"Channeling is just bad ventriloquism. You use another voice, but people can see your lips moving"
-Penn Jillette
Rockman never had thought that Netto was a motorcycle type of person.
And honestly, Netto knew that he wasn't a motorcycle person either. Perhaps it dated back to the net car race that Yaito had first held where the blue navi had opted for a the four wheels of a car as opposed to a motorcycle such as Blues's –although, it was a car race after all…- or perhaps it went even further back, to when Netto had first learned to skate. He'd preferred moving himself, as opposed to relying on something else. Always so energetic…However, Rock knew that this wasn't going to come up in a conversation any time soon, and so, they both lived on knowing that it wasn't quite the brunette, but since when had correctly matching your vehicle been a matter of life or death?
It was now.
"Shit! Hold on Rock!" this was missing the fact that as a navi, he had no need to hold on. It made Netto feel better to give an order at a time like this he supposed. The more the brunette felt like he was in control, the less likely he was to panic. Staying calm would probably be a good thing, the blue navi supposed. This applied to both of them. Netto so he could drive properly and Rockman so he could focus on the task at hand, namely, getting them out of there. The snow really wasn't making it any easier.
"They're getting really close" a pause as the machine lurched to the side in order for Netto to duck into a side area. Maybe he could loose them? He doubted it, but it wouldn't hurt to try. Tires screeched as the 21 year-old net savor pulled the cycle into another tight turn, narrowly dodging a rather large dumpster.
"I can't pick them up on the scanner, I don't know if-"
"Just focus on finding a way out of here and near somewhere safe. Preferably populated" indeed, the decrepit factory area seemed far more like a prison than anything else. It'd been a stupid idea to come here without backup. But with forces spread so thin…Enzan hadn't slept for almost five days, who was he to disturb the first nap the guy had earned in such a long while for what was supposed to have been a danger-less reconnaissance? Of course, he regretted it now.
"I'm working on it. Satellite images seem to be…missing" the silence that Rock's statement caused was broken only by the roar of the motor as Netto tore over a pile of debris rather inconveniently left in the middle of the alleyway and even more inopportunely covered by the recent snowfall. Nonetheless, it was enough to mask whatever cursing the brunette had chosen to spurt out.
"Tap the cycle's memory, see if you can get the basic workings of a map going" Netto needn't have asked, Rock's experienced fingers were already scanning the data he'd siphoned off of the transportation. Originally, it was just a green line filtering through the navi's line of vision, then it began with a maze, twirling in and out of itself with seemingly effortless ease and at the same time, feeding the official navi's sensory preceptors mumbled jargon that served only to confuse.
"And…hurry up if you could" this was marked by the shattering of something or other, followed quickly by another squeak of the two abused tires. The brunette's vitals were speeding up with a rush of what Rockman assumed was adrenaline, and for a moment, he could have sworn that Netto's breathing had drowned out every other noise.
But then the rather stressful illusion was butchered by the even more worrying patter of bullets. So that was why Netto had returned to cursing. They had caught up, somehow. Vaguely, the navy navi had a hunch that their pursuers were involved with the fact that he couldn't get a proper map of the area.
"They got the taillight and my mirrors, not critical" Rockman cringed within his PET, but made no motion to otherwise address the issue. Netto needed to concentrate, Rock couldn't afford to distract him now with idle banter.
"Can you sense any plug-in ports nearby?" the question was out of the blue, Rock didn't pretend otherwise. For a moment he gave into a whim and glanced uneasily up to his netOP, although the brunette failed to acknowledge the stare. Whether this was on purpose or merely to get Rockman to answer the question was still up for grabs. Nonetheless, those bullets really were getting too close for comfort.
"I think we need to focus on getting you out of here Netto-kun" another swerve of the bike –they'd taught them that in training, if under fire, at least give the attackers a moving target; crouching to give a smaller target was good as well- and Rock's view of his operator was once again broken. In the same instance, the brunette failed to respond to this, instead opting to focus his attention on the layout of the abandoned factory once more.
If Netto had spoken, much undue guilt could have been prevented at a later date.
It took a moment to decide, especially with the thundering of guns firing from behind, not to mention that such a choice was not an every day matter. But in the end, Rockman knew that having faith in his operator was the best option. If Netto thought that a port was their best option, then a port was their best option. The navi chose to ignore the voice screaming at him to think otherwise.
"I've got one confirmed on-" Several things happened at once. Tires squeaked, squealed, wailed, whatever it was they did when too much pressure was put on them. Something burst, something creaked, something 'thunked', somebody yelled, and Rock had just enough time to link back to his PET before the cycle computer was forced offline.
Although, it didn't do much good as his PET did the same.
Rebooting was not a pleasant process.
"We got him, lets get out of here"
In order to obtain maximum efficiency, certain programs had to be started before others. Of course, it was just his –and all other navis, he had to remind himself- misfortune that the particular order specified was rather…odd. The ability to see before eyes to restrain the sight, the sensation of touch before a data-based body to do so with; He'd never really liked the feeling all that much. –surely an understatement-
"Oi…Rock. Wake up. You gotta wake up" Finally, he had actual eyes to open. "Come on…!" His energy was not drained; he hadn't even needed to summon his Rockbuster. And yet, it was so hard to get his systems functioning. For a moment, the navi's form fizzled and he wasn't entirely sure that he could complete the reboot. It passed, but not without leaving the program rather woozy.
"Netto-kun…I-" he paused to adjust his eyes to the blinding light from his surroundings. Dazedly he stared up through the screen, not quite comprehending for the longest time. Like a million points of light, the snow flakes gently flitted through the air and to the ground, where Rock presumed he lay. The sight was calming…although he couldn't quite put his finger on what had been so distressing in the first place. "Aren't you cold?" he finally asked. It was something at least. Doubtless, his net op was on the ground near him somewhere. Hypothermia anyone?
"No…" a pause and Rockman could have sworn he heard a chuckle. "I'm fine" Fine…synonym of okay, a synonym of acceptable…these should have been words of comfort. Why weren't they? Possibly an error in the logic sector of his AI? Or maybe he just wanted to see it to believe it?
"Where are you? I think we need to…" another pause as a rush of memories finally reconnected into their proper place "…get out of here" a third recess in which the navy one put one and one together to form two. "Netto-kun!"
"Hey, I already said I'm okay!"
"What happened? I couldn't see, but something fell, or…crashed or…!"
"It's fine. They hit my tires and I went off into a ditch. I think this used to be a sewage trench" Rock didn't bother holding in the sigh of relief that came with this statement. In any case, a sewage trench was much better than dead. Even if the PET would be smelling for weeks.
"Hey Rock…"
"Yes?"
"You're going to have to plug-in" an eyebrow rose.
"Plug-in? Why?" again, the ghost of a chuckle could be heard. Ugh, ghost. Even the word scared him. Ghosts, phantoms, specters, all of them freaked him out to this day. He didn't care if it was embarrassing, he couldn't help it. So there.
"You need to warn Enzan, they'll go after him next. You need to make sure he doesn't make the same mistake I did" unsure what to make of the statement, Rockman finally decided to search his netOp for answers. Pulling his hologram program together, the navi pushed himself out of the PET and into the snow-covered world. The device lay relatively close to Netto, who was eagle-spread in the snow, although his face was turned away, preventing the navi from checking for any possible bleeding.
"Netto-kun…why don't you just…?"
"I'll explain later. You just have to do it now. You know the override codes, right?" still hesitant, the program finally nodded. Yes, he did remember the username and password needed for him to plug himself into a port, although why Netto couldn't just do it instead was a still mystery.
"And the pump over there is still functional, right?" a quick scan confirmed this. Rock nodded, only to remember that his operator couldn't see him. He opened his mouth to confirm this verbally, only to be cut off by the brunette.
"Good. I need you to write a note for Enzan and warn him that the 'Conti' group is going to try and lure him to this factory. Make sure that he knows to come with a group of at least two hidden squads, preferably good marksmen"
"And a medical team for you Netto-kun?" although he couldn't see the brunette's face, Rockman imagined that he had frowned at that statement. Although why was also a mystery.
"No…I already told you. I'm fine. Anyway, don't send it automatically, take it to him yourself…Someone might intercept it otherwise, and we can't have that, now can we?" the blue one nodded again without question, and in a quick moment, the text was displayed before him.
"Okay…I've got it" a pause, although this time Rock got the distinct feeling that his operator was smiling. "Nothing else…? And Netto-kun, are you sure you'll be okay out here? You should at least get up! You might catch cold, or worse!" the third eerie chuckle.
"What would I do without you Rockman? You worry enough so that I don't have to; it saves me a lot of work, thanks"
"Netto-kun?"
"I'm guessing its because you'd miss me if anything happened, right?" that didn't sound right. At all. Nonetheless, Rockman still froze as his stomach turned to ice at the thought of something happening to Netto, it was obvious enough what the brunette had meant after all.
"Of course I'd miss you! What do you think?" the navi paused to wring his hands "But please, don't…don't say things like that Netto-kun" he wanted to glare at his netOp, but it was harder than it sounded to actually do so, especially when said netOp was probably injured rather badly and just wouldn't admit it.
"Yeah…sorry" a sigh. "But you know I'd miss you too, right? Of course. Anyway, before you go…do you remember?" at the complete change in topic, Rockman couldn't help but blink.
"Remember?"
"The snow. That one time you got buried during the Gospel incident? And I had to find you?"
"Yes…?"
"Don't forget it, since you might get a little coldbut I'll find you again to warm you up, okay? I'll wait for you Rock…Now go!" still confused to a rather extreme degree, Rockman spared one last glance back at his netOp; Still no sign of his features, unfortunately. It would have been at least a little more comforting to see one of the brunette's trademark grins before he left.
'9:05 AM' he noted. 'Lets see if I can get there before 9:10' it was slower if he accompanied the mail, but Netto had insisted. It was only with this musing conquered that the navy one input the password and was whisked away to the 'SewComp'. He ran as hard as he could, although his mind constantly flicked back to what in the hell Netto had been babbling on about. Cold? Navis didn't get cold. The last time he'd felt cold was when the brunette had…well, Rock didn't like to think about hospital trips.
It was only when he collapsed headlong into Blues's bookmark that the navi finally realized how long a transmission that had been. The navy one only had enough strength to dazedly offer the note to a sprinting Blues before his systems forced him offline and he blacked out.
He'd said it once and he would say it again, he hated to reboot.
"This is cruel"
Although, this time, it was a little better, Rockman realized. He felt far more energized than the last time, almost like he'd been in a recharger. Although he couldn't have, the navy one realized with a jolt, they needed Netto's PET for him to recharge.
"No. It isn't. He needs to see it for himself"
That is, unless they'd rescued Netto. Ah, that was probably what it was. He'd been out long enough that they'd had enough time to rescue his NetOp most likely. Said brunette was probably wide awake and wondering what the hell had taken his navi so long to recharge.
"Netto-kun?"
"He's awake" Enzan's comment, however unnecessary, proved true as Rockman proceeded to sit up. The program was surprised to notice that while he was in his PET, Netto was nowhere to be found. Instead, the navi's confused green eyes were met with those of Enzan, Manabe, Meijin, his papa and an unknown party.
"Are you feeling better Rock?" finally inquired Yuuichiro. The older Hikari received a nod for his efforts as the navy one proceeded to search the room for his run away netOp. Only the instruments of an unfamiliar lab and a white sheet –why did that stick out so much?- met his gaze. Finally, the program decided to voice his question.
"Where's Netto-kun?" Awkward glances were immediately sent to different corners of the room, save for the unknown person. "He didn't catch hypothermia, did he? I warned him…"
"Rockman" the voice of the stranger was firm, yet tired all the same. Resigned, he wanted to say. As if whatever they were saying had been said a thousand times and yet they still weren't used to it. An odd analogy if he did say so himself, but one that worked nonetheless.
"Yes?" the stranger made their way over to the white sheet, putting their back to the navi while doing something or other to it with her hands. "What?" Enzan looked away. That was never good. At all. "What?" Even his papa…Finally, Rockman drew his attention back to the unknown. "What…?"
"At 8:58 am yesterday morning, Hikari Netto was shot in the back of the head while being pursued by the Netmafia Conti. He was killed instantly, hence why the bike swerved fell into the ditch as it did" when they had started talking, the person –who he now knew as the coroner- had stepped back from the sheet to reveal Netto, perfectly still and quite pale. And as Rockman stared at his netOp, it slowly dawned on him that the brunette wasn't breathing.
"But…he…!" Cold. That was this feeling. It began from the pits of his stomach and from there spread outwards, numbing, freezing, paralyzing him even. Netto-kun was, he had…why was everything so cold now?
"He didn't feel anything, Rock" it was around that time that the navi noticed how puffy Yuuichiro's eyes were. "It was painless, he didn't suffer. It was just like a dull thunk…and that was it" from the shaky, yet rather simple, explanation, Rockman was vaguely aware of the fact that Haruka knew about this as well.
Was she feeling this cold as well?
"He…he…" Netto had been there. Rockman knew that much. Netto had been dead by the time that Rockman had rebooted that first time, but still, the brunette had been there. He was sure of it; Positive even. It wasn't just a voice in his head or some other such nonsense, the navi had felt his operator, friend, whatever the proper word was for people with bonds so deep, there with him.
"You might get a little cold…but I'll find you again to warm you up, okay? I'll wait for you Rock"
It didn't surprise Rockman one bit that Netto wasn't a scary kind of ghost.
Odd. Quite odd. Odder than "Transfer" I think. :P does this really need an explanation? I hope not. Otherwise I really do need to work on my writing…
Also written in the "Marshmellow's great diversion to Ireland because of broken toilets" timeframe. See "What Matters" chapter 7 for details :P
Please excuse the lack of a non-corny sounding phrase from Netto. We all know that boys wouldn't generally be so melodramatic, but will that stop us drama writers? Nah. Of course not. Please take this all with a creative mind and such...and I suppose you can all tell by now I'm just babbling to reach 3000 words. Hmm...only a little bit left.
I don't own Rockman.exe, meaning Netto, contrary to popular belief, is NOT mine. I do happen to have him on my OOC farm though, and I do believe he's the one character who I don't plan on trading in. Its too much fun to write him out of character anyway. Lets consider this my disclaimer for ALL the other Rockman stories I wrote...and don't have a disclaimer for. poo.