Ch5
The next morning Netto noticed an email from Enzan. "These are warehouses by the docks and there have been suspicious activities nearby," he said as he looked over the data.
"Netto-kun do you think we should let Enzan and Blues know about the vampires?" Rockman asked.
He shook his head. "I can already tell that he won't believe us. For now lets just keep things how they are." Yeah he and Enzan had a working relationship but they weren't exactly close buds.
Shadowbyte's head formed from his side and looked over the email. "I say we check these areas out and see what we can find, I'll protect you from anything strange."
He smiled at the symbiotic head and scratched his chin. "Thanks. Come on lets tell Django."
The symbiote retracted into his body as he quickly grabbed his PET and headed downstairs. They found Django in the living room looking over his PET. "Hey Netto this PET is pretty cool."
"Glad you like it," He said as he sat down next to the vampire hunter. "So Enzan sent me the information about the warehouses."
Django looked over the email with eagle like intensity. "Good. If it's all the same with you I say we check it out now."
He met his gaze and nodded. "I was thinking the same thing."
With that, Django quickly put his PET into its holster and they exited his house. The vampire hunter quickly summoned his motorcycle which appeared in a flash of light in his drive way. "Come on!"
A grin spread across his face as he got on and wrapped his arms around Django. Yeah this is pretty cool. Riding a motorcycle in general was cool but with a vampire hunter it was even cooler.
"Hold on tight," Django said as he started the engine.
The motorcycle roared to life and the next thing he knew they were riding on the streets. The wind rushed around them blowing his hair back and Django's red scarf in his face. The vampire hunter easily road the bike through the streets of the city with ease and not once did he feel unsafe even if he maintained a strong grip around Django.
Eventually the smell of the seat hit his nose as they approached the port area of the sea. "The warehouses should be around this area," he said as Django drove towards the warehouse complex in the distance.
As they approached the warehouses, they weren't greeted by anything or anyone. As they drove closer he noticed there wasn't a soul in sight. You'd think there would be people working. He could feel Django tense up as the motorcycle slowed down.
Django parked the motorcycle in the parking lot and turned it off. "Be on your guard," he said as he kept his hand on his Gun del Sol.
He nodded as they both got off the motorcycle. Looking around he took a few steps forward half tempted to call out to see if anyone was there. "This place is too eerie," he muttered as a cold wind brushed through the area. Every step they took echoed throughout the area as they approached one of the warehouses.
Suddenly Django grabbed his arm. "Wait do you hear that?"
He paused and that was when he heard it, the sound of a generator starting. "Crap." He looked up and saw the dimensional area begin to form around them and the warehouse. "A dimensional area."
Django drew his sword as viruses began to materialize around them. "Is this one of those places you can fuse with Rockman?"
He nodded when an idea came to his mind. "Don't worry I've handled these before. Shadowbyte try fusing with me and Rockman."
The symbiote reverberated in his mind in agreement. Taking a deep breath he grabbed his PET. "Synchro chip slot in!"
He felt the familiar presence of Rockman's form over his body while Shadobyte's symbiote worked around them. When the transformation was completed he looked down at himself and took a step back. "Wow cool." The symbiote had merged with Rockman's army making it appear a little more bulkier while various symbiotic tendrils danced around him.
"Netto-kun is this what Shadobyte feels like to you?" Rockman asked in surprise. "He feels so powerful."
"Thanks you're not too bad yourself," Shadowbyte said
He shrugged. "You get used to it." Willing Shadowbyte's symbiote he summoned tendrils to take out the nearby viruses. Meanwhile, Django was quick on his feet and quickly took out the viruses with his sword and his solar gun. "Come on lets see who's behind this." With a flick of his wrists the tendrils flew from his body and knocked down the warehouse's door.
"Let's go!" Django gripped his Gun del Sol tightly in his arm as they entered the warehouse.
The warehouse's interior was dimly lit by a few flickering lights overhead, casting long, shifting shadows against the cold metal walls. As soon as they stepped inside, the sound of skittering claws and low, guttural growls echoed around them.
"Looks like we have company," Django said as he readied his gun.
He readied his blaster as he saw a bunch of corrupted net navis walking towards them flanked with viruses by their side. The corrupted navis were the first to attack, their glowing red eyes narrowing in on the pair. They moved with inhuman speed, launching themselves forward like feral beasts.
"Get back!"
Tendrils shot out from his armor, twisting and lashing like living whips, striking down three navis before they could close the distance. Each blow was brutal and efficient, the tendrils piercing through corrupted code, dissolving the enemies into static.
"I thought you said you've dealt with dimensional areas before!" Django shouted, slicing through a virus that lunged for his side with his sword and blasting a vampire navi with his solar gun.
"I have! They didn't usually come with vampire cosplay navis!" His blaster arm shifted with a thought, forming a sleek cannon. He fired a charged shot, the blast obliterating a cluster of smaller viruses trying to flank them.
"Maybe they just wanted to throw us a party," Django replied, smirking as his sword hummed through another corrupted navi.
"Haha." He fired more shots at the viruses as he willed the symbiotic tendrils to defeat and destroy any enemy that they found.
Django moved with precision, a deadly combination of strength and speed. His Gun del Sol fired bursts of searing solar energy that seemed to vaporize anything it touched with the grace of a dancer.
"I can't tell if you're showing off or if this is just how you fight," he quipped, taking down another set of enemies with Shadowbyte's tendrils.
Django smirked between attacks. "Little of both."
The corrupted navis came in waves, seemingly endless. A massive virus—a lumbering beast with claw-like appendages and a snarl that shook the walls—emerged from the shadows. Its hulking form radiated malice, its movements slow but deliberate. It swiped at Django, who barely dodged, the claws missing him by inches.
"You take the big guy, I'll cover the rest!" he shouted, charging toward another cluster of navis.
"Don't hog all the fun," Django called back, pivoting to face the massive virus.
The symbiote coursed through him, amplifying his reflexes and strength. His blaster morphed again, becoming a long, jagged blade, and he slashed through another wave of attackers. Each swing was followed by a strike from Shadowbyte's tendrils, which wrapped around an enemy navi, crushed it, and tossed its remains aside.
"You know, for a warehouse, this place has the worst inventory," he muttered as another navi lunged at him.
Django's laugh echoed across the battlefield. "I'll make sure to leave a review!"
The hunter's battle with the massive virus raged on in the background. Django's blade struck true, carving deep, glowing wounds into the creature, but it wasn't going down easily. It retaliated with a swipe that sent him sliding back across the floor. Django recovered quickly, his stance unwavering as he raised his Gun del Sol.
"Keep up, will you?" Django called, firing a concentrated beam of solar energy that burned through the virus's torso.
"I'm working on it!" With a flick of his wrist, the symbiote launched another set of tendrils, skewering two more navis mid-air. The corruption faded from their forms, leaving behind broken fragments of code that dissolved into the ground.
Finally, the last of the corrupted navis fell. He turned just in time to see Django deliver the finishing blow to the massive virus, his blade slicing through it in a blinding arc of light. The beast roared one last time before disintegrating into a cloud of pixels.
The room was silent, save for their labored breaths, that was when the sound of clapping occurred.
"Who's there!" Django yelled
"You've done well to get this far. But I'm afraid the real show is only just beginning," said a familiar voice.
It was then a familiar vampire themed navi appeared on the floor above them. "Shademan!" How the hell is he back?
"Him again!" Django readied his Gun del Sol. "Did we delete him?"
The vampire navi chuckled. "I can never be fully deleted as long as I have a benefactor."
Suddenly the atmosphere in the warehouse turned cold. All the hairs on his neck stood up while Shadobyte let out a low hiss in his body.
"Ah Django you've grown to such a fine young man."
Django's eyes widened in fury as his body began to shake. A large man with blue skin and bright red eyes wearing a black suit and had two large horns emerged his very presence sent a shiver down his spine.
"What is thing?" His body shivered as he looked at the figure in front of him. A vampire. This is a real vampire.
"The Count of Groundsoaking Blood," Django said coldly his body shaking in anger.
The count smirk. "What a youthful young man you've become. You'll be a great minion of mine."
"NEVER!" Django spat.
The Count's red eyes glowed brighter, a cruel smirk spreading across his face as he towered over them with Shademan by his side. His aura made his blood run cold.
So this is a real vampire. The one that killed Django's parents. He stared at the creature his body shaking as he fought the urge to run.
Django's entire body trembled with rage, his grip on the Gun del Sol so tight his knuckles turned white. "You… You think you can just show up after everything you've done?" His voice was low, laced with venom. "I'll end you here and make sure you never come back!"
The Count chuckled. "Such fire. Such hatred. It will make your blood all the sweeter when you inevitably join me." The vampires gaze then turned to him. "You both will make excellent pawns."
"Like hell I will!" Django shouted. His boots scraped against the floor as he lunged forward, his sword gleaming in the light. The Count sidestepped it with an almost lazy grace, the tip of the blade slicing through empty air.
"Such a waste of potential," the Count sneered. "But no matter. I will break you."
He raised a hand, and a swirling mass of crimson energy shot out toward Django. The hunter barely had time to react, deflecting the blast with his blade, though the force of it sent him skidding back several feet.
"You won't win this time!" Django yelled, charging again, his movements fueled by a mix of skill and sheer fury.
"Django!"
He quickly fired his blaster. The energy bolts lit up the dim room, but Shademan dodged them with ease, weaving through the air like a shadow given life and send a wave of tendrils to help Django.
However, Shademan unleashed a sonic screech. The sound was deafening, cutting through the air with a vibration that rattled every piece of machinery in the warehouse.
The symbiote recoiled violently, its tendrils spasming as if in agony. "No… too loud… too much!" it wailed, withdrawing into his body with a desperate retreat.
He swore as he fell to his knees. The symbiote was writhing in pain inside of him. "Shadowbyte! Come on, we need you!" he called out, but his words were drowned by another piercing screech. His knees buckled as the sound reverberated in his skull, leaving him momentarily disoriented.
Django was still locked in battle with the Count, their clashes sending sparks of energy flying. The hunter's strikes were relentless, but the Count seemed to toy with him, parrying and dodging with infuriating ease.
"Is that all you have, boy?" the Count mocked, catching Django's blade with his bare hand. The weapon hissed against his skin, but he didn't flinch. Instead, he twisted it, forcing Django off balance.
"I'll kill you!" Django roared, swinging wildly now, his control slipping as rage overtook him.
"That rage will be your undoing," the Count said coldly. With a flick of his wrist, he conjured a swirling orb of darkness and hurled it at Django. The hunter tried to block it, but the sheer force of the blast sent him crashing into a wall.
"No!" Netto shouted, shaking off the disorientation as he scrambled to his feet. He fired a charged shot at the Count, but Shademan intercepted it, absorbing the blast with his wings before retaliating with another screech.
"AHH!" He and Shadowbyte screamed as one as he fell to his knees.
"You're out of your depth, child," the Count said, turning his attention back to Django, who was struggling to stand. Blood dripped from a gash on his forehead, staining his scarf.
"Stay down, Django," the Count commanded, his tone almost mocking. "You've fought well, but this game is over."
"Not… yet," Django growled, his voice hoarse. He raised his Gun del Sol, but the Count moved faster than his eyes could track, delivering a devastating blow to Django's chest. The impact sent him collapsing to the floor, his weapon clattering from his grasp.
"Django!" he shouted, scrambling to his friend's side. But before he could reach him, the Count's voice boomed through the room.
The count laughed. "We'll feast your blood, both of you will make on great minions." With that the vampire disappeared along with Shademan as the dimensional area dissipated.
His transformation with Rockman ended and he staggered. "Django!"
The hunter opened his eyes, his gaze unfocused. "The Count… We have to stop him," he muttered weakly before slipping into unconsciousness.
His friend nearly fell but he caught him. "You're bleeding."
"I just need to get to my coffin in your house," Django muttered. "Don't worry I can drive us there."
"Are you sure? He asked as he helped Django up.
The vampire hunter gave him a smile as blood fell from his lips. "Trust me I've been in worse shape." Django coughed up blood and shook his head. "I'm fine lets just go."
He stared at his friend in concern but only nodded as they exited the warehouse. His own body was swore from the battle. Miraculously Django could still drive his motorcycle, though he had to admit a few times he was afraid they were going to crash. Every bump they drove over he thought Django was going to pass out.
Thankfully though they made it back to his house without an accident. "Come on let me help you upstairs," he said as helped Django stand.
The vampire hunter offered no resistance as he helped up upstairs to the guest room. When they entered the room Django snapped his fingers and a large coffin appeared on the bed and swung open.
"Thanks," Django muttered as he walked up to the coffin and got in. "I'll be better in a bit."
He watched as the coffin closed shut by itself. "Please get better," he said softly.
"Oh don't worry he will." An anthropomorphic sunflower appeared in the ground.
"Uh your Otenko-san right?" He asked. Django mentioned him a few times and he had seen him occasionally out of the corner of his eyes.
Otenko nodded. "I am. Don't worry I've been with Django through thick and thin, he'll be up and ready and ready in no time."
He looked at the coffin and nodded as determination swelled up inside of him. "We lost this fight but we'll stop them next time."