Okay, for all the people that have been waiting for me to update, KOMEN! I've been unbelievably lazy with my extra curricular work such as this. I hope you enjoy this chapter^^

Thank you anonymous writer for your sarcastic coment^^

Ch. 11

Rockman EXE. Stream

"This…this was unexpected" the navi said in a gloomy tone while backing away into the growing darkness. "What a shame"

Slur watched as the navi's fought hopelessly with a barely visible smirk. It quickly faded when she felt a drastic change in the dome's energy output. She glanced wearily at it before snickering and leaving.

Meanwhile, the net ops were experiencing their own problems.

"Rockman?...Rockman?" Netto yelled into his static screened pet.

Dekao looked wearily over his shoulder "Netto, what happened?"

"I don't know, it just….cut off!" Netto replied with a quick glance before looking back at his pet.

Enzan glanced at him, trying his best to stay calm and composed "Calm down, yelling isn't going to solve anything"

Netto was ready to reply out of stress, but Meiru cut him off with a quick hand to his mouth "What do you have in mind?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

Enzan looked at her thoughtfully.

On the net, Blues and Tomahawkman were struggling to fight off a swarm of Fortes while Roll sat by a badly de-rezzing Gutsman.

Blues pushed one away before swinging his sword in a wide stroke to force the others back. He used the moment to catch his breath while looking at the enemies growing numbers as they poured out of the dome. "There's got to be another way" he said out of fatigue and aggravation.

Tomahawkman was at a standstill with one of the Fortes, pushing against each other's blades. "Then hurry up and find one, cuz this is getting us nowhere faAAST!" the Forte he was fighting with suddenly turned black and drifted away like mist, leaving Tomahawkman with no support. He fell forward and hit the ground so hard that the ground cracked on impact. He lifted himself off the ground and rubbed his soar face "O-Ow!"

Blues ignored him and looked at the Fortes as they turned black and flew off like mist towards the dome as it rapidly shrank.

Roll left Gutsman's side and hurried over to Blues "What's going on?"

Blues kept his attention focused on the dome "I don't know?"

Suddenly, Enzan appeared on a holo screen in front of him, disrupting his view and focus. "Blues, what's going on?" he said, trying to keep the worry out of his voice.

Startled, Blues took a step back, but quickly recovered when he saw his net op "The Fortes' have been pulled back to the dome and it's shrinking"

Enzan opened his mouth to speak, but was pushed off screen by Netto as he took his place. "Blues, can you see Rockman and Forte?" he yelled, clearly panicking.

Blues took a quick glance at the dome before responding "No, why?"

Meiru pushed Netto aside "We lost contact with Rockman!"

"What?" Blues exclaimed. He took another look at the shrinking dome and his eyes focused in on two shaded figures that were coming into view. "Enzan, I can see two figures in the dome…kinda"

Netto pushed his way back onto the screen with a dazzling smile "Really? It must be them!"

Now it was Enzan's turn. He shoved Netto away and looked worriedly at his navi "Be careful"

"Right" Blues said with a nod before the screen disappeared.

Meanwhile, Rockman blinked a few timed before realizing that he had been freed and looked in the fading darkness. It appeared that the dome had closed in around him or on something near him, but he was too flustered to think about it.

"Rockman!" he turned his head and saw his friends running towards him with Roll in front….friends.

His attention was immediately drawn forward to the navi scrunched up on the ground. He hurried to his side and gently shook him "Forte?"

Forte groaned as he regained full consciousness and stared at the ground "…Rockman?"

Rockman moved a little closer, ready to help the other up to his feet "Yes Forte, I'm right here…" he was interrupted by a chilling laugh he hadn't heard in a while and thought he'd never hear again. Without warning, Forte swung his arm around, catching Rockman in the head and sending him flying back a couple of yards. Rockman winced at the burning sensation on his face before forcing himself to sit up and look at the other confused as he stood "Forte? Why did you do that?"

All he got in return was a malicious grin as Forte raised his hand in preparation for an energy attack. This allowed Rockman to get a good look at the other before the arrack sent him flying again. All of his wounds had miraculously healed, even the critical on his chest. Netto's symbol seemed to have faded slightly into the black circle behind it and his aura seemed so…dark. That's all he had time to notice before Forte's attack pushed him back a few more feet, leaving him unconscious and de-rezzing.

The others had stopped running after seeing the first hostile action and were even more shocked at the second.

Roll quickly broke the silence in a panicked yell "Forte, what are you doing?"

Forte looked over at her, his smile now gone and a frown hidden behind his cloak "Hmm, nuisance" he held his hand out to them "Hell Raizers!" on command, several purple blades appeared in front of him and flew at their targets.

"Crud!" Tomahawkman yelled before diving out of the way.

Blues ran forward and tackled Roll to the ground, who seemed to have froze up in shock. They stayed like that until the blades had passed over.

Roll decided to thank her savior, but freaked out at the sight of him "Blues!"

One of the blades must have rolled over him, leaving his date in shambles and ready to break apart at any moment.

Satisfied, Forte turned his gaze forward again and began to calmly walk to Rockman, arm blade ready at his side. "You're still soft, trusting your enemy that close to you" he chuckled to himself, stopping to gaze down at his unconscious rival "Don't worry though, you won't be around much longer to regret it and I'll put your Ultimate Program to good use"

Meanwhile, the net ops were panicking about the events unfolding before them.

"Rockman!"

"Gutsman!"

"Tomahawkman!"

"Blues!"

Dingo turned to his friend with worried eyes "Netto, do something! He's your navi!"

Netto looked at him with the same expression "I wish I could, but my pet's still not working. I can't even send a recovery chip"

Meiru looked around at her worried friends. She then closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm her nerves "Then I guess it's up to us"

Everyone looked at her puzzled "What?"

Meiru ignored their reactions and looked down at her navi "Okay Roll, let's show them what we can do!"

"O-Okay" Roll responded shakily before carefully sliding out from under Blues and running off towards Forte.

Netto looked at his friend in horror "Meiru, you can't send Roll to…"

"Trust me, I know what I'm doing" she said with a reassuring smile.

Forte raised his blade, a devilish grin on his face as stared down at his defeated rival "Goodbye!" he was about to strike when he was grabbed from behind by none other than Roll.

"I'm sorry Forte" she said while tightening her grip around his torso and one arm.

Forte growled in aggravation at the pink arms wrapped around him and pulled against them "Let go!"

Roll groaned in pain and tried her best to keep her grip on him, which didn't seem to be working. She managed to slop her hand into his cloak and grab a hold of his symbol, which further irritated him. "I hope this works" she said to herself, now resting her head against his back.

Meiru smiled once her navi was in position before clicking on her pet icon "Here we go! Initiating Heart Balance now!"

Everyone looked at her, again puzzled "Heart Balance?"

Roll started to glow a hot pink, which quickly spread to her hand and into Forte's symbol. He gagged at the strange feeling and tried harder to pull away, but her grip seemed to have tightened and she didn't budge. His blade dispersed against his will and his arm fell limply to his side. "What's…happening…" he managed before a grunt as he began to lean against her.

Dingo watched in amazement "Wow, she's winning. She's actually winning!"

"What's going on Meiru?" Dekao asked, but couldn't take his eyes away from the screen.

Meiru smiled and threw up a peace sign with her free hand "Toll has a special power too"

Netto looked at her questioningly "Heart Balance?"

"It's a disinfecting program. I normally use it to clean up my home system, but it should help Forte too"

The boys looked at her puzzled "How?"

Mr. Hikari stepped in "It should delete his weaker programming, leaving the more dominant ones" he turned to her "Right?" Meiru nodded

Enzan looked at her un-amused "Yes, but what if his weaker half is the Forte we've known the past few days?"

Meiru looked down at her pet timidly "Yes well…I said it was a gamble"

The boys look at her furiously "NO YOU DIDN'T!" Meiru flinched at their tone and smiled weakly.

Back on the net, Forte had lost the will to stand, so Roll gently laid him down while she finished. Once she had finished, the glow faded and she peered down at the exhausted navi resting on her lap. The dark aura around him had faded and for some reason his cloak was gone, allowing her to see his softly de-rezzing limp body. "Forte?" she asked softly.

He opened his eyes slightly and looked up at her with dull red eyes "R…Roll….what….did you…"

Roll smiled at him "That doesn't matter right now. The important thing is that you're back" she said, gently rubbing his cheek. He looked ready to fall asleep when a low growl caught his attention. They both looked with wide eyes at the figure standing before them. It was…Forte, cloak and all.

He stared back at them with his cold red eyes, teeth bared in anger of his headache "What the hell did you do to me?"

Okay, I think that's a great way to come back^^ Now I must right the next chapter, which is giving me a little trouble. Stupid word phrasing *shakefist*

Oh, please read and review. I enjoy feedback