Videoman was outside the hall gloating to the captured human and navi. He took great joy in the fact that this time around he had not been the one who was defeated. Especially because it was Rockman and Rockman's Operator; the two that had defeated him time and time again. Desertman was not quite as bitter as Videoman, only because he had nearly defeated Netto and Rockman in his own right, although the Net team of Enzan and Blues came to save them at the last moment. Even if a good deal of these events occurred when they were Darkloid navis they still remembered and knew the humiliating defeats they had suffered and they were in no mood for mercy. Even so, when they were not in cross fusion they both seemed so…… weak. Without Rockman in the real world Netto was completely vulnerable and without an operator Rockman couldn't do anything anyway.
They were just two kids, not the super human being they fought when the dimensional area came up, and they loved it.
"So kids, who knew you, would give up so easily? Are you that weak?" Videoman taunted.
Unfortunately, the stressed Netto took the bait. "Hey! Your stupid operators used my five year old cousin as bait, that's low even for you!"
Desertman squeezed his fist warningly, making Netto give out a cry of discomfort.
/Netto-kun, maybe you shouldn't talk./ said Rockman. /They're willing to kill you, it's almost happened before and I can assure it will happen again./
/What am I supposed to do? Sit here and…"
/Yes/ Rockman interrupted /By all means, if it ensures you're safety then it's probably the best plan we've got./
/Gee, you sound like you have so much confidence right now./ came the sarcastic reply.
/Netto-kun, if we can just bide our time until the Dimensional Area comes then we have a chance, but mouthing them off when you're still in human form is not the best way to improve our chances/ said Rockman in a low and quick tone. Netto gave no reply to his brother's little speech.
Videoman and Desertman were beginning to wonder about the normally mouthy human's sudden silence, but before they could bring it up Suyanama and Narcy came from the from, and to Netto and Rockman's immense relief, Maki-less as well. His relief must have shown on his face because it prompted Suyanama to say "Don't be too happy, kid. Don't forget, it's you we're after."
Netto snorted. "And, just why the hell would you be after me?"
/Cool it, Netto-kun./ Rockman warned
Rockman's warning proved to be needed because Narcy put his face inches away from Netto's. He gave a very creepy, wide grin and said "Because you can tell us where the blueprints are in this building."
Netto blinked. "Wha…. Blueprints?"
"Oh, don't play stupid kid. It's not becoming." Suyanama cut in. "We know the blueprints to sci-labs and Net Saviors HQ are in this warehouse."
Netto smirked. "Well your information is bad, there are no blueprints here."
Desertman started to tighten his grip again. "Come on kid, we're not joking." Suyanama said.
Rockman's muffled voice came from inside the sand cocoon. "Neither are we! There isn't something that important at this minimum security warehouse."
Netto cut in. "That and, this is a data warehouse. I know for a fact that the only remaining blueprints for Sci-Labs and the HQ are on paper, and locked up in their own buildings."
"Lies!" screeched Narcy "You're just trying to throw us off the trail so we don't get what we're after!"
Netto shrugged as best he could. "Believe what you want, I told you the truth."
/Half truth anyway./ came Rockman's, somewhat amused voice.
/Like I'd tell then where the real blueprints are./ said Netto
Suyanama gave a smile almost as bad as Narcy's. "Well kid, if you don't want to help then you're not much use to us, are you?"
Netto eyes widened briefly but he managed to keep his cool. /We're in trouble, huh/ he said, no humor in the question.
/Looks like it, but I don't think they're gonna kill us, not yet./ said Rockman
Desertman started to tighten his grip before Netto could give a reply. Only this time he didn't loosen up. Netto saw his vision face at the corners as he fought for air, when he couldn't take any oxygen in, or push back the giant fist he was forced to give up his struggle and he blacked out.
When Netto collapsed, Desertman loosened his grip. Suyanama lifted Netto's body out of the giant hand and fished Netto's PET out of its holder. Rockman was panting slightly but Suyanama thought nothing of it and turned off the PET before Rockman could give any protest. Suyanama smiled and put the useless PET back.
"Why are we keeping him alive?" Asked Videoman, slightly perturbed.
"Because, I know this kid knows more then he's telling us, in case we can't get through something then he might be able to help." Said Suyanama coolly.
Maki crawled through the vents trying to look for a way out. She had to get help for Netto-chan! But the stupid vents went of forever. Every once in awhile a huge hole would come up and the pathway would branch off into four directions around the hole. Whenever Maki cane up to on of those she would backtrack to another branch and continue from there. She love Netto-chan but even she wasn't brave enough to cross over huge, gaping holes. There was only so much she could do after all.
Someone up there but have been feeling kindly towards pink clad five year olds, because in an amazing stroke of luck she found the control room, the place she could call for help, and the place that Netto was being held. She looked out of the vent and saw the fire alarm placed on the side of the door. There were also a control panel and servers placed throughout the room. In the center of the room, still unconscious and tied to a chair was Netto. Maki almost burst out of her hiding place but she caught sight of the tall black and green navi before her body acted on its own.
She had to help Netto-chan! But what could she do?
Netto came to his senses slowly. At first he though he heard his mom calling his name, but that wasn't right……
/Netto-kun…/ there was a pause
/Mama/ Netto asked groggily, he wasn't even aware enough to notice that the question and reply were mentally spoken.
/Netto-kun, get a grip. It's me, Rockman, now WAKE UP/ Rockman 'said' as loud as he could, given the circumstances.
/Wake…/ The thought finally registered in his brain. "Wha?" he opened his eyes and jerked up, only to find that he was restrained by very tightly tied ropes. He heard a cold chuckle and saw Videoman looking at him. Netto felt a flicker of fear, and then he just felt annoyed. For all he had gone through that day, everything culminated to this one moment and the strongest emotion he had was annoyance.
Rockman felt Netto and wondered what exactly was bugging Netto so much.
/Gee, I don't know, maybe because I've been captured by Neo WWW on a mission I didn't even want to take in the first place. Maki could be in danger and I'm currently to worst babysitter on the face of this planet./
/Netto-kun, Maki-chan is probably fine. We have more of a pressing issue on our hands right now. Maki-chan is smart, she'll get out./
/I hope so…/
Their mental chat was interrupted by Videoman. "So, Rockman's operator, are you upset? Angry that you got caught so easily?"
"I have a name you know." Said Netto; avoiding the questions. "And it's not 'Rockman's Operator' either."
Videoman raised an eyebrow. "Oh, then humor me kid."
Netto snorted. For a twelve year old being held captive he was awfully cool about it. "Please, you know what my name is; you just like to annoy me."
Videoman shrugged. "Well, you've certainly given me many reasons to hate you. Why should I show you sympathy? You've humiliated and deleted me."
Netto smiled without humor. "So?"
/Netto-kun! Can you PLEASE think about what you say before you say it?"
Videoman looked very angry, and then his expression took a 180 and he gave a merciless grin. Netto, who was more then a little creeped out dripped his own smile and glared at Videoman instead.
/You love to play with fate, don't you Netto-kun./ said Rockman, oh-so-slightly annoyed.
/You're not helping/ said Netto
"Well, Netto-kun, the tabled ate turned now," Videoman put his fingers under Netto's chin and forced Netto to meet his eyes. "and don't you forget it."
Netto matched him glare for glare, not looking away or blinking. The silent glare match lasted for close to a minute before the walkie talkie around Videoman's belt crackled to life. "Videomaaaan!" Narcy's whiny voice came out of the small black box.
Videoman released Netto and picked up the box. "Yes?" he asked, his voice tight from annoyance.
"We ran into problems getting into the main computer. Get down here!" he said
Videoman sighed. "All right, I'll be there in a minute." He clicked the small device off and looked down at Netto. "You got lucky this time kid. I suggest you don't mouth me off when I get back." Videoman walked out the door and right before the door closed Netto stuck his tongue out at Videoman.
/Netto-kun, please be more careful/
/Whatever./ Netto glared at the floor.
Rockman sighed. /Well, it still could be worse./
/Like…/
/They could have captured Maki-chan too./
/That's true./
Maki looked out of the ventilation shaft and watched the black and green man pace the room, talking to Netto, and then finally leaving. Maki was too far away to hear what was being said but she could tell that the navi was very happy about Netto being captured. When he finally left she braced herself against the vent over. It was loose but it didn't move very well. She found it hard to find a brace inside the smooth ventilation shaft, finally she just slammed her back into the cover and it gave way. She gasped, and tried to stop the laws of motion that were taking over her body now that there was nothing supporting her.
Netto heard a loud crash behind him, followed by a squeak and a thumping sound. He tried to turn around to see what had happened, but the most he could manage was to turn his head and take a glance out of peripheral vision. He saw Maki on the ground coughing. Her pink overalls were dirty at the knees and her blue shirt had dirt at the elbows, she also had a cobweb crown adorning her hair. Netto's first though that that he would have to clean her before his mom and aunt came home.
Then Netto came to his senses. "Maki-chan, are you okay?"
Maki finished coughing and rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah, I think so." She replied.
Netto groaned. "Maki-chan, I told you to run away, what are you doing here?" he said harshly.
Maki calmly stood up and dusted herself as best she could, then she ran over to the chair that Netto was in. She pulled on the roped tying Netto's hands behind his back, trying to untie them.
Netto became annoyed at her blatant ignoring. "Maki-chan, get out of here." He hissed. "It's dangerous."
Maki kept her mouth shut and kept on pulling.
Netto sighed. "Maki-chan it's a bad idea for you to be here, Videoman could return any minute."
Maki didn't answer; she just continued to tug at the roped trying to loosen the knots. Her small fingers were able to loosed the roped considerably finally pulling them loose, but before she could unwind them the doorknob slowly turned.
"Run!" Netto whisper-yelled.
Maki didn't need telling twice and took a mad dash towards the servers making a leap behind them before the door fully opened. Videoman came back in grinning. "Well kid, there has to be something here, this is an awfully secure please for minimum security."
Netto rolled his eyes. "Whatever, I don't care. Just leave me alone."
"Oh, are you feeling sore? Don't like to loose?" he jeered.
"Yes, now go away." Said Netto
"I don't have to do anything, kid. May I remind you of your position here." Said Videoman, crossing his arms.
Netto was starting to get nervous, Videoman could discover Maki-chan at any moment. Then it would be his fault and he would get into more trouble then he was already in, not to mention Maki.
"So, it that other kid here? Are you worried I might catch her?" asked Videoman, flashing his green teeth.
Netto vainly tried to not let the worry show on his face. "No." he said a little too quickly.
Videoman's grin broadened into a smile. "Well, where is you little friend I wonder?" He walked away from Netto and went towards the servers. Maki saw his coming and tried to shrink back further. Netto quickly unwound the ropes from his wrists and started to pull at the cords around his chest.
Maki pushed herself in between two servers in a vain attempt to not be spotted as Videoman came through. Netto finally got free from the chair and quickly started to untie his ankles. Netto saw Videoman get closer and closer to Maki-chan's hiding place, Netto could have sworn he heard a small whimper. When he was finally able to stand up; Videoman too a peek in between two servers. "Hello." He said to the terrified five year old.
Netto frantically prayed for a small miracle, maybe, just maybe…
Netto's prayers were answered by a goy in a jersey and lab coat, who finally pressed the big red button. The multi-colored dimensional area formed a dome over the building. Netto looked around at the many hued surface, relief flooding in his chest, then he looked back to his immediate problem.
"Leave her alone!" Netto yelled, while he turned back on his PET.
Videoman turned around and Maki peaked from her hiding spot.
"Well, this is interesting." Said Videoman, not loosing his cool.
Netto took out the syncro chip. "Ready, Rockman?"
"Yes!" said Rockman, for all the world sounding like a worried mother.
"Cross fusion!" they said simultaneously.
Maki saw a blue bubble surround Netto and expand, when the light diminished she saw Netto, or at least she thought it was Netto, standing there. Only, he had a helmet and body suit, and he looked exactly like Rockman except his hair and eyes were the same color. So the only conclusion she could think of was 'Netto-chan is a navi?'
Videoman looked down on them with scorn. "Well, looks like you got free. You think you're so smart, brat!" as he yelled the last word, he flew forward with his tape flying towards them. Netto picked up Maki and jumped smoothly out of the way. He landed a few feet to the right and the tape flew forward and smashed into the wall leaving a small crater. Netto set Maki down on the floor and Videoman wound the tape back into his arms.
"Well well well, having a tough time? Gonna run away?" he asked, pushing the button he knew was there.
Netto clenched his fist and it shook, but he did not give into the heartless gibe. Instead he summoned a mini bomb to his hand.
"Oh? Are you gonna throw that at me?" Videoman asked with fake surprise. "Remember what happened last time kid?"
Netto threw it anyways and as Videoman went to bounce it back he shot it with his buster making it explode in Videoman's face. Then before the smoke cleared, he picked up Maki-chan and ran.
Videoman coughed and waved his hand to clear the smoke. "Think that was enough to take me out kid?" he called, but he saw that no one was there. "Heh, looks like he got scared."
Netto ran down the halls with Maki in his arms. Maki looked up at him with an almost horrified expression on her face. Netto looked down at her and saw that she was scared, so he retracted his face mask back and smiled. "It's okay. It's just me." He said as soothingly as he could. Maki didn't say anything in return.
Netto turned the corner to find a small welcoming committee for him. Videoman and Desertman both stood there blocking the hallway that led out of the building. "Lookie at who showed up." Said Suyanama
Netto stopped dead in his tracks and glared at them. "What do you want?"
"We want the blueprints!" said Narcy
"I told you, there are no blueprints! You guys were tricked." Yelled Netto, he was really starting to loose his patience.
"Kid, I will say this only once, tell us where the blueprints are or we will take this place down."
Netto sniffed. "I'd like to see you try."
Videoman launched himself at Netto and Netto quickly sidestepped. He brought up his elbow and slammed it down onto Videoman's back making his loose balance. In the hesitation Netto jumped out of the way and landed with his back to a corner.
"Heh, worked yourself into a trap, huh kid?" asked Suyanama
"I wonder about that?" retorted Netto. He set Maki down behind him and took a defensive stance. It then became apparent that he was trying to protect his cousin, and landed in the corner on purpose.
Videoman screeched and flew at Netto with his tape, which Netto brought up a barrier to parry. Desertman then sent a sand lion at him, but Netto used a charged shot to make it collapse.
"You can't do that forever kid, sooner or later you're gonna run out of steam!" said Desertman
Netto summoned his face guard and a water tower battle chip. "Don't, mess, with, me!" he yelled slamming his hand onto the ground. Where his palm touched the cement a giant column of water shot up and doused the two navis. Desertman's body shifted to absorb the water, but he winced at the feeling none the less.
"Bubble shot!" Netto yelled out. A jet of water flew out in an unbelievable force and slammed into Desertman's body, once again the sand shifted to absorb the damage.
Videoman was getting fed up. "Hey, there are two of us you know!" he yelled and sent a giant roll of tape at Netto. Netto braced and took the blow, knowing that if he jumped Maki would have gotten hit. He collapsed onto one knee and panted when the attack disappeared.
Videoman laughed. "Come on kid, fight us seriously."
Netto's eyes blazed, he quickly assed the situation desperately looking for anything that might give him an advantage. He looked above them and saw a sprinkler system.
/Hey Rockman, think we could set that thing off? Is it still online/ he asked
/Yes, but be careful, you don't want to really set this place on fire./
Netto nodded. /Yeah I know, but we have to finish this./
/Then go for it./ said Rockman
Netto didn't need telling twice. He raised his hand in the air again. Videoman laughed "Kid, you've tried that already, it didn't work."
"Fire tower!" he yelled. This time, when his palm me the ground a spark jumped from his hand to the floor creating a huge flame that reached to the ceiling. Just as Netto had predicted the sprinkler system was set off and the water came down in torrents. Videoman and Desertman were drenched.
Maki stood there; clutching Netto's leg and watching the events unfold before her. To her it was like watching the best sci fi movie ever, only it was real, and Netto was the hero.
Netto raised his hand again. "Thunder!" he called out, a lightning bolt zapped both Videoman and Desertman before they had time to react, but Netto wasn't finished yet. "Blizzard!" he called. A small ghost looking virus appeared next to him and blew out a steady stream of snow; the two navi's were frozen in two blocks of ice before they could even blink.
They logged out and Netto turned to face Narcy and Suyanama. "Well?" he asked only they weren't there anymore. They had long since run away, making Netto scowl. "Cowards."
The dimensional area disappeared and the crossfusion disappeared from his body to turn back into Rockman's PET which Netto caught with relief.
"You okay?" he asked
"I'm fine, but you and Maki are going to get sick if you stay in here much longer." Said Rockman
Netto looked up to see the sprinklers still going in his face. He sighed and looked at Maki who was shivering, due to the cold. He hadn't thought out this part of the plan.
"Well." He said bending down to pick Maki up. "It could have been worse."
Just then a team of firefighters burst in and started to spray everything with their fire hose.
Netto and Maki both sat shivering in blankets outside of the warehouse. "Well this is just great." Netto said
Maki continued to shiver and Netto looked down at her with pity. He sighed "Here." He said and unwrapped her from her blanket, then he pulled her into his lap and wrapped both of the blankets around them tightly. "Better?" he asked
Maki leaned against him gratefully and nodded.
"Well kid. You are who you say you are." Said the fire chief handing Netto back his PET. "I had no idea that the Net Saviors hired kids." He laughed
Netto bristled. "I'm not a kid!" he said
The fire chief laughed. "Right, I'm sorry. So, you set off the sprinkler system?" he asked
Netto blushed. "Yeah, it was the only way to get rid of Neo WWW."
The fire chief let out a whistle. "Wow, Neo WWW, just a kid and so high ranking too."
Netto looked irked again. "I said, I'm not a kid!"
Before the fire chief could reply Mejin pulled up in his blue car. He got out and jogged over to where Netto and the fire chief were currently arguing. "Are you two okay?" he asked Netto and Maki
"Yeup!" Netto said, Maki nodded and tried to shrink into Netto's arms. The guy in the lab coat was kind of scary.
Mejin smiled. "Good, now let's go. Enzan just came in, and you need to give your report."
"Wha? I thought you said this was a random mission." Said Netto. He really just wanted to go home and take a long relaxing bath.
Mejin shook his head. "Nope, this was planned. And not by Neo WWW either."
Netto and Enzan sat at the end of a long conference table and Mejin sat across from them. Maki was still curled up in her blanket and currently napping in Netto's arms. Enzan raised an eyebrow when he saw her but didn't ask any questions.
"Okay, I just got of the phone with Sharro. Laika is coming too." Said Mejin
Netto coughed. "Laika? How big is this?"
"Bigger then you think. There seems to be a new net mafia out there and it's not Neo WWW."
"So, what happened?" asked Enzan
Mejin sighed. "They stole the blueprints to Sci Labs and Net Saviors HQ."
Netto jumped and Maki groaned in her sleep. "What?" he said
"While you two were out, the security vaults they were in were hacked and they were stolen. Both of them."
Enzan looked extremely unhappy. "So, what now?"
Mejin shrugged. "I don't know, we can't do anything until they contact us, we have no idea who these people are."
"Then why tell us?" asked Netto
"Because, they also stole information on you two. About your abilities to crossfuse and some…" Mejin searched for the right word and looked at Netto. "Personal stuff as well."
Netto blanched. "They have their hands on the Saito Files?" Rockman asked in a horrified whisper.
Enzan looked puzzled.
"For now yes, but don't worry, there is so much encoding in that thing they probably won't be able to break it for a few days and hopefully we can retrieve it in that time."
Netto looked less then happy but nodded all the same. "Okay, so we wait. When's Laika gonna get here?" he asked
"Hopefully in a few hours. Care to hang around until then?" asked Mejin
Netto shook his head. "Can't I gotta get her home. She's wet and hungry, not to mention it mama and aunt Sakura see us like this they'll flip."
Enzan looked at the girl in Netto's arms. "Who is she anyway?" he asked
"She's my cousin, Maki-chan." He said
Just then Maki-chan stirred and woke up. She looked at Netto sleepily. "Hey, is the game over?" she asked
Netto blinked. "Game?"
/Netto-kun! The game you started before you went into the warehouse, the one to keep her quiet/ Rockman said
"O-oh! That game. Uhhh, yeah." He said smiling
Enzan and Mejin exchanged puzzled glances.
Maki looked down. "Did I win?" she asked. Netto blinked. "I mean, I talked, and I'm sorry, but I didn't mean to I tried! Really I did and…" Netto put his finger on her lips.
Suyanama couldn't hear the inner monologue of the twins but he knew a chance when he saw one. He nodded and all too soon Netto found himself trapped in the giant fist of Desertman.
"Netto-chan!" Maki screamed. She started to thrash in her captor's grip, only to be held even tighter.
"That didn't count." Netto said giving her a wink. "Since the bad guys cheated, it didn't count against you."
Maki's eyes widened. "They cheated?" she gasped
Netto nodded. "Yeup, and you didn't so you automatically win."
Maki giggled and threw her arms around Netto. "Yay! So what did I win?"
"Well stop at the ice cream store tomorrow." Said Netto
Maki looked up at him with big eyes. "Promise?" she asked holding out her pinky.
Netto took hit and gave it a firm shake. "I promise. But now we need to go home before mama and aunt Sakura panic."
"Okay!" Maki said. She jumped off Netto's lap and ran out the door.
Netto sighed and got up. "Netto-kun." Said Mejin. Netto turned around to look at who called him. "I expect you here at 8 A.M. tomorrow."
Netto sighed. "Yeah, I know. Maki might be with me though."
"It's okay. The next few days will be desk work anyway."
Netto winced. "Joy." He said sarcastically. Then he left the room to chase after Maki.
Enzan blinked. "Who knew he was so good with kids."
Netto opened the front door and helped a sleepy looking Maki inside. "We're home." He called out dully.
Aunt Sakura and Haruka rushed in looking frantic. "Where were you? We looked in the park and called…" Haruka looked at Netto and Maki. "What happened?" she asked
Netto shook his head. "Please, don't ask. We're fine and everything is okay."
Aunt Sakura bent down to Maki's level and put her hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Are you all right?" she asked.
Maki nodded, her pig tails bouncing. "Yeah! Hey mommy, did you know that Netto-chan is a super hero?"
Netto coughed and Rockman giggled. Aunt Sakura gave her nephew an odd look. "Is this true?" she asked raising an eyebrow.
Netto started to blush and tried to sneak away but his mom grabbed his arm and shook her head.
"Yeah! He transformed into a navi and fought bad guys! It was so cool! First they caught him, but I helped to save him and…"
Haruka blanched. "What?" she said, horrified.
"Ah heh, mama, its okay. Nothing happened, we're all fine." Said Netto trying to calm his mother down.
"Transform?" asked Aunt Sakura.
Netto groaned. "And then…" Netto placed a hand over Maki's mouth.
"Maki-chan, maybe you shouldn't tell them about today. Why don't you go get ready for bed." He suggested.
"Okay!" she said happily and skipped out of the room.
Netto turned around to his less then happy mom and aunt. "Yeah, about today…" he started.
After Netto and Maki had cleaned up and Maki was in bed, Netto told the entire story of what exactly had happened. By the end, Haruka was holding Netto like she would never let go and Aunt Sakura was in shock.
"How long have you been doing this?" she asked.
"For close to a year. We've been kinda busy and we were hoping for a little more down time, but it seems that a new net mafia has shown up." Said Netto. "I'm sorry if this ruins any plans you have." He said
His aunt shook her head. "No, I'm just glad you're both all right. Though, maybe we'll take Maki tomorrow." She said.
Netto nodded. "Yeah, that'd be a good idea."
Maki, who had been listening the whole time from the entryway, came out into the light. "No!" she yelled.
Everyone looked at her startled. Her mother was the first one to reply. "Young lady, you should be in bed…" she started.
"No! I want to stay with Netto-chan. We came here to visit them and I want to play with him." She folded her arms across her chest.
Sakura shook her head. "Honey, it's dangerous! You could get hurt!" she said.
"I wanna be with Netto-chan…" Maki said, her eyes filling with tears.
Netto sighed. "Aunt Sakura, the next few days will be desk work and trying to find out who the new people are. Maki-chan can come with me, and when the field work starts up I'll leave her at home." He said
"Yippie!" said Maki
Sakura thought it over. "All right." She said. "But I want Maki to call me every two hours, okay?"
Maki nodded. "Fair enough." Said Rockman
"Now go to bed." Said Sakura
"But mommy…" she said
"Not another word young lady. It's past your bed time and you've had a big day. Go to bed."
Maki sighed and dragged herself upstairs.
"I'm going to bed too." Said Netto
Haruka kissed her son on the cheek. "Good night you two, sweet dreams."
Netto blushed. "Night mama."
Netto went upstairs and closed the door to his bed room.
"How do you handle this every day." Said Sakura
"I don't. I just hide it very well." said Haruka.
Maki woke up at 2:34 shivering, but not due to the cold. In fact it was well over 70 degrees, but for some reason she couldn't shake the feeling that Netto was going to leave her behind. Never mind that it was 2:30 in the morning, she wanted to make sure Netto was still there.
Maki slid out of bed and walked down the hallway to Netto's bedroom, being careful of the squeaky floorboard she knew was there. She crept up to her cousin's bed room door and opened it carefully. It squeaked as it opened and a soft beam of light hit Netto's face. He winced and turned over muttering something about curry. She crept into the room and shook Netto.
"Netto-chan." She whispered
Netto grumbled and stirred but didn't wake up.
"Netto-chan?" she asked in a normal tone of voice.
Netto growled and pulled his covers over his head. "What do you wan, Maki-chan?" he asked hoarsely.
"Netto-chan, are you going to leave me alone tomorrow?" she asked
"Wh-wha? Of course not, well go see Mr. Happy and Mr. Peppy tomorrow." He said sarcastically.
Maki-chan had no idea what he was talking about. "Netto-chan?" she asked again.
Netto sat up looking a little cross. "Look, Maki, I won't leave you tomorrow, but it's like 2 in the morning! Can't you go back to bed?"
Maki shook her head. "I can't sleep." She said softly.
Netto sighed and made a face. "Then go ask your mom if you can sleep with her." He said getting ready to go back to sleep.
"Mommy might get worried that I'm awake. I don't want to scare her…" said Maki
Netto sighed, "So, you want to sleep with me then?" he asked.
Maki looked up. "Really?" she asked.
Netto gave a half smile and lifted his covers to let her in. "Sure, just this once, and go to sleep." He added, while tucking her in.
Maki nodded happily and soon they were both asleep.
Mejin looked at his watch. "Its 8:30, where is he?" he asked.
Enzan shrugged. "Mejin-san, you can't expect Netto to be on time." He said
Laika sighed; sometimes Netto could be a real flake. "Maybe he just slept in." he added.
"Then go wake him up. We need to start this." Said Mejin.
"Wait, us? Why don't you just call him?" asked Enzan
"I tried, but Rockman won't pick up. Apparently its sleep for everyone today."
Enzan looked doubtful. "Well it is his vacation, after all."
Mejin rubbed his eyes. "I know, but I'm under a lot of pressure from the higher ups to get back those blueprints. Not to mention, the personal data, if cracked could put Netto and Rockman's lives in jeopardy."
Enzan and Laika exchanged glances. "What is that supposed to mean?" asked Blues from his PET.
Mejin shook his head. "You boys will have to ask Netto and Rockman about that. For the time being will you please get them up?" he asked.
Enzan and Laika saluted Mejin and walked out the door. Mejin sweatdropped as they left. They could be freakishly mature for their actual ages.
Mejin and Laika rang the doorbell of Netto's house three times before they were admitted by Haruka. She looked surprised at their entrance. "Well, Enzan-kun and, umm…" she didn't recognize the blue haired one.
Laika gave a polite bow. "I'm Laika, ma'am." He said.
Haruka smiled. "Ah, Laika-kun then. I take it you're looking for Netto?" she asked.
Enzan nodded. "Netto was supposed to show up at Net Saviors HQ 45 minutes ago."
Haruka nodded and ushered them into the house. "Of course! Netto is upstairs, he's still asleep as you've probably guessed."
Enzan and Laika removed their shoes and went upstairs.
Sakura looked at them. "They're all so young!" she exclaimed once they were out of ear shot.
Haruka looked concerned. "I know, and Netto is the youngest."
Enzan knocked on Netto's door. "Netto are you awake?" he asked
They waited for about a minute before actually opening the door. Inside, they saw Maki curled up, with her back facing Netto's chest. Netto had loosely put his arms around her so as to make sure she wouldn't fall off the bed at night. They were both sound asleep as was Rockman, who was still in the PC.
Enzan really didn't want to wake them up and neither did Laika. However, Netto did know better then to sleep in when he was told to be somewhere at a certain time. Enzan walked over quietly and shook Netto on the shoulder. "Hey, Netto wake up."
Netto groaned and turned over, jarring Maki and making her eyes flutter.
The shake didn't wake up Netto but it did wake up Rockman. "Enzan-san?" he asked sleepily.
Enzan turned around to see Rockman rubbing his eyes and yawning. "Rockman, why didn't you wake Netto up?"
"Nn? I thought it was 7:45…" he said
Enzan looked at him strangely. "Rockman, your data is off by an hour." He said
Rockman looked at him, alarmed. "What! I can't believe it!"
Maki sat up yawning. "Are you Netto-chan's friends?" she interrupted.
Everyone turned around to look at her. Rockman answered first. "Y-yes, Maki-chan, this is Enzan-san, you met him yesterday, and Laika-san." He said pointing to Laika. "Their navi's are Blues and Searchman."
Maki grinned. "Good morning!"
Laika and Enzan looked at her like she was an alien. "Ummm, hi." said Enzan.
Maki turned around and pounced on Netto, waking him up in a rather rude manner. "Netto-chan, your friends are here!" she said.
Netto mumbled sleepily. "Maki-chan, getoff... too early..."
"No, it's not. Netto, you were supposed to be at HQ an hour ago." said Laika
Netto sat up quickly. "WHAT?" He looked at his clock. "Geez, Rockman. What happened?"
Rockman looked sheepish. "Sorry Netto-kun. I guess I wasn't paying attention."
Netto sighed and got out of bed. "Never mind that. Maki-chan, you go get dressed, okay?"
"Yeup!" she ran out of the room to where her clothes were.
Netto turned to face Enzan and Laika. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize that it was so late." he said, laughing a little.
Enzan sighed. "Just get dressed, Netto."
Netto grabbed his own clothes and went into the bathroom. Today was going to be a long day.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOo
Please review, I'll love you for it