Neko Saviors AA/R/Hu *Finished*

[Elizabeth]

[gameman]

[Neko]

Pride began to feel slightly sick from the constant rocking of the carriage. Weather the sickness was physical or her own psychological dread for Netto was up to her to decide. The carriage rolled along to its next destination while Pride tried to soothe her turbulent nerves. “What do you want with Netto?” she ventured.

Dhruv smirked, “Wouldn’t you like to know?” he asked in a coy tone.

Pride’s natural aggression started to take over, “Yes, I would. Why did you use the Neko virus? What is so important about the Net Saviors?”

“Well, to answer your first question, I used the Neko virus because most navi’s are very dependent on sword and cannon chips. Take that away and most fighter navi’s are useless. Where as my warrior are Nekos by design, they have the advantage. Also a common virus, a common control,” he gave Pride a devilish grin.

Pride’s eyes widened, “You have the Neko Virus?” she gasped.

Dhruv crossed his arms and smirked, “But of course. In this world at this moment every navi is infected with the Neko Virus, no to mention some,” he paused, “others as well. So they all have a common, link if you will, connecting them. All I have to do is re-program the Neko Virus a little bit an all those navi’s are under my control.”

Pride’s hands clenched into fists and shook, “Why haven’t you done it yet?” she asked, her voice scarcely above a whisper.

“Well, I’m a ruler, a conqueror, but not a programmer. I need someone that knows what they are doing, not to mention I wish to obtain your kingdom through,” he smiled, “political means. Have I answered your questions?” he asked.

Pride nodded stiffly, “Yes, and you won’t gain anything.”

“We shall see, my princess, we shall see,” he said in a smarmy tone.

~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~

Netto heard a soft knock on his door and his ears swiveled unconsciously to pinpoint the sound. “Yes-nya?” he called.

“I’ve come to talk to you,” Ocelot said through the door.

Netto felt a little apprehensive, he wasn’t so sure he could trust her so readily. “Why-nya?” he asked.

“Quite a few reasons actually. The most pressing being what Dhruv wants with your princess,” Ocelot said through the door.

Netto quickly opened the door, “She’s not my princess-nya,” he blushed.

Ocelot placed her paw on Netto’s head and rubbed his ears fondly, “I’m sure,” she said. “Now, I know by now that you’ve realized that Dhruv wants to marry Pride for her kingdom, right?”

Netto nodded slowly and Ocelot continued.

“Well, then you need to know that if he does indeed get Creamland then he will attempt to take over the world,” Ocelot said simply.

Netto coughed, “What-nya?” he yelled.

“Why else do you think he released the Neko Virus?”

“B-but that’s insane-nya!” Netto cried out. “First of all, what does the Neko Virus have to do with anything-nya?”

“The Neko Virus is a program right?” Ocelot asked.

Netto nodded hesitantly, “A corrupted program, though-nya. It can’t really do anything-nya.”

“Uless someone changes it,” Ocelot offered.

Netto blinked, “But you would need to rewrite the part of the virus that infected the navi’s operating system to pull that off. And if you changed anything else the virus would evert to a program and everyone would be cured, that’s how the vaccination was made-nya,,” Netto said.

Ocelot smiled, “So, you do know how to do it.”

Netto gave her a puzzled look, “Well with Rockman maybe-nya…” he paused, “Why?”

“You just answered your own question, think about it,” she said.

Netto shook his head, “No way, Enzan is a better programmer then me any day-nya,” he said.

Ocelot raised her eyebrow, “My information never told me that you were modest. In fact, aren’t you quite the opposite?” she asked.

Netto blushed angrily, “I was just saying-nya.”

“That you are the son of the best programmer in the world. Enzan-san may beat you in discipline and education,” Ocelot paused and Netto turned even redder. “However you are a better programmer. You navi has his own customization program no?”

Netto blinked, no one was really supposed to know that. “Well yes, but papa gave it to me-nya,” he said.

“But you can use it. Do you think anyone else can?” Ocelot pressed.

“No-nya,” Netto said slowly.

“Would you know how to change the Neko Virus?” she asked.

“I might-nya…” Netto said, “But why-nya?”

“Dhruv wants to use you and your navi to control the Neko Virus, and because of that you need to be careful, understand?” she asked.

Netto nodded, still not completely grasping the whole situation.

“Good, now will you come with me?” she asked, looking out of the room.

Netto stayed where he was, Ocelot sighed and said, “Look, I know you have no reason to trust me but I want to show you something.”

“Where is Rockman-nya?” Netto asked.

“With his navi friends, he’ll probably show up in your PET very soon. Now will you come?” she asked.

Netto cautiously followed her out of the safety of his room and followed Ocelot down the hall. “I still don’t understand what you want with me and Rockman-nya,” he said.

“I want to make sure that Dhruv does not take over the world. I have to follow direct orders from him, but anything else is my game. What’s worse is he knows it. I’m afraid he’s going to make his move very soon, that’s why I’m keeping an eye on you.”

Netto’s head began to spin with all the information that was being told to him. He began to muse why he and Rockman were so important and eventually cam to the conclusion that was told to him ten minutes before. “Wait, so Dhruv actually planned to capture m…”

His vice was suddenly cut off by Ocelot’s paw placed over his mouth. Netto squirmed in Ocelot’s grip and she said, “Shhh…”

Netto quieted down and Ocelot released him.

“This place has a voice activated security system. Even I’m not supposed to be down here,” she whispered directly into Netto’s ear. “Understand?”

Netto nodded and followed her to a big door. He gave her a puzzled look and she whispered, “Behind that door is the Neko Virus, understand?” she asked again.

Again, Netto nodded.

“Good, now let’s get out of here,” she said and led him back through the halls.

Netto hung out in his room thinking about all that he was told. It was very puzzling to him, nut he tried to sort through it anyway.

Rockman appeared in his PET not long after, “Netto-kun, are you okay-nya?”

Netto rolled over and looked at Rockman, “Do you know why we’re here-nya?” he asked,

Rockman blinked, “No I don’t think so-nya,” he said.

Netto sighed and told Rockman everything that Ocelot had told him, “Well, do you think she’s telling the truth?” he asked.

Rockman wore a deep frown as he thought it over. “I think that she might be telling him the truth, but she also just might be trying to trick us-nya,” Rockman said.

Netto nodded, “Yeah, that’s what I thought-nya.”

“I guess all we can do is watch, huh-nya?” asked Rockman.

“I guess-nya,” said Netto.

~~~~~~~~~

Yay for half baked explenations, well at least it sounds good.

Hope you liked this chapter!
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[Roy Tanaka]

I liked it. And that's a pretty good plot thing if you ask me. Great chapter, Neko.

[gameman]

the plot thinkens (always whanted to say that)
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[Neko]

Can't help myself here, gameman, It's "The plot thickens."

and indeed it does, bwahahaha! Okay, fangirling is done now.
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[Neko]

Mejin crumpled the document in his hands. “Damnit!” he hissed.

He had taken the first flight he could to Creamland as soon as he heard that everyone at Dhruv’s castle had mysteriously stopped sending reports. Netto he could understand but that was very unlike Laika to do something like that.

“Why me?” he said. “Why is it always the kids that get into trouble.”

Enzan didn’t look too happy himself with the turn of events. “What happened-nya? And why?”

Mejin shook his head. “I have no idea, all it says here was that Pride and Netto were extended an official invitation to stay with Dhruv for two weeks that they excepted.

“Why-nya?” asked Enzan.

Mejin shook his head, “I have no idea, but I suspect foul play,” he said.

“Be careful about who you accuse, Mejin,” said Hinoken.

Mejin nodded sighing. “I know. But what worries me is that Laika, Madoi, Elec and Pride’s guards are not mentioned on this letter. What if something really did happen?”

“Maybe we could make an ‘official’ visit to Dhruv’s castle-nya,” suggested Blues.

Mejin nodded, “My thoughts precisely. I think it’s time we get to the bottom of this.”

Mahajorama gave his silent agreement with a nod of his head.

“Well, then that’s settled. Enzan, how soon can you get us over there?” Mejin asked.

“How soon do you need to be there-nya?” Enzan answered.

~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~

This plane ride was much more sober then the one to Creamland. There was no Netto to say how boring things were then make up a new game, or no Madoi to start a conversation and tell jokes. There wasn’t even Elec Hakushaku’s engrish which everyone by that time had grown accustomed to.

Enzan sighed and looked out the window. “Everything happened right under our noses-nya,” he said.

Hinoken nodded soberly. “Some babysitters we are,” he said.

Enzan bristled, “We don’t need babysitters-nya,” he said.

“No, but Netto does,” said Hinoken attempting a joke.

The attempt was weak enough that no one laughed, but it was strong enough that everyone at least cracked a small grin.

“How much farther?” asked Mahajorama.

“Blues-nya?” Enzan asked.

“About another three hours at least-nya,” said Blues.

No one groaned but they were all thinking the same thing.

“Are we there yet?”

~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/

Three and a half hours later they arrived on the small dark island that the other group had come to seemingly so long ago. “Not very pretty is it?” asked Hinoken.

“I’ve seen worse-nya,” said Enzan.

Blues nodded even though the other navi’s were the only ones who could see him.

They went up to the large door, it looked on them cold and uninviting. “Well? Should we ring the bell?” Mejin asked.

“What bell-nya?” asked Fireman.

There was no bell, but there was a very large handle that took Mejin and Hinoken together to pull open. They went inside, to their very great surprise, nothing was lit.

“Hello?” Mejin called out, half expecting an answer, half not.

“Whose there?” called a voice.

“Madoi!” Hinoken yelled.

There was a pause, “Hinoken!” she called back and there was a patter of footsteps down the hallway.

“Hinoken!” Madoi said again and threw herself into his arms. He awkwardly hugged the shivering Madoi and looked to where she came from. Everyone but Netto and Pride came out into the open, Elec Hakushau looking a little cross.

“Laika,” said Mejin with a sigh of relief.

Laika bowed politely and saluted Mejin.

“What happened?” he asked.

“There was an ambush, they took our navi’s and…”

“Netto and Pride,” Mejin finished. “I knew it!” he hissed.

“What do you mean?” Laika asked.

“We got a letter from the Darkland government saying in no less words that Netto and Pride are to travel with him for the next two weeks,” Mejin said.

“Who were you ambushed by?” asked Mahajorama.

“Net navis. Cat net navi’s, but they were different. They seemed like they were always cats,” Laika said.

Mejin nodded, he had heard about such navi’s going around in the undernet but he never heeded the rumors.

“So, we’re not allowed to do anything?” asked Madoi.

“No officially though. However we can take a two week vacation and tour Darkland,” Mejin suggested.

Laika actually smiled, “Yes, I could use a vacation after all that.

~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/

Dhruv and Pride continued to travel back to the castle. Pride was almost at the end of her temper and Dhruv wasn’t helping any. She just wanted nothing more then to reach out and slap that smarmy face of his.

“You look stressed, Princess,” said Dhruv.

“You have no idea,” Pride hissed through her teeth.

“Ah, are you sure about that? You also said that no one knew what it was to rule a country. Yet I know. You see Princess we are not all that different,” Dhruv said sipping on a goblet.

“Don’t you dare compare me to you!” Pride said her voice rising.

Dhruv set the goblet down on a flat table in the carriage and held up his hands, “Sorry, I meant no offence.”

Pride crossed her arms, all reform school rules forgotten. He didn’t deserve her politeness. “Yes you did.”

Dhruv just smiled and the rest of the ride back was without conversation.

They pulled up to the castle and Pride climbed out with as much stature as she could muster. “I’ll see you at dinner then, Princess?” Dhruv asked.

“Yes,” said Pride tightly and she fled into the castle.

She ran down the halls and as far away from Dhruv as she could get. All her stress and emotions coming out in a giant sob in her chest. She ran to the one person she knew would understand her at that time.

She opened Netto’s door without even knocking and went inside. Netto look at her confused and she stood there looking helpless and terribly upset.

“Poipu!” Netto said in a shocked voice.

“N-netto,” she said.

“What happened?” he asked.

Pride ran over to his bed and started to sob again. She told him everything that happened and everything that she wanted to do for the people but couldn’t. “N-netto, he has me trapped. I can’t do anything!” she said.

Netto nodded and listened through the whole thing and when she was done he smiled at her. “I think you did a lot more then nothing for those people. You did get Dhruv to order the apple seeds again right?”

Pride nodded.

“Well, then that means they have hope again. And you gave it to them.”

Pride drew in a shuddering breath and threw her arms around Netto. “Netto, you always know the right thing to say. You must think I’m a big crybaby by now,” she said.

Netto shook his head, “No of course not. Dhruv is doing this on purpose. He wants you to feel useless and powerless. It’s okay if you cry, at least you get it out,” he said blushing.

Pride gasped, “Oh my god. That is what he’s trying to do. He’s trying to break my resolve.”

Netto looked puzzled.

“That jerk!” Pride said. “Well, I’ll show him! No one will ever beat me,” said Pride.

Netto blinked, very puzzled but decided to go along with it.

~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~

Dhruv punched the monitor is disgust. “Damn that kid!” he said.

Ocelot came into view from the shadows. “Now now Prince, don’t worry. You just need to keep on working on Pride. I’ll take care of the kid.”

Dhruv nodded, “Ah, of course. Thank you Ocelot, we will win this.”

“Yes, your majesty,” she said.

“We will win,” he said. “I will.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Heh, enjoy and have fun reading.
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[Yue-chan]

nice chapter. *is slightly confused* Just whose side is Ocelot on, anyways? squee for the Hinoken/Madoi hints. I loves it muchly.
_________________
"Life is like a video game; the final bosses always suck." -twinling

[Roy Tanaka]

Yay, new chapter! Glad to see Laika and the others finally got to get somewhere.

[Lido Azn Girl]

[Neko]

Pride left the room not long after she came in. She was emotionally drained from what happened that day and Netto had told her that she needed some rest. She obliged none to willingly and went to bed.

After that Netto lay on his bed, bored out of his mind and not quite ready for sleep. He didn’t want to directly disobey the unsaid rules of not leaving his room but he needed to get out of there. He looked into his PET and saw that Rockman still wasn’t back and he flopped back onto his bed with a sigh.

His ears perked as he heard a faint sound from somewhere outside of the castle. He strained to hear it again but couldn’t seem to find the same rumble that he had heard just seconds before. Then he got an idea, thinking he could act under the excuse that he heard something outside he pulled on his baseball cap and sweatshirt taking great care to make sure no one could tell the difference in his appearance.

He left his room quietly and stole outside. His sharpened senses welcome the salty wind that swirled around the small rocky town. He looked out and saw the place that he knew Pride and Dhruv must have gone to that day.

It was a quaint town from his vantage point and didn’t look any bigger then Densan Square in his hometown. He whistled at how small it was and the sound was carried away in the wind. He smiled and walked down to what seemed to be an outcropping of rocks on the far side of the castle.

~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~

Ocelot watched Netto sneak outside and decided against following him. However, she was still plenty upset.

“What is he thinking?” she asked her comrades. “What if he gets caught?”

“He’s brought back here and has to listen to Dhruv?” Tiger asked. “I don’t see what’s so dangerous. You’d do the same thing in his position.”

Ocelot cast a steely eyed glance on Tiger, glaring her into silence. “What if he gets caught by someone who doesn’t know who the Neko Virus is? Or worse, if they do? He’s putting himself in danger, walking around like that is telling people that know who the Net Saviors are that he can use Crossfusion. Now why should I worry?” she asked.

“If you’re so worried, then why not go after him?” Panther asked in her quiet voice.

Ocelot stopped short and a red tinge showed briefly on her cheeks. “Because it’s none of my business.”

“Of course,” said Leopard.

Everyone else nodded knowingly, but Ocelot continued to pace the room they were in nervously.

~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~

Netto went to the outcropping and found it was actually a beach with a high stone wall at the back. Obviously it was to keep floodwaters from coming in when they got too much rain. It was a rocky beach, but nice and quiet and Netto decided to go explore it in the last fading rays of the sun.

He slid down the embankment into a tall sand dune. Then he walked down the dune onto the beach its self. The ocean glittered with ruby reds and bright oranges; it was one of the most spectacular sunsets he had ever seen. How long he stood there he wasn’t quite sure, but all too soon it was almost completely dark and he found himself knowing that he had to go back.

Reluctantly he turned his back on the spectacular sight and found himself face to face with another person. He had been so enthralled with the sunset that he didn’t hear someone coming up behind him in the sand. Netto jumped and the man looked down on him, not unkindly.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” he asked.

Netto nodded, not quite having found his voice.

“I come down here every night to watch the sun set, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before, what’s your name?” he asked.

Netto pointed to himself and dumbly asked, “Who, me-nya?”

The man chuckled, “I don’t see anyone else on this beach, do you?”

Netto looked around just to make sure and laughed nervously. “Right, um my name is Netto, Netto Hikari-nya.”

“Oh, so you’re Japanese?” he asked.

Netto nodded, “How did you know-nya?”

“Hikari is a Japanese name, is it not? It means light.”

Netto blushed, “Yeah. What’s your name-nya?”

“My name is Neil Anderson, I am a descendent of Sir Lionel the Brave,” the man said.

Netto’s eyes widened, “That man’s statue in the castle-nya!” he eclaimed.

Neil gave him a strange look. “Yes, he was my great grandfather.”

“Wow-nya,” Netto said in awe. “Wait, O… I mean my friend told me that he was the ruler before Dhruv took over-nya.”

Neil nodded, “Yes, he was. And after him was my grandfather, then my father. I was next in like to rule, but I’ve never had the chance.”

“Why not-nya?” Netto asked.

“Because when Dhruv took over, he stripped my family of all its power,” he hissed and clenched his fist.

Netto cocked his head, “Oh-nya,” said softly.

Neil held up his hands in an embarrassed gesture, “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to space out like that.”

Netto shook his head, “No, you’re right-nya. Dhruv is a bad person-nya.”

Neil laughed, “Yes, I know that.”

Netto watched as the very last red rays dipped below the horizon. “How long has Dhruv had control here-nya?” he asked.

“Almost 20 years, his dad conquered my lands when he was power hungry. But we were allowed to rule ourselves until Dhruv took over.”

Netto sighed, “That doesn’t sound like a happy life-nya.”

Neil shook his head, “No, it’s not.”

Netto looked back to the castle whose windows had started to glow in the night. “I have to go home now-nya,” he said.

Neil nodded. “I think that’s best. Good luck to you.”

Netto nodded, “You too-nya.”

Neil nodded as Netto climbed agilely back up the steep slope and made his way slowly to the castle.

~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~

Netto walked back to the castle as slowly as he could without getting caught by the security. He snuck back into the castle through a small door on the side of the castle. Taking great care to be silent he walked down the halls, but apparently he wasn’t silent enough.

“Where have you been?” a voice purred dangerously.

Netto jumped and turned around looking very guilty, “Out-nya…” he said.

“What were you doing?” Ocelot came up to him. “What if you were caught?” she asked.

Netto shrugged, “I thought you didn’t care. You’re the bad guy remember-nya?”

Ocelot glared at him, “Listen, I may be a bad guy but I have feelings and right now I’m feeling like next time I should lock the door.”

Netto glared at her, “You wouldn’t dare-nya.”

Ocelot matched his glare for glare, “Oh yes I would. You seem to be taking this whole, ‘Net Savior’ thing too lightly Koneko.”

Netto dropped his gaze. “I just heard something, that’s all-nya.”

Ocelot scoffed, then softened. “Well, you’re just lucky I didn’t tell you navi. Something tells me he could chew you out much worse then I did.”

Netto winced, he had forgotten about Rockman. “Y-yeah-nya…” he admitted.

“Promise you won’t do that again?” Ocelot asked.

Netto nodded.

Ocelot rubbed his ears, “Good. Now, come with me, I have something I want to show you.”

Netto was wary, “Are we going to another place we shouldn’t-nya?” he asked.

Ocelot laughed, “No. I actually have something I want you to have, just in case.”

Netto was curious and followed her to her quarters. In her rooms he saw Panther, Tiger, Cheetah and Leopard all curled up in their seemingly respective areas of the room. “Why are you always in the real world-nya?” Netto asked.

“Because it’s more comfortable,” Ocelot answered and rummaged around in a small box filled with little knick knacks.

“What are you looking for-nya?” he asked.

“Aren’t you the curious one?” Tiger laughed.

Netto made a face, “I’m just wondering, that’s all-nya.”

Even Panther smiled at that remark.

“Wondering, curiosities, when all is said and done, cats are just nosy,” said Ocelot.

Everyone in the room but Netto laughed. “It’s true,” said Cheetah.

Before Netto could reply Ocelot found what she was looking for. “Ah, here it is?”

Netto peered over her shoulder to see what she was holding. It was a battlechip. “Aqua Tower-nya?” he asked dubiously.

“I know your battle chips were taken away earlier. When the time comes, this may come in handy,” she said.

Netto blinked, then took the battle chip gratefully, “Thanks-nya.”

Ocelot nodded, “Okay, now you go back to your room.”

“Awww, but-nya…” Netto started.

Ocelot shook her head, “Nuh uh, none of that. Besides I think your navi is looking for you.”

Netto stuck his tongue out at her and left the room.

“Well, he’s certainly a handful,” said Leopard.

Ocelot nodded and smiled, “Kinda like you guys.” She laughed as three pillows came her way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ah, another chapter! Hope you enjoyed it! And please make me feel speical by reviewing *big eyes*
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[Yue-chan]

n.n more foreshadowing! yay. I love the way Ocelot jumps from bad to good. this chapter was very nicely written, neko. can't wait for the next one.
_________________
"Life is like a video game; the final bosses always suck." -twinling

[Saito-Rockman]

I have a feeling that Neil will have some sort of role in the future that involves him taking back the throne. Great update, Neko; I can't wait for more.
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[Roy Tanaka]

Yay! New chapter!

That's pretty much my reaction every time, isn't it? >.>

Anywhoo, this 'twas a good chapter. Neil I can easily see returning for a bigger role. Good one, Neko!

[Neko]

The next morning Netto woke up as he usually did. Rockman yelled at him to get out of bed, and playing his part, he did his best to ignore it.

Easier said then done, with his more sensitive ears.

“Netto-kun, get up-nya,” his navi pleaded.

“Go away-nya,” he mumbled, shoving his head further under his pillow.

“Netto-kun, will you please get up-nya?” Rockman couldn’t remember the last time Netto was so stubborn about getting out of bed.

Netto didn’t even reply and Rockman knew he had probably fallen asleep once again. “Netto-kun-nya?” he tried.

“The kid isn’t a morning person?” Tiger asked from the doorway.

Rockman looked up, startled, “Um, well, no-nya. He…” Rockman paused, “What are you doing here-nya?” he asked abruptly.

Tiger laughed, “To get you two, we’re going to the next part of the kingdom,” she said.

“O-oh-nya,” Rockman dropped his gaze. “So where are we going-nya?” he asked.

Tiger winked and put a paw to her lips, “It’s a secret,” she said in a mysterious voice.

Rockman frowned, “Well, if it’s such a secret then why are we going there-nya? Is it dangerous?” he asked.

Tiger shook her head, obviously suppressing laughter. “No, truth is, I don’t know where we are going. Are you always this paranoid?” she asked.

Rockman crossed his arms and looked away, blushing. “No, I just have problems trusting the person who kidnapped me and my operator-nya.”

“But I didn’t kidnap you,” she pointed out.

Rockman gave her a withering look. “You know what I mean-nya.”

Tiger gave him a nonchalant shrug, “Well, not that it matters now. You should probably get your operator out of bed, we need to go.”

Rockman shrugged, “I can’t wake him up-nya.”

Tiger shook Netto’s inert form, “Hey kid, wake up.”

Netto was completely buried under his sheets and pillows so everything he said was unintelligible to Tiger and Rockman.

“We’re going to a new place today. Let’s go,” she said a little more forcefully.

Netto finally poked his head from under the protective sheets, “You’re all really annoying-nya,” he said.

Tiger took the opening and pushed him out of bed. “Glad to hear it, kid.”

“Hey-nya!” Netto protested.

Rockman laughed, “I hate to say this-nya, but you have no idea how many times I’ve wanted to do that-nya.”

Netto glared at his navi and Tiger laughed loudly, “He’s hard to wake up?”

“You have no idea-nya,” Rockman said.

Netto sat up and pulled the covers from his body. “I’m right here you know-nya,” he said crossly.

Tiger looked down at him, faking surprise, “Oh, you’re awake.”

Netto gave her a dirty look, “Ha ha-nya,” he said sarcastically.

Tiger continued to mock him, “Good, now that you’ve finally awakened get dressed and go down stairs.” She turned on her heel and walked out the door.

Before she shut the door Netto stock his tongue out at her. “Just for reference, I saw that.” Netto gaped at her and she shut the door laughing.

Netto cast an uneasy look on his door, “Creepy-nya,” he said.

Rockman laughed and pointed at the door. “Netto-kun, there was a mirror in the hall-nya,” he said.

Netto blushed and grabbed his clothes, “I knew that-nya,” he muttered.

~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~

Ten minutes later Netto appeared in the main hallway with his PET in hand. Dhruv saw him and gave a wide poisonous grin. “And, we’re all here, time to go to the province on Denaht.”

“Just where is this place?” Pride asked.

“A bit north from here, so bundle up,” Dhruv winked at her.

An angry blush tinged Pride’s cheeks. “I meant how far away.”

Dhruv waved a hand, “Of course, of course. About two days, I’d say.”

“By plane?” Pride asked, surprised.

Dhruv shook his head, “No, by boat.”

Ocelot saw everyone but Panther shift uneasily. “May I ask why?” she growled.

“I wish for the Princess to view my waters,” Dhruv said, not missing a beat.

“I don’t need to see a puddle,” Pride sniffed.

“But I insist,” Dhruv said with a low warning tone under his light voice.

Pride opened her mouth but Ocelot placed a paw on her shoulder. “It’s okay,” she whispered.

“Excellent!” Dhruv clapped his hands together. “We sat sail in 30 minutes, let’s get a move on.” He walked briskly outside and everyone else reluctantly followed.

“Can we go in our PET’s?” Cheetah asked.

Ocelot stuck her chin out stubbornly, “We will take whatever he hands to us. We stay in the real world.”

Even Panther gave a silent groan to these words.

~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~

The boat was a beautiful vessel, well built and it looked very comfortable. Netto had not yet been directly confronted with his hated of water. He didn’t like showers but he put up with them and for the most part he just avoided all other contact with water. As he crossed the bridge onto the boat he cast an uneasy glance at the water below.

Rockman noticed his glance and gave one of his own. “You okay-nya?” he asked in a tight voice.

“Sure, you-nya?” Netto replied in his own quivering voice.

“Fine-nya,” answered Rockman in a small voice.

Ocelot put her paw on Netto’s shoulder and he jumped. “Don’t kid yourself,” she said tightly ad gave Netto a half grin. “You’re terrified and rightly so.”

“So-nya?” asked Netto.

“We’ll just get though this and kick Dhruv’s butt when the time comes,” said Ocelot as they moved onto the boat.

“She’s afraid-nya,” said Rockman.

Netto laughed nervously, “For some reason that makes me even more afraid-nya.”

“Well, all we can do is just hope for the best I guess-nya,” said Rockman in a doubtful tone.

Netto laughed nervously, “Easy for you to say, you’re in a PET-nya.”

“Something tells me this part of the trip won’t be easy for either of us-nya,” Rockman replied.

Netto sighed, he had the feeling that Rockman was right.

~~~~~~~~

A little shorter then most... but I'm really tired. Hope you liked it, now I go pass out on my bed...
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[Roy Tanaka]

That was...ominous. But quite good, and no spelling errors I'm aware of. Good one, Neko!

Have a nice sleep. :stonecube:

[Yue-chan]

hehe, ominous tone to it, I likes. I feel bad for all the Nekos, a sea trip would not be fun. nice chapter Neko. enjoy your sleep.
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"Life is like a video game; the final bosses always suck." -twinling

[Neko]

After being at sea for only ten minutes Netto had made a solemn vow to never go on a boat again in his entire life. When he told this to Rockman, the small navi readily agreed. The vessel was indeed sound and it was certainly a nice day, but something about being surrounded on all sides by water scared Netto. Not that he’d ever admit he was scared.

“Netto, are you okay?” Pride asked him after he retreated down below.

“Me-nya?” he asked trying to laugh it off. “I’m fine, just a little…”

“Terrified?” Pride asked dryly.

“No-nya!” Netto said a little too quickly.

“Yeah right-nya,” Rockman muttered.

Pride sighed and put her hand on Netto’s head. “It’s okay, you don’t have to be so brave all the time.”

“Yes I do-nya,” Netto said sulkily.

Pride smiled and pulled the smaller boy into a loose hug. “No you don’t. Dhruv is doing this for a reason and trying to defy it will only strengthen his resolve. Just try to tone it down a bit. Stay below and I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

Netto made a face but didn’t protest against the hug. “I don’t like how he can do all this-nya.”

“No one does,” Leopard said, coming down from the surface of the boat.

“Are you okay?” Pride asked the navi.

Leopard gave her a weak smile. “I will be as soon as I have my feet on firm ground.”

“Amen-nya,” Elecman muttered from a monitor on the side of the wall.

Netto jumped, “Where did you come from-nya?” he asked.

“There was an open link-nya,” said Knightman.

Rockman immediately smelled a plan but decided not to say anything. Things were bad enough as it was, he would figure out what Dhruv was up to later.

“So, everyone is free?” Pride asked her navi.

“Yes-nya,” Knightman said giving his mistress a small bow.

Pride smiled and came to the same conclusion that Rockman had. Dhruv was up to something, or maybe he wasn’t and just wanted their attention. Pride closed her eyes and groaned, Dhruv wasn’t stupid, she gave him that much.

Netto heard her groan and wondered if she didn’t feel well. “Are you okay-nya?” he asked.

“I’m fine,” she said quickly and decided not to ask questions quite then. They were only 20 minutes out to sea after all.

“So, what do we do now-nya?” Netto asked.

“Keep out heads down and don’t give Dhruv any reason to do anything,” Ocelot said, joining into the conversation.

“Then how do we find out anything-nya?” Netto asked hotly.

“We don’t,” Ocelot snapped back.

Pride cleared her throat and Ocelot sighed heavily. “Listen, just make sure that you don’t reveal anything to him you shouldn’t, okay? He is a smart person and he is using this as an opportunity to gather and record information on everyone. That’s why he let you guys out,” she motioned to the computer link. “So just trust me and don’t do anything you don’t want him to see, understand?”

Everyone nodded and she smiled wearily. “I thought he might try to pull something like this sooner or later. Beware of anything that seems like a trap, okay?”

Again everyone nodded and Ocelot turned on her heel and headed down the hallway. Leopard ran after her, leaving Netto, Pride and the navi’s standing in the hall way.

“Nice speech-nya,” Searchman said. “I wonder if she means it-nya?”

Pride frowned, “That’s a good question.”

~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~

The night came quickly and Pride had a strong suspicion they were heading north. This worried her because there was a great deal of danger for a boat of any size in the arctic ocean. Once again she became suspicious of Dhruv but realized that until her suspicions had basis she couldn’t do anything.

Netto had no such worries and slept as soundly as he could in his bed. Fast asleep under a lot of covers, making sure he was completely covered. Rockman watched his operator with an uneasy eye until his fatigue became too great and he fell unwillingly into sleep mode.

Netto slept the first half of the night away easily. That is until he was awakened by Ocelot hovering over his bed. He snapped up warily and tried to blink the sleep out of his eyes.

Ocelot placed a paw over his mouth and held a finger up to her lips. “Let me talk first, okay?” she asked.

Netto nodded and she removed her paw. “Listen, something is going to happen when we land. I’m not allowed to tell you what because Dhruv gave me specific orders not to tell anyone, but I can warn you about it. We’re going to a city that Dhruv has actually helped, they’re very patriotic and if you say anything against him they become very upset. That is all I can say, understand?”

Netto nodded. “Can I ask you something-nya?” he asked rubbing his eyes.

“Yes?”

“Why didn’t you tell me this in the morning-nya?”

“Because Dhruv has this whole place bugged. I waited until we passed a certain point where the electronic things didn’t work for a bit,” she said softly.

The first thing Netto did upon hearing this information was reach for his PET. Ocelot stopped him from grabbing the small electronic device. “It’s okay, the devices will turn on in a few hours, now get some sleep,” she said.

Netto pretended to do just that and listened as she left his room. Then he sat up and grabbed his PET. He waited an hour and a half until it came on where Rockman was there to greet him. “Oh my god-nya, Netto-kun are you okay?” he asked.

Netto nodded and yawned. “Don’t worry, it was natural. I just waited until it was over-nya.”

“Oh-nya,” Rockman said softly. “Well, you should get some sleep then-nya,” he said.

Netto didn’t even reply but instead buried himself under his covers with his PET in his clutches. Not that Rockman minded in the slightest.

~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~

The next morning was bright and cheery and Netto missed most of it. Pride let him stay in bed because she didn’t know he was still asleep and Dhruv didn’t really care at that point. The two humans stood around but didn’t talk to each other the whole time.

“Gees, you could freeze water in this atmosphere,” Ocelot muttered.

“Pride-sama is quite upset-nya,” Knightman said with a slightly worried tone to his voice.

Netto finally came up from his bed yawning and listening to Rockman yell at him. “Netto-kun, you should have woken up the first time-nya.”

“Relax, Rockman. It’s not my fault the electronics went out-nya. If I would have gone back to sleep you would have woken me up anyways-nya,” he said.

“Oh, there was an electromagnetic interference last night?” Dhruv asked.

Ocelot slapped her forehead.

Netto realized his mistake and tried to cover it. “Umm, no-nya?”

“Smooth-nya,” Rockman muttered so only Netto could hear.

“Ah well, they certainly are common around here. I guess we could all be more careful then,” he said not missing a beat.

Netto laughed nervously and went to go sit next to Pride. “What did you just say?” she asked.

“Something I shouldn’t have-nya,” he answered quietly.

~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~

Later that day Dhruv summoned Ocelot to his office to talk with the tawny navi. “So, I heard there was a communications shut down last night,” he said.

“Yes sir,” she answered.

“Why did you not inform me of this?” he asked, his voice light. But Ocelot could tell he was mad.

“I did not think I should wake you up over such matters,” she said.

Dhruv slammed his fist on his desk. “Dammit Ocelot, I employed you to tell me everything that happens here, understand?”

“Yes sir,” she said again.

“Good, do not fail me again.”

“Very well, is that all?” she asked.

“Actually no, I want you to bring me Netto Hikari tonight. I think it’s about time we had a one on one chat.”

Ocelot’s fist clenched but she didn’t say anything otherwise except, “Very well sir.”

After she left his office Dhruv smiled and poured himself a congratulatory glass on wine. He certainly did need to have a chat with the Neko Child. He was becoming too dangerous to his plans, something needed to be done about that.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Dun dun dun~
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[Roy Tanaka]

OMINOUS!!!

Dun dun dun indeed. I really liked this chapter, it was intesting and plot-filled. No typos as far as I can tell, either.

And, you just updated two chapters of two fics in two minutes. Weird. O_o

[Neko]

I stay at school until 5. In that time I can usually write two full updates if I don't have too much homework. Then I get home, upload it all and watch anime.

I said I have no life :/
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