Title: "Infecten – stage 5 – Maturation 9/?"

Author: Nemesi.

Fandom: (MMBN)

Genre: Romance. Humour.

Word Count: 2794.

Characters/Pairings: Blues/Rockman; Netto, Enzan, Axl mainly. Others mentioned.

Rating: PG-13.

Disclaimer: , its characters, places and themes belong to Capcom, Shogakukan, ShoPro, TV Tokio, etc.. No copyright infringement is intended.

Warnings: Shounen-ai. Un-betaed. Navi-preg (and I claim ownership on this idea). OC.

A/N: In this stage, the disease fully develops into a chronic condition.

Summary: Oooooookay… a few days have passed since we last saw our Navis; who wants to go have a peek at them?

Oooooookay… a few days have passed since we last saw our Navis; who wants to go have a peek at them?

One, twelve, thirty… wow! Looks like pretty much everyone is in agreement! Okay, you can lower your hands, now: you'll need both of them to hold onto something as we make the trip.

Please insert a random, overtly-cool effect here, some pathos-music, and watch as the scene fades into a barren wasteland, one of the digital kind, with an odd, ominous sky in shades of red and violet…

Cold pinprick of stars gaped dully from between the shredded clouds; beneath them, there was a wide expanse of caramel-brown sand, that sparkled and crunched underfoot like brown sugar. There were some oddities scattered here and there across the desert – residual data from programs that were deleted or malfunctioned, or plain and simply were never completed. And the array was amazing to look at.

Here was a huge, Aztec head made of stone, festooned with brown and dripping vines. There was a lamppost, all shiny and slim and pretty, rearing up from purple-decked brambles.

A little further ahead a red telephone boot lay tilted, caked with grime and with its glasses all shattered. Further on there was a tower made of metal beams, like a child's toy, but as tall as a skyscraper. In its shade there was a swamp, and in the middle of it, right beside a railroad junction, you could glimpse a Greek temple, made of pink marble and swarming with toy soldiers. If you squinted, you could make out the shape of a ruined warship far on the horizon, there were the dunes evened out and the desert met the sky.

Between an oddity and the other – walking on what looks like a newly-made highway, with its white-painted lines shining eerily in the dull light – there was an unlikely trio of Navis.

The first in line looked tall and regal in his armour; he was armed with a glowing blade and his long grey hair trailed behind him like a cape or a shroud.

Following him came a shorter, though not less imposing, Navi; his body was all sensuous curves and supple, agile limbs, encased in a purple latex suit that shone dully in the low desert light.

The third member of the party was the cuddliest thing in the history of cuddly things – huge green eyes, adorably unruly hair, chubby cheeks that dimpled around an heartthrob grin, and crowned with a pair of kitty ears to boot.

The unlikely trio had set off as soon as their introductions were done with a couple of chapters back, and had been pushing relentlessly on ever since. Saving Rockman and Blues from that lair of doom known as Kyuraweil Keep was imperative, and time was of the essence (Kage and Kuro were evil and all that, but they surely as hell weren't suicidal. They wouldn't survive the death of their Originals, and so it was in the best interests to protect them).

As for why Axl was with them still, it was easy to explain.

First of all, the child might be their trump card when it came to convince Rockman and Blues to collaborate in bringing Kyuraweil to destruction. His presence would keep Rockman and Blues from attacking them on sight. And in the lull that followed, Kage and Kuro would have the chance to explain their motives (and if reasoning failed, they could always use Axl as a bargaining chip or hostage. Being Darkloids made it so that they could use the child without remorse).

Besides, journeying all the way to the Upper Levels of the Net to drop the kid home would have cost them valuable time (not to mention: the Net Police would have Kuro and Kage's hide the moment they as much as took a peek out of the Uranet). And they couldn't afford to lose even a second of their already limited time.

…uh? Why are they still walking around, if they're in such a hurry, you ask? Good question! :D But, you see, they couldn't really speed up their search any, and for two very good reasons, too.

1) The space surrounding Kyuraweil vibrated at a frequency that didn't allow teleportation, and so they had to walk all the way to it; and

2) Kyuraweil didn't have one set location. The blasted thing moved around, floating here and there like a nimbus of doom, and so they had to look everywhere for it. (That also happens to explain why Rockman and Blues were still within the Keep. One, because they were looking for Axl. Two, because they couldn't teleport out. Three, because if they left it when it was floating through the Graveyard, or some other no-return land like that, they'd be goners).

Swiftly, the trio left the highway – or rather, the highway stopped suddenly, the concrete diving under the sand, pretty white lines and all – and navigated their way to a rather baroque living room. It was only a corner, to be precise – two stumps of wall attached together, with a triangle of tiled floor spread between them.

The elegantly arched windows were tall and imposing, and white with frost. There was a desk before one of such windows, and a divan of crimson damask before a small fireplace. The crackling flames seemed welcoming despite their bluish tinge, and smelled sweet: like fruit or candy. A crystal chandelier hung from a ceiling that wasn't even there, sending shards of light on the golden décor scattered about.

"…are were there yet?" asked Axl, glancing wistfully at the soft-looking divan.

"…no," answered Kuro.

"… now?"

"…no."

"…now?"

"…no."

"…now?"

"…no."

"…now?"

"…no! And stop asking every friggin' five seconds!"

"…"

"…"

"…now?"

"That's it! KAGE!" Kuro gave a shriek so shrill, but so shrill, it would have shattered glass and made birds drop dead from their branches, had there been any such thing in the Uranet, and rounded on the crimson Navi, scowling, not pouting (not matter what Kage might say, he did. Not. Pout.). "Tie him, gag him, cut his tongue off, do something, anything, but make! Him! Shut! Up!"

Kuro was a Navi of many talents, so it shouldn't surprise you that he could sound whiney, furious, menacing, annoyed, commanding and pleading all at once.

Kage – who was too busy containing his grin to say anything – just crossed his arms and shook his head negative. Kuro gave a frustrated shriek and rounded on Axl, already summoning his buster.

Even in the years to come, Kuro will deny that what followed was a game of tag. He was aiming to delete, thankyouverymuch. If the kid had fun running and leaping and carthweeling away from him, that was his business alone.

Approximately at the same time, deep in the bowels of Kyuraweil Keep, Rockman was in a tight spot.

And I mean it literally, mind you.

Currently, Rockman had his back pressed to the corner of a room, willing himself to be invisible (and failing miserably). Luckily for him, his lack of vanishing skills was compensated by a hulking piece of machinery the likes of which you'd see in a 70s sci-fi movie, which shielded him completely from view. It was a huge computer console, with rotary controls, bright blinking lights, diodes and levers all over the front, and a spill of cables coming out from the back.

Rockman was crouched between the right side of the console and the rust-spotted wall. On the other side, there was a swarm of those slimy creatures that had kidnapped him and his family.

…told you he was in a tight corner.

Thankfully, the creatures had yet to detect him, but Rockman knew it was only a matter of seconds. And once they did… heck, just the memory of their dripping dark tentacles probing his data banks was enough to make Rockman's stomach churn in disgust, and his head reel.

The blue Navi squeezed his eyes shut, barely resisted the temptation to bang his head back against the wall, and summarily decided that he had to be the unluckiest Navi to ever be programmed.

Blues and he had gone their separate ways about one hour before: each would explore half of the floor, or level, they were in, and come back within three hours time to report. It's what they'd been doing with each previous level: split up, investigate, regroup, and immediately go one level down unless there was something of importance to be assessed.

It wasn't the quickest, or more secure of routes, but Rock and Blues couldn't leave a single stone upturned: not if they wanted to find Axl. (Well, not that they wanted to find him, if you get what I mean. They'd give everything to know that their son was miles away from that place, but they couldn't take any chance).

Rockman was just half-way through his inspection, when he'd heard a noise like a whimper of a sob come from a nearby doorway. He'd leaped through it before he could think better about it; and now… now he was trapped in a dead-end, with no foreseeable escape.

The slimy things slush closer, he could hear it. They were garbling something in what sounded like an alien tongue, and making wet, sucking noises like mud or decayed sea-bottom things with each step.

Damned be pride, Rockman whished for nothing more than to be whiskered off to safety by Blues, at the moment. He'd reached the point where being carried away bridal-style yet AGAIN didn't sound detrimental to his ego, but was actually rather tempting.

He'd give anything, do anything, endure anything, as long as he made it out of here alive and could save Axl and see Netto again and…

…and just when a few of those creatures went chattering round the corner, swish-washing like jello candies, two hands emerged from the wall behind Rockman – I promise: they emerged from it — wrapped themselves tight about his waist and over his mouth, and pulled him back. Navi and hands went right through the wall: the metal-looking surface parted and rippled like water, and then went solid just in time for the creatures to hobble past without noticing anything amiss.

On the other side of the wall (err… or what is within? …nevermind. Somewhere), Rockman struggled against his captor, and when nothing else proved effective, tried to stomp on their foot. His assailer evaded the move, bent over, and harshly pulled Rockman back against their, frankly put, rather familiar-feeling chest.

Rockman blinked, going ramrod still, and all the fight drained completely out of him.

Knowing he'd be recognized, Blues promptly let him go and stepped back.

Rockman turned towards him with wide eyes.

"…you found another glitch in the Keep's programming?" He asked, awed at this new trick of his mate's. Being able to get through walls would be more than useful, in their search. Rockman tried not to address the fact that that was, like, the 100th error in the Keep's code that Blues had managed to discover and use in their favour.

Blues looked down and away, and his hair rippled as he gave a small shrug.

"This is actually a defence system I managed to hack, not a bug in the code."

"Oh."

That was only the 58th time it happened, then.

"Blues…"

"Don't ask." Reaching up, the red Navi rubbed his face, a gesture born out of frustration. "I truly have no idea why I understand this place and its coding so well. I have no idea why I can go around each and every single protection, why I know its passwords…"

…passwords? That was new even to Rockman, who struggled to digest this new piece of information. Blues noticed the inquisitive glance sent his way, and cringed.

"I came across a control panel in my search," he explained. "And I accessed it by just inputting the right code. Like I'd known it all along." He gritted his teeth, anger and frustration evident in his demeanour.

"Have you found anything about Axl…?" Hopeful. So hopeful.

Blues cringed again, then scowled, clenching his hands into fists. At some level, he felt like he deserved the twinge of pain that came along with the nervous gesture. Felt like he deserved more of it.

"No," he answered in a curt, clipped tone. "There's no data whatsoever about his capture in this place. No data that I can access, at least."

The word: "yet" was left unsaid, but hung heavily in the air between them, like an unseen ghost.

Rockman hugged himself, rubbed his arms as though trying to get warm, and looked down.

"Blues, I know it frustrates you, but…" he looked his mate square in the eyes, face set with determination. "Whatever it is that allows you to understand this place, it's helping us to find our son. Don't question it, Blues. Just go with it."

Blues snorted, a humourless thing.

"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, as the saying goes?"

"Something like that."

A smile. Brave. Kind. So trusting. How could something so simple, so small, give Blues so much strength, so much comfort? He felt lighter, all of a sudden. Warmer. It got even better when Rockman walked up to him and leaned against him, managing to look like he was cradling Blues, and was being cradled at the same time. So small and so strong, his Rock. So giving.

"There's no trace of this place in my data banks," Blues said. "And yet, I react to it," and it to me "as though I've been here before." As though it knows me, it likes me.

Rockman tilted his head to a side, made a thoughtful little noise in the back of his throat.

"Maybe Enzan brought you here? On a mission? And for some reason the data was lost, or corrupted?"

Blues hesitated for a moment, held Rockman tighter, and shook his head.

"No. I keep a daily log since my activation. I can even access the data of my time as Dr Regal's henchman, as confused as it is. "

"So there's no chance of you ever being here?"

"Zero percent."

Rockman 'Um'-ed again, looking pensive for a moment.

"That makes no sense. Enzan never brought you here, but you know this place."

And it wasn't the kind of knowledge one could acquire through a Google search, either. It was the I-know-your-programmer-and-his-mother kind.

"…residual data? From where you were Darkloid? Could it be?"

Data that was too raw and corrupted to be consciously accessed, like a foreign cell streaming through in his system, giving off odd signals.

Blues shook his head, and Rockman let himself be held tighter, let himself go soft and pliant, because that was Blues needed: to be strong for Rockman.

"That's not it, either. The only explanation…" Blues hesitated, feeling thorn. The only logical explanation was too horrible to contemplate; it could tear them apart, it could turn Blues into a completely different person, someone that Rock might not – would not – love, ever again.

Blues banished the notion forcibly from his mind. Out loud he said: "…is that we're being lucky," revealing nothing of his thoughts.

Rockman hummed thoughtfully, squeezed Blues – because that was the most sensible thing to do: offer physical comfort, and not idle words – and burrowed closer.

"I wish…" that we were back home.

"We'll be. Soon."

"I really…" miss our family.

"Me too."

"Do you think…" that Axl is safe?

"Definitely."

"Thanks."

"I only speak the truth."

"Yeah, uhm… Blues? How come you can guess what I want to say before I do?"

Oh my. Looks like they had managed to link through that fabled permanent connection Enzan had mentioned once.

"…we have? But it can't be!"

"Rock, you just read my mind" – not to mention the author's – "I think that's all the answer you need."

Rockman flushed.

"…we're telepathic?"

"Now don't stretch it." When we're touching, maybe. And 100% attuned. Besides…

"Yes, I could always feel you, too. Even before we got together, I remember…" when

"…Gospel got me." You felt it.

"Yes, I did. It was…" horrible.

"I was thinking of you," as I was being deleted.

"I heard you."

"Call out?"

"…whisper. And then there was a void inside me where…" you were supposed to be.

The worry etched into Rockman's face was endearing. Blues smiled at him, a quick quirk of his lips, like something imagined. He squeezed Rockman once then pushed him away, a slow and deliberate motion, but not ungentle.

"Let's get going."

In the past few days, that handful of words had become their personal mantra. But who can blame them? They had a slime-brimming prison to explore, after all.

And a son to locate.

- Scene 9 cleared.

NOW LOADING…

And I'd like to stress the fact that their link is so totally canon. In the anime, Rock REALLY did feel it when the Virus Beast Gospel killed Blues, and knew before being told the sad fate of his partner. In the manga, he can perceive it when Blues is in danger. For his part, Blues heard Rock's thoughts at least on two occasions in the manga. :3

I'm going abroad next week, and I'll be back at the end of the month. If everything goes as planned, next chapter we'll have:

Enzan, Netto and… Meiru, develop a sort of routine;

Axl gets to know his two new Ojichan better;

And Blues discovers first-hand just HOW STUBBORN Rock is (especially when hurt).