Rockman.EXE belongs to Capcom. This fan fiction was created for the Tri-Monthly Contest at Rockman.exe Online. Please do not post this fiction anywhere without the author's permission.

----------------------

Resistance

By: Malik-chan

ran_dies@yahoo.com

Story Description: In a world where Hikari Saito lived, Rockman.exe did not exist, and where the World Three took over, Hikari Netto and Hikari Saito live out their lives enslaved by the World Three.

-------------------------


Everything was silent at Netto turned his PErsonal Terminal, his PET, on. Instead of the emotionless standard net navi staring back at him, a custom navi smiled up at Netto. He had blue armor- semi-light blue for his gloves, boots, and the side of his helmet, dark blue for his jumpsuit and center of the helmet, and a very light blue coming down from his armpits to the start of his boots and a small strip of cyan dividing the semi-light and dark blue on his helmet. His eyes were a bright green and his hair, a midnight blue, was spiked back in four, symmetrically. The navi's shoulder pads and emblem holder were a light yellow. The symbol on him matched the Hikari family's: an orange circle cut in half diagonally with a black line and equilateral triangles on the ends of the line.

Although it was almost completely covered, Netto could see a backpack like object on the navi's back.

"Ki... Kimi wa...?" Netto stuttered, clutching the PET.

"Boku," The navi said, pointing at himself. "Boku wa..."

~*~*~

"Hikari Netto, wake up!"

Hikari Netto's eyes shot open at the sound of his twin brother's voice, but immediately snapped shut as Hikari Saito flipped the light switch to "on."

"Hikari Netto, if you don't get out of that bed, 'Wily-sama' will get angry and hurt Mama and Papa!" Saito pleaded, trying to drag his younger twin out of the bottom of the bunk bed. Netto groggily crawled to the dresser after landing on the floor with a 'thunk.' Quickly slipping out of his baby blue pajamas, he pulled on his usual attire- a closed, orange vest over a white, long-sleeved undershirt and a pair of black shorts- as Saito tied his messy brown hair back with his favorite blue bandana. Netto smiled up at him.

"Arigatou, Saito Nii-san." Netto thanked, adjusting it a bit so the Hikari family symbol would show. Saito nodded, signaling that he accepted it while he cheerfully bit a piece of toast from downstairs.

"Ikuzo, Netto-kun," he managed to say through the toast.

~*~

Netto sat on the cold, dirty floor outside of the classroom as a part of a punishment for being late for his class.

'I hate being late,' he bitterly thought to himself. 'Well, better catch up on my drawings.' He opened up his backpack and dug through his past assignments to come across his green drawing pad.

He pulled it out and flipped through it, scanning for an empty spot on any of the many sheets of paper. He smiled, but it soon faded into a frown as he noticed that it was a small space on the last sheet of paper. He slowly shrugged.

'I better make it worth the space..' he sadly said to himself, mentally.

Netto took out his trusty pencil and began sketching out the head shape and mindlessly doodled in more details. He was surprised that it came out like that navi. The navi from his dream. Snapping back to reality, he tried to remember the other details, and succeeded. He held up the finished sketch into a brighter light source to marvel at his product.

"I shall call you," Netto whispered under his breath, pausing for a while. "Rockman.exe!"

As the bell rang, signaling the end of school, Netto ran off, unaware of a figure watching him while he was in the halls...

~*~

Netto, Saito and Meiru walked home together as the sun slowly wavered in the sky. Netto eyed each bush that rustled with suspicion.

"Netto-kun?" Saito said, looking at his brother with concern. "Daijobou?" Netto suddenly looked up at Saito and blinked a few times.

"Hai.. I just have this feeling like we're being--" Netto began before getting cut off by a large, white van just stopping in front of them. The door slide open, revealing a boy with the most unusual looks. He had black hair, overlapped by a layer of white. His sapphire eyes glowed with mystery, his black, long-sleeved shirt, covered by a dirty, blood red vest, was stained with various liquids that Netto could name off, but would not like to. The cuffs of his camo pants were tattered and his brown boots were covered in a mix of blood and mud. The boy shifted uncomfortably as Netto-tachi just stared at him.

"Are you guys members of the WWW?" asked the boy. A girl, very similar to him at first glance, peeked over his shoulder. Netto could tell that the girl was much younger than the boy.

"Iie.." Saito replied weakly. Suddenly, the three were pulled into the car, the door slamming closed after them.

"Drive!" the boy hissed to the driver, a young girl with blonde bangs and jet-black hair. Her cyan eyes flashed with both panic and excitement as she hit the acceleration pedal, speeding off quickly. The ride was silent, not to mention uncomfortable. Netto's eyes darted around everywhere, both in curiosity and panic. Where were these people taking them? His eyes suddenly rested upon the girl, who quickly looked at the floor. Her physical features were much similar to the boy's (Netto assumed that they were related somehow. Her eyes were a tiny bit lighter than the boy's, but not by much. Both the white and black part of her hair reached over her shoulders, and onto her violet shirt. Her fingers tapped lightly and impatiently on her black jeans. Netto decided that the girl wasn't going to do much, so he directed his attention elsewhere. He just noticed a girl behind them, sitting next to a pile of various weapons. The girl's dark almond hair barely reached her shoulders, her eyes shining from under her bangs. Her yellowish sweater was stained with blood and dirt. The orange overcoat was tattered at the sleeves, which were rolled up to hide heavy bloodstains. Her fingers lightly tapped her short, olive green skirt, retracing over the badly stitched up tears. She faintly smiled at Netto, closing her royal purple eyes. After a long moment, Saito broke the silence.

"Who are you people," Saito suddenly said, getting the attention of everyone in the car. "And what do you want with us?!" The boy who dragged the three in, sighed.

"Boku wa Ijyuuin Enzan desu," he said. He pointed at the girl next to him. "That is my little sister, Ijyuuin Ame." He then pointed at the girl behind him. "That is Tsukasa. No one knows her last name, but she's a hacker working for us." He suddenly poked the driver's forehead. "This is Strife Ruki. She's an obnoxious girl who needs to keep her eyes on the road."

"Aiyaaa!" Ruki cried out, suddenly pulling her attention back to the road, just in time to swerve away from hitting a pole. Under her breath, she muttered, "Thanks a lot, Ijyuuin."

"Anyway, we're a part of The Resistance," Enzan explained. "Wily's ways were not very ideal for us, so it's been hard to break away from him because of the dangers for us when we did."

"So, we're going to your base...?" Meiru asked, brushing her hot pink hair out of her eye's view. Meiru's question was immediately answered as the van screeched to a halt. Netto, Saito, and Meiru stared out the window and marveled at the "base." It was actually a HUGE mansion, resting upon a steep hill. The mansion seemed to be five stories high, a few balconies sticking out from the very top. Netto looked closer and saw that the roof held a patio, complete with a pool. The fountain, in front of the mansion, had an angel holding jug with water spilling out of it. The angel sat on a dome, the water falling onto its beautifully decorated surface and into the miniature lake surrounding it.

"Sugooooi.." All three whispered in awe, for only the richest could afford such a house in Japan. Ruki smacked a small button on the side of the van, and the doors swung open, letting Netto, Saito, and Meiru to fall onto the soft earth below them.

"Oops.. Gomen Nasai!" Ruki immediately apologized, noticing the three on the floor. She hopped out of the seat and ran over to the three to help them up, only to trip over her own feet. Enzan sighed as Ame giggled loudly.

"And I still wonder how you even got this far.." He muttered. Ruki glared at him, but he remained unphased and kept his neutral look as usual.

"We got our last three people, now what?" Tsukasa impatiently asked, pushing Enzan out of the van. She jumped out after him as he glared at her.

"We have to hurry up and get inside," Enzan growled as Ame hopped out of the van, the doors shutting behind her. "Chances are, the WWW are watching us right now." He gently grabbed Ame's tiny hands and ran with her inside of the mansion. Saito stood up as he helped both Netto and Meiru up onto their feet. He brushed his shorts free of most of the dirt before turning to Ruki.

"What exactly is going on?" He asked, dumbfounded. Ruki sighed as she tied her jet-black hair into two pigtails that stuck out rebelliously at the side of her head.

"Look, I have to explain inside," She sighed out, re-adjusting her lime green bandana that was tied around her neck. Tsukasa elbowed her in the arm, carrying the somewhat bloodied weapons.

"It's too dangerous to our cause if I tell you out here." She followed Tsukasa up to the porch, who lazily dragged the ends of the objects into the mansion. Ruki turned around and beckoned the others to follow.

"Well, I guess the only way we'll get our answers is if we go inside..." Netto stated, not noticing the fact that both Saito and Meiru face faulted. Dumbly, we walked up to the porch, and seemed to not notice that the door was shut, and ran right into it. "Itai!" Ruki smiled softly as Saito and Meiru slowly approached.

"Don't worry, I do that a lot too." She said, sheepishly shrugging. Netto grinned widely at this; he didn't feel alone about running into things. "Shall we go in now?" Netto nodded enthusiastically, opening the door and letting Ruki in. He waited for Saito and Meiru to walk through before walking in and closing the door behind him.

~*~

Inside of the mansion was amazing. Netto's wildest dreams could not compare to such a complex, yet beautiful design of even the many staircases. His jaw dropped, along with his two closest companions, upon gazing the marvelous decoration on the second floor hallway alone.

"Amaaaaazing..." Meiru whispered, lost for words as her eyes browsed around the glamour of the mansion. The twins nodded, also lost for words. Ame walked up to them and sheepishly laughed.

"It's a lot, I know," She began, her voice echoing in the empty house. "But it's home for me and nii-sama!" The three turned their gazes at the small child, staring at her in shock, who, in return,

sweatdropped. "Nani?"

"You two LIVE here?!" Netto sputtered out. Ame nodded.

"It was owned by Tousan, but he died during a WWW attack," She said, not a hint of sadness in her voice. "Serves him right though. Anyway, this place serves as a home for the Resistance members, and children whose parent's were taken away and used as slaves for the WWW. Though, you guys are always welcome to stay here." Ame looked over at Ruki and smirked. "Oh, and

Ruki, Niisama says it's your turn to cook again."

"He says my cooking tastes like crap, but he wants me to cook again?" Ruki said to the girl, raising an eyebrow. Ame nodded, also a bit confused on the subject.

"But dinner's not until after the meeting... or until Malik-san stops watching that show again..."

"Well, the meeting's not until a while, so I guess we have time to show our new guests their rooms, if they want it, and probably watch something with Malik while we're at it."

"Hai, hai. I think the one with the spinning tops is going to be on soon." Ame glanced up at the giant clock above the entrance door.

"Beyblades? I still say that Kai's cute though." Before Ame could make a wise crack about that comment, Ruki walked upstairs to the second floor and looked down at the others. "Oi!" Netto nodded to Saito, who nodded at Meiru, before following the somewhat, energetic girl. "Now, you two can bunk up with each other if you want, but you can't share a room with Meiru-chan." She pointed at Netto and Saito, who groaned in disappointment. Meiru giggled a bit.

"Oh Ruki, you're the same as usual." Meiru stated before giggling again. Netto blinked a few times.

"You two know each other?" He stupidly asked.

"We met," Ruki sheepishly said. "That's why she wasn't so surprised about the existence of the Resistance." She turned around and pointed to a door with a blank label on it. "The doors painted blue are for boys. You two don't enter a purple door unless it's open. Same for you, Meiru-chan; You don't enter a blue door unless it's open." The three nodded, as if they understood her.

"Good then," She began again. "Let's properly introduce ourselves before we bug Malik." Saito nodded in agreement.

"Boku wa Hikari Saito desu."

"Boku wa Hikari Netto desu!"

"Atashi wa Sakurai Meiru desu!"

"Ruki desu!"

"Anou.. don't you have a last name?" Netto asked, blinking a few times. "I do, but I don't like it," Ruki said, looking at the floor. "It shows how much grief I've been in... Strife... But I really don't want people finding out that I'm not Japanese just by my last name."

"Huh? Then what is your nationality?" asked Saito, curiously.

"Full Chinese, but my parents moved to Japan when I was born."

Ame bounced up the stairs as the silence settled in.

"Ruuuuuukiiii!" shouted the gleeful child. "Niisama said that you left your PET in the car!" WHOOSH! Ruki ran down the stairs and outside, with Ame following her in the trail of dust. Tsukasa walked up the stairs, opening her mouth to say something while pointing behind her, but decided that it was best not to ask.

"Well, we can't bug Malik now, but you can watch what she's doing," Tsukasa began. "I have to mail someone right now." She pushed open a purple door, and stepped inside. She stood by the door and let Netto, Saito, and Meiru enter before shutting it again. Netto's eyes raced around the room, in awe with all the strange paintings all over the walls. His feet sunk into the shaggy, midnight blue carpet with each step inside. A girl sat in front of a television set, her hazel eyes fixed on the screen. She was watching something that had to do with spinning tops, but he lost interest with the girl, almost immediately, and his eyes followed Tsukasa to a pair of computers. Both of them had a strange headset connected to them. He stared at these with interest as Tsukasa turned her computer on.

"Going to mail Subaru now?" asked the girl watching the TV, not even looking up at the brunette.

"Hai, hai." Tsukasa replied, patiently waiting for the computer's settings to load.

"Can you tell her that I said 'hi'?"

"Will do, Malik."

Netto returned his gaze to the girl, Malik, and examined her. The ends of her clothes were charred, which was not evident in the other's clothing. Her messy black hair was tied back with a blue, triangle bandana. Her deep blue rimmed glasses covered most of her eyes, as she constantly pushed them up, off of the bride of her nose. The ends of the green scarf tied around her neck were badly burnt and torn, and stitches were visible through the fabric. Her purple shirt was stained with blood and dirt, and was black at the tip. Netto couldn't tell if it was graphite or burn marks because of the clipboard and pencils she clutched to her. Remarkably, her black jeans were the only article of clothing that did not have any burn marks present. Tsukasa began typing rapidly, causing Netto to look at her.

"Anou..." Netto began, glancing at her.

"Just relax for a while," Tsukasa said, not looking at him. "I'll take you to the meeting when I'm done with this letter."

Netto sighed and looked at the small digital clock in the room.

"Saito, take your heart medicine."

~*~

"We, the Resistance against WWW, begin our meeting now." Enzan firmly began. Netto paid no attention to the boy as he sunk into his chair, slowly loosing consciousness. Saito noticed this, for he was a bit fatigued himself, but did nothing to stop it. As long as Netto didn't snore, he'd be fine.

'I guess a little sleep won't hurt...' Netto mentally yawned as he drifted off to sleep.

~*~

Netto stood at the railing above the beach, clutching his PET. The sun was slowly drooping across the horizon, turning the sky into a vibrant orange.

"Finally...it's finally come, huh?" Netto said, looking at the PET screen.

"It's like I'm watching a dream. We've climbed the hill of the N1 Grand Prix." The navi replied happily

"Yeah."

Netto held the PET up to his chest.

"Do you hear it, Rockman?"

"Your heartbeat is about 198. Sounds like you're nervous."

"I'm not nervous! I'm excited!"

Netto paused for a bit.

"...Rockman... thank you. For being my Net Navi."

"Netto-kun..."

~*~

Meiru and Saito violently shook Netto awake.

"Netto!" Meiru hissed between her teeth, a bit frantic. Netto's eyes shot open, unaware that the others were staring at him until he looked around. He sunk deeper into his chair, embarrassed a bit.

"Gomen.." he muttered.

"As I was saying..."

~*~

After the meeting, Meiru went off with Ruki to help in the kitchen, leaving Netto and Saito in the living area of the mansion. The two conversed on a squishy couch, enjoying the comfort. The idea of telling his brother about the navi in his dreams raced across his mind, burning to escape through Netto's lips.

"Saito, there's a navi appearing in my dreams," Netto began awkwardly. "And somehow, he reminds me of you." Saito stared at him strangely.

"N..Na..nii?!" He stuttered, obviously confused. "What do you mean?!" Netto took out his drawing notebook and flipped to the last page; the page with the drawing of "Rockman.exe" on it.

"Whenever I look at this picture, I always think of you."

"..."

"I know it sounds crazy..."

Saito smiled, knowing exactly what Netto was trying to say.

"Maybe," He said slowly. "Maybe I am him in a different world..."

Netto slowly began to smile.

"Maybe," Saito began again. "Maybe that's who I am in a world... A world were the WWW were defeated!"

"Demo.." Netto whispered. "I don't want you to go away from me like that..." He grabbed Saito's hand and held it tightly. Saito reacted slowly and let Netto's words set in.

"Netto," He said softly. "I promise you. I will never be apart from you like that. And you must remember. I will never be away from you EVER, if you remember me in your heart." Netto's eyes widened along with his smile. He got up and literally pounced Saito in order to hug him.

"...Saito... thank you. For being my brother and best friend!"

~*~

Netto eagerly ate the curry that was served to him.

"Delicious!" He exclaimed. Malik poked hers with her spoon and pushed it over to Netto, who happily ate it.

"I really hate curry" she said, putting her arms onto the table and head on her arms.

"How could you?!" Netto gasped, pausing from eating. Malik shrugged.

"I just don't." She replied. The rest of the dinner ended in silence before Enzan limped in. He was propped by another boy, whom at first glance, looked much like a girl. He had light gray hair that flared sideways, clashing horribly against his garnet eyes. His violet jacket, trimmed with white, was stained with Enzan's blood as he helped him move. Blood dripped onto his ebony jeans from his own wound on his knees. Netto looked down at Enzan, scanning for something wrong with him, and gasped.

Enzan had been shot in the leg.

"Enzan! Shun-chan!" Ruki shouted, running over to them. "What happened?!"

"The WWW attacked us!" Shun gasped out, breathing heavily. "We barely got away..."

An explosion interrupted him from saying anything else as bits of burning debris shot out. Everyone turned their gazes at the area of the explosion as four people walked in: three men and a woman.

"Burn in hell, rebels!" the first man declared. He had curly red hair and a matching goatee. His black body suit stuck to his body, while his pants flared out a bit. "Ore wa Hino Ken desu!"

"Hello Resistance!" the second man yelled out in English. His blonde hair jetted out, horribly clashing against his lime green suit. "Count Elec Desu!"

"Your end is now," the woman snickered. Her orange red hair, tied in pigtails, stuck out at the side of her head, much like Ruki's. The heavy make up on her face made her appear much more younger than what she was. "Atashi wa Madoi desu!"

"No one shall survive to tell the tale. All of you will suffer our wrath," the last man said calmly. His skin was tanned a deep brown, face paint was noticeable on his face, and his eyes remained closed. His orange gown was by far, from Netto's point of view, the most ugliest thing he'd ever seen. "I am Mahajorama, and we four are part of the WWW!!!"

Count Elec took out a pistol and pointed it at Enzan.

"Time to eliminate you, brat!"

"Never!" Saito shouted, jumping in front of Enzan and Shun. "You have to kill me first!" Count Elec laughed cruelly.

"The more of you scum killed, the better!" He harshly laughed. He cocked the gun, aiming at Saito's heart.

"Not so fast!" Tsukasa screamed, grabbing a staff. The staff had a thick, wooden ball at the top, making Netto wonder how Tsukasa was able to move it so quickly. Swiftly, she ran in front of Saito and swung the staff upwards as Count Elec pulled the trigger. Netto stood there, amazed on Tsukasa's timing.

She had knocked the bullet into the ceiling.

"Impressive!" Count Elec grinned. He fired another bullet at Tsukasa before she had time to react. The bullet hit the staff ball as it flung out of Tsukasa's control and hit her on the head, knocking her out.

"Tsukasa!" Saito gasped. Netto watched, eye wide, Count Elec cock his pistol once again and aim for Saito. Everything became silent, the only sounds that Netto could hear were his own footsteps as he ran towards Saito. He knew that this would kill him, but he couldn't bare a world without Saito. BANG! Netto heard the bullet shoot out of the pistol as he lunged in front of Saito. He felt the burning bullet pierce his skin and hit his heart, excruciating pain, hitting Netto with full force.

//Tsuyuake mae no aozora wa Hitoashi hayaku, kokoro wo odoraseru//

"Ugh...!" Netto cried out in pain, spitting blood out from his mouth.

//Kotoshi mo mousugu, natsu ga kuru Machi mo hito mo ukarekibun de zawamekidasu//

"Netto!" Meiru shouted out, bursting into tears immediately as she saw the blood splash out from Netto's body. Saito's eyes widened in shock and in fear.

//Watashi wa to ieba, anata wo omoi Kono machi de atarashii kaze ni fukarete//

"NEETTOOO!!!!!!" He screamed. "NETTO!!! NETTO!!!!!" He ran to his side and shook the boy gently. "Netto.. Please..." Netto felt the warm tears drip onto the back as Saito shook him. He slowly rolled onto his back with all of his might.

//Sukoshi no fuan mo, dakishime nagara Kanaetai ashita dake wo, mitsumete ikiru//

"S....Sa... Sai.. to.." He weakly whispered, his own eyes tearing up. "Don't.. be.. s..a...d... Just like y.y...you saaid... ....I will.. neever.. be away from.. y..yo..ou ever, if ..y..you rem..emb..er me in your h..h...heart..." Netto violently coughed, feeling his own life leave his body.

//Shounen no kokoro no mama, otonani natta hito Futari deatta ano hi ni wo modorenai kedo//

"...Netto..."

"Sa..ai..to..." Netto barely said. "Pro..mi..se... me... that.. That y..you'l..l keep mee.. close.. in y..yo..our dre..e..ams..."

"I will Netto, I will!" Saito whispered, cradling Netto's body. Netto smiled weakly as Saito rested his and on his cheek.

//Hitomi wo tojireba, hohoemu kao ga mieru Daisukina ano uta ima mo utatte masuka//

"...Saito... I love you... For being my brother... and best friend..." With that Netto's eyes closed for eternity, leaving Saito devastated.

//Watashi ni wa kikoeru yasashii koe to MELODY Yoaki na toki hodo, anata wo omoidasu//

Saito felt empty as Netto's body became limp. Anger began to fill up his heart as he picked up a sword from the pile of weapons and charged at the four, who were shocked by Saito's reaction. At this point, Saito didn't care about what he did. He just wanted revenge. He wanted him back... He wanted Netto back...

~*~

Saito looked at the blood on his hands as everyone else stared at him, both surprised and shocked. Saito looked at Netto's cold body, and then at the ones that he had slaughtered. He shivered at the thought.

So many people died because of him...

"Saito..." Meiru whispered, her eyes red and dry. She had cried out all of her tears from Netto's death. Saito turned around and looked at the others.

"Meiru-chan," He began. "Ame-chan. Ruki-san. Tsukasa. Malik. Enzan-kun. Shun-san. Minna... Ikuzo.. Ikuzo.. and get our freedom!" Meiru and Ruki smiled brightly as Malik helped Tsukasa up.

Enzan let out a small hint of a smirk, while Shun and Ame cleaned up and bandaged his wound. As they left the mansion, Saito looked back at Netto and walked to him. A single tear rolled down his cheek and landed on Netto's peaceful face. Saito looked over his body once again and suddenly noticed a piece of paper, crumpled in his hand. He pried it open gently and uncrumpled the paper. Tears began to reform in his eyes as he realized that it was the last thing that Netto had written while Tsukasa was smacking the bullets.

'Dear Saito,' he read mentally. 'If you are reading this, then I might be dead. I'm sorry for whatever happened to me, but please remember. I'll always be with you no matter what. Never forget about me.. Your brother.. and your best friend. You're pal and brother, Hikari Netto.' He turned it over and his eyes widened.

The back had the drawing of Rockman.exe.

Saito read the words next to the picture, "Rockman.exe. Someday..." Saito knew what he had to do next. He heard Ruki's van drive off without him, smiling lightly. This would give him time to fulfill Netto's final dream: to create Rockman.exe...

~*~Owari~*~