Never Ending Summer Hu/AA *stream* FINISHED

[Yue-chan]

note to self: do not drink cream soda while reading Neko's fic. It goes everywhere... Yeah, I started laughing when I was drinking some soda, and its now everywhere. That chapter was hilarious! I was totally cracking up.

[Ginrei]

Haaaah... Everyone knows the best way to get someone's attention is to throw something at them. Seriously. We had these pillows on our couch when I was young, and... well you know where I'm headed with this.
Anyhoo! Once again, this is my faaaavorite of all your stories. You keep everyone very believable... and stuff. Yeah. My only complaint would be Maki sneaking off so much. I know little kids are good at sneaking away, but I can't see her following Netto EVERYwhere without getting noticed by someone. Her getting into Enzan's house was a bit questionable. Getting TO his house I would believe, but getting IN... And like I said, her mom not noticing she was gone and spazzing out... I would suggest rather than have Maki follow Netto, have the two of them (with/without their moms?) do something or go somewhere and then get attacked? Like a theme park or something?
Hm. But Obsidian doesn't seem like the kind of person who'd attack right out in the open, not yet anyway, until she knows she has complete control over Netto/Rockman. Then there'd be the problem of how to get Enzan and Laika there, they can't follow Netto around everywhere... You know, why did they have the sleepover right after all that stuff happened in one day? If I were Obsidian, I'd wait a few days between attacks, try and be random and catch them off their guard, y'know? Be eeeeeevil like that. Mwaha.
Well, this story is veeeery good, don't ever end it! T_T Hah, I can't wait to se what Obsidian is planning neeext, keep up the good work!

[Neko]

The next morning Maki woke up bright and early. So did Dream and the navi’s but Netto, Laika and Enzan were all sound asleep. It was odd to see Enzan and Laika asleep because sometime with them you got the impression that they never did sleep. Or when they did they made sure no one else saw them do it.

Maki wiggled out of Netto’s embrace and set her feet quietly on the ground. She actually made a conscious effort to not wake Netto and the others up, only if because she got impression that if she woke Enzan or Laika up the consequences wouldn’t be pretty.

Dream met her in her new PET outside in the hall. “Netto-chan is sleeping,” Maki giggled.

Dream smiled, “Yes, they all are. I’m surprised you aren’t, do you know what time it is?”

Maki shook her head no.

Dream pointed to the upper left hand corner of her PET. “Press the program button there,” she instructed.

“Here?” Maki asked.

Dream nodded, “Yes, it should open a program that tells you what time it is,” she said.

Maki did as she was instructed and large numbers appeared on the screen. “7:29…” she said slowly. “Wow, it’s early.”

“See?” Dream said.

Maki giggled. “Ah well, I can wait.”

Dream’s smile twisted as she fought against laughter. “We’ll see,” she said.

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

Much to Dream’s and Rockman’s surprise Maki kept her promise, and waited patiently until Enzan woke up next. However that was only in 20 minutes. Laika woke up five minutes later and Maki chose then to pounce on Netto.

“Wake up!” she said happily.

Netto groaned and tried to be one with the couch. Maki tried her best to wake him up by rocking him back and forth. “Netto-chan!” she said.

Laika and Enzan both got coffee before Netto woke up. They knew what he was like in the morning when he woke up on his own accord, when he was awakened at 8 in the morning, who wanted to know?

“Go away…” Netto muttered.

/Netto-kun…/ Rockman said.

/You go away too,/ Netto muttered at him as well.

/Awww, come on, it’s a beautiful day. Come out and smell the roses,/ Rockman said.

/It’s July, there are no roses,/ Netto muttered.

/Netto-kun,/ Rockman sighed.

Maki shook Netto’s shoulder insistently. “Come on, Netto-chan! Let’s go play.”

“Go play with Enzan and Laika,” Netto muttered.

/Netto-kun, that might not be a very good idea…/ Rockman said.

Netto groaned and pulled his head out from under the pillow. “Fine,” he said. “I’m up.”

“Yay!” Maki yelled and threw her hands in the air then she latched on to Netto. “Let’s play,” she said.

Netto opened his mouth to answer, but then his PET rang. He picked it up and opened the screen where Mejin’s face came up. “Good morning, Netto-kun, I’m surprised you’re up.”

“Not my fault,” Netto muttered.

“Netto-kun, we found where the artifact was taken. Can you, Laika and Enzan go there and check it out?” Mejin asked.

Netto became very serious. “Yes, Mejin-san,” he said.

Mejin nodded and the screen went blank. “Well, you heard him,” Netto said to Rockman.

“Can I…” Maki started.

“No!” Netto, Rockman and Blues and Searchman who were listening yelled at her.

“Fine, sheesh,” she said crossing her arms.

Netto sighed, “Blues, Searchman, can you tell Enzan and Laika what Mejin-san just told me. I need to take Maki-chan home.”

Blues and Searchman nodded and Netto took his cousin’s hand. “Come on, time to go,” he said.

“Awww…” Maki said in a heartfelt whine.

“You can’t come, not this time. And I’m making sure you’re with mama before I go,” Netto said.

“Netto-kun, we have to coordinates on out PET,” Rockman said.

“E-mail them to Enzan and tell them we’ll catch up,” Netto said.

Rockman nodded and Netto walked Maki home.

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

Netto dropped Maki off at his house and made sure she was with his mother and making breakfast before he left. Unbeknownst to him and Rockman however she had Dream jack into his PET and hide herself, no way Netto was getting away that easily.

Netto ran out of his house calling a hasty goodbye to his family and proceeded to rollerblade to where Mejin told them to go. He met up with Laika and Enzan outside of the location. It was a rather large and seedy looking building that was isolated from the rest of the city by a huge fence.

“Good place to hide stolen goods,” Laika said.

“Think we’ve been seen?” Enzan asked.

Rockman shook his head, “There is no security equipment out here. They have no way of tracking us.”

“All right, we’ll go in, just be careful,” Enzan said.

Laika and Netto nodded and they all walked into the foreboding building. There was nothing that jumped out and screamed ‘criminal mastermind’ when they went inside. Just an empty building that probably should have been condemned long ago but wasn’t for tax reasons. There were some blinking computers in the far off corners but nothing fancy. Just everyday desktops, Netto’s home computer was more high-tech then those were.

“Stay on guard,” Enzan hissed.

There was a loud click and bright light flooded into the room. Then there was a sound of applause, the threesome looked up to see Obsidian standing on what seemed to be thin air clapping.

“Ah… you finally came,” she said. “And not a moment too soon, we are so looking forward to your visit.” She glanced at Netto and Rockman, “Especially the Hikari twins.”

Netto unknowingly took a step back. “Call Mejin,” Netto said.

Obsidian disappeared and reappeared in front of Netto in a flash. “Oh, no need, sweetie. We’ve already got everything all set.” She snapped her fingers and a dimensional area appeared around the building.

Netto jumped back and Enzan and Laika quickly took out their Syncro Chips. Dream slipped out of Netto’s PET before he cross fused with Rockman but found she was trapped inside the dimensional area as well. The barrier was around the real world and the cyber world.

The three boys cross fused and Laika was the first one to launch himself at Obsidian. She easily countered his attack and sent a black arrow flying at him that he barely managed to dodge.

“We have you outnumbered!” Enzan yelled.

“Oh?” Obsidian asked. There was a brief flash of movement behind her and Nova appeared his white costume a stark contrast to her black.

“Hello love,” he whispered. “May I join you?”

“It would be my honor,” she purred back and Nova sent a shining ball of light at Enzan.

It missed him but the shockwave of the attack still managed to knock him to his feet after he hit the ground.

Netto summoned a Paladin Sword and sent the shockwave attack flying at the two. They were forced to separate and they landed on opposite sides of the room. Obsidian laughed and threw a dark ball of energy at Laika who managed to dodge but like Enzan was caught in the shockwave.

“Elec Sword!” Enzan yelled and ran at Nova as the sword appeared on his hand. Nova smirked and dodged but was caught as Laika sniped him down.

Netto yelled out, “Aqua tower!” and sent the jet of water at the felled Nova who only managed to dodge because Obsidian helped him out of the way.

“Tut tut, and we were just here to invite you to a party,” Obsidian said. “How rude.”

“Where is the artifact you took from the museum?” Enzan yelled.

“En route to Japan on a luxury cruise liner as we speak,” Nova smirked.

“What?” Laika gasped.

“What interest would we have in some old stone?” Obsidian laughed. “We wanted the replicas, oops!” she smiled putting a hand to her lips, “My dear, I’m afraid I’ve said too much,” she said in a fake sugary voice.

“Ah, do not worry my love, it is all right. The master won’t mind if his guests have a small teaser of what’s to come,” Nova crooned.

“What do you want with us?” Laika yelled.

“You’ll find out, won’t you?” Nova said throwing his attack at Laika who now knew the timing and dodged it with ease.

Enzan, Laika and Netto landed by each other across from Obsidian and Nova. “You’re still out numbered!” Netto yelled.

Enzan and Laika nodded as if to back up his statement and launched themselves at Obsidian and Nova. Enzan summoned another sword and thrust it at Nova. Nova dodged but a twin blade on Enzan’s other hand caught him in the side. He cried out as he fell and Laika quickly brought up his gun.

Netto stood there holding his charged buster to Laika’s chest.

“N-netto?” Laika gasped.

“I…I can’t control my body…” Netto said. “Something’s wrong…”

Obsidian laughed. “Come now, you actually forgot we hacked into your friend's files?” Her voice became sharp. “The link is a double edged sword kid; you’re not immune to computer viruses or control programs.”

Nova stood up showing no damage that he supposedly took from Enzan. “Now who’s outnumbered?” he asked coolly.

~~~~~~~~~

I'm warning you all right now, this is about to get dark. The closest to angst I dare get too. Now it's still fun and a happy fic with my god a happy ending but no complaints about lack of fluff okay? This is the action sequence and everything I've built up until now is coming out in plot points :3
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[Yue-chan]

man, what a cliff-hanger! *holds back urge to kill because she promised to* Poor Netto, being controlled like that! I can't wait for the next chapter!
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"Life is like a video game; the final bosses always suck." -twinling

[Midnight]

Holy crap, I'm not the first one to review this chapter.

Now THIS is more like it. This is what the first few chapters of the story set up. This is how I perceived the fic to proceed from the start. Don't get me wrong--I loved the filler chapters, but they did not do much justice to Obsidian's plot.

I love the cliffhanger. It was clear that it had to happen at some time.
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Today, these three players are after Big Bucks! But they'll have to avoid the Whammy, as they play the most exciting game of their lives! From Television City in Hollywood! It's time to 'Press Your Luck!'--Rod Roddy

The Kingdom of Loathing: An Adventurer is You! // I ♣ Seals

Avatar by Spork. I very much appreciate it! <3

[Neko]

Laika looked at the glowing buster that Netto was pointing at him. Then he looked at Netto who looked petrified to the point that even though Laika was being held at buster-point he actually felt very sorry for Netto. “Why are you doing this?” he hissed.

“To get your attention,” Obsidian said silkily.

“What do you want?” Enzan asked.

“Oh, for starters I want you two to cancel cross fusion,” Nova said.

Enzan and Laika exchanged worried glances then did as they were told. Nova smirked then Netto felt himself exiting cross fusion as well. He collapsed onto his knees taking in shaky breaths. Enzan and Laika went over to him and helped him to his feet.

“I wouldn’t get to close to him if I were you,” Nova said with a smirk.

Enzan glared at him, “You can’t control a human!” he yelled.

Obsidian laughed and laughed. “Who said he was human?” she said.

/Netto-kun, don’t listen to them, they’re just trying to throw you off,/ Rockman said.

/I know,/ Netto replied.

/Are you okay?/ Rockman asked.

Netto nodded, then realized the question was mental. /I’m fine, Rockman./ His gaze narrowed, /I’m perfectly fine,/ he said standing up and pushing Laika and Enzan away.

Enzan and Laika were almost in shock, they weren’t sure what to believe or for that matter what Netto was doing. Netto picked up his PET and pocketed it. “I won’t believe in your mind games!” he yelled.

Nova chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t really care what you believe,” he said.

Netto started to get rid of the terror he felt before and only hot anger remained. He clenched his fists until they shook. Enzan saw this and put a hand on Netto’s shoulder. “Netto, calm down,” he murmured in Netto’s ear.

Netto calmed down but only slightly.

“Besides what makes you kids think that you could beat us?” Obsidian said ‘us’ like she was saying they were against an army. “You brats had no chance against us from the beginning and now you have even less of a chance. But, in the end you had to figure out that for yourselves,” she smirked. “So, now that all fighting and whatnot is out of the way will you kindly please follow us?” she made it sound like a suggestion even though it wasn’t.

“We’re not following you anywhere,” Netto hissed.

“Of course you will,” Nova smiled. “Because you have no choice,” he said with a hard look in his eyes.

Netto, Laika and Enzan watched as they turned around and walked away. The threesome stayed where they were and watched the retreating backs of the navis. Netto reached his breaking point and he dashed at Nova as fast as he could. “Netto, don’t!” Laika yelled.

Nova turned around as Netto was bringing up his fist. “Stop,” he said and Netto found himself frozen in mid stance, unable to move. “So much for your little theory about not being able to control humans,” he smirked. “Or maybe it’s because you aren’t quite what you think you are.”

/Netto-kun,/ Rockman whispered horrified.

/I…can’t move,/ Netto said.

Nova nodded and Netto felt his body relax. Enzan and Laika ran to where he was and did their best to silently comfort their friend. Obsidian smirked and glided over to where they were. “I don’t think you truly realize what you got yourself into when you accepted the burden of the Saito.bat files,” she said. “Don’t worry, the man we’re going to will spell it out.”

“We’re not going anywhere!” Enzan said. “Come on,” he said to Netto and Laika. “We’re getting out of here.”

Nova didn’t say anything about Enzan’s little speech. Instead he turned around and said, “Follow me.”

Enzan and Laika glared at him and were very surprised when Netto started to follow the white clad navi. “Netto, what are you doing?” Laika hissed.

“I can’t help it, or did you not notice what has been going on for the past five minutes,” Netto hissed back.

Enzan and Laika didn’t say anything but silently followed their friend.

“What are you doing?” Netto asked.

“Making sure you don’t say anything stupid,” Enzan said with the barest hint of a laugh.

Netto was quiet as they were led into a small elevator that went down. As soon as they left surface level the Dimensional Area disappeared from around the building and Dream was free. The first thing she did was fly home as fast as she could to tell Maki what happened.

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

The elevator led them to a large basement that had very little of anything except a large crate with the table sticking out of it and a table that was currently empty. Obsidian smiled and held up her hand. A curtain of black energy made it impossible to see anything and when it lifted Obsidian was standing in front of the boys holding up their PETs. “I think I’ll borrow these for a few minutes,” she said.

Netto dived at her but she disappeared and he nosedived into the cement. “Ow…” he said pushing himself up.

Nova stood there and laughed. “That was cute,” he said. He received three death glares.

“What did you do with out navis?” Enzan asked.

“Oh don’t worry, you’ll see them soon,” he smirked.

Before any of the three could retaliate there was the sound of clapping and a man in his mid thirties wearing sweatpants and a hoodie came into the room. He had glasses that were in front of cold brown eyes and straight brown hair that went to his earlobes. “Ah Nova, so glad you could make it. And you brought guests, well I’m not dressed for such a thing am I?” he said in an easy voice.

“Terribly sorry,” Nova replied, smirking.

“Ah well, make do with what you have, right boys?” he asked flashing them a smile.

Enzan, Laika and Netto looked at the odd man who looked like more of a father then a net mafia boss. “Who are you?” Laika asked.

“Just a humble man with a few ambitions,” he replied. “Now, I just woke up, care to join me in breakfast?” he motioned to the table. They didn’t notice before but it had fruit and waffles on it and they watched as the man crossed the room and sat down.

“No thanks,” Enzan said. “What did you do with our navis?”

He cut a piece of waffle and lifted it to his lips; he paused and put his fork down. “Ah, did Obsidian take them? Ah well, you’ll see them soon. Don’t worry about it.”

Netto had just about as much of this man as he could handle. “Why the hell did you bring us here?” he yelled. “This isn’t a game!”

The man took a bite of his food and chewed it thoughtfully. “No…” he said slowly, “I would say it isn’t a game. Not much in real life is a game is it?”

Netto looked like he was ready to run over to where he was so Enzan and Laika both placed hand on his shoulders. “Remember what happened last time,” Laika murmured.

Netto’s glaze narrowed, but in a rare moment of common sense even though he was angry he stayed where he was.

“So,” the man said wiping his lips with a paper napkin. “You’re probably wondering why I called the three of you down here.”

Enzan, Netto and Laika were all silent.

“Well, to tell you the truth I was only after Hikari and Rockman but seeing as you two don’t really leave them alone, I felt I really had no choice,” he said.

“What do you want with Netto?” Enzan said before Netto could say anything.

The man tapped the side of his nose in an annoying way. “Ah, well you see, there are quite a few reasons for that. But first, I want to tell you three that you made it very difficult to get my hands on this beauty,” he said tapping the side of the crate.

“What do you want with an old rock?” Netto asked sullenly.

The man laughed loudly. “An old rock? My dear boy, if this was the real Rumanian Tablet it would be worth over $7.3 million.”

~~~~~~~~~

Two more chapters! I've already written all of them too. So, for you 50+ people that read this but don't review, I'd love to hear your thoughts now.
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[Midnight]

Interesting...so far so good I guess.

It seems that this was a bit of a bad place to end off on. I can't exactly put my finger on it, but the ending of this chapter seemed...well..random.

I still look forward to the next one, and oh yes, the next chapter ends off with--*gags as Neko covers my face with a rag soaked in chloroform*
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Today, these three players are after Big Bucks! But they'll have to avoid the Whammy, as they play the most exciting game of their lives! From Television City in Hollywood! It's time to 'Press Your Luck!'--Rod Roddy

The Kingdom of Loathing: An Adventurer is You! // I ♣ Seals

Avatar by Spork. I very much appreciate it! <3

[Neko]

Tell the ending and DIE :E

Also, I tried looking for a good place to stop becuase this is 5 pages on MS word. So it's this or a 3 page update. Your pick.
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[Shinnite]

Hmmm...I'm in a reviewer-ish mood so...

To be honest, Neko-san, I've been coming to this board a long time before I signed up (before this fic started, actually), and that was because of your fics. I've always enjoyed reading them, and they're always updated faster here than on FF.net.

If there's one thing I can say about all your fics, it would be that they're fun. Sure, spelling and grammar could use some work, but those detract very little from the stories themselves. And, as you yourself have pointed out some things in your fics are rather cliched - but, the way you handle them only adds to the fun of your writing, rather than subtracting from it. Good job. *Thumbs up*

You character interactions are spectacular - the brotherly friendship bond between Netto and Rockman is alot stronger and more obvious than in most fics. The best part, though, is that the bond is shown through normal, everyday activities rather than just important events. There's also a sense of consistency, which is just as important.

>_> I also happen to be an Enzan/Netto and Blues/Rock fangirl. 'Nuff said, XD

On this fic in particular - Maki rules. Normally I'm not fond of original characters but...well...lets just say that her relation to Netto shows. Having Dream as her navi was well thought out - Maki could use another babysitter, and Dream could use a frined to help her out of her shell. Even after this fic ends, I definitely wouldn't object to seeing more of these two. ^_^

All in all, I'll be sad to see this fic end, but I'm definitely looking forward to whatever else you can cook up. Getting a beta reader (if you don't already have one) would be a good idea, but it's a secondary concern. You're one of the few writers that have his/her own personal style, Neko-san, and that's one of the most important things. Hence why I squee whenever I see Neko-fic. >_> (I actually do, which can lead to weird looks from the parentals if they happen to be there. ^^;; )

[Neko]

Awwwwww... that really feels good to hear. I'm so glad that you like my writing that much :3

Okay, might as well tell everyone here for whatever reason. I ask relatively dark questions in the very end of Maki-chan and I set it up for a sequel as pointed out by two friends who read it. Let me say this now:

After I finish of a few more fics I am starting off a new Rockman fic that will be more in depth asking the qeustions I do in this fic. Then when I have a good plot, I am going to start a sequel to Maki-chan. I will tide you guys over with ficlets and one shots just becuase I can but I put too much into Maki and Dream to drop them now :3
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[Neko]

“It’s not real?” Netto asked.

“That’s what Obsidian said earlier,” Enzan mused quietly.

“Nope, not real. Inside this stone that can’t be penetrated by any X-ray, electromagnetic wave or any other surveillance equipment are two disks. These disks have information on every intelligence operation in every country in the world,” he grinned. “I can sell this information to enemy countries and turn around and sell information to another country. Maybe I’ll even be generous and sell the country its own information!” he laughed like it was a great joke.

“That would start a World War!” Enzan yelled.

The man shrugged, “So? I’ll find a nice neutral country settle down, wait it out and spend all the money I make when it’s over,” he said.

“That’s horrible,” Laika hissed.

“So what? I don’t care about the world; the world doesn’t care about me. What on earth does it matter?”

“Millions of innocent lives,” Netto said.

He looked at Netto, “Ah, how naive you are. Just like your father…” he said.

“Papa?” Netto asked. “How do you know…” Netto took another look at the man. He did look a little familiar.

“Which brings me to my next point,” he said. “Hey Obsidian, done reprogramming yet?” he yelled.

“What?” Enzan asked.

“Oh, just a few re-writes. Nothing to be worried about,” he smiled.

“What did you do…” Netto asked.

Before the man could say anything else, Obsidian came back into the room and she was followed by Blues, Searchman and Rockman. “She changed their programs,” Enzan said.

/Rockman?/ Netto called out but he received nothing but silence.

Obsidian smirked, “Oh that was entirely too easy. Navis are so easy to manipulate.”

“What did you do?” Netto yelled.

“Just re-arranged a few things. Now they are entirely under my control<” she said in an icy voice.

Netto narrowed his eyes but couldn’t think of anything to say. Neither could Laika or Enzan.

The man walked over to Obsidian, “Good job,” he said. Obsidian smiled at him sweetly then walked over to Nova. “Well?” he asked.

Obsidian yawned like it was all a huge bore. “Restrain them,” she said in an almost bored voice.

Rockman was way too quick for Netto to follow and he felt his arms pinned behind his back and he didn’t need to look around to know that the same thing happened to Enzan and Laika. Netto struggled but then he felt Rockman give his hand a squeeze, not unkind but more of a squeeze of assurance. Netto calmed down and hoped that Rockman was Rockman. /Will you answer?/ he asked. There still was no reply so he figured he had to trust Rockman.

“You see?” the man asked. “Look how easy it is to manipulate a navi’s programming. They’re all slaves to it, as human like as we try to make them in the end we can just make them everything we want them to be.”

“That’s not true!” Netto yelled. “Navi’s are sentient, and they feel just like any human.”

“Well, if they’re programmed to,” he said. “Yes, yes they do feel. But there are humans that take away feelings or freedom. Why? Because they can. Because human like being in control and humans like knowing they hold the power over someone else. There is no such thing as a living net navi and there never will be. Why? Because humans are afraid and want the power for themselves.”

Netto growled but he felt a small squeeze that made him calm down.

“Humans don’t like the idea of navi’s getting too smart or they’ll rise up and take over? They’re obviously more powerful then us and they can destroy the world if they want to,” he said ignoring the increasing temper of the three boys. “Navi’s have power, humans have more, that’s the natural way of things,” he said. “Which brings me to your and your older brother,” he turned a hard gaze onto Netto and Rockman.

“What do you care?” he asked.

“I said I wanted you here for a reason. You know why? Revenge,” he gave them a toothy grin. “You see, you two are that,” he spat out the word ‘that’ like it was poison, “man’s greatest work.”

“Who are you talking about?” Laika asked.

“Yuuichiro Hikari of course, that damned man took everything from me. My glory, my funding, my sister…” he drifted off.

“Sister?” Enzan asked and gave Netto an incredulous look.

Something finally clicked on in Netto’s head. “Uncle Jiro!” he gasped.

“Who?” Enzan and Laika asked together.

“He’s mama’s brother and Aunt Sakura’s ex. They divorced about 5 months after Maki-chan was born, I was about 6 at the time,” he said.

“How right you are,” Jiro said. “You see, your mother and I went to one of the best technological colleges in Japan. I was one of the fastest rising scientists then your father came. Oh how perfect he was, he did everything right and showed me up every time we finished a project. Finally all the funding that went into my projects went into his and just as I hit rock bottom, he proposed to my sister. And you know what? She accepted! Ha! Just like that, and after that I left college. I do admit I hit a few rough spots but now I got it made! And no one can stop me anymore.”

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

“M-maki-chan!” Dream yelled.

“What?” Maki asked. “What happened?”

“Ne-netto-chan and Rockman… they’re in trouble…” she gasped out.

“What?” Haruka quickly ran over to where the small navi was about to collapse on the net floor from exhaustion. “What happened to Netto?” she asked.

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

“Papa said that you tried to experiment with human DNA and that’s why you’re funding was taken away…” Netto said who remembered being told this when he was younger.

“And your father is a hypocrite too,” he smirked. “After his precious ‘Saito’ died he turned around and broke about every law of nature there was. Took DNA, made it into data and created a navi out of it. Amazing,” he said shaking his head. Netto felt Rockman’s grip tighten in what seemed like anger. “Then, after all that, when he was in danger of being taken away again, you actually re-synced your DNA!”

“I chose that on my own!” Netto yelled.

“A 12 year old boy decided something that would change his genetic structure forever…” Jiro laughed. “Do you have the slightest idea what you did?” he asked.

Netto paused and Nova and Obsidian smirked. “I don’t care, as long as nii-san is alive,” he said.

Jiro laughed. “Right, so you think you chose right?”

“I know I did!” Netto yelled.

“So stubborn, like my sister,” he gave a soft smile as if remembering something nice. “Ah well,” he said.

“Why are you so bent on revenge, it’s not Netto’s fault, I’m not even sure it’s Hikari Hakase’s fault,” Laika said. “Why?”

“Because, that’s why.”

“You sound like your daughter,” Enzan said.

He paused, then his eyes became cold and sharp. “Don’t you ever mention my daughter like that again!” he yelled.

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

Mejin pulled up with WWW, Sakura, Maki and Haruka. Manabe and Kifune came behind in a second car. Manabe read something off of her handheld. “There is an underground dimensional area,” she said. “About 10 feet down.”

“Then let’s destroy it,” Mejin said. He pulled out a lap top and pulled up the dimensional area program on his computer.

Manabe nodded and three net officials plugged in their navi’s.

“Find the source and destroy it!” Kifune said and the men started to scan the area with their PET’s.

“I have found it sir,” one man said after five minutes.

Mejin scanned the program for any viruses or traps. When it came up clear he gave Manabe an okay signal.

“Fire at will,” she said.

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

One more chapter!

If you have anything to say, I suggest you say it now.
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[Blue Bommer]

Didn't see that coming. Good job. Although, you made it confusing on how the found the bass. That or I didn't pay attention.
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[Midnight]

You didn't fix the typo I pointed out?

Anyway...it seems that none of my suggestions were put to good use...but there is one chapter to go. I hope it really turns out to be a thrilling ending.

Intriguing...you bring up many ethical questions here, possibly the foremost being whether navis should be considered as sentient beings. I think that it would be a brilliant subject to write on...even if it is a tad serious.
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[Neko]

Liek OMG Neko's gonna start a serious fic

Probably today or tomorrow depending on my mood. But yes, I am dedicating a WHOLE fic to exploiting those questions.

And midnight, I did change some of it, wait for the next chapter. I'll get the typo thing, sorry about that. I can't re-read my own works cause I just skim over them XD
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[Saito-Rockman]

I'm hardly able to wait until you post the next chapter. I wonder what Netto's reaction will be when he finds out what he did when he re-synched his and Rockman's DNA.

[Vanilla_Go_Rilla]

Ah, a cliffhanger. Always nice to keep me coming back for more. It's a weird coincidence that I have an uncle named Jiro. Maki-chan also seems like an interesting original character, from what I've read so far, and Obsidian strikes me as...well...a jerk. @_@ Although I'm pretty sure you meant for him to be like that anyway.

A few interesting philosophical issues worthy of Socratic discussion you bring up here, what with humans maintaining control over Net Navis and all. Can't wait to see how the Dimensional Area conflict turns out.

EDIT: ...oh. Obsidian's a HER. Man, what a place to make a typo.
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[Neko]

Vanilla... Obsidian is a her. It's a girl. Nova's a guy. XDDD

Obsidian is a jerk though, she is suppoused to be cold and mean. If I had time to exploit Nova's character you'd see the same pattern. Unless they're together.
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[Midnight]

That is good. For a minute there, I thought you had blown off and ignored my suggestions off like ANOTHER writer here--you know who you are. >_<

Anyway, beyond that, I hope the final chapter turns out good. I'll give my overall comments when it is published.
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Today, these three players are after Big Bucks! But they'll have to avoid the Whammy, as they play the most exciting game of their lives! From Television City in Hollywood! It's time to 'Press Your Luck!'--Rod Roddy

The Kingdom of Loathing: An Adventurer is You! // I ♣ Seals

Avatar by Spork. I very much appreciate it! <3

[Neko]

“Well kids,” Jiro smiled. “It’s been fun and I’m glad you were here to listen to my whole sob story but I think I’m going to move on now.” Obsidian and Nova appeared in front of the threesome. Netto felt Rockman’s grip increase but Netto could tell because he was nervous. He may not have been under the program control like Searchman and Blues but he could still be controlled, just as easily if not more so then Netto.

Before anything could happen though, the navis just disappeared. Or rather, they digitized and when Netto looked at his PET Rockman was there giving him a relieved smile.

Jiro looked horrified and looked around wildly only to find his perfect plan crumbling around him. Before anyone else could react he ran over to the crates grabbed the stone and ran to the elevator shoving Enzan out of the way with the huge rock. When the elevator opened though there was Manabe and three police officers waiting with her.

“Oh thank god,” Netto said.

Enzan smiled weakly, “That was… interesting.”

“I think what you are looking for is ‘disturbing as hell,’” Netto said. “I can’t believe that was Jiro…”

“Did you know him well?” Enzan asked as they went to the elevator where Mejin was waiting for them.

“No… not really,” Netto replied. “Wait, what about Obsidian and Nova?”

“Don’t worry,” Mejin said as the doors opened again. “They were caught as they came back into the net.”

Enzan, Netto and Laika all let out huge sighs of relief. “Wow… we really didn’t save the day this time…” Netto said slowly.

Mejin laughed and clapped Netto on the shoulder. “Us adults have to do our job every once in awhile too you know.”

Before Netto could answer he was trapped in a bear hug by his mother. “Oh my god, I was so worried when Dream came in and said…” she couldn’t finish her sentence. Instead she hugged Netto even tighter and didn’t let go.

“Jiro!” They all heard a voice snap and they turned to see Sakura looking at her ex husband with Maki clutching her mother’s skirt.

“You just got lucky this time,” he hissed at his wife.

“Daddy?” Maki asked and Jiro’s gaze rested on her, softened and she gave his daughter a weak smile.

“Daddy’s going away for awhile, honey,” Sakura said while not taking her eyes off her husband.

“That’s right sweetie, daddy won’t see you for awhile,” he said in a kind voice.

“Come on,” Sakura said in a low voice and led Maki away before they could watch him be led into the police car. Maki was unusually quiet as they walked over to where Haruka was still holding Netto.

“Netto-chan?” Maki asked as Netto finally freed himself from his mom.

“Yes?” Netto said a little breathlessly.

Maki ran up and hugged him around his waist. Netto stood there, a little stunned then awkwardly patted her on the head. Then Sakura hugged her nephew. “I’m so sorry for what Jiro did,” she said softly.

“It’s all right,” Netto tried to smile at her but he was stuck.

Enzan and Laika were about to walk away when Haruka placed her hands on their shoulders. “Are you boys okay?” she asked.

They looked at each other. “We’re fine,” they said.

Haruka smiled and did what everyone was expecting the least. She embraced Laika and Enzan in a tight hug. They were both so stunned neither one knew what to do. Haruka sighed, “You know, maybe you three should leave some stuff up to the adults every once in awhile.”

“Mejin sent us!” Netto said in defense.

“Actually I didn’t,” Mejin said. “That was a trap.”

“I was wondering why you didn’t say, ‘no need for the ‘san’’”, Rockman mused.

“Well its over,” Netto said huffily.

Haruka let out a breath and released Enzan and Laika who stood there looking a bit dazed. “Yes, it is,” she said.

Mejin smiled, “Well, you three are off the hook for now. Enjoy your summer vacation, Netto.”

“Yes sir!” Netto said happily. He was already planning on how late he would sleep in the next morning.

“Well, let’s go home,” Haruka said rubbing her head.

“Well then, I think I’ll leave,” Enzan said.

“No, actually, would you boys care to join us for dinner?” she asked.

Enzan and Laika looked at one another, “Sure?” he asked Laika.

Laika nodded, “Sounds good,” he said.

Haruka smiled and started planning the dinner she was going to make in her head.

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

Back at Netto’s house they were all sitting around the dinner table eating the large curry dinner Haruka had made. Sakura seemed to be having a hard time eating and Maki was quieter then usual but all in all it wasn’t bad.

“I am sooooo glad that’s over with,” Netto sighed.

“Are you all right, Netto-san?” Blues asked.

Netto made a face, “I’m fine,” he said.

Enzan and Laika looked at him but decided they would wait until later to ask him what was wrong.

The food was hot and delicious but the meal was spent mostly in silence. When it was done they went into the living room and, Netto, Enzan and Laika went to Netto’s bedroom not long after that.

Enzan shut the door and Netto flopped on his bed. “You okay?” Rockman asked.

Netto stuck his tongue out and made a face. “I don’t know,” he sighed.

“What’s wrong?” Enzan asked.

“Well, remember when Nova and Obsidian implied that I wasn’t completely human?” Netto asked carefully.

“Yes,” Laika and Enzan said slowly.

“Do you think that’s true?” Netto asked.

Enzan and Laika exchanged glances. They both had no idea how to answer that.

Rockman sighed, “Netto-kun, you know how I have more powerful emotions and my programs are more complicated then other navi’s?”

“Yes,” Netto answered.

“Maybe,” Rockman paused thinking of what to say. “Maybe it’s a two way thing. Maybe you have some… other abilities because of the Saito.bat files. Least of which is being able to synch with my thoughts and apparently be controlled if we’re hacked into.”

“So, the answer is yes?” Netto asked.

Rockman looked up at nothing. “I… guess…”

“Maybe you should ask your father,” Enzan said.

“Nah,” Netto said picking himself up. “I think Rockman and I can figure this out on our own.”

“Are you two going to be okay?” Laika asked.

Netto smiled and winked, “Of course!” he said in a bright voice.

Laika and Enzan gave him small smiles and they went down stairs. Maki was asleep in her mother’s lap and Sakura was stroking her hair. “Oh, this is all so… difficult,” she said. “I just don’t know how to handle it.”

Haruka smiled and patted her hand. “It’s all right. Everything will be fine,” she smiled.

“I…don’t know what to do anymore…” Sakura said.

“You know what,” Haruka said. “Maybe you should stay a little longer.”

Netto froze in mid step on the way downstairs.

“Oh, Haruka, I… I couldn’t.”

“Sakura, you are in no condition to raise a child and you need time to overcome this…” she paused. “Shock.”

“But…” Sakura protested.

“Please, I insist.”

“But Maki will start school soon,” Sakura said.

“You live only fifteen miles away from here. The only reason you don’t visit is because you are so tired. You need to rest,” Haruka gave her a warm smile.

Sakura smiled shakily back.

/Oh no,/ Netto said.

/What’s wrong?/ Rockman asked.

/If Maki-chan stays…/ Netto let his mental voice trail off.

“Well, if you think it won’t be too much trouble,” Sakura smiled.

“Of course it won’t!” Haruka said.

Maki moved a tiny bit and a smile creeped over her lips.

“I… need to think about it, but…” Sakura trailed off.

“You’re welcome to stay at any time,” Haruka said.

Enzan and Laika looked at Netto who was resisting the urge to hit his head against something. Not that he didn’t love Maki-chan but…

And Maki was pretending to be asleep in her mother’s lap listening to everything that was going on above her.

“Mama, we’re going outside for a little bit,” Netto said quickly.

“All right,” Haruka said. “Be back before dark.”

Netto, Enzan and Laika went outside and crossed the street into the park. “Oh man,” Netto said. “Maki-chan during the school year?”

“Don’t worry, after today it should be a piece of cake,” Rockman said.

“Rockman…” Netto said. “I don’t think taking care of Maki-chan is a piece of cake.”

“Well, we’ll be there to help,” Enzan said.

Netto looked and Enzan and Laika. “You will?” he asked.

Laika cleared his throat, “What else are friends for,” he said with the faintest hint of a blush.

Netto gave them a big grin. “Thanks,” he said with relief.

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

Back inside Haruka and Sakura were planning on how to get Maki to and from school while Maki started to drift off back to sleep. She held her new PET tightly in her hands and started to dream about being a super hero, just like Netto-chan.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Well Critic, I didn't change much. Sorry, but I did take your advice to heart and did change a few things.

Also, I'm posting this because I get the bad feeling that if I don't I'm going to be murdered by some people >.> <.<

That's it folks! End of Neverending Summer.

FAQ:

YES! I AM planning a sequel. NO! It will not come out soon. I have no plot for it. Let me catch up on other fics, do a few one shots, relax and come see me in a few months about a sequel.

Okay, so any thoughts, questions or other ideas for me? I'm open to suggestions!
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[Yue-chan]

hurray for finishing it, and such a nice finish it was, Neko. I enjoyed every bit of it.
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