Title: "Infecten – stage 4 – Manifestation"

Author: Nemesi.

Fandom: (MMBN/MMNTW)

Genre: Romance. Humour.

Word Count: 1432.

Characters: Blues, Rockman, Roll, Rush, Glyde, Gutsman, Netto, Enzan.

Pairings: Blues/Rockman.

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: At this stage, the disease becomes manifest, and a specific diagnosis can be made. I THINK I skipped a stage but… oh, well.

Check. There were no crazy scientists looming on the horizon, no giant viruses on rampage, no major threat in sight. All was well in the Cyber World. Good.

Definition n° 2: 'state of tranquillity or serenity'.

Check. Roll was feeling at the top of her spirits, that fine day. Flanked by Glyde and Gutsman, and trailing after an over-enthusiastic Rush, she really couldn't ask for anything more. (Well, maybe that camcorder custom-chip Meiru had promised her would've been a nice addition; but the day seemed perfect on its own, and Roll had never been the greedy type.)

Definition n°3: 'silence; stillness.'

…Ops! Nope, sorry. This definition really doesn't fit our current situation any.

Net City was bustling with activity: Navis dashed about on different errands. Some of them were tall, others scrawny; some humanoids, other with animal features. There were pink Navis in maids frocks, pint-sized kids with elfin faces, giants with leonine heads, metal wings or metal bodies, moving, talking, waving, tittering, here uproarious, there sombre, some huddling in small groups to chatter, others walking with a skip in their step, with an almost constant stream of smaller data scrambling among their feet.

Our foursome didn't share the same apparent hurry of their fellow Navis, and instead strolled along — occasionally speeding up to catch up with Rush – enjoying the rare, rare peace as defined at points #1 and #2 above.

They were chatting idly, trading banter and small gossip about their Net-Ops, when a streak of red bolting in their peripheral vision caught their attention.

"Ehy, isn't that…" Roll trailed off, eyes narrowing in thought. The streak of red, she noticed, was obviously in search of something in the crowd. Wanting to help, she threw a hand in the air, cupped the other around her mouth, and hollered: "Blues! Ehy, Blues!"

Which caused the streak of red to grind to a sudden alt, turn around and dash towards her.

"Roll," Blues dipped his head politely at the girl. "Glyde, Gutsman." He made a pause, as though trying to collect his thoughts, and then added: "I'm afraid I cannot explain the situation as of now, but have you seen a small Navi, dark blue armour with red inlaids, and a helmet with white attachments that strikingly resemble a feline's ears?"

Now, saying that Blues sounded frantic would have been a lie. His voice just wavered slightly, and his breathing hitched once. It was still enough to set off a whole horde of warning bells inside Roll's head.

As far as she knew (and it was her duty to know everything about her friends; how else was she supposed to support them in their need, otherwise?), as far as she knew, nothing – be it a life-or-death situation or a Virus the size of skyscraper – had ever caused Blues to loose his poise, however slightly. To slip not once, but twice in a matter of seconds, he had to be beyond himself with either worry, fear, or some other equally powerful emotion.

Roll took a moment to search her data banks – as well as quench her rising worry – then shook her head.

"I haven't, but…"

Blues muttered something we hope wasn't a curse, and shot away, looking frantically about.

Roll was officially worried, now.

It was no secret that Blues wasn't the friendlier Navi in the Cyber World. But rude? That wasn't like him. He was cold, yeah, and had an attitude. But he had manners, too. He wasn't The Second Most Sought After Navi of the Net without a reason. (First being , and mainly by the Net-Police)

She wondered what could have affected him so much, played a handful of worst-case scenarios in her head, and summarily decided that, whatever had happened, she wasn't going to like it one bit. What if…

"Roll-chan! ROLL-CHAN!"

The foursome spun around, and was met with the sight of Rockman running towards them, flushed and frantic and waving like a drowning Navi to get their attention.

"Roll-chan! Roll-chan!" Rockman pounced, grabbed her by the shoulders – she thought she heard the sound of her teeth rattling as he shook her – and proceeded to go into panic-mode. "I've got no time to explain, but have you seen a young Navi, with a red-on-blue armour, and cat hears on his helmet?"

Now that sounded familiar. Wasn't that the very same Navi Blues was looking for?

Roll carefully pried Rockman's fingers off her shoulders and shook her head, interest more than a little piqued.

"I haven't, but…"

"Thanks anyway!" The words hadn't even left his mouth, that Rockman had already disappeared among the crowd, somewhere in the opposite direction Blues had gone.

Roll blinked.

Gutsman blinked.

Glyde blinked.

Rush barked.

And blinked.

"…what was that about?"

Their only answer was the silence – well, metaphorically speaking, at least. It wasn't like the buzzing racket of Net City had lowered any.

Hours passed. Things happened. Navis met and parted, and all that stuff. But as the day approached its closure, Rockman and Blues's hunt still continued, hopeless and completely fruitless. They'd scanned, searched, explored, questioned, probed, prodded and turned upside-down the four corners of the Cyber World, and their quarry still eluded them.

Now, where the blinking heck had that kid gone? And just what kind of troubles was he in? To say that they were beyond themselves with fear would be the understatement of the century. They hadn't been THIS scared even during the whole Dark Blues accident, and that was saying something.

But worry none! Luckily (are we sure about that?) for our digital heroes, someone else was doing some searching of their own in a rundown area just above the Uranet. Namely, we're talking about…

"…are we sure about this?"

…Glyde,

"Sure we're sure. If Rock-kun and Blues are looking for this Navi, then it must be important that he's found."

…Roll,

"And find him we will, de gutsu!"

…and Gutsman.

With Rush bounding a little ahead, sniffling about.

"See Glyde?" Roll remarked, flashing Gutsman an appreciating smile. "That's the spirit!"

Gutsman ducked his head and scanned a crumbling ruin to their right, trying all the while not to blush. As always whenever Roll was concerned, it didn't quite work.

Glyde rubbed his temples. Navi don't get migraines, but that gesture, so small and so human, surely helped to vent a little stress.

"If I might… We've been at it for hours."

"Your point being?"

"I have a bad feeling about this."

Roll puffed out her cheeks. Not that she didn't share Glyde's thinly veiled concern, mind you. But if she, the appointed leader of the search party, showed the least sign of uncertainty, the whole "Find Kitty-Ears" operation would blow.

"A bad feeling isn't a good excuse not to help our friends!"

"True. But we might want to know who we're searching for, and why."

"We are searching for a young-looking Navi, probably not so tall, that wears a dark blue armour with red inlaids, and an helmet with cat ears on top. And we're doing it to help Rock-kun and Blues-kun."

Blues-kun?That gave her pause. It had always been plain "Blues", before, hadn't it? Somehow, the amicable suffix had attached itself to his name on its own, and refused to budge. When did that happen? She wondered.

"I still think we should notify our Operators, and gather more data."

"Oh, hush you. That would cost us time, and who knows what could happen while we aren't online?"

"Maybe the crisis will resolve itself without our aid?"

At that point in time, Glyde was the recipient of a look Roll seldom used, but that was deadly, deadly persuasive. There wasn't anyone in a mile radius who didn't cower. Glyde capitulated quickly, and conceded defeat with an elegant:

"But I suppose it's our duty as friends to keep searching at the best of our abilities."

Nodding her approval, Roll skipped a few steps ahead, and coaxed and prodded Rush until the dog-shaped search program was on its paws and running again.

Truth be told, Roll wasn't usually this stubborn. But she had the feeling that finding this mysterious, kitty-eared Navi was of utmost importance for Blues-kun and Rock-kun. And something in her programming made it imperative to help her friends any way she could.

…

…besides, she felt like she was completing a jigsaw puzzle, and missed just one little piece to give sense to the whole picture.

And she never was one to resist the allure of puzzles…

- NOW LOADING...