The next morning Maki woke up bright and early. So did Dream and the navi's but Netto, Laika and Enzan were all sound asleep. It was odd to see Enzan and Laika asleep because sometime with them you got the impression that they never did sleep. Or when they did they made sure no one else saw them do it.
Maki wiggled out of Netto's embrace and set her feet quietly on the ground. She actually made a conscious effort to not wake Netto and the others up, only if because she got impression that if she woke Enzan or Laika up the consequences wouldn't be pretty.
Dream met her in her new PET outside in the hall. "Netto-chan is sleeping," Maki giggled.
Dream smiled, "Yes, they all are. I'm surprised you aren't, do you know what time it is?"
Maki shook her head no.
Dream pointed to the upper left hand corner of her PET. "Press the program button there," she instructed.
"Here?" Maki asked.
Dream nodded, "Yes, it should open a program that tells you what time it is," she said.
Maki did as she was instructed and large numbers appeared on the screen. "7:29…" she said slowly. "Wow, it's early."
"See?" Dream said.
Maki giggled. "Ah well, I can wait."
Dream's smile twisted as she fought against laughter. "We'll see," she said.
Much to Dream's and Rockman's surprise Maki kept her promise, and waited patiently until Enzan woke up next. However that was only in 20 minutes. Laika woke up five minutes later and Maki chose then to pounce on Netto.
"Wake up!" she said happily.
Netto groaned and tried to be one with the couch. Maki tried her best to wake him up by rocking him back and forth. "Netto-chan!" she said.
Laika and Enzan both got coffee before Netto woke up. They knew what he was like in the morning when he woke up on his own accord, when he was awakened at 8 in the morning, who wanted to know?
"Go away…" Netto muttered.
/Netto-kun…/ Rockman said.
/You go away too/ Netto muttered at him as well.
/Awww, come on, it's a beautiful day. Come out and smell the roses/ Rockman said.
/It's July, there are no roses/ Netto muttered.
/Netto-kun/ Rockman sighed.
Maki shook Netto's shoulder insistently. "Come on, Netto-chan! Let's go play."
"Go play with Enzan and Laika," Netto muttered.
/Netto-kun, that might not be a very good idea…/ Rockman said.
Netto groaned and pulled his head out from under the pillow. "Fine," he said. "I'm up."
"Yay!" Maki yelled and threw her hands in the air then she latched on to Netto. "Let's play," she said.
Netto opened his mouth to answer, but then his PET rang. He picked it up and opened the screen where Mejin's face came up. "Good morning, Netto-kun, I'm surprised you're up."
"Not my fault," Netto muttered.
"Netto-kun, we found where the artifact was taken. Can you, Laika and Enzan go there and check it out?" Mejin asked.
Netto became very serious. "Yes, Mejin-san," he said.
Mejin nodded and the screen went blank. "Well, you heard him," Netto said to Rockman.
"Can I…" Maki started.
"No!" Netto, Rockman and Blues and Searchman who were listening yelled at her.
"Fine, sheesh," she said crossing her arms.
Netto sighed, "Blues, Searchman, can you tell Enzan and Laika what Mejin-san just told me. I need to take Maki-chan home."
Blues and Searchman nodded and Netto took his cousin's hand. "Come on, time to go," he said.
"Awww…" Maki said in a heartfelt whine.
"You can't come, not this time. And I'm making sure you're with mama before I go," Netto said.
"Netto-kun, we have to coordinates on out PET," Rockman said.
"E-mail them to Enzan and tell them we'll catch up," Netto said.
Rockman nodded and Netto walked Maki home.
Netto dropped Maki off at his house and made sure she was with his mother and making breakfast before he left. Unbeknownst to him and Rockman however she had Dream jack into his PET and hide herself, no way Netto was getting away that easily.
Netto ran out of his house calling a hasty goodbye to his family and proceeded to rollerblade to where Mejin told them to go. He met up with Laika and Enzan outside of the location. It was a rather large and seedy looking building that was isolated from the rest of the city by a huge fence.
"Good place to hide stolen goods," Laika said.
"Think we've been seen?" Enzan asked.
Rockman shook his head, "There is no security equipment out here. They have no way of tracking us."
"All right, we'll go in, just be careful," Enzan said.
Laika and Netto nodded and they all walked into the foreboding building. There was nothing that jumped out and screamed 'criminal mastermind' when they went inside. Just an empty building that probably should have been condemned long ago but wasn't for tax reasons. There were some blinking computers in the far off corners but nothing fancy. Just everyday desktops, Netto's home computer was more high-tech then those were.
"Stay on guard," Enzan hissed.
There was a loud click and bright light flooded into the room. Then there was a sound of applause, the threesome looked up to see Obsidian standing on what seemed to be thin air clapping.
"Ah… you finally came," she said. "And not a moment too soon, we are so looking forward to your visit." She glanced at Netto and Rockman, "Especially the Hikari twins."
Netto unknowingly took a step back. "Call Mejin," Netto said.
Obsidian disappeared and reappeared in front of Netto in a flash. "Oh, no need, sweetie. We've already got everything all set." She snapped her fingers and a dimensional area appeared around the building.
Netto jumped back and Enzan and Laika quickly took out their Syncro Chips. Dream slipped out of Netto's PET before he cross fused with Rockman but found she was trapped inside the dimensional area as well. The barrier was around the real world and the cyber world.
The three boys cross fused and Laika was the first one to launch himself at Obsidian. She easily countered his attack and sent a black arrow flying at him that he barely managed to dodge.
"We have you outnumbered!" Enzan yelled.
"Oh?" Obsidian asked. There was a brief flash of movement behind her and Nova appeared his white costume a stark contrast to her black.
"Hello love," he whispered. "May I join you?"
"It would be my honor," she purred back and Nova sent a shining ball of light at Enzan.
It missed him but the shockwave of the attack still managed to knock him to his feet after he hit the ground.
Netto summoned a Paladin Sword and sent the shockwave attack flying at the two. They were forced to separate and they landed on opposite sides of the room. Obsidian laughed and threw a dark ball of energy at Laika who managed to dodge but like Enzan was caught in the shockwave.
"Elec Sword!" Enzan yelled and ran at Nova as the sword appeared on his hand. Nova smirked and dodged but was caught as Laika sniped him down.
Netto yelled out, "Aqua tower!" and sent the jet of water at the felled Nova who only managed to dodge because Obsidian helped him out of the way.
"Tut tut, and we were just here to invite you to a party," Obsidian said. "How rude."
"Where is the artifact you took from the museum?" Enzan yelled.
"En route to Japan on a luxury cruise liner as we speak," Nova smirked.
"What?" Laika gasped.
"What interest would we have in some old stone?" Obsidian laughed. "We wanted the replicas, oops!" she smiled putting a hand to her lips, "My dear, I'm afraid I've said too much," she said in a fake sugary voice.
"Ah, do not worry my love, it is all right. The master won't mind if his guests have a small teaser of what's to come," Nova crooned.
"What do you want with us?" Laika yelled.
"You'll find out, won't you?" Nova said throwing his attack at Laika who now knew the timing and dodged it with ease.
Enzan, Laika and Netto landed by each other across from Obsidian and Nova. "You're still out numbered!" Netto yelled.
Enzan and Laika nodded as if to back up his statement and launched themselves at Obsidian and Nova. Enzan summoned another sword and thrust it at Nova. Nova dodged but a twin blade on Enzan's other hand caught him in the side. He cried out as he fell and Laika quickly brought up his gun.
Netto stood there holding his charged buster to Laika's chest.
"N-netto?" Laika gasped.
"I…I can't control my body…" Netto said. "Something's wrong…"
Obsidian laughed. "Come now, you actually forgot we hacked into your friends files?" Her voice became sharp. "The link is a double edged sword kid; you're not immune to computer viruses or control programs."
Nova stood up showing no damage that he supposedly took from Enzan. "Now who's outnumbered?" he asked coolly.
Laika looked at the glowing buster that Netto was pointing at him. Then he looked at Netto who looked petrified to the point that even though Laika was being held at buster-point he actually felt very sorry for Netto. "Why are you doing this?" he hissed.
"To get your attention," Obsidian said silkily.
"What do you want?" Enzan asked.
"Oh, for starters I want you two to cancel cross fusion," Nova said.
Enzan and Laika exchanged worried glances then did as they were told. Nova smirked then Netto felt himself exiting cross fusion as well. He collapsed onto his knees taking in shaky breaths. Enzan and Laika went over to him and helped him to his feet.
"I wouldn't get to close to him if I were you," Nova said with a smirk.
Enzan glared at him, "You can't control a human!" he yelled.
Obsidian laughed and laughed. "Who said he was human?" she said.
/Netto-kun, don't listen to them, they're just trying to throw you off/ Rockman said.
/I know/ Netto replied.
/Are you okay/ Rockman asked.
Netto nodded, then realized the question was mental. /I'm fine, Rockman./ His gaze narrowed/I'm perfectly fine/ he said standing up and pushing Laika and Enzan away.
Enzan and Laika were almost in shock, they weren't sure what to believe or for that matter what Netto was doing. Netto picked up his PET and pocketed it. "I won't believe in your mind games!" he yelled.
Nova chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't really care what you believe," he said.
Netto started to get rid of the terror he felt before and only hot anger remained. He clenched his fists until they shook. Enzan saw this and put a hand on Netto's shoulder. "Netto, calm down," he murmured in Netto's ear.
Netto calmed down but only slightly.
"Besides what makes you kids think that you could beat us?" Obsidian said 'us' like she was saying they were against an army. "You brats had no chance against us from the beginning and now you have even less of a chance. But, in the end you had to figure out that for yourselves," she smirked. "So, now that all fighting and whatnot is out of the way will you kindly please follow us?" she made it sound like a suggestion even though it wasn't.
"We're not following you anywhere," Netto hissed.
"Of course you will," Nova smiled. "Because you have no choice," he said with a hard look in his eyes.
Netto, Laika and Enzan watched as they turned around and walked away. The threesome stayed where they were and watched the retreating backs of the navis. Netto reached his breaking point and he dashed at Nova as fast as he could. "Netto, don't!" Laika yelled.
Nova turned around as Netto was bringing up his fist. "Stop," he said and Netto found himself frozen in mid stance, unable to move. "So much for your little theory about not being able to control humans," he smirked. "Or maybe it's because you aren't quite what you think you are."
/Netto-kun/ Rockman whispered horrified.
/I…can't move/ Netto said.
Nova nodded and Netto felt his body relax. Enzan and Laika ran to where he was and did their best to silently comfort their friend. Obsidian smirked and glided over to where they were. "I don't think you truly realize what you got yourself into when you accepted the burden of the Saito.bat files," she said. "Don't worry, the man we're going to will spell it out."
"We're not going anywhere!" Enzan said. "Come on," he said to Netto and Laika. "We're getting out of here."
Nova didn't say anything about Enzan's little speech. Instead he turned around and said, "Follow me."
Enzan and Laika glared at him and were very surprised when Netto started to follow the white clad navi. "Netto, what are you doing?" Laika hissed.
"I can't help it, or did you not notice what has been going on for the past five minutes," Netto hissed back.
Enzan and Laika didn't say anything but silently followed their friend.
"What are you doing?" Netto asked.
"Making sure you don't say anything stupid," Enzan said with the barest hint of a laugh.
Netto was quiet as they were led into a small elevator that went down. As soon as they left surface level the Dimensional Area disappeared from around the building and Dream was free. The first thing she did was fly home as fast as she could to tell Maki what happened.
The elevator led them to a large basement that had very little of anything except a large crate with the table sticking out of it and a table that was currently empty. Obsidian smiled and held up her hand. A curtain of black energy made it impossible to see anything and when it lifted Obsidian was standing in front of the boys holding up their PETs. "I think I'll borrow these for a few minutes," she said.
Netto dived at her but she disappeared and he nosedived into the cement. "Ow…" he said pushing himself up.
Nova stood there and laughed. "That was cute," he said. He received three death glares.
"What did you do with out navis?" Enzan asked.
"Oh don't worry, you'll see them soon," he smirked.
Before any of the three could retaliate there was the sound of clapping and a man in his mid thirties wearing sweatpants and a hoodie came into the room. He had glasses that were in front of cold brown eyes and straight brown hair that went to his earlobes. "Ah Nova, so glad you could make it. And you brought guests, well I'm not dressed for such a thing am I?" he said in an easy voice.
"Terribly sorry," Nova replied, smirking.
"Ah well, make do with what you have, right boys?" he asked flashing them a smile.
Enzan, Laika and Netto looked at the odd man who looked like more of a father then a net mafia boss. "Who are you?" Laika asked.
"Just a humble man with a few ambitions," he replied. "Now, I just woke up, care to join me in breakfast?" he motioned to the table. They didn't notice before but it had fruit and waffles on it and they watched as the man crossed the room and sat down.
"No thanks," Enzan said. "What did you do with our navis?"
He cut a piece of waffle and lifted it to his lips; he paused and put his fork down. "Ah, did Obsidian take them? Ah well, you'll see them soon. Don't worry about it."
Netto had just about as much of this man as he could handle. "Why the hell did you bring us here?" he yelled. "This isn't a game!"
The man took a bite of his food and chewed it thoughtfully. "No…" he said slowly, "I would say it isn't a game. Not much in real life is a game is it?"
Netto looked like he was ready to run over to where he was so Enzan and Laika both placed hand on his shoulders. "Remember what happened last time," Laika murmured.
Netto's glaze narrowed, but in a rare moment of common sense even though he was angry he stayed where he was.
"So," the man said wiping his lips with a paper napkin. "You're probably wondering why I called the three of you down here."
Enzan, Netto and Laika were all silent.
"Well, to tell you the truth I was only after Hikari and Rockman but seeing as you two don't really leave them alone, I felt I really had no choice," he said.
"What do you want with Netto?" Enzan said before Netto could say anything.
The man tapped the side of his nose in an annoying way. "Ah, well you see, there are quite a few reasons for that. But first, I want to tell you three that you made it very difficult to get my hands on this beauty," he said tapping the side of the crate.
"What do you want with an old rock?" Netto asked sullenly.
The man laughed loudly. "An old rock? My dear boy, if this was the real Rumanian Tablet it would be worth over $7.3 million."
OOOOOOOOOO
One more chapter :3333
I've also already written the last chapter so I know everything that will happen. Enjoy and for the I don't know… 50+ people I know that are reading this, mind reviewing at least once?