Affinity -EXE5 SPOILERS-

**Sol** · Posted: Sat Nov 26, 2005 1:11 am Post subject: Affinity -EXE5 SPOILERS-

Alright, first off, this is more of a direct continuation of Bonds rather than a sequel. Please read Bonds first before reading this, or you will not get what is going on. Thank you for listening.

Affinity

A figure just stood on the ground, looking around warily as it heard numerous people murmuring above him. Looking up, it could see a shadow of a face, one with a beard. Confused, it continued looking around. What was this dark place?

“...so, your research was a success, doctor.” one voice remarked. The figure on the floor looked around the area again, trying to figure out which person was speaking.

“It seems it was.” another voice, presumably the doctor's this time, rang out. “However, I still wish to make a few tests just to make sure everything went alright.”

The figure blinked for a few moments before he tried to speak up. However, another voice cut in before he could. “And...what happens if this interferes with Proto?” the voice asked gruffly.

The other voice sighed. “I am very positive that my research won't have any adverse effects on Proto. I have made absolutely sure about that.”

“If you say so, doctor.”

The figure then chose that time to speak up. “Um...excuse me?” it asked, making everyone look at it. “Who are you?”

“Ah, so he finally speaks.” one voice said. The doctor made some sort of motion with his hands at the other person, telling him to be silent.

The figure looked up as the doctor cleared his throat. “I see you are awake. Good...” he murmured as he stared intently at the figure. The figure shifted uncomfortably.

“Please answer. Who are you?” The figure asked again. The doctor suddenly smiled.

“Why, I'm Doctor Cossack. I am the one who created you.” he said happily.

“Created...?” the figure asked again. The doctor nodded.

“You are the final result of my research...my child, so to say.” he chuckled, as if making a joke he only understood. “There is no need to be so confused. I shall explain everything in due time.”

“I see...” the figure murmured. He then looked back up, seemingly confused. “What...what is my name?” he asked softly, shifting slightly because of the numerous people staring at him.

“Ah...your name?” the doctor asked aloud. “Hm...what shall it be?” he said while tapping his chin thoughtfully. “Ah! I know!” Cossack exclaimed after a few minutes of thinking. “How about the name 'Forte'? It seems to suit you well.”

“Forte...” the figure repeated, saying it softly to himself as if to get used to it. He suddenly smiled. “I think I like the sound of that, doctor.”

Doctor Cossack only beamed down at him.

That was when Netto woke up, gasping.

Sitting up, he held the side of his head with his hand, grimacing at the memory of the dream. He knew it was one of Forte's memories; the presence of Dr. Cossack and the mention of Proto proved it. However, he was suddenly filled with some sort of sadness; the memory was a happy one for Forte, it was just the thought of what happened later that saddened him. Shaking his head to clear it, he looked around the room.

It was already morning, from what he could tell. The sunlight poured in through the windows, illuminating the room. Blinking a bit, he felt Forte's PET in his other hand under the bed covers. Before he could look around any more, some shuffling to his left made him look to the other side.

Turning his head to the left of the bed, he saw his mother and father just standing there, smiling. He also spied Enzan on the couch, who was sleeping softly. Netto blinked in shock before he spoke up. “Mama...Papa...” he let out softly, staring at his two parents.

Haruka smiled and stepped towards the bed, enveloping her son into a tight hug. “Oh Netto!” she cried, a few tears still escaping from her eyes. Still somewhat in shock at seeing his parents, he hugged back.

“Mama...” he said softly. Haruka drew back as Yuuichirou approached the bed, still sniffling.

“Welcome back Netto,” Yuuichirou said while smiling warmly down at his son. Netto blinked a few times before being hugged by his father too. "You worried us all!"

“Papa...thanks” he said while looking at his parents. Yuuichirou chuckled as he brought up something from his waist.

“And look who I brought as well!” he said as he handed the blue PET to Netto. The brunette took it into his hands as he looked at the overjoyed face of Rockman.

“Netto-kun!” he exclaimed happily as Netto smiled at him, “You're all right!”

“Yeah, I am. You miss me?” Netto asked jokingly. Rockman frowned slightly.

“Of course I missed you!” the blue navi said, “You're my operator and my brother! How could I not miss you?” he questioned, a worried tone creeping up into his voice.

“Calm down Rockman!” Netto said while holding up a hand in a placating manner, “I was only joking! Of course I knew you missed me! I mean, how could you not?” Yuuichirou and Haruka both chuckled a bit as they stared at their two sons.

“Don't make me worry like that anymore, okay?” Rockman asked as he calmed down a bit. Netto nodded.

“I won't Rockman. Don't worry!” the brunette exclaimed while nodding.

“...Enzan-sama!” Blues' said from his PET. Everyone looked over at the couch, where Enzan was still sleeping. “Enzan-sama, wake up!” Blues said in a slightly raised voice, but the boy only grumbled a little bit before falling silent.

Rockman held back his urge to laugh. “Having trouble, Blues?” he asked jokingly from his PET. The red navi could only look in the direction of the bed helplessly.

“I see that Hikari-san is up. That's a relief.” Blues said as he turned back to his operator. “But I'm getting worried...Enzan-sama won't wake up. He's never slept this deeply before.”

This time, Rockman couldn't help but chuckle a bit. “Did you try yelling at him? That always works when Netto doesn't want to wake up.” Netto was about to object that he didn't do that anymore before he fell silent. He still didn't know how he was going to tell everyone about Forte.

“Yell at him?” Blues asked incredulously. Rockman nodded from his PET.

“Yeah, yell at him. I guarantee it will get him up.” he said while smirking. Blues hesitantly nodded before coughing a few times and taking a deep breath.

“Enzan-sama, get up! Now!” Blues yelled. It had its intended effect as Enzan woke up and fell off the couch in surprise.

“What...?” Enzan grumbled as he stood up and shook his head, “What was that for, Blues?”

Blues had to fight to keep a straight face. “I'm sorry Enzan-sama, but you wouldn't wake up.” he said as he turned away and coughed, trying to hide a slight chuckle. Enzan only sighed and ignored the silent chuckling of the two adults. He then caught sight of Netto in bed, just smiling.

“Netto!” he said, surprised. “You're already awake? Are you all right?” When he saw the brunette nod, he slowly smiled. “That's good. Takes the worry off my part, at least.” he sighed.

Netto suddenly smirked. “You were worried about me too, Enzan? I didn't think that was possible!” he chuckled. Enzan blushed.

“Well, when someone decides to suddenly go missing, then of course everyone is going to be worried!” he shot back. Netto just laughed, and soon enough, everyone was. After they all calmed down, they heard a knock at the door.

“Ah...I see Netto is awake,” the doctor said as he came in. Everyone turned to look at him as he carried a clipboard in his hands. “Okay, I'm going to start a check-up on him so we can see if anything is wrong.” he explained as he put the clipboard down and started getting out some instruments. “I'm afraid I must ask all of you to leave the room please...except Netto, of course."

Haruka blinked. “May I ask why, doctor?”

The doctor sighed. “It's hospital policy, I'm afraid. Although I don't exactly remember the full details of it, someone who was with a patient during a doctor's check up infected several machines with viruses, and the hospital has issued the policy in response. I'm terribly sorry, Hikari-san.”

Yuuichirou sighed. “It's all right doctor. We'll wait out in the waiting room until the check-up is complete, okay?”

“One last thing,” the doctor said, “I'm sorry, but we can't have net navis in here either. We really don't want to take any chances during anything, whether it is a check-up or not.” Yuuichirou nodded and picked up Rockman's PET.

Rockman looked like he was about to protest, but Netto shook his head and smiled. “Don't worry Rockman, it's only a check-up. You'll be back here within a few minutes.” Rockman reluctantly nodded as Yuuichirou left the room.

However, Rockman was still thinking of something. He was about to tell his father about Forte, but then stopped at the last moment. Netto was definitely hiding something; his whole attitude was a bit too calm when he saw his parents again. Shrugging, he just decided to just ask when they went in later.

A minute or two later, the three reached the waiting room, where they were greeted with the sight of Netto's friends.

“Dr. Hikari!” Meiru cried as she ran up to the three, “Rockman e-mailed us earlier...is it true? Has Netto been found?” she asked hopefully. Yuuichirou chuckled.

“Don't worry, Netto is fine!” He said. Meiru then gave a huge sigh of relief, while Dekao cheered and Yaito wiped some sweat off her forehead. Haruka smiled before she turned to her husband.

“I'm going to go down to the cafeteria to get some food,” she said, “I'm sure some of us are hungry.”

“Sure.” Yuuichirou said while he shrugged. Enzan nodded as well before he sat down on a nearby chair.

“Let me come with you, Hikari-san!” Dekao said as he started following Haruka out of the door. Yaito huffed.

“Wait for me! I'm not letting you pick stuff for me that I don't like!” she cried out as she chased the both of them down. Yuuichirou and Meiru just laughed for a bit before sitting down, though Meiru still looked a bit worried.

“Um...Dr. Hikari? Is Netto going to be okay?” she asked meekly, with her eyes staring at the tiled floor. The scientist nodded and smiled.

“He's going to be fine Meiru,” he said as he looked at the door leading to the hospital rooms, “The doctor is only doing a slight check-up. Netto will be okay, so don't worry about it too much." Yuuichirou assured the young girl as she sighed.

“Don't worry Meiru!” Roll piped up from her PET, “I'm sure everything is fine now! At least he's been found unharmed!” Meiru looked at her navi before smiling.

“Thanks Roll. That's just what I needed.” she said before settling comfortably in her chair.

“Dr. Hikari...” Enzan spoke up from his chair, “Are we going to ask Netto what happened to him before the police do?” he asked as Yuuichirou held his chin thoughtfully.

“Yes, I was planning on doing so. Hopefully, he'll be able to tell us all of what happened...if it does turn out to be a new net terrorist group, hopefully any information Netto gives will help.” he explained as Enzan nodded as Meiru looked a bit relieved.

Enzan then looked at the floor again. Those clothes...where have I seen them before?

---

“Do you feel any pain in this area?” the doctor asked as he lifted an arm and pressed down at certain points.

Netto shook his head. “No, I don't.” The doctor nodded as he stood up and wrote something on his clipboard.

“Alright then Netto, you're perfectly healthy. If you wish, you could go home tonight. However, I would recommend staying one more night here.” the doctor murmured as he finished writing whatever he was filling in.

Netto looked up in surprise. “What? Why do you want me to do that?" he asked, somewhat incredulous. The doctor only smiled at him.

“While you are healthy enough to go home tonight, your face is tired. You still need more rest, and I doubt you'll be rested enough by then. I'll be by later to see how you are doing, and then you can tell me if you feel rested enough to go home, alright?” he said before gathering all of his materials.

Netto only looked at him for a few moments before nodding. “Okay.” The doctor then nodded back and left the room, shutting the door behind him.

Sighing, Netto leaned back on his pillows. “I thought he would never leave...” he muttered as he looked out the window.

“Indeed.” came Forte's voice out of his PET that was hidden under the covers. Netto smiled as he took the PET into his hands and looked at the cloaked navi. Forte gave him a small smile in return. “So, what are you going to tell them?” the navi asked.

Netto's eyes narrowed slightly. “I don't know. How do I explain where I've been for the past five and a half months?” he asked Forte as he continued looking out the window.

“Tell them the truth?” Forte replied, shrugging. Netto sighed again.

“I doubt they would believe me. After all, how do I explain that we were in a different world?” he asked as he looked down at the cloaked navi.

Forte grunted. “Good point.”

The two remained silent for a few minutes before Netto decided to speak up again. “You know Forte...I had a dream involving you.”

Forte looked up, surprised. “What?”

The brunette nodded. “Yeah, I did...” he muttered, “It was weird. I saw you standing on some sort of floor while all these people talked above you...it was somewhat creepy.”

The cloaked navi blinked. “That...that was when I was first activated...” he let out, still somewhat surprised.

Netto nodded. “I know. It's odd...I know I wasn't there, but it still felt like I was.” he explained while lying back down on the pillows. “I just don't know how to describe it.”

Forte continued staring at the brunette. “Netto-kun...is this going to happen every time you sleep?” he asked, a hint of worry creeping up into his voice, “That you're going to see all of my memories?”

Netto closed his eyes and sighed. “Truthfully, I don't know.” Forte looked downward as he said nothing.

Netto suddenly chuckled. “You know, if this happened before we got stuck together, I wouldn’t have thought much of it.” he laughed, making Forte look up. “But now...thinking is all I’ve been doing lately.”

“So you’re saying you haven’t been thinking before this?” Forte said jokingly, earning him a pout from the brunette.

“Not exactly...” Netto let out as he sighed, “It’s just that my views have changed. It’s forcing me to think a lot more.”

“I see...” Forte said, “Are my memories that troubling to you?”

Netto shook his head. “It’s not just that...it’s just the whole other world. I’m still worried about what is going to happen to it.”

Forte nodded. “Well, I guess you’re far stronger than I originally gave you credit for.” he said, shrugging again. Netto grinned.

“Oh? You doubted me for even a second, fin-head?” Netto asked playfully. Forte rubbed the back of his head.

“Well, maybe in the beginning...” he admitted, blushing a bit. Netto let out a slight laugh.

“You sure have changed since we were first stuck together, you know.” he pointed out, “You’re far easier to talk to now.”

Forte smirked. “Maybe, but you have changed as well.” Seeing Netto shrug, he continued, “Like you said before, you’re now willing to think before you act...not to mention that you’re far less annoying as well.” he chuckled as Netto pouted again.

Suddenly sighing, Netto looked towards the window again. “But seriously...I really have changed, haven’t I?” he asked the cloaked navi, “Everything that has happened...it’s still hard to take in.”

Forte frowned and nodded. “I know...I’m still finding it hard to cope with this sudden influx of your memories.” the cloaked navi said as he sighed, “They’re just random flashes, but still...”

“You and me both.” Netto muttered before he heard footsteps outside the room. He suddenly paled as he heard his father’s voice right outside. “Uh oh!”

The door then opened. Netto hurriedly hid the PET under his covers again, much to Forte's indignation. He saw his father and Enzan walk in, but he was surprised when he saw Meiru nearly run in and bowl them both over.

“Netto!” she cried as she came over and hugged him, “Thank god you're all right!”

“Meiru-chan...” he gasped, “You're kinda hugging me a bit too tight...” Meiru blinked a bit before blushing and letting go. Gasping for breath, Netto looked at his father. “Papa, where is Mama?”

“She went down to the cafeteria to get us all something to eat.” Yuuichirou explained as he put Rockman's PET on the stand next to Netto's bed. “Your other friends went with her to help.”

“I see...” Netto said before sitting up again. Nothing was said for a couple of moments before Enzan decided to speak up.

“Netto...” he began, somewhat unsure of what to ask, “I know we just found you and all...but what happened to you?”

Netto looked down at the bed covers, not saying anything. What should I tell them? he thought, trying to think of any kind of story that would make it seem realistic. A few minutes passed without the brunette responding.

“Netto?” Meiru questioned softly, somewhat surprised with the unresponsiveness of her friend. Yuuichirou was also surprised.

“Netto, what's wrong?” the scientist questioned, but Netto didn't move his head at all. Enzan was about to say something else before Rockman cut in.

“Netto-kun...” Rockman said softly, “I know it's hard, but...please, tell us why you have Forte with you.” Immediately, everyone's head turned to look at the blue PET, each with looks of shock on their faces. However, Netto only sighed.

“So...you saw it, didn't you Rockman?” he whispered. Rockman could only nod slowly.

“Netto, what's going on? And what's this about Forte?” Yuuichirou asked, somewhat shaken. Netto did nothing but move his hand under the covers, bringing out the black PET for everyone to see. Everyone gasped upon seeing the cloaked navi glower at all of them.

“Netto...?” Meiru gasped as she looked at her friend, “What is going on?”

“I think that is something that we would all like to know.” Enzan said as he sat down in one of the chairs near the window. Yuuichirou nodded.

“Yes...Netto, please explain what has happened.” He was surprised when Forte glared at the three of them.

“Don't force him, humans. He'll tell you when he is ready.” he growled at them, sending the three into even further states of confusion. Netto only smiled and looked at the cloaked navi.

“Don't worry Forte...I'll tell them the truth. They do deserve it, after all.” he whispered before sighing. Forte only grunted in acknowledgment before silencing. Closing his eyes, Netto spoke. “Now then...where should I start?”

“The beginning would be nice.” Enzan mumbled. Upon seeing the other two nod, Netto sighed once again.

“This is going to take a bit of time to explain, so you'd better get comfortable.” he said.

“Netto-kun, please don't leave anything out. If we want to know what happened, we have to hear everything.” Rockman said from his place on the stand. Netto turned his head over to him and nodded.

Netto then began to tell them where he had been for nearly the past half year.

---

Next Chapter: To Earlier Times: Netto and Forte tell Yuuichirou, Meiru, and Enzan where they have been all that time, only to recieve some surprising information in return. Both Enzan and Yuuichirou then have to try to do everything in their power to cover up Netto’s whereabouts. Elsewhere, a confrontation between Haruka and Midorikawa Kero springs up. What will Netto and Forte do?

---

Author’s Note: Finally, I was able to scrounge up enough time to write this chapter. Sorry for the long delay.

I don’t really have much to say right now, but I do hope to get the next chapter written after I complete my second research paper. Gah.

Anyways, thanks to Quatre Winner and JK Fie'r for betaing this chapter.
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<3 Planty~
Art in icon done by Raburabbit.

Exar_Kun · Joined: 10 Apr 2005 Posts: 22 Location: The Void

Sol, as always, your writing is amazing. This is an extension of my favorite piece of your work. As hard as it is to write Forte and Netto together, you've managed it and done a superb job. I look forward to seeing this continue.

YaminoMiko · Posted: Sat Nov 26, 2005 2:03 am Post subject:

Great start for your sequel Sol. Keep up the good work!
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I wanna sleep, but I don't wanna sleep at the same time. @_@.
Repetition(RnREXE)

HubHikari · Posted: Sat Nov 26, 2005 8:11 pm Post subject:

WONDERFUL!

ecxcelent chapter Sol keep it up I can't wait to read more ^_^
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Kitty-Chan · Posted: Sat Nov 26, 2005 9:54 pm Post subject:

An inspiring start! Heh, Blues screaming at Enzan was really funny. I can't wait for the next part! ^_^ ^__^ :D
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Need more Zero/X, Netto/Rock, Rock/Netto, Forte/Netto, & Blues/Netto. PLEASE!
Ano sa...could someone please make me a Zero/X, Blues/Netto, or Forte/Netto avatar/banner? I would greatly appreciate it...
Thanks for the avatar, Mandi!
People! We need more Blues/Netto & Forte/Netto on the net. Come on; help me out here! *gives everyone her Super-Adorable Irrisistable Sad Kitty Eyes(TM)*

**Sol** · Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2005 9:38 pm Post subject: *BETAED CHAPTER 2 UP*

Chapter 2: To Earlier Times

Netto sighed as he looked around the room. Enzan was sitting in a chair by the window, while his father and Meiru were by his bedside. On the stand next to his bed, Rockman looked at him in concern, obviously waiting for what he was about to say. “All right,” he sighed, “it all started when I was in bed one night...I was just sleeping, and then suddenly I was floating nowhere.”

Enzan blinked. “Nowhere?” he repeated. Netto nodded.

“Yeah, nowhere. Anyways, there was this voice...it seemed to know about the link between me and Rockman.” Netto said softly. Rockman suddenly stiffened at the mention of the link, but he didn't say anything. Netto continued on unhindered.

“After that, I woke up in some strange room...it was darkened, and I could only see a little bit,” the brunette said, “I had found a door, but it was locked. That was when I saw something on the floor...it was Forte's PET.” Netto said as he gestured towards the black PET.

Yuuichirou's eyes widened. “It was just lying there?” he asked somewhat disbelievingly. Netto nodded.
“As a matter of fact, it was.” Netto said as he nodded, “It was just on the floor, deactivated. At the time, I didn't know if I wanted to turn it on or not, given Forte's history...”

“And let me guess, you turned it on without thinking, didn't you?” Enzan asked dryly, prompting both Netto and Forte to glare in his direction.

“He didn't have any choice at the time, human,” Forte sneered at the official netbattler, “At the time, I was the only means of getting out of that room. Of course, I didn't even want to work with him at first, but given the circumstances, I had no choice.”

“I see...” the scientist murmured, “Go on.”

Netto sighed. “After we got out of that room, we were eventually able to get out of the building we were in. What I found on the outside was shocking...” he said before pausing briefly to catch his breath, “The whole city was utterly destroyed. Buildings were in ruin, the ground was cracked so severely that it was hard to walk on it, and the sky was all a weird color.”

Meiru's eyes widened. “No way...” she breathed. The other two just stared in disbelief.

The brunette just nodded. “It's true. Anyways...we just wandered around the city for a few hours afterwards. I thought I was going to collapse from hunger,” Netto remarked, “but that was when we found a little girl running somewhere. Naturally, I followed her into a building and down a stairway. Would you believe that people were living underground?”

Yuuichirou blinked. “Well, I suppose it is possible to live underground, but I wouldn't know if anyone actually was.” he replied, “So, what happened then?”

Netto then proceeded to explain his meeting with Shinta, and his subsequent visit to the abandoned lab. “When we got there, it was already dark. Forte was doubting that there was anything in there of worth, but we had to try.” Netto explained as the three humans and the navis listened intently, “I found one computer and plugged in Forte to find any sort of data on where we were.”

“What did you two find?” Enzan asked, feeling slightly unnerved. Something about the whole story that Netto was telling struck him as odd.

Forte decided to continue for the boy. “We found nothing but documented data. Although most of it was corrupt, the log files in them pointed us in the direction of the Environmental System.” the cloaked navi said, “Since we had nothing else to go on, we had no choice but to make the trek to it.”

Everyone stared at Netto and Forte for a few seconds before Yuuichirou managed to speak. “The Environmental System...why would you need to go there?” he questioned, his eyebrows furrowed together in confusion.

Netto sighed. “Like Forte said, we didn't have anything else to go on.” he explained, “We certainly couldn't have stayed in that ruined city, or we wouldn't have gotten anywhere.” Netto then shifted in his bed a bit, “I'll explain everything right now, but please don't interrupt me. This is important.”

Everyone nodded as Netto continued his tale.

---

Rockman could only stare in shock at his operator. The boy had finished up his story only a few minutes ago, but everyone in the room, the navis included, were still gaping at both Netto and Forte.

Is Netto telling the truth? Rockman wondered as he continued staring at the two, All of that seems impossible...but something tells me he isn't lying about this!

The blue navi then thought over the last part of what Netto and Forte had gone through.

“I'll explain everything right now, but please don't interrupt me. This is important.”

Everyone nodded as Netto continued his tale.

Both Netto and Forte then proceeded to tell them everything that had happened since they left the ruined city the following day. Their adventures on the road, what they saw, and just the state of the world they were in. The three humans sat in their seats, stunned at what Netto was telling them. What the boy was telling them seemed very far-fetched, but then again, Netto wouldn't lie about something like where he had been.

Finally, Netto started to wrap up his story. “We finally reached the Environmental System after a long time...what we found there wasn't pleasant,” he said, grimacing. “There was some huge conspiracy going on that I didn't understand. Some army invaded, took over the system, erased all the data, and shut it down.” Netto then shook his head. “Then when we got to the main room, there were all these skeletons on the floor. It was really creepy.”

Forte then picked up where the boy had left off. “We then saw what happened in the system...everyone was killed.” he stated simply, “However, we didn't get any more time to look into it...a huge bird monster named Geetz attacked us before we could do anything.”

Meiru finally chose to speak up. “A giant bird monster?” she repeated somewhat shakily, “Don't you mean a giant virus?”

Netto shook his head. “Normally, I would say it was a virus, but...” he trailed off, looking somewhat unsure, “During the fight, it did something that should have been impossible...” Breathing in a little, he stared at the three, “It was able to come into the real world.”

Everyone gasped, including the navis. “How is that possible?” Enzan asked in disbelief, “There should be no way for that to happen!” Meiru nodded in agreement. Yuuichirou, although he had a thoughtful look on his face, did not say anything.

“That wasn't all;” Forte suddenly said, making everyone look at the black PET, “Somehow, what Geetz did pulled me into the real world as well.”

Everyone stared in shock. “That's not possible, is it Dr. Hikari?” Meiru asked, her eyes wide. Yuuichirou could barely contain his shock and looked at his son and the cloaked navi.

“Normally, I would say it wasn't...but I'm guessing there was something else at work here, correct?” Seeing Netto nod, he continued, “I'm guessing it was something in that room that allowed the real world and the cyber world to merge...perhaps that new core that you said you read about in one of the log files?” The scientist then held up a hand, stopping Netto from speaking before he could even start. “But...something else tells me that it doesn't have anything to do with the technology at all. Go on, Netto. Tell us what really happened.”

Netto looked down at Forte, who only nodded. “Well...” The brunette then told everyone about the battle between Forte and Geetz and how it went, including how Forte nearly died to protect him from a blast. At that, Rockman looked at the black PET, stunned.

“Netto-kun...” the blue navi whispered in disbelief. Now he felt even worse than he did before. Netto had nearly died in some strange place, and it was Forte, of all navis, that protected him. He didn't know what to feel at the moment other than shock.

Netto then sighed. “After that...I don't know if you'll believe me, but there was this girl,” he said, “She seemed to know everything about me. She offered me a way to save Forte, and I took it.”

Yuuichirou held his head in his hands, still trying to process what Netto was telling the three of them. “And what exactly did you do?”

“I still don't know the full details of it...” Netto started off, “She touched my forehead, and all these images...no, memories started to pour into my head. It was so sudden that it started to hurt...it didn't help that most of them were bitter.” he said softly while staring at the cloaked navi. Rockman's saw the gesture and his eyes widened as he got the full implications of what Netto was saying.

“From what you're telling us...” the blue navi said softly, “You somehow saw Forte's memories?” Everyone in the room seemed to stiffen as Rockman said that, their attention focused on Netto. The brunette merely looked at Rockman and nodded.

Forte then spoke up. “It went the other way as well. Somehow, I was able to see Netto's memories too, even though I was dying.” he said, everyone gasping at the revelation.

“So...” Enzan trailed off shakily, “You two have each other's memories.” he remarked.

Netto nodded. “Not only that, but...she also said that the main purpose in doing that was to create some sort of bond...one directly to my life force.”

At that, both Rockman's and Yuuichirou's eyes widened. “Is that how you saved Forte? By linking him to your own life?” Yuuichirou asked weakly.

“It was the only way at the time, Papa,” Netto said, “but something was weird...I felt something slip away from me during the process, like it was being disconnected from me...”

Rockman couldn't hide his shock. “Our link!” he gasped out, “That's how it was cut!” Rockman exclaimed. He couldn't help but feel hurt at what his brother did, even though it was to save someone else's life.

“The link...?” Netto asked before his eyes widened in realization, “That was it...that's what I felt detach from me!”

Furrowing his eyebrows together in concentration, Netto tried to feel the faint presence of Rockman in his head. He paled when he couldn't sense it anywhere; it was gone. The boy would have had a bit more time to contemplate about it when Enzan spoke up.

“What about the girl?” he questioned, also surprised on why the link was severed.

Netto closed his eyes and sighed. “That girl...she was the one that took us home,” he let out, “She said she was a goddess of some kind.”

Everyone blinked. “A goddess?” Enzan questioned, disbelief written all over his face, “Do you expect us to believe that?”

Netto shrugged. “It is the only explanation I can offer. She was the one that took us off that world and placed us back here.” Once again, everyone just stared at him.

“Netto,” Yuuichirou started as he adjusted his glasses, “I hope you know how unbelievable that story you just told us sounds.”

The brunette nodded. “I know,” he said, “But I am telling you the truth.”

“I believe you, Netto.” Meiru said softly from her position. Netto looked over at his friend, who was smiling at him. “I know what you have told us is almost unbelievable, but...” she trailed off, taking a deep breath. “I trust you on this.”

Netto smiled at his friend. “Thanks, Meiru-chan.”

Yuuichirou smiled warmly at his son while Enzan coughed. “All right, I believe you too,” the netbattler said, “But what are we going to explain to the public? I mean, you have been missing for only a week, so...”

“Wait,” Netto cut Enzan off, much to the other boy's annoyance, “A week? That can't be right.”

Meiru blinked. “Netto, you've only been missing a week in this world...” Both Netto's and Forte's eyes widened at the revelation.

“Impossible...” both of them let out at the same time.

Yuuichirou narrowed his eyes. “Netto, how much time has passed for you when you were on the other world?” he asked, dreading the answer.

The brunette looked at his father, going slightly pale. “Four and a half months, Papa.”

Everyone just looked at him in shock.

Rockman shook his head and sighed. Now that he got a good look at his brother, his face looked older than it did before his disappearance. Just looking at the brunette's face from up close made it seem more mature. However, as much as he was in shock about the whole thing, he could see that his brother was carrying himself with a more serious attitude. The Netto he knew would be more hyper, acting happier about the situation, and...

Wait! Rockman's mind screamed at him, This IS the Netto I've known for my entire life! Just because he is acting different doesn't mean anything! the blue navi assured himself. Taking a deep breath, he prepared to speak up when Enzan cut it.

“Netto,” he began, “I'm going to call the head of the Official Netbattlers to see what I can do about the situation.” Enzan said to the brunette before heading to the door. Netto merely stared at him as he exited, pulling out his PET as he did so.

Yuuichirou then laid a hand on his son's shoulder. “I'm going to step out for a bit so I can make some calls.” he said while pulling out his own PET.

Netto blinked. “Calls to who?” he asked curiously. The scientist chuckled.

“I'm going to call the Science Labs about this. They need to know about Forte.” Yuuichirou saw his son frown at him and Forte growl audibly at him. Yuuichirou held his hands up in a placating manner. “Don't worry, I'll make sure nothing happens to you or Forte! However, I think the sooner they know about this, the better.”

Netto looked incredulous for a few seconds before sighing and leaning back on his pillows. “Fine,” he said, “But make sure they don't try to do anything to Forte, Papa.” Yuuichirou nodded and left the room.

Sighing, Netto looked over at Meiru, who was still standing by his bedside. “It seems that I've caused a lot of trouble, haven't I?” he chuckled, eliciting a smile from the girl.

“Yep,” she giggled, “You have indeed, Netto. Welcome back.”

Netto smiled at her. “Glad to be back, Meiru-chan.”

---

Meanwhile, down in the cafeteria, Haruka and two of Netto's friends, Dekao and Yaito, were looking over the food choices the cafeteria offered.

“Ew,” Yaito said, grimacing, “I hated the hospital food they served when I was hospitalized, and this stuff doesn't seem much better.”

“That's because you're an incredibly picky eater.” Dekao muttered lowly. Unfortunately, Yaito heard him and turned to him, huffing.

“Me? Picky?” she sputtered, “Well, excuse me for having refined taste.”

“Refined taste?” the larger boy asked incredulously, “More like expensive taste!”

“I dare you to say that again!” Yaito growled in his face. Haruka merely looked at the two children and giggled.

“Now you two,” she began as she put a hand on both of their shoulders, “Don't just pick stuff that you want. Make sure you pick stuff that Yuuichirou and Enzan will want as well.” she gently admonished.

“Fine.” both of them grumbled in unison as they continued looking at the food selection. Haruka smiled as she turned away momentarily. Her eyes widened when she saw a very familiar face outside the cafeteria.

Outside in the reception area was Midorikawa Kero, clad in her striped green business jacket and black pants. Had it been anyone else, Haruka wouldn't have cast a second glance at them, but the trademark frog hat on Kero's head and her microphone was cause for alarm. Kero was out for a story.

The news reporter looked around the area for a few seconds before walking away, leaving Haruka's line of sight. The woman frowned; what was she after...?

Suddenly, it hit her like a ton of bricks. “She's going to do a story on Netto...” she breathed, paling at the thought of the over-exuberant reporter harassing her son for details on where he had been. Grimacing, she turned back to Dekao and Yaito. “I just remembered I left something in the room,” she said as she brought out a chip, “I'll trust you two to get the food, so here is the zenny to pay for it. Meet me in the waiting room outside Netto's hall!” she finished. Before either of the two could say anything, Haruka forced the chip with the zenny in it into Yaito's hand and walked away briskly, much to the two's confusion.

Haruka sped up her walking as she left the cafeteria, determined to catch up with Kero. She was not going to have some news reporter harass her child! Spending a few minutes walking down some hallways, Haruka eventually saw Kero back in the reception area, asking one of the receptionists something. Frowning, she started making her way up to her.

“...Hikari Netto?” one of the receptionists at the desk asked, “He is currently not taking any other visitors except friends and family. May I ask why you're here, Kero-san?”

Kero smiled, although it was a bit forced. “Well, I just wanted to see Netto. I am one of his friends, and when I heard that he has finally been found, I wanted to come and visit him!”

The receptionist sighed. “Be it as it may Kero-san, but you have to find either of his parents to gain entry.” she explained. Kero frowned.

“I see then. Thank you anyway.” she said before turning to go outside. Haruka, not placated by Kero's failure to gain entry, followed her.

Outside the hospital, Kero tapped her foot impatiently. “Well, that didn't go over so well, huh Toadman?” she remarked to her navi as she sighed.

The green navi only stared at her. “Well, yes...” he said while pausing to croak, “but I don't think you should have tried using the friend excuse, ribbit.”

“But still...” she let out, “This is a huge scoop! Real exclusive! I have to be the first one to talk with Netto before anyone else does!”

“Kero...” Toadman started before he was cut off by another voice.

“Not if I have anything to say about it.” Kero turned around to find one very irate Hikari Haruka standing behind her.

“Ah, may I ask who you are?” Kero asked politely. Haruka only frowned at her.

“I'm Hikari Haruka,” she said, “and I don't like your way of thinking, Kero.”

The reporter also frowned. “Haruka-san, please understand,” she explained, “but I really need this exclusive report with your son! The executives at DNN are starting to get...” she paused to search for a word to use, “well, they're looking for better and interesting stories. This is the perfect one!”

Haruka growled. “That doesn't excuse the fact that you were going to harass my son for a story that he might not want to share!”

Kero narrowed her eyes. “Harass?” she sputtered indignantly, “Nothing of the sort! All I would do is ask him a few questions and what he remembers about what happened.”

“A few questions.” Haruka stated blandly, glaring at the reporter, “Listen to me! I'm not going to let you do anything on my son for your newscast!”

“What is your problem?” Kero growled, earning a shocked gasp from Toadman, “This is my job! Even if I don't like some of the stuff I have to do to get a good story, I do it anyway!”

“That may be,” Haruka started, “but it's also my job as a parent to protect my son from anything that would endanger him. I may have not been able to do that lately, but I'm going to do my best to make sure the public doesn't mob him for questions.”

Kero grimaced. “But...!"

“If you're truly one of Netto's friends,” Haruka snapped, cutting the reporter off, “Then you wouldn't do this.”

Kero only stared at Haruka for a few moments before closing her eyes and sighing. “You're right,” she muttered, “I think I just got too excited about a new story popping up and got carried away. I'm sorry.”

Haruka's smile softened. “It's all right, but next time think about what you're doing before you act.” Kero nodded and then looked at the ground meekly.

“Can I still see Netto?” she asked, “Since we were teammates once, I want to see if he is well.”

Haruka sighed. “Do you promise not to ask him anything regarding his whereabouts?” When she saw the reporter nod, she smiled. “Good. I'll take you to his room then.”

---

“...and that's all I have to report.” Enzan finished as he looked at the visage of a man sitting behind a desk, holding his chin thoughtfully. After leaving Netto's room, he immediately sat down in the thankfully deserted waiting room and made an emergency call to the head of the Official Netbattlers. Enzan then explained everything what happened in detail; from his finding Netto in the park to Netto's story.

The head sighed. “Do you really expect me to believe all of that, Ijuuin-san?” he asked, leaning back in his chair. Enzan shrugged.

“Not really,” he admitted, “but I'm believing Netto anyways. I don't think he would be the type to lie about this.”

“I see.” came the curt reply. Enzan drew in his breath and steadied himself for what he was about to ask.

“Given that...I would like to request the cover-up of Hikari Netto's whereabouts during the week.” he said. The head merely stared at him critically for a few moments. Enzan had to keep himself from shifting restlessly under his gaze.

“Let me get this straight...” the head started as he rested his chin in his hands, “Hikari Netto goes missing for one week, then is found in the park after some huge explosion. He then tells you his very far-fetched story and he suddenly has Forte, the ultimate navi created by Dr. Cossack, am I correct?” He saw Enzan nod and then continued, “Do you know the extent of who I must notify for this? Not only the police, but the hospital, the news stations, and even the Science Labs!”

“I know sir.” Enzan answered back. The head just sighed.

“Fine, I'll do it.” The boy looked at him in surprise.

“Really?” he asked in surprise, “You're going to do it anyways?”

The head only grunted. “Keep in mind that this isn't for your sake, Ijuuin-san, but more of a favor to Netto,” he explained, “It is shocking that a boy of his age has turned out to be this world's savior many times over. We owe a great deal to him.” Pausing, the head leaned back in his chair again. “Someone of his raw talent and skill doesn't come a generation, I'll have you know.”

Enzan's eyes widened. “Do you mean...you want to recruit him?” he gasped.

The head nodded. “Yes. Although certainly not right now given the circumstances, he would make a fine Official Netbattler given a few months of seasoning.” He paused there, standing up this time. “With this new situation, however, we must keep a closer watch over him.”

“Sir?” Enzan asked politely, regaining his composure. The head coughed a bit.

“Ijuuin-san,” he began, “I'm assigning you a long-term mission. You are to watch over both Hikari Netto and Forte for the next few weeks, and report to me every three days. Are we clear?”

Enzan sighed. “Yes sir.” The head only nodded before he continued.

“I'll get on contacting the proper people to cover this whole thing up. Meanwhile, I want you to just watch over Netto, all right? This is going to be a huge thing with the public no matter what we do, so it is imperative that he is kept safe for the time being.”

Enzan was about to say more when he saw Haruka and Netto's other friends return. However, there was also a certain reporter with them that made the netbattler slowly smile as a plan formed in his head. “Sir, I think I may have a solution to the public problem...”

---

“Incredible,” breathed a voice, “And you're certain that is true, Dr. Hikari?”

Yuuichirou nodded as he looked at the image of a scientist through his PET. He sighed, “While the story my son has told me seems impossible, I am willing to believe him about this.”

The scientist nodded while looking thoughtful. “Such an abnormal experience...however, even if his story is hard to believe, we will trust his word on this.”

“Thanks,” Yuuichirou sighed while sitting down in the nearest chair. He was currently in the empty waiting room outside his son's hall, sitting down in one of the seats. “But now that all of the head scientists know about this, what are they going to do?”

The scientist on the screen frowned. “You may not want to hear this, but I think they're more interested in Forte than the safety of your son.”

Yuuichirou blinked. “That wouldn't surprise me, but I'm asking what they're going to do.”

“What I mean is, they're more interested in Forte's programming...” the scientist started, “In fact, I just received an e-mail from them asking you to look at his programming yourself.”

Yuuichirou's eyes widened. “Why though?” he asked incredulously, “Why do they need to look at his programming so badly?”

The scientist scratched his head and sighed. “I think that is part of the problem. Out of all Net Navis, Forte is the only one we don't have extensive knowledge on.” The scientist paused a bit there to cough before continuing, “Any knowledge we did have of him before the Proto incident was taken by Dr. Cossack when he left the Science Labs.”

“I see...” Yuuichirou said before standing up, “Please tell them I'm not going to do it...at least, not right away.”

“Dr. Hikari?” the scientist asked uncertainly, “Do you really think that they're going to take that for an answer?”

Yuuichirou grimaced. “No,” he admitted, “But you must tell them I have other business to take care of first before I can do what they ask.” Then, below his breath, he muttered, “If I even want to...”

“Wait, I have to tell them?” the scientist asked indignantly. Before he could say anymore, Yuuichirou cut off the connection. Sighing, he stood up to go back to Netto's room when he saw Enzan walk into the waiting area, looking very pleased with himself.

“Oh, Enzan-kun,” Yuuichirou said while he blinked, “Did you talk to your superior?”

“Yeah,” Enzan panted out, “but I managed to get him to agree to cover-up this whole thing.”

The scientist smiled. “Really? That's great!” he said. The netbattler only sighed.

“That's not all...” he began as he started to tell Yuuichirou what the head wanted him to do and his plan on how to get Netto safely out of the public eye.

---

Meanwhile, inside the room, Netto was sitting quietly while Meiru stood at his bedside, just watching him. Rockman, on the other hand, was starting to get anxious at his operator just doing nothing. The unnatural silence from Netto unnerved him. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore and finally spoke up. “Netto-kun, can I ask you something?”

The brunette blinked for a second before taking Rockman's PET and looking at the blue navi. “Of course. What is it?”

Rockman thought for a second on what to ask. He knew Netto must have been uncomfortable explaining his story, so he didn't want to ask him another question that would make him even more uncomfortable. Finally, he thought of something. “Can you link me into Forte's PET so I can talk to him alone?”

Forte looked at the blue PET for a second in surprise, but he didn't say anything. Netto glanced at Forte for a second, somewhat uncertain, before nodding. “All right.” he said before opening both of the infra-red ports.

Rockman smiled. “Thanks.” he said before linking into the cloaked navi's PET.

Netto chuckled a bit before turning back to Meiru, who had a small smile on her face. “So, what's happened in the week I've been gone, Meiru-chan?” he asked, hiding a grimace at the thought of not even being gone that long.

The girl gave an amused giggle. “Other than your disappearing act, Netto?” she asked playfully. Netto pouted at her, and she giggled again. “Well, our class was in an uproar. It got so bad that Mariko-sensei had to dismiss class for a few days.” She then sighed, “But I think the main reason she did that was because she wanted to go out and look for you too. Everyone was incredibly worried...”

“I'm back now though, so there is no need to worry.” he said while smiling at her. Meiru smiled as well.

“Don't think Mariko-sensei was the only one out looking for you!” Roll piped up from her PET, “Meiru was out late every night scouring parts of the city to help look for you!” she exclaimed.

“Roll!” Meiru squeaked while blushing furiously. Netto and Roll laughed while Meiru blushed, but she started to laugh as well.

Meanwhile, Rockman appeared in Forte's PET, looking around warily. The whole area was identical to his own, right down to the green background. Standing in the middle of the area was the cloaked navi himself, who was merely scowling at him. Frowning, he slowly walked up to Forte, not taking his eyes off of him.

“Forte.” Rockman stated coolly, trying to remain neutral against his former enemy. He still remembered that desperate fight inside of Proto, and he wasn't so sure if the navi had changed, even after Netto had said he did. However, he was willing to give Forte a chance.

“Rockman,” Forte grunted in reply, unconsciously clenching his fists. The cloaked navi still didn't forget his defeat by Rockman's hands, but he willed down his desire to fight. Netto wouldn't tolerate it if both of his navis got in a fight to the death, would he? “Why are you here?” he finally asked, breaking the silence that had fallen upon them.

The blue navi just kept staring at him. “Well, I just wanted to talk to you. Nothing more.”

“Talk?” Forte scoffed, “About what?” Although the cloaked navi was tolerating Rockman due to Netto's memories, it didn't mean he had to like him.

“You protected Netto-kun while in that other world, didn't you?” Rockman questioned, stepping forward a bit.

Forte said nothing as he stared at Rockman. The blue navi continued, “And you saved Netto-kun from being killed...” he trailed off softly before looking away. Forte blinked.

“What are you trying to say?” the cloaked navi asked, narrowing his eyes. Rockman took a deep breath and looked at him.

“Thank you,” he stated while looking reluctant, “You were able to protect him when I couldn't...”

Forte stood sill, stunned. Rockman then continued, “Not only that, you nearly gave up your life to protect his. For that...thanks.”

Shaking his head a few times to clear it, he looked at the blue navi. “It's not like I had a choice, Rockman.” he growled.

Rockman then chuckled. “Sure you did,” he mentioned as he began walking away, “You chose to protect Netto-kun. That's all I need to know.” he said before returning to his own PET. Forte just stood there, speechless.

“I...” he breathed, looking at the ground, “I chose to protect Netto-kun...” Forte repeated to himself, remembering all the events that led up to the current moment. Closing his eyes, he sighed before he slowly smiled.

“He's right...”

---

Netto and Meiru looked up as they heard the door slide open, Yuuichirou and Enzan entering the room. “How did it go, you two?” Netto asked, looking between his father and Enzan.

Yuuichirou was the first to speak. “Well, it went all right considering the circumstances...” he began, “But the heads of the Science Labs want to look at Forte's programming.”

Netto's response was almost instantaneous as he narrowed his eyes. “No,” he growled out vehemently, startling both Meiru and Enzan, “If they try, then there will be hell to pay.”

Yuuichirou's eyes widened in surprise at the ferocity Netto was showing. “Netto, calm down!” he exclaimed while holding his hands up to placate him, “I told them they wouldn't do such a thing. I know you wouldn't let them.”

The brunette settled down, but he didn't stop glowering at Yuuichirou until a knock at the door startled them.

“Come in!” Netto called out. The door then opened, revealing his mother and his friends.

“Netto!” Dekao and Yaito yelled as they crowded around the brunette's bed. Netto chuckled a bit as he saw their relieved faces.

“Netto! Man, where have you been the whole week?” Dekao asked, putting an arm around his neck and rubbing his head with his knuckles. Netto coughed as he struggled for air.

“Dekao!” Yaito chided, “Stop it! He needs to breathe! Do you want to send him to the ICU?” The larger boy frowned as he let go, and Netto took a deep breath. The short girl grinned. “Really Netto, you worried everyone! It's great to see you're back in one piece.”

“Heh...thanks,” he muttered. Netto then saw someone else standing near his mother. “No way...Kero-san?” he asked in surprise.

“Netto!” the reporter grinned, “It's great to see you again! I got really worried when I heard you went missing...but when I heard you were found, it really made me feel relieved!”

Netto eyed Kero apprehensively until he saw that she didn't have her microphone with her. He then let himself relax, knowing that she wasn't there for a story. “It's good to see you again, as well.” he said. He then turned back to his other friends and his parents, just chatting with them idly.

Enzan eyed Kero for a few moments before clearing his throat. “Kero-san, can I have a moment of your time?”

The reporter blinked. “Why do you need me, Ijuuin-san?” she asked. Kero had only met the netbattler briefly during the whole Nebula incident, and that was to help save Colonel from the Dark Power.

“I just need to speak for you for a few minutes, if that is all right with you.” he said.

Kero blinked. “Sure.” she said, shrugging as she followed Enzan out of the room.

“I'll be blunt,” he said once they were outside, “I want you to help in covering up Hikari Netto's whereabouts.”

Kero's eyes widened. “What?” she gasped, “What is this about a cover up?”

“By the order of the head of the Official Netbattlers, Hikari Netto's whereabouts are classified;” he continued, ignoring Kero's shocked look; “Of course, most of Densan already knows about his disappearance...which is why someone needs to broadcast that he is back without causing too much confusion.”

Kero looked confused for a few moments before it dawned on her. “You want me to do a false news report?” she asked incredulously. From his PET, Toadman also croaked in indignation, although he didn't say anything.

“Exactly.” Enzan said as he nodded. Kero shook her head.

“I can't,” she protested, “Do you know what it would do to my career if it gets out that the story was made up? It would be ruined!”

“Don't worry, DNN has already been informed of this and will back up your story,” he said smoothly, “Besides, don't you at least owe it to Netto?”

Kero blinked for a few times before sighing. “You're right...when do we start?”

Enzan smiled. “We'll do it later tonight...let's just go and rejoin the others right now.”

The reporter smiled and followed Enzan back into the room, where Netto was staring at the Netbattler. “You're covering up where I've been the whole time, Enzan?” The boy looked surprised until he saw Yuuichirou smile at him. Enzan relaxed; it seems that the scientist told Netto what was going to happen.

“Yes, however...” Enzan said, “You can't go back into the public eye immediately. There would just be general chaos if that happened.”

Netto nodded as he caught onto what Enzan meant. It wasn't every day that someone went missing for one week, then showed up again with an unbelievable tale.

“With that said,” Yuuichirou continued for the boy, “You're going to have to be confined to the house for the week.”

“What?!” Netto exclaimed, incredulous. “I'm grounded?”

The scientist chuckled. “No, you're not grounded. You just have to stay in the house until things blow over.” Netto pouted as everyone else laughed.

There was one more knock at the door as the doctor from earlier poked his head in. “I see that you have a bunch of friends to visit you today, Netto,” he chuckled, “But I wish to know; are you going to stay an additional night here?”

Netto sighed. “I guess so.” He saw the doctor nod and walk away before groaning. “Great, a week of confinement.”

Everyone else just chuckled. “Don't worry Netto-kun, I'm sure it isn't going to be that bad!” Rockman said optimistically.

Forte grunted. “A week without doing anything...how utterly boring.” he muttered.

Netto found himself agreeing with Forte. It was going to be a long week...

---

Next Chapter: A Day to Myself: After a week long confinement in his house, Netto finally gets out and explores the city with both Forte and Rockman. During his outing, Netto compares his home to the world he just left, and just relaxes that he is just at home. Haruka ruminates on how Netto has changed.

---

Author's Notes: Yes, this chapter is late. I actually got this one done a week ago, but it took a while to beta.

Anyways, now that all of my major projects are done for now, I plan on concentrating on this a bit more, along with various one-shots I write from time to time. So hopefully the delay between chapters isn't as huge as it has been so far.

Thanks go out to Quatre Winner and JK Fie'r for betaing.
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<3 Planty~
Art in icon done by Raburabbit.

Exar_Kun · Joined: 10 Apr 2005 Posts: 22 Location: The Void

Excellent chapter Sol, the quality that I have come to expect from you is present, and exceded.

I'm fond of the Forte/Netto friendship, and this is the main reason why. I hadn't even really thought of it until you started your series, filled with nothing but excellence.

YaminoMiko · Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2005 10:08 pm Post subject:

*Imagines Forte smiling* That is so cute! ^.^

The rival between Rockman and Forte has finally come to an end. *cheers*

Great job Sol!
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I wanna sleep, but I don't wanna sleep at the same time. @_@.
Repetition(RnREXE)

Bassman4566 · Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2005 1:22 pm Post subject:

No bad Sol your stories(besides Neko's)always get me intrested
Great Job
_________________

Rukario
credit to orinigal owner

"That's all she wrote" Syrus Trusdale

Bassman4566 · Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2005 1:23 pm Post subject:

No bad Sol your stories(besides Neko's)always get me intrested
Great Job
_________________

Rukario
credit to orinigal owner

"That's all she wrote" Syrus Trusdale

Kitty-Chan · Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2005 5:12 pm Post subject:

Excellently done! This promises to be just as good as if not better than Bonds. I shall eagerly anticipate the next installment.
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Need more Zero/X, Netto/Rock, Rock/Netto, Forte/Netto, & Blues/Netto. PLEASE!
Ano sa...could someone please make me a Zero/X, Blues/Netto, or Forte/Netto avatar/banner? I would greatly appreciate it...
Thanks for the avatar, Mandi!
People! We need more Blues/Netto & Forte/Netto on the net. Come on; help me out here! *gives everyone her Super-Adorable Irrisistable Sad Kitty Eyes(TM)*

jamar0303 · Joined: 20 Dec 2005 Posts: 9

This is the second story I've read on this board, and I really like it ^__^ I hope that this story will get better, not that it's bad right now, but I have been trying to read everything else too...

**Sol** · Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2005 5:20 pm Post subject:

Chapter 3: A Day to Myself

“Breaking news!” came someone's voice from the television, “The whereabouts of the missing child from Akihara, Hikari Netto, has been revealed! The Official Netbattlers have taken him on an impromptu trip to Ameruope for one of their meetings, and he has only now been able to contact his parents. The proper authorities have been notified, and he shall be returning early next week.” The voice paused there momentarily before picking up again.

“This is Midorikawa Kero of DNN, signing off!”

That was a few days ago. True to her word, Kero had reported the false story to cover up Netto's whereabouts, and much to the surprise of Netto, it seemed that most of the city had accepted it as truth. While the boy did know that some people were skeptical about it, it didn't bother him. He wouldn't have people down his throat asking where he was all the time, and that was fine with him.

Nevertheless, he was still confined to his home for a week. At first, it wasn't too bad. He was happy to just wander around the house he hadn't been in for so long and just look at stuff. Netto also took great joy in sleeping in his own bed, and actually felt refreshed when he woke up. However, by the third day, he was feeling restless and wanted to go outside and do stuff, but his parents had forbid him going outside at all. His Papa also had to return to work, saying that he couldn't be away that long and had already stretched things by taking a week off. Somehow, that made Netto feel bad.

Shaking his head and grumbling, he had made his way back up to his room. Netto knew why he couldn't go outside, but he didn't like the idea of being cooped up inside his house for more than a few days. Rockman tried to calm him down by saying that it was only going to be a few days longer, but it didn't do any good as he still felt as restless as before.

It was then Forte suggested something. “Why don't you actually find something to do other than constantly pacing the house?” he suggested, slightly weary of Netto's constant moving around. The boy stopped and looked at the cloaked navi, opening his mouth to speak when he suddenly paused.

“Hmm...I think I have an idea of what I want to do.” he murmured as he walked back towards his room. Rockman stared at his operator curiously.

“What are you going to do, Netto-kun?” he asked, curious as to what the boy was thinking. Netto only grinned.

“You'll see.” he answered simply as he entered his room and opened his closet. Looking at the clothes in the closet, he frowned as ran a thumb over the familiar orange vest. It seemed that he had outgrown most of his clothes, much to his displeasure. Both his black shorts and white shirt were now too small for him, and he had no other spare clothes besides another few pairs of the same thing.

Shaking his head, he reached into his pocket and felt around, not finding anything. He sighed; when he had finally come back home, he found that he was missing his bandanna. He upturned his room looking for it until he decided he lost it on the other world. Although he loved the thing, he would have to go and get a replacement for it.

Sighing again, he reached into his closet and retrieved a spare set of roller-blade clips for his shoes. Although his other shoes were a bit too tight for him now, he was certain that he could fit the ones he was holding onto his current ones. Nodding to himself, he sat down at his desk and started to work on his gray shoes with some tools he had in his desk drawer.

“You're modifying your shoes?” Rockman asked, looking at what his operator was doing with the tools.

“Obviously.” Forte snorted from his own PET. Rockman glared in his direction but said nothing.

Netto looked at the two and just scratched his head. “Well, yeah, I want to be able to skate on these shoes as well, so I might as well do it now when I can't even get out of the house.” he muttered as he looked on the bottom of the shoe to see where he could fit the wheels. “Hmm...this will take a while.”

Forte sighed from his PET. “Great. More sitting around.” he groaned. Rockman blinked from where he was. That sounded like something Netto would say.

“Well, be patient,” Rockman piped up from his PET, “It's not like we have anything to do anyways.”

“Don't remind me.” Forte muttered loud enough so both Netto and Rockman could hear. Rockman only sighed as Netto chuckled a little; it seemed like the two navis were trying to get on the others nerves to see who would explode first. Netto chuckled again; he could tell that both Rockman and Forte were trying to get along for his sake, but the two were just as affected with restlessness as he was and were taking it out on each other.

For a few more hours, Netto continued working at his shoes, only getting up for dinner and to use the bathroom. Finally, he gave off a triumphant shout and raised the pair of shoes in the air to admire his handy-work. “Done!” he exclaimed as he looked at the bottom of the shoes. He managed to dig out just enough of the bottom so he could make the wheels retractable. Granted, they wouldn't go in all the way, but it was all right with him. “What do you two think?”

“I think it looks fine, Netto-kun.” Rockman said while smiling. Forte grunted.

“About time you finished,” he muttered as he looked at his operator, “Well, at least it isn't horrible.”

“Forte!” Rockman exclaimed, but Netto merely smiled.

“Calm down Rockman, he meant it as a compliment.” Netto said as he turned to the blue navi. Rockman frowned, but he nodded. The brunette then suddenly stretched his arms and yawned as he took a look at the clock.

“Jeez, 10:00 PM already?” Netto muttered as he began to clean up his desk, “I should go take a shower and get to bed, I'm tired...” he said as he finished putting away everything and got his bed clothes ready. His night clothes were always a bit big for him, and now they fit him perfectly, although it was a bit snug. Shrugging, he picked up his clothes and headed for the shower.

Watching Netto walk out of the room, Rockman sighed. “With Netto-kun's imagination, I can't help but wonder why he can't find more productive things to do with his time.” he murmured.

Forte chuckled, having overheard Rockman. “You know he isn't like that,” he remarked, “Netto-kun will not just sit around and do one thing. He likes wandering around, and being cooped up in this place isn't really helping him.”

Rockman bristled at Forte calling his operator 'Netto-kun', but only frowned. “It's still best for him, you know that.”

“Hmph,” Forte grunted, “Even if it is best for him, it still doesn't take away the feeling of being caged like a wild animal.” he muttered, remembering that horrible time in the Science Labs.

Rockman was about to retort, but stopped when he saw Forte looking away. Sighing, he shook his head. “Okay, so maybe you're right in that fact...but I know Netto knows that it's to keep him safe.” he responded.

“Indeed.” came Forte's reply. The two then fell silent, both of them lost in their thoughts until Netto came back into the room, humming to himself. Looking at both navis, he frowned to see them thinking over something.

“What's wrong?” he asked the two of them, which made them snap out of their thoughts.

“Ah...nothing, Netto-kun. I'm just thinking about something, that's all.” Rockman responded while smiling. Netto smiled back at him before turning to Forte.

The cloaked navi sighed. “Nothing's wrong. Just feeling tired.” he murmured. Netto nodded in understanding.

“All right then, I'm going to bed then...” Netto said as he took both PETs and put them in their chargers before slipping into his own bed, “Night Rockman, night Forte.”

“Good night Netto-kun.” Rockman said as the lights went off. He glanced at Forte for a moment before sighing and turning off his PET.

“Night.” came Forte's only response as he turned his PET off also. Netto shook his head; he knew it was going to be difficult trying to get Rockman and Forte to get along, so he counted himself as lucky that it was only as bad as them exchanging words. Looking at the two PETs one last time, he let off a sigh before closing his eyes, falling asleep.

---

The next few days were near torture to Netto. Despite him trying to find something to do, like drawing and coloring stuff for a few hours on one day, he couldn't take being cooped up in the house anymore. Forte was near his limit as well, and despite him saying that he was fine, Rockman was starting to get just as weary as Netto. Finally, the end of the week was there, and Netto was anxious to get outside.

“Man, that was far too long of a week!” he moaned as he looked outside his window. The sun was out and he was eager to get outside.

“Tell me about it.” Forte said from his PET. He was sick of just looking around the same room for days on end, and he wanted to be at any place other than the blue room.

Rockman nodded. “It will be refreshing to get outside, won't it?” he asked, smiling at the enthusiasm his operator was showing. The blue navi himself had been wanting to get out as well, just not as much as the other two.

Netto nodded as he made his way out of the room and downstairs. “Yeah...I want to go see the city again, it's been too long since I went there.” he remarked as he entered the kitchen.

“Oh, you're going to the city?” Haruka asked from the kitchen, slightly surprising Netto. “Well, it hasn't been a total week yet...” she said, but held up a hand to keep Netto from speaking when she caught sight of his indignant face, “But I'm sure your father won't mind if you went out one day earlier than planned.”

“Really?” Netto asked, brightening up. “Thanks Mama!” Haruka laughed and smiled at her son.

“On one condition though,” she said as she took something on the counter and handed it to Netto. “You're going to go get yourself a new pair of clothes. I know the ones you're wearing are alright, but it's just a precautionary measure, you get me? If you can't find anything, just tell me and I'll find something for you later, all right?” When she saw the boy nod, she smiled again. “Good. Now go enjoy yourself.”

Netto chuckled as he nodded. “I will, Mama.” he said as he ran right back up to his room real quick to get his things. He left his cloak in the closet since it would be odd wearing it in a crowd of people, but somehow, it felt somewhat weird not to wear it after so long. It seemed that he had grown attached to it over time.

“All right, I have everything...” he muttered as he took the chip Haruka gave him and slotted it in into Rockman's PET. “That's the zenny Mama gave us Rockman, so keep a hold of it for me, okay?”

Rockman nodded. “Of course, Netto-kun.” he said before storing the data into its proper location in the PET.

Netto then looked at Forte. “You ready to see the city, Forte?” he asked, waiting for the cloaked navi's response.

“Just as long as we get out of here, I don't care where we go.” Forte growled, making the brunette chuckle.

“My sentiments exactly.” Netto said before getting his shoes and some pieces of paper and walking back to the front door, ready to face the world again. “Bye Mama! I'll be back soon!” he called out before exiting the house.

Netto breathed in the fresh air, sighing happily. “I really am home.” he said before making his way down to the metroline.

---

The ride to Densan City was really short as Netto found himself outside of the metroline half an hour later, just staring at the crowds of people making their way down the busy streets. He smiled as he started walking around, the familiarity of the city streets coming back to him.

“It's been too long...” he breathed as he stopped at a corner and looked around the area again, enjoying the noise of cars and people chattering. “I've almost forgotten what it's like in a city like this.”

Rockman blinked. “Really Netto?” The brunette nodded.
“Yeah...even though I've been here before, it feels new somehow.” he explained as he crossed a street, still looking around at the buildings.

Rockman looked somewhat confused before Forte decided to speak up. “What Netto-kun is saying is that where we were, a huge city like this was utterly destroyed...everything was silent,” he murmured. “Tell me Rockman, what would you think if you were in the middle of a city like that one, one that was totally destroyed and no one was around?”

Rockman looked thoughtful for a moment. “Well...I guess it would be kinda creepy.” he said, shrugging.

“Creepy?” Forte scoffed, “That would not be the word I would use.” he said before silencing. Rockman was about to retort when Netto spoke up again.

“There's so many people...” he muttered as he made his way through the crowds, “I wonder why none of them have recognized me yet.”

“Maybe it's because you look different.” Forte remarked. Netto blinked.

“I doubt it's just because of that,” Netto said while looking at his clothes. “And I don't look that much different, do I?”

“No, you don't,” Rockman said, “I just think they don't really care about it that much.”

Netto frowned. “That's nice to hear.” he grumbled.

“I didn't mean it that way, Netto-kun!” Rockman exclaimed, “I meant that they just have their own things to worry about, so I think they just took the newscast at face value, you know?”

The brunette nodded and sighed. “ I guess...” he muttered. He and the two navis fell silent as Netto continued walking for a few minutes, making his way down the shopping district.

“Ah, here we go,” Netto let out suddenly as he looked inside the shop he was looking for. It was a clothing and embroidery store that he went to every so often. He remembered this place as the one that did the symbol on his headband, and he was certain that he could find a replacement for it here. Entering the shop, he looked around the store a bit, looking at the various articles of clothing until he found the part of the shop he was looking for.

Looking at the bandannas, he frowned when he couldn't find any blue ones. “This sucks,” he muttered as he looked through the bandannas again, not finding a single one he liked. “No blue ones. Now what am I going to do...?”

Sighing, he made his way back to the front of the store, intending to exit it and look elsewhere when something caught his eye. Blinking, he moved closer to look what it was. It was a blue vest with pockets on the front on both sides of the zipper. Taking it into his hands, he looked it over; the vest was different from his old one, but he liked it. The size was just right, and he smiled.

“I have an idea...” he breathed before he walked to the counter.
Rockman spoke up from his PET. “Netto-kun, what are you doing?” he asked, somewhat surprised at the way Netto was smiling. Forte was confused as well, but he said nothing.

“You'll see.” he said before arriving at the counter. One of the clerks there adjusted her glasses and started to speak.

“Hello there, how may I help you?” she said cheerfully. Netto smiled before he put the vest up to the counter.

“Ah, I was hoping that I could buy this vest and put a symbol on it, if I could...” he replied as he took one of the pieces of paper he took earlier and presented it to the clerk. “This one, with it placed right here.” he said while pointing to the upper left part of the vest.

The clerk nodded. “All right, I see what you want. Do you want anything else?” Netto looked thoughtful for a minute before nodding and pulling off his black shirt. Luckily, he had a long white undershirt underneath it, so he wasn't going topless.

“Can you put this symbol onto the front of this shirt?” he asked again as he pointed to a specific area.

The clerk nodded again and smiled. “All right, it will be finished within a few hours, so come back then.” she said while typing something into the register before turning the screen towards him. “Here is the total. Is that fine with you?”

Netto nodded and smiled. “It's fine.” he said before taking Rockman's PET and putting it on the scanner to transfer the zenny. Netto then thanked the clerk again and exited the shop, sighing. “I think it's time for me to go get something to eat, don't you?”

Rockman chuckled. “Now I see what you were doing...not going to use the bandanna any more, Netto-kun?” he teased.

Netto chuckled as well. “Well, not exactly...I'll miss it, but I think what I chose out is good.” he replied as he made his way down to the restaurants. Forte blinked.

“So, you're changing clothes again? What, you don't want to look like me anymore?” he asked in a joking manner. Rockman, for his part, looked surprised that Forte actually made a joke while Netto had to keep himself from laughing out loud.

Calming himself down, Netto responded, “It's not that, but I just can't wear the cloak in public anymore, you know? It would gather too much attention.” he reasoned while fighting back his laughter. Forte smirked, while Rockman shook his head and smiled.

A few minutes later found Netto sitting inside a restaurant, waiting for his order. He laid the two PETs on the table side by side so he could talk to the navis while actually being able to look at them. “Heh...I really missed this,” Netto suddenly remarked, “I missed all of it...the noise, the people, and just the sights of this place...” he said while leaning back.

“Yeah, it's good to be home, isn't it?” Rockman said, earning a nod from Netto.

“Indeed.” he said. The waiter then came and gave him his order, a plate of curry and rice. Taking the spoon, he dug right in with great vigor, making Rockman chuckle in amusement.

“You're just enjoying that, aren't you?” came Forte's voice, looking amused. Netto looked at the cloaked navi, swallowing the mouthful of curry he had and smiling.

“Well, all I had to survive on the other world was soup and some other stuff. So I'm entitled to eat like this when I haven't had it in a while, aren't I?” he asked. Forte only chuckled as Netto continued to eat voraciously until he finished the plate, patting his stomach. “That was good.”

Staring outside one of the windows in the building, Netto sighed. “Only one week since I've been gone on this world...that's unbelievable.” he whispered. Rockman nodded.

“Well, I suppose that finding out that you've only been gone for a week when you really have been gone for four and a half months is shocking...” Rockman trailed off.

“That's not the worst part,” Netto interrupted, “I've aged nearly half a year in only a week...I wandered for several months to get home, and when I do come back, I find out that I'm suddenly a bit older than I should be!” he exclaimed, clenching his fist. “It's kinda hard to deal with, you know?”

Forte stared at the brunette. “Netto-kun...”

“Not only that, but...the stuff I saw...” he said before silencing. Forte stiffened a bit at the mention of that before nodding, while Rockman looked confused.

“Netto-kun? What did you see?” he asked. Netto shook his head.

“I don't want to talk about it.” he said while grimacing. Rockman, seeing his operator troubled, wondered whether to continue pressing the issue or just let it drop. Sighing, he chose the former.

“Please Netto-kun, I wish to know what happened. I don't want you having to shoulder the pain of what you saw alone...” he began, but was cut off by a growl from Forte.

“Rockman, shut up!” he snarled, “He obviously doesn't want to talk about it, so don't press the issue!”

Rockman frowned. “Is it wrong that I want to help my operator, Forte?” he retorted, slightly emphasizing the 'my' part. “I want to help him, and I can't do that if I don't know what has happened!”

“Do you not have any respect for his wishes?” Forte countered, “If he doesn't want to talk about it, he's not going to!” he hissed.

Rockman was about to retort when Netto slammed his hands on the table, getting both of their attention. “Enough!” he exclaimed, “Rockman, I said I didn't want to talk about it, so you shouldn't have pressed it. Forte, you didn't have to jump on him like that.” he chided, looking thoroughly annoyed.

Both of them turned away, looking sheepish. “Sorry.” they both mumbled. Netto sighed and smiled again.

“That's all right...” he said, “Rockman, don't worry. I'll tell you when I'm ready, okay?”

“...all right, Netto-kun.” he said as he nodded. Netto then looked at Forte, who gave a small nod to say that he understood. The waiter then came with the bill, which Netto promptly paid before he got up to exit.

“Well, I still have an hour to kill before I go back to the shop...” Netto said as he walked away from the restaurant, looking at both PETs in his hands. “Where should we go now?”

“How about just looking around the shops for a while, Netto-kun?” Rockman suggested. Netto grinned and nodded.

“That sounds good.” he said before skating off to some other stores nearby. For the next hour, Netto wandered in and out of shops, checking for new battlechips, programs, and just reading new manga. Finally, the time came for Netto to go and pick his clothes up at the shop as he started to make his way down there.

“They should be ready by now, I think.” Netto said as he entered the same shop he was in earlier. The very same clerk was at the counter as she looked up and smiled at the approaching boy.

“Ah, I was waiting for you to come in!” she exclaimed as she walked around the counter, “We just finished with your clothing a half hour ago, so please follow me and I'll show them to you.” Netto nodded and followed the clerk into a dressing room, where she gave him the two articled of clothing and let him stand in front of the mirror.

“Whoa...” Netto breathed as he looked in the mirror. He didn't expect himself to look so...good.

“Netto-kun, let me see!” Rockman exclaimed from his PET. Netto chuckled as he brought both navi's PETS upwards to see in the mirror. Both Rockman and Forte blinked at what they saw. Netto was wearing the blue vest he picked out before over the black shirt, unzipped. On the vest was Rockman's symbol, right over Netto's heart. On the black shirt he was wearing before, however, there was gold circle in the middle of the chest region with a diagonal white cut over it.

Forte moved one hand up to his own symbol unconsciously. “Netto-kun...” he breathed, “Why did you...?”

Netto grinned down at Forte. “Why did I decide to put your emblem on my shirt? Well, if I'm your operator, then I should have some sort of symbol on me that tells everyone else that we're partners, right?”

All Forte could do was nod. He was still surprised that Netto would do such a thing just to tell everyone else that the two were partners. Even after seeing all of my memories and everything that has happened, he accepts me...what is this feeling...? Forte thought, lowering his gaze to the ground.

Rockman shook himself out of his stupor. “You look great Netto-kun!” he exclaimed happily. However, he was slightly unnerved by Forte's symbol on the brunette's shirt. Stop it! he thought to himself, I know it's hard not to be jealous, but I have to remember that this is all for Netto's sake. I can't keep thinking like this...

The clerk smiled again as she adjusted her glasses. “Well, that looks very good on you, young man. I hope you'll shop here again! Have a good day!” she said as she exited the room, waving as she did so. Netto grinned and waved back. Looking at both PETs, he smiled. “Let's go home, shall we?”

Forte blinked. “We haven't been out for very long and you want to go home already?” he asked, somewhat incredulous.

“Well, if I recall correctly, the metroline gets packed around this time of day,” Netto explained as he exited the shop and started to skate towards the metroline entrance. “I want to get back to Akihara before everyone gets off work.”

Rockman nodded. “Well, this was a pleasant outing at least, wouldn't you say?” he asked his operator. Netto chuckled.

“Yep, it was good to get out of the house and into the city...” Netto said as he crossed a street, “What about you, Forte?”

“...it was all right, I guess.” Forte said as he shrugged. Netto smiled; that meant Forte also had a good time. A few minutes later, he entered the station, got a ticket back to Akihara, and plopped down into a seat on the train. “Time to go home...” he muttered as the train took off, leaning back in his seat.

---

Half an hour later, Netto found himself walking back to his house, watching as the sun started to set. He sighed; the sunset had never looked so pleasing to look at. Must have been all that time with a discolored sky in the other world. Netto thought. Stopping by the park to look at the sunset a little bit, he sighed again. I really did miss this.

He was about to continue on his way when a soccer ball landed right next to him. Curiously, he picked it up and looked at it when someone ran up to him.

“Sorry about that...” the boy started before taking a good look at the brunette, his eyes widening. “Netto, you're back! How was your trip?”

Netto had to blink a few times before he recognized the person. It was one of the people in his class that he knew the name of, but wasn't really acquainted with. “Oh, Honda! My trip was...all right, I guess.” he said while putting on a nervous smile. He had to stick with the story Enzan and Kero thought up, after all.

“That's good,” Honda said. “Hey, do you want to play soccer with us? We're missing one person.” he explained. Netto blinked again.

“You want me to play with you guys?” he asked. He saw Honda nod, and then chuckled. “Why not? I haven't played in a while, so this should be good.” With that, he gave the soccer ball back to Honda and followed him deeper into park.

Minutes later found Netto kicking the ball around some defenders as he raced down towards the goal, swerving to keep anyone from stealing the ball. Taking careful aim, he kicked the ball as he neared the goal, making the goalie dive and miss the ball.

“Goal!” Netto shouted as he pumped a fist in the air and laughed. Everyone on his team cheered as the ball was soon brought back into play. Rockman smiled at watching Netto finally do something that was familiar with him, while Forte looked on curiously.

Not far away, Haruka stood at a street corner, just watching her son. Yuuichirou, it seems that you were telling the truth. Our son really does seem older. she thought as she smiled. Her husband had told her about where Netto really was a few nights ago, and she was having trouble believing it. Only today was when she accepted it. All those old habits of his are still there, but I can see that he has matured. He also speaks a bit more eloquently for some odd reason...but I suppose he has his reasons for doing so. Sighing, she turned around as she started to make her way back to her house.

While he isn't completely different, Netto isn't really the same as he used to be. I wonder what changed him? Haruka thought as she opened the door to her house. Well...he'll tell us with due time, I think. I'll just give him the space to do so. she thought happily.

“I wonder how Saito is taking this, with Netto having another navi and all...” Haruka sighed suddenly as she started to take out the dishes for that night's dinner. “Netto won't neglect his own brother, I know that, but Saito may still take it in a bad way...”

She would have to hope for the best. Not only for Netto and Saito, but for Forte as well.

---

Next Chapter: Searching for an Answer: Yuuichirou buries himself in his work, hoping to find out how the link was severed while Saito.bat is still operational. Finding nothing, he starts getting frustrated when he runs into an associate of his. Meanwhile, something sinister is building up in the Ura Net, but what is it?

---

Author's Notes: Well, the semester is done at my college and I have gotten back to writing. Hooray. I'm sorry this took so long, but in between cramming for finals and other things, I had no time to concentrate on this. Now Christmas is approaching and I'm finding myself having a lot of time to myself.

Anyways, I know that the recent chapters have felt like filler, and I apologize for that. However, it is necessary; character development comes first, in my eyes.

And as a reviewer pointed out, I need to state something. This takes place in the Game canon continuity, not the Anime or Manga (although I do take some plot elements from there). EXE5 Team of Colonel is considered canon in this story as well, so don't be confused if I refer to that instead of Team of Blues.

Hopefully, I'll get the next chapter up by New Year's. Have a Merry Christmas, everyone!
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Vanilla_Go_Rilla · Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2005 5:47 pm Post subject:

It took me the better part of an hour to read this, but it's certainly one of the most interesting fics I've read, and certainly unique. I've always seen Forte portrayed as a hopelessly destructive plethora of angst, but seeing him acting almost notmal and even slightly like Netto on occasion gives this fic an interesting flair. Interesting work, and looking forward to reading more.
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YaminoMiko · Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2005 6:34 pm Post subject:

This is interesting... I certainly like this a lot.
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Exar_Kun · Joined: 10 Apr 2005 Posts: 22 Location: The Void

Once again, an excellent chapter.

Nice characterization of Netto and Forte, and it's nice that you make Saito look intelligent by portraying him as jealous...

Excellent job overall.

Megawoman.EXE · Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2005 12:07 am Post subject:

Yes indeed. I can't wait to see what is in store for our trio of heros in the Ura Net. Keep up the good work Sol.
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**Sol** · Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 6:41 pm Post subject:

Chapter 4: Searching for an Answer

Yuuichirou frowned as he kept typing at his computer. It had been more than a week since Netto was brought back home, and things had returned to normal...or as normal as it could be, considering everything that Netto had gone through. His son was currently confined to the household for several days to make the story Kero had broadcast seem believable, and he knew that he was probably feeling restless at the current moment. Yuuichirou couldn't blame him; he was like that when he was young as well.

However, it was Netto's current situation that the scientist was perplexed about. Netto came back to them with Forte, the navi developed by Dr. Cossack, in his possession. While the boy's story was very odd, which was an understatement at best, he had no reason to not believe his son. Forte seemed civil with them, which was very shocking given his hatred of humans.

At the current moment, Yuuichirou was trying to figure out how the link between Netto and Rockman was severed. The scientist didn't understand it at all; Netto said that the 'goddess' had cut the link, but Yuuichirou was certain that he made the link unbreakable as a sort of safeguard. However, he seemed to be wrong as Saito.bat was still operational, but the link wasn't. Baffled, Yuuichirou dived into his past records and information on how this could have happened.

His search started off well enough. Within an hour, he had amassed all the previous information on the project and started to read through them. By that time, it was still dark outside, being early morning and all. However, several hours later, the sunlight shone through his office windows as the scientist pushed back the documents on his desk and sighed. Hours of reading through past records and observations turned up nothing.

Stifling a yawn, Yuuichirou turned back to his computer and rubbed his eyes. He very rarely pulled all-nighters since his college days, but he was determined on finding out how the link was severed. Truthfully, he was rather frightened that one of the safeguards that he had developed had failed, and now he was hard at work on trying to find anything that would help fix it.

Yuuichirou groaned and rubbed his eyes again, blinking rapidly. Hours of research had turned up nothing and he was feeling the effects of staying up all night in his dark office. Now it was late morning, and the scientist was already feeling exhausted. He then sighed.

“I need some coffee.” Yuuichirou muttered as he slowly rose from his chair and stretched. He had been sitting in the same chair for the past couple of hours, and his limbs were feeling sore from inactivity. Yawning, Yuuichirou took some documents off his desk and made his way out of the room and down to the cafeteria.

Minutes later, one of the cashiers handed the scientist his coffee as he nodded and made his way to a table. The cafeteria was mildly busy; it was full to the brim with numerous people, but there were enough of them to make it noisy. Finding a small table near a window, he sat down and immediately took a sip of the steaming liquid and sighed. It always woke him up.

Glancing back at the documents he brought with him, he started to read over them. This still doesn't make any sense... he thought tiredly, Somehow, the main safeguard I had implemented into Saito.bat seems to have failed! If that one has failed, what else has happened?

Sighing again, he took another sip of coffee. Not only that, I fear what adverse affects this may have on Netto and Rockman. Although there have been no negative effects so far, I want to prevent any problems that may arise due to this.

The scientist continued looking through his documents while sipping his coffee when a voice interrupted him.

“I don't see you around here very often, Dr. Hikari.” came an amused voice. Yuuichirou looked up to see another person standing beside his table. He was wearing a purple and white coat and had a strange monocle on his right eye. Yuuichirou blinked.

“Dr. Regal...” he said, surprised.

The other scientist nodded. “Mind if I sit here?” he asked as he balanced a newspaper and a cup of steaming hot tea in his hands. Yuuichirou nodded quickly before Regal sat down in the chair opposite of him.

“So...” the black haired scientist started off as he sipped his tea, “I heard your son has been found. That's good to hear.” he commented as he looked over his newspaper.

Yuuichirou slowly nodded as he took a sip from his coffee. Despite everything that had happened, it was still awkward to talk to Dr. Regal. “Yes, it has been a relief. He had all of us worried, and it's just a relief to see that he's safe.” he said to the other scientist.

Regal chuckled. “I suppose it is...” he said as he looked at Yuuichirou. “It isn't your son's fault either. The Officials, from what I've heard, are very eccentric in what they do. I wouldn't put it past them to do what they did.” he remarked as he took another sip.

Yuuichirou looked thoughtful for a minute. “Well, I guess you're right, but still...” he muttered as he looked at his documents again. Regal took one look at Yuuichirou's face and shook his head.

“Other things on your mind, huh?” he asked. “Well, I won't pry any further into it, since it's your own business...” The two then sat there for a while, not saying anything as they looked at their stuff. Finally, Regal spoke up again.

“So, what have you been up to lately?” Regal questioned as he stirred some more sugar into his tea.

Yuuichirou looked up at the sudden question and sighed. “Other than programming various stuff, I've been looking at past records of a project I did a long time ago.” he said while pushing his documents to the side of the table. Regal looked slightly confused.

“May I inquire about this project you did?” he asked while sipping again from his cup. Yuuichirou shook his head.

“It's classified. And even if it wasn't, I don't like talking about it anyways. I was somewhat...foolish back then.” he said lowly.

Regal nodded. “We're all foolhardy when we're young, so it's understandable if you don't wish to talk about it.” he commented. The brown haired scientist shrugged.

“I suppose so. What have you been doing, while we're on the subject?” he asked politely. Regal chuckled again.

“Nothing too major. I've been looking over several projects and have been doing some programming in my spare time. I've also been working on other little things...” he remarked, “I've drawn up some new plans for some new PET add-ons, but I have to extensively research to make them a reality.”

Yuuichirou chuckled. “Is that what you've been working on? I must say, that's very interesting.” he said. “I would like to work on stuff myself sometime, but I'm always bogged down by my work.”

“Perhaps you will eventually...” Regal murmured after another sip of his tea. “By the way...have you heard about what's been happening in the Uranet?”

Yuuichirou's head shot up and his eyes narrowed. “What?” he asked sharply. Usually when something like this was mentioned, something was terribly wrong.

“Calm down,” Regal said before continuing, “Nothing has happened. The Ura Net has just been far too quiet recently. While normally this is a good thing, the Officials are getting suspicious. Rumor has it that a report has come in that something is amiss there.” he said as he finished the remainder of his tea.

Yuuichirou held his chin in his fingers in thought. “Something amiss? Nothing like that has happened before except for criminals just gathering together...Maybe it's just that?” he offered.

Regal shrugged. “Perhaps, perhaps not. We'll just have to wait and see.” he said as he checked his watch. “Hm, it looks like I have to go now. I have several things to work on today, and I wish to get them done early.” Regal then stood up and took the newspaper into his hand. “Give my regards to your son, Dr. Hikari. I'll hopefully see you later.” he said before waving and walking out of the cafeteria.

Yuuichirou blinked and gave a half-hearted wave back. “Bye...” he muttered lowly. That had been an odd talk, to say the least. Sighing, he began gathering all of his stuff too. Dr. Regal was totally different now that he thought of it; he was polite and thoughtful, and was pretty calm given the circumstances of how he came to be one of the Science Lab's scientists.

Shaking his head, Yuuichirou stood up and walked out as well, looking at his documents as he went. I'm not going to give up on this. It's vital to both Rockman and Netto that I don't... he thought as he got into an elevator. I'll find a way to repair the link between them...

---

Elsewhere, deep in the depths of the Ura Net, something crackled through the air. Two navis looked around in confusion.

“What was that?” one of them asked, looking around wildly.

The second navi shrugged. “How should I know? Let's get out of here, we still have to meet with our partner.”

The first navi nodded. “Right. Let's go then.” he said as the two walked out of the area.

Behind them, the area crackled again, and a crack appeared in midair. It glowed softly as an odd light began shining through it.

Somewhere, a soft laugh reverberated throughout the area.

---

Next Chapter: Familiar Memory: After school one day, Netto sends both Forte and Rockman into the Internet to enjoy themselves. While Rockman runs errands, Forte tries to familiarize himself with the area. However, when a net-crime breaks out, what will he do?

---

Author's Note: So, how was everyone's Christmas?

Yes, I did get this chapter out earlier than I intended. This is because I'm going on vacation again tomorrow, and I won't have regular access to the computer. I do plan on getting another chapter or two done before I start school again, but I'm going to relax for a while and play my new games.

Anyways, a few more things to clarify. This fic takes place after EXE5: Team of Colonel. Hence, the spoiler warning. Also, chapters will now be posted first and eventually replaced with the beta version sometime in the future.

That's all for now. Happy New Year, everybody! Be safe...
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<3 Planty~
Art in icon done by Raburabbit.

**Plantman** · Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 7:11 pm Post subject:

*Regal fangirl squeal goes here* Ahem! This is shapping up to be very interesting. I like the fact you introduced the reformed Dr. Regal, and the way you reflected his personality.

Can't wait to see what's to come in future chapters.
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Hecha en MÉXICO - Avatar by Me.
"Logic is the Ultimate Weapon."

Mugen.exe · Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 8:03 pm Post subject:

Great chapter as always. I like how it foreshadowed things to come, and wonder what will happen next. And by the way, I had a great Christmas!
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False Swipe is a great finishing move!
Witty robots, spunky orphans, and invincible pilots, this link's for you! A Gundam RP