Before anyone as, yes I have been updating this fic really fast because I have good source material like the manga and game scripts to help fuel chapter ideas. Also world building. World building for this fic is FUN.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Megaman/Rockman franchise.

Chapter 5: Dearest

Darkness was not something new to Hikari Netto. She had seen it come in many forms. There was Phantom and his shadows, the darkness of the human heart, the darkness of corruption, and the darkness of the Uranet.

"Rockman? Where are you?" There was no answer.

Netto was surrounded by darkness and for once it terrified her. It was if she was standing in an empty room. No echo, no light, just darkness and solitude.

It hurts…

Netto swiveled in the direction of a familiar voice. Squinting, she was barely able to make out a pinprick of light.

Agony… So much pain…

Netto ran in the direction of the light, which also seemed to be the source of the voice. The girl almost teared up a bit. That voice, its tone… it was like she was reliving the dreams she had after Saito's death.

As Netto traveled further into the dull light, she was able to make out the shape of someone kneeling on the ground. When she finally reached the figure, Netto felt as if her heart stopped.

Curled in a ball of pain on the ground with the left half of his helmet almost completely crushed was her beloved navi, Rockman. Each movement he made seemed to trigger a new wave of pain filled sobs.

"My head… such pain… agony…"

Netto lurched forward and practically threw herself onto her Navi, as if to shield him from the world, "Rock, don't move! I'll find a way to call Dad and he-"

Netto was cut off by a sudden pain in her head, which caused her to clutch at the left side of her head. She tried to hold back a whimper of pain and surprise as she felt blood leak through her fingers.

"Netto-kun?" Rockman started to fade away as he reached out for his operator, "Net-chan?"

"Rock, what's happening?" Netto reached out for her Navi again, only for her fingers to slip through Rockman as if he were made of air, "Rock?! Don't leave me too!"

"Rockman!" Netto practically launched herself out of the hospital bed, hand outstretched. Realizing that she was in the real world and not her dream, she calmed down and lowered her hand.

"Netto, are you okay?" Rockman's voice piped up from his PET.

At this point Fefnir shoved Rockman out of the PET screen, a look of worry clear on his face, "How's your head?"

Netto breathed out a sigh of relief when she Rockman then gingerly poked at her bandaged head, "It's kinda sore, which is weird. I remember we were fighting Numberman and you got a really bad head wound. Then for some reason I got the same wound, a really bad pain just… resonated in my head. I remember seeing blood and then I passed out…"

"Kiddo, you might want to look around," Fefnir was serious about something other than a battle, which was rare and scary at the same time.

Listening to her older brother, Netto looked to the right and nearly jumped out of her skin. She was in a hospital jail cell.

"Hey! What gives man!?" Netto ran up to the bar and started to shake them, "I was never read my rights! I demand a lawyer! I'm a minor dammit!"

"Such language from an 11 year old, though I suppose it's worse in Netopia." Netto let go of the bars as Yuriko entered the room, followed by a rather large man and another woman.

"Yuriko, what's going on? You said I wasn't in trouble at school and even ordered me to help you!" Netto crossed her arms and pouted.

The man who had come in with Yuriko laughed, "I like this one, she's got spirit and a really snazzy belt buckle."

Netto felt as piece of her mind break. Why did she let Fefnir come along again? "So just who are you?"

"Netto, don't be rude!"

The woman who had come in with Yuriko gave a soft smile, "Netto, my name is Manabe Rin. The man with me," she gestured to the man, "Is Commissioner Kifune of the Netpolice. You're in the hospital, more specifically the police wing. We apologize, but we didn't feel that any place else would be safe for you."

Kifune stepped forward with a smile on his face, "It's nice to meet the young lady who has been causing this sudden wave of vigilantism. It takes a lot of skill to take down a WWW agent, young lady! How you were able to coordinate two NetNavis at the same time, much less order around a solo Navi, I will never know."

"I don't order around Fefnir, I just make sure that he doesn't cause too much damage." Netto took a deep breath to keep herself from screaming, "All I did was make sure that my house didn't burn down. If anything, it's WWW who is being the immature ones. I mean, going after an elementary schooler just because she got lucky? How lame do you got to be to do that?"

Fefnir gave a microsmile. His youngest sister was known to be cocky and confident to the point of arrogance at times, but she had a good head on her shoulders and was an expert at playing dumb when a crisis arose.

Kifune's smile got wider, "Hikari Netto my girl, we would like you to take a test to see if you are capable of being a licensed Netbattler."

Netto's world came to a standstill. On one hand, she would be able to participate in battles outside of the arcade and have access to normally restricted information in the library and hidden parts of the net. On the other hand, there was a chance that she would be drafted into the Netpolice, which while amazing would make her a blip on the Sci-Labs radar.

Fefnir nudged Rockman, who nodded in acknowledgment and gave his brother a smile. As long as the Shitennou siblings stayed in their basic forms and did not reveal their Armed Phenomenon, which was what every Navi knew as their Cyber Elf forms, Netto would be safe. All they had to do was wait for Netto to give an answer.

Netto composed herself and smiled at the older man, "Kifune-san, I accept your offer."

The girl reached out to extend her hand to the Commissioner, but immediately pulled back when the cell bars gave a spark. Both Netto and Kifune jumped back as a large wave of electricity ran through the bars and crackled.

A policeman came barging in the door, "Commissioner sir, we're under attack! A rouge NetNavi has infiltrated the main computer!"

Kifune turned to the policeman, "I know officer. Whatever the rogue did almost fried this kid to a crisp."

"What happened to this being a safe place?" Fefnir raged. While Leviathan was the most protective sister, Fefnir was easily the most protective brother. Seeing his baby sister by proxy almost turned into a human piece of bacon made him want to tear apart the one responsible with his own two hands.

The policeman continued, "System malfunctions are cascading! While we have the manpower to protect the lines going to the patients in surgery, we're spread thin protecting the machines made for long term patients!"

"Get down to Operations Control and tell whoever we have available to counterattack!"

"Yes sir!"

Kifune, Yuriko, and the policeman ran out of the room.

A thought struck Netto over the head, "Long term- Wait, Manabe-san which hospital is this?"

"We are at Seaside Hospital." With that said, Manabe ran out of the room.

Rockman gave a choked sound, "Seaside Hospital, but that means-"

"Mamoru." Netto whispered in horror as she brought her hands over her mouth, "Mamoru is in this hospital."

Fefnir raised an eyebrow, thought it was concealed by his helmet, "Who is Mamoru?"

Rockman swiveled to his brother. "Mamoru, Urakawa Mamoru, is a boy that Netto has been mentoring for some time. He's a long term patient at this hospital with Type 2 HBD."

Fefnir gave a sharp nod of understanding, "Netto, plug us both in now!"

As soon as Rockman and Fefnir landed in the hospital network, they saw a few squadrons of standard police Navis shooting at a barrage of Spooky, Powie, and Swordy viruses.

Suddenly, a rather large Powie virus appeared over a group of five Navis who were distracted by a wave of the small viruses.

This is the best our police force has to offer? These idiots wouldn't last an hour of Hell Week. Netto thought to herself before giving an order through her PET, "Fefnir, Rockman, go! Ash Flames Pattern!"

Both warriors nodded before charging into battle.

Fefnir ran towards the group that was targeted by the Powie. Summoning his cannons, he jumped in the middle of the police circle and fired a large fireball upwards. The Powie exploded into a wave of data.

Many of the smaller viruses turned to face the destruction of their de-facto leader, which gave Rockman a chance to slice through them with a Fire Sword courtesy of Netto.

"You guys okay?" Rockman asked as he turned to the police programs.

One of them nodded, "Yeah, but don't let your guard down! These WWW viruses mean business!"

Fefnir cackled as he continued to destroy more viruses, "You call this meaning business? Son, I'm from the Outlands. This is barely a warm-up, but I'll be damned if I say that I'm not having fun!"

Many of the police turned to Rockman, whose left eye was twitching at the wanton destruction his brother was ensuing, "THIS IS WHY I DON'T LIKE YOUR SUDDEN VISITS!"

One of the police Navis coughed to gain Rockman's attention, "I think that we have this covered here! You get to the control area since that's probably where the enemy leader is hiding."

Rockman nodded and dashed off, throwing one last shout over his shoulder, "If he starts to get too much, just threaten to call his mother. Trust me, it works!"

"Oh screw you Rock!"

"Nice to have the support of family," Netto muttered.

In the darkness of a control room, Commisioner Kifune and his team watched on a large screen as Rockman made his way to the Main Control Area.

"Are you really sure that this girl has what it takes, Yuriko-san?" A boy asked his senior officer.

Yuriko smirked, "Why Ijuin Enzan, do I detect a hint of bitterness? Afraid you won't be the Netpolice's star darling anymore?"

"Hardly." Enzan snapped. He remembered first meeting Netto the day of the bus accident. "The girl froze during the three car pileup. If seeing a few cars bump each other was her limit, then she has no place being in the Netpolice."

"Like you didn't panic when you almost saw her get hit," Yuriko sniffed, "Hikari Netto has talent, but she is still just a normal girl at heart. Not everyone is a child prodigy like you Mr. VP Police part-timer."

Kifune turned to the bickering agents, "That's enough, both of you. Hikari Netto will most likely be assigned to the both of you, so I suggest that you learn to get along. Plus, she has a gift outside of possibly entering Full Synchro."

"A gift outside of Full Synchro?" Enzan did not look convinced.

"Yes, a gift." Kifune turned back to the screen, "This girl is able to mobilize solo Navis on a whim and has the will power to not only give them orders, but to have them obey without question. Her synchronization with this current Navi, Fefnir I believe, is something to behold. If Hikari-chan is able to keep someone this powerful on a leash, imagine what else she could do."

Enzan narrowed his eyes. While he did not particularly care much for the girl since they only met once, he wasn't one to put innocents in harm's way, "Kifune-san, you aren't suggesting that this rookie might have the ability to lord over the Black-"

"Rockman has reached the Main Control Area," One of the agents announced from his station, "Contact with Enemy Navi in 3… 2… 1…"

Rockman jumped out of the way of a Mini-Bomb that was thrown at him. Gritting his teeth, he glared at the large green Navi who was confidently tossing another Mini Bomb up and down in his hand.

"You really think you can beat me as you are?" The Navi jeered, "Battle points: 580. Synchronization Level: 63.2%. Not a bad score, but still nothing for me, Commandoman, to worry about."

Rockman charged at the Navi with a yell, but the large Navi dodged his attack and slammed the Mini-Bomb into his stomach. Stunned by the explosion, Rockman did not have enough time to react to Commandoman grabbing his head and slamming it into the ground.

In the real world, Netto grasped at her head. It was a repeat of the battle at school.

Commandoman laughed, "You see that kid? You're too weak. After I destroy this hospital program, I'm coming after your brat of a NetOp!"

Rockman felt like he had been punched in the gut a second time as he saw a screen appear behind Commandoman. On it was a little boy wearing yellow pajamas reading a book in bed. He had a few machines hooked up to his body, helping regulate his body's rhythms.

Mamoru…

"Mamoru-chan."

"Oh, so you know the kid? Well, that will make this all the more sweeter-"

"MAMORU!" The howl came from both Rockman and Netto as a bright light filled the area. Letting go of Rockman to cover his eyes Commandoman took a few steps back, smirking.

"That's the ticket."

With a renewed strength, Rockman rushed at Commandoman, his voice a mixture of his own and Netto's voice, "I WON'T LET YOU HURT HIM!"

Now at this point Commandoman attempted to say "I think I went too far", but an enraged and screaming Navi in Full Synchro stopped any and all vocal communications.

Commandoman gave a gasp of pain as he hit was slammed into the floor, half of his helmet cracking. Opening his one good eye, he looked up to see an angered Rockman lifting his sword to give the coup-de-grace, the ghostly shadow of Hikari Netto overlaid on the Navi and mimicking the movements.

"That's enough!" Rockman's arm was caught before he could deliver the finishing blow.

Rockman looked to the owner of the voice, only to see Needleman. "How can you be defending this Navi?"

Commandoman gave a weak chuckle, "That was quite a blow, my boy."

My boy, wait a minute- Rockman dismissed his sword, "Are you Commissioner Kifune's Navi?"

Commandoman laughed again, "That's right! This was your test to see if you could perform Full Synchro, and you passed!"

Rockman looked down at Commandoman for a few seconds before exploding in anger, "WHAT KIND OF POLICE FORCE USES KIDS AS HOSTAGES?"

Netto crossed her arms as Yuriko reapplied bandages to her head, the latest encounter with Commandoman having reopened her wounds. Kifune was sitting across from her with Manabe giving him similar treatment.

"Explain. Now." Netto demanded. While Fefnir or Rockman would scold the girl for her rudeness, they felt it was appropriate for the current situation.

Kifune gave a nervous laugh, "I am sorry about that, but Full Synchro can only be fully activated during a state of stress."

"I am seriously considering not taking up your offer because of that stunt you pulled. Just what is Full Synchro anyway?"

"Oh I am going to love working with this one." Yuriko laughed as she put the finishing touches on Netto's bandages. She walked around Netto's chair so she that she was standing in front of the girl. Kneeling down, Yuriko softly held Netto's hands and gave the girl a soft smile, "Netto, as you know a normal NetOp can control and monitor their NetNavi, but only from an external access point. This can create a delay between an "order" and an "action", which can mean the difference between success and deletion."

"Get to the point lady." Fefnir griped.

"Fefnir, be nice!" Rockman said as he lightly punched his brother's arm.

Yuriko ignored the two, "During Full Synchro, however, the barrier between the real and cyber worlds fades away and the consciousness of an Operator and Navigator fuse, which unleashes the full potential of a fighting pair."

Netto smiled, "That sounds really neat!"

Yuriko frowned, "There is a down side to it Netto. During full Synchro, whatever happens to one happens to both. If Rockman gets hurt, you get hurt too. There is a chance that you can die if you are not careful."

"Oh." Netto croaked out.

Kifune coughed, "Yes well, you won't be working alone. You will be on a team with Yuriko acting as your commanding officer. If you encounter aycrime, you are toreport to her hen you have fulfilled your missions."

"What if we need help?"

"Rockman, I think we can handle fights on our own!"

"Hello, I'm here." Fefnir snickered out.

"You were more destructive than helpful!"

Manabe decided to cut into the three-way sibling squabble, "Netto-chan, you will be assigned a partner. While we do not expect you to work together on all of your missions, you will be expected to work together if you ever cross paths or need back-up."

As if on cue, the door opened to reveal a familiar face.

"You're the guy from the other day!" Netto shot up from her chair before sitting back down, having made herself dizzy.

Manabe gestured to the new guest, "Netto-chan, this is Ijuin Enzan. Enzan-kun, meet Hikari Netto. I hope you two can get along with each other."

Netto stood up once again, this time a little more slowly, and made her way over to her new partner. She extended her hand, "Nice to officially meet you. I hope me can get along."

"Just try not to get in the way so much," The boy scoffed, but took her hand none the less.

In the cyberworld, Rockman held his hand out to a tall red Navi with a visor, "I'm Rockman. I hope we can get along."

"Blues. Try to keep up." Said Navi gave Rockman's hand a firm shake.

Fefnir laughed as he walked up to the two, putting a hand on their shoulders, "What a beautiful friendship."

"Uh..." Blues looked at the armored Navi in confusion.

"It brings a tear to my eye."

"If you want to hit my brother, please do." Rockman said as he swatted Fefnir's hand away.

Trivia:

Commandoman was a Robot Master from the original game series. In the BN manga, Yamatoman is the police Navi that Rockman faces to trigger Full Synchro.

Yamatoman will come up later.