Chapter Five: The Cage

On the streets of Densan Town, a lone sedan chugged through the night. Three faces glowed in faint green light—the reflections of tiny screens.

The driver, clean and proper, tugged on her salmon-colored business dress with one hand.

Behind her, a young girl crossed her legs, clad in black knee-length stockings and a pink skirt, a blue vest with a mossy long-sleeve shirt underneath. She gazed out the window, where passing lampposts cast shadows into the cabin.

To their left, a boy sat. The yellow stripe on his black shorts faded in the darkness, and he crossed his white sleeves over an orange vest. He leaned against the back right support post, as if the back seat weren't comfortable enough, but he found no rest there.

The boy and the girl carried with them two wonderful machines. Within these miracle boxes resided their closest friends: simple collections of ones and zeroes, programmed and analyzed from input to execution—they too were boy and girl.

A girl, the goddess of pink, with two curved antennae wrapped around her helmet and green bow anchored the end of a long, broad ponytail. She laid her chin on her knees and rocked from side to side.

A boy, the lord of blue: golden epaulets adorned his shoulders. He sat beside her, an inch apart, yet a river of questions divided them.

And in that river swam another, a child in a white skirt and blouse and conical hat. Thin rings of jade lined the ends of her elbow-length gloves and the rims of her knee-high boots. Her fern-colored hair dangled over the floor in two arched halves, and her rosy eyes wandered the scene—from her two navi companions to the murky sedan cabin.

They all knew the fate that awaited them. Why else would they be silent?

The car pulled up to a wide, square building with an arced roof. Two men shone in the headlights, with brimmed caps, brassy badges, and silver handles tucked in their holsters. The boy and the girl, in orange and blue, hopped out of the car and approached them, each receiving a rectangular piece of copper and plastic with two cut corners. They slid these objects into their wonder machines, to no apparent effect, but the consequences were surely real. They stepped inside the spacious structure, bathed in brilliant light, but the shadows of three others nipped at their feet.

The door slammed; the lights dimmed. From then until someday, this would be their home.

This would be their cage.

1

"This is ridiculous!"

Ikeda Kousuke plucked a wad of udon noodles between his chopsticks and eyed them over the rims of his glasses. "Ridiculous!" he said. "They expect me to eat curry udon from some second-rate curry shop?"

The five operators sat in a circle, each hunkered over their own bowls of noodles and spice.

"We did get it for half price," Netto said.

Egami Aya sipped the broth. "How did you manage that?"

"Well, you see, the people who run the shop—"

"Netto, if you tell anyone, we won't get half off anymore," Meiru said.

"Eheheh, that's true."

"Not a big tragedy." Yukawa Saburou dropped his chopsticks in the bowl and made for the exit.

"What are you going to do?" asked Ikeda. "Headbutt the door down?"

Yukawa snarled. "Mind your own business, you twig-in-a-suit."

"I'd rather be a twig in a suit than a boulder in a—"

BANG! BANG BANG BANG! Yukawa pounded on the door; udon noodles jittered in the curry broth.

"Oi! I need something, open up!"

The guard called through the steel door. "What do you need?"

"I need you to let me out of here!"

"Can't do that, sorry."

"Hmph." He kicked the door one last time for good measure…and winced. He limped back to his bowl of udon and twirled the chopsticks. "So whose bright idea was this?"

"Enzan's," Netto said. "He thought if we cut ourselves off from the rest of the net, Echo wouldn't be able to find us."

"Enzan-kun sounds very bright," Egami said.

"Oh, terribly bright," Ikeda said. "Stick us in a warehouse in the middle of nowhere." He yanked a mass of army green fibers and mesh to his side. "They call these sleeping bags? I call them insomnia bags."

Egami shrugged. "It's just like camping, and if it protects our navis from Echo—"

"You're dreaming if you think we're safe here," Yukawa said. "Echo is crafty; she'll find a way, and no doubt Net Savior over there will give her a free ticket back to safety after she deletes one of our navis."

Netto glared. "We will get her this time! I'm sure of it!"

"If she even shows up at all. What do you think the odds are she'll just go to ground and wait for us to get sick of this?"

"This is why you wanted to leave?" Meiru said.

"I'm just saying this whole exercise is pointless."

"And downright humiliating," Ikeda said. He shivered. "Isn't it cold in here? I could catch a cold!"

"You won't catch a cold," Meiru said, "though I might start feeling sick."

"What was that?"

"Nothing! Nothing at all."

"Perhaps it's best if we all get some rest," Egami said. "It's quite late; I'm sure we'll feel better in the morning."

"Don't bet on it," Yukawa said.

Ikeda's ears perked up. "Bet? Did someone say bet?"

Yukawa frowned. "Be quiet."

—

Night in the warehouse. The operators slept. They kicked in their sleeping bags and turned on the cement floor. Three PETs lay dormant, their navis locked in two-dimensional hibernation

Rockman also lay frozen in digital slumber, but unlike the others, a white hand dangled his gridded form over the edge of his PET…and wondered what to do with him.

It would be so easy. He would never bother me again.

Imi cocked her head. She waved her free hand over him, and her fingers sharpened to claws.

Why did you give me so much power? Were you both so desperate to stop me?

'They were fools,' Slateman said. 'That's all it is.'

She shook her head. "I won't let you get away again." That's what he kept saying. That's why he fought so hard. She rubbed the circular emblem on her chest: a powder blue square on a red background, with a white diagonal stripe from top right to bottom left.

It means I am the mirror.

She poked the symbol with her finger, and it compressed under her touch, but it rebounded when she let off the pressure.

He fought harder than me. We would have killed each other if she… Imi slid Rockman's flattened form back into his PET. She returned to Meiru's and pulled Roll out. …if she hadn't intervened.

Roll slept on her hip, curled on her side. Her fingers were cupped, as if they held on to something.

Or they yearn for something. She glanced back at the spiked tufts of brown hair and the blue box that lay beside him. They yearn for him. Imi lowered Roll back into her PET and stood alone in the darkness.

But she was never alone. The ghosts of Grove, Rouletteman, and Slateman surrounded her, and beyond them, the chorus of a thousand voices chanted their ominous prayer.

The chorus she could ignore; they were distant, and their individual voices blended together, but the triumvirate incinerated her with their gazes and rent her flesh with their words.

This was the choir hall. The choir hall of Imi's mind.

Grove leveled a vine at her. "You don't understand what you do to them, do you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're a murderer, a killer."

I know that; don't tell me what I already—

"More than that! Much more than that. You don't just kill navis. You kill their souls."

Imi glanced beyond her three tormentors, at the formless, indistinct sea of the chorus. "You mean them?"

"Not them! You don't understand."

"I'll send you there someday," Imi said. "Don't doubt it."

Rouletteman spun his central wheel. "I think what Grove's trying to say is that you're killing them."

"You mean Rockman-san and Roll-san?"

"Don't pretend you respect them," Slateman said.

"I do respect them!"

"You nearly killed her," Grove said.

"And you just thought about killing him," Rouletteman said.

Imi shuffled her shoes. "Just because I respect them doesn't mean I can't kill them."

"You're already killing them," Grove said. "Their spirit, their souls, will wither and die…like yours has."

"What are you saying?"

"Do you think your precious daddy will approve of this?" Slateman said. "Do you think he will welcome you with open arms after all the trouble you've caused, lives you've taken?"

"He'll kick you to the curb like he did the first time," Rouletteman said. "You're a bad gamble."

Imi stomped her foot. "What else am I supposed to do? How else am I supposed to get rid of you?"

"You could ignore them."

The trio of tormentors drifted together, and a fourth speaker, the lone treble in the choir: a prim canary dress flowed around her ankles, and jet black bangs bounced over her eyes.

"You could ignore them," she said. "I know you can."

"I've tried, Masuyo-chan!" Imi said. "I've tried and tried!"

"Try harder."

"Go back to the choir, little girl," Slateman said. "You can't help her."

"Why are you still here?" Masuyo said. "Why do you trouble Imi?"

"She troubles us!" Rouletteman said. "She keeps us here! She copied us."

"That's what she does."

"You're not even real," Slateman said. "You're just a figment of her imagination."

"And you aren't?"

"She touched us," Grove said. "When did she touch you?"

"Never!" said Rouletteman. "You're just a part of her."

Slateman turned to Imi. "You want to be her, don't you?"

"Be quiet."

"Imi…"

"Did she kill people like you delete navis?" Slateman said. "Did she enjoy it like you do?"

"Be quiet!"

"Imi, listen to me, Imi—"

"You stole her soul, too," Grove said.

"Echo, the reaper of souls," Rouletteman said.

"Soon everyone will be here," Slateman said. "Everyone will join the chorus of voices, and we will sing the praises of our hostess."

"Echo!" the choir chanted. "Echo, Echo, Echo!"

"Her name is Imi!" Masuyo said. "Do you hear me? Her name is Imi!"

"She's not the Imi you knew, is she?" Slateman said. "She's just Echo now."

"Echo! Echo! Echo!"

"She's still Imi!" Masuyo said, but Imi melted in the spotlight; she shrank under the weight of the choir as they bombarded her with her other name. "Aren't you still Imi?" asked Masuyo. "Aren't you?"

"Echo, Echo, Echo!"

The white navi pressed her hands to her ears. "I am…"

"ECHO, ECHO, ECHO!"

"I am…"

"Imi-chan?"

Daylight. No, not daylight. Indoor light, the warehouse bright. Sleeping bags rolled up and away.

And Roll's hand an inch from her shoulder.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" She scampered away and hid behind the PET.

"Imi-chan! Imi-chan, I'm sorry!"

But Imi's breath escaped her. She panted and choked on air.

She nearly touched me. If she'd come any closer—

'It's a pity she didn't,' Slateman said. 'Imi or Echo, you are the reaper of souls. You'd do her a favor if you killed her now; kill her yourself before you destroy everything she is, everything they are.'

Roll peered over the edge of the PET. "Imi-chan?"

"You shouldn't be sorry, Roll-san," Imi said. "I'm sorry."

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. Are you?"

Roll sagged. She slumped on the PET and glanced around at their environment. "I'm okay."

Are you? Are you really? "Ohayou gozaimasu, Roll-san."

"Good morning to you, too, Imi-chan."

2

'How do you plan to kill us and not get caught?' Slateman said.

"Round and round she goes! Where she'll stop, nobody knows!"

That's a good question.

The mammoth roulette wheel heaved and whirled, and a polished steel ball skated about the outer rim.

"Call your spots, ladies and gents!" Rouletteman said.

'You could attack us directly,' Grove said. 'Surely he gave you the power to do it.'

"Black 11!" Roll said.

"Red 5," Rockman said.

Not with both of them still here. Though I copied his power, we were still close in strength. Too close.

'I thought you wanted him to stop you.' "I'm not sure I see the point of this game," Grove said.

I don't want him to stop trying. "Black 35," Imi said.

'Does this look like trying? Bottling us here in this cage? It looks to me like they've given up fighting you.' "For myself, Black 4," Rouletteman said. "Grove?"

'You killed their resolve.' "Red 14, I suppose," Grove said.

I killed nothing. This is a perfectly sound tactic to keep you safe from me.

"Doesn't Slateman want to play?" asked Roll.

'We should be glad you're not outside and willing to take hostages to lure us out then, huh?' The jagged navi toiled over a wall of data panels.

"Looks like a regular party-pooper to me," Rouletteman said. "His loss. Everyone, please back away to at least three meters."

The navis distanced themselves from the wheel.

Why do you insist on this game?

'What else am I supposed to do while I wait for you to kill me?' "All right, now let her have it! Hedged Bets!" Rouletteman's miniatures exploded on the wheel base, and the ball jittered on the track.

"Rockbuster!"

"Heart Slash!"

"Roots of the Earth!"

Buster bolts stunned the wheel, and myriad hearts stuck to the frame. Vines punched into the superstructure and yanked on the radial struts. The ball careened across the wheel and settled in…

"Roll Arrow!"

Thunk!

Hmm, maybe I can use this…

Dink, dink. Black 11.

'What do you have in mind?' "And Roll is the winner!" Rouletteman said.

You'll see. "A good shot, Roll-san," Imi said.

Roll cheeks tinged pink. "Thank you, Imi-chan."

"Nice shot, Roll-chan."

The blush evaporated. Roll stiffened. "Thank you, Rockman," she stuttered.

What was that?

"A prize for the lady!" Roultteman stuffed Roll's arms with a model roulette wheel.

"Anou…it's not going to explode, is it?" asked Roll.

"Do you want it to?"

"No! No, no, not exploding is fine!"

"Good, good. All right, everyone, get ready for the next round!" The tattered, broken wheel vanished, and a sparkly new one took its place.

Imi backed away. "I think I'm going to sit this one out."

"Are you sure, Imi-chan?" asked Roll. "It's fun!"

"You're all much better at controlling the wheel than I am," Imi said. "I can't even attack it."

'Liar,' Slateman said.

"We could play something else," Rockman said. "Maybe—"

"I'd like to watch you play," Imi said. "Really."

'What are you up to, little girl?' Slateman said.

It's simple. You're going to start a fight.

'Me?'

"Next game!" Rouletteman said. "Come on!"

As Rockman and Roll returned to the wheel, Imi set her sights on a lonely hulk of gravel who buried himself in floating data panels.

'You're dreaming,' Slateman said. 'You can't fool me.'

I can, and I will. Watch me.

"Hi there," Imi said. "You're Slateman, right?"

Slateman squinted at one of a handful of windows that hovered about him. "I'm busy."

"Doing what?"

"Work for my operator."

"Don't you want to take a break?"

"And what would I do to 'take a break'?"

Imi pointed. "There's a game over there. Rouletteman-san is—"

"I don't like Rouletteman."

"Well, there are others. Grove-san and Rockman-san and Roll—"

"I don't like Rockman."

"Well, if you don't like them so much, you can beat them at the game and show them how much better you are."

Slateman's finger halted over another data panel. "Excuse me?"

"You are better than them, aren't you? I mean, you can prove it, right?"

"Don't get wise with me, kid."

"I'm not being wise. I heard about your battle with Echo."

"Hmph. Some battle."

"And how Rockman-san made the foolish mistake of using the—oh, what do they call it?"

"Beast Out."

"That! That's it. He wouldn't tell me about that himself, you know. He was too ashamed to admit he'd given her so much power."

'Liar.'

Be quiet.

"And he should be. Echo is more dangerous than ever now, and because of that stupid stunt, I'm stuck here…with the likes of you."

You're every bit as irascible in the real world as you are in my head. "I think you can beat Rockman-san at the game. I think you can beat them all. It's easy."

"If it's so easy, why don't you do it?"

"I don't have any attacks."

"Well, you're pretty useless, aren't you?"

"I try."

He rolled his eyes. "Get lost."

"Won't you play? Just one game, and I'll stop bugging you."

"I hope that's all it takes to shut you up." He packed away the data windows and marched to the wheel, just as Grove made off with her "prize": another toy roulette game.

Rouletteman spotted the newcomer. "Are you joining us?"

"Yes," Slateman said. "For one game."

More than one. You like to win too much.

'I can stop.'

You can stop? After all the times you've told me that I can't stop? Neither can you. I'll show you.

"Red 1," Rouletteman said.

"Red 30," Roll said.

"Black 20," Grove said.

"Red 36," Rockman said.

Slateman frowned. "What number should I choose?"

"Try 00," Imi said.

"00," Slateman said.

Rouletteman nodded. "Here we go!" The green, black, and red spaces on the wheel blurred together as the wheel spun to speed. Rockman and Roll sapped its momentum with their shots. The ball jiggled and bounced, and the wheel tugged on Grove's vines as they tore through the support struts.

But Slateman watched. The ball circled the rim slower now; any moment it would drift into a red, black, or…

"Spike Tower!"

The rock pillar speared the wheel, stopping it cold. The jittered against the walls of the green 00 slot.

"Slateman is the winner!" Rouletteman proclaimed.

"That was easy, wasn't it?" Imi said.

"Yes," Slateman said. "Now we're done. I have work to do."

"Can't you do it again?"

"No.

"Going to let everybody win while you do your precious work?"

"Yes."

"I bet you let Echo win, too."

He froze. "What did you say?"

"You heard what I said."

Slateman marched back to her and spread his arms, as if he could crush her between them. But Imi cocked her head and batted her eyes, and Slateman huffed, stepping to the wheel. "Rouletteman! Again!"

Again and again, Rouletteman summoned his circle of fortune, and Slateman skewered it with his Spike Tower attack, trapping the ball in his called slot. As the morning wore on, Grove, Rockman, and Roll lost interest in the game, but Imi stuck to Slateman's side. "Surely you can't win again, can you?" she'd say. "Surely you've had enough!" Rouletteman would cry. But Slateman pressed on. He wouldn't be underestimated by a little girl.

As Slateman added a twelfth toy wheel to his pile, Rouletteman lost his tolerance for this charade. "Enough!" he said. "There's no point in playing if you're going to win every time."

"Isn't that how a casino works?" Slateman said.

Yes, yes. You're catching on now.

"Even in Kousuke-kun's casino, there's a significant chance to win or lose," Rouletteman said.

"So you're saying you try to rip people off as much as possible?"

"Yes—well, no!"

'Don't you dare.'

Oh I will.

"I mean, win/loss rates are legally—ack!" A torrent of boulders crushed Rouletteman, and spikes erupted from the pile. "What are you doing?" cried Rouletteman. "Are you insane?"

Slateman gaped and turned over his palms. "I'm not doing that!"

"Oh, sure you aren't!" Rouletteman snuck out of the circle of thrusting pillars. "Take this!" A pair of roulette wheels smashed themselves on Slateman's ribs.

"I won't stand for this trickery!" Slateman said. "Nobody attacks me and gets away with it! Not you, not Echo!"

Imi smiled. I know you better than you know yourself, Slateman. Never forget that. Never forget that until you're deleted as well.

"Stop!"

A wall of overgrowth separated the two combatants. Imi's mirth drained from her face.

"We are stuck here together," Grove said. "That means we must tolerate each other. Fighting will accomplish nothing."

Well, maybe not for you.

'You may know each of us, but how well do you know all of us together?' Grove said. 'Do you really think you can play us off each other like puppets in your theater?'

I could try.

'You will fail,' three voices intoned.

The curtain of foliage dropped, and Rockman and Roll walked Slateman and Rouletteman away from the battlefield. Grove folded her violet arms and gazed over the scene.

No matter. There's always another plan.

3

The shadows of the guards streamed into the warehouse, and the rays of the twilight sun painted the floor and the walls in orange and gold.

"Hikari-kun, Sakurai-chan, this way please," said a guard.

"What about us?" asked Yukawa.

"Are you rejecting the protection of the Net Police?"

"Maybe I should."

The guard scoffed and shook his head. As Meiru and Netto's feet hit gravel, the guard shut the door behind them. The kids shielded their eyes from the setting star; the great contrast of the outdoor light faded and washed out the figure that approached them, but his white labcoat gave him away.

"Papa!" cried Netto. "What are you doing here?"

"Making a delivery," said Yuuichirou. "Mariko-sensei dropped off these assignments for you at the Ministry of Science."

Netto sighed, taking the packet in hand. "Sensei's very thorough, isn't she?"

"How are you two holding up?"

"Well enough, oji-san," Meiru said. "Any sign of Echo?"

"None. She hasn't shown her face since the battle in Internet City."

"She's weakened," Netto said. "A couple more hits and we would've stopped her for good."

"A couple more hits and Rockman would've been deleted," Meiru said.

"How is Rockman?" asked Yuuichirou. "I tried a new repair algorithm; I'd like to hear how it worked."

Rockman's image materialized over Netto's shoulder. "It's very good, Papa. Thank you."

"Good to hear," Yuuichirou said. "Very good to hear."

"What's special about this new program, Papa?" asked Netto.

"New program? Oh, yes. It's faster than the standard repair program on most PETs. It's not as quick as the version we use at the Ministry of Science, but if Rockman or someone else were in danger of deletion, they could retreat to their PET and be sure that further data loss will be arrested. That way they won't be vulnerable to Echo attacking the Ministry like with Cardman."

"Oh, that's very clever, Papa!" Netto said.

"Hopefully, we'll never have need of it," Yuuichirou said, "but it's best to be prepared. It's strange, though, that Echo hasn't appeared."

"Isn't that good?" Netto said. "It means we have everyone she was after."

"Perhaps," Yuuichirou said, "but it may mean she's simply waiting for an opportunity."

The kids nodded.

"Well, I should be going," Yuuichirou said, ambling to his car. "More work to do at the lab."

Netto followed him to the driver-side window. "Say hi to Mama for me."

"I don't know if I'll be home tonight."

"Oh."

"Take care of yourselves, Netto, Meiru-chan."

"Thank you, oji-san," Meiru said.

The tires kicked gray dust into the air; the particles showered to the ground as a dense fog, clouding the sun.

Under this gray haze, Meiru walked back to the warehouse, but Netto gazed over the two-lane road as a single car disappeared behind the trees.

"Netto? Something wrong?"

The brunet boy frowned.

"Netto?" She shook his arm. "Netto!"

"We should've had her, Meiru-chan," he said.

Oh, so that's how you want to be. "She's not worth Rockman. She would've deleted all of them: Rockman, Blues, Searchman, Slateman."

"Roll could've stopped her."

"ROCKMAN IS DEAD!" Roll said. "ROCKMAN IS DEAD, AND ECHO KILLED HIM!"

"No, Netto, she couldn't."

"Why not?"

Don't worry, Roll. Your secrets are safe with me. "You gave Echo too much power! Now she can use the power of the beasts against us!"

"I know."

Head hung low, Netto trudged back to the warehouse, and now it was Meiru's turn to frown. This…this is wrong! That's not what's supposed to happen. You should say something like, "Rockman still would've beaten her," or, "Echo can't copy our friendship," or…something! Something.

She followed him into the warehouse. The door slammed shut behind her, and their three cellmates hounded them with questions.

"What news?" Ikeda said. "Tell me they found her."

"No trace of Echo," Netto said.

"What, don't you have some sort of elaborate trap to catch her while we're bait out here?" Yukawa said.

"I'm sure Net Police are doing everything they can," Egami said. "Isn't that right, Netto-kun?"

"Yeah." Netto plopped on the floor and slid out the packet of assignments. He drew a box in the air with his PET's light pen and wrote his name in the corner of the window.

"I don't believe it," Meiru said.

As Yukawa and Ikeda poked and prodded the pot of soup (their luxurious dinner), Egami stayed behind with Meiru. "What don't you believe?" she said.

"He's doing his homework."

"Yes…"

"It's not all due tomorrow, he hasn't asked for help, and he's not complaining?" Meiru shook her head. "This is very, very wrong."

—

Four navis sat around a square table. "Netto-kun, are you sure you don't want some help?"

"You've always told me I should do my own homework."

"But—"

"No buts! Enjoy the game, Rockman."

"Okay." Rockman spread out his hand of thirteen cards. "Imi-chan, how does this game work?"

"Each of us will estimate how many hands we will win," Imi said. "We're playing as pairs, so you and Roll-san are partners, and Grove-san and I are partners."

Roll squirmed. "Imi-chan…do you think we could switch?"

There she goes again. "Why do you want to switch, Roll-san?"

"Well, I…I wanted to play with you."

You mean you don't want to play with Rockman. "But I wanted to play with Grove-san."

"Oh, well…"

"Please, Roll-san?"

"Well…okay."

"Right," Imi said. "So, as partners, we estimate how many hands each of us will win. If Grove-san and I think we can win 8 hands out of 13 and we win 8 hands, then we get 80 points. If we only win 7 or less, then we lose 80 points. If we win 9, then we only get 80 points, and we pick up 1 'bag.' If we get 10 bags over the course of the game, we lose 100 points. How far do you all want to play to?"

"How much is typical?" asked Grove.

"500 or so."

"500 should be adequate."

"Good," said Imi. "Now, the rules for each hand are simple. The person who starts is the person who won the last hand, and then we go around the circle. Everyone must play a card of the same suit as the first card unless it's impossible. If it's impossible, then you can play a spade. Spades are automatically better than any other card. Ordinarily, the highest card of the opening suit wins, so if Grove-san plays a 10 of Diamonds, Roll-san a 7, Rockman-san a 3 of Clubs, and I a Jack of Diamonds, I would win the hand. But if Rockman-san played a 3 of Spades, he would win."

"This sounds really complicated, Imi-chan," said Roll. "Where did you learn this game?"

Imi flicked the corner of the Queen of Hearts. "An old friend taught me."

'Cardman would dice you up if he saw this travesty,' Rouletteman said. 'Can't you at least play a proper card game? Bridge? Pinochle?'

Be quiet. "Well, shall we begin?"

The combination of Imi and Grove dominated Rockman and Roll, who struggled to play within the rules of the game. Imi forgave Roll the minor transgression of breaking Spades on the first trick, for the musical duo faced much greater problems. Though Rockman tended to bid conservatively, Roll overestimated the number of tricks she could win by a hefty margin each round. At the onset of another round, Imi casually mentioned that one could attempt to earn 100 points by losing all 13 tricks. Alas, poor Roll gambled on this strategy to disastrous effect: she played six spades, five other face cards, and two 10s. She won every trick of the round.

Yet as Roll tossed her cards in disbelief, Rockman pleaded with her to sit and enjoy the game. "This is a game where it doesn't matter if we win or lose," he said. "It's fun to play with you."

The remark pacified her; she sat at the table and reassembled her scattered hand, and the games continued.

And it was good that they continue, for they'd affirmed Imi's suspicions. Nevertheless, a test was in order.

"You're very good at this game, Grove-san," Imi said. "I didn't expect we'd be so good together."

'Yes you did.' "It's a simple game."

"It's not simple," Roll said. "At least, not at first."

"It's quite simple," Grove said. "It's all about sacrificing low cards you don't plan to win with whenever you can and depriving someone else of winning a trick they thought they should."

"Grove-san makes it sound a lot easier than it is," Imi said. Grove's always a little smug like that.

'I speak only the truth,' Grove said. "I don't like to make things sound more complicated than they are." She blinked. "Excuse me. Egami-san needs me for a moment." She vanished.

"She's always so rude!" Roll said. "She acts like we're all morons."

"Grove is a little short with people," Rockman said.

"A little!"

"But she's level-headed. She kept Slateman and Rouletteman from fighting, and she tried to save Sonicman."

Ah, Sonicman. Grove could try all she liked, it wouldn't have mattered. Not then, not now.

"Well, Grove's practically perfect, isn't she?" Roll said. "Maybe she should be your partner from now on."

"No one is perfect, Roll-san," Imi said. "Grove-san isn't. I'm not."

Roll folded her arms and huffed.

Don't worry, Roll-san. You'll see what Grove's weakness is. Imi tapped her finger on the back of a card. The backing glowed, and another card, belonging to the empty seat across from her, also shone. Cardman didn't just teach me to play cards. He taught me to play with cards. I learn many things from my choir, even though they plague me. From Slateman, I learned determination; from Rouletteman, the impact of chance. What have I learned from Grove? To be rational, to see things for what they are. But that's not all.

Grove rematerialized none the wiser. "I apologize for the delay. Shall we continue?"

"We shall," Imi said, burying her face in her cards. Grove examined her hand, card-by-card, once, twice, and thrice. "Something wrong?" asked the dealer.

"This is not my hand," Grove said.

"Pardon?"

"This card was not in my hand when I left."

"I didn't see anyone touch it," Imi said. "Rockman-san? Roll-san?"

Blue and pink shook their heads.

"Is this a trick?" said Grove.

"A what?" said Imi.

"Show me your hand."

"We're not supposed to—eek!" Grove's vines bound Imi's wrists, and the eggplant navi studied the thirteen cards of Imi's hand.

"This one," Grove said, "the 8 of Clubs. It was in my hand. How did you get it?"

"I didn't get it; it was mine!"

Roll yanked on thorny overgrowth. "Let go of Imi-chan! Let go!"

"Grove, don't hurt her," said Rockman.

"You switched them," Grove said. "You switched them to test me! Why?"

Imi gaped. How did she know…?

'Maybe it's time I did a little mind reading of my own.'

You—you saw it! How?

"Stop it!" Roll said. "You're hurting her!"

"I'm not finished," Grove said. "There's more here. A battle—yes, a battle. Great beasts with claws and feathers…"

She…she can't find out anymore! Soon she'll know; she'll know everything! "Roll-san, make her stop!"

"That's enough!" Rockman's buster grazed a thorn on Grove's tentacles. Shocked, Grove retracted them.

"Are you all right, Imi-chan?" asked Roll.

"I'm fine."

"She touched you."

Imi rubbed her wrist. "Yes, she did."

"I saw something," Grove said. "I'm…not entirely sure what."

"You said it was a battle," Rockman said.

"Was it?"

"I don't know. Are you all right?"

"Time will tell." Shaken and troubled, Grove left the table.

'You thought we had to be safe from you, Echo, but…'

Imi's wrist tinged black and blue. But?

'…maybe you need to be safe from us.'

4

"Netto! Netto!"

The brunet boy rubbed his eyes and wiggled from his sleeping bag. "What happened, Meiru-chan?"

She thrust her PET in his face. "It's Roll! She's gone!"

"Gone? How?"

"Grove too," Egami said.

"And Rouletteman," Ikeda said.

"Don't be foolish," Yukawa said. "They're not gone."

"Is Slateman in his PET?" asked Netto.

"No, of course not. Echo deleted him."

"Deleted him? When?"

"It's the only explanation."

All their navis deleted? By Echo? But how?

Netto spotted the blue and white PET by his sleeping bag. He snatched it and peered at the screen.

"Ohayou, Netto-kun," said Rockman.

"Rockman! You're alive!"

"Of course I'm alive."

"All the others—Roll, Grove—they're gone! Deleted!"

"Yes, I deleted them."

Netto blinked. "What? Don't say that, Rockman! Why would you delete them?"

"To be fair, I didn't delete them. You did."

"I did?"

"You deleted them as soon as you slotted-in the juuka chips, as soon as you gave me the power of Greiga and Falzer."

"We were fighting Echo…"

"You should have known better. You should have known!"

"Netto, you idiot! Why would you give her that kind of power?" Enzan said.

"A serious tactical mistake," Laika said.

"Now Echo is not only free, but more powerful than ever," Kifune said.

Netto glared at Meiru. "You shouldn't have let her go!"

"And sacrifice me, Netto-kun?"

"It wasn't like that!" Netto gritted his teeth. "We could've—"

"We couldn't! I was being deleted, and you insisted on fighting!"

"But, but…" He glanced at the trio before him: Egami, Ikeda, and Yukawa. "Their navis never should've crossed her!"

Rockman shook his head. "Echo can look like anything and anyone. Do you think they knew when they touched me?"

"Touched…you?"

"Yes, Netto. Touched me." Rockman's glowed and blurred, and a pair of red eyes pierced through. "You gave me this power," Echo said. "Isn't it only fitting that I become your navi, too?"

"No! No no no!" He clutched the PET in his fingers and chucked it at the far wall; it shattered into a thousand shards.

"Rockman was Echo. Rockman…ROCKMAN!"

"Netto!"

"ROCKMAN IS ECHO! HE KILLED THEM!"

Five fingers of sense slapped Netto's cheek. "Don't be an idiot," Meiru said. "Rockman isn't Echo!" She pointed at the door. "Echo is out there!"

Netto sat up. A palm-shaped impression on his cheek throbbed red. "I gave her the power, Meiru-chan. I gave her the power to kill."

Meiru's glare softened. "No, Netto. She was already killing before you used the beasts against her. She copied them, and I let her go. It's done; it's over."

The boy glanced around the room, at the other three operators, who stared at him.

"It's not over," he said. "She's still here."

—

"Hedged Bets!"

"Petal Shield!"

As miniature roulette wheels crashed against a spray of lavender flowers, three navis bore witness to the spectacle and discussed the morning's events.

"So Netto-san thought—"

"Netto-kun had a bad dream; that's all."

'Do you see what you do to them?' said Grove. 'You've filled them with doubt and anxiety, with mistrust and despair.'

Rockman is fine. Don't make it sound so clear-cut. I'm sure Hikari's state of mind is just fine now, too.

'It's not just him,' said Slateman. 'Remember her?'

Roll caressed the heart-shaped symbol on her chest. She gazed up and peeked at Rockman; then her eyes sank to the floor.

'You separated the inseparable,' Rouletteman said. 'You took her love for him and clouded it with fear and anguish.'

I did no such thing.

'You did! You want to know? Ask him.'

"Roulette Wheel!"

"Roots of the Earth! Spread Gun!"

Rouletteman struggled against the bindings. He ducked under the lip of the roulette wheel, which absorbed the Spread Gun's volley. As the ball settled into Red 5, towers of flame peppered the battlefield. The vines sloughed off Rouletteman in charred chunks, and Grove fell to one knee, singed and seared.

And as Rockman enjoyed the battle, Roll watched empty air.

"Rockman-san."

"Yes, Imi-chan?"

"Can I speak with you for a moment? Alone?"

"Sure."

Roll's eyes traced their escape, but her legs lay limp.

Imi and Rockman distanced themselves from Roll. Confident that she would not overhear, Imi said, "Rockman-san, Roll-san hasn't been herself since Echo tried to kill Slateman, has she?"

"You thought so, too?"

"Why do you think that is?"

"I don't know."

"Don't you? It has to do with you, after all."

"With me?"

"Of course it does."

"Really?"

You are far cleverer on the field of battle than in this arena, Rockman. But, perhaps it was time to try a different approach. "Roll-san let Echo escape, didn't she? What happened next?"

"We left Internet City."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

Cleary Rockman was too oblivious to understand the consequences of his actions. "Wait here," Imi said.

'What do you expect to hear?' Grove said. 'That the world is cheery and bright?'

You're wrong; all of you are wrong. People have issues; I have issues. That's normal; that's life.

'Hearing voices in your head is a more exotic issue,' Rouletteman said.

Be quiet. She cleared her throat. "Roll-san."

"What is it, Imi-chan?"

"Why are you afraid of Rockman-san?"

Flinch. "I…I'm not afraid."

"Then what are you?"

"Do you know why we're here, Imi-chan?"

"To protect us from Echo." To protect us from me.

" 'I let her go, and this happened. Now you let her go, and who knows what will happen.' That's what he said, and this is what happened." Her fingers clenched into a fist. "We're here, and who knows how long we'll be here. If I hadn't fixed the plug-out controls, Echo would be trapped in Internet City or deleted or something else. She wouldn't be a threat anymore."

"But Roll-san, if you hadn't fixed the plug-out controls, Echo would've deleted Rockman-san."

"I know! I know; I know! I look at him, and I see her! Everything would be normal if she were dead—if he were dead! But if he were dead…"

"Roll-san?"

"If he were dead, I might as well be dead, too."

'You killed her,' Slateman said. 'You killed her without ever laying a finger on her.'

"Roll-chan."

Rockman stood beside Imi. Roll wiped a budding tear away and rose to her feet.

"Roll-chan, I—" She smothered him in her embrace and buried her face in his chest. "I don't understand," Rockman said.

"I know you don't," she said, "but you don't have to."

'You crush their spirit,' Grove said. 'You erode their sanity. As long as you exist, they will know no peace.'

Could they be right? First Netto, now Roll…

I didn't mean for it to turn out this way. I never meant to hurt them. I knew I might have to, but—

'This is perverse, isn't it?' Rouletteman said. 'Worse than any torture you could have inflicted on them.'

'If you care about them truly,' Grove said, 'then you'll end this.'

End this…

"Agh!" In a trail of smoke and fire, Rouletteman knelt in submission. Grove, the victor, twirled her vines in the air, and in Rouletteman's place, Slateman entered the ring.

I can't lose this chance. Grove is weakened, and Slateman is impulsive. You can both be manipulated.

'What do you want?' Grove said. 'How far will you go to silence us, and at what cost to these friends you care so much for?'

Roll wept steaming tears into Rockman's armor.

"Spike Tower!"

'If you really want to call them friends, they deserve better!' Rouletteman said.

'Turn yourself in,' Slateman said, 'and their ordeal will be over.'

"Petal Shield!"

If I kill all of you, their ordeal will be over, and I have just the opportunity to kill one or two of you right now.

As Grove thrust and slashed with her vines, Slateman punched and jabbed with his fists. A stony uppercut struck Grove's chin. Stunned, her arms flailed, and Slateman landed a triple combination to her gut.

"Enough," she said, dazed and breathless. "I yield."

"No big surprise," Slateman said, pumping his fists.

But this will be.

A pillar of jagged rock erupted from the ground, piercing Grove's side.

"What are you doing?" she cried. "The match is over!"

"I didn't do that!" Thorny tethers sprouted from below bound his legs and wrists. He struggled against their pull, but they thickened and hardened into a dense wooden crucible. "Stop this! Let me go you overgrown plant!"

Grove darted and dodged the pillars that followed her. "If you wish to fight, then we can fight to the last! Leaf Cut!"

The blades sliced open Slateman's branched prison and lodged in his joints. He waved his arms and kicked his legs, but the leaves locked his elbows and knees.

"Yield!" Grove said.

"I yield; I yield!"

But Grove collapsed under an avalanche of boulders and rubble.

How does that push your buttons, Grove?

—

"Just what do you think you're doing?" Yukawa cried.

"What am I doing?" Egami said. "You attacked with the Spike Tower after Grove gave up!"

"I won't let a kid pull a fast one on me! Slateman!"

Slateman ripped at the leaves that clogged his joints. He charged the rock pile, and his scuffed, gray knuckles swelled and bulged, infused with solid gold.

"Hurry, Grove!" Egami said. "He's coming!"

A white light penetrated the gaps in the pile.

"Stop!" Rockman dove into the fray between Slateman and Grove. "Stop now!"

"Out of my way!" Slateman bashed his Gold Fist on a cylindrical barrier. Rockman and Slateman pushed back and forth across the Dream Aura's protective shield

"Go!" Egami said. "Sunbeam!"

The pinprick ray bored into the Dream Aura, and Rockman pushed on both sides to support the force of opposing impacts. His elbows buckled; his knees bent…

…but he summoned the strength for one last jolt.

Slateman fell backward, repelled, and the Sunbeam scattered and dissipated.

"No more battling," Netto said. "Echo has tricked you. Echo has tricked us all."

—

The worst possible outcome. Not only did Grove and Slateman survive—now they were all looking for her.

"Tomorrow, Papa will come here and examine all of our navis," Netto had said. "Then we will see who is Echo."

"Hello? I want to get out of here now!" Yukawa said. "Not tomorrow, now!"

"Papa has a project," Netto said. "He can't leave it right now."

'Awfully convenient for you, isn't it, Echo?' Rouletteman said.

"If any of our navis looks suspicious, they will be…ah, what did Papa call it?"

"Quarantined, Netto-kun," Rockman said.

"If any of our navis looks suspicious, they will be quarantined."

Another cage to live out the rest of one's life.

Night. Night again. At night it should be quiet, but Imi's chorus always kept her company. Amidst sleeping bags and dripping pipes, three voices chattered away in her mind.

'It won't be long now,' Grove said. 'They will find you out.'

There has to be something else; there has to be something I can do.

'There's nothing,' Slateman said. 'Your reign of terror is over.'

But Papa…if they lock me up and throw me away, will I see Papa again?

'You think he'll want to see you?' Slateman said. 'You're his broken little program. You're not even his daughter.'

'No, I'm his daughter.'

Masuyo-chan!

'You're not his daughter!' Slateman said. 'You're just another aspect of her!'

'I think Imi has had it right all along.'

Blink. No longer did the dark screen of Roll's PET lay under Imi's feet; instead, she stood atop the wooden pedestal of the choir hall, and four councilors surrounded her: Grove, Slateman, Rouletteman, and Masuyo.

"Be quiet," Masuyo said. "Leave Imi alone. She doesn't want to hear you."

"I have no obligation to listen to you," Slateman said. "You're her."

"I am Nakamura Masuyo. My father is Hideki, and my mother was Chouko. Whether I am dead or alive, whether I'm real or just a figment of Imi's…it doesn't matter. Be quiet."

"What do you think you can accomplish?" Grove said. "You can't erase her sins. You can't fix a broken program. You're a symptom of her errors."

"I can keep her sane," Masuyo said. "I can restore what the three of you have worked to destroy from the moment you touched her."

"You can do nothing," Rouletteman said. "Echo belongs to us now."

"No, you belong to Imi, and she can force you out."

"I can?" said Imi.

"You can." Masuyo joined her on the pedestal. "Tell them."

Imi glanced between the three navis. "Go away."

"No," they said.

"Go away!"

"No!"

She wrung her hands. "It doesn't work, Masuyo-chan. It never works."

"Once more." Masuyo took her hand and gripped it firm. "With feeling."

Imi stomped on the floor and closed her eyes. "Go away! Be quiet! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

And it was silent.

"Look, Imi."

The curtain of darkness—the veil that separated the chorus from Grove, Slateman, and Rouletteman—swelled forth and enveloped her tormentors. She and Masuyo were alone, but Imi waved her fingers in the black soup, and their whispers tickled her ears.

"They're still out there," Imi said. "They're waiting."

"You can ignore them now. Listen."

Crunch, crunch. The guards outside patrolled the gravel road.

Swish, swish. Netto rolled in his sleeping bag.

'It's a lot quieter, isn't it?'

Shh. Imi shut her eyes and cupped her hands over her ears. Even Roll's PET hummed as it projected her into the real world.

It's beautiful. I'd almost forgotten. A droplet poked through her eyelids and clung to her face. It was like this when you were here. It was like this when Papa…

The voices, the choir, surged within her. 'Echo, Echo, Echo!'

Her eyes snapped open. They're coming back.

'Imi, I need you to think clearly.'

They're coming back, Masuyo-chan; help me!

'I can't help you. I am you. They were right; I can't help you unless you can help yourself.'

But what am I—

'Stop the madness, Imi. You can think for yourself now; you know what you've done is wrong. You've caused too much agony.'

I can't live with them in my head! I can't!

'Do you remember? I lived with so much pain, and I didn't have a way to make it go away. You helped me live with it, but I still had to endure it myself. That's what you need to do now.'

'ECHO, ECHO, ECHO!'

I'm not as strong as you, Masuyo-chan. I'm not as good as you. That's why Papa could love you…and not me.

'So what will you do?'

You're right; I've caused too much suffering. She dipped her hand into Roll's PET. Down there somewhere Roll slept. She glanced at a pair of sleeping bags: one topped by a smooth mass of red hair, the other a spiked mess of brown. I stole their souls. I gave them doubts. I've made their lives…so miserable. I put them here; I locked them in this cage.

'And now?'

Now I can set them free.

'How?'

Imi massaged her wrists. Grove's vines had bruised them purple and blue.

I know just the way.

5

"Good morning, everyone," said Hikari Yuuichirou. "What I'm going to do is analyze your navis' data to look for anything unusual. If any of them turns out to be Echo, then I imagine their programs will look quite strange, don't you think?"

Chirp-chirp. The professor pushed his glasses up his nose. "Well then, let's get started. Who would like to go first?"

"May I?" Egami said.

Yuuichirou opened his laptop. "Just plug Grove in, and we can begin."

In the cyberworld, the six navis sat in a circle, each awaiting their turn. Grove disappeared, leaving a hole between Rockman and Rouletteman.

"Will it hurt?" Imi said.

"Papa said you won't feel a thing," Rockman said.

Lines of code reflected off Yuuichirou's lenses. "Grove looks to be in good health. I did notice a strange ghost of some junk data, but it doesn't seem all that suspicious."

Imi smiled. She lay back and closed her eyes. Green strands of hair brushed against Slateman's back.

Slateman's eyes darted back and forth.

"Who's next?" Yuuichirou said.

"Please, for the love of money, us next," Ikeda said, shining the PET's laser light on the laptop's receptor. Again, Yuuichirou scanned the code line by line.

"Nothing unusual," he said.

"Papa, can Rockman go next?" asked Netto.

The scientist frowned. "I doubt Rockman could have been—"

"Please?"

"Well…plug him in."

Blocks of code flashed on the screen. The white letters filled every space; neither break nor tab interrupted the flow of letters and numbers. Yuuichirou punched page down with curious speed; though each new section of code was otherwise formless and identical to the last, he jumped from one to the next with certainty, but the code flowed without end.

Slateman twisted his neck. How long would this take? It was one thing when Rouletteman and Grove only took a couple minutes, but for Rockman, Yuuichirou had pored through ten straight minutes of code! How much more could there be? How much more—

'It won't be long now. Be patient.'

Who was that?

'Don't worry, Papa. I'll always be with you. I'll always smile.'

Whose voice is that?

'I'm tired of your lies!' Slateman clutched his chest. A pick stuck through it and twisted, widening the wound.

"Help me," he groaned. "Help—"

'I know you better than you know yourself.'

A white, gloved hand clutched his elbow. "Are you all right, Slateman-san?" 'Do you think you'll survive?'

"It's you, isn't it?" he said. "It was you all along, you 'innocent' little—"

'Imi, this is not the answer, I beg you—'

'You can't defeat me like this! You can't, it's not—'

"I found you," Slateman said. "I found—"

'BE QUIET!'

Slateman froze.

'I rule your mind now! You will listen to me! I've listened to you for long enough!'

His eyes widened. "But you're just—"

'Don't look at me! Don't say a word!'

Slateman sat, his face blank, his eyes set on outer space.

"Why is it taking so long?" asked Yukawa. "Rouletteman and Grove were finished in a quarter of the time."

"Rockman's program is very complex," Yuuichirou said. "He's much more advanced than most navis."

"Well, isn't that special for you."

At last, black, empty lines appeared. "All finished, Netto. Aside from the memories he's gathered from your journeys, Rockman is the same as when he was born."

"When he was born?" Netto said.

Yuuichirou blinked. "Ah, well…" He chuckled. "When he was created in my lab, that is."

A pause.

"Who's next?"

'Yukawa, can we go next?'

"Yukawa," Slateman said, "can we go next?"

"Yes, yes, I demand to go next!" Yukawa said.

"Just plug Slateman in."

Imi tightened her grip on the stony elbow. 'Yukawa won't wait, will he?'

N-no…

—

"If any of our navis looks suspicious, they will be quarantined," Netto had said.

"No quarantine!" Yukawa said. "If we find Echo, I want her deleted right then and there!"

"And what if it happens to be Slateman?" Meiru said. "What then?"

"Then I'll delete him myself."

—

'Goodbye, Slateman.'

The circle of navis dematerialized, and Slateman clawed at a formless abyss around him. He hovered, weightless, as a single spot of light pierced his body and lit up his insides.

That voice…the girl…she was Echo!

"Hmm, this is odd," Yuuichirou said. "Slateman's data—it contains information that isn't his."

"Like Echo would," Netto said.

"Exactly."

"So Slateman is Echo."

"It's possible. We should quarantine—"

"It's not true!" Slateman cried. "I'm not Echo! It's the girl!"

Yukawa frowned. "What girl?"

"The little one! She touched me, and I heard her!"

Rockman's image appeared on Netto's shoulder. "That's what Echo said. She said when she touched someone, she heard them."

"How long have you been Echo?" Yukawa said. "Tell me!"

"I'm not Echo! You must trust me, Yukawa!"

"Echo replaced Rouletteman for a time. How do I know you're not Echo now?"

"You don't! But please, show me mercy!"

"Mercy? I know Echo showed that pink navi a healthy helping of mercy, but if you killed my Slateman—if you deleted him and replaced him—I will show you none." He turned the PET face down and clenched it in his fist. He eyed the concrete wall and cocked his arm.

"No, Yukawa, please wait! I AM NOT ECH—"

TING! The metal frame, the rubber button, the plastic screen—they splintered and fragmented. A spot of gray paint marred the wall, and shards and circuits littered the floor.

"There," Yukawa said. "Echo is dead. It's over."

—

In the shadow of the morning sun, two men, a boy, and two girls ventured forth into the world. The third dawn of their incarceration had long passed, but their freedom brought no peace, for though Echo was dead, her demise elicited not cheers or jubilee: only silence.

A silence Imi welcomed with open arms.