Netto leaned back into his seat and looked at the roof of the car he was in, sighing. The metroline was currently in transit to Endo City, and the ride was long enough for him to think over what just happened. Both of his navis were silent for the most part during the ride, only looking at him worriedly. The boy couldn't blame them, after all, he just exploded at his father.

Looking at the dim lights as the train passed through a tunnel, he closed his eyes. Now what am I going to do? he thought sadly. I shouldn't have shot off like that. I shouldn't have gotten so angry... At that moment, the train exited the tunnel, and Netto saw Endo Castle in the distance. He would be there shortly.

Gazing at the castle for a few moments, the brunette got lost in thoughts once again. Papa should have never said that stuff, though. Give up my link to Forte? How could he even think of something like that? And what made him think that I would even go through with it, at that? It's insane! Sighing again, he turned his attention to the PETs on his belt. How could he think that I would just abandon one of my friends? I may want the link with Rockman back, but to sacrifice one for the other? I can't do that! If he knew me, then he wouldn't have even bothered bringing it up.

Upon that thought, Netto stiffened and a hard look came to his face. That's right...if he knew me. He doesn't though...not in the way he thinks. Netto growled softly to himself. Even after several years, the hurt never went away.

Rockman, hearing Netto growl, looked up at his operator and frowned. "Netto-kun!" he called, snapping the boy out of his daze. The brunette blinked and looked down at the blue PET. "Are you alright?" the blue navi asked in concern.

Netto ran a hand through his hair, letting out a breath. "Kinda. I'm just really shaken up about this whole thing."

"You're thinking on what to say to your father when you get back, aren't you?" Forte interjected. Netto nodded, and the cloaked navi crossed his arms, also frowning. "Netto-kun, just drop it for now. There is no use in stressing yourself out about this. What's done is done." he said simply. Rockman nodded, but Netto looked uncertain.

"Still..." the brunette started, looking worried, "I shouldn't have gone off like I did on Papa. I went too far." he muttered.

Forte only stared at Netto for a few moments before sighing. "Regardless of whether or not you went too far, it needed to be let out, especially concerning everything that just happened." he said quietly.

"But yelling at Papa? That doesn't seem to fix anything at all. It only makes it worse." he sighed.

The cloaked navi shook his head. "Stop blaming yourself. I know you knew that one day, it would probably come to this. It just happened now, and it's already happened. So stop beating yourself up over it!" he urged. Rockman blinked as the argument kept going back and forth, with Netto speaking again.

"I still shouldn't have lost control over my emotions like that!" he exclaimed.

"You've been holding everything you've wanted to say to him in for several years." came Forte's rebuttal. Netto looked down sadly while Rockman looked at the brunette, eyes wide.

"Netto-kun, is Forte...is he telling the truth?" he asked in disbelief. When there was no answer, Rockman felt himself get angry. "Why couldn't you tell me before!" he raged.

Netto sighed. "Rockman, I'm sorry I didn't tell you but..." he said before looking at the blue navi. "I wanted to tell you, but every time I tried, I just couldn't get the words out. I know what Papa is doing is for a good cause, and I know he would be away from us for a long time;" Netto then frowned sadly. "But that still doesn't take away the hurt each time I just want to be there with him, and he just works. Deep down, some part of me wants to hate him because he missed a large part of my growing up due to his work, but I can't and won't bring myself to do that." he finished.

Rockman stayed silent before sighing. "I just wish you could trust me to tell me this, Netto-kun. How do you think it makes me feel hearing that you've been harboring this for years?" he asked, an angry undertone accompanying his voice.

The brunette shook his head. "Rockman, again, I'm sorry. This is the only thing I haven't shared with you, because I didn't know how to talk about it. I thought it was just easier to keep it to myself..." Sighing, he leaned back. "Regardless, I know that after this, Papa and I are going to have a long talk."

Rockman bit his lip and just nodded. "Alright. But you better not hide something like this from me again. That's what I'm here for!" he said. He was angrier than that, he supposed, but Netto didn't need it right now and he did say he was sorry. Plus, there was the little fact that he himself had also hid that he was his brother all along that silenced him.

Looking up, Netto noticed the train starting to slow down. "Huh. Didn't know that we were almost there," he commented as he started to double check that everything was where it was supposed to be. "Guess time flies when you're thinking over stuff, huh?"

"I guess." came Forte's curt reply. Netto sighed. It seemed that both of his navis were mad at him for the same reason. He couldn't blame them, seeing as how he kept some very big things hidden from them.

Rockman took a deep breath and smiled, although it seemed a bit forced. "Well, let's try to enjoy ourselves, right? It's not going to do any good thinking about what happened, or what's about to happen. We're here to have fun, so let's just put everything behind us for the night and just enjoy the company of our friends, okay?"

Forte grunted, which Rockman interpreted as a confirmation, while Netto just gave the navi a small smile. "Thank you, Rockman." Rockman gave him a smile back.

The train came to a halt, and Netto exited it and climbed the stairs into the sunlight. Immediately, the smell of various food wafted in the air, which made his stomach rumble. Just as he was beginning to walk out of the vicinity of the station, he heard someone calling.

"Netto!" came Meiru's voice as she ran over to him. When she stopped in front of him, she looked over his attire in confusion, having not gotten a good enough look before when they left his house. "Wow, you look just like..." she sputtered, leaving the sentence unfinished.

Netto heard Forte chuckling from his PET, and he couldn't help but chuckle as well. "You're not the only one to think that, and probably won't be the last either;" he said in amusement. "So, where are Dekao and Yaito?"

Meiru giggled and took Netto's arm, leading him to a ramen stand off in the corner. "Well, since you took a bit to get here, they decided to get lunch already. Come on, I'll show you where they are."

Netto smiled and allowed himself to be led off.

----

Yuuichirou groaned as he laid his head on his arms while he sat at the kitchen counter. It had been a few hours since he confronted his son, and things had gone drastically awry. He had never expected his son to say things like that to him.

Haruka, meanwhile, had arrived home to see her husband in a state of depression, and could only guess as to what had happened. Preferring to give Yuuichirou time to think on it, she headed into the kitchen to start preparing an early dinner. Normally, she would immediately ask what was wrong and do her best to try and resolve the problem with the person, but this time, her husband looked like he needed time to dwell on it. She was certain that he would come forward eventually, anyway.

Sighing, she brought over the hot plate to the counter and placed it in front of Yuuichirou. "Dinner's ready." she said, smiling softly. Blinking, the scientist looked up at his wife, and took the plate graciously.

"Ah, thanks honey;" he said as he took a bite of the food and smiled. "It's just as good as ever!"

Haruka smiled and also sat down to enjoy her dinner. She proceeded to tell Yuuichirou about how her day went, from what she saw to all the interesting encounters and conversations she had. The scientist listened in silence and nodded, appearing distracted. Sighing, the woman decided to get straight to the point.

"Honey, what happened? It's usually not like you to be so depressed like this." she started, moving her plate to the side. Yuuichirou stared at her and also sighed, looking downcast.

"Well...I..." he stuttered, apparently trying to find what to ask. Taking a deep breath, he finally decided on what to say. "Haruka, do you think I'm a bad father?"

The woman blinked at the sudden question. "What brought this on all of a sudden?" When her husband looked away, she frowned. "Please, tell me what happened."

Yuuichirou sighed. "I confronted Netto about the link today before he left with his friends," he said lowly, "It didn't go as I thought it would."

Haruka rubbed her temples and bit back a long sigh. That explained his behavior. "And I take it Netto refused?"

The scientist could only nod. "Not only did he refuse, but we got into a rather heated argument. It got to the point where he said that I haven't even been a father for him. I've never seen him so mad before..."

Pursing her lips together, Haruka looked thoughtful. "I think confronting him wasn't exactly the best thing to do, to be honest;" she said. When Yuuichirou looked at her in surprise, she decided to elaborate. "Both of us know that Netto would never abandon his friends for anything, more than anyone else probably."

"Still..." the scientist started, "Why did he get so angry over this whole issue with the link? He wouldn't be abandoning Forte, far from it actually."

The woman shook her head. "Whatever your intentions, Netto didn't see it that way, apparently. From what you said, I think he saw it as something that would make him place one of his friends over the other. And I don't think he could do that;" Haruka then sighed. "I think we've both been underestimating the bond between both him and Forte. I think Rockman knew what has been going on and has only started to get along with him."

Yuuichirou looked thoughtful. "I guess I did make a huge mistake. I should have seen this coming." he muttered.

"It's not your fault. I didn't expect them to be as close as they are either." came the reply. The scientist then looked pained.

"But it still doesn't answer my earlier question. Am I really that much of a bad father?" he asked his wife.

Haruka sighed, wondering how to approach the question. "No, you aren't. And Netto knows you aren't either," she started, taking his hand into hers, "But I think he still feels bitter about all the things you missed out on earlier in his life, and it's all just coming forward right now." she finished.

Yuuichirou shook his head, surprised. "I didn't think he would be the type to be bitter about the past." he said softly.

"He's just frustrated with everything that's gone on recently," Haruka explained, lightly rubbing the area where she was burned. It was healing nicely now, but it was still irritable. "Although I do think that you could have made more of an effort to be with him during those times, what's done is done. All we can do now is to look towards the future." she said gently.

"It still hurts to think that he's been holding all of this in." he muttered.

Haruka sighed and nodded. "Indeed. He's still a child, yet look at everything that has happened to him for the past year or two," she said before smiling, "I think we both need to take the time to get to know him again. There have been some changes in him that I don't know about, and I need to make the effort to understand my son again, don't you agree?"

Yuuichirou stayed silent for a few minutes, apparently thinking. Finally, he nodded. "You're right...I guess I don't understand him as much as I thought I did," he said, "So when he gets back, I'm going to talk to him as a father, not as a scientist. It's what I should have been doing all along."

Haruka beamed at her husband. It seemed things would finally get better.

---

Netto chuckled. "You really did that, Dekao?"

The larger boy nodded fervently. "Yeah, you should have seen everyone in the teacher's lounge! It was hilarious!"

The brunette couldn't help but laugh. Dekao's pranks were often funny, if not a little bit mean-spirited.

Currently, the four were making their way to Endo Castle, having already eaten and bought some souvenirs. As he expected, both Dekao and Yaito were gawking at Netto's outfit, and he just smiled and ate his ramen. As they were walking to the castle, they engaged in small talk, with Meiru and Yaito talking about stuff they saw at the shops, and Dekao telling Netto about the pranks he did while the brunette was confined to the house.

"I'll bet that they weren't very happy, were they?" he asked in amusement, and he chuckled again when Dekao groaned.

"You got that right," he said, "I got detention for a week and I have to clean the classroom for a month. So unfair!" he moaned.

Yaito made a huffing sound, but didn't say anything, and Meiru only giggled before looking forward. "Oh look, we're here!" she said as she pointed to the entrance of the castle. Netto nodded, and after they all paid for admission, the four found themselves inside the giant foyer, looking at all the artifacts and ancient scrolls.

Netto grinned and looked at both of his navis, "Since you guys are going to want to get somewhere, I'm going to plug you into the castle system, alright?" To make his point known, the brunette glanced over to a panel into a wall, which allowed people to plug in their navis so they could go exploring around the castle on their own. It was something that was just unveiled at the castle, and it was under constant security to prevent another attack by terrorist organizations.

Rockman nodded. "Sounds like fun, right Forte?" he asked his companion. Forte shrugged.

"Sure, as long as wandering around isn't the only thing we'll do." he muttered. Netto chuckled and plugged them into the castle system, his friends following suit. Once everyone was inside the system, Netto spoke up.

"I'm keeping communication open on the PETs, so if you need me, you know what to do." he said. Both navis nodded, and with another smile, Netto walked off with his friends to tour the massive castle.

As they watched Netto leave, Forte turned around to see three hesitant navis look at him. There was a few moments of silence before Roll took a deep breath and came forward.

"Well, we didn't really have time for an introduction when we were fighting in that computer a few days ago, but I already know who you are. My name is Roll, nice to meet you Forte!" she said cheerfully.

"And my name is Glyde. I am Yaito-sama's navi." the brown navi said before he bowed. Forte blinked at the two, trying to decide which one was weirder.

That was until the larger navi of the three came forward. "I'm Gutsman!" he said gruffly, holding out one of his huge hands. "Let's netbattle sometime!"

The cloaked navi smirked and took the hand to shake it, and noted the pale look that came across Gutsman's face. "Sure. I always do need to warm-up, after all." he snickered.

"Eh heh...maybe some other time...!" Gutsman nervously said before backing away. Just that simple hand gesture from Forte held power that frightened him.

Rockman chuckled. Gutsman actually backing away from a challenge was something not commonly seen. "So, should we look around?" he offered, trying to break the awkward meeting between the group. After everyone nodded and murmured, they took off into the network.

---

"Ooh, isn't this sword really neat, Netto?" Meiru asked as she leaned in to get a closer look at it. When the brunette didn't respond, she looked back. "Netto?"

Netto blinked and looked up. "Huh? Oh!" he said as he looked at the sword. "Yeah, it does!"

Meiru slightly frowned. "Is anything wrong, Netto?" she asked softly. Netto shook his head.

"No, nothing is wrong," he lied, "I'm just a bit distracted...maybe because I'm sleepy." he laughed. Meiru gave him a fixed stare before giggling.

"Well, I'll take your word for it then;" she said before she took his arm and guided him over to the armor exhibits, where Dekao and Yaito were looking at. Along the way she whispered in his ear, "Please don't overexert yourself..."

The brunette blinked before giving her a small smile. "Don't worry, I won't."

---

The navis were wandering the network, admiring the replicas of the armor and swords that were programmed into the system. Many navis were conversing with each other and looking over history files on the items in question. Currently, Rockman and the others were looking at an exhibit detailing the last emperor who held Endo Castle, way back before the government was established. All of them were listening in rapt attention.

Well, all except one.

Forte could never remember in his whole lifetime being so bored. Tearing his eyes away from the image of the emperor, he grumbled as he looked around. The entire system closely resembled the outside world, with obvious differences here and there. Shaking his head, he silently walked off from the group to take a better look at the place.

"At least now I know why Netto-kun doesn't like watching informative movies," he groaned as made his way around. As he passed a passageway and a board, he noticed a blinking notice on the message board. Looking closer at it, he smiled. "Well, doesn't this sound like fun...?"

"Forte!" came a shout as the cloaked navi looked over his shoulder. Rockman was walking towards him, with the other three tagging not far behind him. "I was wondering where you went off to. That info about the emperor was intriguing..."

"Never mind that;" Forte waved off impatiently as he pointed to the sign behind him, "Look at this. You up to it, Rockman?" The blue navi looked at the sign and blinked before turning back to his companion.

"Well, I don't know..." he started.

The cloaked navi snorted. "Oh come on. I mean, we're not going to be able to do this very often, so we might as well, right?"

Roll looked at the sign and giggled. "You should Rockman! It'll be exciting!" Glyde and Gutsman nodded, also looking interested.

Rockman looked thoughtful for a few seconds. He was in the mood to do something other than look at exhibits all day, and Forte was right in the fact that they wouldn't have the chance to do this too often. Finally, he nodded and turned to Forte. "Alright, let's do it then." he said. Forte smirked and entered the passageway, Rockman not far behind him.

Glyde then cleared his throat. "Well then, let us follow them, shall we?" he remarked. The other two nodded as they started to make their way down the passageway.

Gutsman chuckled. "This is going to be good!"

The sign outside read 'Sparring matches for those who know the way of the sword available here!'

A few moments later found the instructor navi handing two wooden bokken to the navis. Normally, he would question if they were able to fight using them, but just at a glance, he could tell they were skilled enough by the way they carried themselves.

Roll, Gutsman, and Glyde sat off to the side to watch the two. Forte gave his bokken an experimental swing before getting himself ready. Rockman mirrored the cloaked navi's actions, bringing the bokken in a ready position in front of him. Both of their adrenaline was surging, even though this was only a simple sparring session. Rockman didn't know why he felt so eager to just fight against his companion; any other time he would dread it, but right now, he wanted to test his skills against his former enemy.

The instructor navi looked at both navis, then raised his hand. "This is a simple sparring session, so don't get carried away. The first one to get hit by a strike is the loser, agreed?" Both navis nodded, then the instructor walked off the floor so as not to get in the way. "Alright then...begin!" he shouted as he brought his hand down, signaling for both of them to start. Forte didn't waste any time as he shot forward, bringing down his bokken in an overhead strike. Rockman blocked it and pushed back, parrying the blow.

Both Forte and Rockman smirked. It was time to see who was better.

---

"Dr. Regal!" came a frantic voice over the computer screen. The scientist put down his documents in surprise as he stared at the screen.

"What is it?" he asked quickly.

The other scientist looked panicked, as if something horrifying had happened. "Sir, the chaos throughout the entire Ura Net...it's starting to spread into the Internet!"

Dr. Regal stood up, now fully startled. "No! If it spreads into the Internet itself..." he said before looking at the monitor. "Quickly, set up firewalls and safeguards around Endo area and do your best to contain it. I'll be there as fast I can!" he said as he started to gather his things.

"Yes, Dr. Regal!" the other scientist said before cutting off the transmission.

The dark haired scientist sighed as he rushed out the door. "Of all the times this had to happen...I'd better contact Yuuichirou." he muttered.

---

"What's happening?" Yuuichirou asked in disbelief over the phone. It was now nearing the evening as the scientist tried to think of what to say to his son.

He heard Regal sigh audibly over the phone. "Exactly what I'm telling you. It seems that whatever was controlling the chaotic energy in the Ura Net has finally run out of patience and is making its move."

Yuuichirou frowned. "How is everything holding up?"

"Fine for now, but it's not going to stay that way. We're going to need your help soon." came the reply. The scientist frowned. Things were looking bad.

"How long do you think you can hold out without me?" he asked after a few seconds of silence.

"I predict around a whole day or so, mainly because it hasn't fully penetrated into the area yet," Regal said. "Why, though?"

Yuuichirou sighed. "Forgive me, Regal. I can't come in right now due to some complications. I'll try to make it there as fast as possible, but you're going to have to hold out without me for the time being."

"I see...I'll do my best." Regal said. The scientist sighed in relief as he then gave his next request.

"Regal, could you get the resistance program that I created ready? Something tells me we're going to need his help." he asked.

"The resistance program?" Regal repeated, "You're planning on bringing your own son into this?"

Yuuichirou grimaced. "Only if we cannot seal off the source ourselves. He might be the only one who can do it."

There was a long pause over the phone. "Very well then, but I really hope you know what you're doing Yuuichirou. I'll do my best to hold the energy from entering the Internet, but I can only do so much...I'll be waiting for you." With that, Regal hung up.

The brown haired scientist could only hang up the phone and sigh. "Netto, forgive me. You might be dragged into something again against your will..."

---

Forte felt exhilarated. Every strike, every blow, every precise movement of his was being countered by his former enemy. Of course, Rockman had not landed any strikes of his own either; they were too evenly matched.

The cloaked navi was surprised that he wasn't annoyed or angered in the least. In fact, he was oddly pleased with the fact that he was having such an exciting fight without having to use his full power. Smirking, he brought the bokken in front of him and held it with both hands this time, trying to find an opening in Rockman's defense.

Likewise, Rockman also found himself having a good time. Fighting Forte in a battle that was neither personal or to the death was oddly thrilling, and instead of just fighting to survive, he was fighting to see who could best who.

The two stared at each other for another moment before they both rushed forward, intending on striking the other. Roll, Gutsman, and Glyde looked on in anticipation as both Rockman and Forte moved to strike each other.

The two bokken came down, one in a overhead slash while the other was in a swiping motion.

"Hold!" came the instructor's voice. Everyone stopped to look at him, then at the two sparring navis. When they got a closer look, they saw that Rockman was poised to hit Forte's shoulder, while Forte was about to hit Rockman's unprotected side. "It seems you both were about to hit each other at the same time. A stalemate, I presume."

Slowly, both navis lowered their weapons and set them on the floor. Both of them stared at each other silently until Rockman offered his hand. "Good match?" he asked.

Forte stared at the hand for a moment before he let off a loud laugh. The blue navi stared in shock; the laugh wasn't malicious at all...in fact, he sounded genuinely happy. "Well met, Rockman! I haven't felt like this for years!" Forte laughed as he grasped Rockman's hand.

Shaking out of his shock, Rockman laughed as well, shaking Forte's hand. "Heh, I guess that was quite a match, huh? Maybe we should do it more often..."

Forte grinned. "Maybe."

At that moment, Roll and the others came running over. "That was quite some sparring session," she said in awe, "I can't believe you two were so fast!"

Glyde nodded. "That was really quite splendid!" he said.

Gutsman couldn't find anything to say, as he was still reviewing the whole session in his head. He may be physically stronger than both of the two navis, but their speed was far too much for him. He would have to work on that in the future.

Forte chuckled. For the first time in what seemed like forever, he was just enjoying himself. It was an odd feeling, but he decided it was a pleasant one.

Roll then clapped her hands together. "It's starting to get late, so I think we should start heading back, don't you?" Everyone nodded, as they made their way out of the sparring area.

As they were leaving, Rockman suddenly felt a chill throughout his entire body. This feeling... he thought, recognizing it as one that he had felt so long ago whenever he journeyed into the Ura Net. What is it?

He was about to mention it to the cloaked navi when he caught the smile on his face. ...no, I'm probably just being paranoid. There is no need to spoil his fun right now. Rockman then chuckled then continued walking with the others towards the exit.

---

After Netto and the others returned after touring the castle, they immediately linked their navis back into their PETs. The brunette immediately noticed that Forte looked content, and wasn't in his usual mood. "What did you guys do while we were gone?" he asked curiously.

"Just a little sparring session. It was refreshing." came Forte's reply. Netto just chuckled and shrugged.

"Well, at least you two had a good time, huh?" he remarked, and both navis nodded. Letting out a yawn, he and his friends exited the castle. "You think it's time to get going, everyone?"

There was a collective nod. "I think the metroline is going to leave in twenty minutes, so we might make it in time if we start walking now." Yaito spoke up, looking at the schedule. With some muttering, all of them set off towards the station, admiring the rising moon as it shone in the clear night sky.

"Ah, today was wonderful, don't you agree?" Meiru spoke up, looking up at the moon. Everyone made murmurs of agreement.

Netto smiled. "I wish we could have more days like this, where we could just hang out with each other all day." he remarked.

"If everyday was like that, you wouldn't even bother getting out of you bed to do anything, Netto-kun." Rockman replied dryly. Netto pouted while everyone laughed.

Dekao shrugged. "Well, we can always do this next weekend too. We can try going somewhere else, you know?"

Yaito pursed her lips in thought. "Sounds interesting! If my schedule allows for it, where would we go?" she asked.

As she and Dekao were busy discussing about plans for the next weekend trip, Meiru turned to Netto. "You seem a lot happier right now than you were a few hours ago." she remarked.

"Ah...you can say I'm just glad to go somewhere with my friends, you know?" he said. His childhood friend was always perceptive, so he had to choose his words carefully.

Meiru sighed. "I know the past few days must have been hard on you considering what had happened, but please, if you're just feeling down or anything else, you can always tell me." she smiled.

Netto grinned. "You know I always do," he said before they reached the station. "Ah, we should get inside, the metroline is already here!" he said as he rushed in.

The girl could only stare at Netto's retreating figure before sighing and following him. "But you're not telling me this time, Netto." she said softly as she descended into the station.

---

The ride home was entirely uneventful, and as soon as they got off, they all said their goodbyes and wandered off to each of their homes. Meiru said she had something to drop off at Yaito's before going home, and asked Netto just to go on without her.

Netto was standing at his front door, debating on whether to go in or retreat and think of something else. He bit his lip. "What should I do?"

Forte sighed. "Netto-kun, you have to get this over with. If you just keep running from it, you're only going to make it worse."

"Indeed," Rockman agreed, "It's not going to be good if you and Papa don't reconcile right now. Just talk to him and try to get him to understand your feelings, and vice versa."

The brunette took a deep breath, then nodded and opened the door. "I'm home!" he called out.

"Ah, Netto..." he heard his father's voice ring out. "I'm here in the living room. Come in here when you're ready to talk." he said.

Netto nodded to himself as he quickly went up to his room and placed his two PETs down on the desk. "No offense you two, but I kind of want to resolve this myself. After all, I was the one who did say those things, so I should be the one to take the consequences."

Both navis nodded, and the brunette made his way out of the room.

"He's definitely maturing." Rockman noted as he saw his brother leave, and Forte nodded.

The boy hesitantly entered the living room, seeing his father sitting down on the couch. "Ah, there you are. Please, sit down Netto." Yuuichirou said as he gestured to the seat opposite of the couch.

He took the seat and stared at his father as the scientist began to speak again. "Netto, about earlier today..."

"I'm sorry, Papa. I shouldn't have exploded like that." Netto immediately apologized, but Yuuichirou held up a hand.

"No, I'm the one who should be sorry. I didn't take into account your own feelings over the situation, and tried to force something else on you. Forgive me for that." he said.

Netto sighed. "It's alright. I still shouldn't have gone off like I did, though."

"Maybe, but...you did bring up some valid points;" the scientist said before sighing. "I guess we can start with how little time I've been spending around the house, huh?"

When Netto didn't speak up, Yuuichirou decided to continue. "I know what you're thinking. With a job such as mine, I hardly do get time off to come home. However...I should have made a better effort to be there for you earlier in your life;" He then chuckled. "I suppose I must have thought at the time that when I gave Rockman to you, you wouldn't need me around as much since you now had a friend with you. I don't know why I thought that, but still..."

"Papa, Rockman is my best friend, and nothing will change that;" Netto started, "Forte is also my best friend, and I don't care if that's a result of the link between us or not. Papa, I wanted you around so we could do stuff, just talk or do an activity or just do...something!" he blurted out before continuing. "I know you're always supporting me, and I know you're always behind me, but I hardly do get to see you at home. I mean, when is the last time we talked about stuff, between you and I, that wasn't about a new global crisis or anything?"

Yuuichirou looked pained. "I'm sorry, Netto. Nothing I say will change what I've done in the past...but I do want to try and correct those mistakes," he said as he stood up and knelt down to look his son in the face, "This time, I want to speak to you as a father would, not as a world famous scientist or anything like that. I realize that even with everything we've gone through, I haven't really gotten to know what has been happening with you. I want to make that effort now...I want to know who you are."

Netto remained silent for quite a while, just staring at the scientist. "Do you promise?" he asked quietly. Yuuichirou nodded.

"I promise." he said.

The boy gave him a small smile. "Good. Let's start with what I was doing today in Endo." he chuckled. Yuuichirou smiled warmly at his son and patted his head affectionately.

"Go ahead and tell me what happened today. I'm interested in hearing about it." Yuuichirou said as he settled on the couch.

Netto grinned and proceeded to tell him what had happened over the past few hours.

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Next Chapter: Into the Heart of Chaos: The day after, Netto catches wind that the Ura Net is on the verge of destruction, and that the denizens of the dark are running amok on the surface. He, Forte, and Rockman, with both his father's and Dr. Regal's help, manage to penetrate the Ura Net to find out what is wrong. In the meantime, Netto's friends are doing their best to help out around the city, but can they beat back the oncoming hordes?

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Author's Notes: Whee, this chapter was two months late. Go me.

Again, apologies to everyone for not getting this out sooner. I got caught up in finals, then took a few weeks off of writing because I needed the break. Since it was nearing the end of June, I decided to try and release a new chapter for you all. What better time to do it than my birthday?

Anyway, hope you all enjoy this. I'll try my best to get the next one out soon.