[FIC] There's No Good in It - Chapter 3
Series: Megaman Star Force/Ryuusei no Rockman
Rating: PG-13/T
Characters: Hoshikawa Subaru, War-Rock, Harp, Hibiki Misora
Warnings: Dark. Pretty dark. Actually, it's Bad End dark. I BLAME GABE. IT WAS HIS IDEA.
Notes: Bad End AU. oops what are emotions
Summary: He couldn't save them. Why did he keep trying?
Subaru didn’t leave the house for the next few days after that incident. For once, his mother didn’t ask him questions about it. For all that she knew, she had come so close to losing her only family left in the world, and her precious baby boy at that! And she knew that the events at AMAKEN had affected him strongly, if his tearful face upon being driven home by Amachi was any indication. She only hoped that he could soon recover enough to resume his usual habits.
War-Rock, on the other hand, was terribly bored by his human companion’s behavior. Even going out to stare at the sky was better than this! He had developed a habit of just leaving the house for long stretches of time for amusement, and as long as he came back, Subaru didn’t mind. He still needed War-Rock to tell him about his father, after all.
It was during one of those jaunts that the officer, Goyuda-san, showed up at his house. Subaru was already familiar with him. The overzealous officer was the one who showed up to investigate the events at AMAKEN, and since Subaru was still there, being comforted by Amachi-san, he was naturally questioned. Luckily, his tear-stained face and Amachi-san’s concern for him let him get away with only a few questions and no search of his Transer. It was good that War-Rock wasn’t home, but even so, his house was apparently soaked in Z Waves. Goyuda-san eventually pinned it down to the fact that Subaru was around both the truck and AMAKEN incidents, however, and after he was satisfied that Subaru wasn’t suffering any adverse effects, he left. It wasn’t much longer before War-Rock came back.
“Ne, War-Rock, you should be more careful, next time. That officer was here again.”
“Maa, maa, that guy? He didn’t seem like a big deal.”
“Yeah, but it turns out that he knows about alien lifeforms like you being here and that you’re the source of the Z-Waves. I think he might have suspected me a little…”
“Well then, we should go investigate him!”
“No, War-Rock! I said he might have! Anyways, he convinced himself that finding me at both places was just a coincidence. Having us go after him so soon after he visited us, that’s no good, that’ll make him suspect us again. If we just keep to ourselves, he’ll forget about us.”
“Sounds boring, kid. But, I see your point, anyway. We’ll leave the old man alone…” War-Rock groaned. What a troublesome kid he chose to partner up with! Still, the kid was a good fighter, and they did a bit of virus busting around the house several times a day, so he couldn’t complain about not being prepared.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-
The wail of an electric guitar outside startled Subaru, causing him to mess up on his self-study practice assignment.
“Geez…!” Why were things getting so noisy these days? Yesterday it was Goyuda-san, this morning it was that strange man who was looking for some girl, Mi-something…and now this.
“Subaru!” Oh. The alien sounded worried. That couldn’t be good. Subaru opened up his Transer to talk to him.
“What is it, War-Rock?”
“I recognize this frequency! We’ve got an FM-ian on our hands, it’s Harp!”
“Harp?”
“She controls music and sound, kid. She’s a tricky one, a real sweet-talker. Che. I hate dealing with women…” Subaru only sighed at this.
“I guess I’d better be the one to deal with her this time, then…” Subaru really didn’t like fighting these FM-ians. Something always seemed to happen. But it was better than just letting them do as they pleased.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-
He didn’t really get what the girl in pink-Harp Note, right, that was it-was ranting about. She kept going on and on about “protecting her mama’s song” and “not letting anyone tarnish her music,” which really struck Subaru as hypocritical, somehow. He didn’t have time to really think about it; instead he focused on chasing her down, as she kept fleeing from him for some reason. It seemed as though Harp had chosen to adapt to a “hit and run” strategy in an attempt to wear him down.
“Tch! That’s typical of Harp! She wasn’t one of the physically strongest aliens, but she always found a way to trick others into a prime spot to be attacked! Her music waves could seriously disrupt frequencies if she got in the right place-kid! I bet that’s why she’s headed close to that lab, it’s got some satellite dishes with good reception! You gotta cut her off before she finds a way to spread that music of hers, and do it quickly!”
“Got it!” And Rockman did so, managing to corner Harp Note just above the wooded area around AMAKEN.
“You-! I won’t let you stand in my way! Selfish fans like you, tainting my mama’s song…you’re all unforgivable!!!”
“I don’t even know who you are!” Rockman then dodged a burst of guitar strings that looked as if they had been intended to ensnare…or impale him. “But you’re causing trouble, so I gotta stop you!”
“Ha! Just try me!”
-0-0-0-0-0-0-
War-Rock was right; Harp was a crafty FM-ian. That tendency seemed to be shared by her human-she’d often try to use her guitar strings to ensnare him or trip him up, and strung them all over the Wave World at one point to make a web he had to dodge around. She’d try to hit him with attacks whenever her strings forced an opening, and her attacks left him numb. Harp herself seemed to enjoy unsettling War-Rock as well-he didn’t hear what she kept whispering to him, but it always made him pause and sometimes even whisper back. Overall, the fight was actually fairly difficult. But a few nicely timed Fire Rings and Gatlings managed to stun her enough that he could land the final blow on her.
“Battle Card, Radar Missle!” The girl had nearly been blown off the Wave Road due to the strength of the attack; it was only Rockman catching her by her scarf that saved her. She wasn’t much better off in this position, however, as he didn’t seem inclined to notice that the way he was holding it was choking her as he reeled her in, and in fact tightened it once he pulled her back on the Wave Road to keep her from moving.
“Y-y-ou-!” she rasped out, both hands on her scarf, trying to pry her way free from its choking hold. “I-won’t let you-“ and she cut herself off, gulping for air. “-t-tarnish-!”
“You’re still going on about that?” And Rockman looked annoyed. “I don’t understand your reasoning at all, hurting people with it only means you’re gonna get somebody else’s blood all over your song, or her song, or whomever’s it is.” Harp Note seethed with anger at his dismissive, almost judging tone.
“I wouldn’t…expect you to understand…nobody does-gack!” She gasped as he tightened his grip even further.
“No, I don’t. I have a simpler creed to live by. You’re causing trouble, so I’m stopping you.”
“Heh.” And Harp Note quirked her lips into an ironic smirk, almost as if she was welcoming more misery. “So, you’re going to just beat me up a bit more, huh?”
“No.” And Rockman reached out with War-Rock’s head. “I have business with your guitar.” And with that, he grabbed onto the blue instrument that Harp had turned into, tearing her violently from Harp Note’s arms and tossing the other girl aside, where she crumpled onto the Wave Road in a heap. He ignored her as she struggled to breathe, instead shifting Harp around in his arms.
“You have anything else to say, Harp? Any more information that War-Rock and I should know, hm?”
“Hah! Nothing that you can’t figure out by common sense! The higher ups have their eyes on you, you know!”
“Hmph. Useless. Better keep you from causing more trouble to us, then! Battle Card, Brave Sword!” Before Harp Note could do more than call out, Rockman had thrown Harp onto the Wave Road and sliced her in two, forcing her to revert back into her normal, lyre-shaped form before disintegrating into pieces, screaming the whole time. Immediately, the pink-clad girl felt a severe pain in her chest, and she passed out, turning back into Misora before disappearing off the Wave Road.
“Subaru…” As pleased as War-Rock was with how efficient the kid was getting, he was surprised at the abrupt ending to the fight.
“Heh? Something wrong, War-Rock?” Hm, the kid sounded like his normal clueless self again. Maybe he was just getting more into the fights.
“Nah, it’s nothing. You ain’t worried about the girl?”
“She would have reappeared just below us right? It’s close enough to AMAKEN. Somebody will find her so she should be okay.” Actually, he didn’t want to go down there at all. He didn’t want to see anything he might have caused. It was easier to deny that anything went wrong if he didn’t see it, right? Rockman groaned. “The things she was saying were kind of giving me a headache, actually, I didn’t understand it at all…”
“Yeah, well you humans have all sorts of your kind, don’t ya? It’s probably just something Harp told her to get the girl to cooperate. I told you she was a sweet talker, didn’t I?”
“Aah. Let’s go home, War-Rock.”
“Sounds good to me!” Yeah, there shouldn’t be anything to worry about. War-Rock dismissed the twinge of worry he felt. Everything was going swell, and there wasn’t anything to worry about!
Right?
-0-0-0-0-0-0-
Misora struggled to her feet. She couldn’t believe it. She had failed to protect the dignity of her mama’s song! Even with Harp’s help, she…
She couldn’t. She couldn’t go back. Back to those terrible people. They’d use her again. They’d cheapen her and her mama’s songs. They’d use her like a-a soulless machine, printing more and more dribble to satisfy those greedy fans! Even now, they were looking for her. She heard them coming, from that lab the boy had dropped her near.
She wasn’t going back. Ever. She’d protect her song forever. Harp had taught her how to stand up for herself, to take matters into her own hands. She wouldn’t waste that lesson, as short as it had been.
Her legs shook as she started to run. An almost crazed expression crossed her face as she ran deeper into the trees. She had failed once. Once was one time too many. She wouldn’t fail again. She’d keep running, and running, keeping her and her mama’s songs to herself forever, until she could reach Heaven again. She’d make up more songs. Songs about her running, her shame, her efforts, so that she could tell mama everything about what happened to her, and how happy she would be to see her again.
Her pace quickened as she heard the voices get louder.
Watch me, mama. I’ll protect our songs for you, I promise! I’ll do whatever it takes!
-0-0-0-0-0-0-
Subaru noticed the headlines the next day. “Famous Pop Idol, Hibiki Misora: Missing!” It wasn’t until he saw the picture that he realized that she was Harp Note.
He found himself feeling strangely detached this time around. The news media always hyped things up whenever a famous star was involved. And besides, they should have found her. Whoever was looking wasn’t doing a very good job. It’s not like he could have carried her back or anything without arousing suspicion, so he had done all he could. Besides, he still really didn’t get what she was all worked up about. Perhaps she was a little off in the head or something. That happened to a lot of stars, didn’t it?
Anyways, it wasn’t like what had happened to her was as bad as what happened to Gonta or Utagai-san. She wasn’t even that badly injured, so she should be fine on her own. It was possible she just didn’t want to be found. She really didn’t seem to like other people much, did she?
Yep, it looked like this time around, things actually went pretty well. Maybe he was getting better at this fighting FM-ians thing, after all.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-
[A/N]: And I came up with even more ideas. I have no idea why this AU is inspiring so much.
Rating: PG-13/T
Characters: Hoshikawa Subaru, War-Rock, Harp, Hibiki Misora
Warnings: Dark. Pretty dark. Actually, it's Bad End dark. I BLAME GABE. IT WAS HIS IDEA.
Notes: Bad End AU. oops what are emotions
Summary: He couldn't save them. Why did he keep trying?
Subaru didn’t leave the house for the next few days after that incident. For once, his mother didn’t ask him questions about it. For all that she knew, she had come so close to losing her only family left in the world, and her precious baby boy at that! And she knew that the events at AMAKEN had affected him strongly, if his tearful face upon being driven home by Amachi was any indication. She only hoped that he could soon recover enough to resume his usual habits.
War-Rock, on the other hand, was terribly bored by his human companion’s behavior. Even going out to stare at the sky was better than this! He had developed a habit of just leaving the house for long stretches of time for amusement, and as long as he came back, Subaru didn’t mind. He still needed War-Rock to tell him about his father, after all.
It was during one of those jaunts that the officer, Goyuda-san, showed up at his house. Subaru was already familiar with him. The overzealous officer was the one who showed up to investigate the events at AMAKEN, and since Subaru was still there, being comforted by Amachi-san, he was naturally questioned. Luckily, his tear-stained face and Amachi-san’s concern for him let him get away with only a few questions and no search of his Transer. It was good that War-Rock wasn’t home, but even so, his house was apparently soaked in Z Waves. Goyuda-san eventually pinned it down to the fact that Subaru was around both the truck and AMAKEN incidents, however, and after he was satisfied that Subaru wasn’t suffering any adverse effects, he left. It wasn’t much longer before War-Rock came back.
“Ne, War-Rock, you should be more careful, next time. That officer was here again.”
“Maa, maa, that guy? He didn’t seem like a big deal.”
“Yeah, but it turns out that he knows about alien lifeforms like you being here and that you’re the source of the Z-Waves. I think he might have suspected me a little…”
“Well then, we should go investigate him!”
“No, War-Rock! I said he might have! Anyways, he convinced himself that finding me at both places was just a coincidence. Having us go after him so soon after he visited us, that’s no good, that’ll make him suspect us again. If we just keep to ourselves, he’ll forget about us.”
“Sounds boring, kid. But, I see your point, anyway. We’ll leave the old man alone…” War-Rock groaned. What a troublesome kid he chose to partner up with! Still, the kid was a good fighter, and they did a bit of virus busting around the house several times a day, so he couldn’t complain about not being prepared.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-
The wail of an electric guitar outside startled Subaru, causing him to mess up on his self-study practice assignment.
“Geez…!” Why were things getting so noisy these days? Yesterday it was Goyuda-san, this morning it was that strange man who was looking for some girl, Mi-something…and now this.
“Subaru!” Oh. The alien sounded worried. That couldn’t be good. Subaru opened up his Transer to talk to him.
“What is it, War-Rock?”
“I recognize this frequency! We’ve got an FM-ian on our hands, it’s Harp!”
“Harp?”
“She controls music and sound, kid. She’s a tricky one, a real sweet-talker. Che. I hate dealing with women…” Subaru only sighed at this.
“I guess I’d better be the one to deal with her this time, then…” Subaru really didn’t like fighting these FM-ians. Something always seemed to happen. But it was better than just letting them do as they pleased.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-
He didn’t really get what the girl in pink-Harp Note, right, that was it-was ranting about. She kept going on and on about “protecting her mama’s song” and “not letting anyone tarnish her music,” which really struck Subaru as hypocritical, somehow. He didn’t have time to really think about it; instead he focused on chasing her down, as she kept fleeing from him for some reason. It seemed as though Harp had chosen to adapt to a “hit and run” strategy in an attempt to wear him down.
“Tch! That’s typical of Harp! She wasn’t one of the physically strongest aliens, but she always found a way to trick others into a prime spot to be attacked! Her music waves could seriously disrupt frequencies if she got in the right place-kid! I bet that’s why she’s headed close to that lab, it’s got some satellite dishes with good reception! You gotta cut her off before she finds a way to spread that music of hers, and do it quickly!”
“Got it!” And Rockman did so, managing to corner Harp Note just above the wooded area around AMAKEN.
“You-! I won’t let you stand in my way! Selfish fans like you, tainting my mama’s song…you’re all unforgivable!!!”
“I don’t even know who you are!” Rockman then dodged a burst of guitar strings that looked as if they had been intended to ensnare…or impale him. “But you’re causing trouble, so I gotta stop you!”
“Ha! Just try me!”
-0-0-0-0-0-0-
War-Rock was right; Harp was a crafty FM-ian. That tendency seemed to be shared by her human-she’d often try to use her guitar strings to ensnare him or trip him up, and strung them all over the Wave World at one point to make a web he had to dodge around. She’d try to hit him with attacks whenever her strings forced an opening, and her attacks left him numb. Harp herself seemed to enjoy unsettling War-Rock as well-he didn’t hear what she kept whispering to him, but it always made him pause and sometimes even whisper back. Overall, the fight was actually fairly difficult. But a few nicely timed Fire Rings and Gatlings managed to stun her enough that he could land the final blow on her.
“Battle Card, Radar Missle!” The girl had nearly been blown off the Wave Road due to the strength of the attack; it was only Rockman catching her by her scarf that saved her. She wasn’t much better off in this position, however, as he didn’t seem inclined to notice that the way he was holding it was choking her as he reeled her in, and in fact tightened it once he pulled her back on the Wave Road to keep her from moving.
“Y-y-ou-!” she rasped out, both hands on her scarf, trying to pry her way free from its choking hold. “I-won’t let you-“ and she cut herself off, gulping for air. “-t-tarnish-!”
“You’re still going on about that?” And Rockman looked annoyed. “I don’t understand your reasoning at all, hurting people with it only means you’re gonna get somebody else’s blood all over your song, or her song, or whomever’s it is.” Harp Note seethed with anger at his dismissive, almost judging tone.
“I wouldn’t…expect you to understand…nobody does-gack!” She gasped as he tightened his grip even further.
“No, I don’t. I have a simpler creed to live by. You’re causing trouble, so I’m stopping you.”
“Heh.” And Harp Note quirked her lips into an ironic smirk, almost as if she was welcoming more misery. “So, you’re going to just beat me up a bit more, huh?”
“No.” And Rockman reached out with War-Rock’s head. “I have business with your guitar.” And with that, he grabbed onto the blue instrument that Harp had turned into, tearing her violently from Harp Note’s arms and tossing the other girl aside, where she crumpled onto the Wave Road in a heap. He ignored her as she struggled to breathe, instead shifting Harp around in his arms.
“You have anything else to say, Harp? Any more information that War-Rock and I should know, hm?”
“Hah! Nothing that you can’t figure out by common sense! The higher ups have their eyes on you, you know!”
“Hmph. Useless. Better keep you from causing more trouble to us, then! Battle Card, Brave Sword!” Before Harp Note could do more than call out, Rockman had thrown Harp onto the Wave Road and sliced her in two, forcing her to revert back into her normal, lyre-shaped form before disintegrating into pieces, screaming the whole time. Immediately, the pink-clad girl felt a severe pain in her chest, and she passed out, turning back into Misora before disappearing off the Wave Road.
“Subaru…” As pleased as War-Rock was with how efficient the kid was getting, he was surprised at the abrupt ending to the fight.
“Heh? Something wrong, War-Rock?” Hm, the kid sounded like his normal clueless self again. Maybe he was just getting more into the fights.
“Nah, it’s nothing. You ain’t worried about the girl?”
“She would have reappeared just below us right? It’s close enough to AMAKEN. Somebody will find her so she should be okay.” Actually, he didn’t want to go down there at all. He didn’t want to see anything he might have caused. It was easier to deny that anything went wrong if he didn’t see it, right? Rockman groaned. “The things she was saying were kind of giving me a headache, actually, I didn’t understand it at all…”
“Yeah, well you humans have all sorts of your kind, don’t ya? It’s probably just something Harp told her to get the girl to cooperate. I told you she was a sweet talker, didn’t I?”
“Aah. Let’s go home, War-Rock.”
“Sounds good to me!” Yeah, there shouldn’t be anything to worry about. War-Rock dismissed the twinge of worry he felt. Everything was going swell, and there wasn’t anything to worry about!
Right?
-0-0-0-0-0-0-
Misora struggled to her feet. She couldn’t believe it. She had failed to protect the dignity of her mama’s song! Even with Harp’s help, she…
She couldn’t. She couldn’t go back. Back to those terrible people. They’d use her again. They’d cheapen her and her mama’s songs. They’d use her like a-a soulless machine, printing more and more dribble to satisfy those greedy fans! Even now, they were looking for her. She heard them coming, from that lab the boy had dropped her near.
She wasn’t going back. Ever. She’d protect her song forever. Harp had taught her how to stand up for herself, to take matters into her own hands. She wouldn’t waste that lesson, as short as it had been.
Her legs shook as she started to run. An almost crazed expression crossed her face as she ran deeper into the trees. She had failed once. Once was one time too many. She wouldn’t fail again. She’d keep running, and running, keeping her and her mama’s songs to herself forever, until she could reach Heaven again. She’d make up more songs. Songs about her running, her shame, her efforts, so that she could tell mama everything about what happened to her, and how happy she would be to see her again.
Her pace quickened as she heard the voices get louder.
Watch me, mama. I’ll protect our songs for you, I promise! I’ll do whatever it takes!
-0-0-0-0-0-0-
Subaru noticed the headlines the next day. “Famous Pop Idol, Hibiki Misora: Missing!” It wasn’t until he saw the picture that he realized that she was Harp Note.
He found himself feeling strangely detached this time around. The news media always hyped things up whenever a famous star was involved. And besides, they should have found her. Whoever was looking wasn’t doing a very good job. It’s not like he could have carried her back or anything without arousing suspicion, so he had done all he could. Besides, he still really didn’t get what she was all worked up about. Perhaps she was a little off in the head or something. That happened to a lot of stars, didn’t it?
Anyways, it wasn’t like what had happened to her was as bad as what happened to Gonta or Utagai-san. She wasn’t even that badly injured, so she should be fine on her own. It was possible she just didn’t want to be found. She really didn’t seem to like other people much, did she?
Yep, it looked like this time around, things actually went pretty well. Maybe he was getting better at this fighting FM-ians thing, after all.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-
[A/N]: And I came up with even more ideas. I have no idea why this AU is inspiring so much.