A/N: Was the last chapter boring to you guys? I kinda thought it would be even if it did have a lot of meaning to the story, so I made up for it in this one. I would've waited to post it otherwise.Kinda short and sweet, but lotsa stuff goin on. WHEE! Have fun!

Impossible Reality
Chapter 3

Later that night in his room, Netto stretched widely, allowing himself to free fall backwards onto the soft sheets of his bed. Across the room, Rock watched him from the PET screen, smiling peacefully at the scene. He sat cross-legged on a small square of the floor, feeling a bit lazy himself although the work he'd done that day could hardly put a sweat on even Netto's brows.

"What a day, huh?" he remarked, shaking his head in amusement as his Operator kicked off one skate, then the other, and apparently didn't care that they'd landed right on top of his books.

"Yeah, definitely," the boy half sighed, half groaned, finding himself an odd position tangled in his pillows and sheets and somehow making it look comfortable. "You wanna do my homework for me while I sleep?" One deep brown eye opened just enough to catch the Navi's reaction.

"What? I don't think so!" Rock might have put on more of a display, but Netto was starting to rub off on him. He cast a half-hearted glare at the boy when he laughed, then plopped over on his side, out of sight of his Operator, and tried to find himself a nice position curled on the ground. The dream was bothering him again - he just couldn't stop thinking about it. It was so strange. He'd never had dreams like that one before, and part of him wanted to just forget it. Yet, there was still another part of him that argued against the first. Something told him it wasn't an ordinary dream... that there was something happening which he didn't fully understand. And that same something warned him that he wasn't about to figure it out on his own; he'd find out soon enough.

He spent a good five minutes rolling about before he finally moaned and flipped onto his back, cursing his PET's lack of soft, fluffy things like blankets or pillows. Perhaps it was time for him to have a talk with Netto's dad again… for once, about something other than Saito.

Then an idea struck him. At first, he rejected it, but the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to get up off his bum and do it.

"Hey, Netto-kun?" he asked, hoping the boy hadn't already fallen asleep. He was relieved when a soft moan came from the other side of the room. "You feel up for a little virus busting?"

Netto was up out of bed and into the computer chair before Rock could even get to his feet. "Anytime, anywhere," the Operator said, giving his Navi a wry grin. Rock sighed, unable to keep himself from amusement. The boy's passion for virus hunting was second to none; it was almost a general record around town. It seemed there was nothing he loved more than to be out on the Net, no matter where on the Net he was; yet there was another reason he enjoyed it so much, one that few knew about.

There was where he and his Navi... or rather, his brother, Saito... were closest to each other, one acting as the guardian angel while the other roamed around in a world the other could not reach. In the real world, there was nothing holding the two together, but they had a special link that transcended their realms. It wasn't anything that could be seen or touched, it was a thing to be felt only by those who shared it. When they were together, especially when they were watching out for one another, that was when they felt it the strongest, and though they had their arguements, as brothers would, neither would have given up that feeling for the world. It was... beyond words.

Within seconds, even before he had entered Netto's computer, Rock felt that link begin to flare, leaving him with a warm, secure feeling inside. He calmly jacked himself into the computer, then made his way across the platform into the Net.

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In the shadows. I was born from them, within them I shall remain. And here, in that darkness, I wait, calmly feeling for that one presence I search for. Having traced his most recent path back to this area of the Internet, I have only to wait. There are exactly twelve links in this area, minus the others that would lead to different systems or areas of the digital world, but I don't feel like searching every single one of them. Who knows what I may land myself in? These are the personal devices of humans we're talking about.

I wonder for a moment how many others like me could bear to stand so still, so silently for this long. Then again, I suppose after having been exiled for so long, one will learn to exercise such patience as mine.

Speaking of which, it seems the waiting has finally paid off. I feel him there, a good distance behind me and to the right, and in an instant, I'm headed in that direction.

Yes, I do hate the scientists who tormented me, but this flying program of theirs truly is a useful thing. I would run, but I rarely feel like it. No matter. I find myself within earshot of the Navi in little more than a few seconds' time and that's good enough for me. It would appear that he's already distracted with a few weak viruses, yet I'm not so hasty. Confronting him would be nothing to me, but I would rather wait until after I've hacked his Operator's computer to fight him. In lieu of simply zipping past him where I might be seen, I opt to hide behind one of the rocky structures near me and watch.

Something of interest catches my eye almost immediately. The Navi is not standing very far from a system link, one of a kind I am familiar with. To follow such a link will place me right into a personal computer. The white ones always do. And correct me if I'm wrong, but is that his signal I sense disappearing from that link? I do believe we have a winner. If that's not the Operator's computer through that portal then I can surely find out which one is.

I stare in disgust at this rock-like program. Odd that these humans should make our world try to look like their own. Do they really strive to become part of our world, or would they rather pull their Navis out of this realm to stand beside them?... Now that I think about it, that would be interesting. A Navi in the human world. I know what I would do if I could ever go there. They would regret the day they ever made such a thing possible.

The blue Navi's battle hasn't gone completely unnoticed. Oh no, I would not let this opportunity pass me if I wanted to. The spire holds my attention for but a moment before I return eyes to the battle ahead. My observations lie solely on the Navi and his Operator now, searching for anything that might stand out. After a minute or two, I cock my head slightly. He seems no different than any other Navi I've come across, and the same to his Operator. Yet... they were able to hold their own against me. How could I have found a match in these two?

Perhaps it was a certain chip they used against me. I never have had an Operator myself and I never will, but I hear about chips all the time from the forums I read through occasionally. Don't misunderstand me. I will never associate with humans or their Navis, yet sometimes these virtual post boards offer me useful information. This was also where I learned of the chips. I've never been able to get my hands on one, but the way I understand it, I never will. The only way a Navi can use one is if its Operator feeds it through some sort of device in the outside world known as a PET, and then it is accessible to the Navi. At least, to my knowledge this is how it is.

Just another link in the chain, I suppose... One more way to force Navis to depend on humans, one more way for the master to assert dominance over the creation. Revolting.

I've been watching the blue Navi for a short while now. He's been toying with these viruses, weak as they are. If he fought me, it can't be that he's afraid to fight the stronger ones. It must simply be a warm up. His Operator tells him something, saying it's time to move on to bigger prey, and I realize my guess was correct. He tells the Navi he will send him a chip to end the battle, and I stiffen. What chip is this?

For all the expectations I had, I find myself strangely pleased in the end. The Navi simply slams his fist into the ground, opening a hole in the floor in the center of the virus group. A large hand pops out of it holding a time bomb. When I see this, I sigh in relief. This is definitely not the supposed super chip I had been expecting to see, for I have witnessed its use many times before. At least for now, I have no reason to believe the little bastard used some powerful chip unknown to me when we fought. There is still a chance that if he did use anything at all, something I strongly assume, it may be a program I can use. Yet, it does more to service my situation.

Once the bomb detonates, a vast smoke screen is produced, creating my opportunity. I rush forward toward the Navi, now hidden from sight, and make my way directly to the open portal behind him, undetected.

I'm not oblivious to security devices by any means - I've done this enough times to know what to expect. Supressing my own energy signature, I quickly replace it with that which I recorded of the blue Navi's a split second before I enter the portal. That trick I learned on my own. In doing so, I change nothing of my own programming, I merely cover it up with the guise of another. It is... wearing a mask of sorts, one that has the keys to a certain computer if it's not protected by a password. Thankfully, this one is not, but it would not have presented a problem either way.

That was easy enough.

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"Netto! Do you have any idea what time it is?"

Rock sighed somewhat disappointedly as he felt the link flutter. Mama found them out again, it seemed. A low curse was heard, and the Navi kicked himself. Neither of them had been paying any attention to the time.

"We'd barely started," Netto whined. He watched as Rock flickered out of existance in the Internet, the back into the PET.

Netto leaned back in his seat, stretching as he did. "Eeh, whatever. We've got a half a day tomorrow, so we'll have more time then." Rock nodded with a yawn, his eyes following his Operator as the boy stood from his chair and went back to the bed. Briefly, he fluttered back out of the PET for just a moment to shut off the lights. He found Netto smiling his gratitude at him when he returned and scratched at the back of his helmet.

"Thanks, Rock," Netto managed through another yawn. "I'm going to bed." He waited for the Navi's acknowledgement before saying his goodnights, then flopped down and pulled the covers over him. He had barely fallen into unconsciousness when he was suddenly jerked from sleep by a loud cry from Rock. "Mmrrrmmmm, what's wrong?" he mumbled drowsliy.

"Netto-kun!" Rock squealed from the PET all the way across the room. "You forgot to do your homework!"

"... Son of a bitch."

A/N: I do know that battle chips can be used by Navis without the aid of an Operator in special cases. Bombman and Stoneman, to be exact, and perhaps another, but I forgot who. As far as I got in the series, Forte didn't seem to realize that he could possibly use chips too. Then again, did he really need to? -insert happy eyes i apparently can't make anymore-

I still think they should've put him in the series more than they did. He had what? A total of maybe 10 appearances and even fewer lines to go with it? He didn't bloody show at all in the American show!...... Then again, maybe that was a good thing.... Alright, I'm done bitchin. Back to the fic with me.