Defusion - Chapter Seven
Title: Defusion
Fandom: Rockman.EXE
Rating: PG
Summary: It was supposed to be a simple experiment. Nothing was supposed to go wrong. Unfortunately, it did, and now Enzan, Netto, Rockman, and Blues are finding out first hand what happens when a dimensional area shatters.
Warnings: The chapter is complete. The story is not. I have no idea how long it will take me to finish the story, so if you don't want to be holding your breath indefinitely, don't read.
Looking for chapter one? You can find it here. Need to go back to the previous chapter?
Defusion - Chapter Seven
The phone rang. Once. Twice. Haruka picked it up before it could ring a third time. "Hello?" she asked as she balanced a basket of laundry on one hip. "This is Hikari Haruka. Who is this?"
"Mrs. Hikari? My name is Chiba Morioka from the Mercy General Hospital. There's been an accident..."
-o-
SciLabs was in an uproar when Blues arrived there, so much so that at first no one even noticed the presence of a barefoot man in a hospital gown. Startled by all the chaos, he just stood in the entrance to the lobby as people rushed around and police spoke with scientists. This couldn't be the result of the dimensional area accident, could it? As he listened to the bits of conversation floating around him, though, it soon became obvious that this wasn't the case.
"...make sure no one gets in there..."
"...and then what happened, Mr. Li?"
"I want all those reports in my office, stat!"
"Get this DNA sample down to the lab for analysis, then..."
"...he was bleeding pretty badly..."
"Has anyone...?"
"...hasn't gotten there yet. He should be arriving ...ikari residence in..."
"Excuse me, but do you have a reason to be here?"
Blues blinked and focused on the scientist who had addressed him. The frumpy looking woman in her mid-forties frowned disapprovingly at him, especially his clothing. It was obvious that she didn't think his answer would be satisfactory, but Blues responded anyway. "Yes," he said. "I am looking for Ijuuin Enzan or Dr. Hikari."
"Why?" she demanded sharply - a bit too sharply. "It had better be important, young man, or one of these police officers will be escorting you back to whatever hospital you escaped from."
Controlling his facial expressions was difficult, as he'd never had to worry about anything more than what his mouth was doing, but somehow Blues managed not to scowl. He had known that his clothing would probably cause problems for him, but he hadn't exactly had many options. He didn't know where his armor had been stored, nor had he had time to retrieve it, and getting something else to wear would require either money or friends he could borrow clothing from. The only friends he had outside of the Internet who were anywhere nearby should be here at SciLabs. His only other option would have been to go to IPC, but he highly doubted Ijuuin Shuuseki would be willing even to meet with him if he was dressed like this, let alone believe his story and lend him clothing.
Blues met the scientist's eyes unflinchingly, bracing himself for the disbelief he knew would be coming. "Because I am Blues and Ijuuin Enzan is my operator." The woman opened her mouth to protest this claim, but Blues knew better than to let her get started. He raised his voice to override hers and kept speaking. "If you do not believe me, I can describe in detail the events of the dimensional area accident that occurred yesterday afternoon. I have access codes that only a Net navi with permission granted from SciLabs would have. What level of proof do you require?"
Taken aback by Blues' response, the scientist suddenly looked unsure of herself. "Well-"
"Describe it," someone else cut in. Their conversation had attracted the attention of some of the other scientists there and at least one police officer. Blues vaguely recognized the woman speaking as Dr. Kuroki Hana. It seemed like she had been involved in the dimensional area experiment, too, but only peripherally. "Describe what happened to the dome."
Blues nodded. It was a good question, one that only someone who had been there would know the answer to. "It broke apart, starting at the top until it reached the edges. The pieces did not disappear, either. They fell on us and on the ground, then-"
"Then everything exploded," Kuroki finished for him, satisfied with his explanation. "Or imploded, as the case may be. Don't worry, Blues. I believe you." She looked around at her fellow scientists, particularly the first one who'd spoken to Blues, and repeated firmly, "I believe him. Blues, if you'll come with me, I need to fill you in on the situation."
Several of the scientists looked like they wanted to follow Blues and Kuroki as she led him away from the scene, but she shook her head at them and said, "Later." Blues could imagine why they wanted to follow. They were scientists and he was a scientific anomoly. They were probably itching with curiosity to know how such a thing was possible.
"If you stay here, you'll have to answer their questions eventually," Kuroki said. She stopped in front of a door to a conference room and opened it, then waited for Blues to enter. "It isn't just that they want to know about you. They also want to distract themselves from what happened here." She stepped inside after him and closed the door, ensuring their privacy for the time being.
Blues raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"
"Hikari Netto was kidnapped," Kuroki said bluntly. "One of the scientists on the dimensional area project, Sato Michiki, kidnapped him at gunpoint, apparently after shooting him in the leg. I was only there for part of it, so I don't know exactly what happened, but we think Netto caught Sato doing something on Dr. Hikari's computer that he shouldn't have been. We just don't know what. All we know is that the root directory he was working in had files from the dimensional area experiment."
An accident during a dimensional area experiment with unexpected results. A kidnapping by a scientist who had been part of that experiment. A root directory with files from the very same experiment. "I doubt this is coincidence," Blues concluded.
"Neither do we," Kuroki said, expression turning sober. "No one has been able to get hold of Dr. Hikari all morning and no one is answering the phone at his home. The police have sent someone over to check the house, but that was only a few minutes ago."
"What about Enzan-sama and Rockman?" Enzan was his first priority, of course, but he was curious if Rockman had ended up in the same situation as himself.
Kuroki shook her head. "We don't know where they are. All of you disappeared during the accident. So far, only you and Netto have shown up, and now we don't know where he is, either." She sighed and sat down in one of the chairs at the conference table, running her hands through her short, brown hair. "There are so many things I don't know. I don't have enough information to know what to do. Tell me what happened to you after the accident. Maybe it'll help me think of something."
And so Blues told her. He told her about the hospital and discovering that he was human. He told her about the bomb and how he believed it had been intended for Enzan. He described the man who had gotten away as best he could, too, but Kuroki didn't recognize him from the description. He finished the story by telling her why he had come here. "My operator's life is in danger. I need to find him so that I can protect him."
Kuroki tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I think it's safe to assume that whoever set that bomb off is connected to all of this somehow. The question is, how does Enzan tie in to whatever Sato was doing on Dr. Hikari's computer? The only connection I see is that Enzan was a part of the dimensional area experiment. On the other hand, so was Netto, and Sato didn't seem intent on killing him."
"But he did take Netto with him, Dr. Kuroki," Blues pointed out. "And you said yourself you do not know why. You only guessed."
"True. If kidnapping Netto was Sato's intention from the start, though, that begs the question of what makes Netto different from Enzan? Why kidnap the one and try to kill the other?"
There were too many possibilities to speculate. However... "If they were both targets, perhaps the dimensional area accident was not an accident at all."
"It would certainly get rid of both of them in a way that didn't point fingers at anyone," Kuroki agreed. "It would also connect all the pieces nicely. The only thing it doesn't explain is where Dr. Hikari is, but since we don't know what happened to him, we don't know if it's even connected."
"I would still recommend that someone search the files for any signs that the experiment was sabotaged." If he had still been a Net navi, it was a task Blues would have volunteered for himself. Without any leads for where Enzan might be, examining the data from the experiment would also be the best way to discover where he'd been sent. Blues said as much to Kuroki.
Kuroki nodded. "I'll have someone look into it. I'd do it myself, but that's not my area of expertise." She paused for a moment, just watching him now. He still had not sat down. "What are you going to do, Blues?"
A good question, but one that Blues had already thought about. "Ijuuin Shuuseki needs to know what has happened with Enzan-sama," he said. "Besides being his father, there is a chance that he may be in danger, too. He also has resources and contacts that can be used to find Enzan-sama and the people behind this, perhaps Netto as well. I intend to take advantage of those resources."
"Will he believe you are who you say you are?"
Blues shook his head. "Not without proof. However, I believe I can provide that proof if I can get him to see me."
"We could call him now," Kuroki suggested. "Ijuuin Shuuseki is a busy man. He's more likely to agree to answer the phone than to meet with you, especially if SciLabs is the one that's calling. I can represent SciLabs and corroborate your story."
Blues considered the offer for a moment, then nodded his consent. "That might be helpful. Thank you, Dr. Kuroki."
"First things first," Kuroki said briskly as she rose from the table. "He's not going to take either of us seriously if you're dressed like that. Thomson works with chemicals in the chip development department. I think he keeps a change of clothes in his office in case what he's wearing gets damaged by his experiments. Come with me and we'll see if he'll let you borrow them."
-o-
Netto sat quietly in the back seat of Sato's car, breathing raggedly while he clutched his leg to his chest. He was glad to be off his feet, but his leg still hurt and it was still bleeding. He'd taken off his orange vest and was using it to try to staunch the flow of blood, but it didn't seem to be helping much. At least the bullet had only grazed his calf instead of going right through it. Small consolation as it was, he'd much rather have an injury with only one opening.
He'd already tried to escape once, despite the amount of pain he was in. Unfortunately, Sato had put the child lock on the car's back doors and Netto wasn't stupid enough to try to interfere with Sato's driving. He wanted to escape, not get in a car accident.
"Why are you doing this?" he asked. "I thought you were Papa's friend."
Sato snorted. "Being coworkers doesn't automatically make us friends, Hikari. Besides, this has nothing to do with your father."
"Then why are you doing this?" Netto persisted. It helped to concentrate on something else.
"Why do you think?" Sato shot back. "What's the driving force of the universe, Hikari? What makes the world go around?"
He'd stopped calling Netto by his given name. For some reason, that small change really stood out, but Netto couldn't for the life of him figure out what it meant. "What?" he asked.
"Money." The car turned a corner, taking them down an empty street. "Don't get me wrong. SciLabs pays well. But the offer I was made was simply too good to turn down."
A dark scowl crossed over Netto's face. That kind of reasoning just made him angry. Didn't people understand that money wasn't everything? Yeah, it could buy all sorts of things, but if it was at the expense of your friendships and your job, it just wasn't worth it. He wanted to point this out, but he wanted more information first. "Who paid you?"
The scientist gave Netto a brief, flat look before returning his attention to the road. "You'll find out soon enough." The tone of his voice made it quite clear that the conversation was over. Netto glared at the back of Sato's head, then turned to look out the window. If only he could figure out where they were going...
The question was soon answered when Sato stopped the car in front of a large building.
-o-
"Can I help you?"
There was a quiet reply from the other side of the door, but Rockman and Enzan were already walking the other way, heading toward the laundry room in the back of the house. The introductions between the people from SciLabs and Ms. Router weren't important, and the sooner they got their things, the sooner they could get out of there.
Rockman's suit, gloves, boots, and helmet had been placed inside a large plastic bag and set beside the dryer. As Enzan moved to open the dryer, ending the drying cycle prematurely, Rockman picked up the bag and frowned.
"Enzan, what are we going to tell them about me?" he asked. "You told that person in SciLabs that 'Dr. Hikari's son' was with you. They'll be expecting Netto."
Enzan barely spared a glance at him before turning his attention to fishing his clothes out of the dryer. "That depends on whether or not they know what Netto looks like. It won't even come up if they don't realize you're not him. If they do..." He straightened up, clothes draped neatly over his arm. "Tell them that we can't explain until we get back to SciLabs. Leave the rest to me."
Enzan's plan didn't feel quite right to Rockman, but he didn't have any other ideas, so he just nodded and said nothing. He would be glad when they were back at SciLabs and the need for secrecy was over.
The next minute was spent in silence as Enzan quickly changed into his own clothing, folding each piece of borrowed clothing as he removed it and leaving it on top of the dryer. Watching him put on his shoes and socks reminded Rockman of his own bare feet, but there was no help for that. Ms. Router hadn't had any shoes that even came close to fitting his feet, and he wasn't about to put his boots back on and risk drawing attention on the way back to SciLabs.
"Boys? Are you almost done back there?"
"We're coming!" Rockman called back. He glanced at Enzan, who nodded back at him. It was time to go.
Ms. Router was waiting for them in the living room along with a man and a woman, both smartly dressed in business suits. The woman had short, black hair and an air of authority about her while the man the man with steel gray hair just looked impatient and disgruntled. All three turned to face them when Enzan and Rockman entered the room.
Their host opened her mouth, presumably to make introductions, but the man cut her off. "It's about damned time!" he barked. "Ijuuin and Hikari, right?"
Enzan nodded. Rockman stayed silent. It was better, he figured, to lie by omission than to outright claim that he was Netto.
"Right," the man said, reaching a hand inside his coat. "Let's finish this." Rockman barely had time to be to be confused by the strange statement before that confusion turned to wide-eyed shock when the man pulled out a gun. Ms. Router gasped when he pointed it at Enzan.
"Enzan, look out!" Battle honed reflexes kicked in, the words not even out of his mouth before Rockman dropped the bag he was holding and threw himself at the other boy, shoving him out of the way. Just in time, too. The bullet from the man's gun whizzed past him, close enough that it literally sliced through his hair.
However, there was no time to think about how close he'd come to being deleted - no, dying. Their attacker was already shifting his aim and firing again! Enzan's hand latched onto Rockman's arm and jerked him aside just in time, almost pulling the boy completely off his feet in the process. Something shattered behind him where the bullet impacted. That had nearly been his head!
"Oh, no you don't!" Ms. Router snapped. Even as she spoke, she was already lunging for the man with the gun. Her face was locked in a rictus of fury as she tried to wrest the weapon away. "Get out of here, boys! Call the police!"
Rockman opened his mouth to protest. It ran against his nature to leave someone else to fight his battles for him, especially someone who wasn't a fighter like him. "But-!"
Bang!
An expression of stunned surprise replaced the anger on Ms. Router's face, but it was Rockman's eyes that widened at the red stain that was blossoming across her chest. Behind her, the woman in the business suit calmly aimed her gun and fired again. Ms. Router's body thudded as it hit the floor.
"You're slipping, Erizawa," she rebuked her companion mockingly, casually tucking her straight, black hair behind one ear. "She actually got hold of your gun. Now, are you going to take care of these boys, or do you need help with that, too?"
"I don't need your help," the man, Erizawa, growled. He lifted his gun again as though to prove his words.
But Rockman and Enzan were not idiots. Despite the horror of what they had just witnessed, they weren't about to stand around and let themselves be shot at!
"Run!" Enzan shouted. As if Rockman needed any prompting from him! Both boys took off running. By silent agreement, they didn't even try to make it to the front door, which would have required making it past their two attackers. The door they'd come through was nearer, too. Enzan darted through it first, though he stumbled back in surprise when a bullet shot right past his eyes.
Rockman plowed right into him, pushing him forward. "Go! Go! Go!"
Another shot rang out, right on the heals of the last one. Rockman bit back a cry of pain at the line of fire that sliced across his shoulder and forced himself to keep going. They scrambled through the door and into the hallway, out of the line of fire, but neither one took any comfort in that. It would be all too easy for their two attackers to follow and keep shooting.
As though to confirm that very line of thought, the woman shouted, "After them!"
Their feet pounded on the hardwood floor as they sprinted down the hall. Rockman wondered desperately where they were heading, but the thought was cut short as more gunfire splintered the air, barely missing the both of them. The former navi reflexively glanced over his shoulder. Erizawa was in the hall with them!
"In here!"
Rockman let out a small yelp of surprise as Enzan abruptly yanked him into another room, slamming the door behind them. With another swift movement, the white-haired boy locked the door, buying them precious moments of safety. There was only one problem.
Now they were stuck in the bathroom.
"Enzan, how do we get out of here?" Rockman hissed. "It won't take those two very long to break down the door, and now we're trapped!"
"Not quite," Enzan countered quietly. He was already making his way to the other side of the bathroom. "There's a window over here. It's not very big, but neither are we. We should be able to fit through it and make a run for it while those two are busy trying to get in. Keep quiet. We don't want them to know what we're up to."
The doorknob rattled, punctuating both the urgency of the situation and the need for silence. Rockman nodded and quickly moved to join Enzan, who now had the window open and was boosting himself through it.
Bam! The impact of a body slamming into the door was enough to make the window rattle, but Rockman ignored it in favor of concentrating on their escape. He put his hands on the window sill and jumped up so he could pull himself through it.
"Idiot! Shoot the lock with your gun!"
Enzan was right. The window was small. Rockman winced as his injured shoulder brushed against the frame.
Bang!
Rockman's heart nearly skipped a beat, but within another moment, he was tumbling free. Enzan caught his arm and steadied him, then a moment later, they were off again, with Enzan leading the way. Behind them, a male voice snarled in outrage, but the words were unintelligible. Rockman could well imagine what Erizawa was angry about, though. There was no way either he or his female companion could fit through that window. They'd have to go back through the house.
"This way," Enzan said, though Rockman was already following him. "I have a plan."
"Good!" Rockman panted, his heart pounding in his chest. If the situation wasn't so dire, he would have been fascinated by the sensation. "What is- ow! What is it?"
"You okay?"
Rockman shook his head. "I'm fine. I just stepped on something sharp." Enzan was wearing shoes. He was not. He was beginning to wish he'd worn his boots after all, but there was no changing his mind now. His boots, along with the rest of his armor, were in the bag he'd dropped in the house. "What's your plan?"
"You'll see."
They rounded the corner of the house, bringing them to the front yard where Ms. Router's beat up truck and their attacker's new-looking car were both parked. Enzan headed straight for the black car, practically running into it in his haste.
"Enzan, what-?"
Enzan opened the car door, then cried out in triumph. "Get in!"
Any protests Rockman might have made died on his lips when the front door to the house burst open. Without a second thought, he yanked open the passenger door and leaped inside the car. "You better know what you're doing, Enzan!"
"I always know what I'm doing!" Enzan didn't even bother buckling before turning the keys that someone had left in the ignition. The car roared to life, nearly drowning out the sound of bullets hitting the metal chassis. Enzan quickly shifted the car into forward drive, then slammed his foot down on the gas pedal. "I just don't know how to drive!"
-End Chapter Seven-
Ready for the next chapter?
Whew! Finally got that chapter out! And it's extra long, too. Anyway, usual drill. Anything you spot that could use improving, be it spelling, grammar, sentence structure, plot holes, rough spots, whatever, please, please, please mention it to me. A bit of praise wouldn't hurt, either, but only if you think I've earned it.
I'd also like to hear what you think about the ending, whether that's a good place/good way to stop it, or if I really should have taken it a bit further, or what.
Fandom: Rockman.EXE
Rating: PG
Summary: It was supposed to be a simple experiment. Nothing was supposed to go wrong. Unfortunately, it did, and now Enzan, Netto, Rockman, and Blues are finding out first hand what happens when a dimensional area shatters.
Warnings: The chapter is complete. The story is not. I have no idea how long it will take me to finish the story, so if you don't want to be holding your breath indefinitely, don't read.
Looking for chapter one? You can find it here. Need to go back to the previous chapter?
Defusion - Chapter Seven
The phone rang. Once. Twice. Haruka picked it up before it could ring a third time. "Hello?" she asked as she balanced a basket of laundry on one hip. "This is Hikari Haruka. Who is this?"
"Mrs. Hikari? My name is Chiba Morioka from the Mercy General Hospital. There's been an accident..."
-o-
SciLabs was in an uproar when Blues arrived there, so much so that at first no one even noticed the presence of a barefoot man in a hospital gown. Startled by all the chaos, he just stood in the entrance to the lobby as people rushed around and police spoke with scientists. This couldn't be the result of the dimensional area accident, could it? As he listened to the bits of conversation floating around him, though, it soon became obvious that this wasn't the case.
"...make sure no one gets in there..."
"...and then what happened, Mr. Li?"
"I want all those reports in my office, stat!"
"Get this DNA sample down to the lab for analysis, then..."
"...he was bleeding pretty badly..."
"Has anyone...?"
"...hasn't gotten there yet. He should be arriving ...ikari residence in..."
"Excuse me, but do you have a reason to be here?"
Blues blinked and focused on the scientist who had addressed him. The frumpy looking woman in her mid-forties frowned disapprovingly at him, especially his clothing. It was obvious that she didn't think his answer would be satisfactory, but Blues responded anyway. "Yes," he said. "I am looking for Ijuuin Enzan or Dr. Hikari."
"Why?" she demanded sharply - a bit too sharply. "It had better be important, young man, or one of these police officers will be escorting you back to whatever hospital you escaped from."
Controlling his facial expressions was difficult, as he'd never had to worry about anything more than what his mouth was doing, but somehow Blues managed not to scowl. He had known that his clothing would probably cause problems for him, but he hadn't exactly had many options. He didn't know where his armor had been stored, nor had he had time to retrieve it, and getting something else to wear would require either money or friends he could borrow clothing from. The only friends he had outside of the Internet who were anywhere nearby should be here at SciLabs. His only other option would have been to go to IPC, but he highly doubted Ijuuin Shuuseki would be willing even to meet with him if he was dressed like this, let alone believe his story and lend him clothing.
Blues met the scientist's eyes unflinchingly, bracing himself for the disbelief he knew would be coming. "Because I am Blues and Ijuuin Enzan is my operator." The woman opened her mouth to protest this claim, but Blues knew better than to let her get started. He raised his voice to override hers and kept speaking. "If you do not believe me, I can describe in detail the events of the dimensional area accident that occurred yesterday afternoon. I have access codes that only a Net navi with permission granted from SciLabs would have. What level of proof do you require?"
Taken aback by Blues' response, the scientist suddenly looked unsure of herself. "Well-"
"Describe it," someone else cut in. Their conversation had attracted the attention of some of the other scientists there and at least one police officer. Blues vaguely recognized the woman speaking as Dr. Kuroki Hana. It seemed like she had been involved in the dimensional area experiment, too, but only peripherally. "Describe what happened to the dome."
Blues nodded. It was a good question, one that only someone who had been there would know the answer to. "It broke apart, starting at the top until it reached the edges. The pieces did not disappear, either. They fell on us and on the ground, then-"
"Then everything exploded," Kuroki finished for him, satisfied with his explanation. "Or imploded, as the case may be. Don't worry, Blues. I believe you." She looked around at her fellow scientists, particularly the first one who'd spoken to Blues, and repeated firmly, "I believe him. Blues, if you'll come with me, I need to fill you in on the situation."
Several of the scientists looked like they wanted to follow Blues and Kuroki as she led him away from the scene, but she shook her head at them and said, "Later." Blues could imagine why they wanted to follow. They were scientists and he was a scientific anomoly. They were probably itching with curiosity to know how such a thing was possible.
"If you stay here, you'll have to answer their questions eventually," Kuroki said. She stopped in front of a door to a conference room and opened it, then waited for Blues to enter. "It isn't just that they want to know about you. They also want to distract themselves from what happened here." She stepped inside after him and closed the door, ensuring their privacy for the time being.
Blues raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"
"Hikari Netto was kidnapped," Kuroki said bluntly. "One of the scientists on the dimensional area project, Sato Michiki, kidnapped him at gunpoint, apparently after shooting him in the leg. I was only there for part of it, so I don't know exactly what happened, but we think Netto caught Sato doing something on Dr. Hikari's computer that he shouldn't have been. We just don't know what. All we know is that the root directory he was working in had files from the dimensional area experiment."
An accident during a dimensional area experiment with unexpected results. A kidnapping by a scientist who had been part of that experiment. A root directory with files from the very same experiment. "I doubt this is coincidence," Blues concluded.
"Neither do we," Kuroki said, expression turning sober. "No one has been able to get hold of Dr. Hikari all morning and no one is answering the phone at his home. The police have sent someone over to check the house, but that was only a few minutes ago."
"What about Enzan-sama and Rockman?" Enzan was his first priority, of course, but he was curious if Rockman had ended up in the same situation as himself.
Kuroki shook her head. "We don't know where they are. All of you disappeared during the accident. So far, only you and Netto have shown up, and now we don't know where he is, either." She sighed and sat down in one of the chairs at the conference table, running her hands through her short, brown hair. "There are so many things I don't know. I don't have enough information to know what to do. Tell me what happened to you after the accident. Maybe it'll help me think of something."
And so Blues told her. He told her about the hospital and discovering that he was human. He told her about the bomb and how he believed it had been intended for Enzan. He described the man who had gotten away as best he could, too, but Kuroki didn't recognize him from the description. He finished the story by telling her why he had come here. "My operator's life is in danger. I need to find him so that I can protect him."
Kuroki tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I think it's safe to assume that whoever set that bomb off is connected to all of this somehow. The question is, how does Enzan tie in to whatever Sato was doing on Dr. Hikari's computer? The only connection I see is that Enzan was a part of the dimensional area experiment. On the other hand, so was Netto, and Sato didn't seem intent on killing him."
"But he did take Netto with him, Dr. Kuroki," Blues pointed out. "And you said yourself you do not know why. You only guessed."
"True. If kidnapping Netto was Sato's intention from the start, though, that begs the question of what makes Netto different from Enzan? Why kidnap the one and try to kill the other?"
There were too many possibilities to speculate. However... "If they were both targets, perhaps the dimensional area accident was not an accident at all."
"It would certainly get rid of both of them in a way that didn't point fingers at anyone," Kuroki agreed. "It would also connect all the pieces nicely. The only thing it doesn't explain is where Dr. Hikari is, but since we don't know what happened to him, we don't know if it's even connected."
"I would still recommend that someone search the files for any signs that the experiment was sabotaged." If he had still been a Net navi, it was a task Blues would have volunteered for himself. Without any leads for where Enzan might be, examining the data from the experiment would also be the best way to discover where he'd been sent. Blues said as much to Kuroki.
Kuroki nodded. "I'll have someone look into it. I'd do it myself, but that's not my area of expertise." She paused for a moment, just watching him now. He still had not sat down. "What are you going to do, Blues?"
A good question, but one that Blues had already thought about. "Ijuuin Shuuseki needs to know what has happened with Enzan-sama," he said. "Besides being his father, there is a chance that he may be in danger, too. He also has resources and contacts that can be used to find Enzan-sama and the people behind this, perhaps Netto as well. I intend to take advantage of those resources."
"Will he believe you are who you say you are?"
Blues shook his head. "Not without proof. However, I believe I can provide that proof if I can get him to see me."
"We could call him now," Kuroki suggested. "Ijuuin Shuuseki is a busy man. He's more likely to agree to answer the phone than to meet with you, especially if SciLabs is the one that's calling. I can represent SciLabs and corroborate your story."
Blues considered the offer for a moment, then nodded his consent. "That might be helpful. Thank you, Dr. Kuroki."
"First things first," Kuroki said briskly as she rose from the table. "He's not going to take either of us seriously if you're dressed like that. Thomson works with chemicals in the chip development department. I think he keeps a change of clothes in his office in case what he's wearing gets damaged by his experiments. Come with me and we'll see if he'll let you borrow them."
-o-
Netto sat quietly in the back seat of Sato's car, breathing raggedly while he clutched his leg to his chest. He was glad to be off his feet, but his leg still hurt and it was still bleeding. He'd taken off his orange vest and was using it to try to staunch the flow of blood, but it didn't seem to be helping much. At least the bullet had only grazed his calf instead of going right through it. Small consolation as it was, he'd much rather have an injury with only one opening.
He'd already tried to escape once, despite the amount of pain he was in. Unfortunately, Sato had put the child lock on the car's back doors and Netto wasn't stupid enough to try to interfere with Sato's driving. He wanted to escape, not get in a car accident.
"Why are you doing this?" he asked. "I thought you were Papa's friend."
Sato snorted. "Being coworkers doesn't automatically make us friends, Hikari. Besides, this has nothing to do with your father."
"Then why are you doing this?" Netto persisted. It helped to concentrate on something else.
"Why do you think?" Sato shot back. "What's the driving force of the universe, Hikari? What makes the world go around?"
He'd stopped calling Netto by his given name. For some reason, that small change really stood out, but Netto couldn't for the life of him figure out what it meant. "What?" he asked.
"Money." The car turned a corner, taking them down an empty street. "Don't get me wrong. SciLabs pays well. But the offer I was made was simply too good to turn down."
A dark scowl crossed over Netto's face. That kind of reasoning just made him angry. Didn't people understand that money wasn't everything? Yeah, it could buy all sorts of things, but if it was at the expense of your friendships and your job, it just wasn't worth it. He wanted to point this out, but he wanted more information first. "Who paid you?"
The scientist gave Netto a brief, flat look before returning his attention to the road. "You'll find out soon enough." The tone of his voice made it quite clear that the conversation was over. Netto glared at the back of Sato's head, then turned to look out the window. If only he could figure out where they were going...
The question was soon answered when Sato stopped the car in front of a large building.
-o-
"Can I help you?"
There was a quiet reply from the other side of the door, but Rockman and Enzan were already walking the other way, heading toward the laundry room in the back of the house. The introductions between the people from SciLabs and Ms. Router weren't important, and the sooner they got their things, the sooner they could get out of there.
Rockman's suit, gloves, boots, and helmet had been placed inside a large plastic bag and set beside the dryer. As Enzan moved to open the dryer, ending the drying cycle prematurely, Rockman picked up the bag and frowned.
"Enzan, what are we going to tell them about me?" he asked. "You told that person in SciLabs that 'Dr. Hikari's son' was with you. They'll be expecting Netto."
Enzan barely spared a glance at him before turning his attention to fishing his clothes out of the dryer. "That depends on whether or not they know what Netto looks like. It won't even come up if they don't realize you're not him. If they do..." He straightened up, clothes draped neatly over his arm. "Tell them that we can't explain until we get back to SciLabs. Leave the rest to me."
Enzan's plan didn't feel quite right to Rockman, but he didn't have any other ideas, so he just nodded and said nothing. He would be glad when they were back at SciLabs and the need for secrecy was over.
The next minute was spent in silence as Enzan quickly changed into his own clothing, folding each piece of borrowed clothing as he removed it and leaving it on top of the dryer. Watching him put on his shoes and socks reminded Rockman of his own bare feet, but there was no help for that. Ms. Router hadn't had any shoes that even came close to fitting his feet, and he wasn't about to put his boots back on and risk drawing attention on the way back to SciLabs.
"Boys? Are you almost done back there?"
"We're coming!" Rockman called back. He glanced at Enzan, who nodded back at him. It was time to go.
Ms. Router was waiting for them in the living room along with a man and a woman, both smartly dressed in business suits. The woman had short, black hair and an air of authority about her while the man the man with steel gray hair just looked impatient and disgruntled. All three turned to face them when Enzan and Rockman entered the room.
Their host opened her mouth, presumably to make introductions, but the man cut her off. "It's about damned time!" he barked. "Ijuuin and Hikari, right?"
Enzan nodded. Rockman stayed silent. It was better, he figured, to lie by omission than to outright claim that he was Netto.
"Right," the man said, reaching a hand inside his coat. "Let's finish this." Rockman barely had time to be to be confused by the strange statement before that confusion turned to wide-eyed shock when the man pulled out a gun. Ms. Router gasped when he pointed it at Enzan.
"Enzan, look out!" Battle honed reflexes kicked in, the words not even out of his mouth before Rockman dropped the bag he was holding and threw himself at the other boy, shoving him out of the way. Just in time, too. The bullet from the man's gun whizzed past him, close enough that it literally sliced through his hair.
However, there was no time to think about how close he'd come to being deleted - no, dying. Their attacker was already shifting his aim and firing again! Enzan's hand latched onto Rockman's arm and jerked him aside just in time, almost pulling the boy completely off his feet in the process. Something shattered behind him where the bullet impacted. That had nearly been his head!
"Oh, no you don't!" Ms. Router snapped. Even as she spoke, she was already lunging for the man with the gun. Her face was locked in a rictus of fury as she tried to wrest the weapon away. "Get out of here, boys! Call the police!"
Rockman opened his mouth to protest. It ran against his nature to leave someone else to fight his battles for him, especially someone who wasn't a fighter like him. "But-!"
Bang!
An expression of stunned surprise replaced the anger on Ms. Router's face, but it was Rockman's eyes that widened at the red stain that was blossoming across her chest. Behind her, the woman in the business suit calmly aimed her gun and fired again. Ms. Router's body thudded as it hit the floor.
"You're slipping, Erizawa," she rebuked her companion mockingly, casually tucking her straight, black hair behind one ear. "She actually got hold of your gun. Now, are you going to take care of these boys, or do you need help with that, too?"
"I don't need your help," the man, Erizawa, growled. He lifted his gun again as though to prove his words.
But Rockman and Enzan were not idiots. Despite the horror of what they had just witnessed, they weren't about to stand around and let themselves be shot at!
"Run!" Enzan shouted. As if Rockman needed any prompting from him! Both boys took off running. By silent agreement, they didn't even try to make it to the front door, which would have required making it past their two attackers. The door they'd come through was nearer, too. Enzan darted through it first, though he stumbled back in surprise when a bullet shot right past his eyes.
Rockman plowed right into him, pushing him forward. "Go! Go! Go!"
Another shot rang out, right on the heals of the last one. Rockman bit back a cry of pain at the line of fire that sliced across his shoulder and forced himself to keep going. They scrambled through the door and into the hallway, out of the line of fire, but neither one took any comfort in that. It would be all too easy for their two attackers to follow and keep shooting.
As though to confirm that very line of thought, the woman shouted, "After them!"
Their feet pounded on the hardwood floor as they sprinted down the hall. Rockman wondered desperately where they were heading, but the thought was cut short as more gunfire splintered the air, barely missing the both of them. The former navi reflexively glanced over his shoulder. Erizawa was in the hall with them!
"In here!"
Rockman let out a small yelp of surprise as Enzan abruptly yanked him into another room, slamming the door behind them. With another swift movement, the white-haired boy locked the door, buying them precious moments of safety. There was only one problem.
Now they were stuck in the bathroom.
"Enzan, how do we get out of here?" Rockman hissed. "It won't take those two very long to break down the door, and now we're trapped!"
"Not quite," Enzan countered quietly. He was already making his way to the other side of the bathroom. "There's a window over here. It's not very big, but neither are we. We should be able to fit through it and make a run for it while those two are busy trying to get in. Keep quiet. We don't want them to know what we're up to."
The doorknob rattled, punctuating both the urgency of the situation and the need for silence. Rockman nodded and quickly moved to join Enzan, who now had the window open and was boosting himself through it.
Bam! The impact of a body slamming into the door was enough to make the window rattle, but Rockman ignored it in favor of concentrating on their escape. He put his hands on the window sill and jumped up so he could pull himself through it.
"Idiot! Shoot the lock with your gun!"
Enzan was right. The window was small. Rockman winced as his injured shoulder brushed against the frame.
Bang!
Rockman's heart nearly skipped a beat, but within another moment, he was tumbling free. Enzan caught his arm and steadied him, then a moment later, they were off again, with Enzan leading the way. Behind them, a male voice snarled in outrage, but the words were unintelligible. Rockman could well imagine what Erizawa was angry about, though. There was no way either he or his female companion could fit through that window. They'd have to go back through the house.
"This way," Enzan said, though Rockman was already following him. "I have a plan."
"Good!" Rockman panted, his heart pounding in his chest. If the situation wasn't so dire, he would have been fascinated by the sensation. "What is- ow! What is it?"
"You okay?"
Rockman shook his head. "I'm fine. I just stepped on something sharp." Enzan was wearing shoes. He was not. He was beginning to wish he'd worn his boots after all, but there was no changing his mind now. His boots, along with the rest of his armor, were in the bag he'd dropped in the house. "What's your plan?"
"You'll see."
They rounded the corner of the house, bringing them to the front yard where Ms. Router's beat up truck and their attacker's new-looking car were both parked. Enzan headed straight for the black car, practically running into it in his haste.
"Enzan, what-?"
Enzan opened the car door, then cried out in triumph. "Get in!"
Any protests Rockman might have made died on his lips when the front door to the house burst open. Without a second thought, he yanked open the passenger door and leaped inside the car. "You better know what you're doing, Enzan!"
"I always know what I'm doing!" Enzan didn't even bother buckling before turning the keys that someone had left in the ignition. The car roared to life, nearly drowning out the sound of bullets hitting the metal chassis. Enzan quickly shifted the car into forward drive, then slammed his foot down on the gas pedal. "I just don't know how to drive!"
-End Chapter Seven-
Ready for the next chapter?
Whew! Finally got that chapter out! And it's extra long, too. Anyway, usual drill. Anything you spot that could use improving, be it spelling, grammar, sentence structure, plot holes, rough spots, whatever, please, please, please mention it to me. A bit of praise wouldn't hurt, either, but only if you think I've earned it.
I'd also like to hear what you think about the ending, whether that's a good place/good way to stop it, or if I really should have taken it a bit further, or what.