of God, and descendants of the sacred land of Neo-Arcadia. But not the one in which you become nothing, since everything is an illusion. Or becoming one with God." the cuber-abomination had the gall to roll his eyes. "It is a personal liberation, in which you get freed from the dark and miserable, Godless life to one where you build your Loving relationship with Him, and He, the Lord, becomes your best friend, your beloved child and lover. It's very easy to practice and blissful in execution. With no need for harsh and costly sacrifices, no need to live as a brainwashed cultist and where everything is based on love. I've…already left a few of our choices publication with Elpizo, his requests, not my doing." The…thing assured the General. "Now, I must go, the meeting is over, Madri's first step to a better situation (TM) is well underway… ah, all in a day's work!" and wight that, he was Gone, leaving a very frightened and confused Craft to lament the fact that it was his own damn fault for being in this situation.
And once more, humans were reminded that they weren't the most powerful on earth, nor the smarter one.
It was… uncomfortably humbling.
_9_
Netto woke up, he wasn't in much pain, this morning, but his chest still felt… weird.
Dalchini and her husband had warned Netto, during one of his longer bouts of wakefulness, that recovering from a heart surgery would be a long and arduous process, even for a Fae. But since he was young, his recovery would be faster than that of an adult.
It was still too slow for Netto, but he was fully aware that there was nothing he could do.
Atleast, he wasn't in a hospital. And he had free access to Bhuta and Partha-sharathi.
Well, that's what his mom had told him last night, after he'd woken up from another nightmare he couldn't remember.
Oh well, not like he'd wanted to know in the first place.
Taking a deep breath (as deep as he could when recovering from an open chest surgery), the Net saver (Ex net saver), and giving as much of a stretch as he could. Netto raised his bed-head, tired of laying down.
He knew what room it was. He didn't know why Prometheus was there, his laptop open and a table laying beside him.
His mama and forte where also gone, but he could still smell his mama… and Gospel.
For all he knew, Forta had taken his Dog out for a walk, the image of the fearsome Herald of darkness stooping and scooping behind the ambulatory viral nest (yay, funny word!) and piking his poop was enough to cause the painkiller laden tween to giggle.
Right, Pappu. Prometheus.
Curiously, the young man did not raise his head despite the sound of the bed getting up.
"Papu?" Netto called out, making the ice-blue haired young man give a mighty start. Launching his (rather rugged looking computer) flying out of his hands, causing the older teen to cuss and cover his mouth in shame.
Once Prometheus managed to calm his racing heart ( or close to it), he jumped to his feet to rush at Netto's side.
"Netto! Oh thank Krishna… I…" The older then was at loss of words it seems. "I'm so sorry, I failed you… I failed to…"
"To what?"
"No, it's not right… It's alright, you're alive. You're alive, and you got us another brother." Papu said as he hugged himself, still scared of hurting Netto. It seemed.
At those words, Netto's countenance turned bitter.
"Netto?"
"It's… not Megaman." he said as he willed his tears not to fall. "It's not even Saito, it's… It's…"
"A new person, Roku." Papu said as he let himself sit beside Netto. "In essence. Rockman is dead." he said as he held his honorary brother's hand. "But the soul inside… that's still him."
Netto's heart took a terrible joint as waves of tears and grief tore open his walls.
He knew… he knew that this wasn;t . Netto knew full well, He knew his Cyber-bro had died trying to get help for Maya.
ROckman had died in Forte's arms, deleted in such a way that no backup would work, reformatted and overwritten by a stranger he'd once shared a womb with.
He tried to hold back his wail of pain, but nothing could stop the visceral emotions from happening.
It was confirmed, Netto had lost his best friend for Good. and no miracles would bring him back, no unknown grandad to save him, no backup disck, nothing like that…
It was game over…
It was game over for good.
It was funny, really, how often he'd lost Rockman, twice now. And both time, his connection what him made Netto… not lose hope.
He could still feel Rockman, Saito…. But Saito was Gone, lost for gone and replaced with Roku…
Roku who…
Roku who, in essence, was still Rockmana and Saito, just missing plentyof memory.
Next thing he knew, he was being rocked by Prometheus, the holy name dancing above his head.
~Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.~
As he sang and Netto cried, four more heads popped in, and soon, a sweet kirtana played for Netto's wounded heart.
Then it hit Netto, it hit Netto like a rod to the head, or Rockan returning to him the last time.
Even God was there, Krishna came with them in sound and was hugging Netto in his arms with sound.
This… this realization caused an unimaginable amount of bliss to bubble up in Netto's mended heart, chasing the pain brought by fear, sorrow and ignorance out of the Net-saver's body, trough his mouth, eyes and tears.
Eventually, prometheus broke the silence, and only prometheus, his siblings siting on the cold floor, their ears wide open.
"Death… is not the end of a story, since the souls can't die, he never takes birth either." he explained. "What we call death is really just the soul going from one old and broken body to the next. And on the way, they forget everything… or close to everything in some cases."
Netto, tired, but not wanting to face his daily death, nuzzled closer to Papu. "... why?" he croaked.
"Well, can you imagine remembering every single one of your mistakes, failures, and crimes?" Papu asked. " None of us are pure and innocent, we may have better Puniya than most, but not by much. So, while we don't start with a completely clean slate, it means we are not burdened with a heavy past."
Netto grunted.
"Roku… still remembers being Saito and Rockman, but does not identify with the identity of either, he still has his old body, but his subtle body is not the same anymore. Right now the jiva, the spirit soul that used to identify as Mega Man, now identifies as Roku, Bass's Son."
"But he's… worse now… like. Like he's younger than me."
Netto could feel Papu cringe. "Yeah… Listen, Parikshita, your brother's brain lacked oxygen for a while and this… if he would've been a full human, he'd… well… he'd be getting a new body. The fact that he's still with us despite some… brain damage is a miracle in itself." The medical student said as he hugged Netto closer. "You… you and your twin got a whole lotta mercy from Bhagavan, like, everyone was expecting him to get a new body not… recover the way he did."
At those words, Netto grew quiet.
"Netto?"
"I had to touch him," he said. "He's my twin and… I was feeling him dying, do i just… grabbed his hands."
"And?" Prometheus gently prodded.
"And… I got a prompt.'' Netto said, Lost in his memory. "He was unit one, and I'm unit two… Unit one status was critical, and was about to die, it asked if I wanted to… um… equalize? I don't remember, but it was like, Saito was a glass of water without a lid in the sun, it was getting emptier, but I had enough water to-"
"Equalize him." Papu said wisely, something shining in his eyes. "Netto… that's yours and Saito's special ability. Mine is firewall knowledge, Pandora was a trap expert. She would entice…" The teenager coughed awkwardly. "Anyway… that's just something we Cyber-faes can do, and you work with your twin just… be careful with it."
Netto grunted, but didn't give a clear answer.
Some time passed as Netto dozed off in Prometheus's arms. He eventually woke up again at the sound of someone coming down the stairs. Bhuta and Partha where gone, but Papu was still here, having fallen asleep at his laptop.
When Netto looked up, he saw his mother.
She looked… pretty. Like prettier than before.
Maybe it was the pretty Indian clothes she was wearing, they looked good on her.
"Oh, Netto! You cried!"
"It's alright, mama. Just… processing stuff about Rockman, Saito, and Roku"
Haruka's eyes grew wide, then a sad smile drew itself on her face. "Yes… it's quite the situation, Isn't it?"
"Yeah… How is he?" Prometheus asked in a rasping voice, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes..
Haruka's somewhat glum face lights up. "Oh, he just finished his Physiotherapy, Doctor Dalcini said he's making good progress for someone so stunted. She's the one who sent me down, she wants to check Netto over and start him too."
"Start… me?" Netto parroted.
"Yes." His mother nodded. "You can't stay in bed all day, and the quicker we can get you moving, the better."
This perked Netto's mood right up. He missed soccer, and he couldn't wait to see if his stamina got any better.
"I think that's a yes!" Haruka grinned, her smile bright and free, with but a mere shred of sadness lingering.
—-
It took Prometheus to get his adopted brother up his (Moya's) basement to the living room. There, the couch and other furniture had been pushed back as far as they could, making space for a huge gym mat taking up most of the room. There, freed from his tubes, catheter, and wires was… Roku, sleeping on his front and drooling in his sleep. Curled up around him was a blonde with similar traits to doctor Cossack.
"F… Forte." Netto breathed out.
He looked… so human, like this. With a sweatshirt and pants, eyes closed as he rested his face on his hands.
He'd never seen Forte look so… calm, so normal.
So… painfully human.
Hell, Netto could even see some of Doc Cossack's features in him.
"What's going on?" Netto spoke aloud. And his brother answered sleepily, having awoken from his nap.
"mmh…'m learning how to walk again." he said from his spot on the soft mat. "Papa's helping me."
Apparently, the word papa must hold some magic since it caused Forte to start to awaken.
"Fuh?" He mumbled, rubbing whatever sleep was in his eyes until his purple gaze fell on Haruka. Whatever sleep was left was swept away by appreciation.
"Huh… wait, are we going on a date? Haru… have I-"
"No, you didn't forget. Our date is tomorrow. Today, Maya and I will go out shopping for a bit while Eka and Prometheus will watch the kids."
Ah, right. Netto's Mama had told him she would go out with her friend as a means to destress, and that she would get him some things for being her brave boy.
Netto noticed she didn't use the term hero, but… Maybe it was for the best?
Anyway, his mama was going out with Bhuta's mama, and both mothers had so much to deal with…Netto still felt a bit… singled out, though.
And
"Wait! Mom that's-"
"Netto-"
"Haru. It's fine… just go, I'll handle everything." Forte said as he got off the ground, after checking if Saito… Roku's battery powered IV was still in place. "You've been through a whole lot too. You deserve a day out. Maya-ji also. Ek and I will take care of the house while you're all gone."
'Huh… he really sounds like Mister Cossack.' Netto thought, keeping quiet and careful not to start a scene.
He may have gone through one heck of an adventure culminating with a heart surgery, but His mama went through all those adventures without a Navi to back her up, waiting for Netto to be back.
…
Hopefully, she'll stop being so worried about him once he is as old as Papu, she couldn't keep on treating him as if he was a baby… right?
Haruka pressed her painted lips together.
"Ruru, I'm read-… ok, now what?" Moya asked as she descended from the stairs. She was once again dressed in a black, red and yellow Sari, her golden bangle jingling on her wrist and ankle bells singing at the feet.
"Oh, well… I just… Netto doesn't know-"
"My Husband will take care of it, today is a girls day out and self-care for a few days in this one place Miss Ura told me. It's gonna be great."
"But… I thought you guys were into asceticism… I think that's the right word, right?" Netto asked from his place on the floor, near his brother and Forte.
"Ah well… we're not against sense gratification… Well, we are, but in our case, it's called self-care." Moya explained as she sat beside Netto and Roku.
"We have a body, and this body has requirements, and I include the mind there also. But the crux of the matter is, we all have different needs and thresholds, me and your mum were over our emotional threshold and need a mental and emotional recharge. Which isn't wrong as long as you don't abuse it, like sugar and cake. Sometimes treats are alright, but don't make it your main meal or you'll grow fat, sad, and sick."
Netto winced, this was very relatable for him.
"So yeah, me and your mum are going for a short retreat to recoup and recharge, when we'll be back, it'll be the men-folk's turn. My Eka has all the emergency numbers memorized and Bhuta's already planned a Ramayana-Marathon for the two of you, if you feel up to it." Moiya said as she ran a hand in her loose hair. " Food's in the freezer, just reheat it if no one wants to cook, Asha and Shreya have been fed and I've pumped out enough milk to last but if it's not enough-"
"You bought powder yesterday. I know Mama, everything is under control, your two bhakti-jewels are sleeping and may I remind you that I've raised four babies with you already?" Ekanath said from the top of the stairs.
Caught, Moya blushed then sighed agitatedly. "I… Expected my third pregnancy to be a bit more relaxed, you know. Taking care of my babies, barely sleeping… you know the usual. Not… this." The powerful blond said as she buried her face in her hands.
Haruka placed a hand on Moya's tense shoulder. "I know… now let's go, our reservation is in a few hours, and you know how bad the traffic can be?"
Moiya grunted as she kissed her husband and her kids goodbye, just like Netto's mom.
She did the same to Roku, and would've also smooched Bass if not for her son watching in disgust.
Well… maybe less of disgust, Netto was starting to be… well, curious about the whole adult thing. Stiil, it was Forte kissing his mom.
There must be a rule against that somewhere, but…
Well, mama looked happier, lighter.
"I'll watch over them, you go and take care of yourself, Bog knows you need it." Forte said, and Haruka gave him a soft smile.
'Mama never smiled to… him like that." She had been desperate for affection, but it seemed that doctor Hikari was always busy.
Huh… Well, if Forte was really… Good now (maybe? hopefully?) then… maybe he could finally help Netto with his algebra, working in a place with a RF shield helped his whole focus a bunch, but Algebra was still his worst nightmare and he didn't want to fail his math, especially since he'd started playing divine Pathfinder with Partha.
Who knew boring numbers could make such a fun game?
They must be like green bell peppers. On their own, they taste terrible, but cover them with cheese and bacon (not that he ate bacon anymore, how did Bhuta and Parta grow so strong then?) and it becomes heavenly.
Besides, Netto can't wait to try to get the Brahmastra, the universal architect's nuclear weapon.
With this said, Netto didn't complain at all when Lumine and Dalcini gave him his Physiotherapy class, nor when Forte served his meal. Ekanath knew how to cook, and the Ex herald of Darkness was also… not that bad, his grilled cheese and fresh tomato soup was something to behold, and it almost tasted like Mama's soup. Nor did he start anymore fights with Saito (Roku, his name was Roku, Saito reborn and refreshed to another being) A powerful one that could revive dead viruses and who was Adored by Gospel.
'What a trip, I'm glad it's over now.'
—-
India, Uttar Pradesh, District of Mathura, Vrindavan, Keshi-ghat. Maya Devi Dasi and Haruka watched with somber silence, tears staining their cheek as the sun rose on the horizon of the spiritual world. Surrounding them, devotees from different temples sang the Hare krishna-maha-Mantra in Honour of Manohara's Auspicious passing.
~hare Krishna, hare Krishna, Krishna krishna, hare hare. Hare Rama, hare Rama, Rama Rama, hare hare.~
Eventually, the San-kirtana had to stop, for the business hours where upon them, a few Babaji's and ISKCON and gaudya-math devotee's along with the pusti-margist remained to sing, simply enjoying the transcendental atmosphere of the kirtana and the knowledge that a hyper fortunate soul returned back home, back to Godhead.
Haruka broke the silence, looking like a queen in her beautiful sari.
"So this… this is your religion."
"The most important part of it: death, the final exam." Moya answered as she grabbed Haruka's wrist and gently pulled her to the yamuna. "Come, we need to bathe."
"So, that's it, no explanation?"
"You want an explanation?" Moya asked with a hungry glint in her eyes.
"I do… why do we need to bathe, and… we don't change?" Haruka asked worriedly, she'd just received this pretty azure sari and didn't want to ruin it with river mud.
Maya had explained that, a Hundred years ago, the Sacred Yamuna had been so polluted that Bathing in it was the best way to get very, very sick, thankfully, the Vaishnavas had managed to get her true water flowing, and with the advent of the true green energy and initiative, the then dead river had been reborn from her ashes and flooded her floodplains again, to the great chagrins of those who lived there and the housing developers.
Sucks to be them, but the vaishnavas and vraja-vasis were even more ecstatic to see the Blackish mother of devotion once again flow in her former glories, dangerous and pure.
The blonde in red grinned. "Nope! We go in as-is. Besides, this Sari ain't a cheap one. May stain your skin a bit, but Yamuna-ji won't ruin it, trust me. And we need to bathe because we've been at Manohara's body-burning day, seeing a dead body means you have to wash off the subtle taint off."
"Oh… I see but… didn't we cast him-"
"- hisAshes in Yamuna-ji? Yeah, but Yamuna's like the Ganga, she eternally pure, the crap flowing through her isn't obviously, but Yamaraja's sister and Ganga-ma are taking away all of our sins." She pointed at a clump of… something Haruka would rather not identify. "That's how those sins look to us. But trust me, Ruru, the water's fine… just don't go too deep, Yamuna-ji's pretty powerful." The Cyber-fae said as she entered the water with her friend in tow.
For Haruka, it was quite the experience. The Yamuna was cold, but the water was surprisingly clear, if blackish.
She followed Maya's example and took three dips, imitating the cyber-being.
"Krishna Consciousness… Vaishnavism is all about preparing ourselves for the final exam of life: death." Maya Devi Dasi began after a moment of contemplation. " and this final preparations are joyfully performed. We chant, we dance, we feast… and we serve Radha-Krishna at the best of our insignificant ability, for their pleasure." she began explaing as she watched the colorful motor boats zoom across the sacred river. "We are not these bodies. We, the living entities, are the eternal spirit souls. We never took birth, and we will never not exist. And we are tiny bits of unlimited bliss."
"Uh… so why are we always so sad and anxious?" Haruka asked as she let her hand play with the sacred river's blackish flow.
Maya smirked. "Simple, we identify with a dead body filled with blood, pus, stool, and urine, thinking that we're it, and that we have a beginning, and a slow and painful end. And we're in constant anxiety because we want to exploit all of our senses and everything else around us to the maximum before this piece of literal shit goes kaputski."
"So… we don't disappear after death."
"No, energy cannot be made nor destroyed, only change. And while the mind changes, and the memories get wiped out so we start a new life; we, the eternal soul remain the same." Maya explained. "Death is basically going to sleep for six months post hell- And yes, hell exists, and it's not eternal, it's just a stint in the world's busiest correctional facility. It's to make us go through our accumulated bad Karma, the more people you hurt and exploit, the longer you have to stay here before you either take birth as an animal, or if you have a son, or a daughter to perform the required shraddha and give you pinda, a human form of birth."
"Huh."
"But Vaishnavism, or Bhakti-Yoga stops this whole soul transmigration. The Maha-Mantra burns off all sorts of karma, both good and bad-"
"But. isn't good karma, you know… Good?"
Maya shrugged. "Well, yeah, materially. But Bhakti's all spiritual. If Krishna asked you to do something sinful, then because you've received an order from the highest order, then there's no sin… not that Krishna asks us that nowaday, since people are using Him as a scapegoat." Maya sneered. "Honestly, there nothing more hateful than a demon having slaughtered his family and blaming it on Bhagavan, like, I've read through all of the Srimad-bhagavatam, Chaitania Charitamrtia and different purana including the whole original Mahbhrarata, and never once did the Lord order anyone to kill their own family or themselves. The only time it happened was in one of the testaments, and even then, Bhagavan stopped the whole thing, not that I think God really ordered this. I mean, they were living in a desert at the start of Kali-Yuga, for all we know, what's his face… Right, Abraham was having one hell of a heat stroke and hallucinated the whole thing and then Krishna had to step in to stop the bloodshed. Either that, or that was a made-up story since Krishna would never ask for a goat sacrifice in the …" Then she stopped herself, her eyes narrowed. "Yeah, no, I was right, Buddha deva appeared a whole millennium before Abraham, if Abraham ever existed. And Since Buddha was there, then there was no way Bhagavan requested a goat sacrifice. Hell, even Joshua of Bethlehem was against animal sacrifice, he flipped tables and whipped a bunch of temple butchers to show his stance of animal killing!"
"Really? I didn't know that!" Haruka Marvelled. " Wow… Bhatki is… there's so much to learn.
Puffing her chest, the blonde woman grinned. "You betcha, the vedic scriptures are the most perfect of all holy writings, they leave no stones unturned, and no subject is taboo. And most importantly, those revealed scriptures also talk about God not as a far away figure just watching, but also as the birther of all universe, the controller of everything, the cause of everything, the source of everything, the supreme personality and the darling son of Nanda and Yashoda and the dearest and nearest friend of all. It even talks about his spiritual abode in length! Forget the ill defined fluffy cloud heaven, I was my cow planet!" The Vaishnavi declared as she struck the Yamuna with her fist, only to pet the sacred river with an apology dripping from her lips. "Sorry Yamuna-ji… and Haruka."
Haruka stared a bit, wondering how rude it would be to burst into laughter at the sight.
"So yeah, to make a long story short, Bhakti-Yoga is the art of living and dying as a proper human, using our human life to return back home, back to Godhead and not to live like a bunch of two legged animals. It's easy, joyfully performed and you will always find what you need. And, at the end of your life, you face death not with tears, but with great joy."
"Like Manohara did."
This immediately sobered Maya, whose eyes lost focus as tears filled them.
"Oh dear, I'm so sorry maya." Haruka awkwardly hugged the taller woman, who returned the embrace.
"No, it's fine… Manohara just chose the worst time to leave his body." She let out a wet chuckle and sniffled. " I… I jut gave birth to a girl who committed suicide and and my first baby, then you own kid got an adventure and almost died from HBD, then there this whole mess with Roku."
"You need a break." Haruka practically ordered. " a whole year off, no, five years off from dealing with the dying, if I understood correctly, Krishna is the supreme… erm, provider? Yeah, the supreme provider, and nothing is impossible for him." the human woman grabbed Maya's hands in hers. " he can provide all those… ah, leavers with the aid they need…"
"Remember Krishna at the time of death, that's how we get out of this place and go back home, back to godhead." Maya explained with a doubly wet smile.
"Yeah! That! So I'm sure Krishna has a whole lot more servants who can do the same things you did. You take the time you need to rest, recover, raise your kids and teach me Krishna Bhakti, alright?"
The blonde's eye grew wide. "You want to learn Krishna Bhakti…"
"Of course I do! Everytime Netto would come back to one of your Bhakti-class, he would practically burn my ears by talking about how… Did God really use demons as a pendent when he was a furry?
It took longer than Moya would like to admit to realize that Haruka (and Netto, by extension) were referring to the pastime of Lord Narashima-deva protecting Prahalad maharaja from his demoniac father, Hiranyakashipu.
The Lion-man incarnation of Bhagavan had then eviscerated the demon on his lap, garlanding Himself with his innards as he called the Demi-Gods down for a divine tongue lashing.
Yes, God was Metal. Were there any more questions as to why he was so loved?
"You know this story." Haruka accused as she pulled the smirking Vaishnavi out of the sacred Yamuna. "Please, tell me what that was all about, I need to know!"
And thus Moya told the pastime as she had heard it, and the one about Varaha Deva, and the descent of Jaya-and Vijaya and, once they finally reached their spa appointment, the whole Ramayana.
Yes, it was Good to be Krishna-Conscious.
—-
Time passed, the adults grew older, and the children became teens.
Sangita (Serenade) chose to remain in cyberspace, taking care of ura-net and the vaishnava community there. With how powerful they were, establishing a spiritual Oasis had been a since, especially with their Master's help.
Netto and Roku recovered from their ordeal, Roku would take longer and would never truly walk again, for the muscle degeneration had been too severe. Thankfully, Netto had not only shot up in height, but in strength also. They were known as Double Trouble in the netbattle tournament, and so many additional rules had to be put down because of those two. During his first tournament, Netto had pushed his wheelchair bound brother to the cyber-arena, then chucked his PET away before the two Kossack (guess who got married after a few years of counseling) brothers rebooted in front of a crown of tens of thousands around the globe, revealing themselves as Cyber-faes to the world at large.
What a way to announce their existence and Y's rulership.
Then he proceeds to pick Megaman from his wheelchair, and then proceeds to jump in the arena with his brother, the score board proclaiming the two as and , a dual unit that counts as one.
Needless to say those two won the tournament after proving that they were truly a pair that counted as a single being.
Considering that Quint was the one jumping around and coming up with battle strategies on the move while Megha shot and executed them while being a wise smart ass may have been the reason why, it was fun!
And everyone missed the blue bomber, even if he looked different, with a bit more Forte in him.
After numerous interviews and raising awareness about the nature of the Navi kind, things started to return to a new normal.
A normal where waking up before sunrise was normal, and where feeding God and making him garlands, singing the holy name on street corners, and planning trips to India for the Gaura-purnima festival/pilgrimage lineup was normal. Where waking up to see Forte and Hruka share a stove, swaying to a slow love song was normal, where having a living, present father figures was Normal too.
Netto and Roku couldn;t complain, they could finally act as teens, straight edge teens who knew better then get into major trouble.
That was until Protoman barged into their home, his whole body glitching as he carried an unconscious Enzen on his back.
Thankfully, Moya managed to stabilize him… only to realize that 'he' was a she… and she was Enzen's mom and she'd just managed to remember that fact and escape her abusive husband with her son in tow.
Alright, there was a story here, but the twins chose to leave it to Colonel Craft, Regent X, and Omega Zero to untangle, for they had just retired from the net battle scene and wanted to focus more on Krishna Bhakti, for when faced with certain death, it was not advanced computer programing knowledge that would save you, but God himself.
The twins had experienced as such.
They also learned of Manohara's passing once it was clear that the shock wouldn't kill them outright, and Moya glorified the fortunate soul as if she had four mouths.
Dex failed school, and lived a gangsta life until he got in the type of trouble his mom could not get him out of. Mayl and Roll remained friends with the twins until Netto and Roku left for the Mayapur Gurukul to further their study on Sankirtan, book distribution, deity worship, and Srimad-bhagavatam study with Moya's brood. Yai lived the life of a gifted kid turned adult and thus normal, living off the wealth of her parents and grandparents, wasting away in a lavish life of wine and parties, dying as a sugar mama, not really loved, but not really alone.
Prometheus got his initiation, now going by the name Agnidev Das, and practically raised Shreya (Pandora) alone… with huge help from the Volnutt-Dei-Cossack family group. He finished his study as a cyber-healer and established his hospital-quarantine area close to Sangita's Hare Krishna temple.
Gospel and Metty never left Roku's side, and Gospel became the delight of many children despite being a gestalt of computer bugs.
Pietrov (Forte) and Haruka, as mentioned above, got married after two years of courtship and therapy. Haruka took her new husband's name and gave up her hacking career. She just had too much on the line, and she'd rather be a simple, run of the mill housewife than anything else. The Cossack family had a growing interest in Krishna Bhakti and soon, all three of them accepted a Guru and took their vows ten years later, in Sri-vrindavan Dham.
Hikari Yuichiro, on the other hand, lived a life of small pleasure and big anxiety. Living in Mimi on his useless wealth, unable to get more then the bare minimum, always looking over his shoulders in case a fae would take revenge on him.
It was a miserable life filled with false hope and fear. He lived unfairly long, with his hospital and treatment bill piling up while his fat golden egg proving to be a tad too small. Dreaming of taking over the world, yet never doing anything about it, in fear that Forte and the red demon would find him.
At the end of it all, all returned back home, back to Godhead.
And thus, the story and Netto and his Vaishnava Neighbours come to an end. It is not the best story, and it is filled with numerous faults, but I do hope it did manage to brighten your day a bit more.
Next stop: a Galaxy, far,far away.
Om Tat Sat